A Swedish credit card payment processor was sentenced today to 48 months in prison for his role in an international cybercrime ring that netted $71 million by infecting victims’ computers with “scareware” and selling rogue antivirus software that was supposed to secure victims’ computers but was, in fact, useless.

U.S. District Judge Janet Bond Arterton today sentenced Azibo Aquart to death for murdering three Bridgeport, Conn., residents on Aug. 24, 2005.

A defendant who tried to escape fraud charges against him by exerting pressure on a U.S. Attorney’s spouse and candidate for office pleaded guilty today to obstruction of justice for perpetrating the scheme.

Following a three-week trial, a federal jury in San Francisco today convicted an executive of the largest Taiwan liquid crystal display (LCD) producer for his participation in a worldwide conspiracy to fix the prices of thin-film transistor-liquid crystal display (TFT-LCD) panels sold worldwide.

The Department of Justice announced today that it has reached a settlement with Penguin Group (USA) Inc.–one of the largest book publishers in the United States–and will continue to litigate against Apple Inc. and Holtzbrinck Publishers LLC, which does business as Macmillan, for conspiring to raise e-book prices to consumers.

April J. Rampton, 41, formerly of Heber City, Utah, was convicted yesterday in U.S. District Court in Salt Lake City of nine counts of filing false claims for income tax refunds, the Justice Department and Internal Revenue Service (IRS) announced. Rampton, who was indicted on Sept. 14, 2011, was released following the verdict. She is scheduled to be sentenced before U.S. District Judge Dee Benson on Feb. 27, 2013. The jury was unable to reach a verdict on six similar counts.

A New Jersey woman was sentenced today to serve 30 years in prison for producing child pornography through the sexual exploitation of a 5-year-old girl on more than one occasion and streaming footage of a sexual assault over the Internet.

Five foreign nationals were sentenced to prison for their respective roles in trafficking the identities of Puerto Rican U.S. citizens and corresponding identity documents.

UBS Securities Japan Co. Ltd. (UBS Japan), an investment bank, financial advisory securities firm and wholly-owned subsidiary of UBS AG, has agreed to plead guilty to felony wire fraud and admit its role in manipulating the London Interbank Offered Rate (LIBOR), a leading benchmark used in financial products and transactions around the world.

A New Jersey company in the business of receiving the assignment of municipal tax liens pleaded guilty today for its role in a conspiracy to rig bids for the sale of tax liens auctioned by municipalities in New Jersey.

The former owner of a road and parking lot painting and striping business in Anchorage, Alaska, was sentenced today for illegally disposing of more than 200,000 pounds of highly flammable hazardous waste in Anchorage.

The Department of Justice today announced that it will not challenge a proposal by STARS Alliance LLC (STARS), a group of seven nuclear power plant operators, to procure jointly certain goods and services.

The Justice Department announced today that it has reached an agreement with the State of New Hampshire that will allow for all 10 of the towns in that state that are covered jurisdictions under the special provisions of the Voting Rights Act to bail out from coverage by these provisions.

W.W. Grainger Inc. has agreed to pay the United States $70 million to resolve allegations that it submitted false claims under contracts with the General Services Administration (GSA) and the U.S. Postal Services (USPS), the Department of Justice announced today. Grainger is a national hardware distributor headquartered in Lake Forest, Illinois.

A Nevada federal court has permanently barred Benyam Tewolde from preparing tax returns for others, the Justice Department announced today. Tewolde and his wife, Yordanos Kidanits, are the alleged co-owners of an Instant Tax Service franchise that operates at multiple locations in the Las Vegas area. Instant Tax Service is a nationally franchised tax preparation company based in Dayton, Ohio.

The Justice Department announced that the state of Delaware has fully complied with the parties’ amended memorandum of agreement (MOA) which was reached after an investigation of three Delaware state prisons. The MOA, which includes reforms in mental health care, medical care and suicide prevention, was entered into after an investigation of the conditions at the James T. Vaughn Correctional Center, the Howard R. Young Correctional Institution and the Sussex Correctional Institution.

The Justice Department announced that it has reached an agreement with the Browns Valley Irrigation District, a special district in California, that, if approved by the court, will allow for the district to bail out from its status as a “covered jurisdiction” under the special provisions of the Voting Rights Act, and thereby exempt the district from the preclearance requirements of Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act. The district covers part of Yuba County, which is a jurisdiction subject to Section 5. The agreement is in the form of a consent decree filed today in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia.

The Department of Justice today announced that it will not challenge a proposal by Columbia Fuel Services Inc. and Lanmar Aviation Inc., the only providers of flight support services at the Groton-New London Airport, in Groton, Conn., to combine their fuel and hangar resources into a newly formed joint venture, Mystic Jet Center.

Florida-based American Sleep Medicine LLC has agreed to pay $15,301,341 to resolve allegations that it billed Medicare, TRICARE – the health care program for Uniformed Service members, retirees and their families worldwide – and the Railroad Retirement Medicare Program for sleep diagnostic services that were not eligible for payment.

A former financial services broker was sentenced today in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, for his participation in conspiracies related to bidding for contracts for the investment of municipal bond proceeds and other municipal finance contracts.

Joseph Dominick, 21, from Brandon, Miss., pleaded guilty today in U.S. District Court in Jackson, Miss., to one count of conspiracy to commit federal hate crimes in connection with his role in the assault of African-Americans in Jackson.

Amazon.com; Leon Max Inc., d/b/a Max Studio; Macy’s Inc.; and Sears, Roebuck and Co., Kmart Corporation and Kmart.com (collectively, Sears) have agreed to settle civil lawsuits concerning alleged violations of the Textile Fiber Product Identification Act and the Federal Trade Commission Act.

A member of the U.S. military was sentenced today to serve 18 months in prison for his participation in a conspiracy to obtain approximately $244,000 in fraudulent recruiting referral bonuses from various U.S. military components and their contractor.

A foreign national pleaded guilty today to federal human smuggling charges for his role in a scheme to smuggle undocumented migrants from India into the United States.

Richard R. Whatley, a former owner of Alliance Staffing Management Inc., pleaded guilty today for willfully failing to account for and pay over employment taxes.

A federal grand jury in Montgomery, Ala., returned a superseding indictment charging Deatrice Smith Williams and Quentin Collick for their roles in a stolen identity refund fraud conspiracy.

Mary Estelle Curran of Palm Beach, Fla., pleaded guilty today in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida to filing false tax returns for tax years 2006 and 2007.

A Massachusetts man was sentenced today to serve 45 years in prison for his participation in an international criminal network, known as Dreamboard, dedicated to the sexual abuse of children and the creation and dissemination of graphic images and videos of child sexual abuse throughout the world.

A Canadian citizen was sentenced to 48 months in prison today for his role in a scheme to defraud consumers purchasing pharmaceuticals online, the Justice Department announced. Andrew J. Strempler was also ordered to pay a forfeiture of $300,000, a fine of $25,000 and restitution.

Jeffery S. Adams, 41, of Hudgins, Va., and his corporation Adams Fishing Adventures Inc. pleaded guilty today to trafficking in illegally-harvested striped bass, in violation of the Lacey Act.

Montell Williams, of Chicago, pleaded guilty today in Hammond, Ind., to violating the Mann Act by transporting a woman across state lines for the purpose of having her engage in prostitution.

Today, the Justice Department announced that yesterday afternoon it filed in federal court a comprehensive agreement that will resolve long running litigation with the state of Tennessee originally concerning conditions of care at the former Arlington Developmental Center (ADC).

The Department of Justice filed a civil antitrust lawsuit today against Bazaarvoice Inc. challenging the company’s June 2012 acquisition of PowerReviews Inc.

The Department of Justice announced today that it has reached a settlement that will require the Oklahoma State Chiropractic Independent Physicians Association (OSCIPA) and its executive director to stop jointly determining prices and negotiating contracts with insurers on behalf of competing chiropractors in Oklahoma.

An associate of the Barrio Azteca (BA), a trans-national border gang allied with the Juarez Cartel, was sentenced today to serve 18 months in prison.

Two men employed by a machine products vendor in Albany, Ga., have pleaded guilty to bribing a public official working for a military organization at the Marine Corps Logistics Base Albany (MCLB-Albany) to secure contracts for machine products

“Above all, our goal is to serve as practical problem solvers on the operational, legal, and policy questions we confront with our partners, and to keep pace with an evolving threat, while ensuring that we do so consistent with the rule of law and civil liberties,” said Assistant Attorney General Monaco.

A Virginia man was sentenced today in federal court to serve one year and one day in prison for selling counterfeit General Motors (GM) automotive diagnostic devices used by mechanics to identify problems with and assure the safety of motor vehicles.

A New Zealand fishing company that owned and operated the tuna fishing vessel San Nikunau, and a former chief engineer on the ship, were sentenced in federal court today for environmental crimes and obstruction of justice.

"Over the last four years, we've generated tremendous momentum in our work to integrate evidence into our programs and activities. Our leadership – not only at BJS and NIJ, but across OJP – has demonstrated a strong scientific ethic," said Assistant Attorney General Leary.

The Justice Department today announced that property manager Rudy Ferrante agreed to a $15,000 civil judgment against him, to resolve allegations that he sexually harassed female tenants in Portland, Maine.

The Department of Justice today settled a civil complaint against Richard A. Retta, of Rockville, Md, in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, for violations of the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances (FACE) Act.

A Los Angeles check cashing store, its head manager and its designated anti-money laundering compliance officer were sentenced today in the Central District of California for failing to follow reporting and anti-money laundering requirements for over $8 million in transactions in violation of the Bank Secrecy Act (BSA).

"Our Declaration of Independence declared in 1776 that “all men are created equal,” but it took 100 years and a civil war that took hundreds of thousands of lives to end slavery; another hundred years to create legal equality for African Americans; and we struggle to this day to make equality a reality. I see this every day in my work as the chief civil rights law enforcement official for the United States," said Assistant Attorney General Perez.

Community State Bank of St. Charles, Mich., will open a loan production office in an African-American neighborhood in Saginaw, Mich., invest $165,000 in majority African-American areas in and around Saginaw and take other steps as part of a settlement to resolve allegations that it engaged in a pattern or practice of discrimination on the basis of race.

A federal court has permanently barred Pete Escalante Gutierrez and Jeanette Gutierrez from preparing federal tax returns for others.

The Department of Justice announced today that it will not challenge a proposal by the Greater New York Hospital Association (GNYHA) to offer a gainsharing program to member hospitals in New York.

Isaacs, 61, of Los Angeles, was sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge George H. King in the Central District of California. In addition to his prison term, Isaacs was sentenced to three years of supervised release and ordered to pay a $10,000 fine.

Ronald E. Burrell, former chief executive officer (CEO) of Caremerica Inc., and Michael R. Elliott, former chief financial officer (CFO) of Caremerica Inc., were sentenced today in Wilmington, N.C.

Two Brazilian nationals pleaded guilty today in Miami to smuggling undocumented migrants to the United States for profit.