"In the years to come, we look forward to strengthening our partnership with tribal nations, and to building even more effective collaborations with our colleagues at the Department of the Interior and other federal agencies," said Deputy Attorney General Cole.

The Justice Department announced today that it has settled a lawsuit against Sussex County, Del., and the Planning and Zoning Commission of Sussex County for race and national origin discrimination in violation of the Fair Housing Act.

The Justice Department announced today that the manager and owner of the Geneva Terrace Apartments Inc. in La Crosse, Wis., have agreed to pay $57,500 to settle a lawsuit alleging they violated the Fair Housing Act by discriminating against African-Americans who were seeking to rent apartments at the complex.

A third member of the Internet piracy group “IMAGiNE” was sentenced today to 40 months in prison, and a fifth member of IMAGiNE pleaded guilty today for his role in the conspiracy.

Attorney General Eric Holder issued the following statement today on the release of the recommendations by the National Advisory Committee on Violence Against Women.

The former director of accounting and the former outside auditor of Arizona-based residential mortgage loan originator American Mortgage Specialists Inc. pleaded guilty in Arizona to conspiracy to defraud BNC National Bank and obstruction of justice, respectively.

The Justice Department announced today that it reached an agreement with Gamewell Mechanical Inc., a subsidiary of Woodfin Heating, Inc. based in Salisbury, N.C., resolving claims that the company violated the anti-discrimination provision of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA), when it terminated three employees based on the incorrect assumption that they were undocumented foreign nationals when they were in fact U.S. citizens.

The Justice Department announced today that it reached an agreement with ComForcare In-Home Care & Senior Services, a home care provider for sick and elderly patients in Tigard, Ore. The agreement resolved claims that the provider violated the anti-discrimination provision of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA), when it demanded unnecessary documentation from a newly naturalized citizen in response to an initial mismatch in E-Verify and then refused to hire her when she did not produce it.

Attorney General Eric Holder and European Union (EU) Commissioner for Home Affairs Cecilia Malmström will launch the Global Alliance Against Child Sexual Abuse Online at a ministerial conference tomorrow, Dec. 5, 2012, in Brussels.

William Kirk Montgomery, 23, from Puckett, Miss., and Jonathan K. Gaskamp, 20, from Brandon, Miss., pleaded guilty today in U.S. District Court in Jackson, Miss., to conspiracy and federal hate crime charges in connection with their roles in the assault of African-Americans in Jackson, the Justice Department announced today. Defendants Deryl Paul Dedmon, 20; John Aaron Rice, 19; and Dylan Wade Butler, 21, all from Brandon, Miss., have previously entered guilty pleas in connection with their roles in these offenses. The conspiracy culminated in the death of James Craig Anderson, who was assaulted and killed on June 26, 2011.

Kentucky-based Lusk Mechanical Contractors and Commonwealth Technologies, and their owners, Harry Lusk and Wendell Goodman, have agreed to pay $6.25 million to resolve allegations that they submitted false statements to the Small Business Administration and false claims to the Army, the Justice Department announced today.

John Tuma, 55, of Centerville, Texas, was sentenced today following his March 21, 2012, trial conviction by a federal jury for discharging untreated wastewater directly into the Red River without a permit, discharging untreated wastewater into the city of Shreveport sewer system in violation of its permit and obstructing an EPA inspection.

"Despite the uncertain challenges we face, and the many responsibilities before us, I’m confident that today’s session will afford a unique opportunity to strengthen our shared commitment to this work," said Attorney General Holder.

British contractor APTx Vehicle Systems Limited agreed today to plead guilty to conspiracy to defraud the United States, the Coalition Provisional Authority that governed Iraq from April 2003 to June 2004, the government of Iraq and JP Morgan Chase Bank.

The Department of Justice and New York State Attorney General filed a civil antitrust lawsuit today against a tour bus joint venture formed by Coach USA Inc. and City Sights LLC alleging that the joint venture, known as Twin America LLC, has resulted in higher prices for hop-on, hop-off bus tours in New York City.

Pfizer Inc. will pay $55 million plus interest to resolve allegations that Wyeth LLC illegally introduced and caused the introduction into interstate commerce of a misbranded drug, Protonix, between February 2000 and June 2001, the Justice Department announced today.

The United States and the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania announced today a settlement with the Scranton Sewer Authority (SSA) resolving alleged Clean Water Act violations involving sewer overflows to the Lackawanna River and its tributaries/

The United States and the city of Portland, Ore., have jointly filed in federal court a proposed court enforceable settlement agreement to remedy constitutional claims that the Portland Police Bureau (PPB) engages in a pattern or practice of unconstitutional uses of force in response to “low-level offenses” against persons with actual or perceived mental illness. The agreement addresses the allegations described in a civil action also filed today by the United States, under provisions of the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994 for alleged violations of the Fourth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution.

The Department of Justice today announced that it has entered into a comprehensive memorandum of agreement with the Juvenile Court of Memphis and Shelby County, Tenn., to resolve findings of serious and systemic failures in the juvenile court that violate children’s due process and equal protection rights.

Sanofi-Aventis U.S. Inc. and Sanofi-Aventis U.S. LLC, subsidiaries of international drug manufacturer Sanofi (collectively, Sanofi US), have agreed to pay $109 million to resolve allegations that Sanofi US violated the False Claims Act by giving physicians free units of Hyalgan, a knee injection, in violation of the Anti-Kickback Statute, to induce them to purchase and prescribe the product. The settlement also resolves allegations that Sanofi US submitted false average sales price (ASP) reports for Hyalgan that failed to account for free units distributed contingent on Hyalgan purchases. The government alleges that the false ASP reports, which were used to set reimbursement rates, caused government programs to pay inflated amounts for Hyalgan and a competing product.

A Las Vegas real estate agent was sentenced today to serve 70 months in prison for her participation in a mortgage fraud scheme that netted more than $10 million in fraudulent mortgage loans.

The Justice Department announced today that it reached an agreement with Holliswood Hospital, a hospital in Queens, N.Y., resolving claims that the hospital violated the anti-discrimination provision of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA), when it required newly hired lawful permanent residents to provide more or different documents during the Form I-9 employment eligibility verification process.

The Justice Department today filed a civil rights lawsuit against Terry S. Johnson, in his official capacity as head of the Alamance County Sheriff’s Office (ACSO) in North Carolina.

The Justice Department, at the request of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), today filed a complaint and a proposed consent decree in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Ohio against Invacare Corp., Gerald B. Blouch and Ronald J. Clines.

The Justice Department today announced an agreement with Lesley University in Cambridge, Mass., to ensure that students with celiac disease and other food allergies can fully and equally enjoy the university’s meal plan and food services in compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).

The Justice Department today entered into a sweeping agreement with the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico and Governor Luis Fortuño to resolve its civil investigation of the Puerto Rico Police Department.

The Justice Department announced today that it has reached an agreement with the State of New Hampshire that will allow for all 10 of the towns in that state that are covered jurisdictions under the special provisions of the Voting Rights Act to bail out from coverage by these provisions.

U.S. District Court Judge William P. Johnson entered a consent decree of permanent injunction against Sunland Inc., a Portales, N.M.-based producer of peanut butter, and Jimmie D. Shearer, president and chief executive officer of Sunland, the Justice Department announced today.

Caddell Construction Company Inc., a major commercial and industrial federal government construction contractor based in Montgomery, Ala., has entered into an agreement with the Department of Justice to resolve criminal fraud violations arising from Caddell’s intentional overstating of developmental assistance provided to a disadvantaged small business as part of a Department of Defense (DoD) program.

The Justice Department announced that it has reached an agreement with the Browns Valley Irrigation District, a special district in California, that, if approved by the court, will allow for the district to bail out from its status as a “covered jurisdiction” under the special provisions of the Voting Rights Act, and thereby exempt the district from the preclearance requirements of Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act. The district covers part of Yuba County, which is a jurisdiction subject to Section 5. The agreement is in the form of a consent decree filed today in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia.

Transocean Deepwater Inc. has agreed to plead guilty to violating the Clean Water Act (CWA) and to pay a total of $1.4 billion in civil and criminal fines and penalties, for its conduct in relation to the Deepwater Horizon disaster, the Department of Justice announced today

The Justice Department today announced a settlement agreement with Peroutka and Peroutka P.A., a debt collection law firm based in Pasadena, Md., to resolve allegations that the law firm violated the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) by discriminating against people who are deaf.

Joseph Dominick, 21, from Brandon, Miss., pleaded guilty today in U.S. District Court in Jackson, Miss., to one count of conspiracy to commit federal hate crimes in connection with his role in the assault of African-Americans in Jackson.

The leader of the Internet piracy group “IMAGiNE” was sentenced today to serve 60 months in prison.

Amazon.com; Leon Max Inc., d/b/a Max Studio; Macy’s Inc.; and Sears, Roebuck and Co., Kmart Corporation and Kmart.com (collectively, Sears) have agreed to settle civil lawsuits concerning alleged violations of the Textile Fiber Product Identification Act and the Federal Trade Commission Act.

The United States Justice Department and U.S. Attorney Wendy J. Olson announced today the filing of a complaint alleging that the Jerome County Sheriff’s Office willfully violated the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act of 1994 by failing to reemploy and terminating Idaho Army National Guard Member Mervin Jones while he was recuperating from a knee injury that he sustained while performing military service.

Mary Estelle Curran of Palm Beach, Fla., pleaded guilty today in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida to filing false tax returns for tax years 2006 and 2007.

Montell Williams, of Chicago, pleaded guilty today in Hammond, Ind., to violating the Mann Act by transporting a woman across state lines for the purpose of having her engage in prostitution.

Today, the Justice Department announced that yesterday afternoon it filed in federal court a comprehensive agreement that will resolve long running litigation with the state of Tennessee originally concerning conditions of care at the former Arlington Developmental Center (ADC).

The Department of Justice filed a civil antitrust lawsuit today against Bazaarvoice Inc. challenging the company’s June 2012 acquisition of PowerReviews Inc.

The Justice Department announced that yesterday it reached an agreement with Illinois officials to help ensure that military service members, their family members and other U.S. citizens living overseas have an opportunity to participate fully in the upcoming Feb. 26, 2013, special primary election, and the April 9, 2013, special election to fill a vacated seat in the state’s 2nd Congressional District.

A Virginia man was sentenced today in federal court to serve one year and one day in prison for selling counterfeit General Motors (GM) automotive diagnostic devices used by mechanics to identify problems with and assure the safety of motor vehicles.

The Justice Department today announced that property manager Rudy Ferrante agreed to a $15,000 civil judgment against him, to resolve allegations that he sexually harassed female tenants in Portland, Maine.

A Los Angeles check cashing store, its head manager and its designated anti-money laundering compliance officer were sentenced today in the Central District of California for failing to follow reporting and anti-money laundering requirements for over $8 million in transactions in violation of the Bank Secrecy Act (BSA).

A former special agent of the Department of Homeland Security’s Office of Inspector General (DHS-OIG) pleaded guilty today in a Southern District of Texas federal court to participating in a scheme to falsify records and to obstruct an internal field office inspection.

A former minister pleaded guilty today in North Carolina to engaging in illicit sexual conduct in Haiti.

The United States has asked a federal court in Florence, S.C., to permanently bar Susann Allen of Darlington County, S.C., and Rachel D. Watson of Florence County, S.C., from preparing federal income tax returns for others.

PNC Bank N.A. has agreed to pay the United States $7.1 million to settle claims under the False Claims Act that it failed to engage in prudent underwriting practices in connection with the issuance of loans guaranteed by the Small Business Administration (SBA).

"These realities indicate that stalking is a serious issue for every community across the United States that requires a multidisciplinary approach – Fortunately, many of the agencies that are needed to appropriately address and respond to the crime of stalking are represented on this panel today," said Acting Director Hanson.

U.S. District Judge David M. Lawson, of the Eastern District of Michigan, entered a consent decree of permanent injunction against Ann Arbor, Michigan-based Green Hope LLC, dba Rosewood Products, and its president, Phil G. Ye.