New York Paralegal

MILWAUKEE - Nearly 50 foreign nationals were arrested in central and western Wisconsin during a week-long enforcement action targeting criminal aliens and immigration fugitives. This operation was conducted by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), with assistance from the Wisconsin Department of Justice - Division of Criminal Investigation, and the U.S. Border Patrol in Duluth, Minn. The ICE operation, which began Feb. 18 and concluded Wednesday, targeted aliens with criminal records, previously deported aliens, and immigration fugitives with outstanding deportation orders. Thirty four of those arrested, or 69 percent, have criminal records in addition to their immigration violations.

Frisby v. Good Samaritan Hospital Medical Center Case Number: 2:2006cv00074 Filed: January 6, 2006 Court: New York Eastern District Court Office: Central Islip Office [ Court Info ] Presiding Judge: Senior-Judge Arthur D. Spatt Referring Judge: Magistrate-Judge William D. Wall Nature of Suit: Civil Rights - Employment Cause: 42:2000 Job Discrimination (Race) Jury Demanded By: Plaintiff

HARRISBURG, Pa. - Two people were sentenced on February 11 on forced labor trafficking, marriage fraud and forced labor organization charges in federal court for their involvement in a forced labor organization investigated by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in Central Pennsylvania. Lynda Dieu Phan, 39, and Duc Cao Nguyen, 41, both of New Cumberland, Pa., were sentenced to a 90-day term of imprisonment followed by 270 days of home arrest and one year of supervised release. The judge further ordered that Phan pay $300,000 in restitution. The court's order also included the forfeiture of a 2008 Toyota Highlander and $185,416.82 that was seized. Nguyen was sentenced to a one-year term of probation and a $1,000 fine.

NEW YORK, NY (February 4, 2010) - Attorney General Andrew M. Cuomo, joined by Special Inspector General for the Troubled Asset Relief Program Neil Barofsky, today announced a lawsuit against Bank of America, its former CEO Kenneth D. Lewis, and its former CFO Joseph L. Price for duping shareholders and the federal government in order to complete a merger with Merrill Lynch. According to the lawsuit, Bank of America’s management intentionally failed to disclose massive losses at Merrill so that shareholders would vote to approve the merger. Once the deal was approved, Bank of America’s management manipulated the federal government into saving the deal with billions in taxpayer funds by falsely claiming that they would back out of the deal without bailout funds. “This merger is a classic example of how the actions of our nation’s largest financial institutions led to the near-collapse of our financial system,” said Attorney General Cuomo. “Bank of America, through its top management, e...

WASHINGTON — Atlanta real estate firms Coldwell Banker Joe T. Lane Realty Inc., Coldwell Banker Bullard Realty Company Inc. and Rodney Lee Foreman, one of their former real estate agents, have agreed to pay $160,000 to settle allegations that they illegally steered prospective homebuyers toward and away from certain neighborhoods based on race and color, the Justice Department announced today. The agreement, subject to approval by a federal court in Atlanta, resolves the Justice Department’s Jan. 25, 2009, lawsuit which originated from a complaint filed by the National Fair Housing Alliance (NFHA) with the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). Testing conducted by NFHA of Coldwell Banker Joe T. Lane Realty Inc. in 2003 and 2004 revealed that Foreman had steered white testers towards areas that are predominately white and away from areas that are predominately African-American because of race or color, in violation of the Fair Housing Act.

SAN FRANCISCO—Judy “Miu Wan” Yeung was convicted of one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, eight counts of wire fraud, and three counts of witness tampering by a federal jury yesterday afternoon, United States Attorney Joseph P. Russoniello announced. The jury, after deliberating for one day, found that Yeung engaged in a mortgage fraud conspiracy between approximately December 2004 and January 2007. Yeung, together with two mortgage brokers, recruited five individuals to submit loan applications in their names in order to obtain loans totaling more than $6.5 million. Evidence at trial established that Yeung had bad credit and could not have obtained these loans in her own name. Yeung engaged in these transactions in order to purchase investment properties in Gilroy, Calif., when real estate prices were still rising. Yeung also fraudulently refinanced her San Francisco residence in Balboa Terrace, in order to obtain cash from mortgage lenders and to pay off existing loans. Tes...

DALLAS—Gladys E. Hodge, also known as “Terri Hodge,” who was to go on trial early next month on charges outlined in a 31-count indictment charging 14 public officials and their associates with various offenses related to a bribery and extortion scheme involving affordable housing developments in the Dallas area, has pleaded guilty, announced U.S. Attorney James T. Jacks of the Northern District of Texas. As a condition of her plea with the government, Hodge, who was elected to the Texas House of Representatives, District 100, in 1996, and re-elected to the same position in 1998, 2000, 2002, 2004, 2006, and 2008, has agreed to resign her office and never seek or hold future public office. Hodge entered her guilty plea this morning, before U.S. District Judge Barbara M.G. Lynn, to fraud and false statements on an income tax return. She faces a maximum statutory sentence of three years in prison, a $100,000 fine, and restitution to the IRS. At this morning’s hearing, Judge Lynn indicate...

HOUSTON — Columbia Sussex Corporation, which owns and operates hotel properties across the United States, has agreed to settle a sex discrimination and retaliation suit brought by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), the agency announced today. The settlement resolves the charge of a former banquet manager, Richard Knight, who claimed that Columbia Sussex fired him from its Sheraton Hotel in Baton Rouge, La., because of his sex, male, and because he complained that a female co-worker was not disciplined for the same purported infraction. According to the EEOC’s suit, Columbia Sussex terminated Knight because he complained about the general manager’s better treatment of Knight’s female co-worker during a meeting. In that meeting, the general manager ultimately demanded that Knight go into his office without the presence of a human resource representative, but did not force Knight’s female co-worker to proceed without a representative. When Knight asked the general ...

WASHINGTON — A protracted case that started with a U.S. Department of Labor Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) investigation has resulted in an administrative law judge's (ALJ) recommended ruling that Bank of America discriminated against African-American job applicants for entry level positions in Charlotte, N.C., in 1993 and from 2002 to 2005. "The Labor Department is committed to ensuring that all workers — including African-Americans — are treated fairly by federal contractors in decisions concerning hiring, promotion and compensation," said OFCCP Director Patricia A. Shiu. "Further, contractors cannot use litigation as a means to obstruct OFCCP's ability to conduct its authorized investigations and pursue relief for victims of discrimination."