Houston, Texas - A Houston physician and the owner of a pain management clinic were each sentenced to 420 months in prison Thursday for their roles in running a pill mill that provided tens of thousands of unlawful prescriptions for millions of doses of opioids and other controlled substances.

Chicago, Illinois - A Honduran national was sentenced to 24 months in prison Tuesday for theft of government funds in connection with his role in a stolen identity tax refund fraud scheme, announced Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Richard E. Zuckerman of the Justice Department’s Tax Division and U.S. Attorney John R. Lausch Jr. for the Northern District of Illinois.

Washington, DC - The Justice Department Tuesday reached a settlement agreement with Palmetto Beach Hospitality LLC (Palmetto), a company that provides housekeeping services to hotels in the Myrtle Beach, South Carolina area. The agreement resolves the Department’s investigation into whether Palmetto unlawfully denied employment to qualified and available U.S. workers because it preferred to hire temporary foreign workers with H-2B visas. It is the fourth settlement under the Civil Rights Division’s Protecting U.S. Workers Initiative, which is aimed at targeting, investigating, and taking enforcement actions against companies that discriminate against U.S. workers in favor of temporary visa workers.

Washington, DC - Earlier this week Symantec announced that APT28 and APT29, perhaps better known as Fancy Bear and Cozy Bear, are already hard at work trying to subvert the 2018 US midterm elections. Just like they did in 2016.

Nashville, Tennessee - An illegal alien and MS-13 gang member from El Salvador was convicted Monday by a federal jury of using physical force to tamper with a witness; being an illegal alien in possession of a firearm; illegally re-entering the United States after previously being deported; multiple counts of cocaine distribution; and multiple counts of other firearms violations, announced Assistant Attorney General Brian A. Benczkowski of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division and U.S. Attorney Don Cochran of the Middle District of Tennessee.

Washington, DC - Yesterday, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) announced approximately $5 million in funding for 16 states to enhance energy security, advance state-led energy initiatives, and improve energy productivity. Through DOE’s State Energy Program (SEP), each of the 16 awardees will work to advance energy efficiency, renewable energy, grid resiliency, and improve energy reliability and affordability. Several of the SEP projects are multi-state partnerships, expanding the impact of these investments.