Medicare fraud charges have been filed against six individuals in the continuing operation of the Medicare Fraud Strike Force in Houston.

Sims Lawson Jr., a resident of Killen, Ala., was sentenced to 70 months in prison by Judge R. David Proctor.

A former State Department employee was sentenced today to 12 months of probation for illegally accessing more than 75 confidential passport application files.

"As Americans, we all bear a special responsibility to both uphold and promote the rule of law."

Troy, Mich., resident Syed Aziz pleaded guilty today in U.S. District Court in Detroit to participating in a conspiracy to defraud the Medicare program.

"Civic access is a civil right, and individuals with disabilities must have the opportunity to participate in public programs, services and activities on an equal basis with their neighbors," said Thomas E. Perez, Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Rights Division.

James E. Haas Jr. pleaded guilty in the U.S. District Court of New Jersey, to charges that he engaged in a kickback and fraud conspiracy at the Federal Creosote Superfund site in Manville, N.J.

"We must be open to new ideas and new approaches. We must learn from each other what has worked – and what has not. We must acknowledge the cultural diversity among tribal communities and embrace the challenge of providing services that are culturally and linguistically tailored. We must dare to think differently."

"We have two goals for our work in Indian Country. One is to find immediate solutions to bring down the crime rates, including homicide, drugs, and violence against children and women, and to put policies in place to help tribal communities make a difference for themselves. The other is to develop long term answers to the problems facing tribal communities."

Roderick Prescott, a resident of Orem, Utah, and a former principal of National Trust Services (NTS) in San Jose, Calif., and later Selma, Ore., has been sentenced to 30 months in prison for tax evasion, the Justice Department and Internal Revenue Service (IRS) announced today.

The United States today sued Lincoln Fabrics Ltd., a Canadian company, and Lincoln Fabrics Inc., aka Lincoln Textiles Inc., its American subsidiary, under the False Claims Act in connection with the companies’ weaving and sale of defective Zylon fabric which was used as the key ballistic material in bullet-proof vests.

Six detainees who are Chinese nationals of Uighur ethnicity have been transferred from the detention facility at Guantanamo Bay to the control of the Republic of Palau.

The department announced a settlement agreement with Glynn County, Ga., to improve access to all aspects of civic life for persons with disabilities.

The nation’s largest nursing home pharmacy, Omnicare Inc. of Covington, Kentucky, will pay $98 million, and drug manufacturer, IVAX Pharmaceuticals of Weston, Florida, will pay $14 million to resolve allegations that Omnicare engaged in kickback schemes with several parties, including IVAX.

The department announced the largest monetary payment ever obtained by the department in the settlement of a case alleging housing discrimination in the rental of apartments.

Laura Wang-Woodford, a U.S. citizen who served as a director of Monarch Aviation Pte Ltd., a Singapore company that imported and exported military and commercial aircraft components for more than 20 years, was sentenced today in federal court in Brooklyn to 46 months in prison for conspiring to violate the U.S. trade embargo by exporting controlled aircraft components to Iran.

“I am pleased to welcome Ignacia back to the Department and the Environment and Natural Resources Division,” said Attorney General Holder.

Under the settlement, which must still be approved by the court, 11 defendants will pay all costs related to making the complexes for which they were responsible accessible to persons with disabilities.

Laurie O. Robinson was sworn in today as Assistant Attorney General in the U.S. Department of Justice’s Office of Justice Programs (OJP).

Susan Holloman, 58, of Washington, pleaded guilty to a one-count criminal information charging her with unauthorized computer access.

After conducting a careful investigation of the proposed transaction between Oracle and Sun, the Department’s Antitrust Division concluded that the merger is unlikely to be anticompetitive.

Two companies and the city of St. Maries, Idaho, have agreed to clean up a superfund site in St. Maries at a cost estimated more than $12 million.

The agreement was reached under “Project Civic Access,” a Justice Department initiative to bring state and local governments into compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).

A South Korean businessman was sentenced today to five years in prison for his role in a bribery conspiracy involving a $206 million telecommunications contract and employees of the Army and Air Force Exchange Service (AAFES).

Steven W. Burgess, a former Jackson County, Mo., sheriff’s deputy, pleaded guilty in federal court today to violating the civil rights of a teenage girl whom he sexually assaulted in his patrol car.

The department filed a lawsuit today in federal court for the Eastern District of Missouri alleging a pattern or practice of violations of the Fair Housing Act by the owner and managers of Forum Manor Apartments for refusing to rent to African-Americans and males, refusing to allow tenants to have African-American visitors, sexually harassing female tenants and retaliating against tenants who complained about such discrimination.

The Departments of Justice and Defense today announced forum decisions for ten detainees at Guantanamo Bay whose cases were previously charged in military commissions, including five detainees accused of conspiring to commit the Sept. 11, 2001 terror attacks and a detainee accused of orchestrating the attack on the USS Cole

Charles Paul Edward Jumet of Fluvanna County, Va., pleaded guilty today in connection with his role in a conspiracy to pay bribes to Panamanian government officials to secure a maritime contract.

"Today we announce a step forward in bringing those we believe were responsible for the 9/11 attacks and the attack on the USS Cole to justice."

"When I returned to the Department earlier this year, I pledged that the work of the Civil Rights Division would be one of my highest priorities. That was true in February. It is true today."

“The history of the Environment and Natural Resources Division reminds us of the importance of our nation’s public lands and natural resources to the development of this country, and the important role of the division in protecting these resources for future generations,” said Attorney General Holder.

The agreement was reached under “Project Civic Access,” a Department initiative to bring state and local governments into compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).

The Department said that the deal as originally proposed would substantially lessen competition in the manufacture of refinery desalters in the United States.

“This task force’s mission is not just to hold accountable those who helped bring about the last financial meltdown, but to prevent another meltdown from happening,” Attorney General Eric Holder said.

Chief Judge Mary M. Lisi sentenced Albert Martin to 51 months in prison and Lorraine Martin to one year and one day in prison.

“Rooting out fraud and safeguarding taxpayers from illegal conduct are among the Justice Department’s highest priorities,” said Tony West, the Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Division.

“The individuals charged in connection with today’s operation are alleged to have stolen tens of millions of dollars from an important government program that is intended to help deaf and hard-of-hearing Americans communicate with hearing persons,” said Assistant Attorney General of the Criminal Division Lanny A. Breuer.

A federal jury in Indianapolis convicted William Travis Brown on July 23, 2009, of one count of transportation and one count of possession of child pornography.

The former general manager of a Sugar Land, Texas-based business was arrested on Nov. 18, 2009, for his alleged role in a conspiracy to bribe Mexican government officials to secure contracts with the Comisión Federal de Electridad (CFE), a Mexican state-owned utility company.

A criminal complaint, unsealed today, charged Dani Nemr Tarraf with conspiring to acquire anti-aircraft missiles (FIM-92 Stingers) and conspiring to possess machine guns (approximately 10,000 Colt M4 Carbines).

The lawsuit alleges that Terence Flanagan refused to rent a single-family house he owns in Orland Park, Ill., to Kamal Alex Majeid, who is African-American, because of his race.

Ten individuals were indicted today, charged with, among other things, conspiring to export weapons from Philadelphia to the Port of Latakia, Syria.

Six individuals were sentenced today in federal court in Detroit for their roles in a wide-ranging international stock fraud scheme involving the illegal use of bulk commercial e-mails, or "spamming."

The agreement was reached under the department’s Project Civic Access initiative to bring localities into full compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act.

Isaac White, formerly an officer with the Memphis Police Department, pleaded guilty today to using excessive force and causing bodily injury. White faces up to 10 years in prison for the civil rights violation.

The department said the transaction, as originally proposed, would substantially lessen competition in infectious waste collection and treatment services to hospitals and other critical healthcare facilities.

A federal grand jury in Greensboro, N.C., returned an indictment today charging a poultry processor and a plant manager with multiple violations of the Clean Water Act for illegally discharging wastewater from its Raeford, N.C., based facility

A Washington, D.C., fish wholesaler and two of its employees have been charged in U.S. District Court in Maryland for the purchase of illegally harvested striped bass, commonly referred to as rockfish, from the Potomac River from 1995 through 2007.

“Civic access is a basic and critical civil right, and it ensures individuals with disabilities can play productive, fulfilling roles in their communities,” said Thomas E. Perez, Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights.

As a result of the new format, members of the public, including public interest organizations, scholars, and the media, will be able to more easily track FOIA performance.