A State Department employee was sentenced today to 12 months of probation for illegally accessing more than 60 confidential passport application files.

Sterling Heights, Mich., resident Solomon Nathaniel was sentenced today to 62 months in prison for his role in a wide-ranging conspiracy to defraud the Medicare program, announced Assistant Attorney General Lanny Breuer of the Criminal Division; U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Michigan Barbara L. McQuade;

U.S. District Judge Deborah K. Chasanow today sentenced Roberto Antonio Argueta, aka "Alex Antonio Cruz," aka "Buda," 29, of Hyattsville, Md., to life in prison, plus an additional 35 years, for ordering the murder of Nancy Diaz and the attempted murder of another juvenile girl.

Lloyd Mack Royal, III aka “Blyss”, aka “B”, aka “Furious” was convicted late yesterday of sex trafficking of minors and sex trafficking by force, fraud, and coercion, as well as firearm and drug charges.

A federal judge in Kansas City, Kan., has issued a preliminary injunction barring a Garden City, Kan., tax preparer, Jose Lares, from preparing returns with false dependent exemptions and false filing statuses.

The United States has asked a federal court to permanently shut down a Miami tax return preparer and his business.

The National Drug Intelligence Center (NDIC), a component of the Department of Justice and the nation’s principal center for strategic drug intelligence, has released the National Drug Threat Assessment 2010 (NDTA 2010), detailing drug trafficking and abuse trends within the United States.

Leonard Nwafor, 44, was sentenced in absentia by U.S. District Judge John F. Walter of the Central District of California to nine years in prison.

Miami resident Daisy Martinez was sentenced today to 96 months in prison for her role in a series of Detroit Medicare fraud schemes, announced Assistant Attorney General Lanny A. Breuer of the Criminal Division; U.S. Attorney Barbara L. McQuade of the Eastern District of Michigan; Special Agent in Charge Andrew G. Arena of the FBI’s Detroit Field Office; and Special Agent in Charge Lamont Pugh III of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Inspector General’s (HHS-OIG) Chicago Regional Office

U.S. District Court Judge Daniel R. Dominguez sentenced former San Juan, Puerto Rico Police Officers, Carlos Pagan Ferrer, 32, and Juan Morales Rosado, 32, today for their role in the fatal assault by San Juan officers against Jose Rivera Robles, an unarmed civilian.

Senior Judge Robert L. Echols of the Middle District of Tennessee today sentenced Eric Ian Baker to 183 months in prison for vandalizing and burning down the Islamic Center of Columbia, Tenn.

Christian Rodney Ice, of Mobile, Ala., pleaded guilty today in federal court in Mobile to one count of violating the Church Arson Act by placing threatening graffitti and neo-Nazi markings on a synagogue in Mobile.

Raja Lahrasib Khan was charged with two counts of providing material support to terrorism in a criminal complaint that was filed yesterday in U.S. District Court in Chicago and unsealed today following his arrest.

The Department entered into a settlement agreement with the Monroe City School District to address the educational inequities between schools serving virtually all black student populations and those schools that serve most of the district’s white students.

Albert Gonzalez, of Miami, the leader of the largest hacking and identity theft ring ever prosecuted by the U.S. government, has been sentenced to 20 years and one day in prison for his role in a series of hacks into a major payment processor and several retail networks.

Six Michigan residents, along with two residents of Ohio and a resident of Indiana, were indicted by a federal grand jury in Detroit on charges of seditious conspiracy, attempted use of weapons of mass destruction, teaching the use of explosive materials, and possessing a firearm during a crime of violence.

Pamrapo Savings Bank S.L.A., a wholly-owned subsidiary of Pamrapo Bancorp Inc., based in Bayonne, N.J., pleaded guilty today in U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey to conspiracy to violate the Bank Secrecy Act and has agreed to forfeit $5 million to the United States

Kyle Palmer, 27, of Biloxi, Miss., was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge Louis Guirola Jr., in the Southern District of Mississippi to 36 months in prison for involuntary manslaughter.

Daniel Cowart pleaded guilty today to eight counts in a federal indictment charging him with crimes related to a racially-motivated plot to murder dozens of people.

The Justice Department announced today that it has reached an out-of-court settlement in the matter of J.L. v. Mohawk Central School District, a lawsuit which the United States sought to join to address alleged violations of the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution and Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972, both of which prohibit discrimination based on sex, including discrimination based on gender stereotypes

The Justice Department today announced a federal court has approved a consent decree resolving an Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) discrimination lawsuit against attorney Patric LeHouillier and his law firm, LeHouillier & Associates, P.C., based in Colorado Springs, Colo. The consent decree was approved by Judge Marcia S. Krieger in U.S. District Court for the District of Colorado

Almighty Latin King and Queen Nation (ALKQN) member John Guzman, 31, of Big Spring, Texas, was sentenced today to 210 months in prison by U.S. District Judge Sam R. Cummings, announced Assistant Attorney General Lanny A. Breuer of the Criminal Division and U.S. Attorney James T. Jacks for the Northern District of Texas

Today Assistant Attorney General Lanny A. Breuer of the Criminal Division announced the formation of the Human Rights and Special Prosecutions Section (HRSP), the first new section to be formed in the Criminal Division since 2008.

New Orleans Police Department (NOPD) Officer Michael Hunter was charged today with misprision of a felony (for concealing a known felony) and with conspiring with fellow NOPD officers to obstruct justice by covering up a police-involved shooting in the days after Hurricane Katrina

Shell Chemical L.P. and Shell Chemical Yabucoa have agreed to install pollution reduction equipment on two petroleum refining facilities at an estimated cost of $6 million as part of two comprehensive Clean Air Act settlements.

A settlement with Honeywell International Inc. estimated to be worth more than $10 million will ensure that cleanup of the remaining areas of the Allied Chemical and Ironton Coke Superfund Site in Ironton, Ohio, will move forward.

Two Baton Rouge, La., tax return preparers were indicted today on charges of aiding in the preparation of false tax returns, the Justice Department and Internal Revenue Service (IRS) announced

Harold Hutcheson, a former captain at the Northwest Correctional Complex (NCC), in Tiptonville, Tenn., pleaded guilty today in federal court in Jackson, Tenn., to violating the civil rights of an inmate and then lying about it during the state and federal investigations.

The Department of Justice announced today that it supports a proposal by The Associated Press (AP) to develop and operate a voluntary news registry to facilitate the licensing and Internet distribution of news content created by the AP, its members, and other news originators

The suit, filed in U.S. District Court in Washington, alleges that KBR knowingly included impermissible costs for private armed security in billings to the Army.

Francisco Cortes-Meza, 26, of Mexico, was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge Richard W. Story in the Northern District of Georgia for sex trafficking in an organization that targeted young Mexican women.

A two-count bill of information filed today in federal court charges David Ryder of Opelousas, La., with lying to the FBI and with illegally possessing a firearm, announced Thomas E. Perez, Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Rights Division; Jim Letten, U. S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Louisiana; and David Welker, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI New Orleans Field Office.

In recognition of Sexual Assault Awareness Month, the Department of Justice today reaffirmed its commitment to ending sexual violence

A superseding indictment unsealed this afternoon in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania charges Jamie Paulin Ramirez, a U.S. citizen and former resident of Colorado, and Colleen R. LaRose, aka "Fatima LaRose," aka "JihadJane," a resident of Pennsylvania, with conspiracy to provide material support to terrorists.

The United States has intervened in a False Claims Act lawsuit alleging that Satilla Health Services Inc., dba Satilla Regional Medical Center, and Dr. Najam Azmat submitted claims for medically substandard and unnecessary services to Medicare and Medicaid.

Learning Tree International Inc. has agreed to pay the United States $4.5 million to resolve allegations that it violated the False Claims Act when it improperly invoiced federal agencies in advance for information technology training courses and kept federal funds for training courses that were never actually provided.

Defendant Stephen Schultz was sentenced in connection with a series of Costa Rica-based business opportunity fraud ventures.

Michael Hunter, who until last week was an officer with the New Orleans Police Department (NOPD), has pleaded guilty to conspiracy to obstruct justice and misprision of a felony, for failing to report a crime, in connection with the federal investigation of a police-involved shooting on the Danziger Bridge.

U.S. District Judge Gray H. Miller sentenced Robert Luis Loya to three years in prison and five years of supervised release for violating the civil rights and the sexual abuse of females in his custody.

A Michigan man was sentenced today in Detroit to 81 months in prison for his role in a wide-ranging conspiracy to defraud the Medicare program.

A former Jackson County, Mo., sheriff’s deputy was sentenced in federal court today for violating the civil rights of a teenage girl whom he sexually assaulted in his patrol car.

Miami residents Jose and Denisse Martinez were each sentenced today to three years in prison for their role in running a Canton, Mich.,-based drug infusion clinic designed to defraud Medicare.

“This forfeiture of more than $40 million in jewelry should remind criminals around the globe that they will be found, prosecuted and stripped of assets that are not theirs to keep,” said Assistant Attorney General Lanny A. Breuer.

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

Randy Lee (aka Jimmy Lee) was sentenced today in connection with an odometer tampering scheme that defrauded scores of victims in and around Colorado.

"We should all be encouraged by President Obama’s historic commitment to shining a light on this problem and to seeking new pathways toward help, healing and justice," said Attorney General Holder.

This year is not merely a commemoration of an anniversary. It is a time to recommit ourselves to ending sexual and domestic violence. Our government and this Department have a responsibility to speak out and act on issues of violence against women.

Paul Zabczuk, a resident of The Woodlands, Texas, pleaded guilty to filing a false tax return in Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.

The founder and chief executive officer of Image Entry Inc., pleaded guilty today for his role in a conspiracy to inflate his earnings resulting from the company’s 2001 acquisition by SourceCorp Inc.

"Our Department is facing new demands, and our nation is confronting unprecedented challenges. But, as I look around this room and consider all that you’ve accomplished over the last year, I can’t help but feel hopeful about what we can achieve in the days ahead," said Attorney General Holder.