Fraud News From World

Pelham- And Bronx-Based Tax Preparer Pleads Guilty In White Plains Federal Court To Preparing And Filing False Income Tax Returns Geoffrey S. Berman, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, and Jonathan D. Larsen, the Special Agent-in-Charge of the New York Field Office of the Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigation (“IRS-CI”), announced today that MICHAEL MAGNALDI, a former Pelham resident and an owner and operator of a Bronx-based tax preparation business, pled guilty to one count of aiding and assisting in the filing of false tax returns for tax years 2014 to 2017 and one count ... Read more

Rap Artist “Chad Focus” Pleads Guilty to Federal Wire Fraud Conspiracy Used His Company Credit Card to Make More Than $4.1 Million in Unauthorized Purchases to Promote His Brand and Enrich Himself and His Co-conspirators Baltimore, Maryland – Chad Arrington, a/k/a “Chad Focus,” age 32, of Randallstown, Maryland, pleaded guilty today to a federal wire fraud conspiracy in connection with a scheme to use a company credit card to make over $4.1 million in unauthorized purchases. The guilty plea was announced by United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Robert K. Hur and Special Agent in Charge Jennifer C. ... Read more

Ex-Chairman of Christian Science Church in Los Angeles Pleads Guilty to Criminal Charges of Stealing $11 Million from Church LOS ANGELES – The former chairman of the board for the Fifth Church of Christ, Scientist, of Los Angeles pleaded guilty today to federal criminal charges that he stole more than $11 million in church money via bank accounts for phony companies and tried to cover his tracks by impersonating a real estate developer. Charles Thomas Sebesta, 55, of Huntington Beach, pleaded guilty to one count of wire fraud affecting a financial institution and one count of bank fraud. He has ... Read more

Iranian National Charged with Bank Fraud and Lying to Federal Agents in Connection with a Scheme to Use the U.S. Financial System to Send More Than $115 Million to Iranian Individuals and Entities The Department of Justice announced that Bahram Karimi was charged with conspiring to commit bank fraud, bank fraud, and making false statements in connection with his involvement in a joint project initiated by the Governments of Iran and Venezuela in which more than $115 million was illegally funneled through the U.S. financial system for the benefit of various Iranian individuals and entities. The case is assigned to ... Read more

Jury Convicts Ex-employee Of Transporting Stolen Property And Money Laundering After $390,000 Disappeared From Armored Truck HELENA – A jury on Thursday convicted a Helena man who worked for GardaWorld of multiple crimes after he was accused of taking money stolen from an armored truck and spending it gambling and shopping in Las Vegas, day trading and traveling to France, U.S. Attorney Kurt Alme said. The jury found John Gregory Alexander Herrin, 30, of Helena, guilty of one count of interstate transportation of stolen property and eight counts of money laundering. The jury acquitted Herrin on four counts of money ... Read more

ResMed Corp. to Pay $37.5 Million for Allegedly Causing False Claims Related to the Sale of Equipment for Sleep Apnea and other Disorders SAN DIEGO – ResMed Corp., a manufacturer of durable medical equipment (DME) based in San Diego, California, has agreed to pay more than $37.5 million to resolve alleged False Claims Act violations for paying kickbacks to DME suppliers, sleep labs and other health care providers, the Department of Justice announced today. “Paying any type of illegal remuneration to induce patient referrals undermines the integrity of our nation’s health care system,” said Assistant Attorney General Jody Hunt of ... Read more

Doctor and Sales Rep Charged in $12 Million Fraud Scheme Targeting Tricare and Extensive Cover Up Kickbacks Generate Expensive Compounded Drug Prescriptions LITTLE ROCK—A doctor and a medical sales representative have been charged in a scheme to pay and receive kickbacks to generate expensive prescriptions for compounded drugs. TRICARE, the military’s health insurer, paid over $12 million for the prescriptions, which the indictment alleges were rubber stamped without examining patients or regard to medical necessity. The 43-count indictment alleges the scheme also encompassed widespread efforts to obstruct the ensuing investigation. Cody Hiland, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Arkansas, ... Read more

Pharmacy Owner Sentenced to 10 Years in Prison for Role in Largest Health Care Fraud Case Ever in Mississippi Nationwide Compound Pharmacy Fraud Scheme Involved Almost a Quarter of a Billion Dollars Hattiesburg, Miss. – Thomas Edward Spell, Jr., 51, a pharmacy owner in Ridgeland, Mississippi, was sentenced today to 10 years in federal prison for his involvement in a $243 million compounding pharmacy fraud scheme, announced U.S. Attorney Mike Hurst, Michelle A. Sutphin, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI in Mississippi, Thomas J. Holloman III, Special Agent in Charge of Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation’s (IRS CI) Atlanta ... Read more

Corporate Insider Convicted of Conspiring with Others at Long Island Boiler Room to Pump and Dump Stock on Unsuspecting Elderly Investors Illegal Stock Promotion and Manipulation Scheme Cost Victims Million of Dollars A federal jury in Central Islip returned a guilty verdict on all counts this afternoon against Michael Watts, a former registered broker, for his role in a conspiracy to promote and manipulate the price of shares in Hydrocarb Energy Corp. (Hydrocarb) and other companies. Specifically, Watts was convicted of conspiracy to commit securities fraud, securities fraud, conspiracy to commit wire fraud, money laundering conspiracy and money laundering. The ... Read more

Cuomo Signs Law Aimed At Weakening Trump’s Pardon Power, Closes ‘Double Jeopardy’ Loophole New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo signed a measure Wednesday that would allow the state to pursue charges against people who have received a presidential pardon — a law seen as a direct shot at President Donald Trump. Multiple ex-Trump aides or associates are imprisoned or facing legal scrutiny in New York. The president, whose business and campaign are both headquartered in New York, also is facing numerous federal, state and congressional investigations related to his administration, campaign and business dealings. The newly signed law creates a narrow ... Read more

Former Chief Operating Officer of Davis Bio-Pesticide Company Pleads Guilty to Conspiracy to Commit Mail, Wire, and Securities Fraud SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Hector Absi, 51, of Las Vegas, Nevada, pleaded guilty today to one count of conspiracy to commit mail fraud, wire fraud, and securities fraud, U.S. Attorney McGregor W. Scott announced. According to court documents, Absi is the former head of the sales department of Marrone Bio Innovations Inc. (MBI), a company headquartered in Davis, California that produces “bio-based” pesticides. Absi also served as MBI’s Chief Operating Officer from January 2014 until his resignation in August 2014. MBI is ... Read more

Another Tech Support Fraudster Sentenced To Prison An American citizen who spent over a year running the day-to-day operations of a fraudulent tech support call center in Costa Rica is heading to prison. Michael Cary Lawing, 34, of Lincolnton, North Carolina, has been sentenced to serve 18 months behind bars for his role as the CEO of ABC Repair Tech (ABC) from 2015 to 2016. Lawing pleaded guilty in October 2018 to a one-count felony information charging him with conspiracy to commit wire fraud. According to court documents, Lawing’s company was affiliated with another fraudulent tech support business in South ... Read more

Former Informix Executive Hauled Into Court On 19-Year-Old Indictment Regarding Alleged Investment Fraud Scheme Walter Konigseder arrested on investment fraud charges SAN FRANCISCO – This morning, former Informix executive Walter Konigseder appeared in federal court to face investment fraud charges laid out in an 11-count indictment filed in October of 2000, announced United States Attorney David L. Anderson and Federal Bureau of Investigation Special Agent in Charge John F. Bennett. A federal grand jury indicted Konigseder, 67, a German national, on October 5, 2000. According to the indictment, in the early 1990s, Konigseder was the Sales Director and Country Manager ... Read more

San Diego Man Who Posed as a Federal Agent to Defraud Immigrants out of $2.5 Million Sentenced to 91 Months Assistant U.S. Attorney Andrew Young (619) 546-7981 and Assistant U.S. Attorney Meghan Heesch (619) 546-9442 SAN DIEGO – Hardev Panesar of San Diego was sentenced today in federal court by U.S. District Judge Gonzalo P. Curiel to 91 months in custody for his leadership role in an immigration fraud scheme. According to his plea agreement, Panesar conspired with others, including Rafael Hastie and Gurdev Singh, to induce unauthorized immigrants to pay money based on false and fraudulent claims that the ... Read more

Man Convicted by South Florida Jury of Laundering More than $3 Million in Proceeds from International Cyber Scams FORT LAUDERDALE – Elvin I. Lewis, Jr., of Hollywood, Florida, was convicted today of conspiracy to commit money laundering and money laundering charges, following a five-day jury trial. The charges stemmed from his decision to launder more than $3 million dollars in fraud proceeds from business email compromise (“BEC”) cyber scams, announced U.S. Attorney Ariana Fajardo Orshan for the Southern District of Florida, Special Agent in Charge Brian Swain of the U.S. Secret Service (USSS) Miami Field Office, and Special Agent in ... Read more

Inglewood-based Tax Preparer Convicted in Scheme that Sought More than $5 Million in Fraudulent Refunds LOS ANGELES – A tax preparer and ex-California Franchise Tax Board employee was found guilty by a jury today of federal criminal charges accusing him of defrauding the IRS out of millions of dollars by declaring bogus withholdings used to fraudulently claim substantial tax refunds. Cubby Wayne Williams, 64, of Alhambra, was found guilty of 22 counts of assisting in the preparation of false tax returns for his clients and four counts of subscribing to false tax returns for himself. United States District Judge Percy ... Read more

Veterans Affairs Official Pleads Guilty to Six Corruption-Related Counts Arising from Scheme to Take Bribes To Rig Federal Contracts Business Associates, Charged with Offering and Arranging for the Payments, Have Also Pleaded Guilty DENVER – U.S. Attorney Jason R. Dunn announces that former U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs official Dwane Nevins, age 55, pleaded guilty last week to an indictment charging him with corruption related crimes, arising from a scheme to take payments from an undercover FBI agent. Earlier this week, on September 17, 2019, his co-conspirator Anthony Bueno pleaded guilty to one count of conspiring with Nevins to make ... Read more

Greenville Business Owner Convicted in Federal Court of Conspiracy to Defraud Greenville, South Carolina —- United States Attorney Sherri A. Lydon announced today that Dana Q. Roush, age 38, of Greenville, was found guilty of a conspiracy to commit mail fraud and equity skimming. A federal jury returned guilty verdicts late Wednesday evening after an hour and a half of deliberation. United States District Judge Timothy M. Cain of Anderson received the verdicts and will sentence Dana Roush and her husband Michael “Bubba” Roush,” who pleaded guilty to the mail fraud conspiracy prior to trial, after reviewing a Presentence Investigation ... Read more

Compounding Pharmacy, Two of Its Executives, and Private Equity Firm Agree to Pay $21.36 Million to Resolve False Claims Act Allegations The Department of Justice announced today that compounding pharmacy Diabetic Care Rx LLC, or Patient Care America (PCA), PCA’s Chief Executive Officer Patrick Smith, PCA’s former Vice President of Operations Matthew Smith, and private equity firm Riordan, Lewis & Haden Inc. (RLH) have agreed to resolve a lawsuit alleging that they violated the False Claims Act through their involvement in a kickback scheme to generate referrals of prescriptions for expensive pain creams, scar creams, and vitamins, regardless of patient ... Read more

25 Southern California Defendants Face Federal Charges Alleging Fraud Schemes that Cost Health Care Programs Millions of Dollars LOS ANGELES – A local health care fraud enforcement action has resulted in federal charges against of 25 Southern California defendants for their alleged involvement in healthcare fraud schemes that fraudulently sought over $150 million from the Medicare and Medicaid programs, as well as private insurers and union health benefit plans. Fourteen of those charged in federal court in Los Angeles and Santa Ana are doctors or medical professionals. The charges announced today target schemes billing Medicare, Medicaid and other health care ... Read more