The Department said that the deal as originally proposed would substantially lessen competition in the manufacture of refinery desalters in the United States.

“This task force’s mission is not just to hold accountable those who helped bring about the last financial meltdown, but to prevent another meltdown from happening,” Attorney General Eric Holder said.

Detroit resident Jaquita Lovelace and Miami resident Timothy Pierce have pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court in Detroit to participating in conspiracies to defraud the Medicare program.

According to the charging documents, the offenses include providing financial support to those who traveled to Somalia to fight on behalf of al-Shabaab, a designated foreign terrorist organization; attending terrorist training camps operated by al-Shabaab; and fighting on behalf of al-Shabaab.

“The right to worship without fear of this kind of violent interference is among our most fundamental civil rights,” said Thomas E. Perez, Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Rights Division.

Jacques Monsieur, a Belgian national and resident of France suspected of international arms dealing for decades, pleaded guilty today in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Alabama to conspiracy to illegally export F-5 fighter jet engines and parts from the Untied States to Iran.

The department said the transaction, as originally proposed, would substantially lessen competition in infectious waste collection and treatment services to hospitals and other critical healthcare facilities.

A federal grand jury in Greensboro, N.C., returned an indictment today charging a poultry processor and a plant manager with multiple violations of the Clean Water Act for illegally discharging wastewater from its Raeford, N.C., based facility

Michael Parker of Baltimore, who was the chief operating officer of TransCapital Corporation, a tax-advantaged investments company based in Northen Virginia, pleaded guilty today to one count of conspiracy to defraud the United States.

Two Bulgarian nationals have been sentenced in U.S. District Court in the District of Columbia for their roles as money launderers for a transnational criminal group based in Eastern Europe, announced Assistant Attorney General Lanny A. Breuer of the Criminal Division.

A Chicago man who was arrested in October for planning terrorist attacks against a Danish newspaper and two of its employees is alleged to have also conducted extensive surveillance of targets in Mumbai for more than two years preceding the November 2008 terrorist attack on India’s largest city that killed approximately 170 people, including six Americans, and injured hundreds more.

Two Florida executives of a Miami-Dade County-based telecommunications company, the president of Florida-based Telecom Consulting Services Corp., and two former Haitian government officials were charged in an indictment unsealed today for their alleged roles in a foreign bribery, wire fraud and money laundering scheme.

The United States has reached a $6.75 million settlement with Itochu Corp. of Japan and its American subsidiary, Itochu International Inc., to resolve claims under the False Claims Act in connection with the companies’ importation and sale of defective Zylon fiber used as the key ballistic material in bullet-proof vests purchased by the United States for federal, state, local and tribal law enforcement agencies.

Robert Corp, a mortgage underwriter in Syracuse, N.Y., has agreed to pay the United States close to $679,000 to settle allegations that he defrauded the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD).

"The challenges facing law enforcement in tribal communities are enormous. The basic level of police protection that most Americans take for granted simply does not exist in many parts of Indian Country. We have a duty to change that."

Detroit-area residents Baskaran Thangarasan, Sandeep Aggarwal and Wayne Smith pleaded guilty this week for their roles in connection with several Detroit-area health care fraud schemes.

Robert Jeffery, 55, a former master chief petty officer in the U.S. Navy, was sentenced today to four years in prison for his participation in a scheme to steal approximately 10 million gallons of fuel from the U.S. Army in Iraq, announced Assistant Attorney General of the Criminal Division Lanny A. Breuer and U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia Neil H. MacBride.

Ehsanul Islam Sadequee, 23, of Roswell, Ga., and Syed Haris Ahmed, 25, of Atlanta, were sentenced today in federal court following their convictions earlier this year in separate but related criminal trials.

The forfeiture is the largest ever entered against an entity for IEEPA violations.

Albert Gonzalez pleaded guilty to conspiracy to gain unauthorized access to the payment card networks operated by, among others, Heartland Payment Systems, 7-Eleven and Hannaford Brothers Co. Inc.

The Department’s Civil Rights Division and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York have entered into an agreement with New York City to correct conditions of confinement at the Kings County Hospital Center’s (KCHC) psychiatric emergency room and psychiatric in-patient units located in Brooklyn, N.Y.

A Florida man has been sentenced to 90 months in prison for making e-mail and telephone threats, including threats intended to cause a candidate for statewide office in Florida to drop out of an election.

The national coordinator is charged with formulating and implementing a national strategy to combat child exploitation, and with submitting the strategy and relevant reports to Congress.

A federal grand jury today returned a superseding indictment adding three defendants, including Tahawwur Rana, to charges filed last month against David Coleman Headley, alleging that they and others participated in conspiracies involving a planned terrorist attack against a Danish newspaper and the November 2008 terrorist attacks in Mumbai, India, that killed approximately 164 people, including six Americans.

General Re has admitted that its most senior management engaged in a scheme to falsely inflate AIG’s reported loss reserves, a key indicator of financial health to insurance industry analysts and investors.

The chief executive officer of Sterling Seafood Corporation located in Cresskill, N.J., pleaded guilty to importing falsely labeled fish from Vietnam and evading over $60 million in federal tariffs, as well as selling over $500,000 in similarly misbranded fish purchased from another importer in the United States.

After a two-week trial, a federal jury in Cheyenne, Wyo., today convicted Randy Lee (aka Jimmy Lee) on eleven of fourteen felony counts with which he was charged.

"Over the years, I’ve been privileged to work with many of you, and, today, I’m proud to stand alongside each of you in answering our nation’s call to attain justice," said Attorney General Holder.

"Supporting law enforcement operations is vital to fulfilling our missions and responsibilities," said Attorney General Holder.

The Department will require Ticketmaster Entertainment Inc. to license its ticketing software, divest ticketing assets and subject itself to anti-retaliation provisions in order to proceed with its proposed merger with Live Nation Inc.

The United States has obtained a $10 million consent judgment against Los Angeles businessman Robert Bourseau and Dr. Rudra Sabaratnam for a Medicare and Medi-Cal fraud scheme arising from their former ownership of the Los Angeles City of Angels Medical Center.

The Sewerage & stalled for several years in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina – to make extensive improvements to reduce or eliminate sewage overflows into the Mississippi River, Lake Pontchartrain and its storm drainage canal system.

Sylvia Smith, 64, a retired nurse, was convicted today of conspiracy to commit health care fraud and health care fraud.

Two former executives of Willbros International Inc. (WII), a subsidiary of Houston-based Willbros Group Inc. (Willbros), were sentenced today for their roles in a conspiracy to pay more than $6 million in bribes to government officials of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and officials from a Nigerian political party.

New agreements regarding extradition and mutual legal assistance between the European Union (EU) and the United States enter into force today.

"We need this Civil Rights Museum so that we remember our history, however painful it may be," said Assistant Attorney General Perez.

Isidro Hinojosa Benavides, 77, a U.S. citizen extradited from Argentina, pleaded guilty today to engaging in illicit sexual conduct in foreign places.

The Department has reached a settlement agreement with the Alameda County, Calif., Sheriff’s Office, under which it will provide sign language interpreters and other auxiliary aids and services to arrestees, detainees, suspects, victims, witnesses, complainants and visitors who are deaf, hard of hearing or deaf-blind at two jails.

Attorney General Eric Holder sent a letter today to Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell regarding the detention and interrogation of Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab.

Thomas S. Pendleton, 66, was sentenced today by Chief U.S. District Judge Gregory M. Sleet in Wilmington, Del., to the statutory maximum of 30 years in prison and a lifetime of supervised release for traveling to Germany to have sex with a minor.

Yi-Lan Chen, aka "Kevin Chen," 40, a Taiwan passport holder, was arrested on Feb. 3, 2010, on charges of illegally exporting commodities for Iran’s missile program.

Jaisankar Marimuthu, a native of Chennai, India, pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, securities fraud, computer fraud and aggravated identity theft, and to one count of aggravated identity theft.

Parker ITR S.r.l. has agreed to plead guilty and to pay a $2.29 million criminal fine for participating in a conspiracy to rig bids, fix prices and allocate market shares of marine hose.

"Today, we celebrate a milestone in Barb McQuade’s remarkable career," said Attorney General Holder.

The Department announced a settlement agreement with The Children’s House Inc. of Broadview Heights, Ohio, a suburb of Cleveland, to provide services for children with asthma as required by the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).

"After a thorough review of the evidence, the division has determined that the proposed transaction is not likely to substantially lessen competition in the United States."

Among other things, Zazi admitted that he brought TATP [Triacetone Triperoxide] explosives to New York on Sept. 10, 2009, as part of plan to attack the New York subway system.

Keshawn Deron Wilson of Asbury Park, N.J., pleaded guilty today in Tampa, Fla., to federal charges of using a video camera to record then newly-released motion pictures in a New Jersey theater.

"I’m proud of what’s been accomplished, in a very short time, by our fusion centers," said Attorney General Holder.

A federal judge in Beaumont, Texas, has permanently barred 12 people from promoting an alleged tax fraud scheme involving bogus income tax credits.