U.S. District Judge Ellen S. Huvelle also ordered Heliber Toro Mejia, 52; Humberto Toro Mejia, 60; and Luz Elena Acuna Rios, 53; all of Bogotá, to serve three years of supervised release following their prison terms.

"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."

PrimeLending, a national mortgage lender with 168 offices in 32 states at the end of 2009, has agreed to pay $2 million to resolve allegations that it engaged in a pattern or practice of discrimination against African-American borrowers between 2006 and 2009.

"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.

Restitution trust funds for the benefit of two minor victims of sex tourism in the Philippines were executed and implemented yesterday through the signing of trust documents by Filipino social welfare authorities and a U.S. based trustee.

The former CEO of The Morgan Crucible Company plc, a United Kingdom corporation, was sentenced to serve 18 months in prison for his role in a conspiracy to obstruct a federal grand jury investigation into price fixing of carbon brushes and other carbon products sold in the United States and elsewhere.

The Justice Department today announced it has filed a lawsuit against Berkeley School District, Berkeley, Ill., alleging that the school district violated Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 by failing to reasonably accommodate the religious practices of Safoorah Khan, a Muslim teacher at McArthur Middle School.

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.

Tanja Anamary Nijmeijer, a Dutch national who moved to Colombia and joined the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) in 2002, and 17 other members of the FARC designated foreign terrorist organization were indicted by a federal grand jury in Washington, D.C., today on seven counts of terrorism and weapons charges arising out of their participation in the hostage-taking of three American citizens in the Republic of Colombia.

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.

Yesterday’s guilty plea by David Michael Fagerness is the result of an international investigation into the “Lost Boy” online bulletin board.

The owner and the vice president of a Detroit-area physical therapy clinic were sentenced to 151 months and 108 months in prison, respectively, for their leading roles in a $23 million Medicare fraud scheme.

The Justice Department today announced a settlement agreement with the School District of Philadelphia and the School Reform Commission to resolve an investigation into a complaint of race, color and/or national origin-based harassment of Asian students at South Philadelphia High School, and allegations that the school district was deliberately indifferent to the severe and pervasive harassment.

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.

Yudel Cayro, owner and operator of Courtesy Medical Group Inc., a medical clinic in Miami, was sentenced to 60 months in prison for his role in a wide-ranging Medicare fraud scheme involving Miami-area home health agencies.

Madhatta Asagal Haipe, a citizen of the Philippines and founding member of Al-Harakat Al-Islamiyyah, also known as the Abu Sayyaf Group (ASG), was sentenced today to 23 years in prison after earlier pleading guilty to four counts of hostage taking in the 1995 abduction of 16 people, including four U.S. citizens, in the Philippines.

"St. Laurent, 71, of Johnston, R.I., and her son Anthony St. Laurent Jr., 44, of Cranston, R.I., were sentenced today in U.S. District Court in Providence, R.I., for their participation in an interstate extortion scheme, in violation of the Hobbs Act, announced Assistant Attorney General Lanny A. Breuer of the Criminal Division; U.S. Attorney Peter F. Neronha for the District of Rhode Island; and Richard DesLauriers, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI’s Boston Field Office."

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.

A former Alabama state lobbyist pleaded guilty today before U.S. Magistrate Judge Wallace Capel Jr. to his role in conspiring to bribe legislators in exchange for their favorable votes on pro-gambling legislation.

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.

The Justice Department today announced the settlement of an Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) complaint against Modern Hairstyling Institute Inc. in Bayamón, Puerto Rico.

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 welcomed the confirmation of the new Director of the U.S. Marshals Service (USMS), Stacia A. Hylton, and Administrator of the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), Michele M. Leonhart.

The Justice Department today announced a $1.25 million agreement with Warren Properties Inc., Warren Village (Mobile) Limited Partnership, and Frank R. Warren, to settle allegations that the defendants violated the Fair Housing Act by refusing to grant a tenant’s requests for a reasonable accommodation.

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.

A member of La Mara Salvatrucha or MS-13 pleaded guilty today in federal court in San Francisco to racketeering (RICO) conspiracy and conspiracy to commit murder in aid of racketeering.

Houston-area residents Dr. Howard Grant, Obisike Nwankwo and John Lachman were sentenced today to 41 months in prison, 21 months in prison, and 26 months in prison, respectively, for their roles in a multi-million dollar durable medical equipment Medicare fraud scheme.

A U.S. Army contractor was indicted today for stabbing another individual with a knife at Kandahar Airfield in Afghanistan.

A former CIA officer was arrested today on charges that he illegally disclosed national defense information and obstructed justice.

Marsha Parenteau of Dublin, Ohio, has been sentenced for conspiring to commit money laundering, the Justice Department and Internal Revenue Service (IRS) announced.

A New Orleans-area medical doctor and the owner and operator of a medical equipment company were sentenced today to 48 and 30 months in prison.

Roy W. Bradford was sentenced today in federal district court in Dayton, Ohio, for willfully filing a false federal income tax return for 2004.

Paul Magliocchetti, the founder and president of PMA Group Inc., a lobbying firm, was sentenced today to 27 months in prison for making hundreds of thousands of dollars in illegal campaign contributions and making false statements to a federal agency.

A former U.S. Army staff sergeant was sentenced today to 90 months in prison in connection with a fuel theft scheme to solicit more than $400,000 in bribes from a government contractor in Afghanistan.

A former leader of La Mara Salvatrucha, or MS-13, pleaded guilty today in federal court in San Francisco to racketeering (RICO) conspiracy, conspiracy to commit murder in aid of racketeering, and the use or possession of a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence.

Yakov Babchinetskiy, 43, of Huntingdon Valley, Pa., was sentenced today in Philadelphia by U.S. District Court Judge Legrome D. Davis to 100 months in prison plus three years of supervised release for his role in a conspiracy to alter odometers on used motor vehicles, provide false odometer statements, and commit wire and securities fraud.

Homer Lee Richardson of Loveland, Ohio, was sentenced today for corruptly endeavoring to obstruct and impede the due administration of the Internal Revenue Code, aiding and assisting in the preparation of a false income tax return on the behalf of another individual, and filing his own false individual income tax returns for the years 1998, 1999 and 2000.

An Illinois commercial print broker pleaded guilty today to making false statements in a bid submitted to the U.S. Government Printing Office (GPO).

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

Fastenal Company, a national hardware store distributor, has reached a settlement with the United States following an investigation of alleged false claims in connection with a General Services Administration contract.

Axel Rafael Mercado was sentenced today by U.S. District Court Judge Patricia A. Seitz to 24 months in prison for tax evasion.

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 Justice Department today announced the settlement of a lawsuit filed to enforce the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) against Nobel Learning Communities, Inc. (NLC), a private, for-profit entity that operates a nationwide network of more than 180 preschools, elementary schools and secondary schools.

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.