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Justice Department Honors Crime Victims, Advocates, and Teams for Exceptional Perseverance and Innovation

Deputy Attorney General James M. Cole will preside over the National Crime Victims’ Rights Service Awards ceremony 2 p.m. Wed., April 9, honoring ten individuals and programs for exceptional perseverance and innovation in advancing crime victims’ rights.



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California-Based Masonry Companies Pay Nearly $1.9 Million to Settle Claims of Misrepresenting Disadvantaged Small Business Status in Connection with Military Contracts

Five California-based masonry subcontractors and two individuals paid the government nearly $1.9 million to resolve allegations that they violated the False Claims Act by misrepresenting their disadvantaged small business status in connection with military construction contracts.



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Former Captain at New Mexico Prison Indicted for Sexual Assaults of Women Inmates and Making False Statements

A federal grand jury in Albuquerque, N.M., indicted John Greene, 70, a former captain at the Gallup-McKinley Adult Detention Center, on charges related to the sexual assaults of women inmates in his custody.



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Department of Justice and New Jersey Judiciary Collaborate to Ensure Provision of Language Assistance Services in Courts

The Justice Department announced today that it has reached an agreement with the New Jersey Judiciary to provide comprehensive language assistance services to limited English proficient (LEP) individuals.



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Former South Carolina Corrections Officer Sentenced for Beating Inmate with Mental Illness

Robin Smith, 38, a former corrections officer at the Alvin S. Glenn Detention Center in Richland County, S.C., was sentenced to serve 24 months in prison to be followed by three years of supervised release today for assaulting a pre-trial detainee with mental illness.



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Justice Department Releases Investigative Findings on Albuquerque Police Department

Following a comprehensive investigation, today the Justice Department announced its findings that the Albuquerque Police Department has engaged in a pattern or practice of excessive force that violates the Constitution and federal law.



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Justice Department, Federal Trade Commission Issue Antitrust Policy Statement on Sharing Cybersecurity Information

The Department of Justice and the Federal Trade Commission today issued a policy statement on the sharing of cybersecurity information that makes clear that properly designed cyber threat information sharing is not likely to raise antitrust concerns and can help secure the nation’s networks of information and resources.



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Three Men Charged with Allegedly Defrauding the FCC of Approximately $32 Million

Three individuals have been indicted for their alleged roles in an approximately $32 million fraud against a Federal Communications Commission (FCC) program designed to provide discounted telephone services to low-income customers.



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United States Sues Oyster Bay, N.Y., for Housing Discrimination

Acting Assistant Attorney General Jocelyn Samuels for the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division and U.S. Attorney Loretta E. Lynch for the Eastern District of New York announced today that the United States has filed a complaint against the Town of Oyster Bay in Long Island, N.Y., for violating the Fair Housing Act.



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Department of Justice and Rhode Island Judiciary Enter into Agreement for Provision of Language Assistance Services in Rhode Island Courts

The Justice Department today announced it has reached an agreement with the Rhode Island Judiciary to ensure that limited English proficient individuals will have access to timely and competent language assistance at no charge in all court proceedings, services and programs throughout the state court system.



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Owner of Tax Return Preparation Franchise and Health Provider Business Pleads Guilty to Tax Fraud, Healthcare Fraud and Money Laundering

Claude Arthur Verbal II, formerly of Raleigh, N.C., and now of Miami, pleaded guilty to tax fraud, healthcare fraud and money laundering in two separate cases in federal court.



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Statement by Attorney General Holder on Sentencing Commission’s Vote to Approve Reductions in Sentencing Guidelines for Nonviolent Drug Offenders

U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder—who testified before the U.S. Sentencing Commission last month in support of a proposal to reduce the federal sentencing guidelines for low-level, nonviolent drug offenders—released the following statement Thursday in response to the Commission voting to formally adopt those changes.



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Queens, N.Y., Tax Preparer Indicted for Filing False Tax Returns

The Justice Department and Internal Revenue Service (IRS) announced that Celamour Berus, of Springfield Gardens, N.Y., was arrested for multiple tax crimes today following his indictment on April 3, 2014.



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Assistant Attorney General Bill Baer Speaks at the Pen and Pad Briefing on the Justice Department and Federal Trade Commission Joint Antitrust Policy Statement on Sharing of Cybersecurity Information

"This is an antitrust no-brainer: Companies who engage in properly designed cyber threat information sharing will not run afoul of the antitrust laws. This means that as long as companies don’t discuss competitive information such as pricing and output when sharing cybersecurity information, they’re okay," said Assistant Attorney General Baer.




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Remarks as Prepared for Delivery by Acting Assistant Attorney General Jocelyn Samuels at the Press Conference to Announce the Albuquerque Police Department Investigative Findings

"This investigation was not an easy task, but through all of these efforts, we made certain to gather the facts and apply the law to the facts to reach our conclusions."




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Remarks as Prepared for Delivery by Deputy Attorney General James M. Cole at the Pen and Pad Briefing on the Justice Department and Federal Trade Commission Joint Antitrust Policy Statement on Sharing of Cybersecurity Information

"This joint guidance is an important step in making clear that legitimate cyber threat sharing can help secure the nation’s networks and that it can occur without raising antitrust liability issues."




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Nine Charged in Conspiracy to Steal Millions of Dollars Using “Zeus” Malware

Nine alleged members of a wide-ranging racketeering enterprise and conspiracy who infected thousands of business computers with malicious software known as “Zeus” have been charged in an indictment unsealed today in Lincoln, Neb.



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Indiana Physician Sentenced for Failing to Pay Employment Taxes

Ronald Eugene Jamerson, 56, of Schererville, Ind., was sentenced to serve 12 months and one day in prison by U.S. District Judge Phillip P. Simon.



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Attorney General Eric Holder Delivers Remarks at the Bridge Drug Court Ceremony in Charleston, South Carolina

I know the paths that brought you to this courtroom have been anything but easy. But each of you is here today because you’ve decided not to let past choices – and challenges – define you. You’re working hard to stay on a constructive path. And I am proud of every one of you.




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Attorney General Eric Holder Delivers Remarks at Dedication Ceremony for Statue Honoring Judge J. Waties Waring

At the time of Judge Waring’s landmark dissent in Briggs v. Elliott, I was less than six months old, and the Supreme Court’s decision in Brown v. Board of Education was nearly three years away. Yet because of Judge Waring’s powerful words – and the legal foundation they helped to provide – my generation would be the very first to come of age in a post-Brown America. And we were the first that would never know a world in which “separate but equal” was the law of the land.




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Statement by Attorney General Holder on Weekend Shootings in Kansas

U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder released the following statement Monday regarding the tragic shootings in Kansas yesterday.



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Government Settles False Claims Act Allegations Against Kansas Cancer Treatment Facility and Its Owner

Hope Cancer Institute, a cancer treatment facility in Kansas, and Dr. Raj Sadasivan, the owner of Hope Cancer Institute, have agreed to pay $2.9 million to resolve allegations that they violated the False Claims Act by submitting claims to Medicare, Medicaid and the Federal Employee Health Benefits Program for drugs and services that were not provided to beneficiaries.



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Government Intervenes in Lawsuit Against Medical Equipment Supplier Orbit Medical Inc. and Former Vice President Jake Kilgore

The government has intervened in a False Claims Act lawsuit against Orbit Medical Inc. and Jake Kilgore alleging that Orbit Medical’s sales representatives boosted power wheelchair and accessory sales by altering and forging physician prescriptions and supporting documentation.



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CEO and Managing Partner of Wall Street Broker-Dealer Charged with Massive International Bribery Scheme

The chief executive officer and a managing partner of a New York-based U.S. broker-dealer were arrested today on felony charges arising from a conspiracy to pay bribes to a senior official in Venezuela’s state economic development bank.



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Utah Man Charged with Federal Hate Crime for Threatening Interracial Family

An information was filed charging Robert Keller, 70, with interfering with the housing rights of three members of an interracial family because of the family members’ races and because the family members were living in Hurricane, Utah.



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Alabama Man Sentenced for Attempting to Hire Ku Klux Klan to Kill Neighbor

Allen Wayne Densen Morgan, 29, of Munford, Ala., was sentenced in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Alabama to serve 72 months in prison to be followed by three years supervised release for attempting to hire members of the Ku Klux Klan to torture and murder his African-American neighbor.



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Associate Attorney General Tony West Delivers Remarks at the National Indian Child Welfare Association’s Thirty-second Annual Protecting Our Children Conference

It was that promise that, nearly forty years ago, led Congress to hold a series of hearings that lifted the curtain and shed light on abusive child-welfare practices that were separating Native children from their families at staggering rates; uprooting them from their tribes and their culture. Roughly one of every three or four Indian children, according to data presented at those hearings, had been taken from their birth families and placed with adoptive families, in foster care, or in institutions that had little or no connection to the child's tribe.




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Following Mass Shooting Incidents, Attorney General Holder Urges Congress to Approve $15 Million to Train Law Enforcement Officers for 'Active Shooter' Situations

Following the recent tragedies at a Jewish Community Center in Kansas and at Ft. Hood, Attorney General Eric Holder urged Congress Tuesday to approve $15 million in funding for active shooter training for law enforcement officers to ensure they have the tools they need to effectively respond to threats, protect themselves, and save innocent lives.



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Hawaii Man Sentenced to Prison for Filing False Claim for Tax Refund and Filing False Retaliatory Liens Against Four Federal Officials

Francis E. Chandler III was sentenced to serve 37 months in prison and ordered to pay $3,066,629 in restitution for filing a false claim for tax refund and false retaliatory liens against four federal government officials.



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Three Bridgestone Corp. Executives Indicted for Roles in Fixing Prices and Rigging Bids on Auto Parts Installed in U.S. Cars

A Cleveland federal grand jury returned an indictment against one current executive and two former executives of Bridgestone Corp. for their roles in an international conspiracy to fix prices of automotive anti-vibration rubber parts sold in the United States and elsewhere.



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Conspirators in Two Android Mobile Device App Piracy Groups Plead Guilty

Members of two different piracy groups engaged in the illegal distribution of copies of copyrighted Android mobile device applications have pleaded guilty for their roles in separate schemes, each designed to distribute more than one million copies of copyrighted apps.



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Astellas Pharma US Inc. to Pay $7.3 Million to Resolve False Claims Act Allegations Relating to Marketing of Drug Mycamine

Pharmaceutical company Astellas Pharma US Inc. will pay $7.3 million to resolve allegations that it violated the False Claims Act in connection with its marketing and promotion of the drug Mycamine for pediatric use.



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Justice Department Settles Sex Discrimination Lawsuit Against California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation

The Department of Justice announced today that it has entered into a settlement agreement that, if approved by the court, will resolve allegations that the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation discriminated against an employee because of his sex in violation of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.



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Bridgestone Corp. Executive Agrees to Plead Guilty for Fixing Prices and Rigging Bids on Auto Parts Installed in U.S. Cars

A former Bridgestone Corp. executive has agreed to plead guilty and to serve 18 months in a U.S. prison for his role in an international conspiracy to fix prices and rig bids of automotive anti-vibration rubber parts sold in the United States and elsewhere.



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Two Former Officers at Roxbury Correctional Institution Sentenced in Connection with Assault of an Inmate

Two former correctional officers at Roxbury Correctional Institution in Hagerstown, Md., were sentenced today in connection with the March 9, 2008, assault of Kenneth Davis, an inmate.



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Corporate-Wide Settlement with Lowe’s Protects Public from Lead Pollution During Home Renovations

Lowe’s Home Centers, one of the nation’s largest home improvement retailers, has agreed to implement a comprehensive, corporate-wide compliance program at its more than 1,700 stores nationwide to ensure its contractors minimize lead dust from home renovation activities.



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Hotel Magnate Pleads Guilty to Federal Election Campaign Spending Limits Evasion Scheme and Witness Tampering

Sant Singh Chatwal, 70, of New York – a businessman operating several restaurants, hotels and a hotel management company – pleaded guilty in the Eastern District of New York to conspiring to violate the Federal Election Campaign Act.



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Former New Mexico Detective Pleads Guilty to Sexually Assaulting Police Department Intern

Michael Garcia, a former detective with the Las Cruces Police Department who focused on child abuse and sex crimes investigations, pleaded guilty today in federal court to a one count information charging Garcia with violating the civil rights of an LCPD student intern when he sexually abused her while on duty.



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Georgia Real Estate Investor Pleads Guilty to Bid Rigging and Fraud at Public Foreclosure Auctions

A Georgia real estate investor pleaded guilty today for his role in conspiracies to rig bids and commit mail fraud at public real estate foreclosure auctions in Georgia.



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Justice Department Settles Immigration-Related Discrimination Claim Against Potter Concrete

The Justice Department reached an agreement today with Potter Concrete, a company based in Dallas, resolving claims that the company engaged in a pattern or practice of document abuse in violation of the Immigration and Nationality Act.



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Real Estate Developer Sentenced to Jail for Filling Protected Mississippi Wetlands

William R. “Rusty” Miller, a real estate developer from Fairhope, Ala., was sentenced today in federal district court in Gulfport, Miss., for the unpermitted filling of wetlands near Bay St. Louis, Miss., in violation of the Clean Water Act.



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Navy Petty Officer Based in Japan Charged in International Bribery Scandal

A fourth U.S. Navy official has been charged in a complaint unsealed today with accepting cash, luxury travel and consumer electronics from a foreign defense contractor in exchange for classified and internal U.S. Navy information.



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Former Certified Nursing Assistant and Co-Conspirators Sentenced to Prison for Identity Theft Tax Scheme

Kimberly Banks, Donalene Mosley and Arneshia Austin were sentenced today in Albany, Ga., to serve 192 months, 37 months and 21 months in prison, respectively, for crimes relating to filing fraudulent income tax returns using stolen identities.



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Armenian Power Gang Leaders Convicted for Their Role in Racketeering Conspiracy

Two leaders of the Armenian Power gang were found guilty today by a federal jury in Los Angeles for their participation in a racketeering conspiracy that included extortion, bank fraud targeting elderly bank customers and a sophisticated credit and debit card skimming scheme.



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Attorney General Eric Holder Delivers Remarks at an Interfaith Service of Unity and Hope Honoring the Victims of Last Week’s Tragic Shootings

A few days ago, many of you observed the beginning of Passover, marking the start of a long and difficult journey from tyranny and persecution toward freedom in the Promised Land. Today, this community begins its own journey of healing. And although the road ahead will not be easy, I promise you that I, and millions of others throughout our nation, will be here to walk alongside you – not only today, but always. We will never stop fighting for justice. And we will never forget the names, or the stories, of those we lost.




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Attorney General Holder: Justice Department Set to Expand Clemency Criteria, Will Prepare for Wave of Applications from Drug Offenders in Federal Prison

In an important step to reduce sentencing disparities for drug offenders in the federal prison system, Attorney General Eric Holder on Monday announced that the Justice Department will soon detail new, more expansive criteria that the Department will use in considering when to recommend clemency applications for the President’s review.



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Department of Justice Announces University Tour by Administration Officials to Raise Awareness of Campus Sexual Assault

In recognition of the 20th anniversary of the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA), the Department of Justice announced a nationwide university tour by top administration officials to raise awareness of campus sexual assault.



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Justice Department Settles Immigration-Related Discrimination Claim Against SK Food Group Inc.

The Justice Department reached an agreement today with SK Food Group Inc., a company based in Seattle, resolving claims that the company used discriminatory document practices when verifying the work authority of non-citizens.



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Two Former S.C. Police Officers Charged with Using Unreasonable Force

A federal grand jury in Florence, S.C., returned a two-count indictment today charging Eric Walters and Franklin Brown, both former police officers with the City of Marion Police Department, with using unreasonable force against a female citizen.



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Federal Court Bars New York Man from Promoting Alleged Tax Scheme

A federal court has permanently barred Ramesh Sarva, a certified public accountant in Little Neck, N.Y., from promoting and selling an alleged nationwide tax scheme, the Justice Department announced today.



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