A federal court has ordered the Walthall County, Miss., School District to eliminate policies that have resulted in significant racial segregation among students in the school district.

A retired colonel in the U.S. Army pleaded guilty today to accepting thousands of dollars in gratuities from a contractor during his deployment to Iraq as a contracting officer’s representative.

Dilraj “Rosh” Mathauda was sentenced yesterday by U.S. District Court Judge Joan A. Lenard in Miami to a term of 115 months in prison and five years of supervised release for illegally operating a series of Costa Rica-based business opportunity fraud ventures.

Michael Shane Minich, 35, a former Lee County, Miss., Sheriff’s Deputy, pleaded guilty today before U.S. District Judge Sharion Aycock, in Aberdeen, Miss., to depriving citizens of their civil rights under color of law by secretly removing cash from their wallets during traffic stops.

A U.S. Army contracting official pleaded guilty today to bribery and unlawful salary supplementation in connection with two schemes to solicit more than $17,000 in bribes and other payments from an Egyptian businessman in Kuwait.

Schwarz Pharma Inc. will pay $22 million to resolve False Claims Act allegations that the company failed to advise the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) that two unapproved products did not qualify for coverage under federal health care programs.

A federal court in Jackson, Miss., has ruled in favor of the United States involving a businessman’s attempt to use a KPMG- marketed tax shelter to avoid paying income tax on approximately $18 million in capital gains.

Attorney General Eric Holder today announced the appointment of four new U.S. Attorneys to serve two-year terms on the Attorney General’s Advisory Committee (AGAC): Loretta E. Lynch, Eastern District of New York; Stephanie M. Rose, Northern District of Iowa; Benjamin B. Wagner, Eastern District of California; and Sally Quillian Yates, Northern District of Georgia.

"Thank you for this opportunity to discuss the President’s Fiscal Year 2011 Budget for the Department of Justice and to provide an update on the department’s progress, key priorities and future plans," said Attorney General Holder.

The owner and operator of a Los Angeles durable medical equipment company was sentenced to 55 months in prison today in connection with a nearly $1 million power wheelchair fraud scheme.

Vagan Adzhemyan, 41, of Costa Mesa, Calif.; Suren Garibyan, 32, of North Hollywood, Calif.; and Galvin Shaun Gibson, 30, of Mira Loma, Calif., were charged in August 2009 with conspiracy to commit kidnapping and kidnapping.

Orlando Moncada entered a guilty plea in Miami federal district court to a charge of conspiracy to commit wire fraud.

William M. Reece Jr., 54, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit health care fraud before U.S. District Judge David Hittner in U.S. District Court in Houston. 

The Department has filed briefs in three separate cases in Florida, Illinois and New Jersey as part of its continuing effort to enforce civil rights laws that require states to end discrimination against and unnecessary segregation of persons with disabilities.

A Colorado couple pleaded guilty in a Denver federal court to charges related to the illegal trapping and interstate sale of bobcats.

Metropolitan Ambulance & First Aid Corp. (now known as SEZ Metro Corp.), Metro North Ambulance Corp. (now known as SEZ North Corp.) and Big Apple Ambulance Service Inc. (formerly known as United Ambulance) have paid the United States $2.85 million to resolve false claims made to Medicare.

429 individuals in 16 states were arrested as part of Project Deliverance, which targeted the transportation infrastructure of Mexican drug trafficking organizations in the United States, especially along the Southwest border.

Two U.S. citizens charged in connection with the operation of a series of fraudulent business opportunities were arrested today in Costa Rica following their indictment by a federal grand jury in Miami on March 9.

A former U.S. Army contracting official was sentenced today to 42 months in prison in connection with two schemes to solicit more than $30,000 in bribes and other payments from an Egyptian businessman in Kuwait.

The Justice Department today announced an agreement with Pearl River County, Miss., to improve access to all aspects of civic life for persons with disabilities.

Madhatta Haipe, a citizen of the Philippines and founding member of Al-Harakat Al-Islamiyyah, also known as the Abu Sayyaf Group, pleaded guilty today in federal court in the District of Columbia to four counts of hostage taking in connection with the 1995 abduction of 16 people, including four U.S. citizens, in the Philippines.

The Justice Department announced that four separate indictments were unsealed today in the District of Minnesota, the Southern District of Alabama and the Southern District of California charging 14 individuals with terrorism violations for providing money, personnel and services to the foreign terrorist organization al-Shabaab.

A former contract employee of the U.S. Defense Department (DoD) pleaded guilty today to conspiracy to bribe U.S. Army contracting officials stationed at Camp Arifjan, an Army base in Kuwait, and to money laundering conspiracy.

A federal grand jury returned an indictment charging Natchez, Miss., Police Department Officers Elvis Prater, 35, and Dewayne Johnson, 32, with civil rights offenses and other offenses related to the beating of two men in custody, the theft of an arrestee’s credit and debit cards, and the officers’ false statements to federal investigators.

Robert Morris of Crystal Springs, Miss., was sentenced today to 35 years in prison for production, distribution, receipt and possession of child pornography.

A former senior employee of a U.S. military contractor pleaded guilty today to conspiracy to pay $360,000 in bribes to U.S. Army contracting officials stationed at a U.S. military base in Kuwait, announced Assistant Attorney General Lanny A. Breuer of the Criminal Division.

Today, the Department of Justice, Civil Rights Division, and the Department of Education, Office for Civil Rights, reached a settlement agreement with the Boston School Committee, the governing body of the Boston Public Schools, and its superintendent.

The owner and operator of a Los Angeles durable medical equipment company was sentenced to 46 months in prison in connection with a power wheelchair scheme to defraud Medicare.

Mamadou Sadio Barry and Moussa Baradji were convicted today for their involvement in a counterfeit DVD and CD ring.

The Justice Department today announced that it has reached agreements with New York, Kansas and Mississippi officials to help ensure that military service members and other U.S. citizens living overseas have an opportunity to participate fully in the Nov. 2, 2010, federal general election.

A Colorado couple has been sentenced in U.S. District Court in Denver on charges related to the illegal trapping and interstate sale of bobcats.

The Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division today filed an amicus brief in support of a mosque in Murfreesboro, Tenn., that has met with community opposition and a lawsuit.

The United States, 14 states and the Saint Regis Mohawk Tribe have entered into a settlement agreement with Chapter 11 debtor Motors Liquidation Companyformerly known as General Motors Corporation, to settle certain environmental liabilities under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act, the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act and state environmental laws.

Zachary Adam Chesser, 20, of Fairfax County, Va., pleaded guilty today before U.S. District Court Judge Liam O’Grady to a three-count criminal information that included charges of communicating threats against the writers of the South Park television show, soliciting violent jihadists to desensitize law enforcement, and attempting to provide material support to Al-Shabaab, a designated foreign terrorist organization.

Two Miami health care companies and four owners and senior managers of the companies were indicted today for their alleged participation in a fraud scheme involving approximately $200 million in Medicare billing for purported mental health services.

Donald Williams was sentenced today in connection with a series of Costa Rica-based business opportunity fraud ventures.

All Nippon Airways Co. Ltd. (ANA) has agreed to plead guilty and to pay a $73 million criminal fine for its role in two separate conspiracies to fix prices in the air transportation industry.

"It is fitting that we’ve gathered today – exactly one week after Veterans Day and one week before Thanksgiving – to honor the 19,000 veterans who serve our nation’s Justice Department," said Attorney General Holder.

The settlement declares the entire Isabella Reservation to be Indian Country, resolving longstanding disputes over the boundaries and existence of the Isabella Reservation in south central Michigan.

The Department of Justice has reached a settlement that will require GrafTech International Ltd., a major producer of graphite electrodes, to make significant modifications to its supply agreement with ConocoPhillips Company, along with reporting and firewall obligations, in order to proceed with its proposed acquisition of Seadrift Coke LP.

Today, the Departments of Justice, Interior and Agriculture applauded the bipartisan House passage of the Claims Settlement Act.

Atlas Ship Management Ltd., a Turkish Corporation, pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court in Tampa, Fla. to federal charges of making false statements and knowingly failing to accurately maintain an Oil Record Book as required by international treaty and U.S. law.

The Department of Justice and the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) today held the fifth of five joint public workshops to explore the appropriate role for antitrust and regulatory enforcement in American agriculture.

Attorney General Eric Holder wrote to Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell today in opposition to language in the proposed 2011 Full-Year Continuing Appropriations Act.

Madhatta Asagal Haipe, a citizen of the Philippines and founding member of Al-Harakat Al-Islamiyyah, also known as the Abu Sayyaf Group (ASG), was sentenced today to 23 years in prison after earlier pleading guilty to four counts of hostage taking in the 1995 abduction of 16 people, including four U.S. citizens, in the Philippines.

The Justice Department today filed a lawsuit against a Gulfport, Miss., newspaper and a landlord and her agent for violating the Fair Housing Act by discriminating against families with children.

Attorney General Eric Holder today announced the appointment of Robin C. Ashton to serve as head of the Office of Professional Responsibility (OPR) at the Department of Justice.

Attorney General Eric Holder announced today that he has appointed Gary G. Grindler to be chief of staff to the Attorney General, effective Jan. 17, 2011.

Attorney General Eric Holder announced today the creation of a new Professional Misconduct Review Unit to handle disciplinary actions for career attorneys at the Department of Justice that arise from Office of Professional Responsibility (OPR) investigations and appointed Kevin Ohlson to be its Chief.

The Justice Department today announced that Mississippi property owner Indigo Investments LLC, has agreed to pay $50,000 in monetary damages and civil penalties to settle the government’s Fair Housing Act lawsuit.