Tammy Dickinson, U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Missouri, and Jocelyn Samuels, Acting Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Rights Division of the U.S. Department of Justice, announced that an Independence, Mo., man and woman pleaded guilty in federal court today to violating the civil rights of an African-American family by setting fire to their residence.

Conax Florida Corp. and related companies have agreed to resolve allegations under the False Claims Act that the company submitted false claims to the government for improperly tested inertia reels and non-conforming voltage references.

Two Los Angeles-based consulting firms, MotorScience Inc., and MotorScience Enterprise Inc., (MotorScience) and their owner, Chi Zheng, have agreed to settle alleged Clean Air Act (CAA) violations stemming from the illegal import of 24,478 all-terrain, recreational vehicles into the U.S. from China without testing to ensure emissions would meet applicable limits on harmful air pollution, announced the Department of Justice, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the California Air Resources Board (ARB).

The Department of Justice today announced a program that will encourage Swiss banks to cooperate in the department’s ongoing investigations of the use of foreign bank accounts to commit tax evasion.

Jonathan Deck, 59, of Norwood, N.J., was sentenced today in federal court in Utica, N.Y., to 15 months in prison for conspiring to commit wire fraud in connection with the illegal dumping of thousands of tons of asbestos-contaminated construction debris on a 28-acre piece of property on the Mohawk River in upstate New York, the Justice Department announced.

Jocelyn Samuels, Acting Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Rights Division and Anne M. Tompkins, U.S. Attorney for the Western District of North Carolina, announced today that former North Carolina Department of Correction’s Division of Community Corrections Probation Officer Willie James Steele Jr., 43, has been sentenced for violating the constitutional rights of a female probationer that he was supervising by coercing her into sexual acts on two separate occasions.

Two patient recruiters of a Miami health care company pleaded guilty late yesterday for their participation in a $48 million home health Medicare fraud scheme.

Adrian-Tiberiu Oprea, 29, of Constanta, Romania, and Iulian Dolan, 28, of Craiova, Romania, were sentenced today to serve 15 years and seven years in prison, respectively, for participating in an international, multimillion-dollar scheme to remotely hack into and steal payment card data from hundreds of U.S. merchants’ computers.

Four current and former soldiers of the U.S. Army National Guard pleaded guilty today for their roles in bribery and fraud schemes that caused a total of more than $210,000 in losses to the U.S. Army National Guard Bureau.

In a settlement agreement with the United States, Safeway, the nation’s second largest grocery store chain, has agreed to pay a $600,000 civil penalty and implement a corporate-wide plan to significantly reduce its emissions of ozone-depleting substances from refrigeration equipment at 659 of its stores nationwide, estimated to cost approximately $4.1 million.

A Northern California real estate investor has agreed to plead guilty for his role in conspiracies to rig bids and commit mail fraud at public real estate foreclosure auctions in Northern California.

Today, the Civil Rights Division of the Justice Department and the U.S. Attorney for the Middle District of Georgia announced that Kadarius Thomas, a former member of the Correctional Emergency Response Team (CERT) and a former supervisor at Macon State Prison (MSP), in Oglethorpe, Ga., pleaded guilty to obstruction of justice.

The owners and operators of several Miami home health care agencies and a patient recruiter pleaded guilty today in connection with a health care fraud scheme involving defunct home health care company Trust Care Health Services Inc. (Trust Care).

A Brooklyn, N.Y., resident pleaded guilty today for his role as a patient recruiter in a $13 million kickback and health care fraud scheme, the fourth defendant to plead guilty in the scheme based at the Cropsey Medical Care PLLC clinic in Brooklyn.

The Depatment of Justice and U.S. Attorney Wendy J. Olson for the District of Idaho announced today that they reached an agreement with the Jerome County, Id., Sheriff’s Office to resolve the allegations that Jerome County violated the employment rights of Idaho Army National Guard Member Mervin Jones while he was recuperating from a knee injury that he sustained while performing military service.

The United States has settled a lawsuit alleging that an automobile dealership formerly doing business in Los Angeles violated the Equal Credit Opportunity Act (ECOA) by charging non-Asian customers higher interest rate markups than other customers for a period of at least three years.

The Justice Department announced today that it will monitor elections on Sept. 10, 2013, in Cuyahoga County, Ohio, and in Queens County, N.Y. The monitoring will ensure compliance with the Voting Rights Act, which prohibits discrimination in the election process on the basis of race, color or membership in a minority language group.

The Justice Department announced today that Kevin Casaus, 24, a former corrections officer at the Bernalillo County Metropolitan Detention Center (MDC) in Albuquerque, N.M., was sentenced this morning to serve 15 months in federal prison followed by one year of supervised release for his conviction on obstruction of justice and falsification of records charges.

The Justice Department announced today that it reached an agreement with Kelly Services Inc., a staffing company based in Troy, Mich., resolving an allegation of discrimination based on citizenship status during the employment eligibility re-verification process at one of its branch locations in Schaumburg, Ill.

A former officer of Fendih Medical Supply Inc. was sentenced to serve 51 months in prison yesterday in Los Angeles for his role in a fraud scheme that resulted in $1.5 million in fraudulent claims to Medicare. In addition, a physician was sentenced to 27 months in prison for his role in the scheme.

A former Lorain County, Ohio corrections officer pleaded guilty today to one count of deprivation of rights under color of law, announced Jocelyn Samuels, Acting Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Rights Division, Steven M. Dettelbach, U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Ohio and Stephen D. Anthony, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI’s Cleveland Office.

One of the leaders of a criminal conspiracy that laundered more than $20 million through “shell” business bank accounts was sentenced today to 151 months in prison.

A pest control services company and its owner have been charged today in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Georgia with conspiracy, unlawful use of pesticides, false statements, falsification of records and mail fraud, announced Robert G. Dreher, Acting Assistant Attorney General of the Justice Department’s Environment and Natural Resources Division and Michael J. Moore, U.S. Attorney for the Middle District of Georgia.

Muhammad Shahab, the mastermind of an almost $11 million Medicare fraud scheme in Detroit, was sentenced today to 50 months in prison.

A former executive of Ryan International Airlines, a charter airline company located in Rockford, Ill., was sentenced today to serve 87 months in prison and to pay restitution for participating in kickback schemes to defraud Ryan.

The Justice Department filed a lawsuit yesterday against the owners, builders and designers of an eight unit apartment complex at 175 and 195 Silsbee Avenue in Helena, Mont. for violations of the Fair Housing Act.

Anthony K. Mastrogiovanni, 30, of Crofton, Md., was sentenced today to serve 25 years in prison for sexually exploiting more than 30 male juveniles – ranging from 9 to 16 years of age – in Maryland and Louisiana to produce child pornography.

Radiation oncology providers in Pensacola, Fla., will pay $3.5 million to the government and the state of Florida to resolve allegations that they billed Medicare, Medicaid and TRICARE – the health care program for uniformed service members, retirees and their families worldwide – for radiation oncology services that were not eligible for payment.

The Macalan Group Inc., formerly known as NEK Advanced Securities Inc. (NEK), a security contractor headquartered in Colorado Springs, Colo., has agreed to resolve allegations that it submitted false claims in connection with a contract with the Joint Improvised Explosive Device Defeat Organization (JIEDDO).

A former investor in the Alabama real estate foreclosure auctions industry pleaded guilty today to one count of making false statements.

Gustave Drivas, M.D., 58, of Staten Island, N.Y., was sentenced to serve 151 months in prison for his role as a “no show” doctor in a $77 million Medicare fraud scheme. The State of New York revoked Dr. Drivas’s medical license earlier this year.

Gurmail Singh, a resident of Richmond Hill, N.Y., pleaded guilty today in U.S. District Court in the Eastern District of New York to filing a false federal tax return, the Justice Department and Internal Revenue Service (IRS) announced.

Michael D. Hayden Jr., 41, of Tilghman’s Island, Md., was arrested yesterday on charges of witness tampering and retaliation in connection with an investigation of felony Lacey Act violations related to the illegal harvesting of striped bass from the Chesapeake Bay.

Attorney General Eric Holder, Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Kathleen Sebelius, and Federal Trade Commission (FTC) Chairwoman Edith Ramirez met at the White House to kick off a comprehensive interagency initiative to prevent, protect against, and where necessary prosecute consumer fraud and privacy violations in the Health Insurance Marketplace.

UBS Securities Japan Co. Ltd. (UBS Securities Japan), an investment bank, financial advisory securities firm and wholly-owned subsidiary of UBS AG, was sentenced today for its role in manipulating the London Interbank Offered Rate (LIBOR), a leading benchmark used in financial products and transactions around the world.

The Justice Department’s Environment and Natural Resources Division and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Indiana announced today the return of two indictments against six individuals and three companies for offenses involving federal renewable fuel programs, allegedly creating losses to victims totaling more than $100 million. The 88 counts included in the three charging documents include allegations of conspiracy, wire fraud, false tax claims, false statements under the Clean Air Act, obstruction of justice, money laundering and securities fraud.

The Department of Justice today announced the awarding of 192 grants to 110 American Indian tribes, Alaska Native villages, tribal consortia and tribal designated non-profits.

A federal court in Memphis, Tenn., permanently barred the owners of Mo’ Money Taxes, Markey Granberry and Derrick Robinson, as well as a former Mo’ Money manager, Eumora Reese, from preparing tax returns for others and owning or operating a tax return preparation business, the Justice Department announced today.

A Maine resident pleaded guilty today in federal court to engaging in a type of cyberstalking known as “sextortion.”

Halliburton Energy Services Inc. (Halliburton) pleaded guilty today to destroying evidence pertaining to the 2010 Deepwater Horizon disaster and was sentenced to the statutory maximum fine, the Justice Department announced.

The Department of Justice and U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced that Houston-based CITGO Petroleum Corp. (CITGO) has agreed to pay a $737,000 civil penalty and to implement projects to reduce harmful air pollution, resolving alleged violations of the Clean Air Act (CAA) at its petroleum refining facilities located in Lemont, Ill., and Lake Charles (Westlake), La.

It’s a pleasure to stand with you – and to help welcome so many colleagues and distinguished guests to the Great Hall – as we recognize the achievements, and celebrate the contributions, of the 39 accomplished LEAP graduates who make up our Class of 2013.

America’s criminal justice system is in need of targeted reform. Throughout this country, too many Americans are trapped – and too many communities are weakened – by a vicious cycle of poverty, criminality, and incarceration. Too many people go to too many prisons for far too long – and for no truly good law enforcement reason. The U.S. prison population has grown at an astonishing rate over the last three decades – by almost 800 percent since 1980, despite the fact that America’s overall population has increased by only about a third.

Total Petrochemical USA Inc. (Total) will pay an $8.75 million penalty for failing to comply with the terms of a 2007 settlement with the United States that resolved alleged violations of the Clean Air Act at its Port Arthur, Texas, refinery, the Department of Justice and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced today.

A Dominican national was sentenced today to serve 42 months in prison for her role in trafficking the identities of Puerto Rican U.S. citizens and corresponding identity documents

Child Cyber Safety Night at the Ballpark is the latest effort by the Justice Department and its law enforcement and community partners to encourage parents to speak with their children about online and cell phone safety and provide prevention materials. As part of the event, the Department will receive the Washington Nationals Spirit Award.

Today the Department of Justice filed a complaint and a simultaneous settlement agreement in the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia to ensure that prisoners at the Piedmont Regional Jail in Farmville, Va., receive appropriate medical and mental health care.

On Friday, the Court of Federal Claims in Washington, D.C., ruled that a subsidiary of the BB&T Corporation was not entitled to $660 million in tax benefits that BB&T claimed based on its participation in an abusive tax shelter known as Structured Trust Advantaged Repackaged Securities (STARS). Judge Thomas C. Wheeler, who delivered the opinion of the Court, imposed $112 million in penalties.

It was nearly half a century ago when President Lyndon Johnson signed the landmark Voting Rights Act of 1965 into law – in order to preserve what he called “the dignity of man, and the decency of democracy.” Near the height of the Civil Rights Era, he reaffirmed his commitment to President Kennedy’s ambitious agenda by joining countless Americans – seemingly ordinary, but all extraordinary – in rejecting the forces of bigotry and injustice.

Donald John Sachtleben, a former FBI bomb technician who later worked as a government contractor for the agency, has filed a petition to plead guilty to newly filed charges of unlawfully disclosing national defense information relating to a disrupted terrorist plot. Sachtleben previously had filed a petition to plead guilty to charges of possessing and distributing child pornography resulting from a separate investigation.