"We at the Justice Department have recommitted ourselves to this work. We’re strengthening civil rights protections in employment, housing, voting, and sentencing, and we’ve launched a new initiative aimed at expanding access to justice."

Anthony G. Merlo, a resident of Portsmouth, N.H., was sentenced to 51 months of imprisonment for conspiring to defraud the United States.

Attorney General Eric Holder presented the 2010 John Sherman Award to Robert Pitofsky for his lifetime contributions to the teaching and enforcement of antitrust law and the development of antitrust policy.

U.S. District Court Judge R. Bryan Harwell has sentenced three men in Florence, S.C., for their role in terrorizing an African-American man and two Caucasian men and for carjacking.

The Antitrust Division today issued the first ever electronic-only version of its 2010 annual newsletter

"I also am personally committed to the restoration and transformation of the Civil Rights Division, as is the Attorney General, whose support of the Division has been unwavering and complete," said Assistant Attorney General Perez.

Christine Varney, Assistant Attorney General in charge of the Antitrust Division, will participate in the ninth annual International Competition Network (ICN) conference in Istanbul, Turkey, from April 27-29, 2010.

Michael S. Sherfick, a former local law enforcement official, pleaded guilty today in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Indiana to a criminal information charging him with conspiracy to commit bribery concerning programs receiving federal funds.

Attorney General Eric Holder today met with commissioners of the African Union in an effort to underscore the United States government’s commitment to Africa, particularly efforts to promote rule of law and to combat transnational crime.

The Department has entered into a consent decree with Troy University of Montgomery, Ala., to resolve the department’s complaint alleging violations of the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act of 1994.

A U.S. Army sergeant pleaded guilty today to accepting approximately $1.4 million in illegal gratuities from private contractors during his deployment to Kuwait in 2002 and 2003.

Young, 56, pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit health care fraud before U.S. District Court Judge Patrick J. Duggan in the Eastern District of Michigan.

"The Civil Rights Division enforces the Americans with Disabilities Act (“ADA”) and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act, and we have a substantial role in implementing Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act."

Maria Volero Marrero, 48, Lawrence Edward Humes, 57, and Keith Earnest Humes, 53, each pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit health care fraud in connection with a $5.8 million Medicare fraud scheme stemming from their involvement with a Miami-area HIV/AIDS infusion clinic.

The task force, established by President Barack Obama in November 2009 to wage an aggressive, coordinated and proactive effort to investigate and prosecute financial crimes, is composed of representatives from a broad range of federal agencies, regulatory authorities, inspectors general, and state and local law enforcement.

"This plot, as well as others we have encountered, makes clear we face a continued threat from al-Qaeda and its affiliates overseas," said Attorney General Holder.

James G. Litz, 54, of the city of Tonawanda, N.Y., pleaded guilty before U.S. District Court Judge Richard J. Arcara, to a felony charge of deprivation of civil rights under the color of law.

The department said the proposed information exchange may reduce health care costs by improving competition among hundreds of hospitals in California and facilitating more informed purchasing decisions by group purchasers of health care services.

As part of the Department of Justice’s ongoing initiative to confront intellectual property (IP) crimes, Acting Deputy Attorney General Gary G. Grindler announced today the appointment of 15 new Assistant U.S. Attorney (AUSA) positions and 20 FBI Special Agents to be dedicated to combating domestic and international IP crimes.

Dr. Toe Myint was sentenced today in Detroit to 72 months in prison for participating in a conspiracy to defraud the Medicare program.

A New York City federal grand jury returned an indictment against four individuals and three corporations for participating in mail and wire fraud conspiracies related to contracts for work performed at New York Presbyterian Hospital.

The department said that the transaction as originally proposed would combine two of only four companies that provide specialized pumping services, called stimulation services, necessary for the production of oil and gas from wells in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico.

Sophia Manuel and Alfonso Baldonado Jr. have been indicted by a federal grand jury on charges arising from a human trafficking scheme to hold Filipino nationals in forced labor in country clubs and hotels in Southeast Florida.

Houston-area residents Doris Vinitski and John Lachman pleaded guilty today in connection with their roles in a durable medical equipment Medicare fraud scheme.

"Through our efforts and our partnerships with other Federal agencies and State partners, we will continue to ramp up fair lending enforcement to ensure that all Americans have equal access to credit," said Assistant Attorney General Thomas E. Perez.

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.

“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. 

The Puerto Rico Aqueduct and Sewer Authority (PRASA) has agreed to implement major capital improvements and upgrades to resolve alleged longstanding violations of the Clean Water Act at 126 drinking water plants across the island and violations of the Safe Drinking Water Act at three others.

Washington Beef LLC, the operator of a large slaughterhouse in Toppenish, Wash., has agreed to pay a $750,000 civil penalty and will install several pieces of new waste water treatment equipment that the Environmental Protection Agency estimates will cost approximately $3 million to resolve allegations that it violated the Clean Water Act.

The Boeing Company has agreed to undertake two significant habitat restoration projects in Washington state to resolve its liability for natural resource damages caused by hazardous substances released from Boeing facilities along the Duwamish Waterway.

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.

Houston-area residents Basil Kalu and Ju-Ying Qian, and Louisiana resident Darnell Willis pleaded guilty today in connection with their roles in a durable medical equipment Medicare fraud scheme.

"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.

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.

Attorney General Eric Holder today announced the appointment of four new U.S. Attorneys to serve two-year terms on the Attorney General’s Advisory Committee (AGAC): Loretta E. Lynch, Eastern District of New York; Stephanie M. Rose, Northern District of Iowa; Benjamin B. Wagner, Eastern District of California; and Sally Quillian Yates, Northern District of Georgia.

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.

Rodolfo Rodriguez Cabrera, 43, a Cuban national, and Henry Mantilla, 35, of Cape Coral, Fla., pleaded guilty today in front of U.S. District Court Judge Philip M. Pro in Las Vegas to one count of conspiracy to produce and sell counterfeit International Game Technology video gaming machines, commonly known as slot machines, and counterfeit IGT computer programs.

"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.

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 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.

Hazim Gaber, 22, of Edmonton, Canada, pleaded guilty today in Phoenix before U.S. Magistrate Judge Edward C. Voss to selling counterfeit cancer drugs using the Internet.

Vagan Adzhemyan, 41, of Costa Mesa, Calif.; Suren Garibyan, 32, of North Hollywood, Calif.; and Galvin Shaun Gibson, 30, of Mira Loma, Calif., were charged in August 2009 with conspiracy to commit kidnapping and kidnapping.

A federal judge in Kansas City, Mo., has permanently barred Allen R. Davison from promoting a variety of tax fraud schemes, including some that used sham companies, sham chicken-flock contracts, and sham pension plans.

Joshua James Moro, 23, has been indicted by a federal grand jury for participating in a civil rights conspiracy in connection with an October 2008 cross-burning in Athens, La., near the home of an interracial couple.

Detroit-area residents Tariq Chaudhary, Lura Barrett and Stephen Cartier pleaded guilty today for their participation in a fraudulent Medicare home health scheme.