The county of Kauai, Hawaii, has entered into a plea agreement to resolve alleged violations of the Endangered Species Act (ESA) and Migratory Bird Treaty Act (MBTA).

Juan Carlos Moreira, aka “Stokey” and “Stocky,” was sentenced today by Chief U.S. District Court Judge Deborah K. Chasanow to life in prison for conspiracy to participate in a racketeering enterprise known as MS-13, conspiring to and committing murder in aid of racketeering, witness tampering murder and assault with a dangerous weapon in aid of racketeering.

A federal district judge in Orlando, Fla., has permanently barred Elisa Veronica Barron of Orlando from preparing federal tax returns for others, the Justice Department announced today.

The owner of a guiding and outfitting company was charged today in a three count indictment returned by a federal grand jury in Baton Rouge, La., for illegally hunting a threatened species of alligator, the Justice Department announced.

Antonio Ochoa, a patient recruiter for Miami home health agencies, was convicted today by a federal jury in Miami of one count of conspiracy to commit health care fraud and of three counts of soliciting and receiving kickbacks and bribes, announced the Departments of Justice and Health and Human Services (HHS)

Two intermediaries were indicted for their alleged roles in a conspiracy to pay and launder bribes to Mexican government officials at the Comisión Federal de Electricidad (CFE), a state-owned utility company, announced Assistant Attorney General Lanny A. Breuer of the Criminal Division; U.S. Attorney André Birotte for the Central District of California; Steven M. Martinez, Special Agent-in-Charge of the FBI’s Los Angeles Field Office; and Leslie DeMarco, Special Agent-in-Charge of the Internal Revenue Service - Criminal Investigation’s (IRS-CI) Los Angeles Field Office

Three former employees and a partner of Nexus Technologies Inc., a Philadelphia-based company, were sentenced late yesterday for their roles in a conspiracy to bribe officials of the Vietnamese government in exchange for lucrative contracts to supply equipment and technology to Vietnamese government agencies, in violation of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act.

Former Indianapolis and Marion County, Ind., City-County Councilman Lincoln Plowman has been charged with attempted extortion and soliciting a bribe.

Paul Solofa, the director of the school lunch program for the government of the U.S. Territory of American Samoa, has been arrested on charges of witness tampering and obstruction of justice.

Cesar Carranza, a resident of Long Beach, Calif., was sentenced today to 72 months in prison for his role in laundering $2.5 million dollars in proceeds derived from several stolen credit card information schemes.

Frederick Allen and Kimberlee Allen, both of Harwich, Mass., were sentenced to three years in prison for conspiracy, tax evasion and failure to file tax returns.

Gilberto Jordan, a former Guatemalan special forces soldier, was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge William J. Zloch in the Southern District of Florida to 10 years in prison for unlawfully procuring his U.S. citizenship by lying about his participation in a 1982 massacre at a Guatemalan village known as Dos Erres.

The Justice Department today announced that a scientist and his wife, who both previously worked as contractors at the Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico, have been indicted on charges of communicating classified nuclear weapons data to a person they believed to be a Venezuelan government official and conspiring to participate in the development of an atomic weapon for Venezuela, among other violations.

A federal grand jury sitting in the Northern District of Ohio today charged Ronald J. Pudder with intentionally damaging, destroying and attempting to destroy religious property because of the race, color and ethnic characteristics of individuals associated with that property, and for willfully and knowingly using fire to commit a felony offense.

A federal judge in St. Louis has permanently barred a Missouri attorney and his law firm from promoting any Individual Retirement Account-based arrangement.

Sophia Manuel and Alfonso Baldonado Jr., owners of Quality Staffing Services Corporation, a labor contracting service, pleaded guilty to conspiring to hold 39 Filipino nationals in compelled service in country clubs and hotels in Southeast Florida.

Three alleged members and associates of the MS-13 gang have been indicted for various violent crimes stemming from a home invasion last year in the District of Columbia in which several persons were held at gunpoint.

A federal court in Pensacola, Fla., has sentenced three of nine promoters of a fraudulent tax-and-debt-elimination scheme to prison terms for their roles in tax fraud, wire fraud and money laundering.

The El Centro Regional Medical Center in Imperial County, Calif., has agreed to pay the United States $2.2 million, plus interest, to settle allegations that it defrauded Medicare.

Bidemi Bello, formerly of Buford, Ga., and presently from Nigeria, was arraigned today, following an indictment returned by a federal grand jury on Sep.10, 2010.

The Justice Department today issued a report marking the 10th anniversary of the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act (RLUIPA), showing that the law has had a positive impact on protecting the religious freedom of a wide range of faith groups, and had a particularly significant impact protecting the religious freedom of minorities.

U.S. District Judge J. Frederick Motz sentenced Irika Shipping S.A., a ship management corporation registered in Panama and doing business in Greece, today to pay a $4 million penalty, which includes a $3 million criminal fine and $1 million in organizational community service payments that will fund various marine environmental projects.

An Atlanta grand jury returned an indictment today against an executive of Martinair Holland N.V. for participating in a conspiracy to fix and coordinate certain surcharges on air cargo shipments to and from the United States.

The United States has filed a complaint asking a Virginia federal court to permanently bar three firms and three men from promoting a nationwide “HedgeLoan” scheme that the complaint alleges involves the disguised sale of more than $268 million in securities.

A federal judge in Buffalo, N.Y., has sentenced John Weisberg to 12 months in prison for failing to file tax returns.

Roberto Trevizo Corral, a resident of Nampa, Idaho, was sentenced to 12 months and one day in prison and ordered to pay $771,252.11 in restitution for failing to collect and pay over employment taxes.

Boris Sachakov, M.D., was arrested today in Brooklyn, N.Y., and charged in connection with a scheme to defraud Medicare and numerous other health care benefit programs of at least $3.5 million.

Jeffrey Lehrmann, a former New Orleans Police Department (NOPD) detective, was sentenced today to three years in prison for misprision of a felony in connection with the cover-up of two police-involved shootings on the Danziger Bridge in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina that left two civilians dead and four others seriously injured.

"The Medal of Valor is the highest honor awarded to public safety officers in the country," said Attorney General Holder. "And today’s recipients are part of a select group,"

Three individuals pleaded guilty today in connection with a Medicare fraud scheme operated out of a Houston-area durable medical equipment (DME) company.

The Justice Department announced that it filed a lawsuit today against Post Properties Inc., Post Apartment Homes L.P. and Post GP Holdings Inc. in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia for failing to provide accessible features required by the Fair Housing Act and the Americans with Disabilities Act at multi-family housing developments in six states.

Three Miami-area residents were sentenced to prison today for their participation in a $22 million Medicare fraud scheme operated through two Miami home health agencies, ABC Home Health Care Inc. and Florida Home Health Care Providers Inc.

A federal grand jury has indicted Christopher Shane Montgomery, a resident of Bastrop, La., for conspiring to commit a hate crime, tampering with a witness and lying to federal authorities.

Paul Edward Pavulak, 66, of New Castle, Del., was convicted today by a federal jury in Wilmington of child exploitation offenses.

Former Memphis Police Officer sentenced to 18 months in prison, two years supervised release and a $4,000 fine.

A federal court in Miami has permanently barred Alberto Camejo and his business, ABCY Star Service LLC, from claiming the First-Time Homebuyer Credit on returns they prepare unless ensuring that the taxpayer is entitled to claim the credit.

A federal court in Los Angeles has permanently barred three Huntington Beach men from preparing federal tax returns for customers.

An owner of two Houston health care companies pleaded guilty today in connection with a $6.3 million Medicare fraud scheme, announced the Departments of Justice and Health and Human Services (HHS).

Two officers with the New Orleans Police Department have been charged with committing perjury and obstructing justice during the course of a federal civil suit related to the shooting death of civilian Danny Brumfield in September 2005.

The United States filed a civil complaint today against Coltec Industries Inc., a subsidiary of EnPro Industries Inc., and the National Steel and Shipbuilding Company, a subsidiary of General Dynamics Corp.

Rodney D. King, 44, was sentenced today by U.S. District Court Judge David Alan Ezra to 300 months in prison followed by a life term of supervised release in federal court.

Today, the Department of Justice, Civil Rights Division, and the Department of Education, Office for Civil Rights, reached a settlement agreement with the Boston School Committee, the governing body of the Boston Public Schools, and its superintendent.

A federal district judge in Shreveport, La., has found that Reggie Collier, a Louisiana landowner, violated the Fair Housing Act by interfering with the sale of a home based on the perceived race of the buyer.

It is a privilege to be part of this year’s conference and to join you all in discussing the responsibilities that we share – responsibilities to ourselves and our society; to our profession and our predecessors; to America’s next generation of law students, attorneys, and jurists.

Eleven individuals, including four current Alabama state legislators, three lobbyists, two business owners and one of their employees, and an employee of the Alabama legislature have been charged for their roles in a conspiracy to offer to and to bribe legislators for their votes and influence on proposed legislation.

A New Orleans-area medical doctor and the owner and operator of a medical equipment company each pleaded guilty today for their roles in a Baton Rouge-area durable medical equipment (DME) health care fraud scheme.

The owner and operator of a Los Angeles durable medical equipment company was sentenced to 46 months in prison in connection with a power wheelchair scheme to defraud Medicare.

Elden Ray Cibart, 61, of Redding, Calif., was sentenced today to 60 months in prison and a lifetime term of supervised release for possession and receipt of child pornography.

At the direction of President Obama, the Departments of Justice and Education officially launched the National Forum on Youth Violence Prevention (the forum) along with participating localities and other federal agencies.

Eighty-nine law enforcement officers and 44 others in Puerto Rico have been charged in 26 indictments unsealed today and returned by a grand jury in San Juan, Puerto Rico, during the month of September 2010.