Attorney General Eric Holder and the Department of Justice’s Access to Justice Initiative co-hosted a Middle Class Task Force event today with Vice President Joe Biden, announcing a series of steps designed to help middle class and low-income families secure their legal rights.

"Justice is, quite simply, the cornerstone of American democracy. The most profound aspirations of our nation’s founding could not be satisfied, nor its audacious hopes realized, without meaningful access to justice for all."

A former employee of two Massachusetts-based customer relationship management agencies that purchase direct mail advertising has agreed to plead guilty to charges relating to his receipt of more than $1.8 million in kickbacks.

Dr. Walter Janke, his wife, Lalita Janke, and Vero Beach, Fla.-based Medical Resources L.L.C. have agreed to pay $22.6 million to resolve allegations that they caused Medicare to pay inflated amounts based upon the submission of false diagnosis codes.

The Department of Justice Federal Bureau of Prisons today implemented a key provision of the Tribal Law and Order Act of 2010 by launching a four-year pilot program to begin accepting certain tribal offenders sentenced in tribal courts for placement in Bureau of Prisons institutions.

Mohamed Osman Mohamud, 19, a naturalized U.S. citizen from Somalia and resident of Corvallis, Ore., has been arrested on charges of attempting to use a weapon of mass destruction (explosives) in connection with a plot to detonate a vehicle bomb at an annual Christmas tree lighting ceremony earlier this evening in Portland, Ore., the Justice Department announced.

Ocean Pro Ltd. dba Profish, one of the District of Columbia’s largest seafood wholesalers, as well as its vice-president and its fish buyer, were sentenced on Wednesday in U.S. District Court in Greenbelt, Md., for their roles in a more than decade-long conspiracy to illegally harvest striped bass from the Potomac River.

Seizure orders have been executed against 82 domain names of commercial websites engaged in the illegal sale and distribution of counterfeit goods and copyrighted works as part of Operation In Our Sites v. 2.0, Attorney General Eric Holder and Director John Morton of the Department of Homeland Security’s Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) announced today.

The Department of Justice has reached a settlement that will require GrafTech International Ltd., a major producer of graphite electrodes, to make significant modifications to its supply agreement with ConocoPhillips Company, along with reporting and firewall obligations, in order to proceed with its proposed acquisition of Seadrift Coke LP.

"We are pleased to announce an important step in our ongoing efforts to protect the interests and safety of consumers, to ensure the strength of our markets, and to safeguard the intellectual property rights of innovators and entrepreneurs."

Singapore Airlines Cargo Pte Ltd. has agreed to plead guilty and to pay a $48 million criminal fine for its role in a conspiracy to fix prices in the air transportation industry.

A former employee of a subsidiary of a financial institution pleaded guilty today for his participation in bid-rigging and fraud conspiracies related to contracts for the investment of municipal bond proceeds and other municipal finance contracts.

"Attorney General Eric Holder, backed by this strong commitment from President Obama, has made Tribal justice and safety a top priority for the Justice Department," said Assistant Attorney General Perez.

A former purchasing official at Mount Sinai Medical Center and School of Medicine in New York pleaded guilty to participating in bid rigging and fraud conspiracies related to contracts for maintenance and insulation work performed at Mount Sinai.

Beazer Homes USA Inc., a national residential homebuilder, has agreed today to pay a $925,000 civil penalty to resolve alleged Clean Water Act violations at its construction sites in 21 states.

A former employee of a subsidiary of a financial institution was arrested on a criminal complaint at John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York yesterday after entering the United States.

Today President Barack Obama granted pardons to nine individuals.

The president of an Iowa ready-mix concrete company pleaded guilty to participating in a conspiracy to fix prices for sales of ready-mix concrete.

Four Detroit-area residents were arrested today by federal agents from the Department of Health and Human Services, Office of the Inspector General (HHS-OIG) and FBI as part of an ongoing investigation into a $14.5 million home health care fraud scheme, announced the Departments of Justice and HHS.

"This conference is a unique opportunity – a chance to forge and reinforce relationships, to share effective strategies, and to help ensure the strength and integrity of our justice system."

"Over the last two years, the Justice Department—in close collaboration with the Department of Health and Human Services—has made cracking down on health care fraud a top priority. Today, we announce the latest results of those efforts."

"The Department of Justice and the USDA share the strong conviction that a healthy, competitive agricultural sector is not only vitally important to our nation’s economy but also a matter of national security and public health," said Assistant Attorney General Varney.

Attorney General Eric Holder wrote to Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell today in opposition to language in the proposed 2011 Full-Year Continuing Appropriations Act.

A federal grand jury in Springfield, Ill., returned a 23-count felony indictment today charging Jeffrey B. Foiles with conspiracy, wildlife trafficking, and making false writings in connection with the illegal sale of guided waterfowl hunts, the Department of Justice announced today.

Alan D. Mendelsohn, 52, of Broward County, Fla., pleaded guilty today before U.S. District Judge William J. Zloch, to a one-count criminal information, charging him with conspiracy to commit mail fraud, to make false statements and to file false tax returns.

"We have gathered here on International Anti-Corruption Day in part to raise awareness about corruption across the globe, and in part to celebrate how far we’ve come in the last seven years," said Assistant Attorney General Breuer.

Charlotte M. Robinson, 46, of Dolton, Ill., pleaded guilty before U.S. Magistrate Judge Susan E. Cox in the Northern District of Illinois to a one-count criminal information charging her with unauthorized computer access.

The Department of Justice today has reached a settlement that will require Pittsburgh-based L.B. Foster Company to divest a West Virginia plant used in the development, manufacture and sale of certain railroad joints to Koppers Inc., in order to proceed with Foster’s acquisition of Portec Rail Products Inc.

Mike Waseleski, 46, a former casino card dealer, was found guilty by a federal jury yesterday in San Diego for his role in a cheating scheme by a group of conspirators known as the “Tran Organization” to steal approximately $1.5 million from Resorts East Chicago Casino.

Jeffrey Robert Libman, the vice president and co-director of Webe Web Corporation, a Florida corporation, was sentenced yesterday to 108 months in prison for transporting child pornography.

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.

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.

The Justice Department today announced that South Dakota property owner TK Properties L.L.C. and one of its principals, Scott Terveen, have agreed to pay $30,000 in monetary damages and civil penalties to settle a Fair Housing Act lawsuit against them.

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.

Attorney General Eric Holder today announced the appointment of Robin C. Ashton to serve as head of the Office of Professional Responsibility (OPR) at the Department of Justice.

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.

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.

Seven hospitals located in Florida, Mississippi, Texas, South Carolina, North Carolina and Alabama have agreed to pay the United States a total of more than $6.3 million to settle allegations that the health care facilities submitted false claims to Medicare.

The Justice Department announced today that it has settled its suit against the town of Garner, N.C., and the town’s Board of Adjustment alleging that they violated the Fair Housing Act when refused to allow up to eight men recovering from drug and alcohol addictions to live together as a reasonable accommodation.

Nicholas J. Faranso of Farmington Hills, Mich., pleaded guilty today before U.S. District Court Judge John Corbett O’Meara in the Eastern District of Michigan to one count of conspiracy to defraud the United States, the Justice Department and Internal Revenue Service (IRS) announced.

David Kris, Assistant Attorney General for National Security, announced his resignation from the Department of Justice today, effective March 4, 2011.

A federal grand jury in Detroit has returned a 14-count indictment against Michigan residents David A. Cusumano and Henry Nino.

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.

The co-founder of a criminal enterprise known as the "Tran Organization" pleaded guilty today in San Diego to conspiring to participate in the organization’s scheme to cheat casinos across the country out of millions of dollars.

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.

Attorney General Eric Holder announced today the creation of a new Professional Misconduct Review Unit to handle disciplinary actions for career attorneys at the Department of Justice that arise from Office of Professional Responsibility (OPR) investigations and appointed Kevin Ohlson to be its Chief.

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.

The Justice Department today announced that Mississippi property owner Indigo Investments LLC, has agreed to pay $50,000 in monetary damages and civil penalties to settle the government’s Fair Housing Act lawsuit.

"The Antitrust Division conducted a thorough investigation of the Comcast and NBC Universal joint venture to examine the competitive effects of the transaction," said Assistant Attorney General Varney.