I have every expectation that our criminal defense system can, and will, be a source of tremendous national pride. And I know that achieving this requires the best that we, as a profession and as a people, have to offer.

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.

The Department announced a settlement with KeySpan Corporation that requires KeySpan to pay $12 million for violating the antitrust laws by entering into an agreement restraining competition in the New York City electricity capacity market.

The goals of the workshops are to promote dialogue among interested parties and foster learning with respect to the appropriate legal and economic analyses of these issues, as well as to listen to and learn from parties with experience in the agriculture sector.

Without the divestitures, the department said the acquisition would lead to higher prices, lower quality, less favorable supply-chain options, reduced technical support and less innovation.

The Department announced a settlement of its lawsuit alleging that the owners and developers involved in the design and construction of 21 multifamily housing complexes in Tennessee discriminated on the basis of disability.

A New York man pleaded guilty today in U.S. District Court in Alexandria, Va., to criminal copyright infringement for selling more than $250,000 worth of pirated copies of popular business, engineering and graphic design software programs.

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.

The Department has reached a settlement, in the form of a consent decree, with the Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company that, if approved by the U.S. District Court in Oklahoma City, will resolve its lawsuit filed on behalf of Michael J. Ellis, a major in the U.S. Army Reserve.

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.

The Department filed a lawsuit against the owner and property manager of a 48-unit apartment complex in Ann Arbor, Mich., alleging that the defendants discriminated on the basis of race or color in the rental of apartments.

Four former owners and employees of three different video relay service companies pleaded guilty today and yesterday to engaging in conspiracies to defraud the Federal Communications Commission’s (FCC) Video Relay Service (VRS) program of more than $2.5 million.

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 department said that today’s settlement will restore competition in voting equipment systems in the U.S. and that, without the divestiture, the acquisition would result in higher prices, lower quality and a reduced incentive to innovate.

Three former owners and employees of two different video relay service companies pleaded guilty today to conspiring to defraud the Federal Communications Commission’s (FCC) Video Relay Service (VRS) program of more than $2.5 million.

According to the charges filed today in the U.S. District Court in Manhattan, Matthew Adam Rothman of Los Angeles engaged in separate bid-rigging and fraud conspiracies with companies that provide a type of contract, known as an investment agreement, to state, county and local governments and agencies throughout the United States.

“Today’s workshop provided the Department with an important opportunity to hear from a variety of perspectives and individuals about competition in the agriculture sector,” said Attorney General Eric Holder.

David B. Stocker, 50, of Phoenix pleaded guilty on March 11, 2009, in U.S. District Court in Alexandria, Va., for his participation in a stock manipulation conspiracy known as a "pump-and-dump" scheme.

According to the charges filed today, Douglas Alan Goldberg engaged in separate bid-rigging and fraud conspiracies with companies that provide a type of contract, known as an investment agreement, to state, county and local governments and agencies throughout the United States.

Nexus Technologies Inc., a Philadelphia-based export company, pleaded guilty today in connection with a conspiracy to bribe officials of the Vietnamese government in exchange for lucrative contracts to supply equipment and technology to Vietnamese government agencies, in violation of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA).

A Texas-based pipeline company has agreed to pay a $450,000 civil penalty to the United States to settle allegations that it failed to prepare and maintain proper facility response plans to deal with spills and environmental accidents at eight of its oil storage terminal facilities in Iowa, Kansas and Nebraska.

The United States has reached a settlement resolving a housing discrimination lawsuit in Pennsylvania concerning discrimination against families with children.

A Highland Falls, N.Y., woman was sentenced today to 46 months in prison for her role in a scheme to defraud and embezzle funds from the U.S. government by authorizing nearly $3 million in payments from the U.S. Military Academy in West Point, N.Y., to a bogus corporation she controlled.

“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.

A State Department employee was sentenced today to 12 months of probation for illegally accessing more than 60 confidential passport application files.

Leonard Nwafor, 44, was sentenced in absentia by U.S. District Judge John F. Walter of the Central District of California to nine years in prison.

Donna J. Scott, a former U.S. Department of Energy employee, pleaded guilty to criminal conflict of interest for personally participating in DOE’s purchase of furniture when she knew her husband had a financial interest in the deals.

Raja Lahrasib Khan was charged with two counts of providing material support to terrorism in a criminal complaint that was filed yesterday in U.S. District Court in Chicago and unsealed today following his arrest.

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.

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.

Attorney General Eric Holder today announced the redesign and enhancement of its Tribal Justice and Safety Web site: www.TribalJusticeandSafety.gov.

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.

Mobil Natural Gas Inc., Mobil Exploration & Producing U.S. Inc. and their affiliates have agreed to pay the United States $32.2 million to resolve claims that they violated the False Claims Act by knowingly underpaying royalties owed on natural gas produced from federal and American Indian leases.

Learning Tree International Inc. has agreed to pay the United States $4.5 million to resolve allegations that it violated the False Claims Act when it improperly invoiced federal agencies in advance for information technology training courses and kept federal funds for training courses that were never actually provided.

Randy Lee (aka Jimmy Lee) was sentenced today in connection with an odometer tampering scheme that defrauded scores of victims in and around Colorado.

A former captain in the U.S. Army Reserve pleaded guilty today to accepting thousands of dollars in gratuities from a contractor during his deployment to Kuwait.

Two subsidiaries of Exxon Mobil Corporation – Mobil Oil Guam Inc. and Mobil Oil Mariana Islands Inc. – have agreed to pay $2.4 million for allegedly violating the federal Clean Air Act by failing to control emissions from their facilities.

Lobato, 25, pleaded guilty today before U.S. District Court Judge Alan S. Gold in the Southern District of Florida to one count of conspiracy to commit health care fraud.

The Department has entered into a consent decree with Milne Enterprises Inc., d/b/a Milne, Nail, Power Tool &s complaint alleging violations of the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act of 1994.

The United States has filed a civil suit on behalf of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in U.S. District Court in the Middle District of Florida, against Franck’s Compounding Lab Inc., dba Franck’s Lab, a compounding pharmacy located in Ocala, Fla.

The United States has sued an Ohio man and his company, seeking to bar them from promoting a scheme that allegedly helps customers claim improper theft loss tax deductions.

Anthony G. Merlo, a resident of Portsmouth, N.H., was sentenced to 51 months of imprisonment for conspiring to defraud the United States.

Westward Seafoods Inc., the operator of a seafood processing plant in Dutch Harbor, Alaska, will pay a $570,000 civil penalty as part of a settlement agreement to resolve alleged violations of the Clean Air Act and the Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act.

The Office of Special Counsel for Immigration Related Unfair Employment Practices today announced grant funding available for public education programs that provide workers or employers with information about immigration-related employment discrimination under the anti-discrimination provision of the Immigration and Nationality Act.

Christine Varney, Assistant Attorney General in charge of the Antitrust Division, will participate in the ninth annual International Competition Network (ICN) conference in Istanbul, Turkey, from April 27-29, 2010.

The Department has entered into a consent decree with Troy University of Montgomery, Ala., to resolve the department’s complaint alleging violations of the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act of 1994.

A former executive of an Iowa ready-mix concrete company has agreed to plead guilty and serve 19 months in jail for participating in three separate conspiracies to fix prices and rig bids for the sales of ready-mix concrete.

An Indian national was sentenced today to 81 months in prison on conspiracy and aggravated identity theft charges arising from an international fraud scheme to "hack" into online brokerage accounts in the United States and use those accounts to manipulate stock prices.

David Ryder, a convicted felon who was dressed as a police officer on the day of a police-involved shooting on Sept. 4, 2005, in New Orleans, pleaded guilty today in federal court to lying to a federal agent and to illegally possessing a firearm.