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.

The Justice Department today paid tribute to nine individuals for their extraordinary efforts to recover missing children, rescue children from abuse and prosecute sexual predators during its annual commemoration of National Missing Children’s Day.

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.

I want to take this opportunity not only to congratulate our honorees, but to thank all of you – everyone here – for your commitment to finding missing, abducted, and exploited children.

Our commitment to children – and to finding missing children – is stronger than ever.

Mosii Mays Blackwell, of Detroit, Mich., pleaded guilty in the Eastern District of Michigan to obstructing the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and bank fraud, the Justice Department and the IRS announced today.

A former health care clinic director and licensed therapist was sentenced in Miami to 111 months in prison today in connection with a health care fraud scheme involving defunct health provider Health Care Solutions Network Inc. (HCSN).

The Justice Department is committed to vigorously investigating allegations of wrongdoing at financial institutions and, along with our many law enforcement partners, holding individuals and corporations to account for their conduct.

A former Chicago police officer and two members of the Latin Kings street gang were sentenced to prison today in Hammond, Ind., federal court for racketeering conspiracy and related crimes.

Rodriquez Thomas, of Montgomery County, Ala., pleaded guilty today in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Alabama to conspiring to cash fraudulently obtained federal tax refund checks.

The former president and CEO, and the former vice president of corporate finance of China North East Petroleum Holdings Limited (CNEP), an oil and gas company whose stock is traded in the United States, have been charged with defrauding investors in connection with public offerings of stock.

"All of you have become indispensable parts of your communities and your new nation. No matter your profession, your background, or your reason for immigrating to the United States – each of you has come to embody the very best of what it means to be an American."

"Today, we strike a severe blow against a professional money laundering enterprise charged with laundering over $6 billion in criminal proceeds," said Raman.

Anthony K. Mastrogiovanni, 30, of Crofton, Md., pleaded guilty today to the sexual exploitation of minors to produce child pornography

A federal jury sitting in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania convicted Eugene Goldman, M.D., 55, of Philadelphia, of one count of conspiring to violate the anti-kickback statute and four counts of violating the anti-kickback statute in relation to his role in a kickback scheme arising from his employment as the Medical Director at Home Care Hospice Inc. (HCH).

Lansing-area resident Dr. Paul Kelly was sentenced to 18 months in prison today for his role in a $13.8 million Medicare fraud scheme.

David P. Rowley, a resident of Jackson, Michigan, pleaded guilty yesterday before U.S. District Judge Denise Page Hood to filing a false individual income tax return.

The U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan has issued an order permanently barring Nataki Davis, (formerly known as Nataki Barnes), a Southfield, Mich., tax preparer, from preparing federal tax returns for others for a period of five years, the Justice Department announced today.

Doreen Hendrickson of Commerce Township, Mich., was arrested today following an indictment by a federal grand jury for criminal contempt.

If this sounds like a tall order – or a tough assignment – that’s because it is. But the truth is that, throughout history, this country has always relied on the energy, the optimism, and the fresh ideas of our youngest citizens to drive positive change – and ensure our continued progress.

The former president and chief executive officer of U.S. Mortgage, a loan servicing company in Nevada, pleaded guilty today for his role in a scheme to defraud Wells Fargo Bank out of more than $8 million.

The Justice Department announced today that Timothy Lassiter, the former chief deputy of the Hertford County, N.C., Sheriff’s Office, pleaded guilty today in federal court in Elizabeth City, N.C., to violating the civil rights of an inmate during a court appearance

The former president and chief executive officer of U.S. Mortgage, a loan servicing company in Nevada, pleaded guilty today for his role in a scheme to defraud Wells Fargo Bank out of more than $8 million.

It is estimated that more than 1.7 million children currently have a parent in prison, and many more have parents who are in local jails or lock-ups at any given time. As we’ve heard today, addressing these children’s needs requires a coordinated effort of multiple government agencies and social service entities to implement collaborative approaches. This Administration is committed to providing support to children of incarcerated parents and their caregivers.

Robert Ranieri, 37, of Glendora, N.J., pleaded guilty today to committing loan sharking activities on behalf of the Philadelphia La Cosa Nostra (LCN) Family.

A federal jury in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania that voted in favor of death for a North Philadelphia drug kingpin, Kaboni Savage, today voted in favor of life for a co-defendant, Steven Northington. Savage was sentenced to death last week by U.S. District Court Judge R. Barclay Surrick.

Today’s agreement is about opportunity. It’s about growth. And it’s about human dignity. That’s because today’s agreement centers on integrating people with disabilities into the engine of the economic mainstream: the workplace.

Walter Lee Williams, a former university professor, has been indicted for allegedly engaging in sexual conduct with minors and producing child pornography.

These day-to-day efforts by the Justice Department and our counterparts around the world might not be visible to the public, but the fruits of these efforts are.

We will continue to discuss this matter with Hong Kong and pursue relevant law enforcement cooperation with other countries where Mr. Snowden may be attempting to travel.

SunCoke Energy Inc. and two of its subsidiaries have agreed to pay $1.995 million to resolve alleged Clean Air Act violations of emission limits at the Gateway Energy and Coke plant in Granite City, Illinois, and the Haverhill Coke plant in Franklin Furnace, Ohio.

The Department of Justice today announced Jamie Larson, 49, pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court in Seattle to a federal hate crime relating to a racially-motivated assault of a 50-year-old Sikh man who works as a taxi cab driver.

The Justice Department and Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI) announced that Alexei Iazlovsky of Potomac, Md., pleaded guilty today in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California to filing a false tax return for tax year 2008.

The Justice Department today filed a lawsuit against the owners and managers of rental homes in and near Kelso and Longview, Wash., for violating the Fair Housing Act by discriminating against persons with disabilities.

Joseph Massimino was sentenced today to serve 188 months in prison for his participation in a racketeering conspiracy involving extortion, loan sharking and illegal gambling, announced Acting Assistant Attorney General Mythili Raman of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, U.S. Attorney Zane David Memeger of the Eastern District of Pennsylvania and Edward J. Hanko, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI’s Philadelphia Division.

Gary Battaglini was sentenced today to serve 96 months in prison for his participation in a racketeering conspiracy involving loan sharking and illegal gambling, announced Acting Assistant Attorney General Mythili Raman of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, U.S. Attorney Zane David Memeger of the Eastern District of Pennsylvania and Edward J. Hanko, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI’s Philadelphia Division.

Damion Canalichio was sentenced today to serve 137 months in prison for his participation in a racketeering conspiracy involving loan sharking and illegal gambling, announced Acting Assistant Attorney General Mythili Raman of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, U.S. Attorney Zane David Memeger of the Eastern District of Pennsylvania and Edward J. Hanko, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI’s Philadelphia Division.

The Justice Department announced today that Happy Asker, franchise owner of multiple “Happy’s Pizza” franchises, was indicted by a federal grand jury in Detroit along with Maher Bashi, Tom Yaldo, Arkan Summa and Tagrid Bashi for multiple tax offenses arising from a conspiracy to underreport taxable income and payroll taxes of nine Happy’s Pizza franchises.

A five-count indictment was filed charging three people from Ashland, Ohio, with engaging in a labor trafficking conspiracy and related crimes for holding a woman with cognitive disabilities and her child against their will and forcing the woman to perform manual labor for them, law enforcement officials said today.

he Justice Department today entered into a sweeping civil rights agreement with the commonwealth of Puerto Rico to modernize and reform the Puerto Rico Police Department (PRPD).

Anthony Staino was sentenced today to serve 97 months in prison for his participation in a racketeering conspiracy involving extortion, loan sharking and illegal gambling, announced Acting Assistant Attorney General Mythili Raman of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, U.S. Attorney Zane David Memeger of the Eastern District of Pennsylvania and Edward J. Hanko, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI’s Philadelphia Division.

Assistant Attorney General for the Tax Division Kathryn Keneally and U.S. Attorney Melinda Haag for the Northern District of California announced that Moshe Handelsman of Saratoga, Calif., pleaded guilty today to filing a false tax return for tax year 2007.

John Stuart Dowell, 47, of Santa Cruz, Calif., was sentenced late yesterday in Harrisonburg, Va., to serve 960 months in prison, followed by a lifetime of supervised release, for producing child pornography.

The Justice Department announced today that it has filed a lawsuit against the state of Florida alleging the state is in violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) in its administration of its service system for children with significant medical needs, resulting in nearly 200 children with disabilities being unnecessarily segregated in nursing facilities when they could be served in their family homes or other community-based settings.

Two shipping firms based in Germany and Cyprus were sentenced today in federal court in Newark, N.J., to pay a $10.4 million penalty for felony obstruction of justice charges and violating the Act to Prevent Pollution from Ships related to the deliberate concealment of vessel pollution from four ships that visited ports in New Jersey, Delaware and Northern California, the U.S. Attorney’s Offices in New Jersey and Delaware, the U.S. Department of Justice Environment and Natural Resources Division and the U.S. Coast Guard announced.

A former San Francisco investment banker and his college friend were sentenced yesterday to 16 months in prison for their roles in an insider trading scheme involving two impending corporate mergers, announced Acting Assistant Attorney General Mythili Raman of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division and U.S. Attorney Melinda Haag of the Northern District of California.

A Philadelphia resident pleaded guilty today for his role as a money launderer in a $13 million health care fraud scheme.

A greater Detroit-area physical therapist assistant – who was also an owner of a home health agency and a patient recruiter – pleaded guilty today for his role in a $22 million home health care fraud scheme.

The Justice Department announced today that, as part of its Barrier-Free Health Care Initiative, it has reached a settlement with Barix Clinics under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).

Edin Sakoc, 54, of Burlington, Vt., was arrested today on charges that he obtained his naturalized citizenship through fraud by failing to disclose his prior acts of persecution and crimes committed during the Bosnian conflict, announced Acting Assistant Attorney General Mythili Raman of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, U.S. Attorney Tristram J. Coffin of the District of Vermont, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Special Agent in Charge in Boston Bruce M. Foucart and Special Agent in Charge Andrew W. Vale of the FBI’s Albany, N.Y., Field Office.