News published on Federal Newswire in October 2019

News from October 2019


Billboard Licensing Company Pays $2.85 Million To Resolve Allegations That It Defrauded The Postal Service

News Release: DENVER -- Jason Dunn, the United States Attorney for the District of Colorado, today announced a resolution that resolves fraud allegations against All Vision LLC (“All Vision"), a company that manages a portfolio of licenses for billboards and other outdoor advertising. Under the resolution announced...


Grassley: Don’t Weaponize IRS for Left’s Political NRA Probe

News Release: Washington - Senate Finance Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) today cautioned the Internal Revenue Service against indulging Democrats’ political demands to investigate the National Rifle Association. Such ideological weaponizing of the agency would harm the public trust and repeat the mistakes of the Obama Administration.


High Desert Tax Preparer Sentenced to More Than 2 Years in Prison for Tax Scheme that Collected over $1 Million in Fraudulent Refunds

News Release: LOS ANGELES - A San Bernardino County tax preparer was sentenced this morning to 26 months in federal prison for filing fraudulent tax returns with the IRS as part of a scheme that illegally generated more than $1 million in refunds.


Testing Along Mineral King Road November 4-9 2019 in Sequoia National Park

News Release: SEQUOIA AND KINGS CANYON NATIONAL PARKS, Calif. Oct. 10, 2019 - The National Park Service (NPS) has approved subsurface composition tests of five locations along a 15.29-mile section of the Mineral King Road in Sequoia National Park. The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) is gathering needed information...


Pierre Couple Sentenced on Fentanyl Charges

News Release: United States Attorney Ron Parsons announced that a Pierre, South Dakota, couple convicted of Conspiracy to Distribute a Controlled Substance were sentenced on October 8, 2019, by U.S. District Judge Roberto A. Lange.


St. Francis Man Indicted for Domestic Assault by an Habitual Offender, Child Abuse, and Assaulting a Federal Officer

News Release: United States Attorney Ron Parsons announced that a St. Francis, South Dakota, man has been indicted by a federal grand jury for Domestic Assault by an Habitual Offender, Child Abuse, and Assaulting, Resisting, and Impeding a Federal Officer.


Secretary Perry Subpoenaed in House Impeachment Inquiry

News Release: Washington, D.C. -Today, Rep. Adam B. Schiff, the Chairman of the Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, Rep. Elijah E. Cummings, the Chairman of the Committee on Oversight and Reform, and Rep. Eliot L. Engel, the Chairman of the Committee on Foreign Affairs, sent a letter conveying a subpoena to Secretary of Energy Rick Perry for key documents by Oct. 18, 2019, as part of the House of Representatives’ impeachment inquiry of President Donald Trump.


Mexican National Pleads Guilty to Drug Trafficking Cocaine in Lexington

News Release: LEXINGTON, Ky.- Roberto Bernal Salas, 32, pleaded guilty Thursday to possessing and intending to distribute three kilograms of cocaine and 122 gram of crack cocaine.


Chairman Neal Announces a Hearing on Investing in the U.S. Health System by Lowering Drug Prices, Reducing Out-of-Pocket Costs, and Improving Medicare Benefits

News Release: House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Richard E. Neal announced today that the Committee will hold a hearing entitled “Investing in the U.S. Health system by lowering drug prices, reducing out of pocket costs, and improving Medicare benefits" on Thursday, Oct. 17, at 10:00 AM in room 1100 Longworth House Office Building.


Seven Individuals Charged in Federal Narcotics and Firearms Investigation

News Release: Crack, Heroin, Fentanyl, and Firearms Were Seized.


Ponzi Scheme Promoter Sentenced to 22 Years in Federal Prison for $396 Million Scheme—The Largest Ever Charged in Maryland

News Release: Baltimore, Maryland - U.S. District Judge Richard D. Bennett today sentenced Kevin B. Merrill, age 54, of Towson, Maryland, to 22 years in federal prison, followed by three years of supervised release, for conspiracy and wire fraud arising from a $396 million investment fraud scheme that operated from...


Lev Parnas and Igor Fruman Charged with Conspiring to Violate Straw and Foreign Donor Bans

News Release: Defendants Orchestrated Scheme to Advance Their Business Interests and the Political Interests of At Least One Ukrainian Government Official Through Contributions and Donations to Multiple Candidates and Campaign Committees in Violation of Campaign Finance Laws; Two Others Charged in Foreign Donor Scheme.


Onondaga County Man Pleads Guilty to Sexual Exploitation Charge

News Release: SYRACUSE, NEW YORK - Martin Nicholson, age 32, of Geddes, New York, pled guilty today before Senior United States District Judge Hon. Thomas J. McAvoy to Willfully Causing the Sexual Exploitation of a Child, announced United States Attorney Grant C. Jaquith, and James N. Hendricks, Special Agent in Charge of the Albany Field Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).


President of Texas-Based Beverage Company Indicted for Obstruction of Justice

News Release: President of Texas-Based Beverage Company Indicted for Obstruction of Justice.


National Park Service Seeks Proposals to Lease the Historic McGlashan-Nickerson House

News Release: CALAIS, ME - The National Park Service (NPS) is seeking proposals from interested parties to lease the historic McGlashan-Nickerson House within Saint Croix Island International Historic Site.


James Nickolas Renfro Sentenced to Serve 200 Months in Prison for Distributing Child Pornography

News Release: CHATTANOOGA, Tenn - On October 9, 2019, James Nickolas Renfro, 27, of Chattanooga, Tennessee, was sentenced by the Honorable Curtis L. Collier, Senior U.S. District Court Judge, to serve 200 months in federal prison.


Bozeman man sentenced to more than three years in prison for possessing child pornography

News Release: MISSOULA-A Bozeman man who admitted to viewing and downloading child pornography for years was sentenced today to 41 months in prison followed by 10 years of supervised release, U.S. Attorney Kurt Alme said.


Ponzi Scheme Promoter Sentenced to 22 Years in Federal Prison for $396 Million Scheme—The Largest Ever Charged in Maryland

News Release: Kevin Merrill Also Obstructed Justice After his Arrest; SEC Has Related Civil Action.


USDA Declares New York City Free of the Asian Longhorned Beetle

Release: Washington - Today, the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) in coordination with the New York State Department of Agriculture and Markets, New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, and New York City Department of Parks and Recreation ...


ICE arrests Salvadoran alien accused of rape who went to victim's house immediately after Oklahoma County Sheriff's Office failed to honor ICE detainer

News Release: OKLAHOMA CITY - U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) arrested Antonio Ulises Perez, a 38-year-old illegal alien from El Salvador accused of rape, Wednesday, after the Oklahoma County Sheriff’s Office (OCSO) failed to honor an ICE detainer and released him from custody.