The Justice Department announced today the unsealing of an indictment charging 10 individuals in connection with a vending machine “business opportunity” that defrauded thousands of victims across the country.

The Justice Department today filed a lawsuit against the homeowners association and former manager of a 249-townhome community in Gibsonton, Fla., for violating the Fair Housing Act by discriminating against families with children.

The Department of Justice, on behalf of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, along with the Massachusetts Attorney General’s Office, on behalf of the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection, have reached a settlement with AVX Corp. for $366.25 million plus interest regarding the New Bedford Harbor Superfund Site, in New Bedford, Mass.

The Justice Department today reached an agreement with Tuscany Hotel and Casino LLC in Las Vegas resolving a lawsuit alleging that the company discriminated in the employment eligibility verification and re-verification process. The Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) requires employers to treat all authorized workers equally during the hiring, firing and employment eligibility verification process, regardless of their national origin or citizenship status.

U.S. Army Sergeant Christopher Weaver pleaded guilty today to bribery charges for his role in the theft of fuel at Forward Operating Base (FOB) Fenty, near Jalalabad, Afghanistan.

The United States has filed a complaint against three related companies that bought and sold consumer credit reports, the Justice Department announced today. The government’s complaint charges these companies with violating the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA). The companies have agreed to pay a $1.2 million civil penalty to resolve these charges.

The Justice Department announced today that former Bryan County, Okla., Sheriff’s Office Lieutenant Kevin Bennett Holt, 48, from Achille, Okla., was sentenced to 18 months in the custody of the Federal Bureau of Prisons, followed by 24 months of supervised release, for using a Taser to assault a detainee inside of the Bryan County Jail in Durant, Okla., in violation of the victim’s civil rights.

A Dallas-area home health services company owner today admitted his role in a $374 million home health fraud scheme in which he and others conspired to bill Medicare for unnecessary services that were never performed.

The former owners of a durable medical equipment (DME) wholesale company located in Ontario, Calif., were arrested late yesterday at Los Angeles International Airport in connection with a DME fraud scheme that resulted in the submission of over $16.6 million in false claims to Medicare and are expected to appear this afternoon in Los Angeles federal court.

Miami-area resident Vanja Abreu (Ph.D), former program director at the mental health care company American Therapeutic Corporation (ATC), was sentenced today to 108 months in prison for participating in a $205 million Medicare fraud scheme.

James Driver, 24, of Midland, Mich., was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge Thomas L. Ludington in the Eastern District of Michigan.

Mark J. Titus, former Chief Operations Officer of Garner Services Ltd. (GSL), and his brother-in-law Dominick Fazzio, have been charged in a second superseding indictment returned today by a federal grand jury in New Orleans for defrauding GSL of over $1 million.

The Justice Department announced today that it has filed a lawsuit against the state of Vermont and its chief election official to help ensure that military service members, their family members and U.S. citizens living overseas have the opportunity to participate fully in the Nov. 6, 2012 federal general election.

Steven R. Hinz pleaded guilty today to tax fraud and mortgage fraud charges in Cleveland federal court, the Justice Department and Internal Revenue Service (IRS) announced. Hinz’s guilty pleas followed recent guilty pleas of three other defendants – Heather L. English, Patricia A. Polk and William E. Phillips III – who were charged in indictment in December 2011 on a tax conspiracy and various false return charges. The case is assigned to U.S. District Judge Patricia A. Gaughan, who scheduled the sentencing for January 2013.

"At every level, my colleagues and I have made the fight against financial fraud a top priority. We’re more determined than ever to eradicate these crimes – and, alongside more than two dozen additional federal government agencies and private sector partners, we’ve made an historic commitment to advancing this work at the national level," said Attorney General Holder.

In one of the first False Claims Act settlements involving Medicare’s Prescription Drug Program, known as Part D, RxAmerica LLC. has entered into a civil settlement agreement with the United States in which it has agreed to pay the government $5.25 million to resolve allegations that it made false submissions to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), the Justice Department announced today. RxAmerica, a wholly-owned subsidiary of CVS Caremark Corporation, provides prescription drug benefits to Medicare beneficiaries pursuant to a prescription drug plan.

Ramiro Anturi Larrahondo, 55, a Colombian national, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge John D. Bates in the District of Columbia to one count of conspiracy to distribute five kilograms or more of cocaine, knowing and intending that the cocaine would be illegally imported into the United States.

Police of Puerto Rico Lieutenant Erick Rivera Nazario and Officer Jimmy Rodriguez Vega were indicted on civil rights charges alleging that they used excessive force on two men, the Justice Department announced today. Nazario and Vega allegedly violated the constitutional rights of Jose Irizarry Perez and his father Jose Irizarry Muniz while the two were celebrating the local election results at the Las Colinas housing development in Yauco, Puerto Rico, on Nov. 5, 2008. Rivera was also indicted for making false declarations before the federal grand jury during its investigation into the civil rights violations.

Eulises Escalona, 44, of Monroe County, Fla., was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge Joan A. Lenard in the Southern District of Florida.

The administrator of CardioMax EMS, a Houston-based ambulance company, pleaded guilty today to charges that he submitted approximately $1,734,550 in fraudulent claims to Medicare.

Gregory Thomas Miller, 57, of Deville, La., pleaded guilty on April 27, 2012, to a 10-count indictment charging him with seven counts of production of child pornography, one count of transporting child pornography, one count of possessing child pornography and one count of marijuana possession.

In anticipation of the upcoming election, the Justice Department today provided information about its efforts, through the Civil Rights and Criminal Divisions, to ensure that all qualified voters have the opportunity to cast their ballots and have their votes counted free of discrimination, intimidation or fraud in the election process.

A federal judge today sentenced William A. Herder of Richland County, Ohio, to 37 months in prison for tax crimes, the Justice Department and the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) announced. U.S. District Judge Sara Lioi also ordered Herder to pay restitution to the IRS. On May 21, 2012, an Akron, Ohio, jury convicted Herder on all counts of an indictment that charged Herder with one count of tax evasion, one count of corruptly endeavoring to obstruct the administration of the Internal Revenue laws and five counts of willful failure to file tax returns.

The owner of a 28-acre piece of property on the Mohawk River and the owner of a New Jersey solid waste management company were found guilty by a federal jury in Utica, N.Y., today of charges that they conspired to defraud the United States and violate the Clean Water Act by illegally dumping thousands of tons of asbestos-contaminated construction debris on the property in upstate New York.

A Taiwan aftermarket auto lights manufacturer and its U.S. distributor pleaded guilty to an indictment charging them with participating in a seven-year, international conspiracy to fix the prices of aftermarket auto lights, and were sentenced today in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California.

Manssor Arbabsiar, aka Mansour Arbabsiar, pleaded guilty today in federal court in the Southern District of New York to participating in a plot to murder the Saudi Arabian Ambassador to the United States while the Ambassador was in the United States.

Two former high-ranking employees of facilities operations at New York Presbyterian Hospital (NYPH) were sentenced in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, in Manhattan, by Judge George B. Daniels today for their participation in two separate conspiracies involving kickbacks.

Two owners and operators of clinics that claimed to specialize in treating HIV and other conditions pleaded guilty today for their roles in an infusion therapy scheme carried out at two Detroit-area clinics that submitted millions of dollars in fraudulent claims to Medicare.

A federal judge in Boston sentenced Gary Alcock today to 14 months in prison for tax evasion, for conspiring to defraud the United States, and for willfully failing to file tax returns, the Justice Department and Internal Revenue Service (IRS) announced. U.S. District Judge F. Dennis Saylor also ordered Gary Alcock to pay restitution in the amount of $515,518. Alcock pleaded guilty to the charges on Dec. 9, 2011, and provided substantial assistance to the government in prosecuting the case against the remaining defendants, which Judge Saylor cited, among other factors, as a basis for a reduced sentence.

Four LSP street gang member were sentenced today for their roles in a racketeering conspiracy (RICO) that used violence, including attempted murder, to control territory and sell heroin, cocaine and other drugs.

Kolon Industries Inc. and several of its executives and employees have been indicted for allegedly engaging in a multi-year campaign to steal trade secrets related to DuPont’s Kevlar para-aramid fiber and Teijin Limited’s Twaron para-aramid fiber. The indictment seeks forfeiture of at least $225 million in proceeds from the alleged theft of trade secrets from Kolon’s competitors.

Three former financial services executives were sentenced today in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, for their participation in conspiracies related to bidding for contracts for the investment of municipal bond proceeds and other municipal finance contracts.

Hassan Collins, 41, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Kevin Michael Moore in the Southern District of Florida.

Several family members, all residents of Montgomery, Ala., pleaded guilty in the Middle District of Alabama to their involvement in a million dollar stolen identity refund fraud scheme, the Department of Justice and the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) announced today.

A federal judge issued an order today allowing the Justice Department to intervene in a disability discrimination lawsuit against the Law School Admission Council (LSAC). The department’s intervention expands the case from a statewide class action limited to California residents to a nationwide pattern or practice lawsuit.

The indictment charges former FBI special agent Robert G. Lustyik Jr., 50, of Sleepy Hollow, N.Y.; Michael L. Taylor, 51, of Harvard, Mass., the principal of Boston-based American International Security Corporation (AISC); and Johannes W. Thaler, 49, of New Fairfield, Conn., each with one count of conspiracy, eight counts of honest services wire fraud, one count of obstructing justice and one count of obstructing an agency proceeding.

"By allegedly conspiring to steal DuPont’s and Teijin’s intellectual property, Kolon threatened to undermine an economic engine at both companies. We cannot, and we will not, stand idly by in the face of such flagrant alleged conduct," said Assistant Attorney General Breuer.

The Justice Department announced today that it will monitor portions of the early voting period for the Nov. 6, 2012, general election in Dallas and Harris Counties, Texas, to ensure compliance with the Voting Rights Act of 1965. The Voting Rights Act prohibits discrimination in the election process on the basis of race, color or membership in a minority language group. Early voting in Dallas and Harris Counties begins on Monday, October 22.

The Justice Department and U.S. Attorney Thomas G. Walker announced today the filing of a complaint in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina against the Warren County, N.C., Board of Education for violating the employment rights of Army Reserve Sergeant Dwayne Coffer under the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act of 1994 (USERRA).

Two former officers of Arizona-based residential mortgage loan originator American Mortgage Specialists Inc. (AMS) pleaded guilty today for their roles in a $27 million scheme to defraud North Dakota-based BNC National Bank.

The Justice Department announced today that it has reached an agreement with the State of Vermont to help ensure that military service members, their family members and U.S. citizens living overseas have the opportunity to participate fully in the Nov. 6, 2012, federal general election.

The United States has filed a complaint against Jacintoport International LLC under the False Claims Act in connection with a warehousing and logistics contract for the storage and redelivery of humanitarian food aid, the Justice Department announced today. Jacintoport is a cargo handling and stevedoring firm headquartered in Houston.

Former chief of the Omega, Ga., Police Department, Walter Young, 54, was sentenced today for physically abusing a man in his custody, the Justice Department announced.

Sylvester Bruce, 45, a former corrections officer with Navajo Nation’s Shiprock Detention Center (SDC) in Shiprock, N.M., was sentenced today in federal court on charges related to the sexual abuse of an inmate during the summer and fall of 2010. In July 2012, Bruce pleaded guilty to one count of violating the victim’s civil rights when he touched her breasts against her will. Bruce also pleaded guilty to making material false statements to the FBI when he denied taking pictures of inmates inside the cells of the SDC.

The Justice Department and U.S. Attorney for the Middle District of Georgia Michael J. Moore announced today that Stacy Bloodsworth, the former sheriff of Wilcox County, Ga., pleaded guilty to assaulting an inmate inside the Wilcox County jail and subsequently conspiring to cover up the assault. Bloodsworth’s son, Austin Bloodsworth, also pleaded guilty to conspiring to cover up the same assault. Three other defendants had previously pleaded guilty to civil rights and obstruction of justice crimes in connection with the July 23, 2009, assault.

Minor Vargas Calvo, 61, a citizen and resident of Costa Rica, is the majority owner of Provident Capital Indemnity (PCI) Ltd., an insurance and reinsurance company registered in the Commonwealth of Dominica and doing business in Costa Rica.

Jacqueline Slaton was sentenced to 70 months in prison and order to pay restitution of over $100,000 for her involvement in stolen identity refund fraud scheme, the Justice Department and the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) announced today.

Jihan S. Cover, 34, of Arden, N.C., was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge Martin Reidinger in the Western District of North Carolina.

"At the Justice Department, we have made enforcing the rights of American Indians a priority," said Assistant Attorney General Perez.

The Justice Department filed a lawsuit today against the city of Meridian, Miss.; Lauderdale County, Miss.; judges of the Lauderdale County Youth Court; and the state of Mississippi alleging that the defendants systematically violate the due process rights of juveniles.