Press Releases

Today, the Civil Rights Division is monitoring polling sites in Florida and Wyoming for the states’ primary elections to ensure transparency, ballot security, and compliance with federal law.

The Department of Justice announced today that Larry Montes was charged with two counts of committing hate crimes in connection with his race- and religious-based assaults of a congregant and a security guard during a Shabbat service at a synagogue in Manhattan on Aug. 14, as well as one count of destruction of religious property resulting in bodily injury. Montes is currently in state custody and will be transported to and presented in Manhattan federal court at a later date to face the federal charges filed in the Southern District of New York.

A Chinese national was sentenced today in the Western District of North Carolina by U.S. District Judge Susan C. Rodriguez to 15 years in prison and ordered to forfeit $25 million for his role in a Chinese money laundering organization (CMLO) that laundered over $92 million in illicit funds, including proceeds from the importation and distribution of illegal drugs into the United States, primarily through Mexico.

As one of his first actions as Attorney General, Todd Blanche today finalized a federal regulation and launched a new process allowing eligible individuals who are prohibited from possessing firearms to apply for restoration of their federal firearm rights.

The Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division announced today that it is opening a compliance review into the College of William & Mary (W&M) to determine whether the school’s scholarships and student benefits include racial criteria that violate Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, color, and national origin.

A Colombian national pleaded guilty today to a seven-year money laundering conspiracy involving the purchase of consumer electronics using drug proceeds.

A South Carolina man pleaded guilty today to conspiracy to commit sex trafficking between January and August 2023.

The Justice Department announced today that a federal court has entered a stipulated order against Amazon.com Inc., in a case investigated and referred to the Department by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC). The order resolves allegations that Amazon violated the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA), and it requires Amazon to pay a $2.25 million civil penalty and follow practices that protect consumers whose identities have been stolen. 

An Ohio man pleaded guilty yesterday to laundering approximately $3.4 million in illicit health care fraud proceeds through multiple regional banks on behalf of a transnational criminal organization (Organization).