Law Enforcement | WPN World People News

A former employee of a Florida-based airline fuel supply service company pleaded guilty to obstructing an investigation into fraud and anticompetitive conduct in the airline charter services industry, the Department of Justice announced.

The Justice Department announced the results of its ongoing efforts to combat tax refund fraud that involves identity theft. The Tax Division, in conjunction with the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and U.S. Attorneys’ Offices (USAOs) nationwide, has prioritized the investigation and prosecution of individuals who engage in stolen identity refund fraud (SIRF).

Michael Edwards was sentenced to serve two concurrent sentences of 36 months in prison followed by three years of supervised release, and ordered to pay restitution of $573,518 to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), the Justice Department and IRS announced.

The former jail administrator of the Clay County Detention Center pleaded guilty Wednesday to violating the civil rights of inmates by using his authority to sexually abuse or otherwise deprive the inmates of their constitutional rights, announced U.S. Attorney Joyce White Vance and FBI Special Agent in Charge Richard D. Schwein Jr.

A Georgia real estate investor pleaded guilty for her role in conspiracies to rig bids and commit mail fraud at public real estate foreclosure auctions in Georgia, U.S. Department of Justice announced.

Former Cook County Commissioner JOSEPH MARIO MORENO was sentenced to 11 years in federal prison for engaging in a series of public and personal corruption schemes over a span of three years. Moreno pleaded guilty on July 1, 2013, to conspiracy to commit extortion after he was initially charged in late June 2012, about 18 months after he left public office.

The Department of Justice filed a civil lawsuit in the federal court in Nashville, Tenn., to stop Gilberto Cortes and his business, Mundo Hispano Services, from preparing federal tax returns. According to the complaint, Cortes and his business have prepared more than 7,000 tax returns since 2010.

LaQuanta Clayton, a resident of Montgomery County, Ala., and a former bank teller employed by the Community Bank and Trust, was sentenced on Feb. 19, 2014, to serve 21 months in prison to be followed by three years of supervised release for participating in a fraudulent tax refund scheme, announced Assistant Attorney General Kathryn Keneally of the Justice Department's Tax Division and U.S. Attorney George L. Beck Jr. for the Middle District of Alabama. Clayton pleaded guilty in July 2013 to theft of government property.

U.S. Army Sergeant Albert Kelly III, 28, of Fort Knox, Ky., pleaded guilty to theft charges for his role in the theft of fuel at Forward Operating Base (FOB) Salerno in Afghanistan.

Bashar Saroki, a resident of Southfield, Mich., was sentenced in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan to serve 30 months in prison to be followed by one year of supervised release, the Justice Department and the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) announced. Previously, Saroki pleaded guilty to filing a false 2009 tax return and offering drug paraphernalia for sale.