A former captain in the U.S. Army Reserve pleaded guilty today to accepting thousands of dollars in gratuities from a contractor during his deployment to Kuwait.

Mauricio Cohen Assor and his son, Leon Cohen-Levy, each with residences in Miami Beach, Fla., have been charged in a criminal complaint with conspiring to defraud the United States.

“Today, we mourn the loss of Dr. Benjamin Hooks, one of our nation’s great civil rights leaders," said Attorney General Holder.

Paul Schlesselman was sentenced today on federal charges for conspiring to murder dozens of African-Americans, including then-Senator and presidential candidate Barack Obama, because of their race.

"PERF has become a leading voice in establishing policies to reduce officer-involved shootings, to increase diversity in your ranks, and to bring a renewed focus on accountability and transparency within your departments," said Attorney General Holder.

The Attorney General’s annual victims’ service awards are presented as a prelude to the nation’s observance of National Crime Victims’ Rights Week, April 18-April 24, 2010.

Lobato, 25, pleaded guilty today before U.S. District Court Judge Alan S. Gold in the Southern District of Florida to one count of conspiracy to commit health care fraud.

The Department has entered into a consent decree with Milne Enterprises Inc., d/b/a Milne, Nail, Power Tool &s complaint alleging violations of the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act of 1994.

A federal jury in Houston today convicted Helen Etinfoh, 50, and Paula Whitfield, 43, for their roles in a Medicare fraud conspiracy involving, among other things, fraudulent claims of hurricane damage to power wheelchairs.

"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."

The United States has filed a civil suit on behalf of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in U.S. District Court in the Middle District of Florida, against Franck’s Compounding Lab Inc., dba Franck’s Lab, a compounding pharmacy located in Ocala, Fla.

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

Charles Paul Edward Jumet of Fluvanna County, Va., was sentenced today to 87 months in prison for paying bribes to former Panamanian government officials to secure maritime contracts, in violation of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA), and for making a false statement to federal agents.

Gregory Alan Roberts, a resident of Fairfax County and Loudoun County, Va., was arraigned today by U.S. Magistrate Judge Ivan D. Davis on charges that he failed to timely file income tax returns for the years 2003, 2004, 2005 and 2006.

Richard Humphrey, 22, of North Ridgeville, Ohio, was sentenced today in Cleveland to 29 months in prison by U.S. District Court Judge Lesley Wells for selling counterfeit copies of copyrighted movies through the Internet.

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.

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.

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.

A U.S. Army contracting official pleaded guilty today to bribery and unlawful salary supplementation in connection with two schemes to solicit more than $17,000 in bribes and other payments from an Egyptian businessman in Kuwait.

Representatives of the President’s Financial Fraud Enforcement Task Force (FFETF) met in Chicago today with community stakeholders to discuss national, state and local elements of the banking and housing crisis.

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.

Bill Melot, a resident of Hobbs, N.M., was convicted today of tax evasion, failure to file tax returns, making false statements to the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), and impeding the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) following a four day jury trial before Judge M. Christina Armijo in Albuquerque, N.M.

A federal court in Salt Lake City has permanently barred Dick Jenkins, a CPA from Heber City, Utah, from preparing tax returns for others.

Jack Barouh of Golden Beach, Fla., was sentenced today to 10 months in prison by U.S. District Court Judge Adalberto Jordan in Miami.

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.

The Department announced an agreement with Shannon County, S.D., to ensure compliance with provisions of the Voting Rights Act that require the county to provide election materials and information in Lakota to Lakota-speaking American Indian voters, and to ensure compliance with certain provisions of the Help America Vote Act.

A former executive of an Iowa ready-mix concrete company has agreed to plead guilty and serve 19 months in jail for participating in three separate conspiracies to fix prices and rig bids for the sales of ready-mix concrete.

AstraZeneca LP and AstraZeneca Pharmaceuticals LP will pay $520 million to resolve allegations that AstraZeneca illegally marketed the anti-psychotic drug Seroquel for uses not approved as safe and effective by the Food and Drug Administration.

A Rosemount, Minn., man was sentenced today to 117 months in prison for his role in running a Ponzi scheme involving commodity pools.

Juan Cortes-Meza, 33, of  Mexico; Raul Cortes-Meza, 22, of Mexico; Edison Wagner Rosa Tort, 71, of Cartersville, Ga.; and Otto Jaime Larios Perez, 27, of Guatemala were sentenced by U.S. District Judge Richard W. Story for participating in sex trafficking in an organization targeting young Mexican women.

A 12-person federal jury in Charlotte, N.C., today voted unanimously to impose the death penalty against Alejandro Enrique Ramirez Umana, aka “Wizard,” 25.

Schwarz Pharma Inc. will pay $22 million to resolve False Claims Act allegations that the company failed to advise the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) that two unapproved products did not qualify for coverage under federal health care programs.

A federal grand jury in Corpus Christi, Texas, returned an indictment today charging Fleet Management Limited with obstruction of agency proceedings, making false statements and failing to keep accurate pollution control records.

David C. Kernell, 22, was convicted by a federal jury in Knoxville, Tenn., today for intentionally accessing without authorization the e-mail account of former Alaska governor Sarah Palin and obstruction of justice.

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.

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.

Novartis Vaccines & Diagnostics Inc. and Novartis Pharmaceuticals Corporation have agreed to pay $72.5 million to resolve civil False Claims Act allegations arising from the marketing of the cystic fibrosis drug TOBI.

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 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.

A former Guatemalan special forces soldier was arrested today in Palm Beach County, Fla., for lying on his naturalization application about his participation in a 1982 massacre at a Guatemalan village known as Dos Erres.

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.

Ricardo A. Nunez of Lindenhurst, N.Y., pleaded guilty to conspiring to defraud the United States and filing a false tax return.

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.

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 owner and operator of a Los Angeles durable medical equipment company was sentenced to 55 months in prison today in connection with a nearly $1 million power wheelchair fraud scheme.

"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.