Desiree Brown, the former treasurer of a private mortgage lending company, Taylor, Bean & Whitaker (TBW), pleaded guilty today to conspiring to commit bank, wire and securities fraud for her role in a more than $1.9 billion fraud scheme that contributed to the failures of Colonial Bank and TBW

Horizon Lines LLC has agreed to plead guilty and to pay a $45 million criminal fine for its role in a conspiracy to fix prices in the coastal water freight transportation industry.

Zachary Adam Chesser, 21, of Fairfax County, Va., was sentenced today to 25 years in prison, followed by three years of supervised release, for communicating threats against the writers of the South Park television show, soliciting violent jihadists to desensitize law enforcement, and attempting to provide material support to Al-Shabaab, a designated foreign terrorist organization.

The United States has sued a Chicago tax return preparer seeking to bar her from preparing any more federal tax returns for others.

Ruben Reyes, a South Florida resident, pleaded guilty today to one count of filing a false tax return.

Four individuals have been sentenced this week in Atlanta by U.S. District Judge William S. Duffey Jr., for their involvement in a counterfeit DVD and CD ring.

Ugochukwu Enwerem, aka Joseph Smith, was sentenced yesterday in U.S. District Court in Charlotte, N.C., to 108 months in prison for his role in an advance-fee fraud scheme.

BlueCross BlueShield of Illinois, a division of Health Care Service Corporation, has agreed to pay the United States and the state of Illinois $25 million to settle False Claims Act allegations.

"Each February – since Black History Month was established more than half a century ago – we rededicate ourselves to racial and social equality; to the work of ensuring economic opportunity; and to the values that have defined and strengthened our nation: tolerance; compassion; and – above all – justice."

Patrick Carney of Manchester, N.H., was sentenced today in the Western District of Pennsylvania to 15 years in prison and a lifetime of supervised release for engaging in a child exploitation enterprise.

As part of continued efforts to close the chapter on allegations that discrimination occurred at U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) in past decades.

The Department of Justice reached a settlement today with United Regional Health Care System of Wichita Falls, Texas, that prohibits it from entering into contracts that improperly inhibit commercial health insurers from contracting with United Regional’s competitors.

Mississippi-based PowerTrain Inc., Wood Sales Inc., and Tool Mart Inc., (collectively known as “PowerTrain”) will jointly pay a civil penalty of $2 million to resolve claims that the company imported and sold almost 80,000 nonroad engines and equipment that were not covered by emissions-related certificates of conformity, and in most cases could not be certified because they exceeded emissions standards under the Clean Air Act.

Edward Lee Sullivan, of Oakland, Calif., was convicted on Feb. 25, 2011, of one count of producing and one count of possessing child pornography.

Arch Coal Inc., the second largest supplier of coal in the United States, has agreed to pay a $4 million penalty to settle alleged violations of the Clean Water Act in Virginia, West Virginia and Kentucky.

David L. Place, owner of Manor House Antiques Cooperative in Nantucket, Mass., was sentenced to 33 months in prison for illegally importing and trafficking in Narwhal tusks and Sperm Whale teeth.

FBI agents today arrested four people in connection with an armed home invasion robbery in Bartonsville, Penn.

Victor Kaganov, who emigrated from Russia and set up numerous shell corporations in Oregon on behalf of Russian clients, pleaded guilty today to charges of operating an unlicensed money transmitting business.

Four alleged members and associates of the New England La Cosa Nostra (LCN), including an alleged former boss, were charged with crimes involving racketeering, extortion and related crimes in a superseding indictment unsealed today in Providence, R.I.

"Today, I come to you on behalf of my colleagues – the more than 117,000 dedicated men and women who serve our nation’s Justice Department in positions and offices all around the world. Above all, I come to you on behalf of my fellow citizens."

A federal jury in Decatur, Ala., has convicted Eddie Pressley, a former U.S. Army Major, and his wife, Eurica Pressley, on 22 counts in connection with a bribery and money laundering scheme related to defense contracts awarded in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom.

An agreement has been reached with the city of Des Moines, Iowa, and the Des Moines Public Library, to improve access to all aspects of civic life for persons with disabilities.

Catherine Kissick, a former senior vice president of Colonial Bank and head of its Mortgage Warehouse Lending Division, pleaded guilty today to conspiring to commit bank, wire and securities fraud for her role in a fraud scheme that contributed to the failures of Colonial Bank and Taylor, Bean & Whitaker (TBW).

Jeffery Leon Ceaser, a resident of Montgomery County, Ala., was sentenced today to 36 months in prison.

Drug manufacturer Forest Pharmaceuticals Inc. was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge Nancy Gertner to pay a criminal fine of $150 million and forfeit assets of $14 million.

Barrett C. White was originally charged in U.S. District Court in New Orleans on Nov. 18, 2010, for his role in the conspiracy to defraud the E-Rate program.

A jury in Natchez, Miss., yesterday convicted a Natchez Police Department officer of violating the civil rights of an arrestee by stealing credit and debit cards from the arrestee.

David Chiaradio of Westerly, R.I., was sentenced today in U.S. District Court in Providence, R.I., to 97 months in prison and a lifetime of supervised release for distribution and possession of child pornography.

Andrew Warren, 43, a former official with the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), was sentenced today to 65 months in prison on charges of abusive sexual contact and unlawful use of cocaine while possessing a firearm.

A jury in St. Louis today convicted Vernon Wilson, 57, former chief deputy of the Washington County Sheriff’s Department, of violating the civil rights of four former inmates of the Washington County Jail on four separate occasions by beating two of the inmates and by arranging for the beatings of two other inmates.

The United States has asked a federal court to stop an Atlanta-area financial planner from assisting persons in preparing false tax returns claiming fraudulent tax refunds based on fabricated income tax withholdings.

An owner and a physician associated with a Detroit-area infusion therapy clinic were sentenced to 120 months and 97 months in prison, respectively, for their leading roles in a $2.3 million Medicare fraud scheme.

Arthur Joel Eisenberg of Seattle was sentenced today to three years probation by U.S. District Court Judge John Coughenour.

A federal grand jury yesterday returned a 49-count superseding indictment against Jared Lee Loughner of Tucson for the murder of a federal judge and a Congressional staff member, as well as for causing the deaths of four other participants and injuries to many more during his alleged attempt to assassinate U.S. Representative Gabrielle D. Giffords at her Congress on Your Corner event held on Jan. 8.

Seven MS-13 members and leaders of La Mara Salvatrucha, or MS-13, have been sentenced to prison this week, after being convicted or pleading guilty to criminal charges that include racketeering, murder, attempted murder, assault, cocaine trafficking and numerous related federal firearms offenses.

The former campaign treasurer for Representative Frank LoBiondo of New Jersey pleaded guilty today to embezzling more than $450,000 from the congressman’s election and re-election campaign accounts.

A federal court in Detroit has ordered Ypsilanti, Mich., property owner and Washtenaw County Commissioner Ronnie Peterson, and his former manager Glen E. Johnson to pay a total of $82,500 in civil penalties in a sexual harassment case.

"Each year, as we commemorate Black History Month, we are called to reconnect – and to rededicate ourselves – to the principles at the core of all that we stand for, and all that we fight for, in this Department."

"It was here that I first learned to be a lawyer; where I learned my most important lessons about law and public service; and where I learned something that all of you already know: that the small steps we take in service can create giant leaps of difference."

The Justice Department announced today that the Hillsboro, Oregon, School District will allow Jordan “Scooter” Givens to bring his trained autism service dog into his classroom in the Hillsboro School District.

The Justice Department announced today that it will monitor municipal elections on March 8, 2011, in Maricopa County, Ariz.

"As the Administration has long stated, it is essential that the government have the ability to use both military commissions and federal courts as tools to keep this country safe."

A Las Vegas woman pleaded guilty today to falsely representing to Medicare that she owned a Los Angeles-area durable medical equipment (DME) company that was actually owned and operated by her brother, and used by her brother and others to submit more than $3.5 million in false claims to Medicare.

"I believe that this is a time of extraordinary opportunity – the opportunity to be more creative and innovative; to transform systems in need of reform; to harness 21st-century technologies; to incorporate research and science into our decision-making processes; to break down long-standing barriers to communication and cost-sharing; to forge and strengthen partnerships across, and beyond, government; and, even as we’re called on to do more with less, to do better for the most vulnerable citizens we serve."

Puerto Rico Senator Hector Martinez Maldonado and Juan Bravo Fernandez, the former president of one of the largest private security companies in Puerto Rico, were convicted by a jury in San Juan, Puerto Rico, for their roles in a bribery scheme involving legislation beneficial to Bravo Fernandez’ business.

The owners and operators of Summerhill Place Apartments, a 268 apartment complex in Renton, Wash., have agreed to pay $110,000 in damages and civil penalties to settle a lawsuit alleging that the complex had discriminated against African-Americans, Hispanic Americans, Indian Americans and families with children in violation of the Fair Housing Act.

Jamie Paulin Ramirez, 32, a U.S. citizen and former resident of Colorado, pleaded guilty today to one count of conspiracy to provide material support to terrorists.

Edward Gurary, formerly of Orange Village, Ohio, pleaded guilty today in federal court in the Northern District of Ohio to filing false personal income tax returns for the years 2004 through 2008.

American Education and Travel Services Inc. (AETS) in Antioch, Calif., has agreed to pay $10,000 in back pay and compensatory damages to a lawful permanent resident who was denied a residential counselor position because he was not a U.S. citizen or native English speaker.

"These brave men and women routinely put their lives on the line in their work to combat crime and gun violence, to apprehend dangerous criminals, and to help bring fugitives to justice."