News from March 2023
U.S. Customs and Border Protection Officer Indicted for Using Excessive Force and Obstruction of Justice
By DOJ Newswire | Mar 16, 2023
News Release: A federal grand jury in the Western District of Texas returned a three-count indictment that was unsealed today, charging a U.S. Customs and Border Protection officer with deprivation of rights under color of law and the falsification of a document in a federal investigation.
Justice Department Files Sexual Harassment Lawsuit Against Michigan Rental Property Owner
By DOJ Newswire | Mar 16, 2023
News Release: The Justice Department announced today that it has filed a sexual harassment lawsuit under the Fair Housing Act against the owner and manager of rental properties in Dearborn Heights, Michigan.
Southern California Return Preparer Charged with Filing False Tax Returns
By DOJ Newswire | Mar 16, 2023
News Release: A federal grand jury in Riverside, California, returned an indictment, unsealed Tuesday, charging a California man with 47 counts of preparing false tax returns.
Justice Department and Consumer Financial Protection Bureau File Statement of Interest in Appraisal Discrimination Case
By DOJ Newswire | Mar 16, 2023
News Release: The Justice Department and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) announced today that they filed a statement of interest to explain the application of the Fair Housing Act (FHA) and the Equal Credit Opportunity Act (ECOA) to lenders relying on discriminatory home appraisals. The statement of ...
President of Oklahoma Steel Pole Manufacturer Pleads Guilty to Tax Evasion
By DOJ Newswire | Mar 16, 2023
News Release: An Oklahoma man pleaded guilty, on Friday, March 10, to evading over $1 million in income taxes.
Seven Charged in Sophisticated Stolen Identity Tax Refund Fraud Scheme that Sought Over $100 Million from the IRS
By DOJ Newswire | Mar 16, 2023
News Release: On March 7, a federal grand jury in Austin returned an indictment, unsealed today, charging seven individuals with conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud and other crimes arising out of their scheme to defraud the IRS using stolen identities.
U.S. Marshals Service is Offering up to $5,000 Reward for Information Leading to the Arrest of a Man Wanted in Connection with February 2022 Double-Homicide in Okanogan County
By DOJ Newswire | Mar 16, 2023
News Release: Spokane, WA - The U.S. Marshals Service-led Pacific Northwest Violent Offender Task Force is offering a reward of up to $5,000 for information leading directly to the arrest of a man charged in the February 2022 murder of an elderly couple at their property in Okanogan County.
Readout of Associate Attorney General Vanita Gupta and Access to Justice Director Rachel Rossi’s Trip to Iowa
By DOJ Newswire | Mar 16, 2023
News Release: Associate Attorney General Vanita Gupta joined Director Rachel Rossi of the Office for Access to Justice (ATJ) in Des Moines, Iowa, today as part of the Department’s National Public Defense Day Tour to recognize the 60th anniversary of the landmark Supreme Court decision in Gideon v. Wainwright, which held that criminal defendants are entitled to counsel when facing felony charges and celebrate the role of public defenders in the American legal system.
Notice of Lodging of Proposed Consent Decree Under the Clean Water Act discussed on March 15 by Justice Department
By DOJ Newswire | Mar 16, 2023
The US Justice Department published a one page notice on March 15, according to the U.S. Government Publishing Office.
Jelly Bean Communications Design and its Manager Settle False Claims Act Liability for Cybersecurity Failures on Florida Medicaid Enrollment Website
By DOJ Newswire | Mar 16, 2023
News Release: Jelly Bean Communications Design LLC (Jelly Bean) and Jeremy Spinks have agreed to pay $293,771 to resolve False Claims Act allegations that they failed to secure personal information on a federally funded Florida children’s health insurance website, which Jelly Bean created, hosted, and maintained.
Michigan Nonprofit Organizations Agree to Pay $225,887 to Settle False Claims Act Allegations Relating to Improper Receipt of Paycheck Protection Program Loans
By DOJ Newswire | Mar 16, 2023
News Release: Two Michigan nonprofit organizations, the Michigan Education Association (MEA) and the Michigan Education Special Services Association (MESSA), have agreed to settle allegations that the organizations violated the False Claims Act (FCA) by applying for and obtaining loans under the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) for which they knew or should have known they were ineligible.
U.S. Marshals Fugitive Task Force and Memphis Police Department Capture Pennsylvania Homicide Fugitive
By DOJ Newswire | Mar 16, 2023
News Release: Memphis, TN - Jerbrell Westmoreland, 30, has been captured in Memphis by the U.S. Marshals Two Rivers Violent Fugitive Task Force (TRVFTF) and Memphis Police Department. Westmoreland was wanted out of Pennsylvania for Homicide, Conspiracy to Commit Homicide and Attempted Criminal Homicide.
Notice of Lodging of Proposed Consent Decree Under the System Unit Resource Protection Act discussed on March 14 by Justice Department
By DOJ Newswire | Mar 16, 2023
The US Justice Department published a one page notice on March 14, according to the U.S. Government Publishing Office.
Connecticut Fugitive Wanted Since 2012 Captured in Texas
By DOJ Newswire | Mar 16, 2023
News Release: New Haven, CT - The U.S. Marshals in Texas on Monday arrested a man wanted in Connecticut on child sex charges dating back to 2008.
Federal Jury Finds Kentucky Woman Guilty of Mailing Threatening Communications to Neighbors Because of Their Race
By DOJ Newswire | Mar 16, 2023
News Release: A federal jury convicted a local woman on Friday of mailing communications containing threats to injure others in November and December 2020.
Sterling Bancorp, Inc. to Plead Guilty to $69M Securities Fraud
By DOJ Newswire | Mar 16, 2023
News Release: A Southfield, Michigan-headquartered bank holding company has agreed to plead guilty to securities fraud for filing false securities statements relating to its 2017 initial public offering (IPO) and its 2018 and 2019 annual filings.
Tennessee Man Wanted for Rape of a Child Captured by U.S. Marshals in Kentucky
By DOJ Newswire | Mar 16, 2023
News Release: Carroll County, TN - Damian Daniel Campos, 20, who was wanted by the Carroll County, Tennessee Sheriff’s Office for multiple counts of Rape of a Child and Aggravated Sexual Battery was captured yesterday in Kentucky after a joint investigation by U.S. Marshals in Western Tennessee and Kentucky.
USDOJ-OJP-BJA offers new grant application process starting March 16
By DOJ Newswire | Mar 16, 2023
BJA FY 23 Adult Treatment Court Planning, Training, Technical Assistance, and Resources Center Initiative grant opened on March 16.
United States Files Complaint Alleging that Rite Aid Dispensed Controlled Substances in Violation of the False Claims Act and the Controlled Substances Act
By DOJ Newswire | Mar 16, 2023
News Release: The Justice Department announced today that the United States has filed a complaint in intervention in a whistleblower lawsuit brought under the False Claims Act (FCA) against Rite Aid Corporation and various subsidiaries (collectively Rite Aid) alleging that Rite Aid knowingly filled unlawful prescriptions ...
Pennsylvania Owners of Landscape and Excavation Firm Charged with Conspiring to Defraud the IRS and Employment Tax Crimes
By DOJ Newswire | Mar 16, 2023
News Release: A federal grand jury in Philadelphia returned an indictment charging a Pennsylvania man and woman with conspiring to defraud the IRS and other tax crimes, including failing to pay employment taxes to the IRS.