Daily Law Blog

Indiana and Alabama Hospitals To Pay U.S. Over $8 Million To Settle False Claims Act Allegations

Six hospitals in Indiana and Alabama have agreed to pay the United States more than $8 million to settle allegations that the health care facilities submitted false claims to Medicare, the Department of Justice announced today. The Indiana hospitals include St. Francis Hospital in Beech Grove, Deaconess Hospital in Evansville and St. John’s Hospital System in [...]

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Former Oklahoma Official Sentenced for Concealing Violations of Safe Drinking Water Act

The former supervisor of the wastewater treatment facility in Ft. Gibson, Okla., Christopher Neil Gauntt was sentenced today in federal court in Muskogee, Okla., to serve six months home confinement for submitting false statements that concealed violations of the Safe Drinking Water Act, the Justice Department announced. He was also sentenced to pay a $5,000 [...]

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Texas Man Pleads Guilty to Advertising and Possessing Child Pornography

Mark Edwin Cairnes of Jonestown, Texas, pleaded guilty today to advertising and possessing child pornography. Cairnes, 51, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Sam Sparks in Austin, Texas, to one count of advertising child pornography and one count of possession of child pornography. He was indicted on those charges on July 21, 2009. As part of [...]

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Attorney General Establishes New State Secrets Policies and Procedures

Attorney General Eric Holder today issued a memorandum instituting new Department of Justice policies and procedures in order to ensure greater accountability in the government’s assertion of the state secrets privilege in litigation. “This policy is an important step toward rebuilding the public’s trust in the government’s use of this privilege while recognizing the imperative need [...]

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Department of Justice and Federal Trade Commission to Hold Workshops Concerning Horizontal Merger Guidelines

Antitrust Agencies Explore Possible Update to Guidelines to Account for Legal and Economic Developments The Department of Justice and the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) announced today that they will solicit public comment and hold joint public workshops to explore the possibility of updating the Horizontal Merger Guidelines that are used by both agencies to evaluate the [...]

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Eight More Individuals Charged in Casino-cheating Conspiracy

A federal grand jury in San Diego has indicted an additional eight defendants for conspiracy to cheat a total of 11 casinos across the country, Assistant Attorney General for the Criminal Division Lanny A. Breuer and U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of California Karen P. Hewitt announced today. A one-count indictment, handed up in the [...]

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