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.

"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.

"Over the last quarter century, asset forfeiture and money laundering prosecutions have become integral to our country’s law enforcement strategy," said Assistant Attorney General Breuer.

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.

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.

"Today’s charges mark the first time that HEAT’s Medicare Fraud Strike Force has indicted a corporate entity for Medicare fraud," said Assistant Attorney General Breuer.

"In addition to the arrests and criminal charges that Assistant Attorney General Breuer announced, we are also announcing that we have obtained a Temporary Restraining Order freezing the assets of four corporate entities," said Assistant Attorney General West.

Craig Shaber, a practicing attorney from San Diego County, Calif., pleaded guilty Thursday in federal court before U.S. Magistrate Judge Anthony J. Battaglia to one count of tax evasion for the 2000 tax year.

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 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.

"Every year, health care fraud costs American taxpayers billions of dollars and undermines the integrity of the health care programs on which so many of us depend," said Assistant Attorney General West.

In response to a motion by the U.S. Department of Justice, the U.S. District Court in New Orleans has ordered the establishment of a security zone extending 750 feet in all directions from the mobile offshore drilling unit Deepwater Horizon wreckage site and its debris field.

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

Leading up to next week’s election, the Department has devoted significant time and resources in recent months to enforce the Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act (UOCAVA) and the Military and Overseas Voter Empowerment (MOVE) Act of 2009, in order to ensure that all military and overseas voters can access their right to vote and have their votes counted in the upcoming election.

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.

A fired information technology director for Transmarx LLC, a Richmond, Va., company, was sentenced today to 27 months in prison for hacking into his former employer’s website.

Platinum One Contracting, located in Capitol Heights, Md., its president, Anthony Wright, and Capitol Contractors, also located in Capitol Heights, and its president, Vernon J. Smith III, have agreed to pay the United States $200,000 to settle claims that they used false statements to obtain contracts from the Department of Defense.

"The Trafficking Victims Protection Act was a landmark piece of legislation," said Assistant Attorney General Breuer.

"Human trafficking is a grave affront to human rights and to our nation’s core values, and there can be no higher calling in our commitment to vindicating the individual rights of all people than eradicating this form of modern-day slavery," said Assistant Attorney General Perez.

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.

James Bradley Branscum, Tony Branscum, both of Salado, Ark., and Curtis Coffee of Batesville, Ark., were indicted this week by a federal grand jury on charges related to their roles in burning a cross in the yard of an African-American resident in Salado on Aug. 28, 2010.

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

David Chiaradio, 28, of Westerly, R.I., was convicted today by a federal jury in Providence, R.I., of one count of distribution of child pornography and two counts of possession of child pornography.

Tyrone L. Ellis, a former civilian employee of the Department of Defense (DoD), was arrested yesterday and has been charged with conspiracy, conversion and false statements related to his alleged theft of Army Emergency Relief (AER) funds while he was employed at Camp Humphreys in the Republic of Korea.

Offshore Vessels LLC (OSV) was sentenced to pay a criminal fine of $1,750,000 and remit a payment of $350,000 as community service to the National Marine Sanctuary Foundation.

"One concrete and very direct result of the Justice Department’s participation in the Task Force is that we have forged and fostered strong relationships with our partners in the fight against financial fraud," said Assistant Attorney General Breuer.

Brooke E. Reyna, 28, of Barrington, N.H., pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Joseph N. Laplante in U.S. District Court for the District of New Hampshire to making false statements.

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.

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.

CFP Group, located in McLean, Va., and its president, Roberto Clark, have agreed to pay the United States $150,000 to settle claims that they used false statements to obtain a contract from the Department of Veterans Affairs.

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.

The United States has settled two whistleblower lawsuits for $16.25 million alleging that Hewlett-Packard Co. (HP) violated the competitive bidding rules of the Federal Communications Commission’s (FCC) E-Rate Program at the Dallas and Houston Independent School Districts in connection with technology services contracts with those school districts.

"Tonight, it is clear that the spirit of justice that motivated Justice Ortique still burns brightly," said Attorney General Holder.

U.S. District Court Judge Ellis sentenced Eric Jon Eisenhower, a resident of Fairfax Station, Va., to 19 months in prison and ordered him to pay $88,826.79 in restitution to the IRS.

David C. Kernell, 23, today was sentenced to one year and one day in prison for intentionally accessing without authorization the e-mail account of former Alaska governor Sarah Palin and obstruction of justice.

The Justice Department today made available online the 2010 ADA Standards for Accessible Design (2010 Standards or Standards).

"I am deeply honored by your invitation to be with you today and to share with you some of the work in which we have been engaged at the Department of Justice to improve life in Indian Country," said Assistant Attorney General West.

"The Justice Department is firmly committed to investigating and prosecuting foreign bribery wherever it occurs – because rooting out foreign bribery matters," said Assistant Attorney General Breuer.

The Department of Justice joined representatives from across the federal government to mark the progress made in modernizing the federal workforce hiring process over the past six months.

Juan Javier Cardenas of Miami was sentenced today in the Southern District of Florida to 121 months in prison for buying, trafficking and possessing stolen credit card information.

Mohammed El-Fallal was also sentenced by U.S. District Judge Denise Page Hood in the Eastern District of Michigan to two years of supervised release following his prison term and was ordered to pay $2.8 million in restitution.

"We’re now seeing a convergence of opportunity and innovative thinking in the correctional health care arena," said Assistant Attorney General Robinson.

"The Criminal Division, along with our partners in the U.S. Attorneys Offices, is firmly committed to supporting you in our collective mission to prevent and deter any attempts to defraud the American people of the money invested in our future through the Recovery Act," said Assistant Attorney General Breuer.

Senior U.S. District Judge Jack T. Camp Jr., pleaded guilty today in U.S. District Court in Atlanta to possession of controlled substances and conversion of government property.