Press Releases

The Department of Justice launched a cross-agency Trade Fraud Task Force to bring robust enforcement against importers and other parties who seek to defraud the United States. The Task Force will augment the existing coordination mechanisms within the Department of Justice and leverage expertise from both the Civil and Criminal Divisions, as well as the Department of Homeland Security, to aggressively pursue enforcement actions against any parties who seek to evade tariffs and other duties, as well as smugglers who seek to import prohibited goods into the American economy. This Administration

Timothy Brandon Parsons, 38, of Louisa, Kentucky, entered a guilty plea to conspiring to defraud the U.S. Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) in relation to an underground fire that occurred in the MC#1 Mine in Franklin County, Illinois, in August 2021.

Attorney General Pamela Bondi has selected Ramona D. Elliott to serve as Acting Director of the Justice Department’s U.S. Trustee Program (USTP), the Justice Department announced.

A California man pleaded guilty to tax and health care related crimes.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit published an opinion upholding the Department of the Interior’s 2024-2029 National Outer Continental Shelf Oil and Gas Leasing Program. The program sets the number and location of offshore oil and gas lease sales that Interior will hold during the ensuing 5-year period.

A federal jury convicted four individuals from Hawaii for their roles in a tax refund fraud scheme.

The Justice Department’s Environment and Natural Resources Division (ENRD) filed a motion for summary judgment in its challenge to the State of New York’s “Climate Change Superfund Act,” which imposes $75 billion in liability on foreign and domestic energy companies for their alleged past contributions to climate change. The complaint was filed in May, along with a complaint against the State of Vermont for its similar statute, to advance President Donald J. Trump’s executive order to protect American energy from state overreach.

Kimberly-Clark Corporation (Kimberly-Clark), a U.S.-based multinational consumer goods and personal care company, has agreed to pay up to $40.4 million to resolve a criminal charge relating to the company’s sale of adulterated MicroCool surgical gowns.

Three Florida men were sentenced for tax crimes related to a scheme to prepare false tax returns for clients. Jonathan Carillo was sentenced to 121 months in prison, Franklin Carter Jr. was sentenced to 84 months in prison, and Diandre T. Mentor was sentenced to 36 months in prison. 

The Justice Department today secured an agreement with the North Carolina Department of Adult Corrections (NCDAC) to ensure that incarcerated individuals with hearing disabilities are provided effective communication and the opportunity to participate equally in NCDAC’s prison services, programs, and activities.  NCDAC operates more than 50 prison facilities and houses more than 30,000 individuals.

The Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division has opened an investigation into the California Environmental Protection Agency (CAL EPA), including the California Air Resources Board (CARB), to determine whether it may be engaged in employment practices that discriminate based on race, sex, color, and national origin.

A federal grand jury in the Eastern District of Michigan returned a ten-count indictment against two defendants for their alleged roles in a forced labor and money laundering conspiracy that victimized individuals in Michigan, Florida, Texas, and Missouri.