Fastenal Company, a national hardware store distributor, has reached a settlement with the United States following an investigation of alleged false claims in connection with a General Services Administration contract.

Axel Rafael Mercado was sentenced today by U.S. District Court Judge Patricia A. Seitz to 24 months in prison for tax evasion.

It is always a pleasure for me to see my long-time friends at the D.C. Bar. I have been a D.C. Bar member since 1991 – that is 20 years – and have served on various Bar committees and participated in pro bono activities sponsored by the Bar.

The president and co-director of a Florida corporation was sentenced today to 33 months in prison for money laundering related to proceeds generated by the corporation through its distribution of child pornography.

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.

Harold James Nicholson, 59, was sentenced today to 96 months imprisonment by U.S. District Judge Anna J. Brown following his guilty pleas to the crimes of conspiracy to act as an agent of a foreign government and conspiracy to commit international money laundering.

Judge Arguello also ordered Army Major Roderick D. Sanchez, 45, of Pueblo, Colo., to serve three years of supervised release following his prison term, and to pay a $15,000 fine.

Ninety-one members and associates of seven organized crime families of La Cosa Nostra (LCN), including the New England LCN family, all five New York-based families and the New Jersey-based Decavalcante family have been charged with federal crimes in 16 indictments returned in four judicial districts.

St. Jude Medical Inc. of St. Paul, Minn., has agreed to pay the United States $16 million to resolve allegations that the company used post-market studies and a registry to pay kickbacks to induce physicians to implant the company’s pacemakers and defibrillators, the Justice Department announced today.

The former controller of a Miami-Dade County, Fla., telecommunications company was sentenced to 24 months in prison for his participation in a conspiracy to pay and conceal bribes to former Haitian government officials.

Lockheed Martin Inc. has reached a $2 million settlement with the United States to resolve False Claims Act claims in a whistleblower suit.

The Justice Department today released a proposed rule that aims to prevent and respond to sexual abuse in incarceration settings, in accordance with the Prison Rape Elimination Act.

"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."

Noshir S. Gowadia, 66, of Maui, Hawaii, was sentenced late yesterday to 32 years in prison for communicating classified national defense information to the People’s Republic of China (PRC), illegally exporting military technical data, as well as money laundering, filing false tax returns and other offenses.

Richard A. Muto of Buffalo, N.Y., has pleaded guilty to corruptly endeavoring to obstruct and impede the administration of the internal revenue laws.

A former senior employee of a U.S. military contractor was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge David Hittner in Houston to 37 months in prison for participating in a conspiracy to pay $360,000 in bribes to U.S. Army contracting officials stationed at a U.S. military base in Kuwait.

"The Defending Childhood Initiative is one of several in the Department where we have sought to enhance how we work together, all with the goal of better helping our partners in cities, towns, reservations, and rural areas throughout the Nation."

Deputy Attorney General James Cole today announced the appointment of Lisa O. Monaco as the Principal Associate Deputy Attorney General and Stuart M. Goldberg as the Chief of Staff to the Deputy Attorney General.

A Detroit-area patient recruiter was sentenced today to 40 months in prison for his role in a conspiracy to defraud the Medicare program.

"Since I became Assistant Attorney General, in April 2009, I have spoken to many audiences about the recent reinvigoration of our criminal enforcement efforts; and in this era of heightened enforcement, I think organizations like WMACCA, which allow business leaders and lawyers to come together and share ideas, serve an especially important function."

Attorney General Eric Holder and Director of the Office on Violence Against Women, Susan B. Carbon today opened the first meeting of the re-chartered National Advisory Committee on Violence Against Women (NAC).

The former owner of Buddy’s Carpet, Leif D. Rozin, and Alan W. Koehler, the company’s former in-house counsel, were sentenced to prison for their roles in a tax fraud scheme for which they were convicted in 2008.

The Department of Justice’s Office of Justice Programs’ (OJP) newly created Science Advisory Board convened its first meeting today in Washington, D.C.

Dwain D. Williams, 37, was sentenced today by U.S. District Court Judge W. Louis Sands to life in prison for child sex abuse offenses.

Leon Pullen, 32, of Foley, Mo., a former police officer employed by the Uplands Park Police Department in suburban St. Louis, was sentenced to 25 years in prison on civil rights violations stemming from several incidents where he sexually assaulted and stole money from women.

"As our nation’s Attorney General, and as a parent of two teenage daughters, addressing violence rates – and implementing bold, innovative and collaborative solutions – is a top priority."

Stephen Sims was sentenced today by Senior U.S. District Court Judge Gustave Diamond in the Western District of Pennsylvania to 17 years in prison for engaging in a child exploitation enterprise.

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.

Oracle America Inc. has agreed to pay the United States $46 million to settle claims that Sun Microsystems Inc., a corporation that merged with Oracle in 2010, submitted false claims and caused others to submit false claims to the General Services Administration and other federal agencies.

Maxwell Technologies Inc. has agreed to pay an $8 million criminal penalty to resolve charges related to the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) for bribing Chinese government officials to secure sales of Maxwell’s products to state-owned manufacturers of electric-utility infrastructure in several Chinese provinces.

CareSource, CareSource Management Group Co. and CareSource USA Holding Co. have agreed to pay the United States and the state of Ohio $26 million to resolve allegations that they caused Medicaid to make payments for assessments and case managements they failed to provide to children and adults.

"As part of this fight against human trafficking, specialized Anti-Trafficking Coordination Teams, known as ACTeams, will be convened in a number of pilot districts nationwide," said Attorney General Holder.

The Justice Department today announced a settlement of its lawsuit alleging that Chandi Biswas, Kenneth R. Scott and Frankie L. Roberson violated the Fair Housing Act by making discriminatory statements against African-American renters at Rolling Oaks Apartments in Clanton, Ala.

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.

Eight Miami-area nurses were sentenced to prison today for their roles in an $18.7 million Medicare fraud scheme involving home health care.

A settlement agreement with the Carson City School District in Nevada has been reached to ensure that all English Language Learner (ELL) students receive sufficient services as required by federal law.

Two Iowa ready-mix concrete executives were sentenced to serve jail time and pay criminal fines for their participation in separate conspiracies to fix prices and rig bids for sales of ready-mix concrete.

"The importance of this process can not be overstated – our system of government relies upon giving everyone an equal voice – and the decennial redistricting process ensures integrity in our system."

Forty-one members of various street gangs have been charged in indictments or criminal complaints unsealed today in five judicial districts.

CEMEX Inc., one of the largest producers of Portland cement in the United States, will spend an estimated $2 million on pollution controls that will reduce harmful emissions of nitrogen oxides (NOx) and sulfur dioxide (SO2), pollutants that can lead to childhood asthma, acid rain, smog and impaired visibility in national parks. Under a settlement to resolve Clean Air Act violations at its cement plant in Fairborn, Ohio, CEMEX will also pay a $1.4 million penalty, the U.S. Department of Justice and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced today.

Tyson Foods Inc. has agreed to pay a $4 million criminal penalty to resolve an investigation into improper payments by company representatives to government-employed inspection veterinarians in Mexico.

Thierno M. Diallo of Cincinnati was sentenced to 24 months in prison by U.S District Court Judge Sandra Beckwith in Cincinnati for aiding and assisting in the preparation of false tax returns.

A Massachusetts man was sentenced today in U.S. District Court in Providence, R.I., to 12 months and one day in prison for tax evasion related to an FBI investigation of organized crime activity in Rhode Island.

A medical assistant was sentenced today to 36 months in prison for his role in a conspiracy to defraud the Medicare program, the Departments of Justice and Health and Human Services announced.

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.

Ryan Chiles of Hampton, Va., was sentenced today in the Western District of Pennsylvania to 102 months in prison and a lifetime of supervised release for engaging in a child exploitation enterprise.

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.

Erick Roman, aka “Erick Javier Sierra,” “Malian-T” and “King Malian-T,” 34, of Laurel, Md., was also ordered to serve five years of supervised release following his prison term.

Fred Woolum of Lexington, Va., was sentenced today in the Western District of Pennsylvania to 15 years in prison and a lifetime of supervised release for engaging in a child exploitation enterprise.

One hundred and two members and associates of transnational organized criminal groups operating in the United States have been charged in indictments unsealed today in Los Angeles; Santa Ana, Calif.; Miami and Denver.