LifeWatch Services Inc., a Rosemont, Ill.-based company, has agreed to pay the United States $18.5 million to resolve allegations that the company submitted false claims to federal health care programs.

Ronald James Davenport of Chewelah, Wash., was sentenced to 41 months in prison today for filing more than $20 billion in false liens against four federal government officials, the Justice Department and the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration (TIGTA) announced today.

A federal court has permanently barred Robert Jensen, a certified public accountant from San Diego, from providing tax advice or preparing federal tax returns that illegally attempt to reduce customers’ taxable income, the Justice Department announced today.

The Department of Justice’s Antitrust Division issued the following statement today after announcing the closing of its investigation into Highmark’s affiliation agreement with West Penn Allegheny Health System (WPAHS).

German A. Posada was sentenced to 18 months in prison following a guilty plea to charges of filing a false 2004 individual income tax return and making a false statement in a bankruptcy proceeding, the Justice Department and the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) announced today.

AmMed Direct LLC has agreed to pay the United States and the state of Tennessee $18 million plus interest to settle allegations that it submitted false claims to Medicare and Tennessee Medicaid (TennCare), the Justice Department announced today. Under the agreement, AmMed will pay $17,560,997 to the United States and $439,003 to Tennessee.

Stephen Murphy, a Utah resident, pleaded guilty in federal court in Salt Lake City to one count of conspiracy to defraud the United States, and was sentenced the same day to 24 months in prison, the Justice Department and Internal Revenue Service (IRS) announced today. U.S. District Court Judge Dee Benson presided over the plea hearing and sentencing, which took place yesterday.

An Alabama real estate investor has agreed to plead guilty and to serve prison time for his role in conspiracies to rig bids and commit mail fraud at public real estate foreclosure auctions in southern Alabama.

Tahn Le, 44, of Philadelphia, was sentenced today to 400 months in prison for his participation in a conspiracy to commit violent home invasion robberies of successful Asian business owners in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Maryland and Virginia.

Two northern California real estate investors have agreed to plead guilty for their roles in conspiracies to rig bids and commit mail fraud at public real estate foreclosure auctions in northern California.

The Attorney General made the following statement today on the Senate’s approval of the reauthorization of the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA).

An Alabama real estate investor has agreed to plead guilty and to serve one year in prison for his role in conspiracies to rig bids and commit mail fraud at public real estate foreclosure auctions in southern Alabama.

consent decree, valued at approximately $5.5 million, was filed today in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Ohio.

Today, we mourn the loss of Nicholas Katzenbach, one of our Nation's great champions of civil rights and equal justice.

Al J. Hurley, 54, is charged in a three-count indictment filed in the Middle District of Georgia with attempted extortion, bribery and false statements.

The indictment charges Paul Ben Arredondo, 63, of Tempe, with one count of federal programs bribery, two counts of honest services mail fraud, one count of attempted Hobbs Act extortion and one count of making false statements.

"The Attorney General and I are committed to a criminal justice system and a sentencing policy that are both tough and fair; that deter those contemplating serious criminal conduct and that are guided by research that show when non-incarceration is the best sanction," said Deputy Attorney General Cole.

Attorney General Eric Holder issued the following statement today on the resignation of United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois Patrick Fitzgerald.

Tyrone Devon Thompson, Aritha Currie, Julius Thompson, Tronda Thompson and Shonda Sneed were charged in an indictment by a federal grand jury in the Middle District of Georgia on a variety of counts stemming from a tax fraud scheme, the Justice Department and the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) announced today. The 22-count indictment charges all five with conspiring to defraud the United States and filing false claims against the United States. The indictment, which was returned on May 11, 2012, was unsealed following the defendants’ arrests.

Alejandro Gonzalez, 60, of Miami-Dade County, Fla., was convicted by a federal jury in Miami of three counts of making false statements to the U.S. Coast Guard and one count of obstruction of an agency proceeding.

Former Arizona State Representative Richard David Miranda was sentenced today to 27 months in prison for defrauding a charity of more than $140,000 and evading income tax related to those unlawfully obtained funds.

Attorney General Eric Holder issued the following statement today on the assignment of U.S. Attorneys to lead investigations of possible unauthorized disclosures of classified information.

The U.S. Department of Justice has transferred to the state of Tennessee approximately 1,000 acres of undeveloped land in Cannon County, Tenn., as a result of a federal criminal conviction of two individuals for distribution of marijuana.

Vladislav Anatolievich Horohorin, aka “BadB” of Moscow, an alleged international credit card trafficker thought to be one of the most prolific sellers of stolen credit card data, has been extradited from France to the United States to face criminal charges filed in the District of Columbia and in the Northern District of Georgia.

Attorney General Eric Holder issued the following statement today.

Attorney General Eric Holder and European Commission Vice-President Viviane Reding issued the following statement following the EU-U.S. Justice and Home Affairs Ministerial meeting in Copenhagen.

The EU and the U.S., at the EU-U.S. Justice and Home Affairs Ministerial Meeting attended by Attorney General Eric Holder today, have agreed to enhance efforts against child sexual abuse online. Such abuse includes the distribution and trade of child pornography via the Internet, and the resulting, continuing harm to the victims depicted.

Michael Makalou, 41, a former State Department employee, was sentenced today to 12 months in prison for assaulting his wife with a dangerous weapon with intent to do bodily harm, announced Assistant Attorney General Lanny A. Breuer of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division and U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia Neil H. MacBride.

Attorney General Eric Holder issued the following statement today on the Supreme Court’s Ruling on Arizona v. The United States.

A federal grand jury in Mobile, Ala., returned an indictment today against two real estate investors and their company, charging them with participating in conspiracies to rig bids and commit mail fraud at public real estate foreclosure auctions held in southern Alabama.

The United States and Canada today announced they are delivering on key commitments under the U.S.-Canada Beyond the Border Action Plan by releasing a joint Statement of Privacy Principles.

"Today’s vote is the regrettable culmination of what became a misguided – and politically motivated – investigation during an election year. By advancing it over the past year and a half, Congressman Issa and others have focused on politics over public safety. Instead of trying to correct the problems that led to a series of flawed law enforcement operations, and instead of helping us find ways to better protect the brave law enforcement officers, like Agent Brian Terry, who keep us safe – they have led us to this unnecessary and unwarranted outcome," said Attorney General Holder.

An alleged leader of the Barrio Azteca (BA), a transnational border gang allied with the Juarez Cartel, was extradited from Mexico to the United States to face charges related to the March 2010 U.S. Consulate murders in Juarez, Mexico.

The Justice Department today filed a lawsuit against the Texas Department of Agriculture and Texas General Land Office alleging that both state agencies are liable for discrimination against three female employees on the basis of sex, in violation of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, as amended, which occurred at Texas Department of Rural Affairs.

"In our system, antitrust and intellectual property policy function together to provide consumers with high-quality products and services at competitive prices, while at the same time preserving strong incentives for the innovation that creates and improves those products," said Acting Assistant Attorney General Wayland.

Three individuals, including Alabama businessman Ronald Gilley, lobbyist Jarrod Massey and former Alabama state representative Terry Spicer were sentenced to prison today in Montgomery, Ala., for bribery-related offenses.

The settlement in this case represents the largest recovery the Civil Rights Division has obtained on behalf of a returning service member since 2004, when it assumed jurisdiction for the enforcement of the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act.

An Alabama real estate investor pleaded guilty today for his role in conspiracies to rig bids and commit mail fraud at public real estate foreclosure auctions in southern Alabama.

Three individuals have agreed to pay $5.325 million to resolve allegations that they knowingly made false statements in connection with a mortgage refinance scheme, the Justice Department announced today.

The Justice Department announced today that the owner and former manager of the Lowrey Hotel and Café in New Richmond, Wis., has agreed to pay $50,000 to settle a lawsuit alleging they had sexually harassed a homeless woman who sought shelter at the hotel.

The United States has joined a whistleblower action pending in the Northern District of California against the federally-qualified health center (FQHC), North East Medical Services (NEMS), alleging that the center under-reported income it received from a managed care organization in order to artificially inflate reimbursements it received from the California Medicaid program, the Justice Department announced today. North East serves the San Francisco Bay area.

The former chief of party in Baghdad for the United States Institute of Peace (USIP), Robert Nathan Boorda, pleaded guilty to an information unsealed today in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia for conspiring to enrich himself by having USIP award a security contract at a fraudulently inflated price in exchange for a purported monthly consulting fee of $20,000 paid by the contractor.

A Northern California real estate investor has agreed to plead guilty for her role in conspiracies to rig bids and commit mail fraud at public real estate foreclosure auctions in Northern California.

Alejandro Gonzalez, 60, of Miami-Dade County, Fla., was sentenced in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida to 21 months in prison.

The Attorney General released the following statement on the ruling today in U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia in Texas v. Holder, the state’s proposed voter ID law.

The Attorney General announced today the closure of the criminal investigations into the death of two individuals while in United States custody at overseas locations.

Eduardo Arellano-Felix, 55, one of the alleged members of the Arellano-Felix Organization (AFO), was extradited today by the government of Mexico to the United States to face racketeering, money laundering and narcotics trafficking charges in the Southern District of California.

The government has intervened in a whistleblower lawsuit against Hospice of the Comforter Inc. (HOTCI) alleging false Medicare billings, the Justice Department announced today. HOTCI provides hospice services to patients residing in the vicinity of Orlando, Fla.

Sheila Birnbaum, Special Master of the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund (VCF), released the following statement on the final rule by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) to include certain cancers into the World Trade Center Health Program.

Natacia Webster, an employee of the state of Alabama, pleaded guilty today to charges of conspiring to defraud the United States by filing false claims, wire fraud and aggravated identity theft, the Justice Department and the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) announced.