The Civil Rights Division reached an agreement with the Latvian Tower Condominium Association Inc. and its former president, Karl Tegtmeyer, to settle allegations of discrimination against families with children.

The Department announced a settlement agreement with Sunlight Inc., doing business as Beauty Smart, of Durham, N.C., to resolve allegations of a pattern or practice of discrimination in recruitment and hiring on the basis of national origin.

The Department announced a settlement agreement with The Children’s House Inc. of Broadview Heights, Ohio, a suburb of Cleveland, to provide services for children with asthma as required by the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).

The settlement agreement reached today, which is contingent on appropriation by Congress, will provide a total of $1.25 billion to African American farmers who alleged that they suffered racial discrimination in USDA farm loan programs.

"After a thorough review of the evidence, the division has determined that the proposed transaction is not likely to substantially lessen competition in the United States."

Mercy Hospital Inc. of Springfield, Mass., has agreed to pay the United States $2,799,462 to settle claims that it violated the False Claims Act between 2005 and 2006 by failing to provide, or failing to document that it provided, the minimum number of hours of rehabilitation therapy required under Medicare guidelines.

The combined $2.13 million settlement represents the second largest monetary payment ever obtained by the department in a fair housing case alleging housing discrimination in the rental of apartments.

Eon Labs Inc. has agreed to pay the United States $3.5 million to resolve False Claims Act allegations relating to the company's drug Nitroglycerin Sustained Release (SR) capsules.

Cummins Inc., a major motor vehicle engine company based in Columbus, Ind., will pay a $2.1 million penalty and recall 405 engines under a settlement agreement resolving alleged violations of the Clean Air Act.

Among other things, Zazi admitted that he brought TATP [Triacetone Triperoxide] explosives to New York on Sept. 10, 2009, as part of plan to attack the New York subway system.

The United States has asked a federal court to stop two Miami-based tax return preparers from improperly claiming the First-Time Home Buyer Credit.

James E. Haas Jr., a former representative of a New Jersey subcontractor, pleaded guilty in October 2009, to an indictment charging that he engaged in a kickback and fraud conspiracy at the Federal Creosote Superfund site in Manville, N.J.

The United States is grateful to the Government of Albania for its willingness to support U.S. efforts to close the Guantanamo Bay detention facility.

The United States is grateful to the Government of Spain for its willingness to support U.S. efforts to close the Guantanamo Bay detention facility.

Medical device manufacturer Guidant LLC, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Boston Scientific Corporation, was charged today with criminal violations of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act related to safety problems with some of its implantable defibrillators.

A federal grand jury in Des Moines, Iowa, has returned an indictment charging Robert Joe Knapp, the owner of Equitable L.P.; and Russell William Coco, the supervisor for Knapp, with committing violations of the Clean Air Act while they were overseeing the demolition and renovation of The Equitable Building.

"We must invest today to improve public safety in tribal communities. The problems in tribal communities are severe: American Indian and Alaska Native communities suffer from violent crime at far higher rates than other Americans."

Atlanta-based Mariner Health Care Inc. and SavaSeniorCare Administrative Services LLC, as well as their principals, Leonard Grunstein, Murray Forman and Rubin Schron, have agreed to pay the United States and several states $14 million.

The Department has reached a settlement in its lawsuit filed on behalf of Wisconsin Army National Guardsman Rocco Sylvester Jr., against Mort’s Concrete Inc. and Kevin Mortimer.

The Department has reached a settlement with the county of Fresno, Calif., on behalf of Navy Reservist Porotesano Faapouli.

A federal jury in Los Angeles convicted a Fresno woman late Friday after it found that she committed Medicare fraud by recruiting patients for the purpose of receiving unnecessary power wheelchairs.

Robert E. Alick, the operator of used medical equipment sales business and resident of Chagrin Falls, Ohio, pleaded guilty today to five counts of mail fraud, one count of wire fraud, and one count of corruptly endeavoring to obstruct the administration of the Internal Revenue laws.

The United States and the Commonwealth of Virginia have filed a False Claims Act complaint in the Western District of Virginia against Medicaid providers Universal Health Services Inc., Keystone Marion LLC and Keystone Education and Youth Services LLC.

I view today’s hearing as a listening session for the federal officials here. We are going to spend today listening to you and hearing what you think the federal government can and should be doing to work with the people of Puerto Rico.

Two subsidiaries of American International Group Inc. have agreed to pay a minimum of $6.1 million to resolve allegations that they engaged in a pattern or practice of discrimination against African American borrowers.

Norfolk Southern Railway Company has agreed to pay a $4 million penalty to resolve alleged violations of the Clean Water Act (CWA) and hazardous materials laws for a 2005 chlorine spill in Graniteville, S.C.

The Houston Independent School District has agreed to relinquish millions of dollars in requests for federal funds and to pay a total of $850,000 as part of a civil settlement relating to allegations that the school district violated the False Claims Act in connection with the Federal Communications Commission’s (FCC) E-Rate program.

Rush University Medical Center has agreed to pay $1,547,200 plus interest to resolve allegations that the facility violated the False Claims Act.

Gloria Chu and Ivan Chu of Taipei, Taiwan, each pleaded guilty to nine counts including conspiracy, false statements, and violations of both the Endangered Species Act and the Lacey Act.

"I applaud the work of the Senate Judiciary Committee, particularly Chairman Leahy, Ranking Member Sessions and Senators Durbin and Graham, in taking such an important step toward reforming our sentencing laws. I look forward to the Senate and the House approving this legislation quickly so that it can be signed into law."

"Today’s guilty plea represents another important milestone in our ongoing effort to tackle overseas corruption," said Assistant Attorney General Lanny A. Breuer of the Criminal Division. "The message here is simple: Whether you are located in the United States or elsewhere, we will not allow U.S. financial institutions to be used as a vehicle for laundering illicit proceeds."

American pharmaceutical manufacturer Alpharma Inc. has agreed to pay $42.5 million to resolve False Claims Act allegations in connection with the marketing of the morphine-based drug, Kadian.

Innospec Inc., a Delaware corporation, pleaded guilty today to defrauding the United Nations (UN), to violating the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) and to violating the U.S. embargo against Cuba.

Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital Hamilton, a New Jersey-based hospital, has agreed to pay $6.35 million to settle allegations that the hospital defrauded Medicare.

The United States is grateful to Georgia for its willingness to support U.S. efforts to close the Guantanamo Bay detention facility.

“The Justice Department is committed to vigorously pursuing those who defraud Medicare,” said Tony West, Assistant Attorney General of the Civil Division of the Department of Justice.

The Swiss Government, with the support of the Canton of Jura, accepted the two Chinese nationals of Uighur ethnicity for resettlement in Switzerland.

A federal judge in Kansas City, Kan., has issued a preliminary injunction barring a Garden City, Kan., tax preparer, Jose Lares, from preparing returns with false dependent exemptions and false filing statuses.

Albert Gonzalez, of Miami, the leader of the largest hacking and identity theft ring ever prosecuted by the U.S. government, has been sentenced to 20 years and one day in prison for his role in a series of hacks into a major payment processor and several retail networks.

A federal judge in St. Louis has barred two St. Louis tax preparers and their businesses from certain conduct the Justice Department announced today

Shell Chemical L.P. and Shell Chemical Yabucoa have agreed to install pollution reduction equipment on two petroleum refining facilities at an estimated cost of $6 million as part of two comprehensive Clean Air Act settlements.

Two Baton Rouge, La., tax return preparers were indicted today on charges of aiding in the preparation of false tax returns, the Justice Department and Internal Revenue Service (IRS) announced

Harold Hutcheson, a former captain at the Northwest Correctional Complex (NCC), in Tiptonville, Tenn., pleaded guilty today in federal court in Jackson, Tenn., to violating the civil rights of an inmate and then lying about it during the state and federal investigations.

The suit, filed in U.S. District Court in Washington, alleges that KBR knowingly included impermissible costs for private armed security in billings to the Army.

Daimler AG, a German corporation, and three of its subsidiaries have resolved charges related to a Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) investigation into the company’s worldwide sales practices.

The United States has intervened in a False Claims Act lawsuit alleging that Satilla Health Services Inc., dba Satilla Regional Medical Center, and Dr. Najam Azmat submitted claims for medically substandard and unnecessary services to Medicare and Medicaid.

The former chief of staff for the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) Employment Standards Administration pleaded guilty today to falsely certifying his Fiscal Year 2003 Executive Branch Personnel Public Financial Disclosure Report, announced Assistant Attorney General Lanny A. Breuer of the Criminal Division.

U.S. District Judge Gray H. Miller sentenced Robert Luis Loya to three years in prison and five years of supervised release for violating the civil rights and the sexual abuse of females in his custody.

Harry Abrahamsen, a resident of Oradell, N.J., pleaded guilty today to failure to file a Report of Foreign Bank or Financial Accounts.

The owner and operator of a Los Angeles durable medical equipment (DME) company pleaded guilty today to submitting nearly one half of a million dollars in false claims to Medicare.