Medtronic Inc. of Fridley, Minn., has agreed to pay the United States $23.5 million to resolve allegations that it violated the False Claim Act by using physician payments related to post-market studies and device registries as kickbacks to induce doctors to implant the company’s pacemakers and defibrillators.

John Mihalczo, 47, of Homosassa, Fla., was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Matthew F. Kennelly of the Northern District of Illinois.

The Justice Department announced today that it has reached a settlement agreement with S.W.J.J. Inc., or Sernak Farms, based in Weatherly, Penn., to settle allegations that Sernak engaged in discrimination on the basis of citizenship status by preferring to hire temporary visa holders over U.S. citizen applicants and adversely treating its U.S. citizen employees.

"The fraud recoveries that make up that $5.6 billion run the gamut – from healthcare fraud to grant fraud, from mortgage fraud to procurement fraud," said Deputy Attorney General Cole.

"Nearly half a century has passed since a national tragedy catapulted Lyndon Johnson to the Presidency, and at the same time 'launched a new chapter in America’s story. Those of us who lived through those painful days will never forget LBJ’s first Presidential speech – to a nation in mourning, and in desperate need of strong and steady leadership," said Attorney General Holder.

The Department of Justice and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced today that CalPortland Company (CPC), a major producer of Portland cement and building materials in the United States, has agreed to pay a $1.425 million penalty to resolve alleged violations of the Clean Air Act at its cement plant in Mojave, Calif.

Pelican Refining Company LLC, was sentenced today to pay $12 million for felony violations of the Clean Air Act and obstruction of justice charges in federal court in Lafayette, La.

The government’s action results from a series of inspections by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) of G&s farms from 2009 to 2011.

Richard Stewart, a resident of Mitchellville, Md., pleaded guilty today for failing to pay over employment taxes in connection with his ownership of Montgomery Mechanical Services.

Lisa A. Dean, 38, of Alexandria, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Court Judge Gerald Bruce Lee in the Eastern District of Virginia to a criminal information charging her with two counts of making a false claim against the United States.

The $3 billion total for fiscal year 2011 includes a record $2.8 billion in recoveries under the whistleblower provisions of the False Claims Act, which is the government’s primary civil remedy to redress false claims for federal money or property, such as Medicare benefits, payments on military contracts, and federal subsidies and loans.

David A. Cusumano of Plymouth, Mich., and Henry Nino, a resident of Northville, Mich., were sentenced today following their pleas of guilty to tax evasion, the Justice Department and Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI) announced today.

Bruce Gregory Harrison III was convicted yesterday following a jury trial in federal court in Winston-Salem, N.C.

Julian Zapata Espinoza, also known as “Piolin,” has been extradited from Mexico to the United States to face charges for his alleged participation in the murder of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Special Agent Jaime Zapata and the attempted murder of ICE Special Agent Victor Avila on Feb. 15, 2011, in Mexico.

U.S. District Judge Gloria M. Navarro sentenced Jose Lopez-Buelna, aka “Miguel,” 51, to 20 years in prison, and Erik Dushawn Webster, 47, to 25 years in prison.

Julie Matau, 49, of San Francisco, pleaded guilty to one count of wire fraud before U.S. District Judge Claudia Wilken. Andrea Matau, 28, also of San Francisco, pleaded guilty to one misdemeanor count of theft of federal funds before Judge Wilken.

The United States today obtained an agreed permanent injunction against a Chicago food processing firm, Triple A Services Inc., and three of its executives after filing a federal lawsuit alleging that Triple A’s ready-to-eat sandwiches and produce were not being prepared in compliance with federal regulations to protect food against contamination.

A former Major in the U.S. Army National Guard who was deployed to Bagram Airfield, Afghanistan, was sentenced to 60 months in prison for receiving bribes from military contractors in exchange for fraudulently verifying the receipt of concrete bunkers and barriers that were never received.

The Justice Department announced today that it reached a settlement with BAE Systems Ship Repair Inc., a leading provider of ship repair services, to settle allegations that its subsidiary, BAE Systems Southeast Shipyards Alabama LLC, engaged in a pattern or practice of discrimination by imposing unnecessary and additional documentary requirements on work-authorized non-U.S. citizens when establishing their eligibility to work in the United States.

The settlement will protect Americans’ health by reducing more than 7,000 tons of harmful nitrogen oxides and sulfur dioxide pollution each year that can lead to childhood asthma, acid rain and smog.

GE Healthcare Inc. has paid the United States $30 million, plus interest, to settle allegations that a company it acquired in 2004, Amersham Health Inc., had violated the False Claims Act by causing Medicare to overpay for Myoview, a radiopharmaceutical used in certain cardiac diagnostic imaging procedures, the Justice Department announced.

The Justice Department announced a settlement today with Garland Sales Inc., a Georgia rug manufacturer, resolving allegations that it engaged in discrimination by imposing unnecessary documentary requirements on individuals of Hispanic origin when establishing their eligibility to work in the United States, and that it retaliated against a worker for protesting his discriminatory treatment.

The United States has intervened and filed a complaint in a whistleblower suit against AseraCare Hospice, the Justice Department announced today.

Maersk Line Limited has agreed to pay the government $31.9 million to resolve allegations that it submitted false claims to the United States in connection with contracts to transport cargo in shipping containers to support U.S. troops in Afghanistan and Iraq.

John R. Brock, 52, of Crofton, Md., was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Robert L. Wilkins in the District of Columbia.

Ronald E. Burrell, former chief executive officer of Caremerica Inc., pleaded guilty today to conspiring to defraud the Internal Revenue Service.

The United States alleged that BCSO denied detainees access to books, magazines, newspapers or other expressive materials and denied them the right to practice their religion, in violation of the First Amendment and the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act (RLUIPA).

Keoje Marine was sentenced to pay a $1.15 million criminal penalty, $250,000 of which will go to the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation as a community service payment for projects aimed at protecting and restoring marine resources in the District of Hawaii.

Phillip Oliver, 46, an inmate at the Muskogee County, Okla., Jail (MCJ) pleaded guilty today in U.S. District Court in Muskogee to one count of conspiracy related to the orchestrated beating of a fellow inmate at the behest of an unnamed jailer on duty.

Philip Butcher pleaded guilty today before U.S. District Judge Patricia Seitz in Miami to filing a false claim for a tax refund, the Justice Department and the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) announced.

Former Sergeant Charles O. Finch, 45, of Milalani, Hawaii, was sentenced yesterday by U.S. District Judge Leslie E. Kobayashi in the District of Hawaii to 51 months in prison and three years of supervised release and was ordered to pay $200,000 in restitution to the Department of Defense.

Crystal Sayles was arrested today on charges stemming from her use of stolen identities to commit federal tax fraud, the Justice Department and the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) announced today.

Chiquanta Davis, Terrence Davis and Laurekshia Blakely were charged in a superseding indictment by a federal grand jury in the Middle District of Alabama on multiple counts stemming from an identity theft and tax fraud scheme, the Justice Department and the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) announced today.

A federal court of appeals has, for the second time, rejected an alleged abusive tax shelter engineered by a subsidiary of General Electric Capital Corporation, the Justice Department announced today.

Douglas J. Kuester of Silver City, N.M., was arrested today on identity theft and tax fraud charges, the Justice Department and the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) announced.

The United States has filed a consent decree for permanent injunction against the generic drug manufacturer Ranbaxy Laboratories Ltd., an Indian corporation, in the U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland, the Department of Justice announced today.

The Justice Department today announced that it has entered into a comprehensive settlement agreement that will transform the Commonwealth of Virginia’s system for serving people with developmental disabilities, including intellectual disabilities, and will resolve violations of the Americans with Disabilities Act.

A U.S. military recruiter pleaded guilty today to conspiracy to obtain approximately $190,000 in fraudulent recruiting bonuses from various U.S. military components and their contractor, announced Assistant Attorney General Lanny A. Breuer of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division.

"I am especially grateful for the opportunity to salute the important work that you are doing here – to provide a place of learning, healing, and advocacy; to shed light on our nation’s long – and ongoing – struggle for equal justice; and to bring attention to the suffering of millions – all around the world – who remain enslaved," said Attorney General Holder.

A former owner and operator of a Florida-based airline services company was sentenced today to serve 24 months in prison and to pay restitution for conspiring to commit wire fraud and honest services fraud in a kickback scheme to defraud Ryan International Airlines.

Asset Acceptance LLC, a Michigan-based debt buyer, has agreed to a consent decree to settle a civil lawsuit regarding its debt collection activities.

– A former soldier who also served as a contract military recruiter pleaded guilty today to conspiracy to obtain more than $200,000 in fraudulent recruiting bonuses from various U.S. military components and their contractor.

Three men and a demolition company were convicted by a federal jury in Chattanooga, Tenn., of environmental crimes and obstruction of justice charges related to the illegal demolition of a Chattanooga factory containing large amounts of the toxic air pollutant asbestos.

A Virginia contractor was sentenced today to serve 37 months in prison for participating in a scheme to steer contracts to him for repair, maintenance and renovation work at healthcare and nursing home facilities owned by Medical Facilities of America Inc.

The Justice Department today celebrated the 25th anniversary of the 1986 amendments to the False Claims Act. The False Claims Act has been called the single most important tool that American taxpayers have to recover funds when false claims are made to the federal government, including health care fraud, mortgage fraud, and procurement fraud.

"For nearly 150 years – since its initial passage during the Lincoln Administration – the False Claims Act has provided ordinary Americans with essential tools to combat fraud, to help recover damages, and to bring accountability to those who would take advantage of the United States government – and of American taxpayers," said Attorney General Holder.

"Our primary weapon for deterring and redressing fraud is the False Claims Act, which makes it illegal to submit fraudulent claims to the government," said Assistant Attorney General West.

A former soldier pleaded guilty today to conspiracy to obtain a total of at least approximately $240,000 in fraudulent recruiting bonuses from various U.S. military components and their contractor, and to one count of aggravated identity theft for unlawfully using the means of identification of a potential soldier.

The suit, filed in U.S. District Court in Fort Myers, Fla., alleges that Lee County discriminated against tradesworkers Marco Ferreira, Eduardo Rivera and Leonides Sepulveda by subjecting them to racial and ethnic harassment over a period of approximately two years beginning in 2007 and ending in 2009.

Austin Galvan, 30, was charged in a two-count indictment unsealed on Aug. 29, 2011, with wire fraud and obstruction of justice.