A former Major in the U.S. Army National Guard who was deployed to Bagram Airfield, Afghanistan, was sentenced to 60 months in prison for receiving bribes from military contractors in exchange for fraudulently verifying the receipt of concrete bunkers and barriers that were never received.

GE Funding Capital Market Services Inc. entered into an agreement with the Department of Justice to resolve the company’s role in anticompetitive activity in the municipal bond investments market and agreed to pay a total of $70 million in restitution, penalties and disgorgement to federal and state agencies.

Kerry Pettus, aka “Lil Kerry,” 23, of Nashville, Tenn., pleaded guilty to charges related to his membership in the Bloods gang criminal enterprise.

A Pennsylvania husband and wife were sentenced yesterday to 30 months and 24 months in prison, respectively, for their participation in a scheme to provide out-of-state residents with Pennsylvania driver’s licenses and Pennsylvania commercial driver’s licenses.

Ricardo Amaro-Santiago, 39, was convicted of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute more than five kilograms of cocaine, attempting to possess with the intent to distribute more than five kilograms of cocaine and possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug transaction.

“This is a devastating and unacceptable trend. Each of these deaths is a tragic reminder of the threats that law enforcement officers face each day – and the fact that too many guns have fallen into the hands of those who are not legally permitted to possess them,” said Attorney General Eric Holder.

A federal court in Los Angeles has permanently barred Lamar Ellis of Brea, Calif., from promoting a scheme involving sales of bogus federal tax credits.

The Justice Department announced today that it reached a settlement with BAE Systems Ship Repair Inc., a leading provider of ship repair services, to settle allegations that its subsidiary, BAE Systems Southeast Shipyards Alabama LLC, engaged in a pattern or practice of discrimination by imposing unnecessary and additional documentary requirements on work-authorized non-U.S. citizens when establishing their eligibility to work in the United States.

A federal grand jury in Albuquerque, N.M., today indicted a former police officer with the Navajo Police Department on charges related to the sexual abuse of a woman who was in his custody on Jan. 25, 2009.

The department filed a criminal information against Magyar Telekom and a two-year deferred prosecution agreement in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia today.

The settlement will protect Americans’ health by reducing more than 7,000 tons of harmful nitrogen oxides and sulfur dioxide pollution each year that can lead to childhood asthma, acid rain and smog.

Joshua Moses Morales, 36, of San Diego, was extradited to Mexico today, where he is wanted to stand trial for the alleged 2009 killing of a toddler in Tijuana, Baja California.

GE Healthcare Inc. has paid the United States $30 million, plus interest, to settle allegations that a company it acquired in 2004, Amersham Health Inc., had violated the False Claims Act by causing Medicare to overpay for Myoview, a radiopharmaceutical used in certain cardiac diagnostic imaging procedures, the Justice Department announced.

The Justice Department announced a settlement today with Garland Sales Inc., a Georgia rug manufacturer, resolving allegations that it engaged in discrimination by imposing unnecessary documentary requirements on individuals of Hispanic origin when establishing their eligibility to work in the United States, and that it retaliated against a worker for protesting his discriminatory treatment.

A Beverly Hills, Calif.,-based financial products and services firm, and its founder and owner pleaded guilty today in the Southern District of New York for their participation in bid-rigging and fraud conspiracies related to contracts for the investment of municipal bond proceeds and other related municipal finance contracts.

The United States has intervened and filed a complaint in a whistleblower suit against AseraCare Hospice, the Justice Department announced today.

Maersk Line Limited has agreed to pay the government $31.9 million to resolve allegations that it submitted false claims to the United States in connection with contracts to transport cargo in shipping containers to support U.S. troops in Afghanistan and Iraq.

John R. Brock, 52, of Crofton, Md., was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Robert L. Wilkins in the District of Columbia.

Ronald E. Burrell, former chief executive officer of Caremerica Inc., pleaded guilty today to conspiring to defraud the Internal Revenue Service.

The Assistant Attorney General for the Office of Justice Programs (OJP), Laurie Robinson, announced today that she would be leaving her position at the end of February

The Justice Department today reached agreement with the University of California San Diego Medical Center, resolving a complaint filed on Dec. 6, 2011, alleging that the medical center failed to comply with proper employment eligibility verification processes for non-citizens who are authorized to work in the United States.

Keith Strimple, 57, of Tulsa, Okla., pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Gregory Frizzell in the Northern District of Oklahoma to one count of attempted possession of a visual depiction of a minor engaging in sexually explicit conduct.

Leonard Wasylyk, 49, was also sentenced to lifetime supervised release and will be required to register as a sex offender in any jurisdiction in which he lives, works or attends school.

Hugo Patrick Coutelin, 62, a resident of Santa Fe, N.M., pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Kent J. Dawson in the District of Nevada to conspiring to commit wire fraud, mail fraud and bank fraud.

Two of her co-defendants were also sentenced to prison today for their roles in the fraud scheme.

Detroit-area resident Tausif Rahman pleaded guilty today for his role in organizing a $14 million Detroit-area home health care fraud and money laundering scheme.

The owner of a Dix Hill, N.Y., tax preparation business pleaded guilty today in U.S. District Court in the Eastern District of New York in Central Islip, N.Y., to endeavoring to obstruct the internal revenue laws and aiding in the preparation of false income tax returns.

A Pakistani citizen was sentenced today in the District of Columbia to 50 months in prison for conspiracy to provide material support to the Tehrik-e Taliban Pakistan (TTP), often referred to as the Pakistani Taliban, a designated foreign terrorist organization.

Attorney General Eric Holder today announced revisions to the Uniform Crime Report’s (UCR) definition of rape, which will lead to a more comprehensive statistical reporting of rape nationwide. The new definition is more inclusive, better reflects state criminal codes and focuses on the various forms of sexual penetration understood to be rape.

Eddie Pressley, 41, a former U.S. Army contracting official, was sentenced in Birmingham, Ala., for his participation in a bribery and money laundering scheme related to bribes paid for contracts awarded in support of the Iraq war.

Hana Amal Beshara, 30, of North Brunswick, N.J., was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Anthony J. Trenga in the Eastern District of Virginia.

James Smiley, 27, Colton Partin, 21, and Kyle Montgomery, 21, all of Chattanooga, Tenn., pleaded guilty today in U.S. District Court in Chattanooga for launching fireworks at African-Americans who were congregated outside their apartment building.

Wayne A. Mounts, a resident of Mesa, Ariz., was sentenced yesterday to 63 months in prison for his role in conspiracies to commit money laundering and to defraud the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), announced the Justice Department and the IRS today. On July 25, 2011, a federal jury in Phoenix convicted Mounts and his co-defendant, Gino Carlucci, of both conspiracies after an eight-day trial.

The Justice Department and the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) announced that Loretta Fergerson pleaded guilty today before Magistrate Judge Charles S. Coody in Montgomery, Ala., to conspiring to defraud the United States government, wire fraud and aggravated identity theft. Fergerson and a co-defendant were charged by a grand jury in a 22-count indictment that was unsealed on March 30, 2011.

Sergio Santiago de Leon Syjuco, aka “Yogi,” 25, of Muntinlupa City, Philippines; Cesar Paolo Inciong Ubaldo, aka “Arvi,” 26, of Paranaque City, Philippines; and Arjyl Revereza, 25, of Manila, Philippines, were charged in criminal complaint unsealed yesterday in the Central District of California with importing defense articles into the United States without a license, in violation of the Arms Export Control Act.

Judge Mark Fuller of the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Alabama sentenced Lutoyua N. Thompson and Melinda M. Lambert to prison today for their involvement in a fraudulent tax return preparation scheme, the Justice Department and Internal Revenue Service (IRS) announced.

Frederic Alan Gladle, 53, was charged on Dec. 9, 2011, in U.S. District Court in Los Angeles with one count of bankruptcy fraud and one count of aggravated identity theft.

Kirby Dollar and Timothy Watford, former deputies with the Russell County, Ala., Sheriff’s Office, were sentenced in federal court in Montgomery, Ala., for their participation in the beating of a handcuffed man who had been taken into official custody.

"On behalf of a grateful nation – and America’s entire law enforcement community – it is a privilege to join you in paying tribute, as well as my last respects, to an extraordinary public servant, a key member of the federal law enforcement family, and a true patriot who was always proud to call Seaford his home," said Attorney General Holder.

Triad Mining Inc., the owner and operator of 31 surface mines in Appalachia and Indiana, has agreed to pay a penalty and to restore affected waterways for failing to obtain the required Clean Water Act (CWA) permit for stream impacts caused by its surface mining operation in Indiana.

Barry Nash, 69, pleaded guilty before U.S. Magistrate Judge Barry L. Garber in Miami to one count of conspiracy to commit health care fraud.

An executive and a former executive of Rubin/Chambers, Dunhill Insurance Services, also known as CDR Financial Products, pleaded guilty today in the Southern District of New York for their participation in bid-rigging and fraud conspiracies related to contracts for the investment of municipal bond proceeds and other related municipal finance contracts.

The pastor of a now defunct Los Angeles church who owned and operated several fraudulent durable medical equipment (DME) supply companies was sentenced today to 180 months in prison for his role in a $14.2 million Medicare fraud scheme, the Department of Justice, the FBI and the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) announced.

Donny Eugene Mower, 38, of Madera, Calif., was sentenced in federal court today following his October 2011 guilty pleas to one count of arson, one count of damaging religious property and one count of violating the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances (FACE) Act, which makes it a federal crime to damage the property of a reproductive health services facility. These charges stem from Mower’s lighting a fire inside a Planned Parenthood clinic and throwing a brick at a mosque in Madera.

Carolyn Ann Vasquez, 47, was also ordered to pay $6.2 million in restitution by U.S. District Judge Consuelo B. Marshall of the Central District of California.

The Access to Justice Initiative today released Foreclosure Mediation: Emerging Research and Evaluation Practices, a report resulting from a March 7, 2011, workshop with dozens of foreclosure mediation program stakeholders and researchers.

Robert Rosenbeck, 49, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Denise J. Casper in Boston.

The United States alleged that BCSO denied detainees access to books, magazines, newspapers or other expressive materials and denied them the right to practice their religion, in violation of the First Amendment and the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act (RLUIPA).

Keoje Marine was sentenced to pay a $1.15 million criminal penalty, $250,000 of which will go to the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation as a community service payment for projects aimed at protecting and restoring marine resources in the District of Hawaii.

Phillip Oliver, 46, an inmate at the Muskogee County, Okla., Jail (MCJ) pleaded guilty today in U.S. District Court in Muskogee to one count of conspiracy related to the orchestrated beating of a fellow inmate at the behest of an unnamed jailer on duty.