Vincent Johnson of Brick, N.J., was sentenced to 50 months in prison and three years supervised release for sending a series of threatening email communications to employees of five civil rights organizations that work to improve opportunities for, and challenge discrimination against, Latinos in the United States.

Lee Bentley Farkas, the former chairman of a private mortgage lending company, Taylor, Bean & Whitaker (TBW), was convicted today for his role in a more than $2.9 billion fraud scheme that contributed to the failures of Colonial Bank, one of the 25 largest banks in the United States in 2009, and TBW, one of the largest privately held mortgage lending companies in the United States in 2009.

The Department of Justice and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced today that P4 Production LLC, a mining and phosphorus processing company wholly-owned by Monsanto and operating near Soda Springs in southeast Idaho, has agreed to pay a $1.4 million civil penalty for alleged Clean Water Act violations at its South Rasmussen Mine.

One individual and his company in New York and two others and their company in California were indicted today in the District of Columbia on charges of illegally exporting millions of dollars worth of computer-related equipment from the United States to Iran via the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

A federal grand jury in the Eastern District of Washington has returned a superseding indictment charging Kevin Harpham, 36, of Colville, Wash., with federal hate crime and weapons violations arising out of the attempted bombing of the Martin Luther King Jr. Unity March in Spokane, Wash., on Jan. 17, 2011.

Thomas Robert Turner, a resident of Prince George’s County, Md., pleaded guilty to corruptly endeavoring to obstruct and impede the due administration of the Internal Revenue laws.

The Justice Department has reached a settlement agreement today with Restwend LLC, the corporate owner of several Wendy’s restaurants in Maine, to resolve allegations that at least one of its restaurants engaged in employment discrimination by refusing to hire individuals believed to be non-U.S. citizens.

Marking the eighth annual Earth Day Service Celebration today, Deputy Attorney General James Cole and Assistant Attorney General Ignacia S. Moreno commended volunteers from the Justice Department’s Environment and Natural Resources Division as they began work on a future Community Greening Center near Marvin Gaye Park in Northeast Washington, D.C.

Flavio Ricotti, a former executive of Rancho Santa Margarita, Calif.-based valve company Control Components Inc. (CCI), has pleaded guilty for his participation in a conspiracy to secure contracts by paying bribes to officials of foreign state-owned companies as well as officers and employees of foreign and domestic private companies.

In a motion filed with the court today, the United States alleges that the school district has failed to dismantle the vestiges of segregation in its schools, and that schools that were racially segregated by law in 1969, when the district was originally ordered to desegregate, remain so today.

UBS AG has entered into an agreement with the Department of Justice to resolve anticompetitive activity in the municipal bond investments market and has agreed to pay a total of $160 million in restitution, penalties and disgorgement to federal and state agencies.

The Department of Justice reached a settlement today with Unilever and Alberto-Culver Co. that requires them to divest two hair care brands in order to proceed with Unilever’s $3.7 billion acquisition of Alberto-Culver.

Brandon Smith, aka “Little One” and “King Little One,” 26, of Hyattsville, Md., was sentenced today to 23 years in prison by U.S. District Judge Alexander Williams Jr. for conspiracy to participate in a racketeering enterprise, in connection with his gang activities as a member and leader of the Almighty Latin King and Queen Nation (Latin Kings).

A former U.S. Marshals Service (USMS) employee was sentenced today to 21 months in prison for theft of $104,000 in U.S. government funds.

GWC Valve International Inc., a company headquartered in Bakersfield, Calif., and its chief executive officer, David Meador, 52, were sentenced today in the Eastern District of California for conspiracy to export services related to industrial valves to Iran.

Shell Oil Company and other Shell affiliates have agreed to pay the United States $2.2 million to resolve claims that the companies violated the False Claims Act by knowingly underpaying royalties owed on natural gas produced from federal leases.

The Department of Justice filed a civil antitrust lawsuit today challenging George’s Inc.’s acquisition of Tyson Foods’ Harrisonburg, Va., chicken processing complex.

A former president of an Illinois refuse disposal container repair company was sentenced today for his role in a conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud in connection with bids on a contract for the repair of refuse carts for the city of Chicago.

Lindsey Manufacturing Company, an Azusa, Calif., company, two of its executives and a Mexican intermediary today were convicted by a federal jury on all counts for their alleged roles in a scheme to pay bribes to Mexican government officials at the Comisión Federal de Electricidad (CFE), a state-owned utility company.

The Department of Justice filed a civil antitrust lawsuit today to block the proposed acquisition by VeriFone Systems Inc. of Hypercom Corp.

The Justice Department today announced a comprehensive settlement agreement under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) with intercity bus service providers Megabus USA LLC., and Megabus Northeast LLC.

The Justice Department today reached a settlement agreement with the Maricopa County Community College District in Arizona, resolving allegations that the district engaged in a pattern or practice of discrimination against non-citizens in the hiring and employment-eligibility verification process.

Department of Justice Antitrust Division officials will participate in the 10th annual International Competition Network (ICN) conference in The Hague, The Netherlands, from May 18-20, 2011.

The Justice Department today announced a settlement agreement under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) with a state-funded private preschool program, Beginning Montessori Academy, located in Baldwin Park, Calif.

The Justice Department announced today that it has reached a settlement agreement with Iflowsoft LLC, a computer programming services provider in Iselin, N.J., to settle allegations that Iflowsoft engaged in a pattern or practice of citizenship status discrimination by preferring to hire temporary visa holders over U.S. citizens.

The owner of a Houston-area durable medical equipment (DME) company was sentenced to 84 months in prison for her role in a Medicare fraud scheme.

Attorney General Eric Holder today announced that he has chosen Sheila L. Birnbaum to head the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund program. Birnbaum, a life-long New Yorker, has decades of experience resolving complicated litigation.

The principal and co-owner of Integra Capital Management LLC, a North Carolina company, was arrested in Denton, N.C., today for defrauding commodities trading investors of more than $3.2 million, announced Assistant Attorney General Lanny A. Breuer of the Criminal Division and U.S. Attorney Anne M. Tompkins of the Western District of North Carolina.

A former civilian employee of the Department of Defense pleaded guilty today in Columbus, Ga., to conversion of Army Emergency Relief (AER) funds while he was employed at Camp Humphreys in the Republic of Korea.

Jorge Granados, the former chief executive officer of Miami-based telecommunications company Latin Node Inc. (LatiNode), pleaded guilty today to conspiring to pay bribes to government officials in Honduras.

The Justice Department today filed a lawsuit against the owners, developers and design professionals involved in the design and construction of nine multi-family housing complexes in Mississippi, Louisiana and Tennessee.

At its 10th annual conference in The Hague, the Netherlands, the International Competition Network (ICN) adopted new materials on how to assess market dominance, resolve cartel cases and manage competition projects effectively.

An Iowa ready-mix concrete company pleaded guilty to participating in three separate conspiracies to fix prices and/or rig bids for the sales of ready-mix concrete.

Under a settlement agreement lodged today in federal bankruptcy court in Delaware, Caribbean Petroleum Corp., Caribbean Petroleum Refining L.P., and Gulf Petroleum Refining Corp. – Puerto Rico will pay more than $8.2 million to address environmental liabilities relating to CAPECO’s former petroleum distribution facility in Bayamón, Puerto Rico, and more than 170 service stations owned or leased by CAPECO throughout Puerto Rico.

The Department of Justice filed a civil antitrust lawsuit today to block the proposed acquisition by H&R Block Inc. of TaxACT, a digital do-it-yourself tax preparation software provider.

"We are blocking this transaction because the proposed merger would substantially lessen competition in the tax preparation software market, resulting in higher prices, lower quality and reduced innovation," said Assistant Attorney General Varney.

Two Miami-area residents who were owners and operators of a durable medical equipment (DME) company, pleaded guilty today for their roles in a scheme to defraud Medicare.

Paul M. Daugerdas, Donna M. Guerin, Denis M. Field and David Parse were convicted today in Manhattan federal court for their roles in a tax shelter scheme in which they designed, marketed and implemented fraudulent tax shelters used by wealthy individuals to avoid paying taxes to the Internal Revenue Service.

The Department of Justice announced today that it has resolved claims made by Stephen Ralston against the South Bend, Ind., Public Transportation Corporation (TRANSPO) under the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act of 1994.

Chun-Yu Zhao, of Centreville, Va., and Donald H. Cone, of Frederick, Md., were convicted by a federal jury in Alexandria, Va., for their roles in a sophisticated scheme to import and sell counterfeit Cisco-branded computer networking equipment.

An El Paso, Texas, resident was sentenced yesterday to 70 months in prison for his role in a scheme to defraud the Export-Import Bank of the United States (Ex-Im Bank) of more than $17 million.

A Miami-area resident who was an owner and vice-president of a fraudulent physical therapy company in Lakeland, Fla., pleaded guilty today for his role in a scheme to defraud Medicare, the Departments of Justice and Health and Human Services (HHS) announced.

Attorney General Eric Holder announced today the launch of a public awareness campaign at a Federal Interagency Drug Endangered Children (DEC) Task Force event to bring attention to the challenges faced by children and families affected by drug abuse and highlight the work being done across the country to address these issues.

The Justice Department today reached a settlement agreement with the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), an organization of 60,000 pediatricians based in Elk Grove Village, Ill., resolving allegations that the organization impermissibly allowed postings on its www.PedJobs.org website that limited applications to U.S. citizens and certain visa holders.

"Each of you has been invited because of your experience, your expertise, and your influence within your constituencies. What we have in this room today is a gathering of many of the most influential criminal justice stakeholders in the nation and we’re going to really try to leverage that influence."

"As we rededicate ourselves to this work, I can’t help but feel optimistic about where we’ll arrive – and what we will achieve – together. Not only do I look forward to hearing about the discussions that you will have – and the recommendations that you will develop – during this symposium, I look forward to our continued partnership, our continued progress, and our continued pursuit of security, opportunity, and justice for all."

"This evidence-based approach to public safety issues is important across the criminal justice spectrum. I’ve made it a top priority at OJP. Shortly after taking office in 2009, I launched my Evidence Integration Initiative – we call it E2I, for short. Our goal is to both improve the quantity and quality of research and other evidence that we generate and get that information out to the field in a useable format."

A Trenton, N.J., jury Wednesday found Paterson, N.J.-based dietary supplement companies Quality Formulation Laboratories Inc. and American Sports Nutrition Inc., as well as their owner, Mohamed S. Desoky, and managers Ahmad Desoky Esq. and Omar Desoky, guilty of multiple counts of criminal contempt of court for violating a consent decree.

A former owner of two Illinois-based technology companies has pleaded guilty to participating in a conspiracy to defraud the federal E-Rate program by providing bribes and kickbacks to school officials in Arkansas, Illinois and Louisiana.

A federal grand jury today returned a six-count indictment against former U.S. Senator and Presidential candidate John Edwards for allegedly participating in a scheme to violate federal campaign finance laws.