A member of the Aryan Brotherhood of Texas gang (ABT) has pleaded guilty to racketeering charges related to his membership in the ABT’s criminal enterprise.

Earlier today at the federal courthouse in Brooklyn, N.Y., Akbar Ahmad Sherzai, 49, of Centreville, Va., an independent contractor for a trucking company operating in Afghanistan that was responsible for delivering fuel to U.S. Army installations, pleaded guilty to his role in offering a U.S. Army serviceman $54,000 in bribes to falsify documents.

Monajem Hakimijoo, of Beverly Hills, Calif., pleaded guilty on Feb. 13, 2014, in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California to filing a false federal income tax return for tax year 2007, the Justice Department and Internal Revenue Service (IRS) announced today.

Irene Tamika Smith, a former professional tax-return preparer, was sentenced yesterday to serve 33 months in prison for conspiring with her co-workers to defraud the United States by filing false tax returns in order to receive fraudulently-inflated refunds for clients.

Andrew L. Zarauskas, 60, of Union, N.J., was found guilty today by a federal jury in Bangor, Maine, of illegally trafficking and smuggling narwhal tusks, and associated money laundering crimes.

Today, the Department of Justice issued a letter of findings describing problems in the Missoula County, Mont., Attorney’s Office’s response to sexual assault, and concluding that there is substantial evidence that the County Attorney’s response to sexual assault discriminates against women.

Vector Planning and Services Inc. (VPSI), an information technology, systems engineering, program management and consulting firm headquartered in Chantilly, Va., has agreed to pay the government $6.5 million to settle False Claims Act allegations that the company inflated claims for payment under several Navy contracts.

The Justice Department announced today that it has entered into a settlement agreement with the Ganado Unified School District in Ganado, Ariz., to ensure that its English Language Learner (ELL) students have equal opportunities to participate in its educational programs, as mandated by federal law.

Dwayne Allen Hardman, 44, of Charleston, W.V., pleaded guilty today to paying bribes to public officials.

A former correctional officer at the Puerto Rico Department of Corrections was sentenced to serve 37 months in prison for attempting to smuggle heroin into the prison where he worked, Bayamón State Penitentiary, in exchange for a $3,000 payment.

The former chief executive officer of PetroTiger Ltd., a British Virgin Islands oil and gas company with operations in Colombia and offices in New Jersey, pleaded guilty today for his role in a scheme to pay bribes to foreign government officials and to defraud PetroTiger.

The Barrio Azteca Lieutenant who ordered the murders of a U.S. Consulate employee, her husband and the husband of another U.S. Consulate employee was found guilty by a jury on all counts charged.

Medical device manufacturer EndoGastric Solutions Inc. has agreed to pay the government up to $5.25 million to resolve allegations that it violated the False Claims Act by misleading health care providers about how to bill federal health care programs for a procedure using a device manufactured by the company and by paying kickbacks.

Bashar Saroki, a resident of Southfield, Mich., was sentenced today in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan to serve 30 months in prison to be followed by one year of supervised release, the Justice Department and the Internal Revenue Service announced.

The government has intervened in a False Claims Act lawsuit against Tenet Healthcare Corp. (Tenet) and four of its hospitals in Georgia and South Carolina, as well as a hospital in Monroe, Ga., owned by Health Management Associates Inc. (HMA), alleging that the hospitals paid kickbacks to obstetric clinics serving primarily undocumented Hispanic women in return for referral of those patients for labor and delivery at the hospitals.

A former executive of Japan-based Denso Corp. has agreed to plead guilty to obstruction of justice charges in connection with the Antitrust Division’s investigation into a conspiracy to fix the prices of heater control panels installed in cars sold in the United States and elsewhere.

LaQuanta Clayton, a resident of Montgomery County, Ala., and a former bank teller employed by the Community Bank and Trust, was sentenced on Feb. 19, 2014, to serve 21 months in prison to be followed by three years of supervised release for participating in a fraudulent tax refund scheme.

Mary Young and her husband, Christian Young were sentenced today, and her son, Octavious Reeves, was sentenced late yesterday, for their involvement in a stolen identity refund fraud scheme.

The Justice Department announced that James Kalbflesh, a former correctional officer at the Roxbury Correctional Institution in Hagerstown, Md., was convicted today by a federal jury on three civil rights and conspiracy counts related to his participation in the beating of an RCI inmate in 2008 and the cover-up that followed.

Two Florida men were sentenced today to serve 84 months in prison for defrauding thousands of homeowners in a $4 million nationwide home loan modification scheme.

A Georgia real estate investor pleaded guilty today for her role in conspiracies to rig bids and commit mail fraud at public real estate foreclosure auctions in Georgia.

The Department of Justice filed a civil lawsuit today in the federal court in Nashville, Tenn., to stop Gilberto Cortes and his business, Mundo Hispano Services, from preparing federal tax returns.

Brice Johnson, 19, of Springtown, Texas, has been charged with willfully causing bodily injury to a person because of the actual or perceived sexual orientation of that person in a federal criminal complaint, the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Texas and the FBI Dallas Division announced.

Each and every day, the award recipients before me – and their colleagues throughout the Division – have helped to advance this Department’s efforts to ensure justice; to promote public safety; to empower victims; to strengthen international alliances; and to uphold the rule of law. You’ve worked closely with foreign allies, as well as state and local law enforcement partners, to identify and investigate emerging national security challenges that know no geographic boundaries – and implicate American interests within the United States and across the globe.

Dr. Chang Ho Lee, 68, of Palisades Park, N.J., pleaded guilty today to health care fraud and agreed to forfeit more than $3.4 million in fraud proceeds. According to court documents, Lee, who is a medical doctor, and two others recruited patients by offering free lunches and recreational classes and provided them with spa services, such as massages and facials, then falsely billed Medicare for more than $13 million.

Pharmaceutical company Endo Health Solutions Inc. and its subsidiary Endo Pharmaceuticals Inc. (Endo) have agreed to pay $192.7 million to resolve criminal and civil liability arising from Endo’s marketing of the prescription drug Lidoderm for uses not approved as safe and effective by the Food and Drug Administration.

The United States filed a lawsuit today to bar Margaret Brown, a Detroit tax return preparer, from preparing federal tax returns for others, the Justice Department announced.

Kidada Savage, 31, of Philadelphia, was sentenced today to life in prison for her role in the Oct. 9, 2004, firebombing that killed six members of a federal witness’s family. Savage is the sister of Kaboni Savage, who ordered the firebombing and who was sentenced to death for 12 counts of murder in aid of racketeering.

An alleged general of the Aryan Brotherhood of Texas gang (ABT) and a fellow gang member pleaded guilty today to racketeering charges related to their membership in the ABT’s criminal enterprise, announced Acting Assistant Attorney General Mythili Raman of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division and U.S. Attorney Kenneth Magidson of the Southern District of Texas.

Through their hard work, each of our awardees has helped to leverage vital resources and improve the way we do business. You have shown the power of innovation, energy, and creativity by uniting a broad array of partners to streamline the Department’s operations and bolster information-sharing. Some of you have worked to identify and implement opportunities for savings through mail processing, facilities, and technology enhancements – as well as a wide range of consolidation projects.

Today Mexican authorities announced the capture of Joaquin "Chapo" Guzman Loera, the alleged leader of the Sinaloa Cartel. The Sinaloa Cartel is designated a Significant Foreign Narcotics Trafficker by the U.S. Government.

The government has asked a federal court in California to issue an injunction shutting down the importation and sales activities of four California companies and six individuals in connection with their imports of illegal children’s products containing, among other things, lead, phthalates and small parts inappropriate for children under age three.

Today, the Justice Department announced the results of its ongoing efforts to combat tax refund fraud that involves identity theft. The Tax Division, in conjunction with the Internal Revenue Service and U.S. Attorneys’ Offices nationwide, has prioritized the investigation and prosecution of individuals who engage in stolen identity refund fraud.

In a video message released today, Attorney General Eric Holder called on Congress to create a strong, national standard for quickly alerting consumers whose information may be compromised by cyberattacks. This legislation would strengthen the Justice Department's ability to combat crime, ensure individual privacy, and prevent identity theft, while also helping to bring cybercriminals to justice.

The Department of Justice announced today the filing of a lawsuit against the Missouri National Guard alleging they violated the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act by requiring its dual technician employees to resign from their civilian positions prior to active duty service in the U.S. Army Guard and Reserve.

The Justice Department announced today that a federal district court judge in Jackson, Miss., approved a settlement of the department’s lawsuit against the original owners and developers of nine multifamily housing complexes located in Mississippi, Louisiana and Tennessee.

A former employee of a Florida-based airline fuel supply service company pleaded guilty today to obstructing an investigation into fraud and anticompetitive conduct in the airline charter services industry.

Three men have pleaded guilty in Brooklyn, N.Y., for their roles in a check cashing scheme designed to evade anti-money laundering reporting requirements.

Michael Edwards was sentenced today to serve two concurrent sentences of 36 months in prison followed by three years of supervised release, and ordered to pay restitution of $573,518 to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), the Justice Department and IRS announced.

There can be no doubt that we share a common goal to hold accountable those whose actions contributed to the last financial crisis, which was felt not just at the national or global level, but in the countless communities you represent, as well.

Diagnostic Imaging Group (DIG) has agreed to pay a total of $15.5 million to resolve allegations that its diagnostic testing facility falsely billed federal and state health care programs for tests that were not performed or not medically necessary and by paying kickbacks to physicians.

A Northern California real estate investor has agreed to plead guilty for his role in conspiracies to rig bids and commit mail fraud at public real estate foreclosure auctions in Northern California.

A civilian employee of the U.S. Navy posted at the Capodichino Navy Base near Naples, Italy, was arraigned yesterday in Norfolk, Va., for allegedly obtaining more than $360,000 in housing benefits that he was not entitled to receive.

The Civil Rights Division of the U.S. Department of Justice, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Michigan and the FBI announced today that they will not be pursuing federal criminal civil rights charges against the Saginaw Police Department officers who shot and killed Milton Hall on July 1, 2012.

Today, a federal jury in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Oklahoma in Muskogee, Okla., convicted Raymond A. Barnes, 43, and Christopher A. Brown, 32, the former jail superintendent and assistant jail superintendent, respectively, of the Muskogee County Jail on multiple counts of civil rights offenses related to allegations of excessive force on inmates at MCJ on or between August 2009 and May 2011.

Aaron H. Kelly, a United States Postal Service employee, was indicted yesterday in the U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland for four counts of mail fraud, two counts of bank fraud, one count of corruptly endeavoring to obstruct and impede the Internal Revenue Service and two counts of aiding and assisting in the preparation of false tax returns, the Justice Department and IRS announced today following the unsealing of the indictment.

Attorney General Eric Holder and HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius today released the annual Health Care Fraud and Abuse Control (HCFAC) Program report showing that for every dollar spent on health care-related fraud and abuse investigations through this and other programs in the last three years, the government recovered $8.10. This is the highest three-year average return on investment in the 17-year history of the HCFAC Program.

Acting Assistant Attorney General Mythili Raman of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division announced her departure from the department today, effective as of March 21, 2014.

The United States has asked a federal court in McAllen, Texas, to permanently bar Melissa Alvarez and her companies, Best & Unique Income Services, Best & Unique Income Tax Melissa and Best & Unique Income Tax Services LLC, from preparing federal tax returns for others, the Justice Department announced today.

Since 2009, the Department has publicly charged 73 account holders and 35 professionals with violations arising from their offshore banking activities, and 72 individuals have pled guilty or were convicted at trial. Just as importantly our enforcement efforts have driven over 43,000 taxpayers with secret offshore accounts to identify themselves to the IRS, disclose their offshore accounts, and to pay a total of over $6 billion in back taxes, penalties and interest. And that number is growing.