"I believe we can extend our country’s finest traditions of public service and civic engagement. And I’m certain that we can prepare – and inspire – the next generation of Americans to do the same," said Attorney General Holder.

Miami resident Guillermo Sanchez, 55, pleaded guilty today to charges that he conspired to defraud the Export-Import Bank of the United States (Ex-Im Bank) of approximately $854,000.

Attorney General Eric Holder announced today that he is dispatching a team of attorneys from multiple divisions within the Justice Department to New Orleans to meet with the U.S. Attorney and response teams and to monitor the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.

U.S. District Court Judge Daniel R. Dominguez sentenced former San Juan, Puerto Rico, Police Officers, Aaron Vidal Maldonado and Jose Pacheco Cruz today for their roles in the fatal assault by San Juan officers against Jose Rivera Robles, an unarmed civilian.

G. David Gordon, a Tulsa, Okla., attorney, and Richard Clark, also of Tulsa, were convicted today by a federal jury of devising and participating in a scheme to defraud investors through the manipulation of publicly traded stocks of three companies.

"For today’s Justice Department, our work to pursue human trafficking investigations and prosecutions and to support those who serve and assist victims is not simply a top priority. It’s also a source of great pride," said Attorney General Holder.

“Violent crimes, and particularly crimes against women and girls, continue to devastate tribal communities across the country, and the U.S. Attorney community is crucial to the Department of Justice’s response,” Attorney General Holder said. 

"Earlier this evening, Faisal Shahzad was arrested in connection with the attempted car bombing in New York on Saturday," said Attorney General Holder.

"The Department of Justice and our partners in the national security community have no higher priority than disrupting those attempts, and bringing those who plot them to justice."

The Department has intervened in a whistleblower lawsuit against Kellogg Brown & Root (KBR), Panalpina Inc. and others that alleges that employees of two freight forwarders doing business with the companies provided unlawful kickbacks to KBR transportation department employees.

"In addition to providing an update on some of the Justice Department’s top priorities, I’d also like to discuss the work we’re doing – and the historic commitment we’ve made – to ensure that justice is done in each and every criminal case our federal prosecutors pursue," said Attorney General Holder.

Ciena Capital LLC, a private, non-depository lender located in New York City, has reached an agreement with the United States to settle fraud claims related to its small business lending for $26.3 million.

A New York corporation, whose principal place of business is Newnan, Ga., and its former president have agreed to plead guilty to conspiring to allocate customers for the sale of food service equipment hardware, including walk-in refrigeration equipment.

Operation Network Raider, a domestic and international enforcement initiative targeting the illegal distribution of counterfeit network hardware manufactured in China, has resulted in 30 felony convictions and more than 700 seizures of counterfeit Cisco network hardware and labels with an estimated retail value of more than $143 million.

The Department has reached an agreement with Argosy University in Nashville, Tenn., and its parent company, Education Management Corporation of Pittsburgh, to settle allegations that Argosy refused to hire a lawful permanent resident because he is a non-United States citizen and intimidated him for reporting the school’s refusal to hire.

The Department has filed a lawsuit alleging that the state of Arkansas is systemically violating the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990.

"Thank you for this opportunity to discuss the President’s Fiscal Year 2011 Budget for the Department of Justice and to provide an update on the department’s progress, key priorities and future plans," said Attorney General Holder.

The Department will monitor municipal elections on May 8, 2010, in Dallas and Galveston Counties, Texas, to ensure compliance with the requirements of the Voting Rights Act of 1965.

A federal district judge in Columbia, S.C., has permanently barred Dorothy Lee Anderson of Hopkins, S.C., from preparing federal tax returns for others.

The Department of Justice, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and the Department of Commerce’s United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) announced today that they will hold a joint public workshop on the intersection of patent policy and competition policy and its implications for promoting innovation

The former ABN AMRO Bank N.V., now named the Royal Bank of Scotland N.V., has agreed to forfeit $500 million to the United States in connection with a conspiracy to defraud the United States, to violate the International Emergency Economic Powers Act and to violate the Trading with the Enemy Act, as well as a violation of the Bank Secrecy Act.

"I’m proud that, for the first time, the Department is directing resources for the express purpose of reducing childhood exposure to violence and raising awareness of its ramifications, advancing scientific inquiry on its causes and characteristics, and, of course, countering its negative impact," said Attorney General Holder.

The conference features highly specialized training provided by the Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force Program, their federal partner agencies and other organizations to an audience of federal, state and local law enforcement investigators, forensic experts and prosecutors.

The Department announced an agreement with St. Clair County, Ill., to improve access to all aspects of civic life for persons with disabilities.

Jose Garcia, 55, who has been a fugitive since 2008, was taken into federal custody yesterday at Miami International Airport.

As you know better than anyone else, our Internet Crimes Against Children Task Forces, are truly the front line fighters in the battle against child exploitation.

To resolve long-standing problems with unpermitted sewer overflows, the city of Oswego, N.Y., will invest an estimated $87 million in improvements to its west side sewer system.

The United States has entered into a comprehensive, cooperative agreement with Cook County, Ill., and the Cook County Sheriff that resolves previous findings of unconstitutional conditions at the Cook County Jail.

The leader of the Almighty Latin King and Queen Nation in Texas and one of his enforcers were sentenced today to life in prison by U.S. District Judge Sam R. Cummings.

A Bulgarian national pleaded guilty today in U.S. District Court in the District of Columbia for his role in laundering money for a transnational criminal group based in Eastern Europe.

"Every year, hundreds of billions of dollars are spent to provide health care for millions of American seniors, children and the disabled," said Acting Deputy Attorney General Gary G. Grindler.

"This report shows the success of our collaborative efforts to prevent, identify, and prosecute the most egregious instances of health care fraud," said Attorney General Holder.

"Tonight is testament to the indispensable role the Memorial Fund plays in honoring the service and sacrifice of our nation’s men and women in uniform – not only at this annual vigil but every day of the year," said Attorney General Holder.

– The Department of Justice and the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) today announced the schedule and panelists for the second joint public workshop on competition and regulatory issues in agriculture, which will be held on May 21, 2010, in Normal, Ala., at the Ernest L. Knight Reception Center at Alabama A & M University.

The Department has entered into a consent decree with Synapse Data and Telecom Inc., and Matthew Mossbarger, the owner of Synapse, to resolve the Department’s complaint filed on behalf of Utah National Guard member Jose A. Ortega, alleging violations of the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act of 1994 (USERRA).

The Department announced a settlement agreement with ValleyCrest Landscape Companies to resolve charges of hiring discrimination against U.S. citizens and other work-authorized domestic workers at its Virginia locations.

"To return today, as our Nation’s Attorney General, to the place where I first studied the law, where I first dreamed of both serving the cause of justice and our country’s Department of Justice, is an extraordinary privilege," said Attorney General Holder.

"The future, I believe, demands no less from each of you. And history leaves me with no doubt that I am looking at 487 faces of dreamers and, most importantly, doers who will not merely meet these great expectations, but, like so many other BU Law graduates, will exceed them," said Attorney General Holder.

"Today, as we celebrate everything you’ve achieved, we also look forward to all I know you can, and will, accomplish. I am eager to see where, over that “mountaintop,” each of you leads our nation and our world," said Attorney General Holder.

Daniel Lee Jones, a Portland, Ore., white supremacist, pleaded guilty to using the Postal Service to send a threatening communication to the president of the Lima, Ohio, chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People.

A federal court has barred Robert Knupp of Marietta, Ga., from preparing federal income tax returns for others.

An immigration judge in Philadelphia has ordered the removal of Anton Geiser, a resident of Sharon, Pa., who served as an armed SS guard at three Nazi concentration camps in Germany during World War II.

Orlando Moncada entered a guilty plea in Miami federal district court to a charge of conspiracy to commit wire fraud.

John Jay College, a New York City public college in the City University of New York (CUNY) system, has agreed to pay $23,260.00 in civil penalties and $10,072.23 in back pay to a former employee in order to settle a lawsuit filed by the Justice Department on April 15, 2010.

“Secretary Vilasck and I are committed to improving our understanding of how particular agricultural markets function,” said Attorney General Holder.

The Health Alliance of Greater Cincinnati and one of its former member hospitals, The Christ Hospital, have agreed to pay the United States $108 million to settle claims that they violated the Anti-Kickback Statute and the False Claims Act by paying unlawful remuneration to doctors in exchange for referring cardiac patients to The Christ Hospital in a pay-to-play scheme.

The Department of Justice announced today that it will require AMC Entertainment Group Inc. to divest movie theater assets in Chicago, Denver and Indianapolis in order to proceed with its proposed $275 million acquisition of most of the theaters operated by Kerasotes Showplace Theatres.

"The discussion we’ve gathered to begin reflects an historic collaboration between the Departments of Justice and Agriculture and leaders from across our nation’s agriculture industry," said Attorney General Holder.

"I am also proud to be among the first to welcome you into a profession that will provide countless opportunities for you to hone your new skills, continue your learning process, channel your greatest passions, and improve the world we share," said Attorney General Holder.

According to a one-count felony charge filed on May 6, 2010 in U.S. District Court in Sioux City, Iowa, Kent Robert Stewart, aka Kent Stewart, president of a ready-mix concrete company located in Iowa, participated in a conspiracy to fix prices and rig bids for ready-mix concrete sold to various companies in Iowa between approximately January 2008 and August 2009.