"The message we’re sending is that youth violence is not inevitable. When communities engage partners across disciplines and use a data-driven, balanced approach – one that emphasizes prevention, intervention, enforcement, and reentry – they can reduce violence and improve outcomes for our youth," said Acting Assistant Attorney General Leary.

"By emphasizing collaborative partnerships, evidence-based and data-driven strategies and a balanced, holistic approach, we know we can help communities to curb violence and promote the health, safety and development of our young people," said Acting Associate Attorney General West.

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

Darren Douglass-Griffin, 35, a former member of the Correctional Emergency Response Team (CERT) at Macon State Prison (MSP) in Oglethorpe, Ga., pleaded guilty to a two-count bill of information charging him with conspiracy to violate the civil rights of inmates and falsification of records in a federal investigation, the Justice Department and the U.S. Attorney for the Middle District of Georgia announced today.

Giusseppe Bottiglieri Shipping Company S.P.A, was sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge Ginny Granade in the Southern District of Alabama to pay a $1 million criminal fine, serve four years of probation, and make a $300,000 community service payment to the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation.

The Justice Department announced today that it has reached a settlement agreement with Valley Club, a former swimming facility located in Huntingdon Valley, Pa, resolving allegations that the company discriminated against persons because of race. The Justice Department’s investigation was conducted under Title II of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, color, national origin and religion in places of public accommodation, such as hotels, restaurants and places of entertainment.

The U.S. District Court for the Western District of Louisiana has approved a consent order in United States v. West Carroll Parish School Board, a long-standing school desegregation case, the Justice Department announced. The consent decree comes after an in-depth review by the department of the West Carroll Parish School District's compliance with its outstanding desegregation obligations.

The Department of Justice and the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) announced today that they will hold a joint public workshop on most-favored-nation clauses (MFNs) on Sept.10, 2012, to explore the use of MFN clauses and the implications for antitrust enforcement and policy.

The Department of Justice and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency today announced a settlement with two subsidiaries of Sinclair Oil Corporation to resolve alleged violations of air pollution limits established in a 2008 consent decree at refineries in Casper and Sinclair, Wyo.

A federal jury today found House of Raeford Farms Inc., the owner and operator of a poultry slaughtering and processing facility located in Raeford, North Carolina, guilty of 10 counts of knowing violations of the Clean Water Act.

The U.S. District Court for the Western District of Tennessee today approved a comprehensive consent order in McFerren v. County Board of Education of Fayette County, which the Department of Justice negotiated with the Board of Education of Fayette County, Tennessee and the NAACP Legal Defense & Education Fund to desegregate the Fayette County public schools.

Iraqi citizen Mohanad Shareef Hammadi pleaded guilty to federal terrorism charges today in U.S. District Court for the Western District of Kentucky before Senior Judge Thomas B. Russell.

The department said that this is the first time website domains involving cell phone app marketplaces have been seized.

"I extend my sincere congratulations to everyone in the U.S. Attorney’s Office, the civil rights advocates and stakeholders on the ground, and the communities throughout Northern Alabama who worked so hard in recent months to make this Civil Rights Unit possible," said Assistant Attorney General Perez.

The Justice Department announced today that it reached an agreement with MicroLink Devices, a manufacturer of semiconductor structures and advanced solar cells based in Niles, Ill. The agreement resolves allegations that the company violated the anti-discrimination provision of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA), when it placed six online job postings that explicitly stated citizenship status preferences or requirements that excluded certain work-authorized non-citizens from consideration.

Gregory Lawrence, 54, of Detroit, pleaded guilty yesterday before U.S. District Court Judge Victoria A. Roberts in the Eastern District of Michigan to one count of conspiracy to commit health care fraud.

The United States has joined a whistleblower lawsuit against The Gallup Organization, the Justice Department announced today. The lawsuit was filed by Michael Lindley, a former Gallup employee, who alleges that Gallup violated the False Claims Act by making false claims for payment under contracts with the U.S. Mint, the State Department and other federal agencies to provide polling services for various government programs.

Sterling Suffolk Racecourse LLC will pay a civil penalty of $1.25 million to resolve violations of the Clean Water Act (CWA) at its Suffolk Downs racetrack facility in Revere and East Boston, Mass.

Under the terms of a consent decree lodged in federal court today, the Boston Water and Sewer Commission (BWSC) will implement extensive remedial measures to minimize the discharge of sewage and other pollutants into the water bodies in and around Boston.

Two Missouri men pleaded guilty today for their roles in a scheme to defraud consumers seeking immigration-related services, the Department of Justice announced.

The Justice Department today concurrently filed a complaint and consent decree against the Burke County, N.C., Department of Social Services, alleging that the county did not have an effective harassment and discrimination policy in place and did not provide sufficient training in race harassment and discrimination for its employees and supervisors, in violation of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, as amended. Title VII is a federal statute which prohibits employment discrimination on the basis of sex, race, color, national origin or religion.

The Justice and Interior Departments this week launched a new training seminar for tribal and federal law enforcement on investigating and prosecuting sexual assault cases on tribal lands.

The United States has entered into a settlement agreement with Pacific Health Corporation (PHC) and related entities in which they agreed to pay the government and the state of California $16.5 million for allegedly engaging in an illegal kickback scheme in Los Angeles, the Justice Department announced today.

A Missouri woman pleaded guilty today for her role in a scheme to defraud consumers seeking immigration-related services, the Justice Department announced.

Eight individuals and a Miami-based corporation were convicted by a federal jury for their participation in a Medicare fraud scheme involving the submission of more than $50 million in fraudulent billings to Medicare.

GFI Mortgage Bankers Inc., a large independent home mortgage firm that concentrates on the New York, New Jersey, and Florida markets, will pay $3.555 million to resolve a lending discrimination lawsuit filed by the Department of Justice and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York. The lawsuit alleges that GFI engaged in a pattern or practice of discrimination by pricing residential mortgage loans for qualified African-American and Hispanic borrowers higher than for similarly-qualified non-Hispanic white borrowers between 2005 and 2009.

A federal court in San Diego has permanently barred a tax lawyer and his law firm from providing tax advice and from preparing federal tax returns for others, the Justice Department announced today. The civil injunction order against Scott A. Waage, of San Diego, was signed by Judge William Q. Hayes of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California. Waage agreed to the injunction without admitting the allegations against him.

"We have reason to hope because over the last three and a half years, President Obama and Attorney General Holder have been unmistakable and unwavering in making Indian country issues in general -- and tribal sovereignty in particular -- a high, Administration priority, consistent with our desire to see all tribes thrive as prosperous, vibrant, and safe communities," said Acting Associate Attorney General West.

Everett Dwayne Avery, 36, of Detroit, Mich., pleaded guilty in federal court today to a federal hate crime, admitting that he assaulted a victim because he believed the victim was gay, the Justice Department, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Michigan Barbara McQuade and Special Agent in Charge of the FBI Robert D. Foley, III announced today.

Alejandro Gonzalez, 60, of Miami-Dade County, Fla., was sentenced in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida to 21 months in prison.

Bryan Underwood, a former civilian guard at a U.S. Consulate compound under construction in China, pleaded guilty today in the District of Columbia in connection with his efforts to sell for personal financial gain classified photographs, information and access related to the U.S. Consulate to China’s Ministry of State Security (MSS).

The Attorney General released the following statement on the ruling today in U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia in Texas v. Holder, the state’s proposed voter ID law.

The Attorney General announced today the closure of the criminal investigations into the death of two individuals while in United States custody at overseas locations.

The United States has intervened and filed a complaint against the private, for-profit chain of schools, ATI Enterprises Inc. based in North Richland, Texas, the Justice Department announced today. ATI Enterprises, Inc., which does business as ATI Technical Training Center, ATI Career Training Center and ATI Career Training, operates career college campuses in Texas, Florida, Oklahoma and New Mexico.

The Department of Justice, Civil Rights Division, and the Department of Education, Office for Civil Rights, today entered into a settlement agreement with the Arizona Department of Education (ADE) that requires ADE and Arizona public schools to offer targeted reading and writing intervention services to tens of thousands of English Language Learner (ELL) students who were prematurely exited or incorrectly identified as Initially Fluent English Proficient (IFEP) over the past five school years. The agreement also requires ADE to develop proficiency criteria that accurately identify and exit ELL students.

A federal jury in New York City today convicted three former financial services executives for their participation in frauds related to bidding for contracts for the investment of municipal bond proceeds and other municipal finance contracts.

Eduardo Arellano-Felix, 55, one of the alleged members of the Arellano-Felix Organization (AFO), was extradited today by the government of Mexico to the United States to face racketeering, money laundering and narcotics trafficking charges in the Southern District of California.

Simon Jasper McCarty, 39, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge J. Michael Seabright of the District of Hawaii.

"I am here to say that the United States Department of Justice will stand with you, and all people of good will, to preserve this great nation and its fundamental values of freedom, equality and justice," said Assistant Attorney General Perez.

3M Co. abandoned its plan to acquire Avery Dennison Corp.’s Office and Consumer Products Group, its closest competitor in the sale of adhesive-backed labels and sticky notes, after the Department of Justice informed the companies that it would file a civil antitrust lawsuit to block the deal.

Rafael Joaquin Beltre-Beltre, 35, formerly of Caguas, Puerto Rico, pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit identification fraud, one count of conspiracy to commit alien smuggling for financial gain and one count of international money laundering.

Louis Barretta, 48, of Philadelphia, pleaded guilty today to participating in a racketeering conspiracy involving loan sharking and illegal gambling.

The government has intervened in a whistleblower lawsuit against Hospice of the Comforter Inc. (HOTCI) alleging false Medicare billings, the Justice Department announced today. HOTCI provides hospice services to patients residing in the vicinity of Orlando, Fla.

Following a comprehensive investigation, the Justice Department today released its letter of findings determining that the Topeka Correctional Facility (TCF), an all-female facility in Topeka, Kan., under the jurisdiction of the Kansas Department of Corrections (KDOC), fails to protect women prisoners from harm due to sexual abuse and misconduct from correctional staff and other prisoners in violation of their constitutional rights. The Justice Department delivered a letter detailing the findings to Governor Samuel D. Brownback and Secretary of the KDOC Ray Roberts.

John Wyss, aka “Bones,” 55, of Monroe, Wis., was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Maurice Hicks in the Western District of Louisiana.

Roland J. Flath, 72, of Fond du Lac, Wis., was sentenced in U.S. District Court in the Eastern District of Wisconsin by Judge J.P. Stadtmueller.

The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company, a producer of pesticides for commercial and consumer lawn and garden uses, was sentenced today in federal district court in Columbus, Ohio, to pay a $4 million fine and perform community service for eleven criminal violations of the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide and Rodenticide Act, which governs the manufacture, distribution, and sale of pesticides.

Sheila Birnbaum, Special Master of the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund (VCF), released the following statement on the final rule by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) to include certain cancers into the World Trade Center Health Program.

The Justice Department announced today that it has filed a lawsuit against the owner and operator of the Heritage Point mobile home park in Montgomery, Ala., alleging that the companies and their employees or officers discriminated against African-Americans.

The Justice Department filed a motion to intervene today in a lawsuit against Jerry Estopy, d/b/a Estopy Farms, a sorghum and soy farm in McAllen, Tex., which also provides equipment and equipment operators for harvests at other farms. The Justice Department seeks to intervene in a lawsuit filed by two U.S. citizens against the farm. The department alleges that the company discriminated against one of the U.S. citizens when it refused to hire him based on his citizenship status. The Immigration and Nationality Act’s (INA) anti-discrimination provision prohibits employers from discriminating against workers based on national origin or citizenship status in the hiring or firing process.