The Justice Department announced today that it has reached an agreement with Vincent Porcaro Inc. (VPI) resolving allegations that the company violated the anti-discrimination provision of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA).

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.

A federal grand jury has returned a superseding indictment charging Jean Claude Roy, aka “Dredd the Don,” and “Dreddy,” age 31, of Germantown, Md., and Brittney Creason, aka“Kitty Amor,” age 19, of Detaur, Ill., of conspiracy to commit sex trafficking.

Dr. Farid Fata, 48, of Oakland Township, Michigan, was arrested this morning and charged in a criminal complaint for his role in a health care fraud scheme which involved submitting false claims to Medicare for services that were medically unnecessary, including chemotherapy treatments.

The operator of the dragger F/V Norseman and an associated fish dealer pleaded guilty Thursday in federal court in Central Islip, N.Y., to federal violations stemming from their role in systematically underreporting fluke (summer flounder) that was being harvested as part of the federal Research Set-Aside Program, the Justice Department’s Environment and Natural Resources Division announced.

Richard S. Obedian, a Long Island, N.Y., orthopedic surgeon, will pay the government $388,000 to settle allegations that he violated the False Claims Act by submitting false claims to Medicare for minimally invasive spine procedures.

The Justice Department announced today that Jerry L. Wilson, a Mt. Washington, Ky., landlord has agreed to pay $22,000 to resolve allegations that he violated the Fair Housing Act by discriminating against African-American apartment seekers and making statements indicating a preference for families without children for certain available apartments.

The Department of Justice today announced a program that will encourage Swiss banks to cooperate in the department’s ongoing investigations of the use of foreign bank accounts to commit tax evasion.

The U.S. District Court in Utah has concluded proceedings and approved a settlement of a lawsuit involving three claimed highway rights-of-way on Bureau of Land Management (BLM) administered public land adjacent to and within the Deep Creek Mountains Wilderness Study Area (WSA.

The Justice Department announced today that it has filed a lawsuit against the manager and owner of the Linden House Apartments in Cleveland for refusing to rent apartments to families with children in violation of the federal Fair Housing Act.

Jason W. Pleau, 35, of Providence, R.I., was sentenced today to life in prison for the murder and robbery of Woonsocket, R.I., gas station manager David D. Main. Pleau chased, shot at close range and robbed Main on Sep. 20, 2010, as Main approached the doorstep of a Woonsocket bank where he was to have deposited receipts belonging to the gas station that he managed.

Former U.S. Congressman Rick Renzi was sentenced today to serve 36 months in prison following his June conviction by a federal jury in Tucson, Ariz., for extortion, bribery, insurance fraud, money laundering and racketeering. Renzi’s co-defendant, James Sandlin, was also sentenced today to serve 18 months in prison for his role in the extortion, bribery and money laundering scheme.

Hospice of the Comforter Inc. (HOTCI) has agreed to pay $3 million to resolve allegations that it violated the False Claims Act by submitting false claims to the Medicare program for hospice services provided to patients who were not eligible for the Medicare hospice benefit.

Chairman Carper, Ranking Member Coburn, and distinguished Members of the Committee: Thank you for the opportunity to appear before the Committee today to discuss the Department of Justice’s work regarding virtual currencies.

"Thank you for the opportunity to appear before the Committee today to discuss the Department of Justice’s work regarding virtual currencies. I am honored to represent the Department at this hearing and to describe for you our approach to virtual currencies"

Four commercial fishermen and one company were indicted yesterday by a federal grand jury in Baltimore for a criminal conspiracy involving the illegal harvesting and interstate sale of striped bass on the Chesapeake Bay.

The operator of the dragger F/V Norseman and an associated fish dealer were sentenced today in federal court in Central Islip, N.Y.

Real estate developer from Fairhope, Ala., pleaded guilty today in federal district court in Gulfport, Miss., to the unpermitted filling of wetlands near Bay St. Louis, Miss., in violation of the Clean Water Act

The Justice Department announced the filing of a lawsuit today against the State of Rhode Island and the Rhode Island Department of Corrections alleging that the defendants are engaged in a pattern or practice of employment discrimination against African-Americans and Hispanics in violation of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.

Jose A. Santiago, 36, of Springfield, Mass., was sentenced yesterday in Providence, R.I., to serve 40 years in prison for his role in the September 2010 armed robbery and murder of Woonsocket, R.I., gas station manager David D. Main.

The Justice Department announced that James Kalbflesh, a former correctional officer at the Roxbury Correctional Institution in Hagerstown, Md., was convicted today by a federal jury on three civil rights and conspiracy counts related to his participation in the beating of an RCI inmate in 2008 and the cover-up that followed.

Since 2009, the Department has publicly charged 73 account holders and 35 professionals with violations arising from their offshore banking activities, and 72 individuals have pled guilty or were convicted at trial. Just as importantly our enforcement efforts have driven over 43,000 taxpayers with secret offshore accounts to identify themselves to the IRS, disclose their offshore accounts, and to pay a total of over $6 billion in back taxes, penalties and interest. And that number is growing.

Ranti Azeez-Taiwo of Staten Island, N.Y., was sentenced to serve 18 months in prison to be followed by one year of supervised release, the Justice Department and Internal Revenue Service (IRS) announced today.

A federal jury convicted Jean Claude Roy, aka Dredd the Don and Dreddy, age 31, of Germantown, Md., late yesterday of conspiracy to commit sex trafficking by force, fraud or coercion, three counts of interstate transportation for prostitution and witness and evidence tampering.

Dr. Syed Imran Ahmed, 49, was charged with one count of health care fraud by a criminal complaint unsealed this morning in federal court in Brooklyn, N.Y.

The Justice Department announced today that it has entered into a statewide settlement agreement that will resolve violations of the Americans with Disabilities Act for approximately 3,250 Rhode Islanders with intellectual and developmental disabilities.

"Unnecessary segregation of people with disabilities is harmful to people with disabilities and to our communities. We cannot wait another day to change. And we won’t. Because today, the Justice Department, the state of Rhode Island and the business community, together, embrace real integration of people with disabilities – committing to make Rhode Island a model for other states to follow."

The Justice Department today announced it has reached an agreement with the Rhode Island Judiciary to ensure that limited English proficient individuals will have access to timely and competent language assistance at no charge in all court proceedings, services and programs throughout the state court system.

William R. “Rusty” Miller, a real estate developer from Fairhope, Ala., was sentenced today in federal district court in Gulfport, Miss., for the unpermitted filling of wetlands near Bay St. Louis, Miss., in violation of the Clean Water Act.

Under an agreement announced today by the U.S Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Department of Justice, the Virgin Islands Water and Power Authority (VIWAPA) will come into compliance with air pollution control requirements in the federal Clean Air Act at its Estate Richmond Generating Facility located on St. Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands.

A Maryland man was sentenced today to serve one year and a day in prison for defrauding thousands of homeowners in a $4 million nationwide home loan modification scheme.

The former executive director of the Legislature of the Virgin Islands was indicted today by a federal grand jury in the Virgin Islands for accepting bribes and engaging in extortion in the award of contracts with the Legislature.

Within the Department, we have moved forward with our groundbreaking Diversity Management Initiative to promote diversity within our own ranks. Through our close partnership with the Federal Asian Pacific American Council, we have helped to create considerable new opportunities for our employees to thrive – both personally and professionally. And thanks to the tireless efforts of employee organizations like DOJ Pan Asia and others, we continue to encourage every member of the DOJ family to grow, to learn, and to advance in their lives and careers.

Josh Hummer, formerly a sergeant at Roxbury Correctional Institution (RCI) in Hagerstown, Maryland, was sentenced today to serve 12 months and a day in prison for obstruction of justice.

The Department of Justice announced today that it has reached a comprehensive agreement with the Missoula County Attorney’s Office, as well as Missoula County, Montana, and the Montana Attorney General’s Office, to resolve the department’s investigation of alleged gender bias in the prosecution of sexual assaults by the Missoula County Attorney’s Office (MCAO).

Edwin Stigile III, formerly a lieutenant at the Roxbury Correctional Institution (RCI) in Hagerstown, Maryland, was sentenced today by U.S. District Court Judge James K. Bredar to serve 36 months in prison for obstruction of justice in connection with his involvement in a series of assaults against an inmate, Kenneth Davis, at RCI

Jones Inlet Seafood Co., Inc., a federally-licensed fish dealer located in Point Lookout, New York, its company president, Michael G. Mihale, and the company vice-president, Bruce Larson, Jr. pleaded guilty today in federal court in Central Islip, New York., to federal felonies stemming from their role in systematically underreporting fluke (summer flounder) that was being harvested as part of the federal Research Set-Aside (RSA) Program, the Justice Department’s Environment and Natural Resources Division announced

James Kalbflesh, a former correctional officer at the Roxbury Correctional Institution (RCI) in Hagerstown, Maryland, was sentenced today in connection with the March 9, 2008, assault of Kenneth Davis, an inmate

U.S. District Court Judge Paul W. Grimm sentenced Jean Claude Roy, aka Dredd the Don, 31, of Germantown, Maryland, to serve 240 months in prison to be followed by 10 years of supervised release, the Justice Department announced today

As the Secretary has so poignantly described, the conditions for these migrants en route to the United States are horrible. Human smuggling ventures lead to extremely dangerous circumstances that pose a threat to public safety and are serious humanitarian concerns. We have encountered smuggled aliens that have been, kidnapped, taken hostage, beaten, sexually assaulted, threatened with murder or have died as a result of dangerous conditions.

The Justice Department today announced an agreement with the owners and operators of Woodland Garden Apartments in Fremont, California, to settle allegations of discrimination against families with children. Under the consent order, which must still be approved by the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, the defendants are required to pay $77,500 to the victims of their discrimination and an additional $2,500 to the government as a civil penalty

Gregory King, 28, of Washington, D.C., pleaded guilty today in connection with contacting a 13-year-old girl over the Internet and traveling across state lines to engage in sexual activity with her

Michael D. Hayden, 41, and William J. Lednum, 42, both of Tilghman Island, Maryland, pleaded guilty today to conspiring to violate the Lacey Act and to defraud the United States through their illegal harvesting and sale of striped bass, announced Acting Assistant Attorney General for the Justice Department’s Environment and Natural Resources Division Sam Hirsch, U.S. Attorney for the District of Maryland Rod J. Rosenstein; Superintendent of the Maryland Natural Resources Police Colonel George F. Johnson IV and Regional Special Agent in Charge for the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service Honora Gordon

Attorney General Eric Holder and United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York Preet Bharara announced today the completion of the Justice Department’s multi-year civil investigation pursuant to the Civil Rights of Institutionalized Persons Act (“CRIPA”) into the conditions of confinement of adolescent male inmates on Rikers Island. The investigation, which focused on use of force by staff, inmate-on-inmate violence, and use of punitive segregation during the period 2011-2013, concluded that there is a pattern and practice of conduct at Rikers Island that violates the rights of adolescents protected by the Eighth Amendment and the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment of the United States Constitution. The investigation found that adolescent inmates are not adequately protected from physical harm due to the rampant use of unnecessary and excessive force by New York City Department of Correction (“DOC”) staff and violence inflicted by other inmates

The Justice Department announced today that the manager and owner of the Linden House Apartments in Cleveland have agreed to pay $100,000 to resolve allegations that they refused to rent to individuals because the individuals had children . The settlement must still be approved by U.S. District Judge Solomon Oliver Jr

The Justice Department announced today that the owners and operators of the Alger Meadows Apartments in Grand Rapids, Michigan, have agreed to pay $550,000 in damages and civil penalties and to terminate property manager Dale VanderVennen’s role in managing the complex to settle a lawsuit alleging that VanderVennen sexually harassed female tenants in violation of the Fair Housing Act (FHA).

The Justice Department announced today that Massillon, Ohio landlords John and Mary Ruth have agreed to pay $850,000 to settle lawsuits filed by the Justice Department and other parties alleging that the Ruths discriminated on the basis of race and familial status at properties they formerly owned in Massillon. The settlement must still be approved by United States District Judge John R. Adams in the Northern District of Ohio

A U.S. citizen living in Amsterdam, Netherlands, was sentenced today to serve 35 years in prison for sexually exploiting a minor in California and elsewhere and producing images of that abuse.

An owner of an electrical contracting company pleaded guilty today to falsifying disclosure documents required under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA), by intentionally under-reporting hours worked by employees to avoid contractually required contributions to employee benefit plans.

Today, the United States won court approval of a settlement agreement to reform the ways in which the Portland Oregon Police Bureau (“PPB”) interacts with individuals with actual or perceived mental illness. The agreement was entered jointly by the United States and the city of Portland, Oregon, with the approval of the Albina Ministerial Alliance Coalition for Justice and Police Reform (“AMA Coalition”) and Portland Police Association (“PPA”). The agreement addresses constitutional claims in a civil action filed by the United States pursuant to the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994. In today’s order, the court approved the agreement with the requirement that the parties appear for periodic hearings to provide the court progress on implementation of the agreement.