The Department of Justice and the Council of State Governments (CSG) highlight 17 states that have cut corrections costs while reducing recidivism and improving public safety. With funding from the Justice Department’s Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA), staff from the CSG Justice Center – in partnership with the Pew Center on the States – worked with lawmakers, policymakers, and a wide range of justice system professionals and stakeholders from each state to identify crime and corrections trends and formulate strategies that would save money and improve safety.

Guity Kashfi of Los Angeles, was charged today in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California with conspiracy to defraud the United States.

"Today, I am firmly committed – as I know everyone here is committed – to keep the promises we’ve made to the American people, and especially to survivors and victims’ families in communities like Newtown," said Attorney General Holder.

Charges have been unsealed against one current and one former executive of the U.S. subsidiary of a French power and transportation company for their alleged participation in a scheme to pay bribes to foreign government officials.

A former San Francisco investment banker and his college friend both pleaded guilty today for their roles in an insider trading scheme involving two impending corporate mergers.

"Five decades have passed since Dr. King laid down those immortal words. Yet, as we come together today, his work remains our common pursuit," said Attorney General Holder.

A federal jury in Detroit today convicted the office manager of a home health agency for her participation in a $5.8 million Medicare fraud scheme.

Hugh Marion Willett, the owner of two Texas-based durable medical equipment companies, was sentenced today to 41 months in prison, followed by three years of supervised release, and ordered to pay $182,450 in restitution.

"In the days ahead – as my Justice Department and FBI colleagues continue to work closely with our federal, state, and local partners to investigate the tragedy that took place in Boston on Monday – your continued support will be more critical than ever," said Attorney General Holder.

Lina Rodriguez, 34, was sentenced today in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida to serve 72 months in prison, followed by 24 months of supervised release, for operating and facilitating the operation of an Internet-pharmacy business that illegally shipped over $1.5 million of pharmaceuticals since July 2007 to U.S. and overseas purchasers.

A California woman pleaded guilty to illegally feeding killer whales in the wild this Tuesday in federal court in San Jose, Calif.

Kenneth Jerome Blackmon Jr., a resident of Montgomery, Ala., was sentenced today to 51 months in prison, the Justice Department and the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) announced.

The International Competition Network advanced convergence through important initiatives on international enforcement cooperation and investigative processes in competition cases.

As the United States concludes its recognition of National Crime Victims’ Rights Week, Acting Assistant Attorney General Mythili Raman announced that the Department of Justice’s Asset Forfeiture Program has returned more than $1.5 billion in forfeited assets to more than 400,000 crime victims since January 2012.

An executive of AU Optronics Corp., a Taiwan-based liquid crystal display (LCD) producer, was sentenced today in U.S. District Court in San Francisco for his participation in a worldwide thin-film transistor-liquid crystal display (TFT-LCD) price-fixing conspiracy.

New guidance released today by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and the U.S. Department of Justice reinforces the Fair Housing Act requirement that multifamily housing be designed and constructed so as to be accessible to persons with disabilities.

A New York woman was sentenced to 19 months in prison today for her role in a scheme to defraud consumer product manufacturers.

A former executive of the U.S. subsidiary of a French power and transportation company was charged in a superseding indictment for his alleged participation in a scheme to pay bribes to foreign government officials.

A former Texas state parole officer was sentenced to 20 months in prison today for taking bribes from one of her assigned parolees in exchange for not reporting his parole violations.

Jean-Claude Bridges pleaded guilty earlier this year to deliberately setting a church on fire and was sentenced this morning in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Virginia in Danville, Va.

"We know this work is not easy. But we also know that so many elder Americans are depending on us – especially those who are among the most vulnerable; who so often cannot speak for themselves – they are depending on us to do this work and to do it well. And I know we will not let them down," said Acting Associate Attorney General West.

A former consultant for Willbros International Inc. (Willbros International), a subsidiary of Houston-based Willbros Group Inc. (Willbros), was sentenced today for his role in a conspiracy to pay more than $6 million in bribes to government officials of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and officials from a Nigerian political party.

A patient recruiter for a Miami health care company was sentenced today to serve 37 months in prison for his participation in a $20 million Medicare fraud scheme.

A Las Vegas mortgage agent was sentenced late yesterday to serve 15 months in prison for her participation in a mortgage fraud scheme that netted more than $1.2 million in fraudulent mortgage loans.

Corey Thompson was sentenced today to serve 30 months in prison for his involvement in a sophisticated stolen identity refund fraud conspiracy.

Ignacia S. Moreno, Assistant Attorney General of the Environment and Natural Resources Division, announced today that she will be leaving the Department of Justice on June 7, 2013.

Today, the Justice Department announced that former Sheriff of Wilcox County, Ga., Stacy Bloodsworth was sentenced to 10 years in prison for assaulting an inmate inside the Wilcox County Jail and for conspiring to cover up the assault.

Miami residents Raymond Arias, 42, and his wife, Emelitza Arias, 25, have been sentenced in Detroit to 100 months and 12 months in prison, respectively, for their participation in a $13.3 million Medicare fraud scheme.

The Justice Department announced today that Oregon developer David Montagne and others affiliated with him have agreed to pay $80,000 and remove accessibility barriers at Gateway Village, a 275 unit apartment complex in Salem, Oregon, to settle a lawsuit alleging that they had violated the Fair Housing Act by building the complex with steps and other features that made it inaccessible to persons with disabilities.

A Texas man was sentenced today to serve 30 years in prison for producing and distributing material relating to the sexual exploitation of children.

"We have covered extraordinary ground in the last year—not only concluding a comprehensive investigation of the University’s response to sexual assault, but also reaching two agreements to remedy the problems we found— this would not have been possible without the cooperation and dedication that the University demonstrated throughout," said Deputy Assistant Attorney General Austin.

"It’s a privilege to join you; Professor Murray; distinguished members of the faculty, staff, and administration; and so many proud parents, family members, friends, and alumni – in congratulating the Class of 2013, and celebrating the achievements that have defined your time here at Berkeley Law School," said Attorney General Holder.

At a hearing today in federal court in the Eastern District of North Carolina, Hysen Sherifi, 29, of Raleigh, N.C., was sentenced by Senior U.S. District Judge W. Earl Britt to life in prison. Sherifi’s co-defendants, Shkumbin Sherifi, 23, and Nevine Aly Elshiekh, 48, were also sentenced to 36 months and 42 months in prison, respectively, both followed by three years of supervised release.

A Detroit-area home health care agency owner was sentenced today to 60 months in prison for causing the submission of over $1 million in false and fraudulent billing to Medicare as part of a $13.8 million health care fraud conspiracy.

Robert David Forsyth, of Las Vegas, was sentenced late Friday in U.S. District Court in Las Vegas to 27 months in prison for income tax evasion and failing to file income tax returns.

Aurelio Cano Flores, a Mexican national and high ranking member of the Gulf Cartel, was sentenced today to serve 35 years in prison for conspiring to import multi-ton quantities of cocaine and marijuana into the United States.

C.R. Bard Inc. has agreed to pay the United States $48.26 million to resolve claims that it knowingly caused false claims to be submitted to the Medicare program for brachytherapy seeds used to treat prostate cancer in violation of the False Claims Act.

A Detroit-area adult day care center owner was sentenced today to serve 40 months in prison for billing for unnecessary psychotherapy services, or services that were not provided, as part of a health care fraud conspiracy which led to more than $19 million in fraudulent Medicare billings.

Michael George Fitzpatrick, 51, of Hope, Idaho, was sentenced to 42 months in prison by U.S. District Judge Larry A. Burns.

Safieh Fard, 52, of Escondido, Calif., was sentenced late yesterday to 63 months in prison by U.S. District Judge Cormac J. Carney. Fard was also ordered to pay $594,000 in restitution to the Internal Revenue Service for unpaid individual income taxes.

A former program coordinator at the defunct health provider Health Care Solutions Network Inc. (HCSN) was sentenced in Miami to 70 months in prison today for her role in a $63 million fraud scheme.

Steven Kern, of Marine City, Mich., was sentenced to serve one year and one day in prison by U.S. District Court Judge Arthur J. Tarnow in the Eastern District of Michigan.

A federal grand jury in Nevada today returned an indictment against a former construction company owner for evading federal income and employment taxes.

As a result of Strike Force operations conducted since 2007, we’ve filed charges against more than 1,500 individuals in connection with schemes involving over $5 billion in false billings.

Attorney General Eric Holder and Acting Assistant Attorney General for the Office of Justice Programs Mary Lou Leary announced several improvements to the Public Safety Officers’ Benefits (PSOB) Program following the completion of a comprehensive review of the program ordered by the Attorney General in May 2012.

A federal inmate was sentenced today to life in prison for the violent murder of a fellow inmate in Pennsylvania’s Allenwood Correctional Complex

Vinh Chuong “Jimmy” Kha, 50, and Felix Kha 26, were sentenced today in federal district court in Los Angeles to serve 42 and 46 months, respectively, in prison for crimes related to illegal international trafficking of rhinoceros horn.

A former stock broker was sentenced to prison today for his role in an extensive pump-and-dump stock manipulation scheme.

Connie M. Knight, 47, previously of Belle Chasse, La., was sentenced to serve 57 months in prison in New Orleans federal court late yesterday for providing fraudulent hazardous waste safety training in the wake of the Deepwater Horizon explosion and spill

Indian national Kaushik Jayantibhai Thakkar and Brazilian national Fabiano Augusto Amorim were each sentenced today to serve 36 months in prison for their roles in smuggling undocumented migrants to the United States for private financial gain.