Attorney General Eric Holder issued the following statement today.

Chase McClary, 23, of Johnsonville, S.C., pleaded guilty today in federal court in the District of South Carolina to violating the Matthew Shepard-James Byrd Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act in his violent assault of an African-American teenager.

U.S. District Judge Reggie B. Walton for the District of Columbia sentenced Mine S. Pase to 14 months in prison, to be followed by three years of supervised release.

Hospice Care of Kansas LLC and its parent company, Ft. Worth, Texas-based Voyager HospiceCare Inc., have agreed to pay $6.1 million to resolve allegations that they violated the False Claims Act by submitting claims to the Medicare program for ineligible hospice services, the Justice Department announced today. Hospice Care of Kansas currently provides hospice services throughout the state of Kansas. Hospice Care of Kansas, which is based in Wichita, Kan., was purchased by Voyager in 2004.

Three former executives of Fair Financial Company, an Ohio financial services business, were found guilty for their roles in a scheme to defraud approximately 5,000 investors of more than $200 million, Assistant Attorney General Lanny A. Breuer of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division; Joseph H. Hogsett, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Indiana; and Special Agent in Charge Robert Holley of the FBI in Indiana announced today.

Attorney General Eric Holder and European Commission Vice-President Viviane Reding issued the following statement following the EU-U.S. Justice and Home Affairs Ministerial meeting in Copenhagen.

The Justice Department filed a lawsuit today against the town of Colorado City, Ariz.; the city of Hildale, Utah; Twin City Water Authority; and Twin City Power alleging a pattern or practice of police misconduct and violations of federal civil rights laws.

U.S. District Judge Marcia G. Cooke in the Southern District of Florida sentenced Ariel Rodriguez to 73 months in prison and three years of supervised release and Reynaldo Navarro to 74 months in prison and three years of supervised release.

"The Department’s Olmstead enforcement activities are dynamic and ongoing," said Assistant Attorney General Perez.

The United States has filed suit in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Wisconsin against Dan Nolan Livestock LLC. and its owner Daniel W. Nolan to block them from violating the Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act (FDCA) in connection with their alleged unlawful use of new animal drugs in cows slaughtered for food. The Justice Department filed the suit on behalf of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

Arthur S. Weiss was indicted by a grand jury for tax fraud, wire fraud, mail fraud, bank loan fraud, money laundering and bankruptcy fraud, the Justice Department and Internal Revenue Service (IRS) announced today. The indictment was returned yesterday in the Middle District of North Carolina.

A federal grand jury in Mobile, Ala., returned an indictment today against two real estate investors and their company, charging them with participating in conspiracies to rig bids and commit mail fraud at public real estate foreclosure auctions held in southern Alabama.

ADC Telecommunications Inc. will pay the United States $1 million to resolve allegations that the company submitted false claims to federal agencies when it sold telecommunications goods manufactured in countries prohibited by the Trade Agreements Act (TAA).

The Justice Department today filed a lawsuit against the Texas Department of Agriculture and Texas General Land Office alleging that both state agencies are liable for discrimination against three female employees on the basis of sex, in violation of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, as amended, which occurred at Texas Department of Rural Affairs.

The Justice Department today filed a lawsuit against the Robertson Fire Protection District in North Saint Louis County, Mo., for unfairly retaliating against a firefighter who provided testimony against the RFPD, in violation of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, as amended.

The owner of a former New York City insulation service company pleaded guilty today to a three-count indictment charging him with conspiring to rig bids on contracts for re-insulation services to New York Presbyterian Hospital, conspiring to defraud the Internal Revenue Service and filing a false tax return.

"In our system, antitrust and intellectual property policy function together to provide consumers with high-quality products and services at competitive prices, while at the same time preserving strong incentives for the innovation that creates and improves those products," said Acting Assistant Attorney General Wayland.

Port Arthur Chemical and Environmental Services LLC (PACES) and its former president Matthew L. Bowman have been charged with conspiracy to illegally transport hazardous materials, resulting in the deaths of two employees, in an indictment handed down by a federal grand jury in Beaumont, Texas.

The former director of corporate maintenance and renovations at Medical Facilities of America Inc. (MFA) was today sentenced to serve 63 months in prison for accepting kickbacks from contractors and evading federal income taxes.

Attorney General Eric Holder and Philadelphia Mayor Michael Nutter today announced the Department of Justice and city of Philadelphia’s Violent Crime Reduction Partnership, which directs additional federal agents and technological resources to assist local law enforcement in combating violent crime.

An Alabama 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 southern Alabama.

Clifford Ubani, 54, and Princewill Njoku, 53, the former co-owners of Family Healthcare Services, were sentenced by U.S. District Judge Gray H. Miller in the Southern District of Texas in Houston.

"In the year since I last appeared before this Subcommittee, the Civil Rights Division has continued our vigorous, fair and independent enforcement of civil rights laws. It is fitting that I come before you today, on the 22nd anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act, a landmark law that represents a bipartisan tradition of evenhanded civil rights enforcement," said Assistant Attorney General Perez.

"Providing information, strengthening police-community relationships, and protecting officers – these are all ways the Office of Justice Programs is working to support law enforcement," said Acting Assistant Attorney General Leary.

"We realize that the protection of our communities, in so many ways, falls directly on your shoulders. But you are not in this alone. If there is one idea that you walk away from this conference with, I hope it will be that we at the Justice Department are your partners in this effort," said Deputy Attorney General Cole.

"I appreciate the various agencies and backgrounds here today – from counterparts within the federal government, to chiefs and sheriffs and their rank and file, plus practitioners, analysts and researchers from numerous institutions and organizations. It’s that collaborative effort that will drive what Barney mentioned earlier – an evolution of policing," said Acting Associate Attorney General West.

http://www.kelev.biz

Jill Ann Charpia, 33, formerly of San Antonio and currently of Colorado, pleaded guilty today before U.S. Magistrate Judge Henry J. Bemporad in San Antonio to a criminal information charging her with one-count of false statements to a government agency.

The Department of Justice announced the guilty plea and sentencing of Easley, S.C.-based Aletec Medical for engaging in a multi-million dollar prescription drug scheme. Altec Medical pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court in Miami to one count of conspiring to defraud the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and to commit federal offenses in connection with a drug-diversion scheme that lasted from 2007 to 2009.

Rodolfo Nieto Jr., 40, of Miami, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Cecilia M. Altonaga in the Southern District of Florida to one count of conspiracy to defraud the United States and to receive health care kickbacks.

Cedyco Corporation, headquartered in Houston, was sentenced today in federal court in the Eastern District of Louisiana.

A federal jury in Washington, D.C., today returned guilty verdicts against Sanford Ltd., a New Zealand fishing company, on six counts of conspiracy, obstruction of justice, and violating the Act to Prevent Pollution from Ships.

The Department of Justice announced today that it will require Verizon and four of the nation’s largest cable companies—Comcast, Time Warner Cable, Bright House Networks and Cox Communications—to make changes to a series of agreements concerning both the sale of bundled wireless and wireline services, and the formation of a technology research joint venture. The department said that, if left unaltered, the agreements would have harmed competition by diminishing the companies’ incentive to compete, resulting in higher prices and lower quality for consumers.

The Department of Justice and the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) announced today that they will hold a joint public workshop on most-favored-nation clauses (MFNs) on Sept.10, 2012, to explore the use of MFN clauses and the implications for antitrust enforcement and policy.

The U.S. District Court for the Western District of Tennessee today approved a comprehensive consent order in McFerren v. County Board of Education of Fayette County, which the Department of Justice negotiated with the Board of Education of Fayette County, Tennessee and the NAACP Legal Defense & Education Fund to desegregate the Fayette County public schools.

Henry Lamont Jones, 37, of Prairieville, La., was sentenced by U.S. District Judge James J. Brady of the Middle District of Louisiana.

The Justice Department announced today that it reached an agreement with MicroLink Devices, a manufacturer of semiconductor structures and advanced solar cells based in Niles, Ill. The agreement resolves allegations that the company violated the anti-discrimination provision of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA), when it placed six online job postings that explicitly stated citizenship status preferences or requirements that excluded certain work-authorized non-citizens from consideration.

Under the terms of a consent decree lodged in federal court today, the Boston Water and Sewer Commission (BWSC) will implement extensive remedial measures to minimize the discharge of sewage and other pollutants into the water bodies in and around Boston.

The Justice Department announced today that it has entered into an agreement with the state of North Carolina to ensure the state is in compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and the Rehabilitation Act. The agreement will transform the state’s system for serving people with mental illness. Under the settlement agreement, over the next eight years, North Carolina’s system will expand community-based services and supported housing that promote inclusion and independence and enable people with mental illness to participate fully in community life.

The U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia has approved a comprehensive settlement agreement between the United States and the Commonwealth of Virginia, resolving the department’s findings that Virginia’s system for serving people with intellectual and developmental disabilities violated the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). The department had found that Virginia was violating the ADA requirement, as interpreted by the Supreme Court’s decision in Olmstead v. L.C., to provide people with intellectual and developmental disabilities the opportunity to live and receive services in the community.

Bryan Underwood, a former civilian guard at a U.S. Consulate compound under construction in China, pleaded guilty today in the District of Columbia in connection with his efforts to sell for personal financial gain classified photographs, information and access related to the U.S. Consulate to China’s Ministry of State Security (MSS).

The United States has intervened and filed a complaint against the private, for-profit chain of schools, ATI Enterprises Inc. based in North Richland, Texas, the Justice Department announced today. ATI Enterprises, Inc., which does business as ATI Technical Training Center, ATI Career Training Center and ATI Career Training, operates career college campuses in Texas, Florida, Oklahoma and New Mexico.

3M Co. abandoned its plan to acquire Avery Dennison Corp.’s Office and Consumer Products Group, its closest competitor in the sale of adhesive-backed labels and sticky notes, after the Department of Justice informed the companies that it would file a civil antitrust lawsuit to block the deal.

Bank of America N.A. has agreed to maintain revised policies, conduct employee training and pay compensation to victims to resolve allegations that it engaged in a pattern or practice of discrimination on the basis of disability and receipt of public assistance in violation of the Fair Housing Act (FHA) and the Equal Credit Opportunity Act (ECOA).

Two Romanian nationals pleaded guilty today to participating in an international, multimillion-dollar scheme to remotely hack into and steal payment card data from hundreds of U.S. merchants’ computers.

"This training could not be more timely. The tragic events in Oak Creek, Wisconsin just last month are a chilling reminder of the need to do all we can to foster tolerance, understanding, and respect among the diverse faiths, communities and peoples that make up America," said Deputy Attorney General Cole.

"We hope the training will inspire even broader collaborations in communities across the nation and forge lasting partnerships among law enforcement, elected officials, non-Sikh communities, and their Sikh neighbors," said Acting Associate Attorney General West.

"Today, I am proud to share with you the Division’s recent accomplishments in preventing, punishing, and deterring violent acts of bigotry and hate," said Deputy Assistant Attorney General Austin.

A jury in Cleveland today convicted 16 people, all residents of Ohio, of federal hate crimes arising out of a series of religiously-motivated assaults on practitioners of the Amish religion, the Justice Department announced.

Attorney General Eric Holder and the Department of Justice’s Bureau of Justice Assistance Director Denise E. O’Donnell today announced more than $11 million in awards to address neighborhood-level crime in 15 locations nationwide.