Marion Beverly Metoyer, a patient recruiter for a Houston durable medical equipment (DME) company, was convicted today by a Houston federal jury of health care fraud related to a power wheelchair fraud scheme.

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.

EVA Airways Corporation has agreed to plead guilty and to pay a $13.2 million criminal fine for its role in a conspiracy to fix prices in the air cargo industry.

“This conference provides a critical opportunity to highlight, to celebrate, and – hopefully – to replicate, the extraordinary progress that’s been made under Minneapolis’s “Blueprint for Action” strategy. It’s also our chance to reaffirm our commitment to the goals that we share – protecting young people in need and at risk; and strengthening our approach to addressing one of the greatest public safety – and public health – epidemics of our time: children’s exposure to violence.”

"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."

The Justice Department announced that Matthew Nestor and William Moyer were sentenced today for falsifying information related to the investigation into the beating death of Luis Ramirez.

"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."

Wesley William Brandt, 46, of Davenport, Fla., pleaded guilty today to three counts of production of child pornography.

The case originated when a lawful permanent resident responded to a Canvas Corporation job advertisement seeking U.S. citizen applicants for vendor positions.

A ship management company headquartered in Greece that operated a 29,414 - ton cargo ship that made calls in multiple ports in Texas pleaded guilty and was sentenced late yesterday in federal court in Corpus Christi for deliberately concealing pollution discharges from the ship directly into the sea and for failing to notify the U. S. Coast Guard of numerous safety hazards on board the vessel.

The Justice Department announced today that it has opened a civil investigation into allegations of use of excessive force by members of the Portland, Ore., Police Bureau (PPB), in accordance with the pattern or practice provision of the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994.

"Effective, accountable policing is critical for any healthy community, and we are here today because we all share the goal of ensuring that the Portland Police Bureau is the best law enforcement agency that it can be."

A Pakistani native who operated a Chicago-based immigration business was convicted today of participating in conspiracy involving a terrorism plot against a Danish newspaper and providing material support to a terrorist organization based in Pakistan.

A former U.S. Army major pleaded guilty today to bribery related to his work as a contracting officer’s representative in Kuwait from 2004 to 2006.

A federal jury in New Haven, Conn., today voted unanimously to impose the federal death penalty against Azibo Aquart for his role in the murder of three individuals.

Fluor Hanford Inc., a wholly-owned subsidiary of Fluor Federal Services Inc. and Fluor Corporation, has agreed to pay the United States $4 million to resolve allegations that it knowingly submitted false claims, and paid and received kickbacks.

George H. Lunt, 27, of Plymouth, Mass., was sentenced today to 96 months in prison, to be followed by five years of supervised release for his transportation and possession of child pornography.

Seven individuals and five corporate entities based in the United States, France, the United Arab Emirates (U.A.E.) and Iran have been indicted in the Middle District of Georgia for their alleged roles in a conspiracy to illegally export military components for fighter jets and attack helicopters from the United States to Iran.

The Justice Department today announced a settlement agreement with Beach Babies Learning Center LLC, located in Old Saybrook, Conn., to resolve allegations that the center terminated the enrollment of a then two-year-old child from its program because the child has autism.

Dr. Arvind Ahuja of Greendale, Wis., was indicted today by a federal grand jury in Milwaukee on four counts of willfully filing materially false tax returns and four counts of failing to file Reports of Foreign Bank and Financial Accounts.

Natchez, Miss., Police Department Officer Dewayne Johnson, 33, pleaded guilty today to conspiring to commit identity theft, credit card fraud and bank fraud by agreeing with his cousin to illegally use credit and debit cards stolen from an arrestee in Johnson’s custody.

"You are here today because you know how important it is to continue finding innovative and effective ways to fight violent crime. As someone who focuses on criminal prosecution, I am absolutely committed to doing everything I can to help make our communities safer."

Robert Nicol was sentenced this week in connection with a series of Utah-based business opportunity fraud ventures.

The Department of Justice today filed a lawsuit on behalf of Dave Axtell, a U.S. Air Force reservist, against James J. Williams Bulk Service Transport Inc., its parent company Trans-System Inc., and another Trans-System subsidiary, System TWT Transportation Inc.

The vice-president and general manager of the Pelican Refinery in Lake Charles, La., today pleaded guilty to federal negligent endangerment charges under the Clean Air Act before U.S. District Judge Richard T. Haik in Lafayette, La.

Freedman Farms, Inc. and its president, William B. Freedman, pleaded guilty yesterday in federal court in New Bern, N.C., to violating the Clean Water Act when they discharged hog waste into a stream that leads to the Waccamaw River.

A federal indictment returned by a McAllen, Texas, grand jury on June 7, 2011, charging former Port Isabel Detention Center Lieutenant Raul Leal with using excessive force on a detainee, obstruction of justice and lying to a federal agent was unsealed today following Leal’s arrest.

The Justice Department today filed a lawsuit against Mar-Jac Poultry Inc., a poultry processing plant in Gainesville, Ga., alleging that Mar-Jac requires all newly hired non-U.S. citizens to present documents issued by the Department of Homeland Security in order to secure their jobs, but the company does not require U.S. citizens to show any specific documentation.

The owner of an investment planning company in Miami was sentenced today to 63 months in prison for his role in a scheme to defraud the Export-Import Bank of the United States (Ex-Im Bank) of $5.2 million.

Attorney General Eric Holder and Secretary of Education Arne Duncan today announced the launch of the Supportive School Discipline Initiative, a collaborative project between the Departments of Justice and Education that will address the “school-to-prison pipeline” and the disciplinary policies and practices that can push students out of school and into the justice system.

Today the Department of Justice proposed legislation that would significantly improve the safety of women in American Indian tribal communities and allow federal and tribal law-enforcement agencies to hold more perpetrators of domestic violence accountable for their crimes.

"We believe that enacting reforms along these lines — dealing with tribal jurisdiction over crimes of domestic violence, tribal protection orders, and amendments to the Federal assault statute — would significantly improve the safety of women in tribal communities and would allow Federal and tribal law-enforcement agencies to hold more perpetrators of domestic violence accountable for their crimes."

The United States has intervened in a lawsuit against Nurses’ Registry and Home Health Corporation in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Kentucky.

Sirtaj Mathauda, a former resident of South Florida, was sentenced today in connection with a series of Costa Rica-based business opportunity fraud ventures.

Deputy Attorney General James Cole today announced the appointment of Stuart M. Goldberg as the Principal Associate Deputy Attorney General and David A. O’Neil as the Chief of Staff to the Deputy Attorney General.

The Department of Justice announced today that it has entered into a settlement that, if approved by the court, will resolve the department’s allegations that the state of New Jersey and the New Jersey Civil Service Commission (collectively “New Jersey”) violated Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 by discriminating against African-Americans and Hispanics in the promotion of police sergeants throughout the state.

"In their work with agencies and police departments nationwide, the COPS Office has driven vital efforts to improve public safety strategies and law enforcement operations. This collaboration has led to historic reductions in crime – and helped to secure and empower communities across the country."

Edk Kenit, 29, and Choimina Lukas, 31, a Micronesian couple living in Longview, Wash., pleaded guilty today to document servitude in connection with a scheme to compel the labor of an 18-year-old woman, also from Micronesia.

"This successful operation marks another step forward in our work to protect children across, and beyond, our country," said Attorney General Holder.

The Department of Justice announced today that, in order for VeriFone Systems Inc. to complete its acquisition of Hypercom Corp., it must divest Hypercom’s U.S. point-of-sale terminals business to an entity sponsored by Gores Group LLC, a private equity fund.

The Metropolitan St. Louis Sewer District (MSD) has agreed to make extensive improvements to its sewer systems and treatment plants, at an estimated cost of $4.7 billion over 23 years, to eliminate illegal overflows of untreated raw sewage, including basement backups, and to reduce pollution levels in urban rivers and streams.

“Sharis is a highly experienced antitrust enforcer and I am confident that she will continue to lead the Antitrust Division in its mission to vigorously enforce the antitrust laws,” said Attorney General Holder.

A federal jury today convicted five officers from the New Orleans Police Department on 25 counts in connection with the federal prosecution of a police-involved shooting on the Danziger Bridge in the days after Hurricane Katrina and an extensive cover-up of those shootings.

A Brooklyn, N.Y., man pleaded guilty today in U.S. District Court in Alexandria, Va., for his role in managing a credit card fraud operation that operated throughout the East Coast of the United States.

Under the terms of a settlement filed today in federal court, the city of Newport has agreed to eliminate illegal discharges of sewage into Narragansett Bay from its wastewater treatment plant and wastewater collection system.

The United States has reached agreement with the owners and a former operator of an inks and paint products manufacturing facility in Danvers, Mass., that exploded and burned in 2006 the day before Thanksgiving.

The Department of Justice announced today that it has reached a settlement that will require Regal Beloit Corporation (RBC) to divest its U.S. business for electric motors for pool and spa pumps to SNTech Inc. and to divest A.O. Smith Corporation’s (AOS) development work and related assets for draft inducers for high-efficiency furnaces to Revcor Inc., in order to proceed with RBC’s acquisition of AOS’s electric motor business.

Donald H. Cone, 48, of Frederick, Md., was sentenced today in Alexandria, Va., to 30 months in prison for his role in a sophisticated conspiracy to import and sell counterfeit Cisco-branded computer networking equipment.

Epps Shipping Company, a Liberian corporation doing business out of Carolina, Puerto Rico, was sentenced in federal court for violating the Act to Prevent Pollution from Ships (APPS) and making false statements to U.S. Coast Guard inspectors.