A patient recruiter for a fraudulent Miami-area mental health company, American Therapeutic Corporation (ATC), pleaded guilty today for her participation in a $190 million Medicare fraud scheme.

Remarks as Prepared for Delivery by Associate Attorney General Tony West at the Martin Luther King Jr. Day Celebration Hosted by the Union League of Chicago

Today the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division announced its letter of findings determining that prison officials at the Alabama Department of Corrections and the Julia Tutwiler Prison for Women violate women prisoners’ constitutional rights by failing to take reasonable steps to protect them from harm due to sexual abuse and sexual harassment caused by correctional staff.

A campaign worker was indicted yesterday by a federal grand jury in the Southern District of Texas for allegedly paying voters to vote in a Donna, Texas school board election. Two other campaign workers were indicted on similar charged last week for alleged vote-buying in the election.

Three Georgia men have been charged in a 51-count indictment for their alleged participation in fraud and corruption schemes at the Marine Corps Logistics Base (MCLB) in Albany, Ga., resulting in the loss of millions of dollars to the United States government.

U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder on Thursday urged Congress to pass the bipartisan Smarter Sentencing Act, introduced by Senators Dick Durbin and Mike Lee.

The Justice Department announced today that General Electric Hitachi Nuclear Energy Americas LLC (GE Hitachi) has agreed to pay $2.7 million to resolve allegations under the False Claims Act that it made false statements and claims to the Department of Energy and the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) concerning an advanced nuclear reactor design.

Huey P. Williams Jr., the owner and operator of two durable medical equipment (DME) companies, was arrested yesterday for his alleged role in a $3.4 million Medicare fraud scheme.

The Justice Department reached an agreement today with SD Staffing LLC (SD Staffing), aka Atwork Personnel Services Inc., a company based in Methuen, Mass., resolving claims that the staffing company engaged in citizenship status discrimination in violation of the Immigration and Nationality Act.

Acting Assistant Attorney General Jocelyn Samuels for the Civil Rights Division and U.S. Attorney Tammy Dickinson for the Western District of Missouri announced that a man and a woman, both from Independence, Mo., were sentenced in federal court today for violating the civil rights of an African-American family by setting fire to their residence.

Since its inception just over two years ago, this Veterans Treatment Court has shown tremendous promise in helping eligible men and women to break the destructive cycle of criminality and incarceration that traps too many people and weakens too many communities across America.

Two orthopedic clinics will pay a combined $1.85 million to resolve state and federal False Claims Act allegations that they knowingly billed state and federal health care programs for reimported osteoarthritis medications, known as viscosupplements.

A home health agency owner who participated in a Medicare fraud scheme that totaled almost $11 million was sentenced in Detroit today to serve 120 months in prison.

Four individuals have been charged in the Northern District of Georgia for their alleged roles in piracy groups engaged in the illegal distribution of copies of copyrighted Android mobile device applications, or “apps.”

A North Carolina woman has pleaded guilty for her involvement in a $28.3 million Medicare fraud scheme involving physical and occupational therapy services.

The Justice Department and the Internal Revenue Service announced that John Cote, formerly of Danielson, Conn., was convicted today of four counts of tax evasion along with conspiracy to defraud the IRS following a jury trial in the U.S. District Court for the District of Connecticut.

The Justice Department’s Medicare Fraud Strike Force has set record numbers for health care prosecutions in Fiscal Year 2013, demonstrating the targeted and coordinated approach remains strong as the strike force enters its eighth year of fighting fraud against the government’s health care programs.

A federal district judge in the Statesboro Division of the Southern District of Georgia has permanently barred Lakesia Michelle Mills of Adrian, Ga., from preparing federal income tax returns for others, the Justice Department announced today.

A former Puerto Rico Department of Corrections officer was sentenced today to serve 811 months in prison for his role in providing armed security for three drug transactions.

Pavel Zborovskiy, 57, of Brooklyn, N.Y., pleaded guilty today to conspiracy to pay and receive illegal health care kickbacks in connection with a $13 million health care fraud and money laundering scheme.

Aleksandr Andreevich Panin, a Russian national also known as “Gribodemon” and “Harderman,” has pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit wire and bank fraud for his role as the primary developer and distributor of the malicious software known as “SpyEye.”

The recent revelations about the massive thefts of financial information from large retail stores have served as a stark reminder to all of us about how vulnerable we are to cyber criminals who are determined to steal our personal information.

The United States has asked a federal court in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., to permanently bar Keisha Stewart and her company, Professional Tax Services Inc., from preparing federal tax returns for others, the Justice Department announced today.

Saint Joseph Health System Inc. has agreed to pay $16.5 million to resolve allegations that Saint Joseph Hospital violated the False Claims Act by submitting false claims to the Medicare and Kentucky Medicaid programs for a variety of medically unnecessary cardiac procedures, the Justice Department announced today.

U.S. District Court Judge Susan C. Bucklew sentenced Andrew Blane Fields, 62, of Lutz, Fla., to serve 33 years and nine months in prison followed by five years of supervised release, the Justice Department announced today.

A Utah man was sentenced to serve 24 months in prison for his role in a bribery and fraud scheme involving federal procurement contracts, announced Acting Assistant Attorney General Mythili Raman of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division and U.S. Attorney David B. Barlow of the District of Utah.

As I have often said, the Department’s top priority must always be the protection of the American people from terrorism and other national security threats.

"Why is health care enforcement so important? A major reason is the importance of the health care industry itself. From compliance officers to physicians, from corporate executives to nurses and researchers, you contribute to producing the drugs and medical devices on which we and our loved ones rely. Your efforts help to ensure that, when we are sick, the medicines we take will heal us effectively; that when we are in pain, we can obtain relief safely," said Assistant Attorney General Delery

Each of the contributions we’ve come together to recognize – and the awardees we’ve gathered to honor – has made a meaningful, measurable difference in the lives of countless Americans. I know I speak for leaders throughout the Administration – as well as the American people we’re privileged to serve – when I say “thank you” for your service. Thank you for your leadership. And thank you for everything that you continue to help us achieve.

Three Miami residents have been indicted for their alleged participation in a $190 million Medicare fraud scheme.

The Justice Department announced today that it has reached an agreement with the city of Waterloo, Iowa, resolving allegations that the city violated the anti-discrimination provision of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA).

Attorney General Eric Holder today released the following statement regarding the case of Dzhokhar Tsarnaev.

The Departments of Veterans Affairs, Defense, Education and Justice, along with the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and the Federal Trade Commission announced today the launch of a new online complaint system designed to collect feedback from veterans, service members and their families who are experiencing problems with educational institutions receiving funding from Federal military and veterans educational benefits programs, including benefits programs provided by the Post-9/11 GI Bill and the DoD Military Tuition Assistance Program.

An Aryan Brotherhood of Texas (ABT) gang member and an ABT associate were sentenced to prison today for their involvement in the May 2008 murder of an ABT prospect member.

The Department of Justice published a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking today intended to revise the department’s Americans with Disabilities Act Title II and Title III regulations to implement the requirements of the ADA Amendments Act of 2008.

"I want to talk with you today about the crisis we have in our criminal justice system. A crisis that is fundamental and has the potential to continue to swallow important efforts in the fight against crime. This crisis is the crushing prison population."

The former president and vice president of Osaka, Japan-based Diamond Electric Mfg. Co. Ltd. have agreed to plead guilty for their participation in a global conspiracy to fix prices of ignition coils installed in cars sold in the United States and elsewhere.

A Queens, N.Y., medical doctor was sentenced today to serve 12 months and a day in prison for his role in a scheme that fraudulently billed Medicare more than $15 million.

Joseph Vito Mastronardo Jr., 63, of Meadowbrook, Pa., pleaded guilty today to conspiring to participate in a racketeering enterprise.

A Florida man who had been the owner and operator of multiple physical therapy rehabilitation facilities pleaded guilty today for his role in organizing and leading a $28.3 million Medicare fraud scheme.

A federal district judge in the Atlanta Division for the Northern District of Georgia permanently barred Joan Leger and her company from preparing federal income tax returns for others on Jan. 31, 2014, the Justice Department announced today.

A Las Vegas attorney pleaded guilty today for his role in multiple schemes to defraud his clients, to defraud the IRS and to fraudulently gain control of condominium homeowners’ associations.

The fact that we cannot compel other federal, state, and local laboratories and units to adopt this Commission’s guidance does underscore the need to be mindful of the diversity of practice and resources across the country. We must delicately balance the desire to develop meaningful policy with the reality of limited funding at the federal, state, and local levels. And we must do so without taking shortcuts.

A former U.S. Army soldier was sentenced to serve 87 months in prison for her role in stealing fuel at Forward Operating Base (FOB) Fenty, Afghanistan.

The Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Indiana announced the filing of a nine count federal indictment this afternoon against Jerry Mitchell, aka Tre da Great, age 24, of Indianapolis.

The Justice Department filed a lawsuit today against the owner and those responsible for the management of a 126-space mobile home park in Effingham, Ill., for violating the Fair Housing Act by discriminating against African-Americans and families with children.

The Justice Department announced today that, as part of its Barrier-Free Health Care Initiative, it has reached a settlement with Rite Aid of Michigan to resolve claims that Rite Aid violated the Americans with Disabilities Act.

The Department of Justice today announced that JPMorgan Chase (JPMC) will pay $614 million for violating the False Claims Act by knowingly originating and underwriting non-compliant mortgage loans submitted for insurance coverage and guarantees by the Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD) Federal Housing Administration (FHA) and the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA).

Today, a federal court in the Eastern District of North Carolina permanently barred Sharon D. Rhodes and her businesses, R&S Freedom Tax Service and Changing Faces Annoited Tax Services, from preparing tax returns for others.

At the same time, our Civil Rights Division is fighting to achieve justice for victims of hate crimes, and to safeguard those who are targeted just because of their sexual orientation or gender identity. And countless Americans from all backgrounds and walks of life are proudly standing alongside Sweden and other democratic nations in calling for the protection of our LGBT citizens; in working to secure recognition for the equal love and equal humanity of all people; in supporting local advocates in other countries so they can bring about change from within; and in speaking out for the fundamental truth that no matter where you live, who you love, or who you are – whether you’re a public servant or a businessperson; an educator, a scientist, or an athlete competing at the highest level and on a world stage – every human being is, and must be, free and equal in both dignity and rights.