Albert Gonzalez, 28, of Miami, Fla., was indicted today for conspiring to hack into computer networks supporting major American retail and financial organizations, and stealing data relating to more than 130 million credit and debit cards. Among the corporate victims named in the indictment are Heartland Payment Systems, a New Jersey-based card payment processor; 7-Eleven Inc., a Texas-based nationwide convenience store chain; and Hannaford Brothers Co. Inc., a Maine-based supermarket chain.

Craig Shaber, an attorney from San Diego was arraigned today before Magistrate Judge Anthony J. Battaglia in that city on charges of conspiracy to defraud the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and tax evasion for years 2000 to 2002. On Aug. 14, 2009, Steven Wright, an accountant, pleaded guilty before U.S. Magistrate Judge Jan M. Adler to one count of tax evasion for the 2000 tax year.

Cooper Land Development, Inc., a luxury home development company headquartered in Rogers, Ark., has agreed to pay a civil penalty and implement a storm water compliance program at its construction sites to settle allegations that it violated the Clean Water Act.

A federal grand jury in San Francisco has returned an indictment against a former executive of a large Taiwanese color display tube (CDT) manufacturing company for participating in a global conspiracy to fix prices of CDTs, a type of cathode ray tube used in computer monitors and other specialized applications.

A former member of the U.S. armed services was sentenced today to 28 months in prison for his role in a widespread bribery and extortion conspiracy that operated from January 2002 through March 2004.

Two manufacturing companies, in separate settlements, have agreed to pay civil penalties and take corrective measures to settle Clean Air Act violations resulting from explosions at two plants in 2002 and 2003 in Louisville, Ky., and Pascagoula, Miss.

Seven individuals from around New England have been indicted in federal court in Boston for conspiracies to defraud the United States through the promotion and use of multiple tax fraud schemes.

The Department has reached a proposed settlement with Microsemi Corporation that requires the company to divest all of the assets that it acquired from Semicoa Inc. on July 14, 2008. The Department said that without this divestiture, there would be little or no competition in the development, manufacture and sale of certain semiconductor devices used in military and space programs essential to the security of the United States.

Raschad L. “Sean” Lewis, a former fuel section employee of Kellogg Brown and Root Inc. (KBR) assigned to Bagram Airfield in Afghanistan, was sentenced today to 84 months in prison for his role in a bribery and a fuel diversion scheme. U.S. District Court Judge Leonie M. Brinkema also ordered Lewis to pay $891,000 in restitution and serve three years of supervised release.

Covenant Medical Center in Waterloo, Iowa has agreed to pay the United States $4.5 million to resolve allegations that it violated the False Claims Act. This settlement resolves allegations that Covenant submitted false claims to Medicare by having financial relationships with five physicians that violated the Stark Law.

Japanese electronics manufacturer Epson Imaging Devices Corporation (Epson) agreed to plead guilty and pay a $26 million criminal fine for its role in a conspiracy to fix prices in the sale of Thin Film Transistor-Liquid Crystal Display panels (TFT-LCD) sold to Motorola Inc.

Lee William Dubois, a former Department of Defense contractor, was sentenced today to three years in prison for his participation in a scheme to steal fuel worth approximately $39.6 million from the U.S. Army in Iraq.

Two demolition and salvage companies and three of their respective owners and supervisors were indicted today by a federal grand jury in Chattanooga, Tenn. The indictment describes a year-long scheme in which the former Standard Coosa Thatcher plant in Chattanooga was illegally demolished while still containing large amounts of asbestos.

A sixth individual pleaded guilty today to illegally accessing numerous confidential passport application files. Karal Busch, 28, of District Heights, Md., pleaded guilty before U.S. Magistrate Judge Alan Kay in the District of Columbia to a one-count criminal information charging her with unauthorized computer access.

A former sand and gravel subcontractor was sentenced today to serve five years in prison and to pay a $5,000 criminal fine by U.S. District Judge Carl J. Barbier after being convicted by a federal jury of conspiracy and bribery in connection with a $16 million hurricane protection project for the reconstruction a New Orleans levee.

The United States and the state of Illinois have filed a civil complaint against Midwest Generation LLC, alleging that the company violated, and continues to violate, the Clean Air Act, announced the Justice Department, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Illinois Attorney General’s office.

The Justice Department today announced an agreement with the owner of College Square Apartments, in Davie, Fla., to settle allegations of discrimination against African Americans. Under the consent decree, approved today in U.S. District Court in Miami, the defendants must pay a total of up to $140,000 to victims of discrimination and a civil penalty of $74,000 to the government.

The Justice Department announced the indictment of Alec Souphone Sou and Mike Mankone Sou, owners of Aloun Farm in Hawaii, and Thai labor recruiter William Khoo late yesterday for engaging in a conspiracy to commit forced labor and visa fraud.

Three members of the violent gang known as the Almighty Latin King and Queen Nation (ALKQN) were sentenced today for their participation in narcotics and weapons trafficking.

Jacob A. Wingo, Richard W. Robbins, Clayton D. Morrison and Darren E. McKim pleaded guilty today and yesterday to conspiring to drive a woman and her children from their home in Donaldson, Ark., because they associated with African Americans. A fifth defendant, Dustin Nix, 21, pleaded guilty to similar charges in July 2009.

Jacques Monsieur, a Belgian national and resident of France suspected of international arms dealing for decades, has been arrested on charges alleging that he conspired to illegally export F-5 fighter jet engines and parts from the United States to Iran.

An Oklahoma man pleaded guilty today for his role in a scheme to solicit kickbacks in connection with the award of a private security services subcontract to protect U.S. government personnel and contractors in Afghanistan. Bryan Lee Burrows, 42, of Wagoner, Okla., pleaded guilty today before U.S. District Court Judge Leonie M. Brinkema in the Eastern District of Virginia to one count of conspiracy to solicit a kickback.

Two former Department of Defense contractors who worked as inspectors at the U.S. Army installation at Ft. Hamilton in Brooklyn, N.Y., pleaded guilty for seeking and receiving bribes in connection with the award and performance of contracts to move and store military household goods. Today’s charges are the first to arise from an ongoing investigation into the moving and storage of military household goods between New York and New Jersey and other states or overseas military installations.

The former director of sales and marketing for Pacific Consolidated Industries LP (PCI) pleaded guilty today to charges related to the bribery of a U.K. Ministry of Defense (UK-MOD) official in order to obtain lucrative equipment contracts with the U.K. Royal Air Force, in violation of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA).

Four individuals were indicted today by a federal grand jury in the Eastern District of Virginia with conspiracy to commit copyright infringement for allegedly obtaining and illegally releasing copyrighted music.

Delmar Dwayne Spier, the chief executive officer and managing director of United States Protection and Investigations, LLC (USPI), today pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia to conspiracy, major fraud and wire fraud arising from an alleged scheme to defraud the United States; and his wife, Barbara Edens Spier, the president and owner of USPI, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to defraud the United States in connection with U.S.-sponsored rebuilding efforts in Afghanistan.

Steven W. Allen, an attorney who operated a legal practice in Mesa, Ariz., and Allen P. Goodmansen, a certified public accountant who operated an accounting practice in Mesa, were indicted Wednesday for conspiracy to defraud the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and for aiding in the filing of false income tax returns for clients of an offshore tax shelter scheme.

An international computer hacker pleaded guilty today to multiple charges relating to hacking activity and credit card fraud. More than 40 million credit and debit card numbers were stolen from major U.S. retailers as a result of the hacking activity. Albert Gonzalez, 28, of Miami, pleaded guilty today to 19 counts of conspiracy, computer fraud, wire fraud, access device fraud and aggravated identity theft relating to hacks into numerous major U.S. retailers.

A Newark grand jury indicted three individuals for their participation in fraud and kickback conspiracies related to contracts at a U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)-designated Superfund site, Federal Creosote, located in Manville, N.J.

The Department will monitor the Sept. 15, 2009, municipal elections in Springfield, Mass., and Newburgh, N.Y., to ensure compliance with the Voting Rights Act of 1965. Federal observers will be assigned to monitor polling place activities in Springfield and Newburgh. The observers will watch and record activities during voting hours at polling locations.

Gerald Green and Patricia Green, Los Angeles-area film executives, were found guilty late last Friday of conspiracy to violate the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) and money laundering laws of the United States, as well as substantive violations of the FCPA and U.S. money laundering laws in relation to a sophisticated bribery scheme that enabled the defendants to obtain a series of Thai government contracts, including valuable contracts to manage and operate Thailand’s yearly film festival.

The Department today commemorated the 15th anniversary of the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA), which was signed into law on September 13, 1994.

Timothy L. Lantz was sentenced today to 15 years in prison for transporting child pornography in interstate commerce and failing to update his sex offender registration in violation of the Adam Walsh Act.

Odell Folks, of Brooklyn, N.Y., was sentenced to prison today by District Judge Carol Bagley Amon of the Eastern District of New York for his participation in a false tax return scheme. Folks, who pleaded guilty in March 2009 to mail fraud, a false claims conspiracy, and making and subscribing a false return, was sentenced to 77 months in prison and ordered to pay restitution of $489,292.

The city of Jeffersonville, Ind., has agreed to make extensive improvements to its sewer systems that will significantly reduce the city’s longstanding sewage overflows into the Ohio River in a comprehensive Clean Water Act settlement with federal and state government.

Almighty Latin King and Queen Nation (ALKQN) member Marie Chavez, aka "Shorty," wife of an alleged ALKQN leader, Jose Nava, aka "Chino," was sentenced today, while his brother Luis Nava, aka "Flaco," re-entered a guilty plea to a superseding indictment that charged them and 14 others with various offenses related to alleged narcotics and weapons trafficking, as well as violent activities throughout Texas.

A federal grand jury in San Diego has indicted an additional eight defendants for conspiracy to cheat a total of 11 casinos across the country. According to the indictment, from approximately March 2002 through July 2006, the defendants and co-conspirators allegedly formed and participated in a conspiracy, defined in the indictment as the “Tran Organization,” to cheat at gambling in casinos across the United States.

The Department has reached a consent decree with the city of Bonita Springs, Fla., that, if approved in federal court in Fort Myers, Fla., will resolve the department’s allegations that the city discriminated against an African American employee in violation of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.

Najibullah Zazi has been indicted on a charge of conspiracy to use weapons of mass destruction (explosive bombs) against persons or property in the United States.

A Dutch aviation services company, its director and sales manager pleaded guilty today in the District of Columbia to federal charges related to a conspiracy to illegally export aircraft components and other items from the United States to entities in Iran via the Netherlands, the United Arab Emirates and Cyprus.

Beverly Masek was sentenced today to six months in prison.

The Department announced that it had reached a settlement with a Virginia landlord to resolve allegations that she violated the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act (SCRA). The lawsuit alleged that the landlord failed to return prepaid rent and security deposits to a tenant who had terminated her lease early in order to comply with military orders to relocate from to Georgia.

A Saddle River, N.J., man pleaded guilty today to failure to file a Report of Foreign Bank or Financial Accounts (F-BAR. Juergen Homann appeared today before Judge Stanley R. Chesler in Newark, N.J., and accepted responsibility for concealing more than $5 million in Swiss bank accounts.

Robert Lumpkins, owner of Golden Eye Seafood LLC, of St. Mary’s County, Md., was sentenced to 18 months in prison and the company was sentenced today to 3 years probation by U.S. District Judge Peter J. Messitte after a two day sentencing hearing in the District of Maryland.

Suresh Chand pleaded guilty today to participating in multiple conspiracies to defraud the Medicare program and to launder the proceeds of the fraud.

The Department’s complaint alleges that Massachusetts and the MDOC are using an unlawful physical abilities test (PAT) that disproportionately screens out female applicants for entry-level correctional officer jobs.

The Department announced a settlement agreement to make Donna’s, a café and restaurant located in the Mt. Vernon neighborhood of Baltimore accessible to people with disabilities.

Hampton Roads Sanitation District (HRSD), based in Virginia Beach, Va., has agreed to pay a $900,000 civil penalty and to take corrective actions to reduce alleged sanitary sewer overflows from its collection system and nine sewage treatment plants that have polluted the Chesapeake Bay and its tributaries.

The lawsuit alleging that conditions at the Erie County Holding Center and the Erie County Correctional Facility routinely and systematically deprive inmates of constitutional rights.

“Today’s settlement reflects the Justice Department’s ongoing commitment to protect the integrity of the doctor-patient relationship,” said Tony West, Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Division.