The Justice Department today announced that it has filed a lawsuit against the state of New York seeking relief to help ensure that military service members and other U.S. citizens living overseas have the opportunity to participate fully in the Nov. 2, 2010, federal general election and future federal elections.

Princewill Njoku, 51, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Court Judge Gray Miller in Houston to conspiracy to commit health care fraud.

The Justice Department today announced that it has reached an agreement with New Mexico officials to help ensure that military service members and other U.S. citizens living overseas have an opportunity to participate fully in the Nov. 2, 2010, federal general election.

The Justice Department announced today that the evidence does not reveal a violation of the applicable federal criminal civil rights statute or warrant further federal criminal investigation in the death of Imam Luqman Ameen Abdullah, a Detroit Muslim cleric, who was shot during an Oct. 28, 2009, arrest by FBI agents in Dearborn, Mich.

The Justice Department today filed a lawsuit against the owner and manager of Royal Arms Apartments, a 26-unit apartment building in Ravenna, Ohio, for violating the Fair Housing Act by discriminating on the basis of familial status in the rental of apartments.

The Justice Department today announced that it has awarded $720,321 in grants to 13 organizations throughout the country to conduct public education programs for workers and employers about federal protections against immigration-related job discrimination.

The United States has sued a Bryson City, N.C., tax return preparer seeking to bar her and her company from preparing federal tax returns for others.

"I am proud to be a part of this celebration. And I am honored to gather with so many partners, public servants, and distinguished guests as we break ground on a center that will become a place of learning and healing, of reflection and inspiration."

Seven additional Houston-area residents who allegedly served as patient recruiters and a nurse have been charged for their alleged participation in a $5 million Medicare home healthcare fraud scheme.

The Justice Department today announced that it has reached agreements with New York, Kansas and Mississippi officials to help ensure that military service members and other U.S. citizens living overseas have an opportunity to participate fully in the Nov. 2, 2010, federal general election.

The Department of Justice filed a civil antitrust lawsuit today against Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan (BCBSM) alleging that provisions of its agreements with hospitals raise hospital prices, prevent other insurers from entering the marketplace and discourage discounts.

The Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division today filed an amicus brief in support of a mosque in Murfreesboro, Tenn., that has met with community opposition and a lawsuit.

"This morning, we filed a civil antitrust lawsuit in U.S. District Court in Michigan against Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan alleging that provisions in their agreements with hospitals stifle competition, resulting in higher health insurance prices for consumers in Michigan," said Assistant Attorney General Varney.

The Justice Department today announced that it has entered into a comprehensive settlement agreement that will transform the state of Georgia’s mental health and developmental disability system and resolve a lawsuit the United States brought against the state.

The Justice Department today announced that it has reached a settlement agreement with Catholic Healthcare West (CHW) to resolve allegations that CHW engaged in a pattern or practice of citizenship status discrimination by imposing unnecessary and discriminatory hurdles to employment for work-authorized individuals.

Attorney General Eric Holder and Department of Agriculture (USDA) Secretary Tom Vilsack today announced the settlement of a class action lawsuit filed against USDA by Native American farmers alleging discrimination by USDA.

Hosam Maher Husein Smadi was sentenced today by U.S. District Court Judge Barbara M. G. Lynn to 24 years in prison for his attempted bombing of a downtown Dallas skyscraper in September 2009.

A former Pittsfield, Mass., man pleaded guilty today in federal court in Boston to his role in a series of frauds and attempts to avoid paying taxes over more than a decade, as well as lying to federal authorities and financial institutions about his illegal activities.

"I’m enormously pleased that we at the Justice Department are supporting your important work through the Office of Justice Programs and are thereby helping you expand the reach of the holistic community oriented model to defender agencies across the country through the Center for Holistic Defense."

Cynthia Garza-Williams, 49, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit health care fraud before U.S. District Court Judge Nancy Atlas in Houston.

Eric M. Kurz, 46, of The Woodlands, Texas, pleaded guilty today to conspiracy to commit mail fraud and money laundering in conjunction with his actions as a wholesaler of investment products for A&O, a group of businesses that acquired and marketed life settlements to investors.

The Justice Department announced today that the owners and manager of Mountain View Apartments in Longview, Wash., have agreed to pay $12,500 as a civil penalty to settle allegations that they discriminated against families with children in violation of the federal Fair Housing Act.

The Justice Department today announced that it has reached an agreement with Illinois officials to help ensure that military service members and other U.S. citizens living overseas have an opportunity to participate fully in the Nov. 2, 2010, federal general election. 

The Justice Department announced today that a Munster, Ind., condominium association and its three member board of directors have agreed to pay $120,000 to resolve allegations that they refused to approve the sale of a condominium to an African-American couple because of their race and because they had children.

The Justice Department today sought the federal court’s approval of a consent decree with Norwegian Cruise Line (NCL) to resolve a lawsuit under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) on behalf of individuals who are deaf or hard of hearing, and individuals who use wheelchairs, who took NCL cruises of the Hawaiian Islands.

The United States has sued Iliana Sorensen of Hialeah, Fla., and Gerald A. Poynter II of Kansas City, Mo., seeking to bar them from preparing federal tax returns for others.

The Justice Department today announced a settlement agreement with the city of Kerrville, Texas, and Playhouse 2000 to bring the Cailloux Theater into compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act.

Former National Century Financial Enterprises (NCFE) executive Rebecca S. Parrett, 62, has been arrested in Mexico.

Donald Williams was sentenced today in connection with a series of Costa Rica-based business opportunity fraud ventures.

“It has been this administration’s commitment to ensure law enforcement has the resources necessary to combat violence against women and bring offenders to justice,” said Attorney General Eric Holder.

A patient recruiter for a Houston-based home health care company pleaded guilty today in connection with a $5.2 million Medicare fraud scheme.

Joseph Barringer, 55, the owner of a Florida pool cue company, pleaded guilty today in federal court in Orlando to violating the Endangered Species Act in connection with the illegal export of African elephant ivory through an online auction site.

The Justice Department announced today that its Civil Rights Division plans to deploy more than 400 federal observers and department personnel to 30 jurisdictions in 18 states for the Nov. 2, 2010, general election.

Benjamin Haskell was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Michael A. Ponsor in Springfield, Mass., to nine years in prison and three years of supervised release for his role in the 2008 burning of the Macedonia Church of God in Christ, a predominately African-American Church, on the morning after President Barack Obama was elected as the first African-American President of the United States.

An Atlanta grand jury returned an indictment today against the former president and chief executive officer of a Lakewood, N.J.-based manufacturer and distributor of food service equipment hardware, for conspiring to allocate customers for the sale of commercial and institutional food service equipment hardware.

The Department of Justice has scheduled three public hearings on its regulatory proposals concerning the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).

The United States has asked a federal court in Chicago to permanently bar John E. Rogers, a Chicago tax lawyer and former partner at Seyfarth Shaw LLP, from promoting tax shelters that allegedly use distressed Brazilian debt to illegally lower customers’ reported income.

The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) implemented the Unified Financial Management System (UFMS), a core centralized accounting system that improves internal controls and standardizes data.

Today, Department of Justice Attorney General Eric Holder and Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Kathleen Sebelius visited Brooklyn, N.Y., where they participated in the third Regional Health Care Fraud Prevention Summit.

Robert Jackson, 37, of Ruston, La., was sentenced to 12 months in federal prison for placing a hangman’s noose under the carport of the home of a Honduran immigrant who moved to Ruston from New Orleans in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.

Harold James Nicholson, 59, appeared before U.S. District Judge Anna J. Brown and pleaded guilty to the crimes of conspiracy to act as an agent of a foreign government and conspiracy to commit international money laundering.

Steven W. Allen, a practicing attorney from Mesa, Ariz., and Allen Goodmansen, a certified public accountant, also from Mesa, were sentenced to prison for tax fraud by Phoenix federal district court Judge Roslyn O. Silver.

“In January 2008, Attorney General Michael Mukasey appointed Assistant United States Attorney John Durham to investigate the destruction by CIA personnel of videotapes of detainee interrogations," said Matthew Miller, Director, Office of Public Affairs.

The Justice Department and Hilton Worldwide Inc. today announced a comprehensive, precedent-setting agreement under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) that will make state-of-the-art accessibility changes to approximately 900 hotels nationwide.

The Justice Department today announced a settlement of its lawsuit alleging that Lee Enterprises Inc. and its subsidiary, Lee Publications Inc., violated the Fair Housing Act (FHA) by publishing an advertisement that discriminated on the basis of familial status in the Elko Daily Free Press.

The Justice Department announced today that it has sued the owners and managers of Park Towers Apartments, a federally-subsidized apartment complex in Waterloo, Iowa, alleging a pattern or practice of sexual harassment in violation of the Fair Housing Act.

The Justice Department reached a settlement agreement with the University of South Carolina to resolve an investigation into the university’s policies and procedures related to discrimination and harassment.

Gerald Diodati, 61, of Seekonk, Mass., pleaded guilty today before Chief U.S. District Judge Mary M. Lisi to one count of tax evasion.

The Justice Department today announced that Harry Norman Realtors (HNR) and Jennifer Sherrouse have agreed to pay monetary damages and civil penalties of $60,000 to settle a Fair Housing Act lawsuit alleging that they discriminated against families with children.

Kevin Shaffer of Sarasota, Fla., and Washington D.C., pleaded guilty to bank fraud and tax evasion before Alexandria, Va., federal district court Judge Gerald Bruce Lee.