"Throughout this month, Americans of all races and backgrounds are called upon to reconnect with one another – and to rededicate ourselves to the principles that lie at the core of everything that we must stand for – and, in particular, all that we fight for here at the Department of Justice," said Attorney General Holder.

Eurica Pressley, 39, was sentenced today in Birmingham, Ala., to 72 months in prison for her participation in a bribery and money laundering scheme related to bribes paid for contracts awarded in support of the Iraq war.

Albert “Jack” Stanley, a former chairman and chief executive officer of Kellogg, Brown & Root Inc. (KBR), was sentenced today to 30 months in prison for conspiring to violate the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) by participating in a decade-long scheme to bribe Nigerian government officials to obtain engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contracts and for conspiring to commit mail and wire fraud as part of a separate kickback scheme.

Connie Ikpoh, 49, also was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge Terry J. Hatter for the Central District of California to three years of supervised release and ordered to pay $6.7 million in restitution jointly and severally with her co-conspirators.

Hector Martinez Maldonado, a former Puerto Rico Senator, and Juan Bravo Fernandez, the former president of the largest private security firm in Puerto Rico, were each sentenced today to 48 months in prison, respectively, for their roles in a bribery scheme involving the passage of legislation beneficial to Bravo Fernandez’s business.

Cynthia Cooley, of Hattiesburg, Miss., was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Keith Starrett in the Southern District of Mississippi.

Alexey Li, 21, a citizen of Kazakhstan who entered the United States on a student visa, pleaded guilty today before U.S. District Judge Ewing Werlein, Jr. to aiding and abetting money laundering.

Cheng Yi Liang, a former Food and Drug Administration (FDA) chemist from Gaithersburg, Md., was sentenced today to 60 months in prison for engaging in insider trading on multiple occasions based on material, non-public information he obtained in his capacity as an FDA scientist.

The Justice Department announced today that the Civil Rights Division will monitor elections today in Cuyahoga, Hamilton and Lorain Counties, Ohio.

The former associate director of the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Consolidated Mail Outpatient Pharmacy in Hines, Ill., his wife and their temporary staffing company were sentenced today for their participation in a conspiracy to defraud the VA and the Small Business Administration.

"Then – and now – he stands as a model of what it means to be a true advocate for, and defender of, justice," said Attorney General Holder.

Akinsunbo Akinbile, 44, of Richmond, Texas, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Keith P. Ellison in Houston.

Barry Nash, 69, was also sentenced by U.S. District Judge James Lawrence King in Miami to serve three years of supervised release following his prison term.

Armando Gonzalez-Medina, 35, of Richmond, Va., was sentenced today to 84 months in prison, after pleading guilty to participating in a racketeering conspiracy and conspiring to possess, produce and transfer fraudulent identification documents.

"For the Department of Justice, our commitment to preventing human trafficking, bringing traffickers to justice, and assisting victims has never been stronger – and our approach has never been more effective. Our work has sent a clear and critical message: that, in this country – and under this Administration – human trafficking crimes will not be tolerated," said Attorney General Holder.

The Justice Department announced today that the Civil Rights Division will monitor elections on March 20, 2012, in Cook and Lake Counties, Ill.

Terry Hall, 45, was sentenced today in Birmingham, Ala., to 39 months in prison for his participation in a bribery and money laundering scheme related to bribes paid for contracts awarded in support of the Iraq war.

Edward Lee Sullivan, of Oakland, Calif., was sentenced today to 300 months in prison for production and possession of child pornography.

Ronald James Davenport of Chewelah, Wash., was sentenced to 41 months in prison today for filing more than $20 billion in false liens against four federal government officials, the Justice Department and the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration (TIGTA) announced today.

Arthur Lee Ong of Honolulu was sentenced Tuesday to 51 months in prison and ordered to pay $1 million in restitution to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) by District Court Judge Leslie Kobayashi today, the Justice Department and IRS announced today.

Syed Ghulam Nabi Fai, 62, a U.S. citizen and resident of Fairfax, Va., was sentenced today to 24 months in prison, followed by three years of supervised release, for conspiracy and tax violations in connection with a decades-long scheme to conceal the transfer of at least $3.5 million from the government of Pakistan to fund his lobbying efforts in America related to Kashmir.

Ngozi Pole, of Waldorf, Md., also was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Emmet G. Sullivan in the District of Columbia to serve three years of supervised release and 500 hours of community service following his prison term and ordered to pay $77,608.86 in restitution.

The Justice Department announced today that the Civil Rights Division will monitor the election on April 3, 2012, in Milwaukee.

A former executive of Ocean Bank, a financial institution headquartered in Miami, was sentenced today for participating in a scheme to accept bribes and for failing to report income on federal income tax returns

A federal grand jury in Montgomery returned an indictment on March 28, 2012, charging Antoinette Djonret for using stolen identities to file false tax returns, the Justice Department, U.S. Attorney George L. Beck Jr. and the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) announced today. The 19-count indictment, which was unsealed today following her arrest, charges Djonret with filing false claims, theft of government funds, access device fraud, aggravated identity theft and possession of unauthorized access devices.

Muhammad Abid Hussain, 27, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge John D. Bates.

German A. Posada was sentenced to 18 months in prison following a guilty plea to charges of filing a false 2004 individual income tax return and making a false statement in a bankruptcy proceeding, the Justice Department and the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) announced today.

"Those of you who’ve had the privilege – and great benefit – of working with Jim know that he is a fearless and tireless advocate for fairness and justice. For decades, he has worked to protect the American people from anticompetitive conduct – and has stood out as an effective and innovative leader in this field," said Attorney General Holder.

Daniyar Zhaxalyk, 25, a citizen of Kazakhstan who entered the United States on a student visa, pleaded guilty today in Houston to one count of money laundering.

"For me, personally, working with victims has been the most rewarding aspect of my career, bar none. Nothing compares with the satisfaction of helping to restore a sense of dignity and safety to a crime victim – and nothing has greater impact," said Acting Assistant Attorney General Leary.

"This year’s 12 awardees have helped change the course of recovery for survivors of sexual assault; created one of the first state corrections-based victim assistance programs in the nation; and promoted awareness of – and improvements to – federal victims’ rights laws," said Attorney General Holder.

Tahn Le, 44, of Philadelphia, was sentenced today to 400 months in prison for his participation in a conspiracy to commit violent home invasion robberies of successful Asian business owners in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Maryland and Virginia.

Kevin P. Mahoney of Attleboro, Mass., was sentenced today to 60 months in prison, following trial convictions on corruptly endeavoring to obstruct the administration of the Internal Revenue laws, filing false tax returns with the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and criminal contempt of court, the Justice Department and the IRS announced. U.S. District Judge Joseph L. Tauro presided over the trial and imposed the sentence. A Boston jury convicted licensed stockbroker, insurance agent and financial advisor Mahoney on Jan. 25, 2012. Mahoney was charged with one count of corruptly endeavoring to obstruct the administration of the Internal Revenue laws, eight counts of contempt of court and eight counts of filing false tax returns. He was convicted on all counts. Judge Tauro also ordered Mahoney to pay $367,000 in restitution to the IRS. Mahoney was remanded to prison immediately following the sentencing hearing.

Howard Levine, owner of a Dix Hill, N.Y., tax preparation business was sentenced to 37 months in prison for tax crimes, the Justice Department and Internal Revenue Service (IRS) announced today.

"This month is an invitation. It’s an invitation for us to stand together and confront the enormity of sexual violence; to re-dedicate ourselves to bringing justice to victims and their families; to break the silence and to redouble our efforts to hold perpetrators of sexual assault accountable," said Acting Associate Attorney General West.

"Over the past couple of years OVW has made a concerted effort to prioritize sexual violence by providing grants to address the gap in services and resources for victims and survivors of rape and sexual violence," said Acting Director Hanson.

The Department of Justice today announced a series of investigations stemming from allegations of sexual assault and sexual harassment at the University of Montana and in the greater Missoula, Mont., community. These investigations will seek to determine whether gender discrimination affected the prevention, investigation and prosecution of sexual assaults and sexual harassment in Missoula.

"The purpose of the investigation is to determine whether the University and the law enforcement agencies acted promptly, adequately, and fairly to protect the safety of women and whether the university, the police, and the county attorney have comprehensive and integrated systems in place to do so," said Assistant Attorney General Perez.

Frederic Alan Gladle, 53, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Lee Yeakel.

"Know this: times of difficulty, of novel questions and new tests, are the most exciting, and consequential, times to be a lawyer. Since our nation's earliest days, the service and contributions of attorneys - and, very often, of young attorneys - have kept the great and unique American experiment in motion," said Attorney General Holder.

The Justice Department announced today that the Civil Rights Division will monitor the election on Tuesday, May 8, 2012, in Milwaukee. The monitoring will ensure compliance with the Voting Rights Act of 1965. The Voting Rights Act prohibits discrimination in the election process on the basis of race, color or membership in a minority language group. In addition, the act requires certain covered jurisdictions to provide language assistance during the election process. The city of Milwaukee is required to provide assistance in Spanish.

The Justice Department announced today that it will monitor municipal elections on May 12, 2012, in Dallas, Galveston, and Jasper Counties in Texas to ensure compliance with the Voting Rights Act of 1965.

Austin Galvan, 30, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Joseph F. Bataillon for the District of Nebraska.

The Justice Department announced today that it will monitor the primary elections on May 15, 2012, in Colfax and Douglas Counties in Nebraska, to ensure compliance with the Voting Rights Act of 1965 and other federal voting rights statutes. The Voting Rights Act prohibits discrimination in the election process on the basis of race, color or membership in a minority language group. In addition, the Act requires Colfax County to provide language assistance in Spanish during the election process.

Ezinne Ubani, the former director of nursing at Family Healthcare Group, a Houston home health care company, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Nancy Atlas in the Southern District of Texas to 97 months in prison, followed by three years supervised release.

The co-owner of a Detroit-area physical therapy company was sentenced today to 48 months in prison for her leading role in a more than $1.9 million Medicare fraud scheme, announced the Department of Justice, the FBI and the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).

Chris Allen Oake, 61, of Acton, Mass., was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Nathaniel M. Gorton in Boston.

"I’ve spent much of my career – as a prosecutor, in government, and as head of the National Center for Victims of Crime – working to strengthen our responses to victims of all ages. I never cease to marvel at the incredible devotion and resolve of victim advocates," said Acting Assistant Attorney General Leary.

"I am so pleased to be here today to honor four individuals for their extraordinary efforts to find and rescue missing and exploited children and bring perpetrators to justice. Their achievements – and the stories behind them – remind us of the special qualities possessed by every single one of you who works to protect our children," said Deputy Attorney General Cole.

"My colleagues and I across the Justice Department – and the entire Obama Administration – remain deeply committed to expanding this work through funding grants, training, and other forms of assistance. We’re eager to continue partnering with leading jurists like those who serve this Court, tireless advocates like our allies at the PSA and NADCP, and determined drug court participants like each of you," said Attorney General Holder.