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Pittsburgh Crips Gang Member Sentenced to 125 Months in Prison

A Pittsburgh man was sentenced today to 125 months in prison for conspiring to conduct a racketeering enterprise related to his membership in a Pittsburgh Crips gang.



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Micronesian Couple Pleads Guilty in Washington to Withholding Passport in Connection with Human Trafficking Violations

Edk Kenit, 29, and Choimina Lukas, 31, a Micronesian couple living in Longview, Wash., pleaded guilty today to document servitude in connection with a scheme to compel the labor of an 18-year-old woman, also from Micronesia.



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Attorney General and DHS Secretary Announce Largest U.S. Prosecution of International Criminal Network Organized to Sexually Exploit Children

Attorney General Holder and Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Napolitano announced today the unsealing of three indictments and one complaint charging a total of 72 individuals for their participation in an international criminal network dedicated to the sexual abuse of children and the creation and dissemination of graphic images and videos of child sexual abuse throughout the world.



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Justice Department Resolves Lawsuit Alleging Religious Discrimination by Walnut, California

The Justice Department today announced a settlement with the city of Walnut, Calif., resolving allegations that the city violated the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act of 2000 (RLUIPA) when it denied the Chung Tai Zen Center of Walnut a permit to construct a Buddhist house of worship on property owned by the Zen Center, thus forcing the Zen Center to move to another facility in Pomona, Calif.



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Pittsburgh Crips Leader Pleads Guilty to Racketeering Charges

Robert Colbert, of Pittsburgh, pleaded guilty today in federal court to charges of conspiring to conduct a racketeering enterprise.



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Former TSA Employee Pleads Guilty to Federal Hate Crime for Assaulting Elderly Somali Man

George Thompson, 64, a former employee of the Transportation Security Administration in Minneapolis, pleaded guilty today in federal court to violating the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act by assaulting an 83-year-old Somali man on May 4, 2010.



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Justice Department Settles Allegations of Immigration-Related Employment Discrimination Against Summit Steel Fabricators in Houston

The Justice Department today reached a settlement agreement with Summit Steel Fabricators Inc. in Houston resolving allegations that the company engaged in a pattern or practice of discrimination against non-citizens in the employment eligibility verification process.



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Ohio Wildlife Officer Charged with Lacey Act Crimes

A federal grand jury in Cincinnati, Ohio, returned a four-count indictment today, charging Allan Wright, 45, of Russellville, Ohio, with trafficking in and making false records for illegally harvested white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) in violation of the Lacey Act.



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Pittsburgh Crips Member and Associate Plead Guilty for Roles in Illegal Gang Activity

A Crips gang member and associate each pleaded guilty today in federal court in Pittsburgh to racketeering charges.



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Assistant Attorney General Thomas E. Perez Speaks at a Press Conference Regarding a New Mexico Hate Crimes Case

"Regrettably, as we have seen here in New Mexico and across the nation, the need for aggressive enforcement remains," said Assistant Attorney General Perez.




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Justice Department Settles Allegations of Immigration-Related Employment Discrimination Against Missouri Pork Producer

The Justice Department today reached a settlement agreement with Farmland Foods Inc., a major producer of pork products in the United States, resolving allegations that it engaged in a pattern or practice of discrimination by imposing unnecessary and excessive documentary requirements on non-U.S. citizens and foreign-born U.S. citizens when establishing their authority to work in the United States.



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Google Forfeits $500 Million Generated by Online Ads & Prescription Drug Sales by Canadian Online Pharmacies

Online search engine Google Inc. has agreed to forfeit $500 million for allowing online Canadian pharmacies to place advertisements through its AdWords program targeting consumers in the United States, resulting in the unlawful importation of controlled and non-controlled prescription drugs into the United States.



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Iowa Company Pleads Guilty to Participating in Ready-Mix Concrete Price-Fixing and Bid-Rigging Conspiracy

An Iowa ready-mix concrete company pleaded guilty today to participating in a price-fixing and bid-rigging conspiracy for the sales of ready-mix concrete.



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Final Charged Pittsburgh Crips Members Plead Guilty to Racketeering Crimes

Lamon Street, 20, aka “M-Dot,” and Dominique Steele, 21, aka “C-Flack,” pleaded guilty before Senior U.S. District Judge Gustave Diamond to one count of conspiracy to engage in a racketeering enterprise.



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Oregon Man Charged with Hate Crime for Arson at Mosque

The Justice Department announced today that a federal grand jury in Eugene, Ore., has indicted Cody Crawford, 24, of Corvallis, Ore., on federal hate crime and arson charges for intentionally setting fire to the Salman Alfarisi Islamic Center.



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Michigan Man Convicted of Obstructing the Internal Revenue Service in IRS Form 1099-OID Schemes and Gun Crime

Karl Herrington of Parma, Mich., was convicted of corruptly endeavoring to obstruct the administration of the Internal Revenue laws, of filing false tax forms with the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and of being a felon in possession of six different firearms.



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Justice Department Files Lawsuit Alleging Religious Discrimination by City of Lilburn, Georgia, Against Muslim Group

The Justice Department filed a complaint today against the city of Lilburn, Ga., alleging that the city violated the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act of 2000 when it rejected the Dar-E-Abbas Shia Islamic Center’s requests for rezoning to construct a mosque.



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Justice Department Settles Allegations of Immigration-Related Employment Discrimination Against Kinro Manufacturing Inc.

The Justice Department today reached a settlement agreement with Kinro Manufacturing Inc. in Goshen, Ind., resolving allegations that the company engaged in a pattern or practice of discrimination against work-authorized non-citizens in the employment eligibility verification process.



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Justice Department Obtains $70,000 Settlement in Housing Discrimination Lawsuit Against New Orleans Landlords

New Orleans landlords Betty Bouchon, the Bouchon Limited Family Partnership and Sapphire Corp., have agreed to pay $70,000 in damages and civil penalties to settle a lawsuit alleging they unlawfully denied housing to African-American prospective renters at a 16-unit apartment building located in New Orleans.



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Pittsburgh Crips Gang Member Sentenced to 10 Years in Prison

Rayshawn Malachi, 26, aka “Melly Mel,” pleaded guilty on April 28, 2011, before Senior U.S. District Judge Gustave Diamond to one count of conspiracy to engage in a racketeering enterprise.



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Attorney General Eric Holder Speaks at the Technologies for Critical Incident Preparedness Conference and Exposition

"From key federal partners, to policy experts, researchers, and front-line practitioners, each of you is an essential part of the incident response community," said Attorney General Holder.




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Assistant Attorney General Laurie Robinson Speaks at the Technologies for Critical Incident Preparedness Conference and Exposition

"Our resilience is due, in great part, to our ability to come together at all levels of government to build and bolster a solid public safety infrastructure," said Assistant Attorney General Robinson.




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Member of Aryan Brotherhood Pleads Guilty to Hate Crime in Connection with Church Arson and Attempted Murder of Disabled African-American in Texas

Steven Scott Cantrell, of Crane, Texas, pleaded guilty today to hate crime charges stemming from a series of racially-motivated arsons in December 2010, including the arson of a historic African-American church as part of an effort to murder a disabled African-American man.



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Washington Man Sentenced for Racially Motivated Hate Crime

Zachary Beck was sentenced to 51 months in prison for civil rights crimes related to his participation in a racially-motivated attack on an African-American man in Vancouver, Wash., in January 2010.



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Justice Department Resolves Lawsuit Alleging Religious Discriminaton by Henrico County, Va., Against Muslim Group

The Justice Department today announced a settlement with Henrico County, Va., resolving allegations that the county violated the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act of 2000 (RLUIPA) when it denied the application of a Muslim organization to rezone property to construct a mosque.



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NinjaVideo Website Operators Charged with Criminal Copyright Conspiracy

A federal grand jury has returned an indictment in Alexandria, Va., charging five individuals with one count of conspiracy and five substantive copyright infringement counts for their involvement with the Internet website NinjaVideo.net.



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Online Identity Thief Sentenced in Virginia to 14 Years in Prison for Selling Counterfeit Credit Cards Leading to More Than $3 Million in Losses

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.



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Detroit-Area Gas Station Owner and His Bookkeeper Convicted of Tax Crime

A Detroit federal jury today returned a guilty verdict against Elsayed Kazem “Tom” Safiedine and Mary Fawaz.



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Former and Current Soldiers and Recruiter Indicted for Allegedly Obtaining Recruiting Bonuses Through Fraud Scheme

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.



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Saudi Arabia-Based Tamimi Global Company to Pay U.S. $13 Million to Resolve Criminal and Civil Allegations of Kickbacks and Illegal Gratuities

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.



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Statement of Attorney General Eric Holder on the 2010 Uniform Crime Report

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.



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Ship Owners and Operators to Pay $44 Million in Damages and Penalties for 2007 San Francisco - Oakland Bay Bridge Crash and Oil Spill

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.



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Attorney General Eric Holder Speaks at the United Nations Secretary-General’s Symposium on International Counter-Terrorism Cooperation

"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.




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United States and Belgium Sign Agreement to Prevent and Combat Serious Crime

Attorney General Eric Holder today joined Belgian Minister of Justice Stefaan De Clerck and Minister of Interior Annemie Turtelboom to sign an agreement on Preventing and Combating Serious Crime (PCSC), which will allow for the exchange of biometric and biographic data of suspected criminals between the United States and Belgium to bolster counterterrorism and law enforcement efforts while protecting individual privacy.



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Assistant Attorney General Lanny A. Breuer of the Criminal Division Speaks at the 2011 International Law Enforcement Intellectual Property Crime Conference

"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.




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Justice Department Settles Housing Discrimination Lawsuit in Waterloo, Iowa

The lawsuit alleges that Michael Nieman, the former on-site manager of Park Towers, sexually harassed female tenants in violation of the Fair Housing Act.



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Justice Department Charges South Carolina Landlord with Discrimination Against Families with Children

The Justice Department today filed a lawsuit against a Charleston, S.C.-area landlord for violating the Fair Housing Act by discriminating against families with children.



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Prepared Statement of Lisa Monaco, Assistant Attorney General for National Security, Before the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Crime and Terrorism

"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.




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Rochester, New York, Asbestos Abatement Contractor Sentenced to Six Years in Prison for Environmental Crimes and False Statements to OSHA

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.



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Florida Manufacturer of Skin Products Agrees to Consent Decree to Resolve Allegations of FDCA Violations

The complaint and consent decree were filed today in accordance with an agreement with the defendants resolving numerous violations of the Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act.



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Four Alleged New England La Cosa Nostra Members and Associates Charged with Racketeering and Other Crimes

Four alleged members and associates of the New England La Cosa Nostra (LCN), including an alleged Rhode Island leader, have been arrested and charged in a second superseding indictment returned yesterday in federal court in Providence, R.I., with crimes involving racketeering and extortion.



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Founder of NinjaVideo Pleads Guilty to Criminal Copyright Conspiracy

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.



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Justice Department Settles Disability Discrimination Suit Against Michigan Developer and Architect

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.



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Six Japanese Freight Forwarding Companies Agree to Plead Guilty to Criminal Price-Fixing Charges

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.



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Arkansas Men Sentenced for Federal Hate Crimes Related to the Assault of Five Hispanic Men

Frankie Maybee, 20, and Sean Popejoy, 19, both of Green Forest, Ark., were sentenced for their roles in committing federal hate crimes.



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NinjaVideo Founder Pleads Guilty in Virginia to Criminal Copyright Conspiracy

Hana A. Beshara, 29, of Las Vegas, pleaded guilty today for her role in founding NinjaVideo.net, a website that provided millions of users with the ability to illegally download infringing copies of copyright-protected movies and television programs in high-quality formats.



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Japanese Freight Forwarding Company Agrees to Plead Guilty to Criminal Price-Fixing Charge

A Japanese freight forwarder has agreed to plead guilty and to pay a $1.84 million criminal fine for its role 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.



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Justice Department Reaches Settlement with C&F Mortgage Corporation to Resolve Allegations of Lending Discrimination

The Justice Department announced today that C&F Mortgage Corporation of Midlothian, Va., will revise its pricing policies, conduct employee training and pay $140,000 as part of a settlement to resolve allegations that it engaged in a pattern or practice of discrimination on the basis of race and national origin.



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Justice Department Files Lawsuit Against California Healthcare Provider Alleging Discrimination

The Justice Department filed a lawsuit today against Generations Healthcare, a healthcare provider with skilled nursing facilities throughout California, alleging that it engaged in a pattern or practice of discrimination by imposing unnecessary documentary requirements on naturalized U.S. citizens and non-U.S. citizens in order to work in the U.S.



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Justice Department Files Lawsuit Alleging Disability-Based Housing Discrimination at Salem, Oregon, Apartment Complex

The Justice Department filed a lawsuit today against the developers, builders and designers of the Gateway Village Apartments, a 275-unit apartment complex in Salem, Ore., for violations of the Fair Housing Act.



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