The Justice Department announced today that, as part of its Barrier-Free Health Care Initiative, it has reached a settlement with Rite Aid of Michigan to resolve claims that Rite Aid violated the Americans with Disabilities Act.

At the Department of Justice, we are devoting significant resources and energy to fighting computer hacking and other types of cybercrime. The recent revelations about the massive thefts of financial information from large retail stores have served as a stark reminder to all of us about how vulnerable we are to cyber criminals who are determined to steal our personal information. The Justice Department is more committed than ever to ensuring that the full range of government enforcement tools is brought to bear in the fight against cybercrime.

Following a trial that began on Jan. 29, 2014, a federal jury convicted David Moleski, formerly of Neptune, N.J., of 14 counts of mail fraud, one count of wire fraud, one count of corruptly endeavoring to obstruct and impede Internal Revenue laws and three counts of submitting false claims for tax refunds.

The United States filed a lawsuit today to bar Barbara L. Garrett, a Chicago tax return preparer, from preparing federal tax returns for others, the Justice Department announced.

In a video message released today, Attorney General Eric Holder announced that, due to the budget agreement approved by Congress last month, the Justice Department is able to lift the hiring freeze that has been in place for just over three years.

Today, the Justice Department announced the results of its ongoing efforts to combat fraudulent tax-return preparers and promoters of tax-fraud schemes.

More than 30 tribal leaders, juvenile court judges, child advocates, juvenile justice system experts and community members from the Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community testified today in the second public hearing of the Advisory Committee of the Attorney General’s Task Force on American Indian and Alaska Native Children Exposed to Violence.

The former owner of a defunct durable medical equipment (DME) clinic was sentenced today in Miami to serve 70 months in prison for his role in an $11 million health care fraud scheme involving World Class Medical Clinic Corp.

Four current and former employees of International Adoption Guides Inc. (IAG), an adoption services provider, have been indicted by a grand jury in South Carolina for allegedly conspiring to defraud the United States in connection with IAG’s adoption services in Ethiopia.

Six decades ago, with the Supreme Court’s landmark decision in Brown v. Board of Education, our nation took a historic step toward ending the injustice of “separate but equal” – and building the momentum of a modern Civil Rights Movement.

Let us reaffirm our commitment to the safety and health of tribal communities. And let us rededicate ourselves to giving native children a future unclouded by violence and brightened by hope. This is the responsibility of every one of us.

Andranik Aloyan, an associate of the Armenian Power gang, has been convicted at trial for his role in a racketeering conspiracy that included stealing personal and financial information of elderly bank customers who held accounts that were valued at more than $25 million.

The heads of the antitrust agencies of the United States, Canada and Mexico – Assistant Attorney General Bill Baer of the Department of Justice’s Antitrust Division, Chairwoman Edith Ramirez of the Federal Trade Commission, Canadian Commissioner of Competition John Pecman and President Alejandra Palacios Prieto of the Mexican Federal Competition Commission – met today in Washington, D.C., to discuss their mutual efforts to ensure continued effective antitrust enforcement cooperation in our increasingly interconnected markets.

Earlier today at the federal courthouse in Brooklyn, N.Y., Akbar Ahmad Sherzai, 49, of Centreville, Va., an independent contractor for a trucking company operating in Afghanistan that was responsible for delivering fuel to U.S. Army installations, pleaded guilty to his role in offering a U.S. Army serviceman $54,000 in bribes to falsify documents.

Monajem Hakimijoo, of Beverly Hills, Calif., pleaded guilty on Feb. 13, 2014, in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California to filing a false federal income tax return for tax year 2007, the Justice Department and Internal Revenue Service (IRS) announced today.

The former chief executive officer of PetroTiger Ltd., a British Virgin Islands oil and gas company with operations in Colombia and offices in New Jersey, pleaded guilty today for his role in a scheme to pay bribes to foreign government officials and to defraud PetroTiger.

Medical device manufacturer EndoGastric Solutions Inc. has agreed to pay the government up to $5.25 million to resolve allegations that it violated the False Claims Act by misleading health care providers about how to bill federal health care programs for a procedure using a device manufactured by the company and by paying kickbacks.

Kidada Savage, 31, of Philadelphia, was sentenced today to life in prison for her role in the Oct. 9, 2004, firebombing that killed six members of a federal witness’s family. Savage is the sister of Kaboni Savage, who ordered the firebombing and who was sentenced to death for 12 counts of murder in aid of racketeering.

The government has asked a federal court in California to issue an injunction shutting down the importation and sales activities of four California companies and six individuals in connection with their imports of illegal children’s products containing, among other things, lead, phthalates and small parts inappropriate for children under age three.

Today, the Justice Department announced the results of its ongoing efforts to combat tax refund fraud that involves identity theft. The Tax Division, in conjunction with the Internal Revenue Service and U.S. Attorneys’ Offices nationwide, has prioritized the investigation and prosecution of individuals who engage in stolen identity refund fraud.

Three men have pleaded guilty in Brooklyn, N.Y., for their roles in a check cashing scheme designed to evade anti-money laundering reporting requirements.

Compañía Sud Americana de Vapores S.A. (CSAV), a Chilean corporation, has agreed to plead guilty and to pay an $8.9 million criminal fine for its involvement in a conspiracy to fix prices, allocate customers and rig bids of international ocean shipping services for roll-on, roll-off cargo, such as cars and trucks, to and from the United States and elsewhere, the Department of Justice announced today.

Three Philippine nationals were sentenced in the Central District of California for illegally importing machine guns, sniper rifles, grenade launchers, a mortar launcher and military-grade ballistic vests into the United States.

The owner of two Flint, Mich., adult day care centers was sentenced today for his leadership role in a $3.2 million Medicare fraud scheme.

Singapore-based ODFJELL ASIA II PTE LTD (ODFJELL) and one of its senior crew members pleaded guilty yesterday in federal court in Hartford, Conn., for violating the Act to Prevent Pollution from Ships (APPS).

A federal jury in San Francisco has found two individuals and one company guilty of economic espionage, theft of trade secrets, bankruptcy fraud, tax evasion, and obstruction of justice for their roles in a long-running effort to obtain U.S. trade secrets for the benefit of companies controlled by the government of the People’s Republic of China.

The Department of Justice announced the filing of a lawsuit today against the School District of Philadelphia alleging that the district discriminated against Siddiq Abu-Bakr, as well as other similarly-situated individuals, on the basis of religion in violation of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.

It’s a special privilege to share the stage with Deputy Marshal [Kirk] Bowden, who, as we’ve just heard, stood on the literal front lines of this fight during a critical moment in the Civil Rights Movement – at a time when young students, law enforcement officials, National Guardsmen, and brave citizens risked their lives to integrate historic institutions across the Deep South.

Hector Orjuela Jr., 47, was sentenced today to serve 30 years in prison, followed by a lifetime of supervised release, for molesting children under the age of 12 and producing child pornography.

Sea Star Line LLC and Horizon Lines LLC have agreed to resolve allegations that they violated the False Claims Act by fixing the price of government cargo transportation contracts between the continental United States and Puerto Rico.

On Feb. 26, 2014, a federal grand jury sitting in the District of Columbia returned a 17 count indictment charging Sherri Davis for conspiring to defraud the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), aiding and assisting in the preparation of false individual income tax returns and filing false individual income tax returns, the Justice Department and IRS announced following the unsealing of Davis’ indictment today.

The United States has sued The Tax Helper Corp, a tax preparation business with a store located in Chicago, and seeks to permanently bar the company and its alleged co-owner, Johnnie Pernell Jr., from preparing federal tax returns for others, the Justice Department announced today.

Halifax Hospital Medical Center and Halifax Staffing Inc. (Halifax), a hospital system based in the Daytona Beach, Fla., area, have agreed to pay $85 million to resolve allegations that they violated the False Claims Act by submitting claims to the Medicare program that violated the Physician Self-Referral Law, commonly known as the Stark Law.

Richard Castle, 47, a resident of the United Kingdom, has been sentenced to serve 192 months in prison in connection with a trip he made to Ohio from his home in the United Kingdom to have illicit sexual activity with a minor in June 2011.

Anthony Merrell Tyler, 33, pleaded guilty in federal court today to violating the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act for his role in a 2011 racially motivated attack on a white man and an African-American woman in Marysville, Calif.

Today, the Justice Department sought a federal court order temporarily restraining the Ohio Department of Youth Services (DYS) from unlawfully secluding boys with mental health needs in its juvenile correctional facilities.

John Bryan Villegas, 23, of Kittery, Maine, was sentenced today in federal court in New Hampshire to serve 33 months in prison for engaging in a type of cyber stalking known as “sextortion.”

A licensed psychiatrist formerly employed by the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) was sentenced today to serve 18 months in prison for falsely claiming to provide at-home services to Medicare beneficiaries.

Memorial Hospital (Memorial), an Ohio nonprofit corporation that operates an acute care hospital in Fremont, Ohio, has agreed to pay $8.5 million to settle claims that it violated the False Claims Act, the Anti-Kickback Statute and the Stark Statute by engaging in improper financial relationships with referring physicians.

Every March, we pause to honor the extraordinary contributions and innumerable sacrifices that American women have made throughout our history – and that they continue to make today – in order to move our nation, and this Department, forward. Leaders like Susan B. Anthony, Elizabeth Cady Stanton, and Ada Kepley – the first woman to graduate from law school in the United States – have left indelible marks on the fabric of our country.

It is a pleasure to be with you today. And it’s an honor to join so many distinguished jurists, dedicated public servants, devoted members of the private bar, hardworking students, and good friends in discussing the challenges we face – and the opportunities now before us – to expand access to justice; to strengthen the rule of law; and to improve America’s legal system across the board – so we can move our nation closer to its founding ideals of equality, opportunity, and justice for all.

The Justice Department announced today that it has reached an agreement in principle with the city of New York and intervening plaintiffs to settle an employment discrimination lawsuit involving the New York City Fire Department.

The Justice Department, the Internal Revenue Service and the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration announced that Matthew Bender, of Detroit, was convicted today of obstructing the IRS and nine counts of aiding and assisting in the preparation of false federal income tax returns following a jury trial in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan.

California attorney Christopher M. Rusch was sentenced to serve 10 months in prison for helping his clients Stephen M. Kerr and Michael Quiel, both businessmen from Phoenix, hide millions of dollars in secret offshore bank accounts at UBS AG and Pictet & Cie in Switzerland, the Justice Department and the Internal Revenue Service announced today.

Now more than ever, we are fighting global corruption on multiple fronts and in real time. We are going after corrupt individuals and corporations using all of the investigative and legal tools at our disposal.

Victor Lipukhin was indicted yesterday by a federal grand jury in Kansas City, Mo., for attempting to interfere with the administration of the internal revenue laws and filing false tax returns, the Justice Department and Internal Revenue Service announced today.

Billy James Hammett, 30, of Marysville, Calif., was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge John A. Mendez to serve 87 months in prison for violating the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act in a 2011 racially motivated attack against a white man and an African-American woman in Marysville.

More funding will be available this year, and I am also pleased that President Obama’s budget request for next year includes $11 million for programs to support responses to child maltreatment. This funding will potentially provide critical operational assistance to child advocacy centers and valuable training and technical assistance that will further strengthen the multidisciplinary response to child abuse cases.

Attorney General Eric Holder issued the following statement today on the status of same-sex marriages performed in the state of Michigan.

Edward N. Levine, 63, of Mill Valley, Calif., and Lumsden W. Quan, 46, of San Francisco, were indicted by a federal grand jury in Las Vegas today for the illegal sale of two horns from an endangered black rhinoceros.