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Two former TYC employees indicted in sex abuse case
Court Feed News |
2007/04/11 06:14
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Two former administrators at a Texas juvenile prison were arrested Tuesday on 13 charges of improper sexual conduct with six students. Former West Texas State School principal John Paul Hernandez and former assistant superintendent Ray E. Brookins each resigned in 2005 as an investigation by Texas Rangers; the case has only recently moved forward as Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott has taken over the case from a local prosecutor who declined to pursue most cases relating to the school from 2005-2006. The investigating Rangers alleged that they presented their findings to the state and US Attorney offices as well as the Department of Justice, but that no office showed interest in prosecution. Hernandez was charged with nine counts of improper sexual activity with a person in custody and nine counts of improper relationship with a student. Brookins faces up to 20 years in prison for charges of an improper relationship with a student and two years in prison for improper sexual activity with a person in custody. A 2006 US Department of Justice report said that sexual violence in US prisons, perpetrated by both inmates and prison staff, often goes unreported because abused inmates fear a reprisal. Last month, Texas Gov. Rick Perry appointed a commission to review the records of approximately 90 percent of the state's juvenile inmates following allegations by families and community activists that prison officials extended sentences in retaliation for inmates filing grievances. Staff-initiated sexual misconduct constituted 38 percent of allegations. The authors of the report also warned against placing juvenile inmates with the adult prison population, finding that the incidents of rape and abuse are five times higher against juveniles. The report, which was the second in an annual series required by the Prison Rape Elimination Act of 2003, showed a marked improvement over staff sexual misconduct and harassment since the initial 2004 study.
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Court Bars Florida CPA from Preparing Tax Returns
Court Feed News |
2007/04/11 06:12
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A federal judge has permanently barred Max Holcher of Naples, Fla., from promoting a scheme he calls "Tax Engineering" and from preparing federal income tax returns for others, the Justice Department announced today. According to the government complaint in the civil injunction suit, Holcher operates businesses known as Holcher & Company and Holcher CPA Group. According to the government complaint, Holcher, a certified public accountant (CPA), helped customers claim improper tax deductions for such non-deductible personal expenses as home maintenance expenses, vacations, and personal vehicle expenses. Holcher allegedly also prepared tax returns for customers falsely reporting employment income as royalties in order to evade Social Security taxes. The permanent injunction order was signed by Judge John Steele of the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida. The court order requires Holcher to mail a copy of the injunction to all persons for whom he has prepared a federal tax return or form since 2002 and to provide the government with a list of his customers' names, addresses, e-mail addresses, phone numbers, and Social Security numbers. Since 2001, the Justice Department's Tax Division has obtained more than 230 injunctions to stop the promotion of tax fraud schemes and the preparation of fraudulent returns. Information about these cases is available on the Justice Department Web site at http://www.usdoj.gov/tax/taxpress2006.htm. |
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Court: MySpace Postings are Free Speech
Court Feed News |
2007/04/10 08:49
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A judge violated a juvenile's free-speech rights when he placed her on probation for posting an expletive-laden entry on MySpace criticizing a school principal, the Indiana Court of Appeals ruled. The three-judge panel on Monday ordered the Putnam Circuit Court to set aside its penalty against the girl, referred to only as A.B. in court records. "While we have little regard for A.B.'s use of vulgar epithets, we conclude that her overall message constitutes political speech," Judge Patricia Riley wrote in the 10-page opinion. In February 2006, Greencastle Middle School Principal Shawn Gobert discovered a Web page on MySpace purportedly created by him. A.B., who did not create the page, made derogatory postings on it concerning the school's policy on body piercings. The state filed a delinquency petition in March alleging that A.B.'s acts would have been harassment, identity deception and identity theft if committed by an adult. The juvenile court dropped most of the charges but in June found A.B. to be a delinquent child and placed her on nine months of probation. The judge ruled the comments were obscene. A.B. appealed, arguing that her comments were protected political speech under both the state and federal constitutions because they dealt with school policy. The Court of Appeals found that the comments were protected and that the juvenile court had unconstitutionally restricted her right of free expression. There was no number for Shawn Gobert in publishing phone listings. The Associated Press left a message seeking comment Monday at Greencastle Middle School. |
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TV host pleads guilty in $20M bogus art scam
Court Feed News |
2007/04/10 07:07
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A La Canada Flintridge TV host who used a satellite cable show to sell fake prints supposedly signed by such artists as Picasso and Dali pleaded guilty today to federal charges. Kristine Eubanks, 49, is scheduled to be sentenced Sept. 24, when she faces up to 10 years in prison. She and her husband, Gerald Sullivan, who pleaded guilty last week, admitted in their plea agreements that they conned more than 10,000 buyers through their "Fine Art Treasures Gallery" show, which aired Friday and Saturday nights on DirecTV and The Dish Network.
Despite the claims on the show, the supposed fine art prints were either bought by the couple or forged at a print shop, according to the government. Eubanks and Sullivan, 51, fabricated certificates of authenticity and appraisals, and the works bore fake signatures, according to the government. In pleading guilty, the couple also admitted running up the prices of the fake works by creating fake bids for live auctions. Eubanks entered her guilty plea to tax evasion and one count of conspiracy. Sullivan pleaded guilty to conspiracy and failing to file tax returns, and faces up to six years in prison, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office. Sullivan, whose sentencing is also set for Sept. 24, is free on bond. His wife, who was on probation when arrested in the art case, remains in custody. Eubanks' attorney, Donald Randolph said outside court that his client "acknowledged her guilt in these actions today." Randolph said he will attempt to convince U.S. District Judge Florence- Marie Cooper to "take other factors" from his client's life into consideration at sentencing, but he declined to elaborate. In addition to the possible prison time, the couple has agreed to forfeit nearly $4 million and various pieces of art seized during the investigation. |
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Olympic gold medallist admits bank fraud
Court Feed News |
2007/04/10 07:06
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Montgomery, 32, was indicted for conspiracy for depositing or trying to deposit three checks worth $775,000 into an account he controlled. He was one of 11 co-conspirators named in the indictment, including Montgomery's former track coach, 1976 Olympic gold medallist Steven Riddick. Montgomery pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy and two counts of bank fraud, for which he could face up to 46 months in prison. His lawyers said the guilty plea "reflects his minor role in the charged bank fraud conspiracy." Montgomery's plea agreement does not force him to cooperate with prosecutors, and his lawyers said he has no plans to testify in the trial of the other defendants, scheduled to begin on Tuesday at U.S. District Court in Manhattan. "I sincerely regret the role I played in this unfortunate episode. I have disappointed many people, and for that I am truly sorry," Montgomery said in a statement. The scheme involved a couple, Douglas Shyne and Natasha Singh, who are accused of receiving stolen checks, altering legitimate checks and receiving copies of checks that had been processed by bank employees, which they then counterfeited, prosecutors said. The conspiracy involved approximately 20 checks totaling more than $5 million, prosecutors said. In 2000, Montgomery won a gold medal as a member of the United States 4x100-metre relay team. Two years later, he set a 100m world record of 9.78 seconds, but the time was erased from the record books after the US antidoping agency found him to have received steroids. He retired from the sport immediately afterward.
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Court Approves Water Project Near Mexican Border
Court Feed News |
2007/04/09 08:55
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An appeals court has ruled that the federal government can line a major canal with concrete to stop huge leaks, rejecting arguments that growers across the border in Mexico need the leaking water for their crops.
Proponents of lining the All-American Canal say it would save 67,000 acre-feet of water, enough to meet the needs of more than 500,000 homes in fast-growing San Diego County.
Opponents, who sued to block the project, said it would devastate farmers in the Mexicali Valley.
A three-judge panel of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled in favor of a law signed by President Bush last year that orders the Bureau of Reclamation to start the project without delay.
The court's ruling lifts an injunction granted last year when opponents sued.
Although more appeals are possible, the project's supporters said they hoped Friday's decision resolves the issue.
"This is truly a Good Friday," said Daniel S. Hentschke, a San Diego County Water Authority attorney. "This is enormously important for San Diego and the entire state."
The 82-mile-long canal was completed in 1942 to carry water west from the Colorado River. It irrigates crops along both sides of the border in an area about 100 miles east of San Diego.
Opponents of the $200 million project include both environmentalists and business representatives. They said lining a 23-mile section of the canal will dry up tens of thousands of acres of Mexican farmland, allow Mexican wells to become polluted and threaten migratory birds by eliminating wetlands. That could cause significant job losses and other economic problems on both sides of the border, they said.
The court said Mexico already takes 1.5 million acre-feet of Colorado River water a year under the terms of a 1944 treaty and is entitled to no more.
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