Robert G. Murdock, 64, of Southfield, Mich., pleaded guilty today to tax evasion.

Wachovia Bank N.A., which is now known as Wells Fargo Bank N.A., has entered into an agreement with the Department of Justice to resolve the company’s role in anticompetitive activity in the municipal bond investments market and has agreed to pay a total of $148 million in restitution, penalties and disgorgement to federal and state agencies.

Walli Mujahidh, aka “Frederick Domingue, Jr.,” 32, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to murder officers and agents of the United States, conspiracy to use weapons of mass destruction and unlawful possession of a firearm.

William Walden, 23, aka “Wild Bill,” pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Aleta Trauger in the Middle District of Tennessee to one count of conspiracy to participate in racketeering activity.

The Department of Justice’s Office of Justice Programs (OJP) today sponsored a forum of policymakers from all 50 states to focus on improving success rates for people released from prison.

Russell Hawley and Hawley Insurance Inc. of Vail, Iowa, have agreed to pay the United States $834,897.50 to settle allegations that they caused false claims to be submitted to the Federal Crop Insurance Corporation.

A Brooklyn, N.Y., man was sentenced today in U.S. District Court in Alexandria, Va., to 12 years in prison for operating a credit card fraud ring that used counterfeit credit cards encoded with stolen account information up and down the East Coast of the United States.

"You and your team – as well as NLADA’s board members and network of partners and supporters – have had an extraordinary, and transformative, impact on our country," said Attorney General Holder.

Wright Brothers Construction Co., of Charleston, Tenn., and the Georgia Department of Transportation (GDOT) have agreed to pay a $1.5 million penalty and spend more than $1.3 million to offset environmental damages to resolve alleged violations of the Clean Water Act.

The Department of Justice announced today that it has entered into a consent decree that, if approved by the court, will resolve the department’s claims that H.M. Grimmett, sheriff of Bolivar County, Miss., retaliated against Robert E. Brown, a former employee of the sheriff.

Charles Joseph Bowie Jr., 45, of Georgetown, Texas, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Xavier Rodriguez in the Western District of Texas, San Antonio Division.

The Justice Department announced today that it has reached a settlement agreement with S.W.J.J. Inc., or Sernak Farms, based in Weatherly, Penn., to settle allegations that Sernak engaged in discrimination on the basis of citizenship status by preferring to hire temporary visa holders over U.S. citizen applicants and adversely treating its U.S. citizen employees.

"The fraud recoveries that make up that $5.6 billion run the gamut – from healthcare fraud to grant fraud, from mortgage fraud to procurement fraud," said Deputy Attorney General Cole.

"Nearly half a century has passed since a national tragedy catapulted Lyndon Johnson to the Presidency, and at the same time 'launched a new chapter in America’s story. Those of us who lived through those painful days will never forget LBJ’s first Presidential speech – to a nation in mourning, and in desperate need of strong and steady leadership," said Attorney General Holder.

The country’s two biggest tobacco companies have agreed to improve public access to internal tobacco-industry documents and to pay $6.25 million into a court fund that will go to support the country’s largest online collection of tobacco documents.

Azikiwe Aquart, aka “Z” and “Ziggy,” 32, pleaded guilty on Aug. 26, 2011, to three counts of murder in aid of racketeering.

Attorney General Eric Holder announced today the appointments of eight new U.S. Attorneys to serve two-year terms on the Attorney General’s Advisory Committee.

A federal court has permanently barred Carmen Gonzalez from preparing federal tax returns for others.

Following a comprehensive investigation, the Justice Department today announced its findings in the ongoing civil rights investigation of the Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office.

The government’s action results from a series of inspections by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) of G&s farms from 2009 to 2011.

Roger Charles Day Jr., a former America’s Most Wanted fugitive, was sentenced today to 105 years in prison for his role in leading an international conspiracy to defraud the Department of Defense (DOD) of more than $11.2 million by supplying nonconforming and defective parts for military aircraft, vehicles and weapons systems.

Based on the representations made by the Worker Rights Consortium, the department said that the proposal is unlikely to lessen competition in the collegiate apparel sector.

Following a comprehensive investigation, the Justice Department today announced its findings that the Seattle Police Department (SPD) has engaged in a pattern or practice of excessive force that violates the Constitution and federal law.

The Justice Department filed a motion to intervene in a lawsuit yesterday against Home Care Giver Services Inc., a Florida corporation that provides home health aides, certified nursing assistants, licensed practical nurses and registered nurses to customers who seek home-based care givers.

"Our attorneys, investigators and experts conducted extensive interviews with command staff and rank-and-file officers; participated in ride-alongs with officers; and reviewed thousands of pages of documents," said Assistant Attorney General Perez.

The $3 billion total for fiscal year 2011 includes a record $2.8 billion in recoveries under the whistleblower provisions of the False Claims Act, which is the government’s primary civil remedy to redress false claims for federal money or property, such as Medicare benefits, payments on military contracts, and federal subsidies and loans.

Attorney General Eric Holder today issued the following statement on the release of the FBI’s Preliminary Uniform Crime Report showing a continued decrease in violent crime nationwide. The results show that the number of violent crimes reported in the first six months of 2011 declined 6.4 percent when compared with figures from the first six months of 2010.

The investigation found that EHPD intentionally targets Latinos for traffic enforcement and treats Latino drivers more harshly after traffic stops in violation of the Fourteenth Amendment, Title VI and the Safe Streets Act.

David A. Cusumano of Plymouth, Mich., and Henry Nino, a resident of Northville, Mich., were sentenced today following their pleas of guilty to tax evasion, the Justice Department and Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI) announced today.

“This result is a victory for the millions of Americans who use mobile wireless telecommunications services,” said Deputy Attorney General Cole.

"Based on our investigation, we find that the East Haven Police Department engages in discriminatory policing against Latinos," said Deputy Assistant Attorney General Austin.

A federal court in Mobile, Ala., has permanently barred Delois Warren from preparing federal tax returns for others.

Butler Moultrie, 46, pleaded guilty before U.S. Magistrate Judge Barry L. Garber in Miami to one count of conspiracy to commit health care fraud.

The complaint alleges that, between April 2010 and July 2011, property associated with New Deal Shooting Sports was used in connection with, among other things, a conspiracy to make false statements in connection with the acquisition of firearms and to illegally export firearms to Mexico, a conspiracy to engage in money laundering, and a conspiracy to facilitate the trafficking of narcotics.

The Justice Department today announced that it has reached a consent decree with the town of Rome, Wis., to resolve allegations that the town retaliated against an employee after she made a complaint of discrimination based on sex.

A federal grand jury in Des Moines, Iowa, returned an indictment today charging two former Des Moines Police Department Officers Mersed Dautovic and John Mailander with violations of federal criminal laws related to an incident involving an alleged assault against a civilian on Sept. 13, 2008.

Kaman Precision Products Inc., an Orlando, Fla., defense contractor, will pay the United States $4.75 million to resolve allegations that the company submitted false claims for non-conforming fuzes sold to the U.S. Army for use in “bunkerbuster” bombs.

The Justice Department announced today that the city of Brockton, Mass., promoted U.S. Army Reservist Brian Benvie on Dec. 16, 2011, to the position of lieutenant in the city’s police department.

The Department of Justice requires Exelon Corporation and Constellation Energy Group Inc. to divest three electricity generating plants in Maryland in order to proceed with their $7.9 billion merger.

Julian Zapata Espinoza, also known as “Piolin,” has been extradited from Mexico to the United States to face charges for his alleged participation in the murder of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Special Agent Jaime Zapata and the attempted murder of ICE Special Agent Victor Avila on Feb. 15, 2011, in Mexico.

Attorney General Eric Holder today announced the appointment of Charles E. Samuels Jr. as the director of the Federal Bureau of Prisons.

The Department of Justice today filed its largest residential fair lending settlement in history to resolve allegations that Countrywide Financial Corporation and its subsidiaries engaged in a widespread pattern or practice of discrimination against qualified African-American and Hispanic borrowers in their mortgage lending from 2004 through 2008.

Janika Fernae Bates, a resident of Millbrook, Ala., was sentenced today in the Middle District of Alabama to 94 months in federal prison for stealing identities of student loan borrowers and providing them to a co-conspirator, who used them to file false tax returns.

Kexue Huang, a Chinese national and a former resident of Carmel, Ind., was sentenced today to 87 months in prison and three years of supervised release on charges of economic espionage to benefit components of the Chinese government and theft of trade secrets.

U.S. District Judge Gloria M. Navarro sentenced Jose Lopez-Buelna, aka “Miguel,” 51, to 20 years in prison, and Erik Dushawn Webster, 47, to 25 years in prison.

"None of us will ever forget that terrible moment, when so many lives were stolen – and others shattered – by a shameful and senseless act of cowardice. The losses that resulted – in the air, and on the ground – not only shook the families of the passengers, crewmembers, and innocent bystanders in Lockerbie, Scotland, who were killed on December 21st, 1988," said Attorney General Holder.

"In today’s settlement with Countrywide Financial Corporation, we resolved the government’s allegations that Countrywide and its subsidiaries – which are now owned by Bank of America – engaged in discriminatory mortgage lending practices against more than 200,000 qualified African-American and Hispanic borrowers from 2004 through 2008," said Attorney General Holder.

"At the core of the allegations in the complaint is a simple story: If you were African-American or Hispanic and you went to Countrywide for a loan, and you were qualified, you likely paid more simply because of the color of your skin. You likely paid more than a similarly-qualified white borrower if you were African-American or Hispanic and received your loan from a Countrywide loan officer, or from Countrywide’s mortgage brokers," said Assistant Attorney General Perez.

The Department of Justice will require Deutsche Börse AG to direct its subsidiary International Securities Exchange Holdings Inc. to sell its 31.5 percent stake in Direct Edge Holdings LLC and agree to other restrictions in order for Deutsche Börse to proceed with its planned $9 billion merger with NYSE Euronext, one of the two largest and most prestigious stock exchange operators in the United States.

Julie Matau, 49, of San Francisco, pleaded guilty to one count of wire fraud before U.S. District Judge Claudia Wilken. Andrea Matau, 28, also of San Francisco, pleaded guilty to one misdemeanor count of theft of federal funds before Judge Wilken.