US Justice Department news stories on Newser

Justice Department Opens JPMorgan Probe

Kevin Spak — Tue, 15 May 2012 11:59:05 CDT

Maybe Jamie Dimon will go on trial after all? That's getting way ahead of things, but the Justice Department has opened an inquiry into the JPMorgan trading scandal, sources tell the Wall Street Journal . It's currently unclear what legal violations it's looking into, but the probe will be separate from...

Feds: We're Taking Sheriff Joe to Court

Kevin Spak — Thu, 10 May 2012 10:40:30 CDT

The Justice Department is through negotiating with the self-proclaimed toughest sheriff in America. Authorities announced yesterday that they will sue Arizona sheriff Joe Arpaio for alleged civil rights violations, the AP reports. The department had been trying to work out an agreement with Arpaio in which he'd train his officers...

Medicare Fraud Task Force Makes Biggest Bust Ever

Kevin Spak — Thu, 03 May 2012 07:23:26 CDT

The Justice Department's special Medicare fraud strike team made its biggest bust ever yesterday, charging 107 doctors, nurses, and other alleged fraudsters in a "nationwide takedown" affecting seven cities. All told, they're accused of bilking the government out of $452 million, the Los Angeles Times reports. Among the scams: billing...

FBI Evidence Screw-Ups Hidden in Hundreds of Cases

Kevin Spak — Tue, 17 Apr 2012 07:58:05 CDT

Prosecutors have failed to notify hundreds of defendants and their attorneys about faulty FBI forensics work that may exonerate them, according to an in-depth Washington Post investigation. The Justice Department spent nine years—from 1996 to 2004—conducting what it calls an "exhaustive" review of 13 agents' forensic work from...

DOJ Should Have Gone After Amazon, Not Apple

Evann Gastaldo — Mon, 16 Apr 2012 12:31:21 CDT

When the Justice Department decided to take on "the monopolistic monolith that threatened to dominate the book industry," it chose the wrong targets —five large publishers plus minor e-book player Apple—while ignoring the all-powerful Amazon, writes a dumbfounded David Carr in the New York Times . "That’s the modern equivalent...

Apple: We Didn't Fix E-Book Prices

Matt Cantor — Fri, 13 Apr 2012 08:37:07 CDT

The Justice Department's allegations of an e-book pricing conspiracy at Apple are "simply not true," the tech giant says, according to Reuters . "The launch of the iBookstore in 2010 fostered innovation and competition, breaking Amazon's monopolistic grip on the publishing industry," an Apple rep tells the Wall Street Journal . "Just...

Feds Sue Apple Over E-book Price Fixing

Mark Russell — Wed, 11 Apr 2012 10:41:39 CDT

The Justice Department has filed an antitrust lawsuit against Apple and five of the US' biggest book publishers over allegations that they conspired to fix the price of e-books ahead of the iPad's launch, the Wall Street Journal reports. The conspiracy allegedly aimed to drive up prices, which had settled...

Holder to Judge: Yes, Obama Respects High Court

Matt Cantor — Thu, 05 Apr 2012 17:16:59 CDT

President Obama may have warned "unelected" justices about judicial activism, but that doesn't mean he opposes judicial authority, Eric Holder says. Following Obama's comments, a federal appeals court judge ordered the Justice Department to explain its views on the matter in three pages; Holder did it in two and a...

Feds: AT&T Put Fraud on Government Tab

Kevin Spak — Fri, 23 Mar 2012 09:51:05 CDT

The Justice Department has accused AT&T of bilking the government out of more than $16 million by purposely allowing Nigerian fraudsters to abuse a service intended to help deaf Americans. AT&T says it's just following FCC rules requiring it to offer a free IP Relay service, which allows the deaf...