Former Lincoln County, Mo., Sheriff’s Office Detective Scott Edwards, 49, of Troy, Mo. was indicted on civil rights charges for violating the constitutional rights of five women through acts of aggravated sexual abuse and sexual contact.

James Donis, 47, a former major at the Allegheny County, Penn., Jail, and a resident of Glenshaw, Penn., has been indicted by a federal grand jury in Pittsburgh on civil rights charges stemming from an April 2010 incident in which Donis allegedly punched an inmate in the face.

"It is critical to continue our dialogue about how we can ensure a level playing field for all who are seeking economic opportunity and a fair chance at the American Dream," said Assistant Attorney General Perez.

Michael Eisenberg, a resident of Long Island, N.Y., was sentenced Monday in connection with a series of fraudulent business opportunity ventures.

Federal officials announced a civil settlement with the state of California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) resolving claims brought by the Presidio Trust and the U.S. Army resulting from Caltrans’ construction and operation of Highway 1 (also known as Park Presidio Boulevard) through the Presidio of San Francisco.

The Justice Department announced today that District Court Judge David C. Godbey has granted the request of the department and Dallas County to end court supervision of a lawsuit concerning conditions at the Dallas County Jail.

The Justice Department announced today that, as part of its settlement with BAC Home Loans Servicing LP, a subsidiary of Bank of America Corporation, servicemembers whose homes were unlawfully foreclosed upon will each receive a minimum $116,785 plus compensation for any equity lost to compensate them for the bank’s alleged violation of the Servicemember Civil Relief Act.

Belal Amin Alsaidi, 30, of Buffalo, N.Y., pleaded guilty today to trafficking in counterfeit goods.

Marsha Elmore of Wetumpka, Ala., the owner of a tax preparation business called Community Tax, pleaded guilty today to charges related to her use of stolen identities to fraudulently obtain tax refunds.

A federal grand jury sitting in Muskogee, Okla., returned an indictment today charging former Bryan County, Okla., Sheriff’s Lieutenant Kevin Bennett Holt, 48, of Achille, Okla., with federal civil rights violations and related acts of obstruction of justice.

Former Tuscaloosa, Ala., Sheriff’s Sergeant, Althea Mallisham, 52, pleaded guilty today in a federal court in Birmingham, Ala., to three counts of assault with a dangerous weapon while acting under color of law for wrongfully using a Taser during three separate incidents over a four month period in 2008.

A federal grand jury in San Jose, Calif., Wednesday indicted Ashvin Desai of San Jose on three counts of tax evasion, two counts of willfully aiding the preparation of materially false tax returns and three counts of failing to file Reports of Foreign Bank and Financial Accounts.

Sea Star Line LLC has agreed today to plead guilty and to pay a $14.2 million criminal fine for its role in a conspiracy to fix prices in the coastal water freight transportation industry. Additionally, a federal grand jury in San Juan, Puerto Rico, returned an indictment against Frank Peake, the former president of Sea Star Line, for his role in the same conspiracy.

"Today, I met with the Mayor, Acting Police Chief and City Manager to notify them of our civil investigation into allegations involving the use of excessive deadly force by officers with the City of Miami Police Department," said Assitant Attorney General Perez.

Mine S. Pase, 62, of Pago Pago, American Samoa, pleaded guilty to a one-count criminal information in U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia before U.S. District Judge Reggie B. Walton.

The United States filed a complaint against BestCare Laboratories, Inc. and its founder and principal, Karim A. Maghareh, in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas.

The Justice Department today announced an agreement with Upshur County, Texas, to improve access to all aspects of civic life for people with disabilities.

The Justice Department filed a lawsuit yesterday against a California municipality and a homeowners’ association for discriminating against families with children in violation of the Fair Housing Act.

The Justice Department today filed a lawsuit against the University of Nebraska at Kearney (UNK), the Board of Regents of the University of Nebraska and employees of UNK for violating the Fair Housing Act by discriminating against students with disabilities.

Attila Nemeth, 26, pleaded guilty in the District of Maryland before U.S. District Judge J. Frederick Motz.

“Through this operation we are aggressively targeting those who are selling counterfeit goods for their own personal gain while costing our economy much-needed revenue and jobs,” said Attorney General Eric Holder.

"As our country continues to recover from once-in-a-generation economic challenges, the need to safeguard intellectual property rights – and to protect Americans from intellectual property crimes – has never been more urgent,” said Attorney General Holder.

The Justice Department announced today the launch of a live webinar series on avoiding workplace discrimination. The webinars coincide with the 25th anniversary of the passage of the Immigration Reform and Control Act, which created the Office of Special Counsel for Immigration-Related Unfair Employment Practices (OSC).

"As our country continues to recover from once-in-a-generation economic challenges, the need to safeguard intellectual property rights – and to protect Americans from IP crimes – has never been more urgent. But, in many ways, this work has also never been more difficult," said Attorney General Holder.

Former Indianapolis and Marion County, Ind., City-County Councilman Lincoln Plowman was sentenced today to 40 months in prison, announced Assistant Attorney General Lanny A. Breuer for the Justice Department’s Criminal Division and U.S. Attorney Joseph H. Hogsett of the Southern District of Indiana.

The owner and the former vice president for corporate strategy of Viable Communications Inc. were each sentenced yesterday to 108 months and 55 months in prison, respectively, for their roles in a scheme that defrauded the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) of at least $20 million.

Former White Mountain Apache Tribal police officer, Glenn Cromwell, 35, pleaded guilty today in federal court in Phoenix to two counts of violating civil rights while acting under color of law for detaining, transporting, and then abandoning two adult males in extreme weather conditions on different occurrences in December 2008.

John Oliver Manning, aka “Fish,” 52, of Pasadena, Texas, was charged by a federal grand jury on Mar. 17, 2011, with violent crimes in aid of racketeering activity.

Today, the Departments of Justice and Education released two new guidance documents ¨C one for school districts and one for colleges and universities ¨C detailing the flexibility that the Supreme Court has provided to educational institutions to promote diversity and, in the case of elementary and secondary schools, reduce racial isolation among students within the confines of the law.

Sanjay Anandani, 34, of Clinton, N.J., was arrested on Dec. 1, 2011, in Secaucus, N.J., and made his initial appearance before U.S. Magistrate Judge Robert M. Levy in the Eastern District of New York. Rohit Rohit, 28, of Edgewater, N.J., surrendered to authorities on Dec. 2, 2011, and made his initial appearance before U.S. Magistrate Judge Cheryl L. Pollack in the Eastern District of New York.

The Department of Justice today filed a lawsuit against the University of California, San Diego Medical Center, alleging that the medical center discriminated in the employment eligibility verification process against people who are authorized to work in the United States.

Syed Ghulam Nabi Fai, 62, a U.S. citizen and resident of Fairfax, Va., pleaded guilty today to conspiracy and tax violations in connection with a decades-long scheme to conceal the transfer of at least $3.5 million from the government of Pakistan to fund his lobbying efforts in America related to Kashmir.

U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder today announced the appointment of Michael J. Bresnick as the new executive director of President Barack Obama’s Financial Fraud Enforcement Task Force.

Richard Jaensch, a self-employed plumber residing from Annandale, Va., was found guilty today by a federal jury sitting in Alexandria, Va., of one count of corruptly endeavoring to impede the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), one count of filing a false claim for a refund, and four counts of failing to file tax returns for 2004 through 2007.

Wachovia Bank N.A., which is now known as Wells Fargo Bank N.A., has entered into an agreement with the Department of Justice to resolve the company’s role in anticompetitive activity in the municipal bond investments market and has agreed to pay a total of $148 million in restitution, penalties and disgorgement to federal and state agencies.

"You and your team – as well as NLADA’s board members and network of partners and supporters – have had an extraordinary, and transformative, impact on our country," said Attorney General Holder.

The Department of Justice announced today that it has entered into a consent decree that, if approved by the court, will resolve the department’s claims that H.M. Grimmett, sheriff of Bolivar County, Miss., retaliated against Robert E. Brown, a former employee of the sheriff.

Charles Joseph Bowie Jr., 45, of Georgetown, Texas, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Xavier Rodriguez in the Western District of Texas, San Antonio Division.

Charles Ndhlovu, 34, was sentenced on Dec. 12, 2011, by U.S. District Judge William S. Duffey Jr. to 51 months in prison and Scott Ahn, 42, was sentenced yesterday by Judge Duffey to 19 months in prison.

Following a comprehensive investigation, the Justice Department today announced its findings in the ongoing civil rights investigation of the Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office.

"As outlined in our findings letter, we found reasonable cause to believe that MCSO engages in a pattern or practice of violating the Constitution and laws of the United States in 3 areas," said Assistant Attorney General Perez.

Iraqi citizen Waad Ramadan Alwan pleaded guilty to federal terrorism charges today in U.S. District Court before Senior Judge Thomas B. Russell.

"Our attorneys, investigators and experts conducted extensive interviews with command staff and rank-and-file officers; participated in ride-alongs with officers; and reviewed thousands of pages of documents," said Assistant Attorney General Perez.

Attorney General Eric Holder today issued the following statement on the release of the FBI’s Preliminary Uniform Crime Report showing a continued decrease in violent crime nationwide. The results show that the number of violent crimes reported in the first six months of 2011 declined 6.4 percent when compared with figures from the first six months of 2010.

"Based on our investigation, we find that the East Haven Police Department engages in discriminatory policing against Latinos," said Deputy Assistant Attorney General Austin.

The complaint alleges that, between April 2010 and July 2011, property associated with New Deal Shooting Sports was used in connection with, among other things, a conspiracy to make false statements in connection with the acquisition of firearms and to illegally export firearms to Mexico, a conspiracy to engage in money laundering, and a conspiracy to facilitate the trafficking of narcotics.

Shaoxiong Zhou, 42, of Shantou, Guangdong, China, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Sandra L. Townes in the Eastern District of New York. Judge Townes also ordered Zhou to pay $20,000 in restitution.

Kevin William Harpham, 37, of Colville, Wash., was sentenced to 32 years in prison for the placement of the improvised explosive device alongside the planned Martin Luther King Jr. Day Unity March held on Jan. 17, 2011, in Spokane, Wash,

Julian Zapata Espinoza, also known as “Piolin,” has been extradited from Mexico to the United States to face charges for his alleged participation in the murder of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Special Agent Jaime Zapata and the attempted murder of ICE Special Agent Victor Avila on Feb. 15, 2011, in Mexico.

Attorney General Eric Holder today announced the appointment of Charles E. Samuels Jr. as the director of the Federal Bureau of Prisons.