The Justice Department announced today that the owners and manager of Mountain View Apartments in Longview, Wash., have agreed to pay $12,500 as a civil penalty to settle allegations that they discriminated against families with children in violation of the federal Fair Housing Act.

A Virginia man was sentenced today to 18 months in prison in connection with a scheme to defraud the U.S. Department of Defense of more than $450,000.

A Newport News, Va., federal grand jury has indicted a married couple for conspiring to defraud the United States.

Farooque Ahmed, 34, of Ashburn, Va., was arrested today for attempting to assist others whom he believed to be members of al-Qaeda in planning multiple bombings at Metrorail stations in the Washington, D.C., area.

A fired information technology director for Transmarx LLC, a Richmond, Va., company, was sentenced today to 27 months in prison for hacking into his former employer’s website.

Gary Lee Rimmer, 56, was indicted in June 2010 and charged with one count of possession of child pornography and one count of distribution of child pornography.

The Justice Department today announced a settlement of its lawsuit alleging that Lee Enterprises Inc. and its subsidiary, Lee Publications Inc., violated the Fair Housing Act (FHA) by publishing an advertisement that discriminated on the basis of familial status in the Elko Daily Free Press.

CFP Group, located in McLean, Va., and its president, Roberto Clark, have agreed to pay the United States $150,000 to settle claims that they used false statements to obtain a contract from the Department of Veterans Affairs.

Kevin Shaffer of Sarasota, Fla., and Washington D.C., pleaded guilty to bank fraud and tax evasion before Alexandria, Va., federal district court Judge Gerald Bruce Lee.

U.S. District Court Judge Ellis sentenced Eric Jon Eisenhower, a resident of Fairfax Station, Va., to 19 months in prison and ordered him to pay $88,826.79 in restitution to the IRS.

John Michael Carter, 42, pleaded guilty on Aug. 5, 2010, in U.S. District Court in the Western District of Virginia to one count of transportation of child pornography, one count of receipt of child pornography and one count of possession of child pornography.

The Justice Department has reached an agreement with Stonecleave Village Association, Inc. to resolve allegations that Stonecleave engaged in a pattern or practice of familial status discrimination by imposing excessive fines on residents with children for alleged violations of Stonecleave’s rules.

The settlement declares the entire Isabella Reservation to be Indian Country, resolving longstanding disputes over the boundaries and existence of the Isabella Reservation in south central Michigan.

The Department of Justice announced today the filing of a lawsuit against the Policía de Puerto Rico alleging the PRPD retaliated against Agent Investigator Sofía Figueroa Rossy for complaining about a hostile work environment based on sex, in violation of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, as amended.

A former employee of a subsidiary of a financial institution pleaded guilty today for his participation in bid-rigging and fraud conspiracies related to contracts for the investment of municipal bond proceeds and other municipal finance contracts.

A former purchasing official at Mount Sinai Medical Center and School of Medicine in New York pleaded guilty to participating in bid rigging and fraud conspiracies related to contracts for maintenance and insulation work performed at Mount Sinai.

The Department of Justice and the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced today the agenda and panelists for the Dec. 8, 2010, joint public workshop on margins in agriculture.

The Department of Justice and the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) today held the fifth of five joint public workshops to explore the appropriate role for antitrust and regulatory enforcement in American agriculture.

A federal jury convicted Clark Alan Roberts, 47, and Sean Edward Howley, 39, both former engineers with Wyko Tire Technology Incorporated, located in Greenback, Tenn., of stealing trade secrets from the Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company.

The Justice Department today announced that it has reached an agreement with Virginia officials to help ensure that military service members and U.S. citizens living overseas have an opportunity to participate fully in future federal general elections.

A former Alabama state lobbyist pleaded guilty today before U.S. Magistrate Judge Wallace Capel Jr. to his role in conspiring to bribe legislators in exchange for their favorable votes on pro-gambling legislation.

A federal grand jury in the Eastern District of Virginia returned an indictment today charging Phillip A. Hamilton, a former member of the Virginia House of Delegates, with allegedly soliciting employees of Old Dominion University for a paid position at the same time he was introducing legislation to fund the position.

The Justice Department today announced the settlement of a lawsuit filed to enforce the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) against Nobel Learning Communities, Inc. (NLC), a private, for-profit entity that operates a nationwide network of more than 180 preschools, elementary schools and secondary schools.

HOVENSA LLC, owner of the second largest petroleum refinery in the United States, has agreed to pay a $5.375 million civil penalty and spend more than $700 million in new pollution controls to resolve Clean Air Act violations at its St. Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands, refinery.

The Justice Department today announced an agreement with Fairfax County, Va., to improve access to all aspects of civic life for persons with disabilities.

Stephen Sims was sentenced today by Senior U.S. District Court Judge Gustave Diamond in the Western District of Pennsylvania to 17 years in prison for engaging in a child exploitation enterprise.

The Justice Department today announced a settlement of its lawsuit alleging that Chandi Biswas, Kenneth R. Scott and Frankie L. Roberson violated the Fair Housing Act by making discriminatory statements against African-American renters at Rolling Oaks Apartments in Clanton, Ala.

Two Iowa ready-mix concrete executives were sentenced to serve jail time and pay criminal fines for their participation in separate conspiracies to fix prices and rig bids for sales of ready-mix concrete.

Ryan Chiles of Hampton, Va., was sentenced today in the Western District of Pennsylvania to 102 months in prison and a lifetime of supervised release for engaging in a child exploitation enterprise.

Fred Woolum of Lexington, Va., was sentenced today in the Western District of Pennsylvania to 15 years in prison and a lifetime of supervised release for engaging in a child exploitation enterprise.

"Today’s shootings in Elkins, West Virginia, demonstrate yet again the danger that our nation’s law enforcement officers confront on a daily basis."

A federal grand jury in Alexandria, Va., today returned an indictment charging William P. Danielczyk Jr. and Eugene R. Biagi with reimbursing $186,600 in contributions to the Senate and Presidential campaign committees of a candidate for federal office, and obstructing the Federal Election Commission (FEC) and the FBI.

Zachary Adam Chesser, 21, of Fairfax County, Va., was sentenced today to 25 years in prison, followed by three years of supervised release, for communicating threats against the writers of the South Park television show, soliciting violent jihadists to desensitize law enforcement, and attempting to provide material support to Al-Shabaab, a designated foreign terrorist organization.

Patrick Carney of Manchester, N.H., was sentenced today in the Western District of Pennsylvania to 15 years in prison and a lifetime of supervised release for engaging in a child exploitation enterprise.

Mississippi-based PowerTrain Inc., Wood Sales Inc., and Tool Mart Inc., (collectively known as “PowerTrain”) will jointly pay a civil penalty of $2 million to resolve claims that the company imported and sold almost 80,000 nonroad engines and equipment that were not covered by emissions-related certificates of conformity, and in most cases could not be certified because they exceeded emissions standards under the Clean Air Act.

In response to a pending lawsuit from Kellogg Brown & Root Services Inc. (KBR) in the U.S. Court of Federal Claims, the Department of Justice has filed counterclaims alleging that KBR managers had received kickbacks from a dining facility subcontractor in violation of the False Claims Act and the Anti-Kickback Act.

Kathryn Charles Miles and husband John Scott Miles, of Mathews County, Va., pleaded guilty to conspiring to impair and obstruct the IRS in the ascertainment and assessment of federal income taxes from 2001 through 2010.

The former managing director of the Pamrapo Service Corporation (Service Corporation), the investment arm of the former Pamrapo Savings Bank, was convicted today of embezzling more than $571,000 in commissions and fees belonging to the Service Corporation through a mail fraud scheme.

An Orange County, Va., man pleaded guilty yesterday in U.S. District Court for the Western District of Virginia to child pornography charges that originated in three different districts.

Brandon Miller, 23, of Omaha, Neb., was sentenced today to 102 months in prison and a lifetime of supervised release after pleading guilty to engaging in a child exploitation enterprise.

The Justice Department has reached a settlement with Inova Health System to ensure effective communication with individuals who are deaf or hard of hearing in the provision of medical services.

Koo’s Shipping Company S.A., a Taiwanese corporation, pleaded guilty in federal court to charges of making false statements, knowingly failing to fully and accurately maintain an oil record book as required by international treaty and U.S. law, and for knowingly discharging oily bilge waste into Pago Pago Harbor, American Samoa, without using proper pollution prevention equipment.

Thomas J. Ernst, formerly a resident of McLean and Arlington, Va., was arraigned today in the Eastern District of Virginia.

A Virginia contractor pleaded guilty to participating in a scheme to steer contracts to him for repair, maintenance and renovation work at healthcare and nursing home facilities owned by Medical Facilities of America Inc.

Farooque Ahmed, 35, of Ashburn, Va., was sentenced today to 23 years in prison, followed by 50 years of supervised release, after pleading guilty to charges stemming from his attempts to assist others whom he believed to be members of al-Qaeda in planning bombings at Metrorail stations in the Washington, D.C., area.

Julius Everett “Bud” Johnson, of Richmond, Va., pleaded guilty today in U.S. District Court in Richmond for his role in an investment scheme resulting in millions of dollars in losses.

An Alabama businessman pleaded guilty today before U.S. Magistrate Judge Wallace Capel Jr. to his role in conspiring to bribe legislators in exchange for their favorable votes on pro-gambling legislation.

Dimitrios Grifakis, 57, of Kallithea, Greece, pleaded guilty today in federal court in Baltimore to obstructing a Coast Guard inspection that took place aboard the M/V Capitola from May 3 to May 11, 2010.

The Department of Justice filed a civil antitrust lawsuit today challenging George’s Inc.’s acquisition of Tyson Foods’ Harrisonburg, Va., chicken processing complex.

Phillip A. Hamilton, a former member of the Virginia House of Delegates, today was convicted by a jury in Richmond, Va., of soliciting employees of Old Dominion University (ODU) for a paid position at the same time he was introducing legislation to fund the position.