The Justice Department and Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI) announced that Alexei Iazlovsky of Potomac, Md., pleaded guilty today in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California to filing a false tax return for tax year 2008.

Fifty-five hospitals located throughout twenty-one states have agreed to pay the United States a total of more than $34 million to settle allegations that the health care facilities submitted false claims to Medicare for kyphoplasty procedures.

The Justice Deparment announced today that Andre James Hertzog, 29, of St. Paul, Minn. pleaded guilty to participating in a sex trafficking conspiracy. Hertzog pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court for the District of Minnesota.

Two members of the Aryan Brotherhood of Texas gang (ABT) pleaded guilty today to racketeering charges related to their membership in the ABT’s criminal enterprise, announced Acting Assistant Attorney General Mythili Raman of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division and U.S. Attorney Kenneth Magidson of the Southern District of Texas.

The Justice Department announced today that it has asked a federal court in Indianapolis, to bar Cynthia Hawk, who operates Gain Tax Services, from preparing tax returns.

Contrack International Inc., a global design and construction company headquartered in McLean, Va., has agreed to pay $3.5 million to settle allegations that it submitted false claims in connection with U. S. Agency for International Development (USAID) contracts.

Today marked the establishment of a memorandum of understanding (MOU) between the Navajo Nation Human Rights Commission and the Civil Rights Division’s Indian Working Group (IWG).

While incarceration is a necessary part of the strategy for ensuring public safety, we know it is not the only answer in every case -- especially for the low-level drug offender. If any of us hope to change the behavior of our criminal population – and make our communities safer – we must make the investment to treat individuals with substance use disorders and others in need of help as a part of the criminal justice system.

The Justice Department announced that seven defendants were arrested and arraigned today for their roles in a mortgage fraud conspiracy that operated in Detroit.

A five-count indictment was filed charging three people from Ashland, Ohio, with engaging in a labor trafficking conspiracy and related crimes for holding a woman with cognitive disabilities and her child against their will and forcing the woman to perform manual labor for them, law enforcement officials said today.

Assistant Attorney General for the Tax Division Kathryn Keneally and U.S. Attorney Melinda Haag for the Northern District of California announced that Moshe Handelsman of Saratoga, Calif., pleaded guilty today to filing a false tax return for tax year 2007.

Today, the Justice Department and the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico filed an historic and court-enforceable agreement to ensure that local police services will be delivered in a manner that is both highly effective and consistent with the Constitution, the laws of the United States and our most treasured values.

Thank you, Governor, for that kind introduction. You and your administration – particularly, Secretary Sánchez Betances – have demonstrated an unwavering commitment to the safety and welfare of the people of Puerto Rico

The Justice Department and Internal Revenue Service (IRS) announced today that Harry Neuhoff, a resident of Brooklyn, N.Y., has pleaded guilty to tax evasion.

An associate of the Aryan Brotherhood of Texas (ABT) gang pleaded guilty today to racketeering charges related to her involvement in the ABT’s criminal enterprise, announced Acting Assistant Attorney Mythili Raman of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division and U.S. Attorney Kenneth Magidson of the Southern District of Texas.

The Justice Department announced today an agreement with the town of Poestenkill, N.Y., to improve access to all aspects of civic life for persons with disabilities.

The Justice Department and Internal Revenue Service (IRS) announced that Gurmail Singh, of Richmond Hill, N.Y., was arrested yesterday following his indictment on July 11, 2013, for multiple tax crimes.

The Justice Department announced today that it has asked a federal court to bar Ronald Manis of Carbondale, Ill., from preparing tax returns for others.

The Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York announced today that they, along with plaintiff adult home residents, entered into a comprehensive settlement agreement with the state of New York under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).

A former San Francisco investment banker and his college friend were sentenced yesterday to 16 months in prison for their roles in an insider trading scheme involving two impending corporate mergers, announced Acting Assistant Attorney General Mythili Raman of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division and U.S. Attorney Melinda Haag of the Northern District of California.

A Philadelphia resident pleaded guilty today for his role as a money launderer in a $13 million health care fraud scheme.

A federal indictment made public today in New Jersey charges five men with conspiring in a worldwide hacking and data breach scheme that targeted major corporate networks, stole more than 160 million credit card numbers and resulted in hundreds of millions of dollars in losses. It is the largest such scheme ever prosecuted in the United States.

A grand jury in the Southern District of Florida issued an indictment for two individuals on charges of conspiracy, fraud and extortion alleging they operated a series of fraudulent businesses targeting Spanish-speaking consumers.

A member of the Aryan Brotherhood of Texas (ABT) gang pleaded guilty today to racketeering charges related to his membership in the ABT’s criminal enterprise, announced Acting Assistant Attorney Mythili Raman of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division and U.S. Attorney Kenneth Magidson of the Southern District of Texas.

Just as it always has been, the American dream is founded – today – on the fundamental promise of equal protection, and equal justice under law, for everyone in this country.

Building on the work of the original and successful Defending Childhood Task Force and efforts across the Department of Justice in Indian country, the American Indian and Alaska Native Task Force will consist of two groups – an Advisory Committee and a Federal Working Group.

The Justice Department announced that federal courts in Minnesota, Texas, Pennsylvania, Oklahoma, Virginia and California have entered orders over the past week authorizing the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) to serve John Doe summonses on certain U.S. banks and financial institutions, seeking information about persons who have used specific credit or debit cards in Norway.

A federal grand jury has returned a superseding indictment charging Jean Claude Roy, aka “Dredd the Don,” and “Dreddy,” age 31, of Germantown, Md., and Brittney Creason, aka“Kitty Amor,” age 19, of Detaur, Ill., of conspiracy to commit sex trafficking.

Wyeth Pharmaceuticals Inc., a pharmaceutical company acquired by Pfizer, Inc. in 2009, has agreed to pay $490.9 million to resolve its criminal and civil liability arising from the unlawful marketing of the prescription drug Rapamune for uses not approved as safe and effective by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

Kathryn Keneally, the Assistant Attorney General for the Tax Division of the Department of Justice, Preet Bharara, the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York and Richard Weber, the Chief of the Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI), announced today that Liechtensteinische Landesbank AG, a bank based in Vaduz, Liechtenstein (LLB-Vaduz), has agreed to pay more than $23.8 million to the United States and entered into a non-prosecution agreement (NPA) with the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York.

Yuri Khandrius, 50, of Brooklyn, N.Y., was sentenced today to eight years in prison for his role in a $77 million Medicare fraud scheme.

Two former officers with the Police of Puerto Rico and another individual were sentenced to prison late yesterday for their roles in providing security for drug transactions.

The Justice Department announced today that the Executive Director of the Financial Fraud Enforcement Task Force (FFETF) Michael Bresnick will be leaving the department on Thursday, August 1, 2013.

Barren County, Ky., Sheriff Christopher Brian Eaton, 42, of Glasgow, Ky., was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge Joseph H. McKinley Jr. to serve an 18-month prison term followed by two years of supervised release, after a jury convicted him on May 9, 2013, of two counts of obstructing justice during a federal criminal civil rights investigation conducted by the FBI.

As Attorney General, the highest award I can bestow within the Justice Department is the Attorney General’s Award for Exceptional Service – which is typically presented only once each year. Today, in recognition of Bob Mueller’s leadership of the FBI, his contributions over the course of his career, and his exemplary service to the American people, it is my privilege to present him with this year’s Exceptional Service Award.

Two individuals, Donald Torriero and Julius DeSimone, were sentenced in federal court in Utica, N.Y., for illegally dumping thousands of tons of asbestos-contaminated construction debris on a 28-acre piece of property on the Mohawk River in upstate New York, the Justice Department announced.

Christian Fernando Borda, a major narcotics trafficker aligned with paramilitary groups in Colombia, was sentenced today to serve 25 years in prison for conspiring to import ton-quantities of cocaine into the United States, announced Acting Assistant Attorney General Mythili Raman of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division and Administrator Michele M. Leonhart of the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA).

Dr. Farid Fata, 48, of Oakland Township, Michigan, was arrested this morning and charged in a criminal complaint for his role in a health care fraud scheme which involved submitting false claims to Medicare for services that were medically unnecessary, including chemotherapy treatments.

Attorney General Eric Holder and U.S. Attorney for the Western District of North Carolina Anne M. Tompkins announced today that the United States has filed a civil lawsuit against Bank of America Corporation and certain of its affiliates, including Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner &Bank of America”).

Three leaders of MS-13 in Washington, D.C., were found guilty by a federal jury today of conspiring to participate in racketeering activity and other charges stemming from their roles in murders, extortion and other violent crimes in the Washington area.

These three principles — data-driven innovation, effective collaboration, and meaningful reentry — certainly are not the only approaches to smarter policing in this new century, but they are important as we continue to build the bridge to justice and equality in this challenging climate of contraction, subtraction, and sequestration.

Qiang Wang, a/k/a Jeffrey Wang, a New York antiques dealer, pleaded guilty today in federal court in New York City to conspiracy to smuggle Asian artifacts made from rhinoceros horns and ivory and violate wildlife trafficking laws, announced Robert G. Dreher, the Acting Assistant Attorney General for the Environment and Natural Resources Division of the Department of Justice, Preet Bharara, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York, and Dan Ashe, Director of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

Diana Shipping Services S.A., a Panamanian corporation headquartered in Greece, Ioannis Prokakis and Antonios Boumpoutelos, both citizens of Greece, were convicted today after an 12-day bench trial on charges related to the illegal discharge of waste oil and oil-contaminated waste water from the M/V Thetis, a cargo vessel operated by Diana Shipping Services, announced Robert G. Dreher, Acting Assistant Attorney General for the Justice Department’s Environment and Natural Resources Division, Neil H. MacBride, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, Otis E. Harris, Jr., Special Agent in Charge, Coast Guard Investigative Service, Chesapeake Region, and David G. McLeod, Jr., Special Agent in Charge of EPA’s criminal enforcement program for the Middle Atlantic States.

Thuron L. Hammersley, 44, of Fairborn, Ohio, pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court today to one count of transporting an individual from Ohio to Kentucky for purposes of engaging in prostitution

An Athol, Mass., man has been charged in a criminal information with engaging in a practice known as “swatting,” which involves making hoax emergency telephone calls in order to elicit an armed police response (from a SWAT team) for the purpose of harassing someone believed to be at a specific location.

The Justice Department and Internal Revenue Service (IRS) announced that Tomas Olazabal, of Fresh Meadows, N.Y., was arrested today following his indictment in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York on Aug. 8, 2013, on multiple tax crimes.

"Today, a vicious cycle of poverty, criminality, and incarceration traps too many Americans and weakens too many communities. And many aspects of our criminal justice system may actually exacerbate these problems, rather than alleviate them," said Attorney General Holder.

Consumers will also pay more on routes where US Airways and American today offer competing nonstop service. We know from prior mergers that elimination of head-to-head competition on nonstop routes results in substantial price increases for consumers.

Kathryn Keneally, Assistant Attorney General of the Justice Department’s Tax Division, and Kerry B. Harvey, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Kentucky, jointly announced today that James S. Faller II, of Russell Springs, Ky., was indicted by a federal grand jury in Bowling Green, Ky.

U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Kentucky David J. Hale and Acting Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Rights Division Jocelyn Samuels announced that Steven Molen, a Sheriff’s Deputy with the Pulaski County Sheriff’s Office, was indicted yesterday by a federal grand jury on one count of violating the civil rights of a victim by using excessive force in August 2008.