Three defendants who previously pleaded guilty in connection with an immigration services fraud scheme were sentenced in federal court.

Attorney General Eric Holder announced today that the Justice Department’s Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA) will provide $2.5 million in funding to the Connecticut State Police, the Newtown, Conn., Police Department and their partner agencies that provided assistance in response to the shootings at Sandy Hook Elementary School last year.

Today, the U.S. Department of Justice announced an update to its federal marijuana enforcement policy in light of recent state ballot initiatives that legalize, under state law, the possession of small amounts of marijuana and provide for the regulation of marijuana production, processing, and sale.

In a settlement agreement with the United States, Safeway, the nation’s second largest grocery store chain, has agreed to pay a $600,000 civil penalty and implement a corporate-wide plan to significantly reduce its emissions of ozone-depleting substances from refrigeration equipment at 659 of its stores nationwide, estimated to cost approximately $4.1 million.

In the Obama administration’s latest step to ensure equal treatment for same-sex married couples following the Supreme Court’s decision to strike down a key section of the Defense of Marriage Act, U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder announced Wednesday that President Obama has directed the Executive Branch to take steps allowing for same-sex spouses of military veterans to collect federal benefits.

The Justice Department announced today that it reached an agreement with Kelly Services Inc., a staffing company based in Troy, Mich., resolving an allegation of discrimination based on citizenship status during the employment eligibility re-verification process at one of its branch locations in Schaumburg, Ill.

Attorney General Eric Holder, Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Kathleen Sebelius, and Federal Trade Commission (FTC) Chairwoman Edith Ramirez met at the White House to kick off a comprehensive interagency initiative to prevent, protect against, and where necessary prosecute consumer fraud and privacy violations in the Health Insurance Marketplace.

A federal grand jury in Detroit returned an indictment against two Fujikura Ltd. executives for their roles in an international conspiracy to fix prices of auto parts used in automotive wire harnesses sold to Subaru and installed in U.S. cars.

A Detroit federal grand jury returned an indictment against a Panasonic Automotive Systems Corporation executive for his role in an international conspiracy to fix prices of switches and steering angle sensors sold to Toyota and installed in U.S. cars.

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).

Nine Japan-based companies and two executives have agreed to plead guilty and to pay a total of more than $740 million in criminal fines for their roles in separate conspiracies to fix the prices of more than 30 different products sold to U.S. car manufacturers and installed in cars sold in the United States and elsewhere, the Department of Justice announced today. The department said that price-fixed automobile parts were sold to Chrysler, Ford and General Motors, as well as to the U.S. subsidiaries of Honda, Mazda, Mitsubishi, Nissan, Toyota and Fuji Heavy Industries–more commonly known by its brand name, Subaru.

Attorney General Eric Holder announced today that the Justice Department’s Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA) will provide $150,000 in Fiscal Year 2013 funding to Newtown, Conn., to fund two positions to ensure school safety, such as school resource officers.

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.

Boston Scientific Corp. and its subsidiaries, Guidant LLC, Guidant Sales LLC and Cardiac Pacemakers Inc. (Guidant), have agreed to pay $30 million to settle allegations that, between 2002 and 2005, Guidant knowingly sold defective heart devices to health care facilities that in turn implanted the devices into Medicare patients.

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).

Diebold Inc. (Diebold), the Ohio-based provider of integrated self-service delivery and security systems, including automated teller machines (ATMs), has agreed to pay a $25.2 million penalty to resolve allegations that it violated the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) by bribing government officials in China and Indonesia and falsifying records in Russia in order to obtain and retain contracts to provide ATMs to state-owned and private banks in those countries.

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.

A Massachusetts man was sentenced to serve 30 months in prison today for engaging in an illegal practice known as “swatting,” in which he made hoax emergency telephone calls reporting an ongoing, dangerous crime to elicit an armed police response from a SWAT team to a specific location, typically in order to harass someone he believed was at the location.

Attorney General Eric Holder today announced a total of $6.7 million in grants to state and local criminal and civil legal services organizations across the country that provide legal defense services for the poor.

The government has intervened in a lawsuit filed under the False Claims Act against United States Investigations Services LLC (USIS) in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Alabama, alleging that USIS, located in Falls Church, Va., failed to perform quality control reviews in connection with its background investigations for the U.S. Office of Personnel Management (OPM).

AT&T has agreed to settle allegations that it violated the False Claims Act in connection with a program administered by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC).

A federal grand jury in Albuquerque, N.M., has returned a one-count indictment charging former Belen Police Department Detective John Lytle with unlawfully assaulting a victim, identified in the indictment as R.A., during an investigative stop and arrest on March 15, 2012.

Attorney General Eric Holder today announced Ronald L. Davis as the director of the Office of Community Oriented Policing Services.

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.

Attorney General Eric Holder today announced the first public hearing of a new task force to examine the impact of exposure to violence on American Indian and Alaska Native children. Joining President Obama and other officials at the Department of the Interior for the White House Tribal Nations Conference, Attorney General Holder shared the announcement with leaders from the 566 federally recognized tribes and emphasized the Justice Department’s long-standing collaboration with leaders in American Indian and Alaska Native communities to improve public safety.

The Justice Department has awarded more than $62 million in grants to strengthen efforts to help people returning from prison rejoin their communities and become productive, law-abiding citizens.

The Justice Department announced today that it has opened a pattern or practice investigation of the Family Court of St. Louis.

The Ensign Group Inc., a skilled nursing provider based in Mission Viejo, Calif., that operates nursing homes across the western U.S. has agreed to pay $48 million to resolve allegations that it knowingly submitted to Medicare false claims for medically unnecessary rehabilitation therapy services.

"In nascent democracies, however, public corruption can undermine the very existence of the types of democratic institutions that we take for granted," said Deputy Attorney General Cole

Deputy Attorney General James M. Cole today announced the release of a new Department of Justice policy for employees addressing the effects of domestic violence, sexual assault, and stalking in the workplace.

Vantage Oncology LLC (Vantage) has agreed to pay the government more than $2.08 million to settle allegations that it submitted false claims to Medicare for radiation oncology services performed at its Illinois centers from 2007 through June 2012.

A Cleveland federal grand jury returned an indictment against two executives of a Japanese automotive supplier for their roles in an international conspiracy to fix prices of automotive anti-vibration rubber parts sold to Toyota and installed in U.S. cars.

The Civil Rights Division and U.S. Attorney Carmen Ortiz announced today that they have moved to intervene in National Federation of the Blind et al v. HRB Digital LLC et al, a private lawsuit alleging disability discrimination by HRB Digital LLC and HRB Tax Group Inc., subsidiaries of H&R Block Inc.

Several California companies and individuals that formerly supplied beef to the National School Lunch Program have agreed to settle allegations of inhumane handling of cattle, circumventing appropriate inspection of nonambulatory disabled (“downer”) cattle and false representations regarding their eligibility to process beef.

The Department of Justice announced today that it has reached a settlement with Newseum Inc., which owns and operates the Newseum, to address alleged violations of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).

The former president of Sea Star Line LLC, a Jacksonville, Fla.-based water freight carrier, was sentenced to serve five years in prison and to pay a $25,000 criminal fine for his participation in a conspiracy to fix rates and surcharges for freight transported by water between the continental United States and Puerto Rico.

The government has intervened in a lawsuit against IPC The Hospitalist Co. Inc., and its subsidiaries (IPC), alleging that IPC submitted false claims to federal health care programs, the Justice Department announced today. IPC, based in North Hollywood, Calif., is one of the largest providers of hospitalist services in the United States, employing physicians and other health care providers who work in more than 1,300 facilities in 28 states. Hospitalists are physicians who work only in hospitals and other long-term care facilities, overseeing and coordinating inpatient care from admission to discharge.

Bilfinger SE, an international engineering and services company based in Mannheim, Germany, has agreed to pay a $32 million penalty to resolve charges that it violated the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) by bribing government officials of the Federal Republic of Nigeria to obtain and retain contracts

I know it hasn’t always been easy to be related to such a renowned, respected, and dedicated public servant – whose passion for the law, and determination to help his country address the toughest legal challenges, has often kept him at the office late into the night – and made him absent from too many family dinners and special occasions.

Cardiologist Dr. Elie H. Korban will pay $1.15 million to resolve False Claims Act allegations that he billed Medicare and Medicaid for medically unnecessary cardiac stent placement.

The Justice Department announced today that developer Douglas Pauley and entities affiliated with him have agreed to pay $110,000 and make all retrofits required to remove accessibility barriers at 30 apartment complexes, involving more than 750 units, in West Virginia that were developed through the federal government’s Low-Income Housing Tax Credit program.

The Justice Department announced today that the United States and a coalition of mental health advocacy organizations have entered into a comprehensive settlement agreement with the state of New Hampshire that will transform New Hampshire’s mental health system by significantly expanding and enhancing mental health service capacity in integrated community settings.

The U.S. Department of Justice today announced the opening of a comprehensive grant solicitation for funding to support public safety, victim services, and crime prevention by American Indian and Alaska Native governments.

A subsidiary of Archer Daniels Midland Company (ADM) pleaded guilty today and has agreed to pay more than $17 million in criminal fines to resolve charges that it paid bribes through vendors to Ukrainian government officials.

U.S. District Court Judge Kim R. Gibson of the Western District of Pennsylvania has entered a consent decree of permanent injunction against Metzler & Sons LLC and Pleasant View Farms Inc., the Justice Department announced today.

Two former chief executive officers of PetroTiger Ltd. – a British Virgin Islands oil and gas company with operations in Colombia and offices in New Jersey – have been charged for their alleged participation in a scheme to pay bribes to foreign government officials in violation of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA).

The Justice Department announced today that it has closed its investigation of State Correctional Institution – Pittsburgh after the Pennsylvania Department of Corrections (PDOC) significantly improved security policies and practices at the prison and throughout the Pennsylvania prison system.

The government has intervened in eight False Claims Act lawsuits against Health Management Associates Inc. (HMA) alleging that HMA billed federal health care programs for medically unnecessary inpatient admissions from the emergency departments at HMA hospitals and paid remuneration to physicians in exchange for patient referrals.

The U.S. Department of Justice’s Office for Victims of Crime (OVC) today announced a $8,355,648 grant to organizations providing direct support to assist the victims, witnesses and first responders involved in the events surrounding the Boston Marathon bombings in April 2013.