A settlement has been reached with Hecla Mining Company to resolve one of the largest cases ever filed under the Superfund statute. Under the settlement, Hecla will pay $263.4 million plus interest to the United States, the Coeur d’Alene Tribe and the state of Idaho to resolve claims stemming from releases of wastes from its mining operations.

Bidemi Bello, 41, a former resident of Suwanee, Ga., and a citizen of Nigeria, was convicted on eight counts by a federal jury late on Friday on charges of two counts of forced labor, two counts of trafficking for forced labor, one count of document servitude, one count of alien harboring and two counts of making false statements in an application to become a U.S. citizen.

Christopher Drotleff, 31, of Virginia Beach, Va., was sentenced today to 37 months in prison for his role in shooting and killing an Afghan national while on an unauthorized convoy in Kabul, Afghanistan, on May 5, 2009.

The United States has filed a complaint under the False Claims Act (FCA) against Bay Area Sleep Associates LLC, dba SomnoMedics LLC, and its owner, Edward Killmer Jr.

According to court findings, HedgeLender, which maintained offices in Philadelphia and Reston, Va., promoted a scheme purportedly allowing owners of appreciated stock to obtain cash through purported loans without reporting or paying tax on capital gains.

The United States, the California Department of Fish and Game and the California Regional Water Quality Control Board, Central Coast Region, filed a civil complaint today in federal court against Greka Oil & Gas Inc. alleging that the company violated federal and state water laws.

Nixon State Bank of Nixon, Texas, will establish uniform pricing policies, conduct employee training, and pay nearly $100,000 as part of a settlement to resolve allegations that it engaged in a pattern or practice of discrimination on the basis of national origin.

A former senior vice president and head of Colonial Bank’s Mortgage Warehouse Lending Division was sentenced today to eight years in prison for her role in a more than $2.9 billion fraud scheme that contributed to the failures of Colonial Bank and Taylor, Bean & Whitaker.

The Justice Department announced that it has reached an agreement with the city of Manassas Park, Va., that, if approved by the court, will allow for the city to bail out from its status as a “covered jurisdiction” under the special provisions of the Voting Rights Act, and thereby exempt the city from the preclearance requirements of Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act.

Sean Roberts and Nadia Roberts of Tehachapi, Calif., pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Anthony W. Ishii of the Eastern District of California to a criminal information charging them with filing a false tax return related to an undisclosed Swiss bank account that they maintained at UBS, as well as other offshore bank accounts.

An owner of a Detroit-area medical clinic was sentenced today to 15 months in prison for her role in a $1.12 million Medicare fraud scheme.

The Department of Justice released a new technical assistance document describing public entities’ obligations and individuals’ rights under the integration mandate of title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act and the 1999 landmark Supreme Court decision, Olmstead v. L.C.

Three employees of the Solstice Wellness Center, a Brooklyn-area clinic that purported to specialize in providing physical therapy and various diagnostic tests, have pleaded guilty in connection with a $3.4 million Medicare fraud scheme.

An East Hartford, Conn., woman was sentenced yesterday by U.S. District Judge Mark R. Kravitz in New Haven, Conn., to 110 months in prison for the sex trafficking of two minor girls in 2009.

Justin Cannon, 29, of Corpus Christi, Texas, was sentenced today to 30 months in prison for his role in shooting and killing an Afghan national while on an unauthorized convoy in Kabul, Afghanistan, on May 5, 2009.

Attorney General Eric Holder today welcomed the confirmation of James Cole, as Deputy Attorney General; Lisa Monaco, as Assistant Attorney General for National Security; and Virginia Seitz, as Assistant Attorney General of the Office of Legal Counsel.

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.

"Today, together, we have an opportunity to discuss the goals and responsibilities that we share – to reach the young people who need our help most; and to ensure that violent crime rates – here in Cleveland and across the country – continue to head in the right direction."

A Romanian man was sentenced today to 48 months in prison for his role in moving and hiding the illicit proceeds of an international fraud scheme.

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

Eight California real estate investors have agreed to plead guilty for their roles in two separate conspiracies to rig bids and commit mail fraud at public real estate foreclosure auctions in Northern California.

The United States has sued an Orange County, Calif., man to stop him from selling bogus tax credits.

A former employee of the United Nations (U.N.) was arrested today for allegedly obtaining more than $100,000 in salary payments as a result of holding jobs at the U.N. and the National Labor Relations Board at the same time.

The United States has sued a Seattle-area man to stop him from promoting an alleged tax fraud scheme.

The Departments of Justice and Education reached a settlement agreement with the Tehachapi Unified School District in Tehachapi, Calif., to resolve an investigation into the harassment of a middle school student based on his nonconformity with gender stereotypes.

The Civil Rights Division and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of California announced today an agreement with Alameda County, Calif., to ensure compliance with provisions of the Voting Rights Act that require the county to provide election materials and information in Spanish and Chinese.

The Justice Department announced today that it has sued the Mortgage Guaranty Insurance Corporation (MGIC), the nation’s largest mortgage insurance company, and two of its underwriters, Elgina Cunningham and Kelly Kane, for violating the Fair Housing Act by discriminating against women on paid maternity leave.

The Justice Department announced today the unsealing of a criminal information earlier today, charging four defendants with conspiracy to commit wire fraud involving a nation-wide reverse mortgage scam that defrauded elderly borrowers, financial institutions and the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD).

JPMorgan Chase &s role in anticompetitive activity in the municipal bond investments market and has agreed to pay a total of $228 million in restitution, penalties and disgorgement to federal and state agencies.

A U.S. Army contractor was sentenced today to 42 months in prison for stabbing another individual with a knife at Kandahar Airfield in Afghanistan.

The Justice Department announced that it has reached an agreement with Rappahannock County, Va., that will allow for the county and its two political subdivisions to bail out from their status as “covered jurisdictions” under the special provisions of the Voting Rights Act.

The co-owner of two health care companies was convicted late yesterday on multiple health care fraud charges related to his participation in a scheme to defraud Medicare.

PRIDE Industries, and its subsidiary, PRIDE Industries One, has agreed to pay the United States $400,000 to resolve allegations that it knowingly submitted false claims relating to a contract to provide maintenance services at the Department of the Army’s Ft. Bliss Army Base in El Paso, Texas.

John Scott Miles was sentenced to 30 months in prison and Kathryn Charles Miles was sentenced to 20 months in prison.

Cinergy Telecommunications Inc., Cinergy’s president and director, the president of Florida-based Telecom Consulting Services Corp. and two former Haitian government officials have been charged in a superseding indictment for their alleged roles in a foreign bribery, wire fraud and money laundering scheme.

A founder and president of a Washington-area design firm was sentenced today to 18 months in prison for her role in a conspiracy to defraud the United States in the award of a government contract for U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).

Emerson Winfield Begolly, 22, of New Bethlehem, Pa., was indicted by a federal grand jury in Alexandria, Va., today for allegedly soliciting Islamic extremists to engage in acts of terrorism within the United States and posting bomb-making instruction materials online.

An ongoing Internet fraud scheme conducted by several networks of organized cyber criminals in Romania and the United States has been disrupted as a result of a series of law enforcement actions coordinated since 2010 between Romanian and U.S. law enforcement, including numerous arrests and searches that took place yesterday in Romania.

Alexander Otis Matthews, a Virginia real estate businessman pleaded guilty today to fraud charges in connection with mortgage and investment schemes to obtain more than $12 million in fraudulent loans.

Frank G. Bivings and Isabelle Blanco of Washington, D.C., co-owners of The Bivings Group Inc., pleaded guilty today to charges stemming from the failure to pay more than $2 million in employment taxes to the Internal Revenue Service.

Tony Branscum, 25, and James Bradley “Brad” Branscum, 23, both of Salado, Ark., pleaded guilty today to criminal violations of housing rights related to their role in the Aug. 28, 2010, cross burning in front of an African American man’s apartment in Salado.

Two individuals have been charged with participating in a long-term conspiracy to act as agents of the Pakistani government in the United States without disclosing their affiliation with the Pakistani government as required by law.

Peter Labovitz, of Alexandria, Va., pleaded guilty to two counts of failing to pay employment taxes to the Internal Revenue Service.

Julius Everett “Bud” Johnson, 62, a resident of Richmond, Va., was sentenced today to 97 months in prison for his role in an investment scheme resulting in millions of dollars in losses.

Fourteen individuals were arrested today by FBI agents on charges related to their alleged involvement in a cyber attack on PayPal’s website as part of an action claimed by the group “Anonymous,” announced the Department of Justice and the FBI. Two additional defendants were arrested today on cyber-related charges.

Eliseo Roquiz of Erie, Penn., pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Sean J. McLaughlin of the Western District of Pennsylvania to charges of filing a false document with the Internal Revenue Service.

Rogelio Hackett Jr., 25, of Lithonia, Ga., was sentenced today to 120 months in prison by U.S. District Judge Anthony J. Trenga in Alexandria, Va., for trafficking in counterfeit credit cards and aggravated identity theft.

Curtis Coffee, 19, of Salado, Ark., pleaded guilty today to criminal violations of housing rights related to his role in the Aug. 28, 2010, cross burning in front of an African-American man’s apartment in Salado.

"It is a privilege to join with you – and with so many other key leaders and critical partners, as we unveil a cutting-edge, comprehensive strategy that will take our nation’s fight against transnational organized crime to the next level."

Thomas J. Ernst, formerly a resident of McLean and Arlington, Va., pleaded guilty to one count of corruptly endeavoring to impede and impair the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and one count of tax evasion for 2005.