A grant administrator and her daughter have been charged with participating in a scheme resulting in the theft of approximately $150,000 in federal grant funds awarded to a non-profit corporation in the Territory of American Samoa.

Yudel Cayro, owner and operator of Courtesy Medical Group Inc., a medical clinic in Miami, was sentenced to 60 months in prison for his role in a wide-ranging Medicare fraud scheme involving Miami-area home health agencies.

Madhatta Asagal Haipe, a citizen of the Philippines and founding member of Al-Harakat Al-Islamiyyah, also known as the Abu Sayyaf Group (ASG), was sentenced today to 23 years in prison after earlier pleading guilty to four counts of hostage taking in the 1995 abduction of 16 people, including four U.S. citizens, in the Philippines.

"St. Laurent, 71, of Johnston, R.I., and her son Anthony St. Laurent Jr., 44, of Cranston, R.I., were sentenced today in U.S. District Court in Providence, R.I., for their participation in an interstate extortion scheme, in violation of the Hobbs Act, announced Assistant Attorney General Lanny A. Breuer of the Criminal Division; U.S. Attorney Peter F. Neronha for the District of Rhode Island; and Richard DesLauriers, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI’s Boston Field Office."

Maria Terechina, a national of the Russian Federation, was sentenced today in U.S. District Court in Columbus, Ohio, for her role in a human trafficking conspiracy involving guestworkers who worked in hotels as housekeepers and laundry workers.

The Justice Department today filed a lawsuit against a Gulfport, Miss., newspaper and a landlord and her agent for violating the Fair Housing Act by discriminating against families with children.

A former Alabama state lobbyist pleaded guilty today before U.S. Magistrate Judge Wallace Capel Jr. to his role in conspiring to bribe legislators in exchange for their favorable votes on pro-gambling legislation.

Jorge Granados and Manuel Caceres, the former chief executive officer and the vice president of business development, respectively, for Miami-based telecommunications company Latin Node Inc. (LatiNode) have been indicted for allegedly paying more than $500,000 in bribes to government officials in Honduras.

A former managing executive of a construction company that had substantial business at Fort Carson, a U.S. Army installation in Colorado Springs, Colo., pleaded guilty to providing an illegal gratuity to a contracting officer.

A Harris County, Texas, commissioner and a Houston-based real estate developer have been charged with bribery conspiracy in an indictment returned yesterday by a federal grand jury in the Southern District of Texas.

Renzo Gadola, 44, has pleaded guilty to conspiring to defraud the United States.

Attorney General Eric Holder welcomed the confirmation of the new Director of the U.S. Marshals Service (USMS), Stacia A. Hylton, and Administrator of the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), Michele M. Leonhart.

Attorney General Eric Holder today announced the appointment of Juan Osuna as Acting Director for the Executive Office for Immigration Review (EOIR).

A judge sentenced Feliciano Sanchez, a former officer with the Bell, Calif., Police Department, to nine years in federal prison and three years of supervised release for sexually assaulting a female motorist and violating her civil rights.

The Justice Department announced today an agreement with the Beacon, N.Y., Police Department (BPD) to resolve the department’s investigation of the BPD, in accordance with the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994.

Alcatel-Lucent S.A. and three of its subsidiaries have agreed to pay a combined $92 million penalty to resolve a Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) investigation into the worldwide sales practices of Alcatel S.A. prior to its 2006 merger with Lucent Technologies Inc.

The Justice Department today announced a $1.25 million agreement with Warren Properties Inc., Warren Village (Mobile) Limited Partnership, and Frank R. Warren, to settle allegations that the defendants violated the Fair Housing Act by refusing to grant a tenant’s requests for a reasonable accommodation.

A former principal of a wealth management firm pleaded guilty today in U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia to causing the Hillary Clinton for President Committee unwittingly to submit false statements to the Federal Election Commission.

A former Colombian maritime training instructor and a co-conspirator have pleaded guilty to conspiring to transport thousands of kilograms of cocaine from various ports along the coast of Colombia to waiting vessels that transported the cocaine to the United States and other countries.

Houston-area residents Dr. Howard Grant, Obisike Nwankwo and John Lachman were sentenced today to 41 months in prison, 21 months in prison, and 26 months in prison, respectively, for their roles in a multi-million dollar durable medical equipment Medicare fraud scheme.

Betty Washington, a resident of Montgomery County, Ala., pleaded guilty to one count of conspiring to defraud the United States.

A federal grand jury in the Eastern District of Virginia returned an indictment today charging Phillip A. Hamilton, a former member of the Virginia House of Delegates, with allegedly soliciting employees of Old Dominion University for a paid position at the same time he was introducing legislation to fund the position.

A former CIA officer was arrested today on charges that he illegally disclosed national defense information and obstructed justice.

Marsha Parenteau of Dublin, Ohio, has been sentenced for conspiring to commit money laundering, the Justice Department and Internal Revenue Service (IRS) announced.

A New Orleans-area medical doctor and the owner and operator of a medical equipment company were sentenced today to 48 and 30 months in prison.

Roy W. Bradford was sentenced today in federal district court in Dayton, Ohio, for willfully filing a false federal income tax return for 2004.

Paul Magliocchetti, the founder and president of PMA Group Inc., a lobbying firm, was sentenced today to 27 months in prison for making hundreds of thousands of dollars in illegal campaign contributions and making false statements to a federal agency.

A former U.S. Army staff sergeant was sentenced today to 90 months in prison in connection with a fuel theft scheme to solicit more than $400,000 in bribes from a government contractor in Afghanistan.

A federal court has permanently barred Dianelys Armengol Guevara of Pembroke Pines, Fla., from preparing federal income tax returns for others.

A former leader of La Mara Salvatrucha, or MS-13, pleaded guilty today in federal court in San Francisco to racketeering (RICO) conspiracy, conspiracy to commit murder in aid of racketeering, and the use or possession of a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence.

An Ohio man was charged with illegally shipping infrared military technology to South Korea.

A federal grand jury in Greenbelt, Md., today indicted Thomas Robert Turner, a resident of Prince George’s County, Md., for corruptly endeavoring to obstruct and impede the due administration of the internal revenue laws between 2004 and January 2009.

Homer Lee Richardson of Loveland, Ohio, was sentenced today for corruptly endeavoring to obstruct and impede the due administration of the Internal Revenue Code, aiding and assisting in the preparation of a false income tax return on the behalf of another individual, and filing his own false individual income tax returns for the years 1998, 1999 and 2000.

Guidant LLC, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Boston Scientific Corporation, was formally convicted and sentenced today in St. Paul, Minn., for criminal violations relating to its interactions with the Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

A federal court has permanently barred Sony Ducasse of Greenacres, Fla., from preparing federal income tax returns for others.

Axel Rafael Mercado was sentenced today by U.S. District Court Judge Patricia A. Seitz to 24 months in prison for tax evasion.

A federal grand jury in San Francisco returned an indictment against the current president of HannStar Display Corporation for his participation in a global conspiracy to fix prices of thin-film transistor liquid crystal display (TFT-LCD) panels.

It is always a pleasure for me to see my long-time friends at the D.C. Bar. I have been a D.C. Bar member since 1991 – that is 20 years – and have served on various Bar committees and participated in pro bono activities sponsored by the Bar.

Brian Lewis of Modesto, Calif., and Abel Mark Gonzalez of Morgan Hill, Calif., pleaded guilty today before U.S. District Judge Lawrence J. O’Neill to conspiring to violate the civil rights of congregants of Congregation Beth Shalom, a synagogue in Modesto, Calif.

A Nacogdoches, Texas, man pleaded guilty today to charges related to a double homicide which took place in Nacogdoches in August 2007.

The president and co-director of a Florida corporation was sentenced today to 33 months in prison for money laundering related to proceeds generated by the corporation through its distribution of child pornography.

The Justice Department today announced that it has reached a settlement on behalf of U.S. Army reservist Miguel Orozco Garduño (Orozco) in its lawsuit against Titan Laboratories Inc., and its owner Harvey Berger.

Harold James Nicholson, 59, was sentenced today to 96 months imprisonment by U.S. District Judge Anna J. Brown following his guilty pleas to the crimes of conspiracy to act as an agent of a foreign government and conspiracy to commit international money laundering.

Judge Arguello also ordered Army Major Roderick D. Sanchez, 45, of Pueblo, Colo., to serve three years of supervised release following his prison term, and to pay a $15,000 fine.

The Department of Justice announced today that it is accepting applications from Native American and Alaska Native tribal communities for funding to improve public safety in Indian country via the Fiscal Year (FY) 2011 Coordinated Tribal Assistance Solicitation (CTAS).

Glenn Duffie Shriver, 29, of Grand Rapids, Mich., was sentenced today to 48 months in prison for conspiring to provide national defense information to intelligence officers of the People’s Republic of China.

In fiscal year 2010, the Department of Justice secured approximately $2.072 billion in judgments and settlements as a result of enforcement actions led by the Criminal Division, announced Assistant Attorney General Lanny A. Breuer of the Criminal Division.

Attorney General Eric Holder today announced the formation and inaugural meeting of the Violence Against Women Federal and Tribal Prosecution Task Force.

In honor of the 50th anniversary of Robert F. Kennedy’s swearing-in as the nation’s 64th Attorney General, the Justice Department today welcomed Kennedy family members, including Ethel Kennedy, renowned civil rights leaders, historians and current and former Justice Department employees to pay tribute to Attorney General Kennedy’s service.

Former Chicago Police Department Commander Jon Burge, 63, of Apollo Beach, Fla., was sentenced today to 54 months in prison followed by three years of supervised release for lying in a deposition in a civil case about torture and abuse of suspects by Chicago Police Department officers.