The owner and operator of a Miami medical clinic pleaded guilty today in connection with multiple health care fraud schemes involving the defunct clinic Merfi Corp.

Several patient recruiters, including a medical clinic owner, pleaded guilty today in connection with a health care fraud scheme involving Flores Home Health Care Inc., a defunct home health care company.

The Justice Department announced today that it has closed its investigation of State Correctional Institution – Pittsburgh after the Pennsylvania Department of Corrections (PDOC) significantly improved security policies and practices at the prison and throughout the Pennsylvania prison system.

A former mayor of South Pittsburg, Tenn., and an associate were sentenced today in Chattanooga, Tenn., for managing an illegal gambling business.

Detrick and Natashia Tucker, a husband and wife who owned and operated a tax preparation business named T&T Express Tax located in Pine Mountain, Ga., pleaded guilty today to crimes relating to the preparation of false tax returns, announced Assistant Attorney General Kathryn Keneally of the Justice Department's Tax Division and U.S. Attorney Michael J. Moore for the Middle District of Georgia.

Michael R. Barr, former chief executive officer of Louisville, Kentucky-based HealthEssentials Solutions Inc., has agreed to pay $1 million to resolve allegations that he knowingly caused HealthEssentials to submit false claims to Medicare between 1999 and 2004.

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

Today, the Department of Justice and the U.S. Attorney for the Middle District of Georgia announced that Kerry Bolden, a former employee of the Correctional Emergency Response Team (CERT) at Macon State Prison (MSP) in Oglethorpe, Ga., pleaded guilty to civil rights and conspiracy charges.

Rakecia Matrese Brame, formerly of Greensboro, N.C., and now of Grand Prairie, Texas, pleaded guilty on Jan. 10, 2014, to identity theft, tax, and fraud charges, the Department of Justice and the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) announced today.

The government has intervened in eight False Claims Act lawsuits against Health Management Associates Inc. (HMA) alleging that HMA billed federal health care programs for medically unnecessary inpatient admissions from the emergency departments at HMA hospitals and paid remuneration to physicians in exchange for patient referrals.

Today the District Court in the District of Columbia dismissed a challenge filed by the Florida Bankers Association and Texas Bankers Association challenging 2012 amendments to the Department of the Treasury’s interest-reporting regulations.

Two former Miami real estate agents were sentenced today for their roles in a $2.4 million mortgage fraud scheme.

A jury in the Middle District of Georgia convicted Kimberly Michelle Banks on Jan. 14, 2014, of conspiring to file false federal income tax returns in the names of stolen identities, the Justice Department and Internal Revenue Service (IRS) announced today.

A patient recruiter for a fraudulent Miami-area mental health company, American Therapeutic Corporation (ATC), pleaded guilty today for her participation in a $190 million Medicare fraud scheme.

Remarks as Prepared for Delivery by Associate Attorney General Tony West at the Martin Luther King Jr. Day Celebration Hosted by the Union League of Chicago

Today the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division announced its letter of findings determining that prison officials at the Alabama Department of Corrections and the Julia Tutwiler Prison for Women violate women prisoners’ constitutional rights by failing to take reasonable steps to protect them from harm due to sexual abuse and sexual harassment caused by correctional staff.

Three Georgia men have been charged in a 51-count indictment for their alleged participation in fraud and corruption schemes at the Marine Corps Logistics Base (MCLB) in Albany, Ga., resulting in the loss of millions of dollars to the United States government.

Acting Assistant Attorney General Jocelyn Samuels for the Civil Rights Division and U.S. Attorney Tammy Dickinson for the Western District of Missouri announced that a man and a woman, both from Independence, Mo., were sentenced in federal court today for violating the civil rights of an African-American family by setting fire to their residence.

Two orthopedic clinics will pay a combined $1.85 million to resolve state and federal False Claims Act allegations that they knowingly billed state and federal health care programs for reimported osteoarthritis medications, known as viscosupplements.

Richard Reyes, a member of the Almighty Imperial Gangsters, has been convicted at trial for his role in violent acts as a member of a criminal street gang that operated in Northwest Indiana.

A federal district judge in the Statesboro Division of the Southern District of Georgia has permanently barred Lakesia Michelle Mills of Adrian, Ga., from preparing federal income tax returns for others, the Justice Department announced today.

Saint Joseph Health System Inc. has agreed to pay $16.5 million to resolve allegations that Saint Joseph Hospital violated the False Claims Act by submitting false claims to the Medicare and Kentucky Medicaid programs for a variety of medically unnecessary cardiac procedures, the Justice Department announced today.

A Utah man was sentenced to serve 24 months in prison for his role in a bribery and fraud scheme involving federal procurement contracts, announced Acting Assistant Attorney General Mythili Raman of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division and U.S. Attorney David B. Barlow of the District of Utah.

As I have often said, the Department’s top priority must always be the protection of the American people from terrorism and other national security threats.

"Why is health care enforcement so important? A major reason is the importance of the health care industry itself. From compliance officers to physicians, from corporate executives to nurses and researchers, you contribute to producing the drugs and medical devices on which we and our loved ones rely. Your efforts help to ensure that, when we are sick, the medicines we take will heal us effectively; that when we are in pain, we can obtain relief safely," said Assistant Attorney General Delery

Three Miami residents have been indicted for their alleged participation in a $190 million Medicare fraud scheme.

"I want to talk with you today about the crisis we have in our criminal justice system. A crisis that is fundamental and has the potential to continue to swallow important efforts in the fight against crime. This crisis is the crushing prison population."

The former president and vice president of Osaka, Japan-based Diamond Electric Mfg. Co. Ltd. have agreed to plead guilty for their participation in a global conspiracy to fix prices of ignition coils installed in cars sold in the United States and elsewhere.

A federal district judge in the Atlanta Division for the Northern District of Georgia permanently barred Joan Leger and her company from preparing federal income tax returns for others on Jan. 31, 2014, the Justice Department announced today.

The Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Indiana announced the filing of a nine count federal indictment this afternoon against Jerry Mitchell, aka Tre da Great, age 24, of Indianapolis.

At the same time, our Civil Rights Division is fighting to achieve justice for victims of hate crimes, and to safeguard those who are targeted just because of their sexual orientation or gender identity. And countless Americans from all backgrounds and walks of life are proudly standing alongside Sweden and other democratic nations in calling for the protection of our LGBT citizens; in working to secure recognition for the equal love and equal humanity of all people; in supporting local advocates in other countries so they can bring about change from within; and in speaking out for the fundamental truth that no matter where you live, who you love, or who you are – whether you’re a public servant or a businessperson; an educator, a scientist, or an athlete competing at the highest level and on a world stage – every human being is, and must be, free and equal in both dignity and rights.

We have benefited from the consideration of these difficult issues by the PCLOB and the PRG and it is a pleasure to appear with them today. In his speech on January 17th, the President laid out a series of measures to reform our surveillance activities that draw upon many of the core recommendations issued by the PCLOB and Presidential Review Group.

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.

Three American Indian tribes – the Pascua Yaqui Tribe of Arizona, the Tulalip Tribes of Washington, and the Umatilla Tribes of Oregon – will be the first in the nation to exercise special criminal jurisdiction over certain crimes of domestic and dating violence, regardless of the defendant’s Indian or non-Indian status, under a pilot project authorized by the Violence Against Women Reauthorization Act of 2013 (VAWA 2013).

Dr. Dayo Obebe of Muscogee County, Ga., pleaded guilty today in federal court in Columbus, Ga., to one count of tax evasion, announced Assistant Attorney General Kathryn Keneally of the Justice Department's Tax Division and U.S. Attorney Michael J. Moore for the Middle District of Georgia.

U.S, District Judge D. Lowell Jensen sentenced Noemi Rubio Baez, of Salinas, Calif., to serve 30 months in prison for her involvement in a stolen identity tax refund fraud scheme, Assistant Attorney General Kathryn Keneally for the Justice Department’s Tax Division and U.S. Attorney Melinda Haag for the Northern District of California announced that today.

The Department of Justice’s Antitrust Division issued a statement after announcing the closing of its investigation into Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.’s use of its portfolio of standards-essential patents that it had committed to license to industry participants on fair, reasonable, and non-discriminatory terms (SEPs) to exclude certain Apple, Inc. products from the U.S. market.

A former Guatemalan Special Forces officer was sentenced today to serve 10 years in prison for covering up his involvement in a 1982 massacre at Dos Erres, Guatemala.

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.

Today, the White House released the National Strategy for Combatting Wildlife Trafficking. The Department of Justice, along with the Departments of State and the Interior, are co-chairs of the U.S. Task Force established by President Obama to lead the implementation of this strategy. On Thursday, Associate Attorney General Tony West will lead the U.S. Delegation’s participation at the London Conference on the Illegal Wildlife Trade.

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.

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.

Irene Tamika Smith, a former professional tax-return preparer, was sentenced yesterday to serve 33 months in prison for conspiring with her co-workers to defraud the United States by filing false tax returns in order to receive fraudulently-inflated refunds for clients.

Today, the Department of Justice issued a letter of findings describing problems in the Missoula County, Mont., Attorney’s Office’s response to sexual assault, and concluding that there is substantial evidence that the County Attorney’s response to sexual assault discriminates against women.

Vector Planning and Services Inc. (VPSI), an information technology, systems engineering, program management and consulting firm headquartered in Chantilly, Va., has agreed to pay the government $6.5 million to settle False Claims Act allegations that the company inflated claims for payment under several Navy contracts.

Dwayne Allen Hardman, 44, of Charleston, W.V., pleaded guilty today to paying bribes to public officials.

The government has intervened in a False Claims Act lawsuit against Tenet Healthcare Corp. (Tenet) and four of its hospitals in Georgia and South Carolina, as well as a hospital in Monroe, Ga., owned by Health Management Associates Inc. (HMA), alleging that the hospitals paid kickbacks to obstetric clinics serving primarily undocumented Hispanic women in return for referral of those patients for labor and delivery at the hospitals.