“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.

A federal grand jury in Greenbelt, Md., has indicted 19 alleged members of the Almighty Latin King and Queen Nation (Latin Kings) for conspiracy to participate in a racketeering enterprise.

“The individuals charged in connection with today’s operation are alleged to have stolen tens of millions of dollars from an important government program that is intended to help deaf and hard-of-hearing Americans communicate with hearing persons,” said Assistant Attorney General of the Criminal Division Lanny A. Breuer.

"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.

Walter Kendall Myers, 72, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit espionage and two counts of wire fraud. His wife, Gwendolyn Steingraber Myers, 71, pleaded guilty to a conspiracy to gather and transmit national defense information.

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.

“The right to worship without fear of this kind of violent interference is among our most fundamental civil rights,” said Thomas E. Perez, Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Rights Division.

Joshua Ryan Jones and Roger Forrester, former corrections officers at the Northwest Correctional Complex in Tiptonville, Tenn., pleaded guilty today to violating the civil rights of an inmate and then lying about it during state and federal investigations.

The lawsuit alleges that Terence Flanagan refused to rent a single-family house he owns in Orland Park, Ill., to Kamal Alex Majeid, who is African-American, because of his race.

Ten individuals were indicted today, charged with, among other things, conspiring to export weapons from Philadelphia to the Port of Latakia, Syria.

The agreement was reached under the department’s Project Civic Access initiative to bring localities into full compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act.

Isaac White, formerly an officer with the Memphis Police Department, pleaded guilty today to using excessive force and causing bodily injury. White faces up to 10 years in prison for the civil rights violation.

The department said the transaction, as originally proposed, would substantially lessen competition in infectious waste collection and treatment services to hospitals and other critical healthcare facilities.

The department will monitor polling place activities for compliance with the Voting Rights Act of 1965 during the Dec. 1, 2009, municipal run-off election in Union Point, Ga.

The department filed a lawsuit in federal court in West Virginia alleging that MasTec Advanced Technologies willfully violated the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act of 1994 by discriminating against a U.S. Army Reserve member on the basis of his military service and by failing to offer Burress an appropriate reemployment position when he returned from military service.

A federal grand jury in Greensboro, N.C., returned an indictment today charging a poultry processor and a plant manager with multiple violations of the Clean Water Act for illegally discharging wastewater from its Raeford, N.C., based facility

Michael Parker of Baltimore, who was the chief operating officer of TransCapital Corporation, a tax-advantaged investments company based in Northen Virginia, pleaded guilty today to one count of conspiracy to defraud the United States.

The department announced today that it has entered into a consent decree with the Newark Public Schools (NPS) that will resolve its lawsuit on behalf of George Lawton, a naval reservist, against NPS alleging it violated the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act of 1994 (USERRA).

The Kerlan Jobe Orthopaedic Clinic, a sports medicine clinic in Los Angeles, has agreed to pay the United States $3 million to settle allegations that it received illegal kickbacks from HealthSouth Corporation.

The department has filed papers seeking a federal court order authorizing the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) to serve a “John Doe summons” on Ralph Janvey, the court-appointed receiver of the Stanford Group Company (SGC) and related entities.

John L. Cockerham, 43, a major in the U.S. Army, was sentenced to 210 months in prison.

“It has been a singular privilege to work alongside the Department’s dedicated career professionals, whose commitment to the national interest and the cause of justice is an inspiration to me," said Deputy Attorney General Ogden.

A Chicago man who was arrested in October for planning terrorist attacks against a Danish newspaper and two of its employees is alleged to have also conducted extensive surveillance of targets in Mumbai for more than two years preceding the November 2008 terrorist attack on India’s largest city that killed approximately 170 people, including six Americans, and injured hundreds more.

The Department released a new video aimed at educating employers about worker rights and employer responsibilities under the anti-discrimination provision of the Immigration and Nationality Act.

Two Florida executives of a Miami-Dade County-based telecommunications company, the president of Florida-based Telecom Consulting Services Corp., and two former Haitian government officials were charged in an indictment unsealed today for their alleged roles in a foreign bribery, wire fraud and money laundering scheme.

A Washington, D.C., fish wholesaler and two of its employees have been charged in U.S. District Court in Maryland for the purchase of illegally harvested striped bass, commonly referred to as rockfish, from the Potomac River from 1995 through 2007.

“Civic access is a basic and critical civil right, and it ensures individuals with disabilities can play productive, fulfilling roles in their communities,” said Thomas E. Perez, Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights.

Curtis Whiteford, a former colonel in the U.S. Army Reserves, was sentenced today to five years in prison for his participation in a wide-ranging bribery conspiracy in Al-Hillah, Iraq.

Companies directly affected by the LCD price-fixing conspiracy are some of the largest computer and television manufacturers in the world, including Apple, Dell and HP.

A federal grand jury in Atlanta has indicted an Ellenwood, Ga., husband and wife, Juna Gwendolyn Babb, 54, and Michael J. Babb, 53, on charges of conspiracy, forced labor, document servitude, which is confiscating someone’s passport and visa, and harboring an alien for financial gain, the Justice Department announced.

“Our nation’s civil rights laws ensure that every individual can go to work each day without fear of discrimination based on the color of their skin,” said Assistant Attorney General Thomas Perez.

A federal grand jury has indicted a Ft. Worth, Texas, husband and wife, Emmanuel and Ngozi Nnaji, on charges of engaging in a nine-year scheme to compel the labor of a Nigerian victim as their domestic servant.

Tijani Ahmed Saani was also ordered to pay a $1.6 million fine and serve one year of supervised release following his prison term.

A federal grand jury in Providence, R.I., has indicted an officer with the Woonsocket Police Department, charging him with violating the civil rights of a 16 year-old juvenile by physically assaulting him, as well as obstruction of justice.

“Eradicating youth violence is a priority of this administration and a priority of both these agencies," said Attorney General Holder and Education Secretary Duncan.

Detroit-area residents Baskaran Thangarasan, Sandeep Aggarwal and Wayne Smith pleaded guilty this week for their roles in connection with several Detroit-area health care fraud schemes.

Robert Jeffery, 55, a former master chief petty officer in the U.S. Navy, was sentenced today to four years 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.

"Laurie and Ron are not only valued colleagues, they are leaders in the Department and throughout this Administration," said Attorney General Holder.

A federal grand jury has returned multiple indictments arising out of a fatal racially motivated beating and related police corruption in Shenandoah, Pa.

Thirty people have been charged in three cities for their alleged roles in schemes to submit more than $61 million in false Medicare claims as part of the continuing operation of the Medicare Fraud Strike Force.

Chief District Judge Paul L. Maloney has permanently barred Joyce M. Stone and Charles J. Freed, both of Tipton, Mich., from preparing income tax returns for others.

"I’m honored to be joined here this evening by fellow dads and leaders focused on fatherhood," said Attorney General Holder.

A federal grand jury has charged a Virginia Beach, Va., resident with conspiracy to pay bribes to former Panamanian government officials to secure maritime contracts.

“The Antitrust Division commends the efforts of the European Commission and Microsoft Corporation, which have announced that they have reached a comprehensive settlement resolving their disputes under European competition law."

The department announced a settlement agreement under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) with Intellitec Colleges in Colorado Springs, Grand Junction, and Pueblo, Colo., to ensure access to its technical colleges for individuals with disabilities.

The department announced an agreement with Santa Rosa, Calif., to improve access to all aspects of civic life for persons with disabilities.

The forfeiture is the largest ever entered against an entity for IEEPA violations.

"The U.S. financial system is built on trust and transparency. Our banks must know what payments they are processing and for whom. Credit Suisse’s decades-long scheme to flout the rules that govern our financial institutions robbed our system of the legitimacy that is fundamental to it success."

Bryan Lee Burrows admitted that he conspired with others to solicit kickbacks from private security vendors in return for favorable treatment for those potential bidders in connection with the award of a subcontract.