A former owner of two Illinois-based technology companies has pleaded guilty to participating in a conspiracy to defraud the federal E-Rate program by providing bribes and kickbacks to school officials in Arkansas, Illinois and Louisiana.

An owner of an Illinois-based technology company was sentenced today to serve one year and a day in prison for his participation in a conspiracy to defraud the federal E-Rate program.

Bruce Schwartz, 53, Sam Wongsesanit, 40, and Shane Germann, 42, have pleaded guilty to human trafficking violations involving the Los Angeles based recruiting company Global Horizons.

Laquanta Grant, a resident of Montgomery, Ala., has pleaded guilty to one count of conspiring to file false claims for refunds.

A former vice president of an Illinois refuse disposal container repair company was sentenced today to serve 16 months in prison and to pay a $40,000 criminal fine for his role in a conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud in connection with bids on a contract with the city of Chicago.

Swift Beef Company, a subsidiary of JBS S.A, the world’s largest beef producer, has agreed to pay $1.3 million to the United States and state of Nebraska to settle alleged violations of the federal Clean Water Act and Nebraska state law at its Grand Island, Neb., beef processing plant.

Dimitrios Grifakis, 57, of Kallithea, Greece, was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge Marvin J. Garbis to six months in prison, followed by two years of supervised release, for obstructing a Coast Guard inspection that took place in May 2010 aboard a Liberian-operated cargo ship M/V Capitola at the Port of Baltimore.

U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder and the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Kathleen Sebelius visited Philadelphia today where they participated in the sixth regional health care fraud prevention summit.

An owner of a Houston health care company pleaded guilty today in connection with a $654,227 Medicare fraud scheme.

A former co-owner of an Illinois-based technology company, Global Networking Technologies Inc. (GNT), was sentenced today to serve one year and a day in prison for his participation in a conspiracy to defraud the federal E-Rate program.

Kenneth H. Nix and Velma I. Salinas-Nix, both of Boerne, Texas, were indicted by a federal grand jury in San Antonio on a multi-count indictment alleging tax fraud and false statements to the U.S. government.

A Belarusian national and resident of Nantucket, Mass., was sentenced today in federal court to 41 months in prison for his participation in an international online scheme to steal income tax refunds from U.S. taxpayers around the country.

Natchez, Miss., Police Department Officer Dewayne Johnson, 33, pleaded guilty today to conspiring to commit identity theft, credit card fraud and bank fraud by agreeing with his cousin to illegally use credit and debit cards stolen from an arrestee in Johnson’s custody.

The vice-president and general manager of the Pelican Refinery in Lake Charles, La., today pleaded guilty to federal negligent endangerment charges under the Clean Air Act before U.S. District Judge Richard T. Haik in Lafayette, La.

John Scott Miles was sentenced to 30 months in prison and Kathryn Charles Miles was sentenced to 20 months in prison.

The Justice Department is seeking to block a husband and wife from operating a scheme that allegedly helps high-income individuals attempt to improperly avoid income taxes by funneling money through purported “welfare benefit plans.”

Vernon Wilson, former Chief Deputy of the Washington County Sheriff’s Department in Potosi, Mo., was sentenced today in U.S. District Court in St. Louis, for violating the civil rights of four former inmates of the Washington County Jail on four separate occasions.

A founder and president of a Washington-area design firm was sentenced today to 18 months in prison for her role in a conspiracy to defraud the United States in the award of a government contract for U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).

"In anticipation of this year’s reauthorization of the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA), the Department has been engaging in comprehensive discussions, including formal consultations with Indian tribes, about how best to protect the safety of Native women."

The former president of Lee Dynamics International, a defense contractor providing services to the U.S. military in Iraq, pleaded guilty today to an indictment charging him with a scheme to bribe military officials in order to obtain government contracts, announced Assistant Attorney General Lanny A. Breuer of the Criminal Division.

The owner of an investment planning company in Miami was sentenced today to 63 months in prison for his role in a scheme to defraud the Export-Import Bank of the United States (Ex-Im Bank) of $5.2 million.

Mark D. Leitner entered a plea of guilty in the Northern District of Florida to filing false liens against federal law enforcement and corruptly endeavoring to impede and impair the Internal Revenue Service.

The president and part owner of a Michigan-based Internet and technology services company was sentenced today to serve 15 months in prison for defrauding the federal E-Rate program.

Attorney General Eric Holder and Secretary of Education Arne Duncan today announced the launch of the Supportive School Discipline Initiative, a collaborative project between the Departments of Justice and Education that will address the “school-to-prison pipeline” and the disciplinary policies and practices that can push students out of school and into the justice system.

Deputy Attorney General James Cole today announced the appointment of Stuart M. Goldberg as the Principal Associate Deputy Attorney General and David A. O’Neil as the Chief of Staff to the Deputy Attorney General.

"As the Deputy Assistant Attorney General responsible for international affairs, I am grateful for this opportunity to express the Department of Justice’s strong support for the Consular Notification Compliance Act of 2011."

Yumeitrius Manuel and Margaret Kirksey, both of Montgomery, Ala., were indicted by a federal grand jury today on charges of conspiracy, identity theft, wire fraud, false claims and lying to federal agents.

Shaoxiong Zhou and Shaoxia Huang, both of Shantou, Guangdong, China, have pleaded guilty to trafficking in counterfeit perfume.

Four Florida men were arrested today on charges that they defrauded homeowners in Massachusetts and elsewhere in connection with a home loan modification scam.

A Brooklyn, N.Y., man pleaded guilty today in U.S. District Court in Alexandria, Va., for his role in managing a credit card fraud operation that operated throughout the East Coast of the United States.

Thomas W. Richardson of Mansfield, Texas, pleaded guilty to one count of theft of government property and one count of aggravated identity theft before the Honorable Jane J. Boyle in Dallas.

A former owner and operator of a Florida-based airline fuel supply service company and a former owner and operator of an Indiana-based flight management services company pleaded guilty today to participating in separate schemes to defraud Ryan International Airlines, a charter airline company located in Rockford, Ill.

A former Rochester, Ill., firefighter was sentenced today to 30 years in prison and lifetime supervised release for child exploitation charges, announced Assistant Attorney General Lanny A. Breuer of the Criminal Division and U.S. Attorney for the Central District of Illinois James A. Lewis.

Levonda J. Selph, 57, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Reggie B. Walton of the District of Columbia.

Jihan S. Cover, 33, of Arden, N.C., pleaded guilty before Magistrate Judge Dennis L. Howell in the Western District of North Carolina to a one-count criminal information charging her with theft of government property.

Tyrone L. Ellis, 56, of Columbus, Ga., was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Clay D. Land of the Middle District of Georgia.

Roger Charles Day Jr. was found guilty late yesterday of leading an international conspiracy to sell more than $4.4 million in nonconforming and defective parts to the Department of Defense.

Melinda M. Lambert, a resident of Montgomery County, Ala., pleaded guilty to one count of aiding and assisting the filing of a false tax return.

Anthony Chaudhuri and Margaret Chaudhuri, of Naples, Fla. were indicted by a federal grand jury on Aug. 8, 2011, in Detroit, with one count of conspiracy to defraud the United States, 11 counts of failure to account for and pay over employment taxes and one count of corruptly endeavoring to obstruct or impede the due administration of the Internal Revenue laws.

Three separate indictments were returned by a federal grand jury in the Middle District of Alabama charging six different individuals on a variety of charges stemming from tax fraud and identity theft schemes.

A Hammond, Ind., man was sentenced today in U.S. District Court in Alexandria, Va., to 14 years in prison for operating an online business that sold counterfeit credit cards encoded with stolen account information.

Maxim Healthcare Services Inc., one of the nation’s leading providers of home healthcare services, has entered into a settlement to resolve criminal and civil charges relating to a nationwide scheme to defraud Medicaid programs and the Veterans Affairs program of more than $61 million.

Veniamin Gonikman, 56, who became a fugitive in 2005, was apprehended in Ukraine in January 2011.

"It is a great honor to go to my job every day and work with the dedicated career attorneys and professionals in the Division to protect and defend the rights guaranteed by some of our nation’s most cherished laws," said Assistant Attorney General Perez.

DeWayne Johnson, 33, of Natchez, Miss., and a former Natchez Police Department officer, was sentenced yesterday to 30 months in prison by U.S. District Court Judge David Bramlette for crimes related to the theft and subsequent unlawful use of credit cards that belonged to a person in the custody of Johnson while he was on duty.

Alchico Grant, a resident of Montgomery, Ala., pleaded guilty to his role in two tax fraud and identity theft conspiracies.

Donald Turner, formerly of Littleton, Colo., was found guilty of conspiring to defraud the United States by a federal jury in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania in Erie, Pa.

William Joseph McCown, 49, of Las Vegas, was sentenced today before District Judge Lloyd D. George of the U.S. District Court for the District of Nevada.

Professional duck hunter and guide Jeffrey B. Foiles was sentenced today by a federal judge in Springfield, Ill., to 13 months in prison.

Future Research Corp., located in Huntsville, Ala., and its president, Jesse Nunn, have agreed to pay the United States $200,000 to settle claims that they inappropriately obtained contracts from the Navy.