A New Zealand fishing company that owned and operated the tuna fishing vessel San Nikunau, and a former chief engineer on the ship, were sentenced in federal court today for environmental crimes and obstruction of justice.

The Justice Department announced today that it has sued a Kissimmee, Fla., tax return preparer, seeking to bar him permanently from preparing federal tax returns for others.

Today, U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana entered an order granting the joint motion of the United States and the city of New Orleans to enter the consent decree regarding the New Orleans Police Department.

"Over the last four years, we've generated tremendous momentum in our work to integrate evidence into our programs and activities. Our leadership – not only at BJS and NIJ, but across OJP – has demonstrated a strong scientific ethic," said Assistant Attorney General Leary.

The Department of Justice today settled a civil complaint against Richard A. Retta, of Rockville, Md, in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, for violations of the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances (FACE) Act.

"Our Declaration of Independence declared in 1776 that “all men are created equal,” but it took 100 years and a civil war that took hundreds of thousands of lives to end slavery; another hundred years to create legal equality for African Americans; and we struggle to this day to make equality a reality. I see this every day in my work as the chief civil rights law enforcement official for the United States," said Assistant Attorney General Perez.

"The United States was able to become more inclusive not because we changed our principles, which reflect universal and timeless values, but because we learned to apply our principles more consistently. Over time, we also developed tools that help us to better apply our principles," said Assistant Attorney General Perez.

The United States has asked a federal court in Jacksonville, Fla., to stop Thomas G. Bandzul from preparing tax returns for others.

A federal court has permanently barred Nafeesah H. Hines and Rodney N. Chestnut from promoting an alleged tax fraud scheme, as well as preparing tax returns for anyone other than themselves.

"Although there’s no single solution that can bring a decisive end to this senseless violence, it’s incumbent upon each of us to try. And it’s time to consider what common-sense steps we can take – together – to save lives," said Attorney General Holder.

A former Texas state parole officer pleaded guilty today in Dallas for taking bribes from one of her assigned parolees in exchange for not reporting his parole violations.

Billy James Hammett, 28, and Perry Sylvester Jackson, 27, were arrested today in Yuba County, Calif., on federal hate crime charges for their racially motivated attack on an African American woman and white man in Marysville, Calif., on April 18, 2011.

PNC Bank N.A. has agreed to pay the United States $7.1 million to settle claims under the False Claims Act that it failed to engage in prudent underwriting practices in connection with the issuance of loans guaranteed by the Small Business Administration (SBA).

The Justice Department has reached an agreement with the city of Memphis, Tenn., under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) to improve physical accessibility for people with disabilities at Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium, home of the AutoZone Liberty Bowl, Memphis Tigers and Southern Heritage Classic football games.

A federal grand jury in Montgomery, Ala., returned an indictment charging Lea’Tice Phillips for conspiring to file false tax returns using stolen identities.

BP Exploration and Production Inc. pleaded guilty today to 14 criminal counts for its illegal conduct leading to and after the 2010 Deepwater Horizon disaster, and was sentenced to pay $4 billion in criminal fines and penalties, the largest criminal resolution in U.S. history.

Chequlia Motley, a resident of Montgomery, Ala., was indicted by a federal grand jury for her involvement in a conspiracy to use stolen identities to file fraudulent tax returns.

Following a two-week trial, a federal jury in Puerto Rico today convicted a former executive of a Florida-based coastal water freight transportation company for his participation in a conspiracy to fix rates and surcharges for water transportation of freight between the continental United States and Puerto Rico.

A federal court in Indianapolis has barred David Ray Franklin and his company, Instant Refund Tax Service (IRTS) – which does business as Instant Tax Service—from preparing tax returns and from operating a tax-preparation business.

Two members of the Aryan Brotherhood of Texas gang (ABT) pleaded guilty to racketeering charges related to their membership in the ABT’s criminal enterprise.

A Kansas City, Kan., federal court permanently barred an Instant Tax Service franchisee, A&S Tax Services LLC, from further operating or preparing federal tax returns for others.

The United States has asked a federal court to shut down a tax-preparation office in Riverview, Fla.

The Justice Department today announced a settlement with the city of Lomita, Calif., resolving allegations that the city violated the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act of 2000 when it denied the Islamic Center of the South Bay’s application to build a new mosque on its property.

A Northern California real estate investor has agreed to plead guilty for his role in conspiracies to rig bids and commit mail fraud at public real estate foreclosure auctions in Northern California today.

The Justice Department announced today that it has sued two Miami tax return preparers, seeking to bar them from preparing federal tax returns for others.

RBS Securities Japan Limited, a wholly owned subsidiary of The Royal Bank of Scotland plc (RBS), has agreed to plead guilty to felony wire fraud and admit its role in manipulating the Japanese Yen London Interbank Offered Rate (LIBOR), a leading benchmark used in financial products and transactions around the world.

The U.S. District Court for the District of Arizona today approved a consent decree filed by the Department of Justice, together with private plaintiffs and the Tucson Unified School District.

The United States has asked a federal court to shut down a tax-preparation office in Miami.

St. Joseph’s Medical Center, a hospital located in Towson, Md., has reached a settlement with the United States to pay $4.9 million in connection with its submission of false claims to Medicare, Medicaid and other federal healthcare programs.

Sixteen people were sentenced to prison today for hate crimes arising out of a series of religiously-motivated assaults on practitioners of the Amish religion.

The Justice Department today moved to intervene in Murphy-Taylor v. State of Maryland, et al., a private lawsuit alleging sex discrimination by the state of Maryland, Queen Anne’s County and the Queen Anne’s County Sheriff.

A former employee of a Department of Defense contracting company at Bagram Airfield, Afghanistan, was sentenced today to serve 30 months in prison for attempting to smuggle $150,000 in kickback proceeds he received for steering U.S. government subcontracts to an Afghan company.

A federal grand jury in Muskogee, Okla., has indicted Dennis Frisbie Jr., 32, a former detention officer at the Muskogee County Jail (MCJ), on one count of making material false statements to the FBI.

Transocean Deepwater Inc. pleaded guilty today to a violation of the Clean Water Act (CWA) for its illegal conduct leading to the 2010 Deepwater Horizon disaster, and was sentenced to pay $400 million in criminal fines and penalties.

Lender Processing Services Inc. (LPS), a publicly traded mortgage servicing company based in Jacksonville, Fla., has agreed to pay $35 million in criminal penalties and forfeiture to address its participation in a six-year scheme to prepare and file more than 1 million fraudulently signed and notarized mortgage-related documents with property recorders’ offices throughout the United States.

The Department of Justice Civil Rights Division and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Connecticut announced today, together with the town of East Haven, Conn., and the East Haven Board of Police Commissioners, they have selected Kathleen O’Toole as the Joint Compliance Expert to assess and report on the implementation of a comprehensive settlement agreement to reform the East Haven Police Department.

A former U.S. Army staff sergeant pleaded guilty today to accepting thousands of dollars in bribes from contractors while he was deployed to Iraq.

The United States has asked a federal court in Camden, N.J., to bar Doris E. Baules, who operates D’Vazquez Tax Solutions, from preparing tax returns for others.

The Justice Department announced today that it has asked a federal court in Detroit to permanently bar Calvin Carter and brothers Raheen Stroud and Laron Stroud, who do business as E-File Tax Pros LLC and Tax King, from preparing federal tax returns.

"In fact, this initiative constitutes a significant step forward in fostering increased levels of engagement with these partners and with Congress, in establishing a productive partnership between the Department of Justice and NIST, and in strengthening our ability to realize the goals and priorities that we all share," said Acting Assistant Attorney General Tyrangiel.

The United States has asked a federal court in Memphis, Tenn., to permanently bar husband and wife team Ahmed Grant and Lillian Madyun from preparing federal income tax returns for others.

"So as we’ve seen over and over again, while we come from different parts of the country, have different backgrounds, belong to different political parties, our voices and our work are enhanced when we come together across state and federal boundaries, to combat pervasive and common threats," said Acting Associate Attorney General West.

A federal court in Los Angeles permanently barred a Rancho Palos Verdes, Calif., married couple – Henock Teferi and Ruth Berhane – and their company, Plover Financial Services LLC, from engaging in certain abusive tax-preparation practices.

"By helping to strengthen our state and federal criminal justice systems, fighting to expand access to legal services, and advancing critical public safety initiatives and consumer protections, you’ve addressed persistent challenges and improved countless lives," said Attorney General Holder.

A member of the Aryan Brotherhood of Texas gang (ABT) pleaded guilty today to racketeering charges related to his membership in the ABT’s criminal enterprise.

"At its core, this is the struggle exemplified in the moment we remember today, when – in the first days of March, 1965, hundreds of peaceful activists, protesting to secure the right to vote, set out from Selma along the road to Montgomery," said Attorney General Holder.

A federal court permanently barred Toney Fields and Trumekia Shaw, who do business as Fields Mo’ Money Taxes in Nashville, Tenn., from preparing federal tax returns.

Three Philippine nationals were convicted today in Los Angeles of illegally importing military grade weapons in the United States after being caught in a sting operation that was conducted in the Philippines.

New Jersey-based Par Pharmaceutical Companies Inc. pleaded guilty in federal court today and agreed to pay $45 million to resolve its criminal and civil liability in the company’s promotion of its prescription drug Megace ES for uses not approved as safe and effective by the Food and Drug Administration and not covered by federal health care programs.

"I’m proud to report that the Department has made tremendous progress in combating violent crime, battling financial fraud, upholding the civil rights of all, safeguarding the most vulnerable members of society, and protecting the American people from terrorism and other national security threats," said Attorney General Holder.