Pharmaceutical manufacturer Teva Pharmaceuticals USA Inc. and a subsidiary, IVAX LLC, have agreed to pay the government and the state of Illinois $27.6 million for allegedly violating the False Claims Act by making payments to induce prescriptions of an anti-psychotic drug for Medicare and Medicaid beneficiaries.

Halifax Hospital Medical Center and Halifax Staffing Inc. (Halifax), a hospital system based in the Daytona Beach, Fla., area, have agreed to pay $85 million to resolve allegations that they violated the False Claims Act by submitting claims to the Medicare program that violated the Physician Self-Referral Law, commonly known as the Stark Law.

Richard Castle, 47, a resident of the United Kingdom, has been sentenced to serve 192 months in prison in connection with a trip he made to Ohio from his home in the United Kingdom to have illicit sexual activity with a minor in June 2011.

Wilfredo Blanco-Diaz, 40, formerly of Caguas, Puerto Rico, was sentenced to serve 61 months in prison and three years of supervised release by U.S. District Judge Gustavo A. Gelpí in the District of Puerto Rico.

A former correctional officer in Puerto Rico was sentenced to serve 37 months in prison for attempting to smuggle heroin into state prison by delivering it to an inmate in the parking lot of the Medical Center in San Juan, Puerto Rico.

Every March, we pause to honor the extraordinary contributions and innumerable sacrifices that American women have made throughout our history – and that they continue to make today – in order to move our nation, and this Department, forward. Leaders like Susan B. Anthony, Elizabeth Cady Stanton, and Ada Kepley – the first woman to graduate from law school in the United States – have left indelible marks on the fabric of our country.

A federal court in the Northern District of Georgia permanently barred Andrew R. Heath, an Acworth, Ga., area tax preparer from preparing tax returns for others, the Justice Department announced today.

The Justice Department announced today that it has reached an agreement in principle with the city of New York and intervening plaintiffs to settle an employment discrimination lawsuit involving the New York City Fire Department.

The Justice Department, the Internal Revenue Service and the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration announced that Matthew Bender, of Detroit, was convicted today of obstructing the IRS and nine counts of aiding and assisting in the preparation of false federal income tax returns following a jury trial in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan.

California attorney Christopher M. Rusch was sentenced to serve 10 months in prison for helping his clients Stephen M. Kerr and Michael Quiel, both businessmen from Phoenix, hide millions of dollars in secret offshore bank accounts at UBS AG and Pictet & Cie in Switzerland, the Justice Department and the Internal Revenue Service announced today.

U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder, U.S. Secretary of Transportation Anthony Foxx, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York Preet Bharara, Inspector General of the U.S. Department of Transportation Calvin L. Scovel, III, National Highway Traffic Safety Administration Acting Administrator David Friedman, and FBI Deputy Assistant Director Joe Campbell announced a criminal wire fraud charge against Toyota Motor Corporation, an automotive company headquartered in Toyota City, Japan, that designs, manufactures, assembles, and sells Toyota and Lexus brand vehicles.

Today’s announcement underscores the fact that the Departments of Justice and Transportation remain firmly committed to protecting consumers, ensuring the safety of the American people, and combating fraud in all its forms.

Anthony Williams, of Baton Rouge, La., was sentenced to serve 24 months in prison followed by two years of supervised release, the Justice Department, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration (TIGTA) announced today.

Okland Construction Co. Inc. has agreed to pay the government $928,000 to resolve allegations that it made false statements and submitted false claims under the Small Business Administration’s (SBA) Section 8(a) Program for Small and Disadvantaged Businesses.

A federal court in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., permanently barred Keisha Stewart, a tax preparer in Plantation, Fla., from preparing federal tax returns for others, the Justice Department announced today.

Victor Lipukhin was indicted yesterday by a federal grand jury in Kansas City, Mo., for attempting to interfere with the administration of the internal revenue laws and filing false tax returns, the Justice Department and Internal Revenue Service announced today.

Schools must support children as they learn expectations about behavior and conduct. But a routine school discipline infraction should land a student in a principal’s office – not in a police precinct.

In a new step to further the Justice Department’s efforts towards enhancing reentry among formerly incarcerated individuals, Attorney General Eric Holder announced Monday that the Bureau of Prisons (BOP) will impose new requirements on federal halfway houses that help inmates transition back into society.

The Department of Justice, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), and the Competition Bureau Canada today issued a set of “best practices” to make more transparent how they coordinate merger reviews that affect the United States and Canada.

Detrick and Natashia Tucker, a husband and wife who owned and operated a tax preparation business named T&T Express Tax located in Pine Mountain, Ga., were sentenced to serve 12 months and one day and 46 months in prison, respectively, for crimes relating to the preparation of false tax returns.

Billy James Hammett, 30, of Marysville, Calif., was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge John A. Mendez to serve 87 months in prison for violating the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act in a 2011 racially motivated attack against a white man and an African-American woman in Marysville.

Williesteina Jacobs was indicted in the Eastern District of New York on March 21, 2014, and charged with 27 counts of aiding in the preparation of false returns, the Justice Department and Internal Revenue Service announced today following her arrest.

More funding will be available this year, and I am also pleased that President Obama’s budget request for next year includes $11 million for programs to support responses to child maltreatment. This funding will potentially provide critical operational assistance to child advocacy centers and valuable training and technical assistance that will further strengthen the multidisciplinary response to child abuse cases.

The Justice Department filed a lawsuit today against Sairam Enterprises Inc. LLC alleging that it discriminated against Jeffrey Crockett and his family on the basis of disability in violation of Title III of the Americans with Disabilities Act.

The Department of Justice’s Antitrust Division today announced a new streamlined procedure that will lower the costs and expedite the review process for parties seeking to modify or terminate old antitrust settlements and litigated judgments.

The Department of Justice filed a civil lawsuit today in the U.S. District Court for the District of Nevada to stop Bill Sunga Modina, who allegedly does business as 5M Financial and 6M Financial, from preparing federal tax returns.

As we convene this morning, I know we’re all mindful of yesterday’s mass shooting at Fort Hood. I am being regularly briefed on the situation and have directed that the full resources of the Department of Justice and the FBI be made available to ensure the security of everyone on base. We will work with local officials and the Department of Defense to provide assistance to those who need it and to help conduct a full and thorough federal investigation.

Tommy Edward Clack was sentenced today to serve 66 months in federal prison for tax and fraud crimes by U.S. District Judge Thomas D. Schroeder in Winston-Salem, N.C., the Justice Department and Internal Revenue Service announced.

A former vice president of a Chesapeake, Va., government contracting company pleaded guilty today to conspiracy to pay bribes to public officials in exchange for favorable treatment in connection with U.S. government contract work.

Despite significant challenges, the past year has been characterized by remarkable progress – from expanding civil rights for all Americans to holding private corporations accountable for wrongdoing. In the financial sector, concerns have been raised recently about a practice called “high-frequency trading.”

The United States filed a complaint today seeking to bar Joyce Bougere-Keyes, and her business, Joyce Tax & Financial Service LLC, from preparing federal tax returns for others, the Justice Department announced.

The United States filed a civil lawsuit today in Pittsburgh federal court to permanently bar Larry E. Snow, of Seward, Pa., from preparing federal tax returns for others, the Department of Justice and Internal Revenue Service announced today.

"Unnecessary segregation of people with disabilities is harmful to people with disabilities and to our communities. We cannot wait another day to change. And we won’t. Because today, the Justice Department, the state of Rhode Island and the business community, together, embrace real integration of people with disabilities – committing to make Rhode Island a model for other states to follow."

I believe that the only real, sustainable choice – the only safe and humane option – is the one that broadens opportunity and widens the path to success. Each of you is helping to lead us in that direction, and we are marching forward with you. And I am optimistic that we will continue to see an America that is safer, healthier, and more just.

Five California-based masonry subcontractors and two individuals paid the government nearly $1.9 million to resolve allegations that they violated the False Claims Act by misrepresenting their disadvantaged small business status in connection with military construction contracts.

A federal grand jury in Albuquerque, N.M., indicted John Greene, 70, a former captain at the Gallup-McKinley Adult Detention Center, on charges related to the sexual assaults of women inmates in his custody.

The Justice Department announced today that it has reached an agreement with the New Jersey Judiciary to provide comprehensive language assistance services to limited English proficient (LEP) individuals.

"You are helping to realize the promise of our justice system by working to give every victim a voice and the help they need and deserve."

Three individuals have been indicted for their alleged roles in an approximately $32 million fraud against a Federal Communications Commission (FCC) program designed to provide discounted telephone services to low-income customers.

The U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Mississippi permanently barred Tamara Brock from preparing federal tax returns for others, the Justice Department announced today.

After a bench trial handled by the Department of Justice, the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York has entered an injunction against New York City Fish Inc., Maxim Kutsyk, Pavel Roytkov, Leonid Staroseletesky and Steven Koyfman under the federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act (FDCA).

The Justice Department today announced it has reached an agreement with the Rhode Island Judiciary to ensure that limited English proficient individuals will have access to timely and competent language assistance at no charge in all court proceedings, services and programs throughout the state court system.

Claude Arthur Verbal II, formerly of Raleigh, N.C., and now of Miami, pleaded guilty to tax fraud, healthcare fraud and money laundering in two separate cases in federal court.

U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder—who testified before the U.S. Sentencing Commission last month in support of a proposal to reduce the federal sentencing guidelines for low-level, nonviolent drug offenders—released the following statement Thursday in response to the Commission voting to formally adopt those changes.

The Justice Department and Internal Revenue Service (IRS) announced that Celamour Berus, of Springfield Gardens, N.Y., was arrested for multiple tax crimes today following his indictment on April 3, 2014.

"This investigation was not an easy task, but through all of these efforts, we made certain to gather the facts and apply the law to the facts to reach our conclusions."

"This joint guidance is an important step in making clear that legitimate cyber threat sharing can help secure the nation’s networks and that it can occur without raising antitrust liability issues."

The government has intervened in a False Claims Act lawsuit against Orbit Medical Inc. and Jake Kilgore alleging that Orbit Medical’s sales representatives boosted power wheelchair and accessory sales by altering and forging physician prescriptions and supporting documentation.

It was that promise that, nearly forty years ago, led Congress to hold a series of hearings that lifted the curtain and shed light on abusive child-welfare practices that were separating Native children from their families at staggering rates; uprooting them from their tribes and their culture. Roughly one of every three or four Indian children, according to data presented at those hearings, had been taken from their birth families and placed with adoptive families, in foster care, or in institutions that had little or no connection to the child's tribe.

Following the recent tragedies at a Jewish Community Center in Kansas and at Ft. Hood, Attorney General Eric Holder urged Congress Tuesday to approve $15 million in funding for active shooter training for law enforcement officers to ensure they have the tools they need to effectively respond to threats, protect themselves, and save innocent lives.