"Yet – if, as they say, what’s past is prologue – and if this class’s record of achievement is any indication – then I believe there is good reason for confidence in the future that your generation will create, and the legacy of progress that each of you will carry forward – and build upon," said Attorney General Holder.

"As Attorney General, it is my obligation – and solemn duty – to ensure that the rights of all Americans are protected. And I’m proud that, under this Administration, our Civil Rights Division – and its Voting Section – have taken meaningful steps to ensure integrity, independence, and transparency in our enforcement of the Voting Rights Act," said Attorney General Holder.

The Department of Justice announced today that it has filed a lawsuit against the state of Florida and the Florida Secretary of State in his official capacity alleging that the state has violated its obligations under Section 8 of the National Voter Registration Act of 1993.

Former Fort Deposit, Ala., Police Officer Carlos Tyson Bennett was arrested today on charges of stealing money from motorists on Interstate 65 in central Alabama and subsequently trying to conceal his criminal activity, announced the Justice Department.

The Justice Department announced today that Assistant Attorney General for Legislative Affairs Ronald Weich will be leaving the department to join the University of Baltimore School of Law as its new dean.

Clifford Ubani, a former co-owner and chief financial officer at Family Healthcare Group, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Nancy Atlas in the Southern District of Texas.

The U.S. Department of Justice has transferred to the state of Tennessee approximately 1,000 acres of undeveloped land in Cannon County, Tenn., as a result of a federal criminal conviction of two individuals for distribution of marijuana.

"At the Department of Justice, we are fully engaged in combating human trafficking, with many components deeply involved in this fight," said Deputy Attorney General Cole.

"This coordinated approach to finding solutions involves more than just enforcement -- we must also direct our efforts to prevent the occurrence of crime in the first place, provide support through intervention programs, and provide individuals reentering our communities from jails and prisons with the tools they need to succeed and turn away from crime," said Deputy Attorney General Cole.

Derrick L. Shoemake, 50, of Moreno Valley, Calif., was sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge Dolly M. Gee in the Central District of California.

Today in federal court in the Eastern District of North Carolina, a jury found Anes Subasic, 35, guilty of conspiring to provide material support to terrorists and conspiring to murder, kidnap, maim and injure persons abroad.

Seven individuals and four check cashing businesses were charged today in the Eastern District of New York and the Central District of California for their alleged roles in separate schemes to violate the Bank Secrecy Act (BSA).

Sergeant Regionald Dixon, 30, pleaded guilty yesterday in the District of Hawaii to one count of bribery and Specialist Larry Emmons, 25, pleaded guilty to one count of bribery on June 8, 2012.

Hassan Collins, 41, pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to receive and pay health care fraud kickbacks before U.S. Magistrate Judge Edwin G. Torres.

David Edmonds, the former vice president of worldwide customer service at Rancho Santa Margarita, Calif.-based valve company Control Components Inc., pleaded guilty today to violating the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act

Delton de Armas, a former chief financial officer (CFO) of Taylor, Bean & Whitaker Mortgage Corp. (TBW), was sentenced today to 60 months in prison for his role in a more than $2.9 billion fraud scheme that contributed to the failure of TBW.

A Missouri woman was sentenced today to 63 months in prison for her role in the vandalism and arson of a biracial man’s home in Independence, Mo., the Department of Justice announced.

The owner of a southern California-based mesquite charcoal distributor pleaded guilty for his role in a customer allocation and bid-rigging conspiracy for the sale of mesquite charcoal.

"As we all know, the challenges facing us in criminal justice are considerable. But our knowledge about what works is growing, and the tools and technology we have at our disposal are expanding. We are becoming – every day – more sophisticated, more informed, and more effective," said Assistant Attorney General Leary.

"Ultimately, however, the role that science plays in forming our policies and practices -- that will depend on each of you: your commitment; your vigilance; your dedication to ensuring that our work to create a criminal justice system that is more effective, more efficient, more just, will rest not merely on a foundation of hope, or goodwill, or good intentions, but on a bedrock of integrity born of science and research," said Acting Associate Attorney General West.

U.S. District Judge Patricia A. Seitz in Miami sentenced Marietha Morales, 38, to 108 months in prison and Eduardo Saborit-Dominguez, 48, to 46 months in prison.

Attorney General Eric Holder issued the following statement today.

U.S. District Judge Reggie B. Walton for the District of Columbia sentenced Mine S. Pase to 14 months in prison, to be followed by three years of supervised release.

Hospice Care of Kansas LLC and its parent company, Ft. Worth, Texas-based Voyager HospiceCare Inc., have agreed to pay $6.1 million to resolve allegations that they violated the False Claims Act by submitting claims to the Medicare program for ineligible hospice services, the Justice Department announced today. Hospice Care of Kansas currently provides hospice services throughout the state of Kansas. Hospice Care of Kansas, which is based in Wichita, Kan., was purchased by Voyager in 2004.

Attorney General Eric Holder and European Commission Vice-President Viviane Reding issued the following statement following the EU-U.S. Justice and Home Affairs Ministerial meeting in Copenhagen.

Laura Pendergest-Holt, 38, the former chief investment officer of Houston-based Stanford Financial Group, pleaded guilty today to obstructing a U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) investigation into Stanford International Bank (SIB), the Antiguan offshore bank owned by convicted financier Robert Allen Stanford.

The Justice Department filed a lawsuit today against the town of Colorado City, Ariz.; the city of Hildale, Utah; Twin City Water Authority; and Twin City Power alleging a pattern or practice of police misconduct and violations of federal civil rights laws.

U.S. District Judge Marcia G. Cooke in the Southern District of Florida sentenced Ariel Rodriguez to 73 months in prison and three years of supervised release and Reynaldo Navarro to 74 months in prison and three years of supervised release.

The Justice Department today announced it has reached a consent decree with the town of Davie, Fla., to resolve allegations that Davie engaged in a pattern or practice of intentional discrimination against pregnant firefighters employed by Davie’s fire department.

Veteran District of Columbia defense attorney Charles F. Daum, 66, of Arnold, Md., was found guilty today of one count of conspiracy to obstruct justice, three counts of obstruction of justice and two counts of subornation of perjury, announced Assistant Attorney General Lanny A. Breuer of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division; Chief Cathy L. Lanier of the Washington, D.C., Metropolitan Police Department; and James W. McJunkin, Assistant Director in Charge of the FBI’s Washington Field Office.

A Pennsylvania man pleaded guilty today to conspiring to willfully reproduce and distribute tens of thousands of infringing copies of copyrighted works without permission, including infringing copies of movies before they were commercially released on DVD, Assistant Attorney General Lanny A. Breuer of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia Neil H. MacBride and Special Agent in Charge John P. Torres of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Homeland Security Investigations (ICE-HSI) in Washington, D.C., announced today.

Attorney General Eric Holder issued the following statement today on the Supreme Court’s Ruling on Arizona v. The United States.

The U.S. Department of Justice Office of Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS) today announced funding awards to over 220 cities and counties, aimed at creating or saving approximately 800 law enforcement positions. The grants will fund over 600 new law enforcement positions and save an additional 200 positions recently lost or in jeopardy of being cut due to local budget cuts.

Alejandro aka “Alex” Curbelo, 32, of Miami was sentenced before U.S. District Judge Joan Lenard.

Billy Denica, 50, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Joan A. Lenard in Miami.

"We must continue to build on this momentum, making recidivism reduction our primary goal and responsibility – whether you are a judge, corrections administrator, a prosecutor, a probation officer, or a reentry services provider. The safety of our communities is paramount," said Deputy Attorney General Cole.

"Through initiatives like Keystone, Torch Club, and Project Learn, Boys and Girls Clubs nationwide have worked, for more than a century and a half, to instill positive values, to encourage a passion for lifelong learning, and to set high expectations for the future leaders who – before you know it – will take the reins of government and the private sector," said Attorney General Holder.

Barclays Bank PLC, a financial institution headquartered in London, has entered into an agreement with the Department of Justice to pay a $160 million penalty to resolve violations arising from Barclays’s submissions for the London InterBank Offered Rate (LIBOR) and the Euro Interbank Offered Rate (EURIBOR), which are benchmark interest rates used in financial markets around the world.

Khalid Ali-M Aldawsari, 22, a citizen of Saudi Arabia and resident of Lubbock, Texas, was convicted by a federal jury today on an indictment charging one count of attempted use of a weapon of mass destruction in connection with his purchase of chemicals and equipment necessary to make an improvised explosive device (IED) and his research of potential U.S. targets, including persons and infrastructure.

The Justice Department announced today that it has filed a lawsuit against the state of Georgia and its chief election official seeking relief to help ensure that military service members, their family members and U.S. citizens living overseas have the opportunity to participate fully in Georgia’s Aug. 21, 2012, federal primary runoff election and all future federal runoff elections.

Arthur S. Weiss was indicted by a grand jury for tax fraud, wire fraud, mail fraud, bank loan fraud, money laundering and bankruptcy fraud, the Justice Department and Internal Revenue Service (IRS) announced today. The indictment was returned yesterday in the Middle District of North Carolina.

A federal grand jury in Mobile, Ala., returned an indictment today against two real estate investors and their company, charging them with participating in conspiracies to rig bids and commit mail fraud at public real estate foreclosure auctions held in southern Alabama.

The Department of Justice has forfeited $401,931 in assets traceable to Diepreye Solomon Peter Alamieyeseigha, a former Governor of Bayelsa State, Nigeria.

The United States and Canada today announced they are delivering on key commitments under the U.S.-Canada Beyond the Border Action Plan by releasing a joint Statement of Privacy Principles.

"Today’s vote is the regrettable culmination of what became a misguided – and politically motivated – investigation during an election year. By advancing it over the past year and a half, Congressman Issa and others have focused on politics over public safety. Instead of trying to correct the problems that led to a series of flawed law enforcement operations, and instead of helping us find ways to better protect the brave law enforcement officers, like Agent Brian Terry, who keep us safe – they have led us to this unnecessary and unwarranted outcome," said Attorney General Holder.

"You’ve proven the power of unity – and the virtues of diversity. And you’ve breathed new life into the old adage that – more than 80 years ago – gave voice to LULAC’s mission and vision: Uno para todos, todos para uno," said Attorney General Holder.

The former co-owner of a Houston-area home health care company was sentenced in Houston to 108 months in prison for his participation in a $5.2 million Medicare fraud scheme, announced the Department of Justice, the FBI and the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).

Willie Redden, 24, of Albany, Ga., a former member of the Correctional Emergency Response Team (CERT) at Macon State Prison in Oglethorpe, Ga., pleaded guilty today to conspiring with other correctional officers to violate the civil rights of inmates in 2010.

The Department of Justice today announced that it will not challenge a proposal by seven nuclear power plant operators to share resources and coordinate best practices and other operational activities through a proposed venture to be named the STARS Alliance LLC.

The chief executive officer (CEO) of Axius Inc., a Nevada corporation, and a finance professional were indicted today on multiple charges for their alleged roles in a scheme to bribe stock brokers and manipulate the share price of Axius stock.