The city of Columbus, Ind., has agreed to pay $24,000 to settle a lawsuit alleging that the city had discriminated against a group home for persons recovering from drug and alcohol addiction, in violation of the federal Fair Housing Act.

Attorney General Eric Holder, FBI Director Robert Mueller, Housing and Urban Development Inspector General (HUD-OIG) Kenneth M. Donohue, and other members of the Financial Fraud Enforcement Task Force today announced the results of a nationwide takedown, Operation Stolen Dreams, which targeted mortgage fraudsters throughout the country and is the largest collective enforcement effort ever brought to bear in confronting mortgage fraud.

The United States filed a False Claims Act suit against R&J Feed Co., Jerry Goodwin, Richard Carter and Carter Livestock Inc. in the U.S. District Court in Kansas City, Mo.

"This operation began on March 1, and to date involved 1,215 criminal defendants nationwide, defendants who were allegedly responsible for more than $2.3 billion in losses," said Attorney General Holder.

"As leaders in our profession you must spread the philosophy of this great institution and make what is unique commonplace," said Attorney General Holder.

The Department has filed a stipulated settlement agreement resolving a portion of its lawsuit against Erie County, N.Y, regarding the limited issue of suicide prevention and related mental health care.

The Department will monitor the municipal election on June 19, 2010, in Galveston, Texas, to ensure compliance with the requirements of the Voting Rights Act of 1965.

Steven Walter Cooke, 47, a reputed high ranking member of the Aryan Brotherhood of Texas (ABT) prison/street gang and a previously convicted felon, has been sentenced to prison for possessing firearms.

"I believe our criminal defense system can, and will, become a source of tremendous national pride. I look forward to working with you all in achieving this goal. And I am grateful for your guidance, your engagement, and for your commitment," said Attorney General Holder.

The Justice Department today announced that it has reached an agreement with Morton’s of Chicago/Portland Inc. to settle allegations that it required two non-citizens authorized to work in the United States to present more documents than legally required to establish their work eligibility.

The Department of Justice and the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced today the agenda and panelists for the June 25 workshop examining competition in the dairy industry.

“Faisal Shahzad plotted and launched an attack that could have led to serious loss of life, and today the American criminal justice system ensured that he will pay the price for his actions,” Attorney General Eric Holder said. 

"With your help and engagement, we’re working to ensure that the Justice Department lives up to its responsibility to provide a work environment where every employee is respected and given an equal opportunity to thrive," said Attorney General Holder.

As part of the Obama Administration’s launch of the first-ever Joint Strategic Plan on Intellectual Property Enforcement, Attorney General Eric Holder today emphasized the Department of Justice’s ongoing commitment to protecting U.S. intellectual property as central to America’s economic prosperity and public safety.

A federal grand jury in Spokane, Wash., has returned an indictment charging Ronald James Davenport of Deer Park, Wash., with filing fraudulent multi-billion-dollar liens against four government officials.

Thomas Gleason, 22, of Springfield, Mass., pleaded guilty to a superseding information charging him with two crimes related to the burning of the Macedonia Church of God in Christ, a predominantly African-American church, in Springfield on the morning after President Barack Obama was elected as the first African-American President of the United States.

The owner and the vice president of a Detroit-area physical therapy clinic were convicted today by a federal jury for their roles in a $23 million Medicare fraud scheme, announced the Departments of Justice and Health and Human Services.

Former Woonsocket, R.I., Police Officer John H. Douglas pleaded guilty today in federal court in Providence, R.I., to a federal criminal civil rights charge for assaulting a juvenile who was in his custody.

– Seven Houston-area residents who worked for a home health agency have been charged for their alleged participation in a $5 million Medicare fraud scheme.

Guillermo O. Mondino, 47, of Miami, pleaded guilty today to leading a scheme to defraud the Export-Import Bank of the United States (Ex-Im Bank) of more than $24 million.

"In the recent past, including many miles on the campaign trail, I’ve had the pleasure of getting to know our First Lady," said Attorney General Holder.

"As we emerge from this recession, it is critical that we not only look for ways to hold those who discriminated in the past accountable. We must also find ways to repair some of the damage done to families and to communities. We must use the power of the law to encourage innovative strategies for rebuilding, and be sure that decades of investment have not been permanently lost," said Assistant Attorney General Perez.

"Over the last decade, you have redefined statistics, expectations, and, most importantly, possibilities for students across this city," said Attorney General Holder.

“The Department of Justice is committed to protecting our nation’s communities from the violent and dangerous crimes alleged in this indictment,” said Assistant Attorney General Lanny A. Breuer.

The state of Florida must provide Michele Haddad with services that will enable her to remain in her home, a U.S. District Court in Jacksonville, Fla., ruled Wednesday.

Robert Jackson, 37, of Downsville, La., pleaded guilty in federal court to placing a hangman’s noose in the carport of the home of a family in order “to send a message” to African-American males who had been frequently visiting the victim’s home.

A federal grand jury in Mobile, Ala., has returned a three-count indictment charging Thomas Hayward Lewis, 24, of Mobile, with violating and conspiring to violate the civil rights of congregants of the Congregation Tree of Life Messianic Synagogue in Mobile, as well as possession of an unregistered firearm.

Three alleged members or associates of the Aryan Brotherhood of Texas (ABT) have been indicted for their alleged roles in a 2008 murder in Atascosa County, Texas.

The workshop explores the appropriate role for antitrust and regulatory enforcement in the dairy industry.

Canadian/Lebanese dual national Ousama M. Naaman pleaded guilty today to participating in an eight-year conspiracy to defraud the United Nations Oil for Food Program (OFFP) and to bribe Iraqi government officials in connection with the sale of a chemical additive used in the refining of leaded fuel.

John Webster Warwick, a Virginia Beach, Va., resident, was sentenced today in U.S. District Court in Richmond, Va., to 37 months in prison for his role in a conspiracy to pay bribes to former Panamanian government officials to secure maritime contracts.

The Department announced a comprehensive settlement agreement with the town of Gretna, Va., under the Americans with Disabilities Act to eliminate barriers for providers of foster care services who wish to provide community placements in their homes for persons with disabilities. 

A federal jury in Chicago convicted former Chicago Police Department (CPD) Commander Jon Burge, 60, of Apollo Beach, Fla., on perjury and obstruction charges related to his denials that he participated in the torture of suspects in police custody decades ago.

"That dream of progress and of opportunity – for my own family, for my people and for my nation – is what inspired my interest in the law, my study of the law, and every step of a career spent serving and trying to perfect our justice system," said Attorney General Holder.

Attorney General Eric Holder met with Afghan President Hamid Karzai, Minister of Justice Habibullah Ghalib and Attorney General Mohammad Ishaq Aloko today to discuss the department’s ongoing efforts to foster the rule of law in Afghanistan.

The founder and treasurer of the National Association of Special Police and Security Officers (NASPSO) was charged with four counts of mail fraud in connection with his operation of a pension plan for members of NASPSO, a labor union representing private security guards assigned to protect federal buildings in the metro Washington area.

Quang Nguyen, 22, of Philadelphia was sentenced today by U.S. District Court Judge Paul S. Diamond to 70 months in prison for his role in distributing large amounts of marijuana and ecstasy pills in the United States.

Arthur Batala, Darrell Batala and Steven Silas, all members of the Hopi Indian Tribe of Arizona, were sentenced for taking and possessing a golden eagle in violation of the Migratory Bird Treaty Act, a federal law that protects most species of birds in the United States.

Four defendants were sentenced today in connection with their participation in an online child pornography conspiracy, while a fifth defendant was sentenced for receiving child pornography.

The owners and operators of Ivanhoe House Apartments, an apartment complex in Ann Arbor, Mich., have agreed to pay $82,500 to settle a lawsuit filed by the Justice Department alleging that they had discriminated against African-American home-seekers, in violation of the Fair Housing Act.

The Department of Justice challenged the state of Arizona’s recently passed immigration law, S.B. 1070, in federal court today. The Department said the Arizona law unconstitutionally interferes with the federal government’s authority to set and enforce immigration policy.

The lawsuit alleged that the Fitchburg Housing Authority and Hill violated the Fair Housing Act by adopting and implementing policies that denied tenants with disabilities other than mobility impairments the opportunity to transfer between apartments within Fitchburg’s public housing neighborhoods.

The Department filed a lawsuit against Garland Sales Inc., a rug manufacturer and seller located in Dalton, Ga., alleging it engaged in a pattern or practice of discrimination by imposing unnecessary and discriminatory hurdles to employment for work authorized individuals.

Irika Shipping S.A., a ship management corporation registered in Panama and doing business in Greece, pleaded guilty on July 8, 2010, before Maryland U.S. District Court Judge Frederick J. Motz, to felony obstruction of justice charges and violation of the Act to Prevent Pollution from Ships related to concealing deliberate vessel pollution from the M/V Iorana, a Greek flagged cargo ship that made port calls in Baltimore, Tacoma, Wash., and New Orleans. 

A federal jury in Orlando, Fla., found former Bureau of Prisons corrections officer Michael Kennedy guilty late yesterday on felony federal civil rights charges related to the fatal assault of an inmate in March 2005.

The Justice Department announced today that it will monitor the primary runoff elections on July 13, 2010, in Barbour, Lee and Russell Counties, Ala., to ensure compliance with the Voting Rights Act of 1965.

The United States has asked a federal court to permanently bar a Utah man from promoting an alleged false church-based tax fraud scheme.

Detroit-area residents Faisal Chaudry and Guy Ross pleaded guilty today in U.S. District Court in Detroit for their participation in a fraudulent Medicare home health scheme

Today, the Justice Department announced that, pursuant to its agreement with the Illinois State Board of Education, the state has finalized administrative rules that will ensure school districts throughout Illinois provide appropriate language support services to English language learner students until they no longer need them.

"Our future progress, I believe, will depend on our ability to bring innovative, evidence-based solutions to the work of addressing our most overwhelming and intractable challenges – namely, the prevalence and consequences of gun-, gang-, and drug-related violence, as well as the devastating impact of childhood exposure to violence," said Attorney General Holder.