“It will not be a priority to use federal resources to prosecute patients with serious illnesses or their caregivers who are complying with state laws on medical marijuana, but we will not tolerate drug traffickers who hide behind claims of compliance with state law to mask activities that are clearly illegal,” Holder said.

Mylan Pharmaceuticals, UDL Laboratories, AstraZeneca Pharmaceuticals and Ortho McNeil Pharmaceutical have entered into settlement agreements for a total of $124 million to resolve claims that they violated the False Claims Act by failing to pay appropriate rebates to state Medicaid programs for drugs paid for by those programs.

“With the nation’s focus on health care, this settlement demonstrates the Justice Department’s commitment to ensuring that federal health care dollars are spent appropriately,” said Tony West, Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Division.

A federal grand jury in Denver returned a 15-count felony indictment yesterday charging two individuals with conspiracy, wildlife trafficking and firearms violations stemming from the illegal trapping, killing and selling of bobcats and their pelts.

A Panamanian company that operated a 40,000-ton oil tanker ship pleaded guilty today for deliberately concealing pollution discharges from the ship directly into the sea.

Today Attorney General Eric Holder announced the arrest of nearly 1,200 individuals on narcotics-related charges and the seizure of more than 11.7 tons of narcotics as part of a 44-month multi-agency law enforcement investigation known as “Project Coronado.”

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

Rosa N. Rivera, a resident of the Bronx, N.Y., pleaded guilty today to aiding and assisting in the presentation of a false individual income tax return for clients and to filing a false individual income tax return.

Gregory William Fair, 46, of Falls Church, Va., was sentenced today to 41 months in prison for selling counterfeit computer software on the Internet, in violation of criminal copyright infringement laws.

Tommy Handy, aka “Tom Tom,” waived indictment and pleaded guilty in federal court in Little Rock, Ark., to a federal charge of sex trafficking of an underage female.

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

Erin Sharma, a former corrections officer with the Federal Bureau of Prisons, was sentenced today in federal court in Orlando, Fla., on federal civil rights charges related to the fatal assault of an inmate.

David Plummer, Spencer Plummer and Terry Green, operators of a fraudulent tax shelter that offered tax benefits in connection with the leasing of thoroughbred mares, pleaded guilty today to a criminal information charging them with one count of conspiracy to defraud the United States.

"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.

Bill J. Allen and Richard L. Smith were each sentenced in separate hearings today for their participation in a corruption scheme in which they provided approximately $395,000 in corrupt payments to public officials from the state of Alaska.

A Highland Falls, N.Y., woman pleaded guilty today for her role in a scheme to defraud and embezzle funds from the U.S. government by authorizing nearly $3 million in payments from the U.S. Military Academy in West Point, N.Y., to a bogus corporation she controlled.

Donald Mathias, 64, has been indicted for allegedly traveling to the Philippines in 2007 and 2008 to engage in sexual conduct with minors.

"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."

A hospital group based in McAllen, Texas, has agreed to pay the United States $27.5 million to settle claims that it violated the False Claims Act, the Anti-Kickback Statute and the Stark Statute between 1999 and 2006, by paying illegal compensation to doctors in order to induce them to refer patients to hospitals within the group

Miami resident Daisy Martinez pleaded guilty today in U.S. District Court in Detroit to participating in a conspiracy to defraud the Medicare program.

A federal jury in Aberdeen, S.D., has found a South Dakota man guilty for smuggling the hide of a leopard into the United States in violation of the Convention on International Trade in Wild Flora and Fauna (CITES), an international treaty that regulates international shipments of listed species, to which the United States and 172 other countries are members.

John A. Campbell, a resident of Portage, Mich., was sentenced to 60 months in prison today by the Honorable Janet T. Neff of the U.S. District Court in the Western District of Michigan for conspiring to defraud the United States.

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

Noel Wayne Jhagroo, 47, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit health care fraud before U.S. District Judge Vanessa Gilmore in the U.S. District Court in Houston. 

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.

The United States has filed a lawsuit against Patric LeHouillier, an attorney based in Colorado Springs, Colo., alleging that he violated the Americans with Disabilities Act by denying a woman with a service animal access to his offices.

Judge S. Thomas Anderson sentenced Carlton Moore to 27 months in prison and one year of supervised release after Moore pleaded guilty to stealing money from motorists while acting under color of law.

Hayden B. Greene, 32, of Tulsa, Okla., and James Robert Roy, 42, of Tomball, Texas, were sentenced today to 30 months and 15 months in prison, respectively, for conspiring to manufacture and sell counterfeit pipe couplings.

Robert Young, 57, a former captain in the U.S. Army, was sentenced today to 97 months in prison for his participation in a scheme to steal approximately 10 million gallons of fuel from the U.S. Army in Iraq, announced Assistant Attorney General of the Criminal Division Lanny A. Breuer and U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia Neil H. MacBride.

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.

Sergei Tsurikov, 25, of Tallinn, Estonia; Viktor Pleshchuk, 28, of St. Petersburg, Russia; Oleg Covelin, 28, of Chisinau, Moldova; and a person known only as "Hacker 3;" have been indicted by a federal grand jury in Atlanta, Ga., on charges of hacking into a computer network operated by the Atlanta-based credit card processing company RBS WorldPay, which is part of the Royal Bank of Scotland.

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).

Kaiser Foundation Hospitals - Kaiser Sunnyside Medical Center, Kaiser Foundation Health Plan of the Northwest and Northwest Permanente P.C., Physicians & Surgeons (collectively, Kaiser NW) has agreed to pay the United States $1,830,322.41 to settle False Claims Act liability.

A former consultant for Willbros International Inc. (WII), a subsidiary of Houston-based Willbros Group Inc. (Willbros), pleaded guilty today to engaging in a conspiracy to pay more than $6 million in bribes to government officials of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and officials from a Nigerian political party.

Former U.S. Congressman William J. Jefferson, 62, of New Orleans, La., was sentenced today to 13 years in prison, followed by three years of supervised release, for using his office to corruptly solicit bribes.

The lawsuit, which was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia, alleges that since 2003, defendants have violated the False Claims Act.

Scott Anthony Walker, 36, of Australia, pleaded guilty in the Eastern District of Virginia to one count of conspiracy to solicit a kickback.

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).

“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.

The United States has entered into a settlement with a New Jersey hospital and filed a motion to intervene in a lawsuit against a New York hospital involving allegations that the hospitals defrauded Medicare.

“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.

After three years of satisfying obligations under a deferred prosecution agreement, the charges against Statoil ASA for violating the anti-bribery and accounting provisions of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) have been dismissed with prejudice.

"I’m honored to participate in ALPACT’s first annual banquet, and I’m grateful for the opportunity to discuss an issue that I care about deeply – fostering collaboration between law enforcement agencies and the communities they serve," said Attorney General Holder.

A federal court today issued a preliminary injunction barring Karen Liane Miller of Nashville, Tenn., from preparing federal income tax returns for others.

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.

According to the charging documents, the offenses include providing financial support to those who traveled to Somalia to fight on behalf of al-Shabaab, a designated foreign terrorist organization; attending terrorist training camps operated by al-Shabaab; and fighting on behalf of al-Shabaab.

Robert Restuch, 70, of Bullhead City, Ariz., was sentenced today to five years in prison for mailing child pornography.