Former Indianapolis and Marion County, Ind., City-County Councilman Lincoln Plowman was convicted today by a federal jury of attempted extortion and soliciting a bribe.

"The theme for this year’s Hispanic Heritage Month – “Many Backgrounds, Many Stories . . . One American Spirit” – serves as a reminder of the many diverse threads woven through our nation’ s history," said Attorney General Holder.

Six current and former members of the U.S. military have been charged a 41-count indictment in San Antonio for allegedly defrauding various U.S. military components and their contractor of approximately $127,000 by fraudulently obtaining recruiting bonuses.

BP Amoco Corp., Amoco Production Company, BP Exploration & Oil Inc., BP America Inc., Atlantic Richfield Company and Vastar have agreed to pay the United States $20.5 million to resolve claims that the companies violated the False Claims Act by knowingly underpaying royalties owed on natural gas produced from federal and Indian leases.

Miami resident Lawrence Duran, the owner of a mental health care company, American Therapeutic Corporation (ATC), was sentenced today to 50 years in prison for orchestrating a $205 million Medicare fraud scheme.

Saudi Arabia-based Tamimi Global Company Ltd has agreed to pay the United States $13 million to resolve criminal and civil allegations that the company paid kickbacks to a Kellogg Brown &s operations in Iraq and Kuwait.

"As members of the Hopkins community, you are heirs to an extraordinary tradition & of excellence, action, and service & that stretches back more than a hundred years before the birth of this nation," said Attorney General Holder.

Attorney General Holder today issued the following statement on the release of the 2010 Uniform Crime Report, which showed a decline in violent crime across the United States for the second straight year.

Thomas Aram Manok, 50, of Chantilly, Va., pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Anthony J. Trenga in the Eastern District of Virginia.

Federal, state and Bay-area officials announced a comprehensive civil settlement with the owners and operators of the M/V Cosco Busan, resolving all natural resource damages, penalties and response costs that resulted from the ship striking the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge in 2007, and subsequent oil spill in the San Francisco Bay.

The former president and administrator of a fraudulent physical therapy company in Lakeland, Fla., was sentenced today to 24 months in prison for his role in a scheme to defraud Medicare.

"In this time of uncommon challenges and evolving threats, our allegiance to these values – of liberty, privacy, opportunity, and justice – and the achievement of our collective security goals – have never been more important, or more urgent," said Attorney General Holder.

"The settlement requires Regal Stone Limited and Fleet Management Limited to pay more than $44 million for natural resource damages and penalties, and to reimburse the government entities for response costs incurred as a result of the spill," said Assistant Attorney General Moreno.

Former Milwaukee Police Officer Ladmarald Cates, 43, was indicted today by a federal grand jury for sexually assaulting a woman while he was on duty.

"Conferences like this one serve the important purpose of raising global awareness about the negative consequences of IP crime, and showing those who need convincing how critically important it is that we work together to stop IP crime, and punish those who commit it," said Assistant Attorney General Breuer.

"Over the years, by working together – in common cause, in good faith, and with mutual respect and shared commitment to reciprocity – we have built a safer world," said Attorney General Holder.

Lydia Demski, the owner of Deerpath Corp., has agreed to pay the United States $800,000 to resolve allegations that she and her companies knowingly caused false claims to be submitted relating to a contract to provide re-furbishment of equipment at the National Aeronautics and Space Administration’s (NASA) Plumbrook facility in Sandusky, Ohio.

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.

Ten Miami-area residents pleaded guilty today and yesterday in U.S. District Court in Miami for their participation in a $25 million home health Medicare fraud scheme.

Haroon Amin of Upland, Calif., was sentenced to 30 months in prison today for conspiracy to defraud the United States.

Raymond Quintero, 33, pleaded guilty to willfully depriving a detainee of his constitutional right to be free from excessive force amounting to punishment.

"Our common objective is to deploy the counter terrorist financing tools available to the United States in a coordinated, integrated fashion to effectively disrupt the flow of funds and other material support to terrorist organizations," said Assistant Attorney General Monaco.

"As surely as our values are shared – and our histories intertwined -- the future progress of our nations is clearly, and permanently, connected,"

After a two day hearing in federal court in Rochester, N.Y., that ended late yesterday, U.S. District Court Judge Charles J. Siragusa sentenced Keith Gordon-Smith, 54, of Rochester, to six years in prison for knowingly violating the Clean Air Act and making false statements to a federal inspector.

– Alan James Watson, 46, of Clinton Township, Mich., pleaded guilty today to fraudulently soliciting and accepting $40 million from more than 750 members of his investment club and losing nearly all of it through non-disclosed, high-risk investments.

Jesus Espino, 43, of El Paso, Texas, and Lorenzo Espino, 51, aka “Lencho,” and “Oso,” of El Paso, each pleaded guilty today before U.S. Magistrate Judge Norbert Garney in the Western District of Texas, El Paso Division, to participating in a racketeering conspiracy.

CH2M Hill Hanford Group Inc. has agreed to pay the United States $1.5 million to resolve allegations that it knowingly submitted false claims and paid kickbacks relating to a contract to operate and manage mixed radioactive waste at the Department of Energy’s Hanford Nuclear Site in the state of Washington.

A former project manager of a construction company that had substantial business at Fort Bliss, a U.S. Army installation in El Paso, Texas, pleaded guilty today to soliciting and accepting kickbacks from subcontractors on a federal contract with the U.S. Army.

A former member of the U.S. Army employed by a private security firm was arrested at Miami International Airport today on charges of bribery, fraud and theft of government funds, in connection with the award of a contract to provide services to a U.S. government provincial reconstruction team in Farah, Afghanistan.

The Justice Department today resolved claims made by U.S. Army Reserve member Kyle A. Sharp against ServiceMaster 24-Hour and Gregory Tullar, ServiceMaster’s owner and operator, alleging that they violated the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act of 1994.

I appreciate this opportunity to appear before the Committee on behalf of the Department of Justice to offer the Department’s report on implementation of the Tribal Law and Order Act of 2010, Title II of Public Law 111-211 (TLOA).

A former captain in the U.S. Army Reserve stationed in Afghanistan was sentenced today to 120 months in prison for soliciting $1.3 million in bribes from contractors involved in U.S.-funded reconstruction efforts and participating in a conspiracy to traffic heroin from Southeast Asia.

Matthew David Howard Smith pleaded guilty today for his role in founding a website that provided millions of users with the ability to illegally download copyright-protected movies and television programs.

A Las Vegas woman pleaded guilty today for her role in a scheme to fraudulently gain control of condominium homeowners’ associations (HOA) in the Las Vegas area so that the HOAs would direct business to a certain law firm and construction company.

"Today’s operations represent the kind of collaborative law enforcement that breeds success," said Assistant Attorney General Breuer.

Guidant LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Boston Scientific Corp. of Natick, Mass., has agreed to pay the United States $9.25 million to resolve False Claims Act allegations.

Antonio Washington, 22, aka “T.O.,” of Nashville, also was ordered by U.S. District Judge Aleta Trauger to serve five years of supervised release following his prison term.

Under the agreement, which must still be approved by the court, developer, Enclave Development LLC, will make extensive modifications to the complex over the next three years to improve accessibility, and Enclave Development and the other defendants will pay $30,000 to compensate persons who have been harmed by the inaccessible design and construction.

"In the Criminal Division, and throughout the U.S. Attorneys’ Offices, we devote substantial resources to investigating and prosecuting fraud of all kinds – investment fraud, bank fraud, mortgage fraud, procurement fraud, and, of course, fraud in the health care industry," Assistant Attorney General Breuer.

Maritza Vidal, 44, and Richard Diaz, 26, each pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Joan A. Lenard to one count of conspiracy to commit health care fraud.

Louisville, Ky., physician Dr. Steven H. Stern and his practice, Kentuckiana Center for Better Bone and Joint Health PLLC have agreed to pay $349,860 to settle allegations of overbilling Medicare.

Peter Labovitz of Alexandria, Va., was sentenced to six months in prison for failing to pay employment taxes to the Internal Revenue Service.

Attorney General Eric Holder today convened the second meeting of the federal interagency Reentry Council to address ways to ensure those returning from prison become productive, law-abiding citizens.

A Detroit federal grand jury returned an indictment today against three former executives from Panasonic Corporation, a Whirlpool Corporation subsidiary and a Tecumseh Products Company subsidiary for their role in an international conspiracy to fix the prices of refrigerant compressors.

Nearly 40 members and associates of the Bandido Outlaw Motorcycle Gang (BOMG) were arrested yesterday and today on various firearms and drug-related charges in three judicial districts as part of a coordinated law enforcement effort.

A superseding indictment was returned today in Milwaukee against Dr. Arvind Ahuja of Greendale, Wis., adding a charge of conspiracy to defraud the Internal Revenue Service.

Six Japanese freight forwarders have agreed to plead guilty and to pay criminal fines totaling $46.8 million for their roles in a conspiracy to fix certain fees in connection with the provision of freight forwarding services for air cargo shipments from Japan to the United States.

Trident Seafoods Corp., one of the world’s largest seafood processors, has agreed to pay a $2.5 million civil penalty and invest millions in seafood processing waste controls to settle alleged violations of the Clean Water Act.