August 3, 2019

Watchdog complaint alleges Kobach fundraising email violated federal law

A government oversight group is asking the Department of Justice to investigate whether Republican Kris Kobach’s Senate campaign violated federal law by using an email list maintained by the nonprofit where Kobach serves as general counsel.

Kobach emailed supporters of the nonprofit We Build the Wall asking for contributions to his campaign for a Senate seat in Kansas. The email provided links to the campaign’s official fundraising page and asked for “a financial contribution of $50, $100, $250, $500, or any amount up to the maximum of $2,800 per individual.”

On Friday, Washington-based watchdog group Common Cause filed a complaint with the Department of Justice. The group alleges it has reason to believe Kobach and We Build the Wall violated federal campaign law.

“One way or the other Kris Kobach appears to have violated federal campaign finance laws through this solicitation for contributions to his U.S. Senate campaign,” Paul S. Ryan, Common Cause vice president for policy and litigation, said in a statement.

Read more: https://www.kansascity.com/news/politics-government/article233442267.html

August 3, 2019

Planned Parenthood, ACLU sue to block Missouri's abortion ban

With less than a month to go until a new abortion law is set to go into effect, Planned Parenthood and the ACLU of Missouri have filed a lawsuit in an attempt to stop the ban.

The joint complaint — filed Tuesday with U.S. District Court for the Western District of Missouri — said Missouri officials “have engaged in a targeted campaign against abortion” for years. The complaint argued Missouri’s new law is in direct contradiction to decisions already handed down by the U.S. Supreme Court regarding abortion, including the landmark Roe v. Wade decision.

“If HB 126 is permitted to take effect, Plaintiff’s patients will be subject to significant and irreparable constitutional, medical, emotional, and other harms for which no adequate remedy at law exists,” the lawsuit said.

Republican Gov. Mike Parson signed HB 126 into law in May. It bans abortions after eight weeks and includes several “nestled” components — designed to withstand legal challenges — with restrictions at 14, 18, and 20 weeks. It does not include exemptions for rape or incest victims.

Read more: https://themissouritimes.com/63620/planned-parenthood-aclu-sue-to-block-missouris-abortion-ban/

August 3, 2019

Steele Shippy named Parson's campaign manager

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. — Gov. Mike Parson has tapped Steele Shippy with leading his re-election campaign, he announced Thursday.

Parson hasn’t officially announced his re-election campaign but named Shippy, his communications director, as his campaign manager. He’s expected to make a formal announcement soon.

“As Teresa and I consider seeking re-election, we have been encouraged by the overwhelming support of individuals from all across Missouri,” Parson said in a statement. “As we look to the future, it is imperative that we have someone leading the effort who not only shares our dedication to the people of Missouri but also believes in the vision we have for our great state.”

“Steele has been with us from day one in the Governor’s office and understands the allegiance Teresa and I have to our great state and its citizens,” he continued. “He also shares our strong belief in our role as public servants, working for the people of Missouri.”

Read more: https://themissouritimes.com/63673/steele-shippy-named-parsons-re-election-campaign-manager/

Someone has parents with a warped sense of humor.

What sound does a steel ship make when tapped?

August 3, 2019

Doctor Indicted and Arrested For Health Care Fraud in Puerto Rico

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico – On July 31, 2019, a Federal Grand Jury in the District of Puerto Rico returned an indictment charging Dr. Antonio REYES-VIZCARRONDO with one count of conspiracy to commit health care fraud and one count of health care fraud. The defendant was arrested today, announced U.S. Attorney Rosa Emilia Rodríguez-Vélez of the District of Puerto Rico. The Office of Inspector General for the United States Department of Health and Human Services (HHS-OIG) and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) are in charge of the investigation.

According to the indictment, from in or about 2008 to through in or about 2015, Dr. Antonio REYES-VIZCARRONDO enriched himself by submitting or causing to be submitted false and fraudulent claims to health care benefits programs, including Medicare and Medicaid. The claims submitted by REYES-VIZCARRONDO were for services using procedural codes that he was aware he could not use pursuant to the contractual terms of his employment, services rendered that were, in fact, rendered by other physicians. Defendant concealed the submission of these false and fraudulent claims to health care benefit plans and the receipt and transfer of the resulting fraudulent proceeds, and diverted these fraudulently obtained proceeds for his personal use and benefit.

Dr. REYES-VIZCARRONDO submitted and/or caused to be submitted to Medicare and Medicaid a total of 8,159 claims using prohibited medical codes, including prohibited codes for services not rendered, totaling $882,608.91. Dr. REYES-VIZCARRONDO is facing a health care fraud forfeiture allegation of $601,783.47, which constitutes the amount of money Medicare and Medicaid paid the defendant.

“The submission of false claims to health care benefit programs is unacceptable and a waste of taxpayer funds,” said U.S. Attorney Rosa E. Rodriguez- Vélez. “Today’s arrest shows the Department of Justice and its law enforcement partners’ firm commitment to protect public funds and to safeguard the well-being of Medicare and Medicaid beneficiaries.”

Read more: https://www.justice.gov/usao-pr/pr/doctor-indicted-and-arrested-health-care-fraud-0

August 3, 2019

District of Columbia Physician Indicted for Alleged Role in $12.7 Million Health Care Fraud Scheme

A physician with a practice in the District of Columbia was charged in an indictment unsealed today for his role in an alleged $12.7 million health care fraud scheme to submit fraudulent claims to Medicare for complicated medical procedures he never provided.

Assistant Attorney General Brian A. Benczkowski of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, U.S. Attorney Jessie K. Liu of the District of Columbia, Acting Assistant Director in Charge John P. Selleck of the FBI’s Washington Field Office, Special Agent in Charge Maureen Dixon of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General’s (HHS-OIG) Philadelphia Regional Office and District of Columbia's Inspector General Daniel W. Lucas made the announcement.

Frederick Gooding, 68, of Wilmington, Delaware, was charged in an indictment filed on July 30 in the District of Columbia with 11 counts of health care fraud. He was arrested yesterday morning, and made his initial appearance today. The case is assigned to the Honorable Tanya A. Chutkan, and a trial date has not yet been set.

According to the indictment, from January 2015 to August 2018, Gooding participated in a health care fraud scheme in which he submitted Medicare claims for injections and aspirations that were not medically necessary, not provided or both. Gooding allegedly knew that he was not providing such injections, as required by Medicare, and to disguise his scheme, Gooding allegedly falsified medical documents to make it appear as if his purported medical services billed to Medicare were medically necessary and provided. Gooding submitted or caused the submission of more than $12.7 million in claims to Medicare, the indictment alleges.

Read more: https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/district-columbia-physician-indicted-alleged-role-127-million-health-care-fraud-scheme

August 3, 2019

St. Lucie County Resident Sentenced to Prison and Ordered to Pay Over $1 Million for Orchestrating

St. Lucie County Resident Sentenced to Prison and Ordered to Pay Over $1 Million for Orchestrating Wire Fraud Scheme and Embezzling Employers


On July 31, 2019, Sabrinea Lallonie Brooks, 28, of St. Lucie County, Florida, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Robin L. Rosenberg to 48 months in prison and ordered to pay $ 1,071,249 in restitution for orchestrating a wire fraud scheme and embezzling funds from employers (Case No. 19cr14020).

Ariana Fajardo Orshan, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, Brian Swain, Special Agent in Charge, U.S. Secret Service (USSS), Miami Field Office, and Javaro Sims, Chief, Delray Beach Police Department, made the announcement.

According to the court docket, including the criminal Information and a Stipulated Factual Basis that was filed in support of Brooks’ guilty plea, between February 2014 through December 2015, Brooks was employed as a billing and collections specialist by companies Apex Billing, LLC, Dream Center for Recovery, Supportive Healthcare Services, and Wellness Center of Palm Beach, LLC. Brooks without authorization, contacted third party issuer agents of insurance companies and using fraudulent pretenses and making materially false representations, caused the third party issuer agents of insurance companies to give her treatment provider registration codes, pin numbers, and links. Brooks used this information to access the third party issuer agents’ website, to create new user accounts, to re-register treatment providers, and change the method of payment and/or the routing of insurance provider payments, intended for treatment providers. As a result of her wire fraud, Brooks received at least $463,402.30 in illegal proceeds.

While working for these companies, Brooks also intercepted “Vpayments”/ virtual credit cards issued as insurance payments to several treatment providers. Thereafter, Brooks processed some of the “Vpayments”/ virtual credit cards using the Square merchant processing mobile payment program. Brooks created several Square accounts, which she linked to bank accounts under her control. Because of her access device fraud, Brooks received at least $57,632.76, in illegal proceeds.

Read more: https://www.justice.gov/usao-sdfl/pr/st-lucie-county-resident-sentenced-prison-and-ordered-pay-over-1-million-orchestrating

August 3, 2019

Georgia Man Sentenced For $6.5 Million Health Care Fraud, Money Laundering Involving Tricare, Other

Georgia Man Sentenced For $6.5 Million Health Care Fraud, Money Laundering Involving Tricare, Other Victims


PENSACOLA, FLORIDA – Michael Scott Burton, 52, of Decatur, Georgia, was sentenced to 96 months in federal prison yesterday after he pleaded guilty to charges of conspiracy to commit health care fraud and wire fraud, conspiracy to commit money laundering, and money laundering. The sentence was announced today by Lawrence Keefe, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Florida.

Between January 2014 and December 2015, Burton conspired with others to defraud TRICARE and other insurance companies out of more than $6.5 million in fraudulent claims for prescriptions for compounded pain cream, scar cream, and wellness capsules. Burton agreed that co-defendant Brad T. Hodgson would forge prescriptions for compounded drugs for individuals who Burton knew were not patients of the Georgia doctor’s practice where Hodgson worked. Burton recruited sales representatives, including co-defendants Bradley D. Pounds and Heather E. Pounds, to obtain and provide Burton with the personal identifying information and insurance cards of individuals for whom the prescriptions could be issued in exchange for commission payments. Burton would forward that information to Hodgson, who would issue the prescriptions – even though he was not licensed to write prescriptions – and send them to Physician Specialty Pharmacy in Pensacola without the individuals ever seeing or speaking with a doctor. Burton also recruited co-defendant Marie Ann Smith to assist Hodgson with processing and submitting prescriptions. Physician Specialty Pharmacy then caused TRICARE and other insurance companies to be billed and paid Burton a 50% commission for each compounded drug prescription that was paid by insurance. By this conduct, Burton earned over $1.4 million in commissions from fraudulent prescriptions.

"Health care fraud is a crime that affects all Americans – but to perpetrate a scam that victimizes a program for our nation’s service members and their families is beyond appalling," Keefe said. "This conspiracy stole money meant to help those who have given so much to our nation, and the criminals behind it deserve the punishment they receive."

"The wide-spread corruption uncovered in this complex and multistate fraud scheme wasted millions of American taxpayer dollars, and furthermore, deprived U.S. military members and their families of legitimate prescription medications and other needed medical care," said Cynthia A. Bruce, Special Agent in Charge, DCIS-Southeast Field Office. "DCIS is committed to working with our investigative partners and the U.S. Attorney's Office to identify, investigate and bringing to justice anyone who defrauds the DoD and the American taxpayer."

For his role in the scheme, Burton was sentenced to 96 months in prison. He was also ordered to pay $6,540,348.48 in restitution to TRICARE and pay a forfeiture money judgment of $1,480,931.74. In February, Bradley Pounds was sentenced to 21 months in prison, and Smith and Heather Pounds were sentenced to probation. In separate related cases, Hodgson is awaiting sentencing after pleading guilty, and Andrew E. Fisher, the president and part-owner of Physician Specialty Pharmacy, is awaiting trial scheduled for September 3rd.

Read more: https://www.justice.gov/usao-ndfl/pr/georgia-man-sentenced-65-million-health-care-fraud-money-laundering-involving-tricare

August 3, 2019

Former Collections Manager Arrested For Defrauding Former Employer Of Over $1.3 Million

Geoffrey S. Berman, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, announced that ROILAND GOTIANGCO was arrested on fraud and aggravated identity theft charges in connection with his embezzlement from the security and protection company (the “Company”) where he previously worked as the Head of Collections. Specifically, GOTIANGCO has been charged with wire fraud and aggravated identity theft for falsifying customer refund requests and pocketing the refunds, and with wire fraud for accepting payments from certain Company customers in exchange for concealing the amounts those customers owed the Company. GOTIANGCO was arrested today in River Edge, New Jersey, and was presented before Magistrate Ona T. Wang in Manhattan federal court.

Manhattan U.S. Geoffrey S. Berman said: “Roiland Gotiangco abused his position and lined his own pockets to the tune of over $1.3 million. The means were sophisticated but the motive was simple: greed. We will continue to work with our law enforcement partners to root out fraud wherever it is found.”

* * *

ROILAND GOTIANGCO, 38 of River Edge, New Jersey, is charged with two counts of wire fraud and one count of aggravated identity theft. The wire fraud counts each carry a maximum potential sentence of 20 years in prison and a maximum fine of $250,000 or twice the gross gain or loss from the offense. The aggravated identity theft charge carries a mandatory minimum sentence of two years in prison consecutive to any other term of imprisonment imposed and a maximum fine of $250,000. The maximum potential sentences in this case are prescribed by Congress and are provided here for informational purposes only, as any sentencing of the defendant will be determined by the judge.

Mr. Berman praised the outstanding investigative work of the FBI.

Read more: https://www.justice.gov/usao-sdny/pr/former-collections-manager-arrested-defrauding-former-employer-over-13-million

August 3, 2019

Illinois State Senator Indicted for Allegedly Fraudulently Receiving Salary and Benefits from Labor

Illinois State Senator Indicted for Allegedly Fraudulently Receiving Salary and Benefits from Labor Union


CHICAGO — A federal grand jury in Chicago has indicted Illinois State Sen. THOMAS E. CULLERTON (D) on embezzlement charges for allegedly fraudulently receiving salary and benefits from a labor union for which he did little or no work.

Cullerton, 49, of Villa Park, is charged with one count of conspiracy to embezzle from a labor union and employee benefit plans, 39 counts of embezzlement from a labor union, and one count of making false statements in a health care matter, according to an indictment returned Thursday in U.S. District Court in Chicago. Arraignment in federal court has not yet been scheduled.

The indictment was announced by John R. Lausch, Jr., United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois; Jeffrey S. Sallet, Special Agent-in-Charge of the Chicago office of the FBI; and Irene Lindow, Special Agent-in-Charge of the U.S. Department of Labor’s Office of Inspector General in Chicago. The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Amarjeet S. Bhachu and Abigail Peluso.

According to the indictment, Cullerton was a member of Teamsters Local Union 734 prior to assuming office as an Illinois State Senator. After his election in November 2012, Cullerton was no longer an eligible participant in Local 734’s health and pension funds. In March 2013, while Cullerton was serving in the Illinois Senate, the president of Teamsters Joint Council 25 hired him as a purported union organizer. The full-time, salaried position included benefits from Local 734’s health and pension funds, due to an agreement Joint Council 25 entered into with Local 734 that same month, the indictment states.

The charges allege that for the next three years Cullerton did little or no work as an organizer. When Joint Council 25 supervisors requested that he perform his job duties, Cullerton routinely ignored them, the indictment states. From March 2013 to February 2016, Cullerton fraudulently obtained from Joint Council 25 and its members approximately $188,320 in salary, bonuses, and cellphone and vehicle allowances, as well as approximately $64,068 in health and pension contributions, according to the indictment. Cullerton used the proceeds of the payments to pay personal expenses, such as his mortgage, utilities and groceries, the charges allege.

The indictment alleges that Cullerton also fraudulently obtained approximately $21,678 in reimbursed medical claims from Local 734’s Health and Welfare Fund. Cullerton submitted or caused to be submitted to medical providers information that made it appear he was a “route salesman” for Local 734, the indictment states. The false information concealed and covered up the fact that Cullerton was not eligible for participation in the fund since he was not regularly scheduled to work at least 30 hours per week for Local 734, Joint Council 25, or any other employer that participated in the fund, according to the indictment.

The public is reminded that an indictment is not evidence of guilt. The defendant is presumed innocent and entitled to a fair trial at which the government has the burden of proving guilt beyond a reasonable doubt. The charges in the indictment are each punishable by up to five years’ imprisonment. If convicted, the Court must impose a reasonable sentence under federal statutes and the advisory U.S. Sentencing Guidelines.

https://www.justice.gov/usao-ndil/pr/illinois-state-senator-indicted-allegedly-fraudulently-receiving-salary-and-benefits-0

August 3, 2019

Vicksburg Man Pleads Guilty to Health Care Fraud, Money Laundering, Aggravated Identity Theft, Mail

Vicksburg Man Pleads Guilty to Health Care Fraud, Money Laundering, Aggravated Identity Theft, Mail Fraud, and Contempt of Court

Swindler Sought Over $400,000 for Himself Through Fake Companies


Jackson, Miss. – Laron Evans, 34, of Vicksburg, pled guilty yesterday before U.S. District Court Judge Henry T. Wingate to conspiring to commit wire fraud, mail fraud and health care fraud; money laundering; aggravated identity theft; mail fraud; and contempt of court, announced U.S. Attorney Mike Hurst and Michelle A. Sutphin, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation in Mississippi.

"We in the U.S. Attorney’s Office will remain steadfast in bringing these swindlers to justice, while the public must remain vigilant to such schemes that seek to defraud us of our identities and our money. I commend the FBI agents and our federal prosecutors for doggedly pursuing these fraudsters and putting an end to their criminal enterprise," said U.S. Attorney Hurst.

"Health care fraud is a systemic issue nationwide, costing our country tens of billions of dollars each year," said SAC Sutphin. "The FBI will continue to pursue those that prey on our health care system and investigate these types of schemes."

Laron Evans conspired with co-defendant Travious Quinshad Jackson and others to execute a health care fraud scheme involving Health Savings Accounts ("HSA’s&quot , using interstate wire communications and the U.S. postal system. The scheme used interstate wire communication via the Internet to send Personal Identification Information (PII) of 57 actual people, pretending that they were employees of an imaginary company, to a third party administrator company located in Maryland.

Read more: https://www.justice.gov/usao-sdms/pr/vicksburg-man-pleads-guilty-health-care-fraud-money-laundering-aggravated-identity