Attorney General Eric Holder today announced the appointment of Robin C. Ashton to serve as head of the Office of Professional Responsibility (OPR) at the Department of Justice.

Attorney General Eric Holder, Associate Attorney General Tom Perrelli and Director of the Office on Violence Against Women (OVW) Susan B. Carbon today opened an event focused on the complexities and impact of stalking crimes.

Attorney General Eric Holder announced today the creation of a new Professional Misconduct Review Unit to handle disciplinary actions for career attorneys at the Department of Justice that arise from Office of Professional Responsibility (OPR) investigations and appointed Kevin Ohlson to be its Chief.

The Department of Justice announced today that it is accepting applications from Native American and Alaska Native tribal communities for funding to improve public safety in Indian country via the Fiscal Year (FY) 2011 Coordinated Tribal Assistance Solicitation (CTAS).

"Today, more than 800 federal, state and local law enforcement officials have arrested over 110 individuals, including dozens of La Cosa Nostra members and associates."

A Michigan businessman pleaded guilty to wire fraud in connection with the federal E-Rate program.

"The Departments of Justice and HHS have a long history of working together in this fight against health care fraud. While we know that most health care dollars are spent on healing sick Americans and most companies and providers work hard to play by the rules, we also know that too much money is lost to fraud and abuse. So, we have been fighting back together, on behalf of American taxpayers and patients."

The Justice Department today announced an agreement with Fairfax County, Va., to improve access to all aspects of civic life for persons with disabilities.

An Illinois food processing company has agreed to pay a $390,000 civil penalty to the United States to settle allegations that its Baxter Springs, Kan., processing facility overloaded the city’s wastewater treatment system with millions of gallons of industrial wastewater, at times causing pollution along a 22-mile-long section of the Spring River in southeast Kansas and northeast Oklahoma.

A federal jury in Columbia, S.C., convicted Oddie Tribble, 51, a former police officer with the Kershaw County, S.C., Sherriff’s Office, of a civil rights violation for his use of excessive force on a man in his custody on Aug. 5, 2010.

Five individuals and a Nashville, Tenn., firearms manufacturer have been indicted by a federal grand jury on charges relating to international firearms and trafficking violations of the Arms Export Control Act.

Michael P.S. Scanlon, 40, a business partner of former lobbyist Jack Abramoff, was sentenced today in U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C., to 20 months in prison for his role in a wide-ranging public corruption and fraud conspiracy.

Tan Nguyen, 35, from Oceanside, Calif., was sentenced this morning by U.S. District Judge David O. Carter to one year and one day in federal prison for his conviction last year on a federal obstruction of justice charge stemming from lies he told California investigators about his involvement in a letter sent to Latino voters during his 2006 campaign for U.S. House of Representatives.

An agreement has been reached with the town of Swansea, Mass., to improve access to all aspects of civic life for persons with disabilities.

Two individuals pleaded guilty today to conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud for their roles in business opportunity fraud schemes.

A federal grand jury in Alexandria, Va., today returned an indictment charging William P. Danielczyk Jr. and Eugene R. Biagi with reimbursing $186,600 in contributions to the Senate and Presidential campaign committees of a candidate for federal office, and obstructing the Federal Election Commission (FEC) and the FBI.

"I am pleased to be here today with my friend, U.S. Attorney Birotte, and our law enforcement partners to announce these indictments, and the arrest of more than 80 members and associates of transnational organized crime groups, including a particularly powerful one based here in California."

The former president of Infinia Healthcare LLC, a company that operated long-term healthcare facilities in several states, was indicted by a federal grand jury in the U.S. District Court in Utah for three counts of tax evasion.

"As today’s arrests prove, the federal government is working aggressively to pursue health care criminals around the country and to bring offenders to justice."

"Today, as we commemorate Black History Month, we honor our nation’s past. But we must also reaffirm our vision of the future that we will share and, together, must build."

An Ohio man residing in Switzerland was charged by information in the Northern District of Ohio for filing false personal income tax returns for the years 2004 through 2008, the Department of Justice announced today.

The office manager of a Los Angeles durable medical equipment (DME) company pleaded guilty today to conspiring with her former church pastor to run a power wheelchair scheme that defrauded Medicare of more than $6 million, the Departments of Justice and Health and Human Services (HHS) announced.

The Attorney General sent the following letter today to Congressional leadership to inform them of the Department’s course of action in two lawsuits, Pedersen v. OPM and Windsor v. United States, challenging Section 3 of the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA), which defines marriage for federal purposes as only between a man and a woman.

The United States has sued two Southern California attorneys and a Kentucky financial professional to bar them from promoting an allegedly abusive tax shelter known as an “intermediary transaction.”

A superseding indictment returned by a federal grand jury in Nashville, Tenn., was unsealed today, charging six alleged members of the violent gang known as the Bloods with various racketeering and murder charges.

As part of continued efforts to close the chapter on allegations that discrimination occurred at U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) in past decades.

Edward Lee Sullivan, of Oakland, Calif., was convicted on Feb. 25, 2011, of one count of producing and one count of possessing child pornography.

Victor Kaganov, who emigrated from Russia and set up numerous shell corporations in Oregon on behalf of Russian clients, pleaded guilty today to charges of operating an unlicensed money transmitting business.

An agreement has been reached with the city of Des Moines, Iowa, and the Des Moines Public Library, to improve access to all aspects of civic life for persons with disabilities.

David Chiaradio of Westerly, R.I., was sentenced today in U.S. District Court in Providence, R.I., to 97 months in prison and a lifetime of supervised release for distribution and possession of child pornography.

The former campaign treasurer for Representative Frank LoBiondo of New Jersey pleaded guilty today to embezzling more than $450,000 from the congressman’s election and re-election campaign accounts.

The Justice Department announced today that the Hillsboro, Oregon, School District will allow Jordan “Scooter” Givens to bring his trained autism service dog into his classroom in the Hillsboro School District.

Puerto Rico Senator Hector Martinez Maldonado and Juan Bravo Fernandez, the former president of one of the largest private security companies in Puerto Rico, were convicted by a jury in San Juan, Puerto Rico, for their roles in a bribery scheme involving legislation beneficial to Bravo Fernandez’ business.

A State Department contract employee pleaded guilty today to illegally accessing confidential passport application files.

I am here to announce the U.S. government’s latest actions to ensure safety along our Southwest border, to seek justice for victims of violent crime in this region, and to weaken dangerous criminal organizations currently operating in Mexico and the United States – including the international gang known as “Barrio Azteca.”

From the very first day of this investigation, prosecutors from the Justice Department’s Criminal Division and the U.S. Attorney’s Office in El Paso have worked around-the-clock with our law enforcement partners in Mexico and the United States to find those responsible for these heinous crimes and bring them to justice.

Kenneth L. Richardson of Nashville, Tenn., was arraigned in Nashville on charges of making and subscribing a false income tax return for 2004, and for failure to file a tax return for years 2005, 2006 and 2007.

U.S. District Judge Roger W. Titus sentenced Irvin Hannis Catlett Jr., 64, of Crownsville, Md., today to 210 months in prison, followed by three years of supervised release for tax offenses in connection with a scheme to prepare individual income tax returns for clients, which reported bogus tax losses from a purported car leasing company.

"The Justice Department opened its investigation of the New Orleans Police Department last year with a single mission: to work with all stakeholders to build a world class police force," said Assistant Attorney General Perez.

"Unfortunately, our conclusions reveal that many NOPD officers have failed to live up to what we rightfully expect from our law enforcement officers," said Deputy Attorney General Cole.

The Department of Justice reminds members of the public to be aware of and report any instances of suspected fraudulent charitable contribution schemes related to the natural disasters in Japan.

Julius Everett “Bud” Johnson, of Richmond, Va., pleaded guilty today in U.S. District Court in Richmond for his role in an investment scheme resulting in millions of dollars in losses.

A federal court in Dallas has barred Arthur Piner Grider III from operating businesses under any name.

Karl B. Rodney, the chief executive officer of the Carib News Foundation and publisher of Carib News, pleaded guilty today in U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia to making a false statement to the U.S. House of Representatives.

In order to proceed with the first phase of their acquisition of certain patents and patent applications from Novell Inc., CPTN Holdings LLC and its owners have altered their original agreements to address the Justice Department’s antitrust concerns.

A Michigan woman pleaded guilty today to selling more than $400,000 worth of counterfeit computer software.

A Las Vegas man was arrested yesterday on charges that he defrauded distressed homeowners in Las Vegas who were attempting to refinance or adjust their home mortgages.

An Alabama businessman pleaded guilty today before U.S. Magistrate Judge Wallace Capel Jr. to his role in conspiring to bribe legislators in exchange for their favorable votes on pro-gambling legislation.

Two Miami-area medical assistants and a physician assistant were sentenced to prison today for their roles in a $23 million Medicare fraud scheme involving HIV infusion therapy.

The Justice Department announced today its participation in two related settlement agreements involving the accessibility of the Law School Admission Council’s online application service, which is used by law schools nationwide for their application processes.