Rodger Dale DeVries, 73, a resident of Jenison, Mich., has pleaded guilty to illegally importing a polar bear trophy mount in 2007 from Canada into Michigan in violation of the Marine Mammal Protection Act.

Minnesota Transit Constructors Inc. (MnTC), a joint venture comprised of Granite Construction, C.S. McCrossan Inc. and Parsons Transportation Group, as well as a number of subcontractors, have agreed to pay the United States $4.6 million to resolve allegations that they knowingly submitted false claims related to a federally-funded transit construction project in Minneapolis.

Caridad Guilarte, 54, and Clara Guilarte, 57, each pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Cecilia M. Altonaga to one count of conspiracy to commit health care fraud and one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering.

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.

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.

Carol Gant pleaded guilty in the Eastern District of Michigan to one count of conspiracy to commit health care fraud.

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.

Jason Walter Barnwell, 37, of Evening Shade, Ark., pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court in Little Rock, Ark., to charges related to his involvement in the Jan. 14, 2011, racially motivated firebombing of the home of a mixed-race couple in Hardy, Ark.

Onuoha “Iggy” Nwokoro pleaded guilty in federal district court in Washington, D.C., to willfully aiding and assisting in the preparation of a false income tax return for 2004.

A California aftermarket auto lights distributor has agreed to plead guilty today for its participation in a global conspiracy to fix the prices of aftermarket auto lights.

Steven Wark, 54, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Lloyd D. George in the District of Nevada to one count of conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud.

Melinda M. Lambert, a resident of Montgomery County, Ala., pleaded guilty to one count of aiding and assisting the filing of a false tax return.

Miami-area resident Farah Maria Perez, a registered nurse, pleaded guilty today for her participation in a $25 million Medicare fraud scheme involving false billings for home health services.

The Justice Department has reached an agreement with Culpeper 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.

Bernard Joseph Tully, a former Massachusetts state senator, has pleaded guilty for devising a scheme to defraud a Boston-area businessman out of approximately $18,000 by falsely representing that Tully and his co-conspirator were using the funds to bribe public officials.

"The Department filed its lawsuit because we believe the combination of AT&T and T-Mobile would result in tens of millions of consumers all across the United States facing higher prices, fewer choices and lower quality products for their mobile wireless services," said Deputy Attorney General Cole.

The Justice Department today announced the unsealing of a federal indictment charging former inmate Terry Lashavious McMillian, 26, of Whiteville, N.C., with federal civil rights violations involving the assault of an inmate and related acts of obstruction of justice.

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.

A federal jury in Opelika, Ala., has convicted a former deputy sheriff with the Russell County, Ala., Sheriff’s Office of a civil rights offense for his role in the assault of a handcuffed man.

The Justice Department today announced that brothers Brian Wallis, 21, and James Lee Wallis Jr., 25, pleaded guilty to committing a hate crime by intentionally attempting to intimidate African-American students who were attending Beekman Junior High School in Beekman, Morehouse Parish, La.

Braynert Marquez of Miami pleaded guilty to a one-count information charging him with aiding and assisting in the preparation and filing of a false employment tax return.

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.

The U.S. Department of Justice announced today that it has reached a settlement with the city of Winchester, Va., to resolve allegations that the city violated the reemployment rights of U.S. Marine Corps reservist Jon Fultz.

A Las Vegas man pleaded guilty today for his role in a scheme to fraudulently gain control of condominium homeowners’ associations (HOA) in the Las Vegas area so that the HOAs could direct business to a certain law firm and construction company.

Stewart David Nozette, a scientist who once worked for the Department of Energy, the Department of Defense, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration and the White House’s National Space Council, pleaded guilty today to attempted espionage for providing classified information to a person he believed to be an Israeli intelligence officer.

Three separate indictments were returned by a federal grand jury in the Middle District of Alabama charging six different individuals on a variety of charges stemming from tax fraud and identity theft schemes.

Uniteam Marine Shipping GmbH, a German corporation, was sentenced in federal court in San Juan, Puerto Rico, for violating the Act to Prevent Pollution from Ships (APPS) and making false statements to the U.S. Coast Guard.

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.

Maxzone Vehicle Lighting Corp. agreed to plead guilty for participating in a global conspiracy to fix the prices of aftermarket auto lights.

Valerie Byrd and Isaac Dailey, both residents of Montgomery County, Ala., each pleaded guilty to one count of conspiring to defraud the United States.

At a hearing today before U.S. District Judge John D. Bates in Washington, D.C., Irfan Ul Haq, 37; Qasim Ali, 32; and Zahid Yousaf, 43, each pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to provide material support to a designated foreign terrorist organization.

Glenn E. Morgan Jr. of Detroit pleaded guilty in federal court to sending a noose and threatening photographs through the mail to a Detroit couple because of their race.

Leonard Wasylyk, 49, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Sue L. Robinson in the District of Delaware.

Two Louisiana brothers pleaded guilty today and were sentenced in U.S. District Court in Baton Rouge, La., for Lacey Act violations for their role in illegally killing American Alligators in violation of the federal Endangered Species Act and Louisiana law.

Marcella Triana pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Kent J. Dawson in the District of Nevada to one count of conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud.

Veniamin Gonikman, 56, who became a fugitive in 2005, was apprehended in Ukraine in January 2011.

"Let me say at the outset how honored I am to be placed among the many distinguished past recipients of this award – and I’m humbled to have my name connected with the extraordinary woman in whose honor this award is given," said Assistant Attorney General Robinson.

The Department of Justice today announced grants to nearly 150 American Indian and Alaskan Native nations providing $118.4 million to enhance law enforcement practices, and sustain crime prevention and intervention efforts in eight purpose areas.

DeWayne Johnson, 33, of Natchez, Miss., and a former Natchez Police Department officer, was sentenced yesterday to 30 months in prison by U.S. District Court Judge David Bramlette for crimes related to the theft and subsequent unlawful use of credit cards that belonged to a person in the custody of Johnson while he was on duty.

Alchico Grant, a resident of Montgomery, Ala., pleaded guilty to his role in two tax fraud and identity theft conspiracies.

Dylan Boyd, aka “Mohammed,” pleaded guilty today in federal court in New Bern, N.C., to one count of aiding and abetting a conspiracy to provide material support to terrorists.

April Rampton, formerly a resident of Heber City, Utah, was indicted by a federal grand jury in Salt Lake City with 15 counts of presenting false claims to the United States.

Bridgestone Corporation has agreed to plead guilty and to pay a $28 million criminal fine for its role in conspiracies to rig bids and to make corrupt payments to foreign government officials in Latin America related to the sale of marine hose and other industrial products manufactured by the company and sold throughout the world.

Two Mobile, Ala., real estate investors and one real estate investment company have agreed to plead guilty today for their roles in a conspiracy to rig bids for the purchase of real estate at public foreclosure auctions in southern Alabama.

Former Indianapolis and Marion County, Ind., City-County Councilman Lincoln Plowman was convicted today by a federal jury of attempted extortion and soliciting a bribe.

BP Amoco Corp., Amoco Production Company, BP Exploration & Oil Inc., BP America Inc., Atlantic Richfield Company and Vastar have agreed to pay the United States $20.5 million to resolve claims that the companies violated the False Claims Act by knowingly underpaying royalties owed on natural gas produced from federal and Indian leases.

Thomas Aram Manok, 50, of Chantilly, Va., pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Anthony J. Trenga in the Eastern District of Virginia.

Former Milwaukee Police Officer Ladmarald Cates, 43, was indicted today by a federal grand jury for sexually assaulting a woman while he was on duty.

"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.

Lydia Demski, the owner of Deerpath Corp., has agreed to pay the United States $800,000 to resolve allegations that she and her companies knowingly caused false claims to be submitted relating to a contract to provide re-furbishment of equipment at the National Aeronautics and Space Administration’s (NASA) Plumbrook facility in Sandusky, Ohio.