Berkshire Hathaway Inc. has agreed to pay an $896,000 civil penalty to settle charges that it violated premerger reporting and waiting requirements when it acquired voting securities of USG Corp., the Department of Justice announced today

The Justice Department today announced that it has reached an agreement with the city of Baltimore, Maryland, to end hiring practices that discriminate against people with disabilities. The agreement, filed as a consent decree along with a complaint in the U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland, resolves allegations by the department that the city engaged in a pattern or practice of discrimination under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). Title I of the ADA prohibits employers from discriminating against individuals on the basis of disability in various aspects of employment, including hiring

A greater Detroit-area owner of three home health agencies pleaded guilty today for his role in a $22 million home health care fraud scheme

“The eyes of the nation and the world are watching Ferguson right now. The world is watching because the issues raised by the shooting of Michael Brown predate this incident. This is something that has a history to it and the history simmers beneath the surface in more communities than just Ferguson."

We have brought to this area very experienced prosecutors, we have very experienced agents who are handling this matter, and doing so, I think, in a fine way. I'm going to get briefed on more of the details about the investigation. I've been kept up to date, but there's nothing that can replace actually coming to the office that's handling the matter, and being able to look in the face the people who are, I think at this point, very ably handling this investigation.

Attorney General Eric Holder and Associate Attorney General Tony West announced today that the Department of Justice has reached a $16.65 billion settlement with Bank of America Corporation – the largest civil settlement with a single entity in American history ­— to resolve federal and state claims against Bank of America and its former and current subsidiaries, including Countrywide Financial Corporation and Merrill Lynch. As part of this global resolution, the bank has agreed to pay a $5 billion penalty

A Tennessee Bloods gang member was sentenced today to serve 10 years in prison, to be followed by three years of supervised release for his role in a violent racketeering conspiracy

"We are here to announce a historic step forward in our ongoing effort to protect the American people from financial fraud – and to hold accountable those whose actions threatened the integrity of our financial markets and undermined the stability of our economy."

"Yet in addition to accountability, this historic resolution is also significant for what it achieves in terms of restoration: it requires those we are holding accountable to shoulder some of the responsibility for repairing the damage caused by their conduct."

Four members of the Two Six Nation street gang and four of their associates have been indicted for their roles in a racketeering conspiracy spanning more than 20 years, as well as murder and drug trafficking charges

Sixteen former Puerto Rico police officers have pleaded guilty for their roles in a criminal organization run out of the police department. The officers used their affiliation with law enforcement to commit robbery and extortion, to manipulate court records in exchange for bribes, and to sell illegal narcotics

A Louisiana psychiatrist was sentenced in federal court in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, today to serve 86 months in prison for his role in a $258.5 million Medicare fraud scheme involving partial hospitalization psychiatric services. He was further ordered to pay $43.5 million in restitution and to forfeit all proceeds from the fraudulent scheme

The former Hanover Corporation chief financial officer and a former Hanover salesman were sentenced today to serve 60 months in prison and 70 months in prison respectively, and ordered to pay $14,454,999.19 in restitution, for their roles in an $18 million Ponzi scheme. Hanover’s former chief executive officer was previously sentenced to 14 years in prison and ordered to pay $14,784,983.75 in restitution in this case

A U.S. citizen living in Amsterdam, Netherlands, was sentenced today to serve 35 years in prison for sexually exploiting a minor in California and elsewhere and producing images of that abuse.

Three Puerto Rico police officers, Erick Rivera Nazario, Angel Torres Quinones and Antonio Rodriguez Caraballo today pleaded guilty to federal civil rights charges in connection with the fatal beating of 19-year-old Jose Luis Irizarry Perez, announced Acting Assistant Attorney General Molly Moran for the Civil Rights Division, United States Attorney Rosa Emilia Rodriguez-Velez for the District of Puerto Rico, and Special Agent in Charge Carlos Cases of the FBI San Juan Field Office.

A co-owner of Professional Medical Home Health LLC was sentenced today to serve 70 months in prison and ordered to pay $6.2 million in restitution for her participation in a health care fraud scheme involving the now defunct home health care company

ExxonMobil Pipeline Company (ExxonMobil) has agreed to pay a civil penalty for an alleged violation of the Clean Water Act stemming from a 2012 crude oil spill from ExxonMobil’s “North Line” pipeline near Torbert, Louisiana, the Department of Justice and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced today. Under the consent decree lodged today in federal court, ExxonMobil will pay $1,437,120 to resolve the government’s claim

The Department of Justice released today its second report to Congress entitled Indian Country Investigations and Prosecutions, which provides a range of enforcement statistics required under the Tribal Law and Order Act of 2010, as well as information about the progress of the Attorney General’s initiatives to reduce violent crime and strengthen tribal justice systems

Associate Attorney General Tony West today announced $3 million dollars in grants from the Office on Violence Against Women (OVW) to increase local and tribal capacity to prosecute crimes of violence against women and provide services to victims of sexual assault, domestic violence and stalking in the Bakken Region of North Dakota and Montana

Thank you, Carlie for that kind introduction and for hosting this important gathering along with U.S. Attorneys Judge Leonardo from the District of Arizona, John Walsh from the District of Colorado, and Damon Martinez from the District of New Mexico.

Political consultant Gregory Naylor, 66, of Philadelphia, pleaded guilty today to making false statements to federal agents and misprision of a felony in connection with his role in attempting to conceal two campaign finance-related fraud schemes

The Department of Justice announced today that it will require Tyson Foods Inc. to divest Heinold Hog Markets, its sow purchasing business, in order to proceed with its $8.5 billion acquisition of The Hillshire Brands Company. The department said that, without the required divestiture, the transaction would have combined companies that account for more than a third of sow purchases from U.S. farmers, thereby likely reducing competition for purchases of sows from farmers.

A former Iowa State Senator pleaded guilty today to concealing payments he received from a presidential campaign in exchange for switching his support and services from one candidate to another and to obstructing a subsequent investigation into his conduct.

An owner of an electrical contracting company pleaded guilty today to falsifying disclosure documents required under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA), by intentionally under-reporting hours worked by employees to avoid contractually required contributions to employee benefit plans.

Acting Assistant Attorney General Molly Moran for the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division and U.S. Attorney Andrew M. Luger for the District of Minnesota today announced the filing of a lawsuit against the city of St. Anthony Village for an alleged violation of the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act of 2000 (RLUIPA). Specifically, the lawsuit seeks injunctive relief requiring St. Anthony Village to allow the Abu Huraira Islamic Center to maintain a worship space in the basement of the St. Anthony Business Center.

The former Secretary-Treasurer of Security Police Fire Professionals of America Local 287 pleaded guilty today to theft from a labor organization in violation of his fiduciary responsibilities as a union officer.

The owner of a Florida mortgage company, seven employees of the company and two real estate developers were indicted in the Southern District of Florida in connection with an alleged $50 million mortgage fraud scheme.

Eduardo Santiago-Rivera, 45, admitted that in June and July 2012, he caused at least three minors, who ranged in age from 12 to 15, to engage in sexual activity for the purpose of creating videos.

The Justice Department announced today the filing of a lawsuit with the Executive Office for Immigration Review against Louisiana Crane Company LLC (Louisiana Crane), which is headquartered in Eunice, Louisiana.

Omni Surgical L.P., doing business as Spine 360, a manufacturer of devices used in spinal surgery, and Dr. Jamie Gottlieb, an Indiana spinal surgeon, have agreed to pay $2.6 million to the United States to settle allegations that Spine 360 paid illegal kickbacks to Gottlieb to induce him to use the company’s products.

A leader of a street gang that operated on the east side of Detroit was found guilty today by a federal jury of aiding and abetting an armed robbery.

The Justice Department announced today that it reached an agreement with Culinaire International, a catering and restaurant management company headquartered in Houston, Texas, resolving a claim that Culinaire engaged in citizenship discrimination during the employment eligibility reverification process in violation of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA).

Three residents of Montgomery, Alabama, each pleaded guilty during the past week to one count of conspiracy to defraud the government and one count of aggravated identity theft.

The Department of Justice, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection (WVDEP) today announced a settlement with Trans Energy Inc., requiring the oil and gas company to restore portions of streams and wetlands at 15 sites in West Virginia that were polluted by the company’s unauthorized discharge of dredge or fill material. Trans Energy will pay a penalty of $3 million to be divided equally between the federal government and the WVDEP. The Clean Water Act requires a company to obtain a permit from EPA and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers prior to discharging dredge or fill material into wetlands, rivers, streams and other waters of the United States.

A Maryland MS-13 gang member pleaded guilty today to conspiracy to participate in a racketeering enterprise known as the La Mara Salvatrucha, or MS-13, and acknowledged his involvement in attempted murder and extortion in furtherance of MS-13.

Attorney General Eric Holder released the following statement Wednesday on the departure, effective September 15, of Associate Attorney General Tony West:

Attorney General Eric Holder released the following statement Wednesday on the resignation of U.S. Attorney Jenny Durkan for the Western District of Washington:

Peter Allen, of Southfield, Michigan, was sentenced today to serve 21 months in prison to be followed by two years of supervised release for his participation in a conspiracy to commit bank fraud, the Justice Department announced.

A Colombian man extradited to the Eastern District of Virginia pleaded guilty today for his involvement in the kidnapping and murder of Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) Special Agent James Terry Watson in Bogotá, Colombia, on June 20, 2013.

Acting Assistant Attorney General Molly Moran for the Civil Rights Division and United States Attorney Bill Nettles announced today that Reginald Wayne Miller, of Marion, South Carolina, has entered a guilty plea in federal court in Florence to fraud in foreign labor contracting. Additionally, Miller entered a guilty plea to visa fraud and wage and hour violations. United States District Judge R. Bryan Harwell of Florence accepted the guilty plea and will impose sentence after he has reviewed the presentence report which will be prepared by the U.S. probation office.

A New Jersey man pleaded guilty today to orchestrating an eight-year scheme to falsify employment certifications to facilitate the illegal entry of Indian immigrants into the United States and to filing a false tax return.

Attorney General Eric Holder announced today that the Justice Department has launched two initiatives to address concerns about police services in the city of Ferguson and in St. Louis County, Missouri.

A federal jury returned guilty verdicts today against former Virginia Governor Robert F. McDonnell and former First Lady of Virginia Maureen G. McDonnell for participating in a scheme to violate federal public corruption laws.

"These anecdotal accounts underscored the history of mistrust of law enforcement in Ferguson that has received a good deal of attention. As a result of this history – and following an extensive review of documented allegations and other available data – we have determined that there is cause for the Justice Department to open an investigation to determine whether Ferguson Police officials have engaged in a pattern or practice of violations of the U.S. Constitution or federal law."

Attorney General Eric Holder released the following statement Friday announcing that Stuart Delery, who currently serves as Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Division, will serve as Acting Associate Attorney General, which is the Justice Department’s third-ranking post.

Child Cyber Safety Night at the Ballpark is the latest effort by the Justice Department and its law enforcement and community partners to encourage parents to speak with their children about online and cell phone safety and provide prevention materials.

Life Care Services LLC, a manager of skilled nursing facilities based in Des Moines, Iowa, and CoreCare V LLP, doing business as ParkVista, a skilled nursing facility in Fullerton, California, have agreed to pay a total of $3.75 million to the government for causing the submission of false claims to Medicare for unreasonable or unnecessary rehabilitation therapy purportedly provided by RehabCare Group East Inc., a subsidiary of Kindred Healthcare Inc.

The owner and operator of a Miami home health care company was sentenced to 75 months in prison today for her participation in a $6.5 million Medicare fraud scheme involving the now defunct home health care company, Nestor’s Health Services Inc.

Calling prescription drug addiction an “urgent and growing threat” to our nation’s public health, Attorney General Eric Holder on Monday announced a new Drug Enforcement Administration(DEA) regulation that would allow pharmacies, hospitals, clinics, and other authorized collectors to serve as authorized drop-off sites for unused prescription drugs.

Assistant Attorney General Leslie R. Caldwell of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division today announced that Sung-Hee Suh has been appointed to serve as Deputy Assistant Attorney General overseeing the Appellate, Capital Case and Fraud Sections.