The Department of Justice announced today that it has entered into a consent decree with the Tucson Unified School District (TUSD) that, if approved by the U.S. District Court for the District of Arizona, will resolve the department’s complaint alleging sex and/or national origin discrimination in violation of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, as amended.

The Department of Justice challenged the state of Alabama’s recently passed immigration law, H.B. 56, in federal court today.

A $1-million settlement has been reached for natural resource damages (NRD) at the Blackburn & Union Privileges Superfund Site in Walpole, Mass.

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.

The Department of Justice announced today that, in order for VeriFone Systems Inc. to complete its acquisition of Hypercom Corp., it must divest Hypercom’s U.S. point-of-sale terminals business to an entity sponsored by Gores Group LLC, a private equity fund.

The Department of Justice today filed a lawsuit against the city of Joliet, Ill., alleging that the city violated the Fair Housing Act and the Housing and Community Development Act by taking a series of actions, culminating in the taking through eminent domain a federally-subsidized affordable housing development, that would displace more than 750 residents with low incomes, more than 95 percent of whom are African-American.

The United States has filed a lawsuit seeking to stop Lakeisha Pearson from preparing federal tax returns for others.

Joel Esquenazi and Carlos Rodriguez, former executives of Terra Telecommunications Corp., have been convicted by a federal jury for their roles in a scheme to pay bribes to Haitian government officials at Telecommunications D’Haiti S.A.M.

The Department of Justice today announced that it has entered into a settlement agreement with private plaintiffs and the Pickens County, Ala., Board of Education that requires the board to institute a series of educational reforms designed to eliminate the remaining vestiges of its formerly segregated school system.

The United States has intervened and filed a complaint in a whistleblower suit pending under the False Claims Act against Education Management Corp. (EDMC) and several affiliated entities.

Four Florida men were arrested today on charges that they defrauded homeowners in Massachusetts and elsewhere in connection with a home loan modification scam.

Eric Scott Hamilton, 40, of Pelzer, S.C., pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge J. Michelle Childs in the District of South Carolina to a criminal information charging him with two counts of conspiracy to steal public property.

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.

The Justice Department today announced that three men were charged for their role in intentionally attempting to intimidate and interfere with African-American students who were attending Beekman Junior High School in Beekman, Morehouse Parish, La.

Thomas W. Richardson of Mansfield, Texas, pleaded guilty to one count of theft of government property and one count of aggravated identity theft before the Honorable Jane J. Boyle in Dallas.

A former owner and operator of a Florida-based airline fuel supply service company and a former owner and operator of an Indiana-based flight management services company pleaded guilty today to participating in separate schemes to defraud Ryan International Airlines, a charter airline company located in Rockford, Ill.

The United States has reached agreement with the owners and a former operator of an inks and paint products manufacturing facility in Danvers, Mass., that exploded and burned in 2006 the day before Thanksgiving.

Nautilus Hyosung Holdings Inc. has agreed to plead guilty and pay a $200,000 criminal fine for obstruction of justice in connection with a premerger filing and investigation by the Antitrust Division.

The United States has filed a lawsuit in an Iowa federal court against a Des Moines, Iowa, metro area company, Advanced Underground Construction LLC and its principal, William David Ward II, the Justice Department announced today.

A 15-count indictment returned by a federal grand jury in Camden, N.J., was unsealed today following the arrest of six individuals from New Jersey and Maryland, and the seizure or restraint of 10 oyster fishing boats in New Jersey, announced Ignacia S. Moreno, Assistant Attorney General for the Justice Department’s Environment and Natural Resources Division, and Paul J. Fishman, U.S. Attorney for the District of New Jersey.

The Justice Department today announced an agreement with Montgomery County, Md., and Maryland National Capital Park and Planning Commission (MNCPPC), to improve access to all aspects of civic life for persons with disabilities.

Levonda J. Selph, 57, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Reggie B. Walton of the District of Columbia.

“Companies which make false statements to win Coast Guard contracts do a disservice to the men and women securing our borders,” said Tony West, Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Division of the Department of Justice.

The Department of Justice announced today that it has reached a settlement that will require Regal Beloit Corporation (RBC) to divest its U.S. business for electric motors for pool and spa pumps to SNTech Inc. and to divest A.O. Smith Corporation’s (AOS) development work and related assets for draft inducers for high-efficiency furnaces to Revcor Inc., in order to proceed with RBC’s acquisition of AOS’s electric motor business.

The Department of Justice announced today that Neal Wayne “Bear” Groom, former sheriff of the Worth County, Mo., Sheriff’s Office, pleaded guilty to depriving eight Missouri women of their civil rights by coercing the women to expose parts of their bodies to him, which was in violation of the Fourth Amendment prohibition against unreasonable seizures.

Donald H. Cone, 48, of Frederick, Md., was sentenced today in Alexandria, Va., to 30 months in prison for his role in a sophisticated conspiracy to import and sell counterfeit Cisco-branded computer networking equipment.

David Chui, a resident of Queens, N.Y., pleaded guilty to failing to pay employment taxes in connection with his former ownership of a garment assembly business.

The Justice Department announced today that it has filed a stipulated order of dismissal to resolve its lawsuit concerning conditions of confinement at the Erie County Holding Center, a pre-trial detention center in Buffalo, N.Y., and the Erie County Correctional Facility, a correctional facility in Alden, N.Y.

Paul Beebe and Jesse Sanford of Farmington, N.M., pleaded guilty today in U.S. District Court in Albuquerque, N.M., to federal hate crime charges related to a racially-motivated assault on a 22-year-old developmentally disabled man of Navajo descent.

The Justice Department has opened a civil investigation into allegations of discriminatory policing by Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department (LASD) members based in the cities of Lancaster and Palmdale, Calif.

"Based on our preliminary review, we have decided to expand our investigation to also focus on allegations that the Lancaster and Palmdale stations of the LASD are engaged in a pattern or practice of discrimination on the basis of race or national origin," said Assistant Attorney General Perez.

The Justice Department announced today that it will monitor primary runoff elections on Aug. 23, 2011, in Bolivar, Noxubee, Tunica and Wilkinson Counties in Mississippi to ensure compliance with the Voting Rights Act of 1965.

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.

Jihan S. Cover, 33, of Arden, N.C., pleaded guilty before Magistrate Judge Dennis L. Howell in the Western District of North Carolina to a one-count criminal information charging her with theft of government property.

Obel Martinez, 39, and Damaris Gil, 30, previously pleaded guilty on May 24, 2010, before U.S. District Judge Donald M. Middlebrooks in Miami to one count of conspiracy to commit health care fraud.

After a six-day trial, a jury in the Southern District of Florida found Judith Negron, 40, guilty of 24 felony counts, including conspiracy to commit health care fraud, health care fraud, conspiracy to pay and receive illegal health care kickbacks, conspiracy to commit money laundering, money laundering and structuring to avoid reporting requirements.

Abby Beard Hogan, 50, was charged with two counts of making false statements to federal law enforcement officials, one count of witness tampering and four counts of obstruction of justice.

Tyrone L. Ellis, 56, of Columbus, Ga., was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Clay D. Land of the Middle District of Georgia.

“The Voting Rights Act plays a vital role in our society by ensuring that every American has the right to vote and to have that vote counted," said Attorney General Holder.

Richard Rosaire Routhier of Lake Worth, Fla., was sentenced to 60 months in prison and ordered to pay $1,243,574 in restitution to the Internal Revenue Service.

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.

The Department of Justice announced today that it will not challenge the Producers Guild of America’s proposed use of a voluntary certification system for film producers.

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.

The Justice Department today settled a lawsuit with the Puerto Rico Department of Justice to protect the rights of employees with disabilities under the Americans with Disabilities Act.

The Department of Justice announced today that it has reached a settlement that will require General Electric Company (GE) to divest Converteam Group SAS’s Electric Machinery Holding Company in order to proceed with its acquisition of Converteam.

Following a comprehensive investigation, the Justice Department has announced its findings that the Miami-Dade County Corrections and Rehabilitation Department (MDCR) has engaged in a pattern or practice of constitutional violations in the jail facilities operated by MDCR.

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.

The Department of Justice today announced the appointments of U.S. Attorney for the District of Minnesota B. Todd Jones to serve as Acting Director of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) and ATF Acting Director Kenneth Melson to become Senior Advisor on forensic science in the Office of Legal Policy.

“United States Attorney Dennis Burke has demonstrated an unwavering commitment to the Department of Justice and the U.S. Attorney’s office, first as a line prosecutor over a decade ago and more recently as United States Attorney," said Attorney General Holder.

A Gulfport, Miss., newspaper has agreed to pay $15,000 to settle a lawsuit filed by the Justice Department alleging that the newspaper published advertisements for housing that discriminated against families with children.