A federal judge in Cleveland today sentenced William R. Herder of Bellville, Ohio, to 20 months in prison for tax crimes.

A former co-owner of a U.S. civilian contractor company was sentenced today in San Antonio to serve 30 months in prison for falsifying official documents in connection with Iraq reconstruction government contracts.

The owners of three Miami-area assisted living facilities and an affiliated psychologist were sentenced to prison today in connection with a health care fraud scheme, involving now-defunct Miami-area health provider Health Care Solutions Network Inc. (HCSN), in which Medicare was billed for mental health treatments that were unnecessary or not provided.

PNC Bank N.A. has agreed to pay the United States $7.1 million to settle claims under the False Claims Act that it failed to engage in prudent underwriting practices in connection with the issuance of loans guaranteed by the Small Business Administration (SBA).

Manuel Ernesto Ortiz-Barraza, an independent financial consultant, was extradited to the United States today for his alleged role in a scheme to defraud the Export-Import Bank of the United States (Ex-Im Bank) of over $2.5 million.

The former program director and two former marketers for Miami-based mental health care company American Therapeutic Corporation (ATC) have been sentenced to prison for their roles in a $205 million Medicare fraud and kickback scheme in which patients were forced to attend inappropriate treatment programs.

"These realities indicate that stalking is a serious issue for every community across the United States that requires a multidisciplinary approach – Fortunately, many of the agencies that are needed to appropriately address and respond to the crime of stalking are represented on this panel today," said Acting Director Hanson.

"Today, more than ever, we must summon the courage to confront even the most intractable public safety challenges. And we must reject the notion that partisan gridlock and political convenience are acceptable reasons for inaction – particularly when lives are at stake, and the most vulnerable members of our society – our children – are depending on us," said Attorney General Holder.

The Justice Department filed suit today asking the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida to permanently bar Torrey Burden from preparing federal tax returns for others. The civil injunction suit alleges that Burden prepares returns through A&L Financial Solutions in St. Petersburg, Fla.

The Justice Department has reached an agreement with the city of Memphis, Tenn., under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) to improve physical accessibility for people with disabilities at Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium, home of the AutoZone Liberty Bowl, Memphis Tigers and Southern Heritage Classic football games.

Miami-area resident Nichole Eckert, former therapist at the mental health care company American Therapeutic Corporation (ATC), was sentenced today to serve 48 months in prison for participating in a $205 million Medicare fraud scheme.

An Orange County, Va., man was sentenced today to serve 168 months in prison following his March 2011 guilty plea to child pornography charges that originated in three different federal districts.

A federal grand jury in Montgomery, Ala., returned an indictment charging LaQuanta Clayton with aggravated identity theft and theft of government money.

A federal grand jury in Montgomery, Ala., returned an indictment charging Scottie Alice Johnson with a conspiracy to commit theft of public funds and to defraud the Internal Revenue Service and with theft of public funds.

A federal grand jury in Montgomery, Ala., returned an indictment charging Lea’Tice Phillips for conspiring to file false tax returns using stolen identities.

A federal grand jury today indicted a former Town Creek, Ala., police officer for violating an individual’s civil rights during the course of an arrest.

Two Iraqi citizens living in Bowling Green, Ky., who admitted using improvised explosive devices (IEDs) against U.S. soldiers in Iraq and who attempted to send weapons and money to Al-Qaeda in Iraq (AQI) for the purpose of killing U.S. soldiers, were sentenced today to serve federal prison terms by Senior Judge Thomas B. Russell in U.S. District Court for the Western District of Kentucky.

BP Exploration and Production Inc. pleaded guilty today to 14 criminal counts for its illegal conduct leading to and after the 2010 Deepwater Horizon disaster, and was sentenced to pay $4 billion in criminal fines and penalties, the largest criminal resolution in U.S. history.

Chequlia Motley, a resident of Montgomery, Ala., was indicted by a federal grand jury for her involvement in a conspiracy to use stolen identities to file fraudulent tax returns.

A Dominican national was sentenced today to 63 months in prison for his leading role in trafficking the identities of Puerto Rican U.S. citizens and corresponding identity documents.

Following a two-week trial, a federal jury in Puerto Rico today convicted a former executive of a Florida-based coastal water freight transportation company for his participation in a conspiracy to fix rates and surcharges for water transportation of freight between the continental United States and Puerto Rico.

The Justice Department announced today that Assistant Attorney General Lanny A. Breuer of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division will leave the department on March 1, 2013.

Christopher B. Berg of Portola Valley, Calif., entered a plea of guilty today before the U.S. District Court in San Jose, Calif., to an information charging him with willful failure to file the required report of foreign bank account (FBAR) for an account he controlled at UBS in Switzerland in the year 2005.

Willie C. Grant, a tax return preparer from Macon, Ga., was sentenced to 60 months in prison by for filing false claims for tax refunds, theft of government money and aggravated identity theft.

Delane F. Alston, a resident of Rocky Mount, N.C., pleaded guilty today before Judge Terrence W. Boyle to two counts of aiding and assisting in the preparation of false federal income tax returns.

Ryan Lohr, 26, a former correctional officer at the Roxbury Correctional Institution (RCI) in Hagerstown, Md., pleaded guilty today to conspiring to obstruct justice and destroy evidence from a March 9, 2008, assault of an inmate by RCI officers.

"We need the continued partnerships of foreign, state, local, and tribal officials. We need the leadership of the business community and the innovation of researchers and academics; and we need the voices of victim advocates and the resolve of victim service providers," said Acting Associate Attorney General West.

Ricky Lee Greenwood, of Portland, Ore., was indicted late last night on nine counts of wire fraud, nine counts of filing false claims for tax refunds, and eight counts of aggravated identity theft.

U.S. District Court Judge Lesley Wells entered a consent decree of permanent injunction against Ben Venue Laboratories Inc., a Bedford, Ohio-based drug manufacturer.

A Kansas City, Kan., federal court permanently barred an Instant Tax Service franchisee, A&S Tax Services LLC, from further operating or preparing federal tax returns for others.

The company that operates Path, an online social networking application, agreed to pay an $800,000 penalty to settle charges that it violated the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) Act and the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Rule.

A Maryland man was found guilty by a federal jury yesterday and sentenced today to serve 30 years in prison for his participation in a global online child pornography conspiracy.

The United States filed two lawsuits to shut down three tax preparers in Prince George’s County, Md.

Six individuals have been were sentenced to federal prison by U.S. District Judge William P. Dimitrouleas for filing false claims for tax refunds.

Attorney General Eric Holder announced today that the Department of Justice has filed a civil lawsuit against the credit rating agency Standard &s Ratings Services alleging that S&P engaged in a scheme to defraud investors in structured financial products known as Residential Mortgage-Backed Securities and Collateralized Debt Obligations.

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

The Justice Department announced today that it has sued two Miami tax return preparers, seeking to bar them from preparing federal tax returns for others.

A Miami title agent and former mortgage broker was found guilty late yesterday, Feb. 4, 2013, for her role in a “reverse mortgage” fraud scheme in connection with a loan worth more than $400,000.

"I’m especially proud of the part that we – at the Office of Justice Programs – have played in improving knowledge about what works in the fields of criminal and juvenile justice. Our National Institute of Justice and Bureau of Justice Statistics have, for many years, made significant contributions to our base of knowledge," said Acting Assistant Attorney General Leary.

"Yesterday, the Justice Department filed a civil lawsuit against Standard &s Financial Services – as well as its parent company, McGraw-Hill – alleging that the credit rating agency S&P engaged in a scheme to defraud investors in financial products known as Residential Mortgage-Backed Securities, or RMBS, and Collateralized Debt Obligations, or CDOs," said Attorney General Holder.

"Even though the banks and other institutions hired S&P to rate these financial products, and even though S&P earned millions as a result of issuing those ratings, S&P promised that its ratings would be unaffected by their concerns about market share, revenue or profits," said Acting Associate Attorney General West.

"As a result of these provisions, FIRREA is a powerful weapon for combatting financial fraud, and it will continue to play a key role in the Department's efforts to hold accountable those who violated the law," said Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Delery.

RBS Securities Japan Limited, a wholly owned subsidiary of The Royal Bank of Scotland plc (RBS), has agreed to plead guilty to felony wire fraud and admit its role in manipulating the Japanese Yen London Interbank Offered Rate (LIBOR), a leading benchmark used in financial products and transactions around the world.

Five individuals and five corporations have been charged in an indictment unsealed today in Brooklyn, N.Y., for allegedly importing hazardous and counterfeit toys from China for sale in the United States.

The Justice Department announced today that, as part of its Barrier-Free Health Care Initiative, it has reached a settlement with Castlewood Treatment Center LLC, of St. Louis, Mo., under the Americans with Disabilities Act.

Ashu Bhandari, the former president and CEO of GEM Manufacturing LLC, a U.S. Virgin Islands-based company, was sentenced Thursday in federal court in St. Thomas, U.S.V.I., for felony customs violations for his role in a scheme to illegally import protected black coral into the United States.

St. Joseph’s Medical Center, a hospital located in Towson, Md., has reached a settlement with the United States to pay $4.9 million in connection with its submission of false claims to Medicare, Medicaid and other federal healthcare programs.

Everett Dwayne Avery, 26, of Detroit, was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge John Corbett O’Meara after pleading guilty to committing a hate crime by assaulting a man because the man was gay.

"Now, we can all be proud of the track record that’s been established – and the results we’ve obtained – in recent years. But we must also recognize that government can’t do it all – and we’ll never be able make the progress we need, and that our citizens deserve, on our own. That’s why I’m counting on all of you to answer the call to service; to join my colleagues and me in protecting the safety – and the civil rights – of our fellow citizens; and to help extend the legacy of progress with which each of us has been entrusted," said Attorney General Holder.

Granite Construction Company, a California-based construction company specializing in roads, tunnels, bridges, airports and other infrastructure-related projects, reached a settlement with the United States following an investigation of alleged false claims in connection with federal construction projects across the country.