The Civil Rights Division of the Department of Justice, working closely with the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Michigan, reached a comprehensive settlement agreement with the Crestwood School District in Dearborn Heights, Michigan, to improve educational services for students who are English Language Learners (ELLs), establish a system for recruiting and hiring faculty and staff and ensure that individuals who complain about discrimination do not face unlawful retaliation

A 65-year-old registered sex offender, with two prior convictions relating to possession of child pornography and attempted sexual conduct with minors, was found guilty today of attempting to produce child pornography, travel with intent to engage in illicit sexual conduct, transporting child pornography, possessing child pornography and offense by a registered sex offender

Mr. Chairperson, distinguished Members of the committee, and representatives of civil society. My name is Mark Kappelhoff and I serve as a Deputy Assistant Attorney General in the Civil Rights Division of the U.S. Department of Justice. It is an honor to be a member of the U.S. delegation and to share with you some of the Justice Department’s work to address racial discrimination and to fulfill our obligations under the convention.

Mr. Chairperson, distinguished members of the committee, and representatives of civil society, it is an honor to be a part of the U.S. delegation and share some of the highlights of the Department of Justice’s efforts to eliminate racial discrimination and uphold human rights in the area of criminal justice.

Azzeddine El Amine, 47, of San José, Costa Rica, pleaded guilty today to money laundering and operating an unlicensed money transmitting business in connection with his role in running Liberty Reserve, a company that operated one of the world’s most widely used digital currency services

The Justice Department announced today that it has entered into a settlement agreement with the Louisiana Supreme Court that will resolve the department’s investigation of the court’s policies, practices and procedures for evaluating bar applicants with mental health disabilities. The department’s investigation found that during the Louisiana bar admissions process licensing entities based recommendations about bar admission on mental health diagnosis and treatment rather than conduct that would warrant denial of admission to the bar

The former owner of a Los Angeles medical clinic management company pleaded guilty today in connection with his role in a scheme to defraud Medicare

Christopher W. Loncarich, 55, of Mack, Colorado, pleaded guilty in federal court in Denver to a felony conspiracy charge stemming from his sale of outfitting services for illegal mountain lion and bobcat hunts in Colorado and Utah, the Justice Department announced

The former chief executive officer of Hanover Corporation was sentenced today to serve 14 years in prison, to be followed by three years of supervised release and ordered to pay $14,784,983.75 in restitution for orchestrating an $18 million Ponzi scheme

A former Coöperatieve Centrale Raiffeisen-Boerenleenbank B.A. (Rabobank) Japanese Yen London InterBank Offered Rate (LIBOR) submitter pleaded guilty today for his role in a conspiracy to commit wire and bank fraud by manipulating Rabobank’s Yen LIBOR submissions to benefit trading positions

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).

Samsung Electronics America Inc. (Samsung) has agreed to pay $2.3 million to resolve allegations that it caused the submission of false claims for products sold on General Service Administration (GSA) Multiple Award Schedule (MAS) contracts in violation of the Trade Agreements Act of 1979 (TAA), the Justice Department announced today. Samsung is an electronics distributor and marketer headquartered in Ridgefield Park, New Jersey

The Justice Department today announced that it has reached an agreement with the city of Baltimore, Maryland, to end hiring practices that discriminate against people with disabilities. The agreement, filed as a consent decree along with a complaint in the U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland, resolves allegations by the department that the city engaged in a pattern or practice of discrimination under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). Title I of the ADA prohibits employers from discriminating against individuals on the basis of disability in various aspects of employment, including hiring

A greater Detroit-area owner of three home health agencies pleaded guilty today for his role in a $22 million home health care fraud scheme

We have brought to this area very experienced prosecutors, we have very experienced agents who are handling this matter, and doing so, I think, in a fine way. I'm going to get briefed on more of the details about the investigation. I've been kept up to date, but there's nothing that can replace actually coming to the office that's handling the matter, and being able to look in the face the people who are, I think at this point, very ably handling this investigation.

Attorney General Eric Holder and Associate Attorney General Tony West announced today that the Department of Justice has reached a $16.65 billion settlement with Bank of America Corporation – the largest civil settlement with a single entity in American history ­— to resolve federal and state claims against Bank of America and its former and current subsidiaries, including Countrywide Financial Corporation and Merrill Lynch. As part of this global resolution, the bank has agreed to pay a $5 billion penalty

"We are here to announce a historic step forward in our ongoing effort to protect the American people from financial fraud – and to hold accountable those whose actions threatened the integrity of our financial markets and undermined the stability of our economy."

"Yet in addition to accountability, this historic resolution is also significant for what it achieves in terms of restoration: it requires those we are holding accountable to shoulder some of the responsibility for repairing the damage caused by their conduct."

A Lighthouse Point, Florida, man was sentenced today to serve 12 months and one day in prison for filing a false claim for a tax refund with the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), Deputy Assistant Attorney General Ronald A. Cimino of the Justice Department’s Tax Division and U.S. Attorney Wifredo Ferrer for the Southern District of Florida announced

The Justice Department today announced the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan’s termination of the consent judgment relating to the Detroit Police Department’s (DPD) use of force and arrest and witness detention practices. The Justice Department and the city of Detroit jointly sought the termination of the consent judgment and approval of a Transition Agreement maintaining federal oversight of the DPD for an additional 18 months. The transition agreement starts a new chapter of reform and accountability for the DPD as it works in collaboration with the Justice Department to better ensure constitutional policing, promote community confidence, and improve public safety in the city of Detroit. The Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Michigan have worked cooperatively throughout the duration of this matter

Sixteen former Puerto Rico police officers have pleaded guilty for their roles in a criminal organization run out of the police department. The officers used their affiliation with law enforcement to commit robbery and extortion, to manipulate court records in exchange for bribes, and to sell illegal narcotics

Adam Michael Webber, of Salt Lake County, Utah, was indicted on Friday by a federal grand jury in the District of Utah, the Justice Department announced. The indictment, which was made public today, charges Webber with one count of dealing in firearms without a license, one count of smuggling goods from the United States and six counts of filing false tax returns

A Louisiana psychiatrist was sentenced in federal court in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, today to serve 86 months in prison for his role in a $258.5 million Medicare fraud scheme involving partial hospitalization psychiatric services. He was further ordered to pay $43.5 million in restitution and to forfeit all proceeds from the fraudulent scheme

The former Hanover Corporation chief financial officer and a former Hanover salesman were sentenced today to serve 60 months in prison and 70 months in prison respectively, and ordered to pay $14,454,999.19 in restitution, for their roles in an $18 million Ponzi scheme. Hanover’s former chief executive officer was previously sentenced to 14 years in prison and ordered to pay $14,784,983.75 in restitution in this case

Three Puerto Rico police officers, Erick Rivera Nazario, Angel Torres Quinones and Antonio Rodriguez Caraballo today pleaded guilty to federal civil rights charges in connection with the fatal beating of 19-year-old Jose Luis Irizarry Perez, announced Acting Assistant Attorney General Molly Moran for the Civil Rights Division, United States Attorney Rosa Emilia Rodriguez-Velez for the District of Puerto Rico, and Special Agent in Charge Carlos Cases of the FBI San Juan Field Office.

A co-owner of Professional Medical Home Health LLC was sentenced today to serve 70 months in prison and ordered to pay $6.2 million in restitution for her participation in a health care fraud scheme involving the now defunct home health care company

ExxonMobil Pipeline Company (ExxonMobil) has agreed to pay a civil penalty for an alleged violation of the Clean Water Act stemming from a 2012 crude oil spill from ExxonMobil’s “North Line” pipeline near Torbert, Louisiana, the Department of Justice and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced today. Under the consent decree lodged today in federal court, ExxonMobil will pay $1,437,120 to resolve the government’s claim

Associate Attorney General Tony West today announced $3 million dollars in grants from the Office on Violence Against Women (OVW) to increase local and tribal capacity to prosecute crimes of violence against women and provide services to victims of sexual assault, domestic violence and stalking in the Bakken Region of North Dakota and Montana

Political consultant Gregory Naylor, 66, of Philadelphia, pleaded guilty today to making false statements to federal agents and misprision of a felony in connection with his role in attempting to conceal two campaign finance-related fraud schemes

A former Iowa State Senator pleaded guilty today to concealing payments he received from a presidential campaign in exchange for switching his support and services from one candidate to another and to obstructing a subsequent investigation into his conduct.

Today, the Justice Department asked a federal court to dismiss the injunction to address civil rights violations at Saint Elizabeths Hospital in Washington, D.C., because the District of Columbia and the Department of Behavioral Health have significantly improved the care and treatment of persons confined to Saint Elizabeths Hospital. Saint Elizabeths is the district’s facility for treating individuals with mental health conditions. The reforms, which were implemented following requirements under a court order, have ensured that persons at Saint Elizabeths Hospital are discharged to the community with adequate supports to live in integrated settings. Further, the reforms resulted in important improvements in integrated treatment planning, psychological and psychiatric services, nursing care and protection from assault.

The United States has partially intervened against defendants in two whistleblower lawsuits in the Federal District Court for the District of Colorado alleging Evercare Hospice and Palliative Care submitted false claims for the Medicare hospice benefit.

A Detroit-area man was indicted today for obstruction of justice in connection with his alleged attempts to conceal evidence relevant to his upcoming trial for an alleged health care fraud scheme with estimated losses exceeding $30 million.

The owner of a Florida mortgage company, seven employees of the company and two real estate developers were indicted in the Southern District of Florida in connection with an alleged $50 million mortgage fraud scheme.

Omni Surgical L.P., doing business as Spine 360, a manufacturer of devices used in spinal surgery, and Dr. Jamie Gottlieb, an Indiana spinal surgeon, have agreed to pay $2.6 million to the United States to settle allegations that Spine 360 paid illegal kickbacks to Gottlieb to induce him to use the company’s products.

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.

The former chief executive officer of ArthroCare Corporation was sentenced to serve 20 years in prison, and the former chief financial officer was sentenced to serve 10 years in prison today for their leading roles in a $750 million securities fraud scheme.

The Department of Justice has seized approximately $500,000 in assets traceable to corruption proceeds accumulated by Chun Doo Hwan, the former president of the Republic of Korea. This seizure brings the total value of seized corruption proceeds of President Chun to more than $1.2 million.

Under a proposed settlement reached with the United States and the state of Indiana, the Atlantic Richfield Company and E.I. Du Pont de Nemours and Co. will pay for an estimated $26 million cleanup of lead and arsenic contamination in parts of a residential neighborhood in East Chicago, Indiana, announced the U.S. Department of Justice and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

Acting Assistant Attorney General Molly Moran for the Civil Rights Division and United States Attorney Bill Nettles announced today that Reginald Wayne Miller, of Marion, South Carolina, has entered a guilty plea in federal court in Florence to fraud in foreign labor contracting. Additionally, Miller entered a guilty plea to visa fraud and wage and hour violations. United States District Judge R. Bryan Harwell of Florence accepted the guilty plea and will impose sentence after he has reviewed the presentence report which will be prepared by the U.S. probation office.

A New Jersey man pleaded guilty today to orchestrating an eight-year scheme to falsify employment certifications to facilitate the illegal entry of Indian immigrants into the United States and to filing a false tax return.

Attorney General Eric Holder announced today that the Justice Department has launched two initiatives to address concerns about police services in the city of Ferguson and in St. Louis County, Missouri.

A federal jury returned guilty verdicts today against former Virginia Governor Robert F. McDonnell and former First Lady of Virginia Maureen G. McDonnell for participating in a scheme to violate federal public corruption laws.

"These anecdotal accounts underscored the history of mistrust of law enforcement in Ferguson that has received a good deal of attention. As a result of this history – and following an extensive review of documented allegations and other available data – we have determined that there is cause for the Justice Department to open an investigation to determine whether Ferguson Police officials have engaged in a pattern or practice of violations of the U.S. Constitution or federal law."

A federal jury in Omaha, Nebraska, found a Pelham, Georgia, man guilty late yesterday of seven counts of conspiracy to file and filing false liens against two U.S. District Court judges, the U.S. Attorney for the District of Nebraska, two Assistant U.S. Attorneys and an Internal Revenue Service special agent.

Life Care Services LLC, a manager of skilled nursing facilities based in Des Moines, Iowa, and CoreCare V LLP, doing business as ParkVista, a skilled nursing facility in Fullerton, California, have agreed to pay a total of $3.75 million to the government for causing the submission of false claims to Medicare for unreasonable or unnecessary rehabilitation therapy purportedly provided by RehabCare Group East Inc., a subsidiary of Kindred Healthcare Inc.

A federal court has permanently barred a Rancho Santa Margarita, California, man from promoting and selling an alleged nationwide tax scheme that involved using welfare benefit plans to unlawfully increase and accelerate tax deductions and avoid income taxes.

The owner and operator of a Miami home health care company was sentenced to 75 months in prison today for her participation in a $6.5 million Medicare fraud scheme involving the now defunct home health care company, Nestor’s Health Services Inc.

A Corona, California, man was sentenced today to serve six years in prison to be followed by three years of supervised release in connection with a fraudulent advance fee scheme and tax evasion.

The Justice Department today filed a lawsuit against the Kent State University, the Kent State University Board of Trustees and university officials for violating the Fair Housing Act by discriminating against students with disabilities in student housing.