Attorney General Eric Holder and Algerian Minister of Justice Tayeb Belaiz today signed a treaty between the United States and Algeria on mutual legal assistance in criminal matters, the first ever criminal law enforcement agreement between the two countries.

Defendant Stephen Schultz was sentenced in connection with a series of Costa Rica-based business opportunity fraud ventures.

Six Miami-area residents have been charged for their alleged role in a $13.6 million health care fraud scheme involving a Miami-area HIV infusion clinic, announced the Departments of Justice and Health and Human Services (HHS).

The former chief of staff for the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) Employment Standards Administration pleaded guilty today to falsely certifying his Fiscal Year 2003 Executive Branch Personnel Public Financial Disclosure Report, announced Assistant Attorney General Lanny A. Breuer of the Criminal Division.

Michael Hunter, who until last week was an officer with the New Orleans Police Department (NOPD), has pleaded guilty to conspiracy to obstruct justice and misprision of a felony, for failing to report a crime, in connection with the federal investigation of a police-involved shooting on the Danziger Bridge.

U.S. District Judge Gray H. Miller sentenced Robert Luis Loya to three years in prison and five years of supervised release for violating the civil rights and the sexual abuse of females in his custody.

A Michigan man was sentenced today in Detroit to 81 months in prison for his role in a wide-ranging conspiracy to defraud the Medicare program.

"This treaty establishes a comprehensive framework for obtaining evidence in criminal cases," said Attorney General Holder.

A federal judge in Chicago has permanently barred Matoi Rimes, individually and operating as Rimes Accounting Service, from preparing federal tax returns for anyone who is not a member of his immediate family.

Detroit-area residents Carlos Grana and Dwight Armstrong pleaded guilty today to engaging in a fraudulent medical testing scheme.

"Whether it is in counterterrorism, counter-narcotics, money laundering, smuggling or combating international organized crime, Spain has long been and will continue to be a strong partner for the United States," said Attorney General Holder.

A former Jackson County, Mo., sheriff’s deputy was sentenced in federal court today for violating the civil rights of a teenage girl whom he sexually assaulted in his patrol car.

Miami residents Jose and Denisse Martinez were each sentenced today to three years in prison for their role in running a Canton, Mich.,-based drug infusion clinic designed to defraud Medicare.

Harry Abrahamsen, a resident of Oradell, N.J., pleaded guilty today to failure to file a Report of Foreign Bank or Financial Accounts.

“This forfeiture of more than $40 million in jewelry should remind criminals around the globe that they will be found, prosecuted and stripped of assets that are not theirs to keep,” said Assistant Attorney General Lanny A. Breuer.

The owner and operator of a Los Angeles durable medical equipment (DME) company pleaded guilty today to submitting nearly one half of a million dollars in false claims to Medicare.

The Department will monitor the municipal election on April 13, 2010, in the city of Walnut, Calif., to ensure compliance with the minority language requirements of the Voting Rights Act of 1965.

Randy Lee (aka Jimmy Lee) was sentenced today in connection with an odometer tampering scheme that defrauded scores of victims in and around Colorado.

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.

Paul Zabczuk, a resident of The Woodlands, Texas, pleaded guilty to filing a false tax return in Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.

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.

The founder and chief executive officer of Image Entry Inc., pleaded guilty today for his role in a conspiracy to inflate his earnings resulting from the company’s 2001 acquisition by SourceCorp Inc.

Detroit-area resident Emma King pleaded guilty today to engaging in a fraudulent medical testing scheme.

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.

Ramon Bazan, a former Special Agent of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), pleaded guilty today in U.S. District Court in the District of Columbia to a one-count criminal information charging him with making false statements in connection with a series of fraudulent visa referrals.

William A. “Bill” White, the self-proclaimed commander of the neo-Nazi group the American National Socialist Workers Party, was sentenced today in federal court for threatening two individuals and for attempting to intimidate litigants in a federal housing discrimination lawsuit.

The government complaint, filed in U.S. District Court in Birmingham, alleges that John Lewis, Artels James and Perry Wright, working under the trade name “Tax World,” prepare returns for customers that falsely claim the earned income tax credit and report other false income and expense items.

A federal grand jury in Boise, Idaho, has returned an indictment charging Michael Fitzpatrick, formerly of Hope, Idaho, with tax evasion and failing to file tax returns.

This Department of Justice will ensure that would-be human rights violators know that such crimes cannot – and will not – go unpunished. We will bear any burden and go to any length to insure that those who have committed these unspeakable crimes are brought to justice.

A federal grand jury in the District of Maryland has returned a 10-count indictment charging former National Security Agency (NSA) senior executive Thomas A. Drake with the willful retention of classified information, obstruction of justice and making false statements.

A federal judge in Fayetteville, Ark., has barred Wayne Hicks and his company, My Icis Inc., from operating a private banking system that allegedly helped customers avoid taxes by shielding their identities and other financial transactions from the Internal Revenue Service.

A former captain in the U.S. Army Reserve pleaded guilty today to accepting thousands of dollars in gratuities from a contractor during his deployment to Kuwait.

Mauricio Cohen Assor and his son, Leon Cohen-Levy, each with residences in Miami Beach, Fla., have been charged in a criminal complaint with conspiring to defraud the United States.

A Michigan man was sentenced today in Detroit to 27 months in prison for his role in a wide-ranging conspiracy to defraud the Medicare program.

“Today, we mourn the loss of Dr. Benjamin Hooks, one of our nation’s great civil rights leaders," said Attorney General Holder.

Paul Schlesselman was sentenced today on federal charges for conspiring to murder dozens of African-Americans, including then-Senator and presidential candidate Barack Obama, because of their race.

"PERF has become a leading voice in establishing policies to reduce officer-involved shootings, to increase diversity in your ranks, and to bring a renewed focus on accountability and transparency within your departments," said Attorney General Holder.

Two subsidiaries of Exxon Mobil Corporation – Mobil Oil Guam Inc. and Mobil Oil Mariana Islands Inc. – have agreed to pay $2.4 million for allegedly violating the federal Clean Air Act by failing to control emissions from their facilities.

The United States has filed suit asking the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia to permanently bar Saloum A. Njie and his company, MIAAS Associates LLC, from preparing federal tax returns for others.

The Justice Department will not pursue federal criminal civil rights charges against the eight Bay County, Fla., Boot Camp staff members involved in the incident that resulted in the death of 14-year-old Martin Lee Anderson.

President Obama’s Financial Fraud Enforcement Task Force today announced the launch of StopFraud.gov.

A one-count bill of information filed today in federal court charges New Orleans Police Department (NOPD) Officer Robert Barrios with conspiring with fellow NOPD officers to obstruct justice by covering up a police-involved shooting in the days after Hurricane Katrina.

The Attorney General’s annual victims’ service awards are presented as a prelude to the nation’s observance of National Crime Victims’ Rights Week, April 18-April 24, 2010.

A federal judge in Chicago has issued a preliminary injunction against a Joliet, Ill., tax return preparer.

Lobato, 25, pleaded guilty today before U.S. District Court Judge Alan S. Gold in the Southern District of Florida to one count of conspiracy to commit health care fraud.

The Department has entered into a consent decree with Milne Enterprises Inc., d/b/a Milne, Nail, Power Tool &s complaint alleging violations of the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act of 1994.

A federal jury in Houston today convicted Helen Etinfoh, 50, and Paula Whitfield, 43, for their roles in a Medicare fraud conspiracy involving, among other things, fraudulent claims of hurricane damage to power wheelchairs.

"We at the Justice Department have recommitted ourselves to this work. We’re strengthening civil rights protections in employment, housing, voting, and sentencing, and we’ve launched a new initiative aimed at expanding access to justice."

The United States has filed a civil suit on behalf of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in U.S. District Court in the Middle District of Florida, against Franck’s Compounding Lab Inc., dba Franck’s Lab, a compounding pharmacy located in Ocala, Fla.

Anthony G. Merlo, a resident of Portsmouth, N.H., was sentenced to 51 months of imprisonment for conspiring to defraud the United States.