News and reports from the Department of Labor.

U.S. Attorney Trini E. Ross announced today that Paul LaRocco, 60, of Ocala, Florida, who was convicted of mail fraud, was sentenced to serve 60 months in prison by U.S. District Judge Frank P. Geraci, Jr. LaRocco was also ordered to pay restitution totaling approximately $688,000

A Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Norfolk investigation led to a guilty plea from a Midlothian, Virginia man Jan. 31 for conspiring to defraud and commit offenses against the United States, including human trafficking of individuals from Central America; benefiting from forced labor; money laundering; and harboring undocumented noncitizens.

Gladstone Njokem, age 36, of Hyattsville, Maryland, pleaded guilty on February 3, 2023, to federal charges of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and aggravated identity theft, in connection with a scheme to fraudulently obtain more than $1.3 million in COVID-19 CARES Act unemployment insurance (UI) benefits.

A former Arkansas State Senator was sentenced today to 46 months in prison in the Eastern District of Arkansas for accepting multiple bribes and tax fraud in connection with a multi-district investigation spanning the Eastern and Western Districts of Arkansas and the Western District of Missouri.

Onekey, LLC, and Finbar O’Neill Convicted on Charges of Willfully Violating OSHA Regulations Resulting in Death of Construction Worker

– Following a nine-day trial, Ahamefule Aso Odus has been convicted by a federal jury on 12 counts of money laundering stemming from his role in a massive money laundering operation. Odus fled after testifying during his trial and is currently a fugitive.

Melanie Calhoun began as a chemical engineer at the U.S. Department of Labor's Mine Safety and Health Administration and today leads MSHA’s Directorate of Technical Support.

Investigators with the department’s Wage and Hour Division found the employer failed to pay one housekeeper for any hours worked, a minimum wage violation of the Fair Labor Standards Act.

The U.S. Department of Labor has recovered a total of $41,221 for 22 workers employed by a West Hartford moving and storage company and its subsidiary that provided bulk mail delivery service under a contract with the U.S. Postal Service.

Campaign includes digital billboards in 7 storm-affected areas of Puerto Rico

Investigators with the department’s Wage and Hour Division found the employer misapplied the seasonal amusement or recreational establishments’ exemption for its workers

After the U.S. Department of Labor found a Stellantis’ auto plant in Sterling Heights violated the rights of nursing mothers employed there, the global manufacturer of Chrysler, Dodge and Jeep vehicles, will create additional lactation rooms and correct its break policy to avoid future violations.

A U.S. Department of Labor investigation has found two operators of Tampa-area Tropical Smoothie Café franchise locations failed to pay workers their full wages, allowed minor-aged employees to work more hours than the law allows when school is in session, and permitted some minors to illegally load a trash compactor.

A federal investigation has found the operator of three Detroit-area residential nursing centers’ pay practices denied 45 managers their full and proper wages by regularly alternating the managers' status from hourly to salary in an attempt to evade overtime obligations.

A Honolulu preschool has learned an expensive lesson about willfully failing to pay required overtime wages as the law requires, after a U.S. Department of Labor investigation.