The Justice Department today announced that it has reached a supplemental agreement with New Mexico officials to help ensure that military service members and U.S. citizens living overseas will have an opportunity to participate fully in the 2012 federal general election cycle.

The Academy for Educational Development (AED) in Washington, D.C., has agreed to settle allegations that the company submitted false claims to the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) in connection with two cooperative agreements under which AED provided foreign assistance in Afghanistan and Pakistan.

The Departments of Justice and Education reached a settlement agreement with the Tehachapi Unified School District in Tehachapi, Calif., to resolve an investigation into the harassment of a middle school student based on his nonconformity with gender stereotypes.

The United States has filed a lawsuit in federal court in New Orleans seeking to bar two women and their tax preparation companies from preparing federal tax returns for others.

The Civil Rights Division and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of California announced today an agreement with Alameda County, Calif., to ensure compliance with provisions of the Voting Rights Act that require the county to provide election materials and information in Spanish and Chinese.

The Justice Department today announced the settlement of a lawsuit alleging that the owner and operators of a Monroe, Mich., mobile home park violated the Fair Housing Act by discriminating against families with children.

The Justice Department announced today that it has sued the Mortgage Guaranty Insurance Corporation (MGIC), the nation’s largest mortgage insurance company, and two of its underwriters, Elgina Cunningham and Kelly Kane, for violating the Fair Housing Act by discriminating against women on paid maternity leave.

The vice-president and general manager of the Pelican Refinery in Lake Charles, La., today pleaded guilty to federal negligent endangerment charges under the Clean Air Act before U.S. District Judge Richard T. Haik in Lafayette, La.

The Justice Department today announced that it has entered into a comprehensive agreement with the state of Delaware that will transform Delaware’s mental health system and resolve violations of the Americans with Disabilities Act.

Reynaldo Orozco was sentenced to 18 months in prison by U.S. District Court Judge Adalberto Jordan for filing a false employment tax return.

"Today’s agreement will bring Delaware into compliance with the ADA and the Olmstead decision by building a comprehensive, community-based mental health system," said Assistant Attorney General Perez.

JPMorgan Chase &s role in anticompetitive activity in the municipal bond investments market and has agreed to pay a total of $228 million in restitution, penalties and disgorgement to federal and state agencies.

The Justice Department announced that it has reached an agreement with Rappahannock County, Va., that will allow for the county and its two political subdivisions to bail out from their status as “covered jurisdictions” under the special provisions of the Voting Rights Act.

“The international expansion and increased violence of transnational criminal networks pose a significant threat to the United States."

A federal grand jury in Detroit returned an indictment against David A. Cusumano and Henry Nino in January 2011.

A federal court has permanently barred Charles Klink, Caleb Grodsky and Steven Block from promoting abusive tax shelters known as “intermediary transactions” and “distressed asset trusts.”

Senior environmental enforcement officials from the U.S. Justice Department and Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) toured sites in Newark, N.J., today and met with federal partners and with environmental and community organizations to discuss mutual efforts to address environmental challenges and enforce environmental laws, and in particular efforts to achieve environmental justice.

The complaint, filed today in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Louisiana, alleges that Louisiana has violated the NVRA by failing to provide voter registration services at offices providing public assistance and serving persons with disabilities in Louisiana.

Cinergy Telecommunications Inc., Cinergy’s president and director, the president of Florida-based Telecom Consulting Services Corp. and two former Haitian government officials have been charged in a superseding indictment for their alleged roles in a foreign bribery, wire fraud and money laundering scheme.

The Justice Department is seeking to block a husband and wife from operating a scheme that allegedly helps high-income individuals attempt to improperly avoid income taxes by funneling money through purported “welfare benefit plans.”

A founder and president of a Washington-area design firm was sentenced today to 18 months in prison for her role in a conspiracy to defraud the United States in the award of a government contract for U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).

The Justice Department today filed a lawsuit against Mar-Jac Poultry Inc., a poultry processing plant in Gainesville, Ga., alleging that Mar-Jac requires all newly hired non-U.S. citizens to present documents issued by the Department of Homeland Security in order to secure their jobs, but the company does not require U.S. citizens to show any specific documentation.

The Justice Department today filed a civil complaint in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia against Richard Retta for violating the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances Act (FACE Act).

"In anticipation of this year’s reauthorization of the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA), the Department has been engaging in comprehensive discussions, including formal consultations with Indian tribes, about how best to protect the safety of Native women."

An ongoing Internet fraud scheme conducted by several networks of organized cyber criminals in Romania and the United States has been disrupted as a result of a series of law enforcement actions coordinated since 2010 between Romanian and U.S. law enforcement, including numerous arrests and searches that took place yesterday in Romania.

Alexander Otis Matthews, a Virginia real estate businessman pleaded guilty today to fraud charges in connection with mortgage and investment schemes to obtain more than $12 million in fraudulent loans.

The former president of Lee Dynamics International, a defense contractor providing services to the U.S. military in Iraq, pleaded guilty today to an indictment charging him with a scheme to bribe military officials in order to obtain government contracts, announced Assistant Attorney General Lanny A. Breuer of the Criminal Division.

Frank G. Bivings and Isabelle Blanco of Washington, D.C., co-owners of The Bivings Group Inc., pleaded guilty today to charges stemming from the failure to pay more than $2 million in employment taxes to the Internal Revenue Service.

A District of Columbia federal court has entered a permanent injunction order against Steven McClain and the Trust for Architectural Easements Inc. (formerly known as the National Architectural Trust).

Mark D. Leitner entered a plea of guilty in the Northern District of Florida to filing false liens against federal law enforcement and corruptly endeavoring to impede and impair the Internal Revenue Service.

Tony Branscum, 25, and James Bradley “Brad” Branscum, 23, both of Salado, Ark., pleaded guilty today to criminal violations of housing rights related to their role in the Aug. 28, 2010, cross burning in front of an African American man’s apartment in Salado.

Two individuals have been charged with participating in a long-term conspiracy to act as agents of the Pakistani government in the United States without disclosing their affiliation with the Pakistani government as required by law.

Peter Labovitz, of Alexandria, Va., pleaded guilty to two counts of failing to pay employment taxes to the Internal Revenue Service.

Julius Everett “Bud” Johnson, 62, a resident of Richmond, Va., was sentenced today to 97 months in prison for his role in an investment scheme resulting in millions of dollars in losses.

Eliseo Roquiz of Erie, Penn., pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Sean J. McLaughlin of the Western District of Pennsylvania to charges of filing a false document with the Internal Revenue Service.

The Justice Department today reached a settlement with Brand Energy and Infrastructure Services and its subsidiary, Industrial Services LLC, resolving allegations that ISI, which provides craft services to industry, engaged in a pattern or practice of discrimination against non-citizens in the hiring and employment eligibility verification process.

Today the Department of Justice proposed legislation that would significantly improve the safety of women in American Indian tribal communities and allow federal and tribal law-enforcement agencies to hold more perpetrators of domestic violence accountable for their crimes.

"We believe that enacting reforms along these lines — dealing with tribal jurisdiction over crimes of domestic violence, tribal protection orders, and amendments to the Federal assault statute — would significantly improve the safety of women in tribal communities and would allow Federal and tribal law-enforcement agencies to hold more perpetrators of domestic violence accountable for their crimes."

The Departments of Justice, Homeland Security and Labor announced today the selection of Pilot Anti-Trafficking Coordination Teams (ACTeams) as part of a nationwide Human Trafficking Enhanced Enforcement Initiative designed to better coordinate federal criminal investigations and prosecutions of human trafficking offenses.

"It is a privilege to join with you – and with so many other key leaders and critical partners, as we unveil a cutting-edge, comprehensive strategy that will take our nation’s fight against transnational organized crime to the next level."

The United States has intervened in a lawsuit against Nurses’ Registry and Home Health Corporation in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Kentucky.

Gino Carlucci and Wayne Mounts, both residents of Arizona, have been convicted of conspiracy to commit money laundering and conspiracy to defraud the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), the Department of Justice and IRS announced today.

The Justice Department today announced agreements with Norfolk County, Mass.; Daviess County, Ky.; and the city of Madison, Indiana, to improve access to all aspects of civic life for individuals with disabilities.

Assistant Attorney General Christine Varney of the Antitrust Division and Federal Trade Commission Chairman Jon Leibowitz today signed an antitrust memorandum of understanding with China’s three antitrust agencies to promote communication and cooperation among the agencies in the two countries.

The Justice Department has reached an agreement with Bedford County, Va., that, if approved by the court, will allow for the county’s bailout from its status as a “covered jurisdiction” under the special provisions of Voting Rights Act, and thereby exempt the county from the preclearance requirements of Section 5 of the act.

Attorney General Eric Holder and other administration officials met this week with tribal leaders and advocates to discuss issues of tribal safety and domestic violence in Rapid City, S.D., and Pine Ridge Reservation, S.D.

Johnny Mathis, 48, of Lecompte, La., was sentenced to 15 years in prison by U.S. District Court Judge Dee Drell for shooting at the home of three Hispanic men because of the victims’ race and national origin.

David R. Lewalski, formerly of Gainesville, Fla., pleaded guilty today to mail fraud in connection with his operation of a $30 million investment fraud scheme, announced Assistant Attorney General Lanny A. Breuer of the Criminal Division and U.S. Attorney Robert E. O’Neill of the Middle District of Florida.

The Justice Department announced today that it will monitor primary elections on Aug. 2, 2011, in Bolivar, Clay, Copiah, Humphreys, Jefferson Davis, Noxubee, Panola, Quitman, Sunflower, Tallahatchie and Wilkinson Counties in Mississippi to ensure compliance with the Voting Rights Act of 1965.

The Department of Justice announced today that it has entered into a settlement that, if approved by the court, will resolve the department’s allegations that the state of New Jersey and the New Jersey Civil Service Commission (collectively “New Jersey”) violated Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 by discriminating against African-Americans and Hispanics in the promotion of police sergeants throughout the state.