The Justice Department filed a lawsuit yesterday against the owners, builders and designers of an eight unit apartment complex at 175 and 195 Silsbee Avenue in Helena, Mont. for violations of the Fair Housing Act.

The Department of Justice today announced the awarding of 192 grants to 110 American Indian tribes, Alaska Native villages, tribal consortia and tribal designated non-profits.

America’s criminal justice system is in need of targeted reform. Throughout this country, too many Americans are trapped – and too many communities are weakened – by a vicious cycle of poverty, criminality, and incarceration. Too many people go to too many prisons for far too long – and for no truly good law enforcement reason. The U.S. prison population has grown at an astonishing rate over the last three decades – by almost 800 percent since 1980, despite the fact that America’s overall population has increased by only about a third.

Child Cyber Safety Night at the Ballpark is the latest effort by the Justice Department and its law enforcement and community partners to encourage parents to speak with their children about online and cell phone safety and provide prevention materials. As part of the event, the Department will receive the Washington Nationals Spirit Award.

Today the Department of Justice filed a complaint and a simultaneous settlement agreement in the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia to ensure that prisoners at the Piedmont Regional Jail in Farmville, Va., receive appropriate medical and mental health care.

On Friday, the Court of Federal Claims in Washington, D.C., ruled that a subsidiary of the BB&T Corporation was not entitled to $660 million in tax benefits that BB&T claimed based on its participation in an abusive tax shelter known as Structured Trust Advantaged Repackaged Securities (STARS). Judge Thomas C. Wheeler, who delivered the opinion of the Court, imposed $112 million in penalties.

The Justice Department announced today that it will monitor the special municipal election on Sept. 24, 2013, in Hattiesburg, Miss.

The United States filed a complaint yesterday asking a federal court in Atlanta to enjoin Joan Leger and her company, The 1804 Tax Group Inc., doing business as Liberty Tax Service, from preparing federal income tax returns for others, the Justice Department announced today.

Jason Glenn Thomas, 35, a former City of Tuscaloosa Police sergeant in Tuscaloosa, Ala., was sentenced today to serve ten years in federal prison followed by three years of supervised release for sexually assaulting a Tuscaloosa woman in violation of federal civil rights laws. A special assessment of $100.00 was also imposed.

The Justice Department today announced an enhanced online resource designed to support American victims of overseas terrorism.

The Justice Department announced today that it has reached an agreement with Infinity Group (IG) and its related entities resolving allegations that the companies violated the anti-discrimination provision of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA).

The Department of Justice announced today that it has reached a settlement agreement with the City of Birmingham, Ala., that, if approved by the court, will resolve the Department’s complaint alleging religious discrimination in violation of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, as amended.

A high-ranking member of the Aryan Brotherhood of Texas (ABT) was sentenced today to serve 360 months in prison for his role 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 Southport Bank of Kenosha, Wis., will pay $687,000 to African-American and Hispanic wholesale mortgage borrowers as part of a settlement to resolve allegations that it engaged in a pattern or practice of discrimination on the basis of race and national origin.

The Justice Department announced today that it has reached a settlement agreement with Huber Nurseries, based in Manheim, Pa., resolving allegations that Huber engaged in citizenship status discrimination by preferring to hire temporary visa holders over recent lawful permanent residents from Nepal.

The impact of this violence, and of our acquiescence, is greater than it appears on the surface. We can see the immediate physical damage it does, and we know it causes emotional trauma in the kids it touches.

There were more than a dozen separate conspiracies each operating independently but all targeting the U.S. automotive industry. Some of the price-fixing conspiracies lasted for a decade or longer, and many car models were fitted with multiple parts that were fixed by the auto parts suppliers.

Justice Department officials along with other senior officials from the Administration yesterday convened the third annual National Summit on Preventing Youth Violence to share strategies on how to prevent and reduce violence and gang activity and improve opportunities for young people.

The Justice Department announced today that Plaza Home Mortgage Inc. (Plaza) of San Diego will pay $3 million to aggrieved borrowers as part of a settlement to resolve allegations that it engaged in a pattern or practice of discrimination on the basis of race and national origin.

The U.S. Department of Justice Office of Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS) today announced funding awards to 263 cities and counties, aimed at creating 937 law enforcement positions. More than $125 million will be awarded nationally, including nearly $45 million to fund 356 new school resource officer positions.

The Justice Department announced today that it reached an agreement yesterday with International Business Machines Corporation (IBM) resolving allegations that the company violated the anti-discrimination provision of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) when it placed online job postings for application and software developers that contained citizenship status preferences for F-1 and H-1B temporary visa holders.

The Justice Department announced today that it has reached an agreement with Paramount Staffing, a staffing company based in Northbrook, Ill., resolving an allegation that the company violated the anti-discrimination provision of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) by requesting more or different documents from individuals during the employment eligibility verification processes based on the individuals’ citizenship status.

Today, I am pleased to be in Detroit to announce that – in addition to our ongoing enforcement of antitrust and consumer protection laws – as part of the Obama Administration’s commitment to supporting the City of Detroit, the Justice Department will take a variety of actions to provide direct assistance to city leaders and local law enforcement authorities in order to improve public safety throughout the metropolitan area.

The Justice Department announced today that it intends to file a lawsuit against the State of North Carolina, the North Carolina State Board of Elections, and the Executive Director for the State Board of Elections over recent voting changes made by North Carolina House Bill 589, which was signed into law in August 2013. The United States’ complaint challenges provisions of House Bill 589 under the non-discrimination requirements of Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act.

The Justice Department announced it has filed a lawsuit today in the federal district court for the Western District of Michigan against the owners and manager of Alger Meadow Apartments in Grand Rapids, Mich., alleging that the manager has sexually harassed tenants in violation of the Fair Housing Act.

The Justice Department today announced that it has filed a lawsuit alleging that the Housing Authority for the City of Ruston, La., has engaged in a pattern or practice of discrimination against African-American tenants, in violation of the federal Fair Housing Act.

The Justice Department filed a settlement agreement and order today that resolved allegations that Chevy Chase Bank F.S.B. engaged in a pattern or practice of discrimination against qualified African-American and Hispanic borrowers in its home mortgage lending from 2006 through 2009.

The Justice Department announced today that it has reached a settlement with the South Carolina Department of Corrections (SCDC) and its director, to resolve alleged violations of Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (Section 504).

The Justice Department announced today that it has filed a lawsuit against the manager and owner of the Linden House Apartments in Cleveland for refusing to rent apartments to families with children in violation of the federal Fair Housing Act.

The Justice Department announced today that it has reached an agreement with the Arapahoe County, Colo. Office of the Sheriff resolving allegations that the Office of the Sheriff violated the anti-discrimination provision of the Immigration and Nationality Act(INA).

The United States has requested that the federal district court in Jackson, Miss., permanently bar Danee Aikens from preparing federal income tax returns for others, the Justice Department announced today.

A federal court in Columbus, Ohio, has permanently barred Tobias Elsass and his companies, “Fraud Recovery Group Inc.” and “Sensible Tax Services Inc.,” from preparing federal tax returns, promoting the availability of theft loss deductions, or engaging in any other tax-related business in the future.

The United States filed a civil complaint yesterday asking a federal court in Honolulu to enjoin James A. Ericson from preparing federal tax returns for others, the Justice Department announced today.

The Justice Department today filed a lawsuit against the owner and operators of a Fremont, Calif., apartment complex, alleging that they had discriminated against families with children in violation of the Fair Housing Act by prohibiting children from playing in the common grassy areas of the complex.

The Department of Justice announced today that it has reached a settlement with All Battery Sales and Service (ABS) of Everett, Wash., to resolve a lawsuit it filed on behalf of Curtis Kirk, a U.S. Army reservist.

The Justice Department announced today that the U.S. District Court of Nevada has approved a settlement in which the owners and operators of Rosewood Park Apartments, a 902 unit apartment complex in Reno, Nev., will pay $167,000 to resolve a lawsuit alleging discrimination against persons with disabilities who use assistance animals.

The United States has sued Eric Hardaway, aka Eric Brittenum, and Yvonne Hardaway, seeking to bar them and their business, Hardaway Taxx, from preparing federal tax returns for others, the Justice Department announced today.

The Civil Rights Division and U.S. Attorney Carmen M. Ortiz announced today the filing of a complaint alleging that the International Association of Bridge, Structural, Ornamental and Reinforcing Iron Workers Local 7 (the union) and Iron Workers District Council of New England Pension Fund (the Pension Fund) willfully violated the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act of 1994 (USERRA) by failing to credit U.S. Navy Reserve Member Thomas Shea with service time while he was serving in the armed forces in Afghanistan.

The Justice Department announced today that, jointly with the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, it is moving in the U.S. District Court for the appointment of Juan Mattos Jr. as Technical Compliance Advisor (TCA).

The United States has filed a lawsuit asking a federal district court in McAllen, Texas, to permanently bar Hector Rangel Jr. from preparing federal tax returns for others, the Justice Department announced today.

The Justice Department announced that on Nov. 1, 2013, it asked a federal court to bar Sergio Fernando Sosa and his company, Sergio Centro Latino, from preparing tax returns for others.

The U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware approved a settlement agreement today between the United States and the APCO Liquidating Trust (a successor in interest to APCO Oil Corporation). The settlement follows seven years of litigation concerning the APCO Liquidating Trust’s liability under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA or “Superfund”) for costs incurred by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for the ongoing cleanup of the Oklahoma Refining Company (ORC) Superfund Site located in Cyril, Okla.

Return Preparer Allegedly Overstated Refunds Through False First-Time Homebuyer Credits

The Justice Department announced today that it will monitor elections on Nov. 5, 2013, in Detroit and Hamtramck, Mich.; Orange County, N.Y.; and Cuyahoga and Lorain Counties, Ohio.

The Justice Department announced today that U.S. District Court Judge Myron H. Thompson sentenced four former corrections officers of the Alabama Department of Corrections – Michael Smith, Matthew Davidson, Joseph Sanders and Scottie Glenn – in connection with the beating death of former inmate Rocrast Mack.

The Department of Justice today announced that it is requiring US Airways Group Inc. and American Airlines’ parent corporation, AMR Corp. to divest slots and gates at key constrained airports across the country to low cost carrier airlines (LCCs) in order to enhance system-wide competition in the airline industry resulting in more choices and more competitive airfares for consumers.

The Department of Justice’s Office on Violence Against Women (OVW), in partnership with the National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges (NCJFCJ), announces the selection of four courts to participate in the Family Court Enhancement Project (FCEP) to improve custody and visitation decision-making for families who have experienced domestic violence.

The Justice Department, the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and the City of Joliet, Ill., have settled housing discrimination litigation that will preserve affordable housing for low-income residents in the southwest Chicago suburb for at least the next 20 years, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Illinois and the Civil Rights Division announced today.

The United States has asked a federal court in New Orleans to permanently bar Shawanda Nevers (aka Shawanda Bryant, aka Shawanda Hawkins, aka Shawanda Johnson) of La Place, La., from preparing federal income tax returns for others, the Justice Department announced today.

The Department of Justice filed a proposed settlement with US Airways and American Airlines that, if approved by the court, would resolve our lawsuit challenging their proposed merger. Under the agreement, we are requiring US Airways and American Airlines to divest critically important facilities at seven key airports across the country