The owner and operator of a Los Angeles durable medical equipment (DME) company pleaded guilty today to submitting nearly $1 million in false claims to Medicare.

“Health care fraud affects all Americans and demands a coordinated, national response,” said Attorney General Holder.

A former staff sergeant in the U.S. Army pleaded guilty to a one-count criminal information charging her with money laundering arising from a scheme involving the fraudulent awarding and administration of U.S. government contracts in Iraq.

Economy Cash & Carry Inc., pleaded guilty today in U.S. District Court in El Paso, Texas, to a criminal violation of the Plant Protection Act related to the falsification of a required certificate stamp.

The Department announced the settlement of a lawsuit alleging that those involved in the design and construction of two multifamily housing complexes in Davenport, Iowa, violated the Fair Housing Act.

Phillip Windom Offill Jr., 51, of Dallas, was indicted on March 12, 2009, and today was found guilty of one count of conspiracy to commit registration violations, securities fraud and nine counts of wire fraud.

Two former executives of Willbros International Inc. (WII), a subsidiary of Houston-based Willbros Group Inc. (Willbros), were sentenced today for their roles in a conspiracy to pay more than $6 million in bribes to government officials of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and officials from a Nigerian political party.

The Civil Rights Division has filed a motion for immediate relief to protect individuals confined in seven state-run psychiatric hospitals in Georgia from the imminent and serious threat of harm to their lives, health and safety.

New agreements regarding extradition and mutual legal assistance between the European Union (EU) and the United States enter into force today.

“The budget provides the department with the means necessary to protect our national security, bolster our traditional missions, and prevent and reduce crime in tandem with our state, local, tribal and community partners,” said Attorney General Holder.

Gevork Kartashyan, 45, and Eliza Shubaralyan, 42, were each sentenced to serve two years in prison by U.S. District Judge Stephen V. Wilson of the Central District of California.

President Obama’s FY2011 budget request provides $461 million for OVW to provide communities with resources to combat sexual assault and violence against women.

Atricure Inc., a medical device manufacturer, has agreed to pay the United States $3.76 million to resolve civil claims in connection with the alleged promotion of its surgical ablation devices.

The Department has reached a settlement agreement with the Alameda County, Calif., Sheriff’s Office, under which it will provide sign language interpreters and other auxiliary aids and services to arrestees, detainees, suspects, victims, witnesses, complainants and visitors who are deaf, hard of hearing or deaf-blind at two jails.

A federal jury has convicted an Arlington, Texas, husband and wife, Emmanuel and Ngozi Nnaji, of engaging in a nine-year scheme to compel the labor of a Nigerian victim as their domestic servant.

Atlanta real estate firms Coldwell Banker Joe T. Lane Realty Inc., Coldwell Banker Bullard Realty Company Inc. and Rodney Lee Foreman, one of their former real estate agents, have agreed to pay $160,000 to settle allegations that they illegally steered prospective homebuyers toward and away from certain neighborhoods based on race and color.

The National Football League Players Association (NFLPA) has joined its year-long campaign to commemorate the 15 year anniversary of President Bill Clinton signing the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) into law.

Jack Barouh of Golden Beach, Fla., pleaded guilty today to filing a false tax return.

The Department has reached a settlement in its lawsuit against MasTec Advanced Technologies on behalf of Eugene C. Burress, a U.S. Army Reserve member, alleging that MasTec willfully violated the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act of 1994 (USERRA).

Benjamin Rowner and Jay H. Soled, former owners of DeltaNet Inc., were also each sentenced to pay $271,716 in restitution, jointly and severally, to the Universal Service Administrative Company (USAC).

The Department said that despite the substantial progress reflected in the proposed amended settlement agreement in The Authors Guild Inc. et al. v. Google Inc., class certification, copyright and antitrust issues remain.

Miami-Dade County resident Dulce Briceño was sentenced today to 63 months in prison for her role in a $2.3 million Medicare fraud scheme.

The Department it will monitor the Feb.6, 2010, municipal primary election in the city of New Orleans to ensure compliance with the anti-discrimination requirements of the Voting Rights Act of 1965.

Jaisankar Marimuthu, a native of Chennai, India, pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, securities fraud, computer fraud and aggravated identity theft, and to one count of aggravated identity theft.

A Virginia resident pleaded guilty today in connection with his role in a conspiracy to pay bribes to former Panamanian government officials.

Attorney General Eric Holder today announced the formation of a new Department of Justice Task Force on Intellectual Property as part of a Department-wide initiative to confront the growing number of domestic and international intellectual property (IP) crimes.

The Justice Department’s plan identifies the steps it will take to develop a comprehensive consultation and coordination policy with tribal nations, after robust tribal input.

"Let me be clear, we enhance public safety by incarcerating those who harm our neighbors and our communities. This is a fact. But in our work to protect the American people, incarceration cannot be our only law enforcement strategy," said Attorney General Holder.

“I am pleased to welcome Judge Carbon to the Justice Department and to the Office on Violence Against Women,” said Attorney General Holder.

The Civil Rights Division reached an agreement with the Latvian Tower Condominium Association Inc. and its former president, Karl Tegtmeyer, to settle allegations of discrimination against families with children.

"This is a direct result of what we heard from tribal leaders at the department's listening session. Tribal leaders have made it clear that a single application would significantly improve their ability to apply and receive critical federal funding, which so many of their communities depend on," said Associate Attorney General Perrelli.

Willoughby Farr, 46, of West Palm Beach, Fla., has been charged with perpetrating what is known as a cramming scheme, which was designed to place charges on consumers’ telephone bills for collect calls that were not made, the Justice Department and the U.S. Postal Inspector’s Miami Field Office announced today.

Detroit-area resident Muhammad Shahab pleaded guilty today for his role in organizing a Detroit-area home health care fraud scheme.

Former military contractor Terry Hall, 43, of Snellville, Ga., pleaded guilty today to conspiracy to pay more than $3 million in bribes to U.S. Army contracting officials stationed at Camp Arifjan, an Army base in Kuwait, and to money laundering conspiracy.

"Today, it’s also my pleasure to join you in recognizing Kathleen Straus and in celebrating the example of public service reflected in Wade McCree’s life and career," said Attorney General Holder.

The Department announced a settlement agreement with Sunlight Inc., doing business as Beauty Smart, of Durham, N.C., to resolve allegations of a pattern or practice of discrimination in recruitment and hiring on the basis of national origin.

Irma Azrelyant and Joshua Finkle, the former co-owners of New York and New Jersey-based Deaf and Hard of Hearing Interpreting Services Inc. (DHIS), pleaded guilty today to engaging in a conspiracy to defraud the Federal Communications Commission’s (FCC) Video Relay Service (VRS) program of more than $7 million.

The Department announced a settlement agreement with The Children’s House Inc. of Broadview Heights, Ohio, a suburb of Cleveland, to provide services for children with asthma as required by the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).

The settlement agreement reached today, which is contingent on appropriation by Congress, will provide a total of $1.25 billion to African American farmers who alleged that they suffered racial discrimination in USDA farm loan programs.

An allegedly high-ranking leader of one of Mexico’s largest drug cartels, whose father allegedly heads a faction of the Sinaloa Cartel and is among Mexico’s most powerful drug kingpins, was extradited today from Mexico to face federal narcotics trafficking conspiracy charges in the United States.

A U.S. Army contracting official was charged today with bribery and unlawful salary supplementation in connection with two schemes to solicit more than $30,000 in bribes from an Egyptian businessman in Kuwait.

"After a thorough review of the evidence, the division has determined that the proposed transaction is not likely to substantially lessen competition in the United States."

I have every expectation that our criminal defense system can, and will, be a source of tremendous national pride. And I know that achieving this requires the best that we, as a profession and as a people, have to offer.

The plain truth is that youth violence is far-too common. There’s no single cause and no simple solution. But we know one important contributor is the absence of a responsible, loving father. Here in D.C., where half of African-American households don’t include even one grown man, the implications of this fact could not be clearer.

The investigation into the 2001 anthrax attacks, which killed five individuals and sickened 17 others, has formally concluded.

The president of a Miami-Dade County, Fla.,-based company pleaded guilty today to engaging in monetary transactions involving property derived from a scheme to bribe former Haitian government officials.

An 11-count indictment was unsealed today charging four individuals with conspiracy, violations of the Clean Air Act, and making false statements for their roles in a scheme to improperly remove and dispose of asbestos from multiple condominiums in Florida.

The combined $2.13 million settlement represents the second largest monetary payment ever obtained by the department in a fair housing case alleging housing discrimination in the rental of apartments.

"Today, I’m pleased to welcome the 51 new members to our nation’s law enforcement community and to our shared work. Though this community spans every state and county, and across all levels of government, in many ways we are, like this class, one team."

Eon Labs Inc. has agreed to pay the United States $3.5 million to resolve False Claims Act allegations relating to the company's drug Nitroglycerin Sustained Release (SR) capsules.