Attorney General Eric Holder and Algerian Minister of Justice Tayeb Belaiz today signed a treaty between the United States and Algeria on mutual legal assistance in criminal matters, the first ever criminal law enforcement agreement between the two countries.

Defendant Stephen Schultz was sentenced in connection with a series of Costa Rica-based business opportunity fraud ventures.

Six Miami-area residents have been charged for their alleged role in a $13.6 million health care fraud scheme involving a Miami-area HIV infusion clinic, announced the Departments of Justice and Health and Human Services (HHS).

The former chief of staff for the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) Employment Standards Administration pleaded guilty today to falsely certifying his Fiscal Year 2003 Executive Branch Personnel Public Financial Disclosure Report, announced Assistant Attorney General Lanny A. Breuer of the Criminal Division.

The Department announced highlights of its work during the past year to defend and enforce federal tax laws.

U.S. District Judge Gray H. Miller sentenced Robert Luis Loya to three years in prison and five years of supervised release for violating the civil rights and the sexual abuse of females in his custody.

A Michigan man was sentenced today in Detroit to 81 months in prison for his role in a wide-ranging conspiracy to defraud the Medicare program.

"This treaty establishes a comprehensive framework for obtaining evidence in criminal cases," said Attorney General Holder.

The Department announced an agreement with the Unified Government of Wyandotte County and Kansas City, Kansas, to improve access to all aspects of civic life for persons with disabilities.

A federal judge in Chicago has permanently barred Matoi Rimes, individually and operating as Rimes Accounting Service, from preparing federal tax returns for anyone who is not a member of his immediate family.

A federal court in Lincoln, Neb., has issued a permanent injunction barring a Lexington, Neb., tax preparer, Donald R. Ondrak, and his company, Don Ondrak P.C., from preparing tax returns for others.

Detroit-area residents Carlos Grana and Dwight Armstrong pleaded guilty today to engaging in a fraudulent medical testing scheme.

"Whether it is in counterterrorism, counter-narcotics, money laundering, smuggling or combating international organized crime, Spain has long been and will continue to be a strong partner for the United States," said Attorney General Holder.

Miami residents Jose and Denisse Martinez were each sentenced today to three years in prison for their role in running a Canton, Mich.,-based drug infusion clinic designed to defraud Medicare.

Harry Abrahamsen, a resident of Oradell, N.J., pleaded guilty today to failure to file a Report of Foreign Bank or Financial Accounts.

“This forfeiture of more than $40 million in jewelry should remind criminals around the globe that they will be found, prosecuted and stripped of assets that are not theirs to keep,” said Assistant Attorney General Lanny A. Breuer.

The owner and operator of a Los Angeles durable medical equipment (DME) company pleaded guilty today to submitting nearly one half of a million dollars in false claims to Medicare.

"We should all be encouraged by President Obama’s historic commitment to shining a light on this problem and to seeking new pathways toward help, healing and justice," said Attorney General Holder.

This year is not merely a commemoration of an anniversary. It is a time to recommit ourselves to ending sexual and domestic violence. Our government and this Department have a responsibility to speak out and act on issues of violence against women.

A federal district court in Florida has permanently barred Jacksonville resident Shirley Clark from preparing tax returns for others.

A federal court has ordered the Walthall County, Miss., School District to eliminate policies that have resulted in significant racial segregation among students in the school district.

Paul Zabczuk, a resident of The Woodlands, Texas, pleaded guilty to filing a false tax return in Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.

A retired colonel in the U.S. Army pleaded guilty today to accepting thousands of dollars in gratuities from a contractor during his deployment to Iraq as a contracting officer’s representative.

The founder and chief executive officer of Image Entry Inc., pleaded guilty today for his role in a conspiracy to inflate his earnings resulting from the company’s 2001 acquisition by SourceCorp Inc.

Detroit-area resident Emma King pleaded guilty today to engaging in a fraudulent medical testing scheme.

"Our Department is facing new demands, and our nation is confronting unprecedented challenges. But, as I look around this room and consider all that you’ve accomplished over the last year, I can’t help but feel hopeful about what we can achieve in the days ahead," said Attorney General Holder.

William A. “Bill” White, the self-proclaimed commander of the neo-Nazi group the American National Socialist Workers Party, was sentenced today in federal court for threatening two individuals and for attempting to intimidate litigants in a federal housing discrimination lawsuit.

The government complaint, filed in U.S. District Court in Birmingham, alleges that John Lewis, Artels James and Perry Wright, working under the trade name “Tax World,” prepare returns for customers that falsely claim the earned income tax credit and report other false income and expense items.

A federal grand jury in Boise, Idaho, has returned an indictment charging Michael Fitzpatrick, formerly of Hope, Idaho, with tax evasion and failing to file tax returns.

"Today I’ve been asked to report on the Justice Department’s progress, priorities, and goals. I’m proud to tell you what we have accomplished and what we plan to achieve," said Attorney General Holder.

This Department of Justice will ensure that would-be human rights violators know that such crimes cannot – and will not – go unpunished. We will bear any burden and go to any length to insure that those who have committed these unspeakable crimes are brought to justice.

A federal grand jury in the District of Maryland has returned a 10-count indictment charging former National Security Agency (NSA) senior executive Thomas A. Drake with the willful retention of classified information, obstruction of justice and making false statements.

A federal judge in Fayetteville, Ark., has barred Wayne Hicks and his company, My Icis Inc., from operating a private banking system that allegedly helped customers avoid taxes by shielding their identities and other financial transactions from the Internal Revenue Service.

Wall Herald Corporation has agreed to pay approximately $20 million for past and future cleanup costs incurred by the federal government at the Monitor Devices Superfund site in Wall Township, N.J., according to a settlement filed today in federal court in Trenton, N.J.

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.

A Michigan man was sentenced today in Detroit to 27 months in prison for his role in a wide-ranging conspiracy to defraud the Medicare program.

"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.

"These days of reflection are an important opportunity for us to come together in support of victims, to give voice to their suffering and to light the way toward a hopeful future," said Attorney General Holder.

Two subsidiaries of Exxon Mobil Corporation – Mobil Oil Guam Inc. and Mobil Oil Mariana Islands Inc. – have agreed to pay $2.4 million for allegedly violating the federal Clean Air Act by failing to control emissions from their facilities.

The United States has filed suit asking the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia to permanently bar Saloum A. Njie and his company, MIAAS Associates LLC, from preparing federal tax returns for others.

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.

A federal judge in Chicago has issued a preliminary injunction against a Joliet, Ill., tax return preparer.

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.

"Today, we’ve come together, from as far as Omaha and Albuquerque, Portland and Philadelphia, to recognize men and women who have found their calling in the service of others," said Attorney General Holder.

"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."

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.

Westward Seafoods Inc., the operator of a seafood processing plant in Dutch Harbor, Alaska, will pay a $570,000 civil penalty as part of a settlement agreement to resolve alleged violations of the Clean Air Act and the Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act.

Hovnanian Enterprises Inc., a national residential homebuilder, has agreed today to pay a $1 million civil penalty to resolve alleged Clean Water Act violations at 591 construction sites in 18 states and the District of Columbia.

Attorney General Eric Holder presented the 2010 John Sherman Award to Robert Pitofsky for his lifetime contributions to the teaching and enforcement of antitrust law and the development of antitrust policy.