<h2 class="node-title">Prime Contractor Employee At U.S. Military Bases Admits $1.4 Million Fraud And Taking Kickbacks</h2>
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<p>NEWARK, N.J. – A Pennsylvania man employed as a regional manager for a contractor involved with construction projects at Picatinny Arsenal (PICA) and at Joint Base McGuire-Dix- Lakehurst (Ft. Dix) admitted today his role in a fraud scheme that caused losses of $1.4 million, U.S. Attorney Paul J. Fishman announced.</p>
<p>James Conway, 45, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Susan D. Wigenton in Newark federal court to an information charging him with one count of wire fraud and one count of accepting unlawful kickbacks.</p>
<p><strong>According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court:</strong></p>
<p>From September 2009 to August 2015, Conway secretly owned a company called Walsh Construction Services, LLC (Walsh Construction), which purported to provide construction services. Using his position as regional manager for a construction contractor, Conway steered subcontracts to Walsh Construction for jobs at PICA and Ft. Dix. To conceal his ownership of Walsh Construction, Conway signed the subcontracts as Keith Walsh, the purported owner or vice president of Walsh Construction. There was, in fact, no person by that name who owned or was the vice president of Walsh Construction.</p>
<p>Conway used Walsh Construction to obtain payments from the construction contractor by submitting invoices and bills on behalf of Walsh Construction for work purportedly performed at PICA and Ft. Dix. Many of the invoices and bills included charges for work that Walsh Construction only partially did, or for work that was not performed at all by Walsh Construction, causing losses of $1.4 million.</p>
<p>Conway also accepted kickbacks totaling $180,345, from four subcontractors who served as subcontractors to the contractor on various construction projects at PICA and Ft. Dix knowing that the subcontractors expected, in return, to obtain favorable treatment from Conway.</p>
<p>The wire fraud charge to which Conway pleaded guilty carries a maximum potential penalty of 20 years in prison. The charge for accepting unlawful kickbacks to which Conway pleaded guilty carries a maximum potential penalty of 10 years in prison. Both charges carry a maximum fine of $250,000 or twice the gross gain or loss associated with the offense, whichever is greatest. Sentencing is scheduled for Nov. 30, 2016.</p>
<p>U.S. Attorney Fishman credited special agents of the FBI, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Timothy Gallagher; the U.S. Department of Defense, Defense Criminal Investigative Service, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Craig Rupert; and the U.S. Army, Major Procurement Fraud Unit, Criminal Investigation Command, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Larry Scott Moreland, with the investigation leading to today’s guilty plea.</p>
<p>The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Barbara R. Llanes and Senior Litigation Counsel Leslie Faye Schwartz of the U.S. Attorney’s Office Special Prosecutions Division in Newark.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.justice.gov/usao-nj/pr/prime-contractor-employee-us-military-bases-admits-14-million-fraud-and-taking-kickbacks">Original PressReleases&#8230;</a></p>
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Category Archives: Fraud News From World
A “Fraud News From World” directory is a collection of news articles about fraud and scams from around the world. These directories can be a valuable resource for staying informed about the latest scams and how to protect yourself from them. The directory typically includes information about the scam, such as the type of scam, the target audience, the location of the scam, and the date of the scam. It may also include information about how to protect yourself from the scam, such as how to identify a phishing email or how to report a scam to the authorities.
Financial Crime: Morad Limlahi Sentenced For Stealing Card Details To Load Funds
<h2>Fraudster sentenced to three years for £95,000 fraud</h2>
<p>A fraudster who was the target in two separate police investigations has been jailed for three years following a Dedicated Card and Payment Crime Unit (DCPCU) investigation.</p>
<p>Morad Limlahi, aged 27, of east London, was subject to two separate DCPCU investigations for stealing card details from customers at the shop on Oxford Street where he worked. He used the details to load funds onto travel money cards, which were then used to purchase luxury goods from pawn shops.</p>
<p>When he was arrested investigators from DCPCU found Limlahi had stolen the details of 139 cards, issued by a number of banks and card issuers.</p>
<p>Limlahi stole confidential customer account details while an employee at a Vodafone store in Oxford Street. The stolen card details were used to make purchases online and Limlahi was reported to the DCPCU after Vodafone and HSBC provided evidence which showed he was the common point of compromise for a number of bank cards on which fraud had occurred.</p>
<p>In a separate DCPCU investigation, Limlahi was arrested for using compromised bank cards to load £5,000 onto a travel money card. An accomplice of Limlahi’s used the travel money card to buy phones and gold jewellery from two pawnbrokers; CCTV showed Limlahi was present at both scenes.</p>
<p>The compromised bank card used to load funds onto the travel money card belonged to a customer Limlahi had served at Vodafone.</p>
<p>Limlahi committed fraud worth £95,000 and attempted a further £96,000, with the crimes committed between October 2012 and October 2014.</p>
<p>He pleaded guilty to fraud by abuse of position of trust at the Old Bailey and was sentenced today (1 August 2016).</p>
<p><strong>Det Insp Sarah Ward, of the DCPCU, said:</strong></p>
<p>“Would-be fraudsters need to know many organisations are looking out for their criminal activity and will ensure they are brought to justice.“</p>
<p>“The sentence given to Morad Limlahi shows there is no defence for abusing a position of trust and the police, banks, businesses and other organisations will do everything they can to identify and prosecute fraudsters.”</p>
<p>Established in April 2002, the DCPCU has since achieved an estimated £479 million in savings from reduced fraud activity.</p>
<p><strong>ENDS </strong></p>
<p>For further information please contact The <a class="wpil_keyword_link" href="https://www.fraudswatch.com/tag/financial-fraud/" title="Financial" data-wpil-keyword-link="linked" data-wpil-monitor-id="576">Financial</a> Fraud Action UK (FFA UK) Press Office on 020 3217 8436 or email Press@ukcards-ffauk.org.uk Notes to editors:</p>
<ul>
<li>1. Sentences received: Morad Limlahi, 20/04/1989, of Rossendale Road, Clapton, London: three years.</li>
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<p>The Dedicated Card and Payment Crime Unit (DCPCU) is a unique pro-active police unit, with a national remit, formed as a partnership between Financial Fraud Action UK, the City of London Police and the Metropolitan Police together with the Home Office. It is fully sponsored by the cards and banking industries, with an on-going brief to investigate, target and, where appropriate, arrest and seek successful prosecution of offenders responsible for card, cheque and payment fraud crimes. It is headed up by a Detective Chief Inspector and comprises officers from the Metropolitan and City of London police forces who work alongside banking industry fraud investigators and support staff.</p>
<p>Financial Fraud Action UK (FFA UK) is responsible for leading the collective fight against fraud in the UK payments industry. Its membership includes banks, credit, debit and charge card issuers, and card payment acquirers in the UK. It provides a forum for members to work together on non-competitive issues relating to financial fraud. Its primary function is to facilitate collaborative activity between industry participants and with other partners.</p>
<p>Financial Fraud Action UK (www.financialfraudaction.org.uk) works in close partnership with The UK Cards Association on industry initiatives to prevent fraud on credit and debit cards, and the Cheque &; Credit Clearing Company on credit clearing and cheque fraud.</p>
<p>The UK Cards Association is the trade body for the card payments industry in the UK, representing financial institutions which act as card issuers and acquirers. Members of the Association account for the vast majority of debit and credit cards issued in the UK &#8211; issuing in excess of 55 million credit cards and 95 million debit cards &#8211; and cover the whole of the payment card acquiring market.</p>

Real Estate Scam: Ellis Galyon and Christopher Anderson Plead Guilty to Rigging Bids And Fraud Conspiracies
<h2>Two Real Estate Investors Plead Guilty to Rigging Bids at Public Home Foreclosure Auctions</h2>
<p class="rtecenter"><strong><em>22 Defendants Charged in Ongoing Investigation</em></strong></p>
<p>Two Georgia real estate investors pleaded guilty today for their roles in bid-rigging and fraud conspiracies committed at public real estate foreclosure auctions in Georgia, the Department of Justice announced.</p>
<p>Ellis Galyon and Christopher Anderson each admitted that they agreed with other real estate investors to rig auctions of foreclosed homes in the Atlanta metro area. According to court documents filed today in the U.S. District Court of the Northern District of Georgia in Atlanta, the conspirators agreed not to compete for the purchase of selected foreclosed homes so that they could win the auctions for those homes with artificially low bids. The winning bidders then paid off the other conspirators who had refrained from bidding against them. As a result of Galyon and Anderson’s actions, conspirators profited from money that otherwise would have gone to <a class="wpil_keyword_link" href="https://www.fraudswatch.com/category/mortgage/" title="mortgage" data-wpil-keyword-link="linked" data-wpil-monitor-id="54">mortgage</a> holders and other secured debt holders and, in some cases, to the people who owned the foreclosed homes.</p>
<p>Galyon admitted to participating in the conspiracy in Fulton County between June 2007 and at least July 2011. Anderson admitted to participating in the conspiracy in Fulton County between December 2007 and October 2011 and in DeKalb County between September 2009 and November 2011.</p>
<p>Including Galyon and Anderson, twenty-two defendants have been charged in connection with the department’s ongoing investigation into bid rigging and fraudulent schemes involving real estate foreclosure auctions in the Atlanta area. Twenty of those have either pleaded guilty or agreed to plead guilty.</p>
<p>These charges have been filed as a result of the ongoing investigation being conducted by the Antitrust Division’s Washington Criminal II Section, the FBI’s Atlanta Division and the U.S. Attorney’s Office of the Northern District of Georgia, in connection with the President’s <a class="wpil_keyword_link" href="https://www.fraudswatch.com/tag/financial-fraud/" title="Financial" data-wpil-keyword-link="linked" data-wpil-monitor-id="575">Financial</a> Fraud Enforcement Task Force. The president established the task force to wage an aggressive, coordinated, and proactive effort to investigate and prosecute financial crimes. With more than 20 federal agencies, 94 U.S. Attorneys’ Offices, and state and local partners, it is the broadest coalition of law enforcement, investigatory and regulatory agencies ever assembled to combat fraud. Since fiscal year 2009, the Justice Department has filed over 18,000 financial fraud cases against more than 25,000 defendants.</p>
<p>For more information about the task force, please visit <a href="http://www.stopfraud.gov/">www.StopFraud.gov</a>. Anyone with information concerning bid rigging or fraud related to public real estate foreclosure auctions should contact the Washington Criminal II Section of the Antitrust Division at 202-598-4000, call the Antitrust Division’s Citizen Complaint Center at 888-647-3258 or visit <a href="https://www.justice.gov/atr/report-violations">http://www.justice.gov/atr/report-violations</a>.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/two-real-estate-investors-plead-guilty-rigging-bids-public-home-foreclosure-auctions">Original PressReleases&#8230;</a></p>

Financial Fraud: Sarah Frances Bolhuis Charged WIth Wire Fraud And Money Laundering
<h2>Northern Michigan Woman Charged WIth Wire Fraud And Money Laundering In Multi-Million Dollar Scheme To Defraud</h2>
<p class="rtecenter"><em>Sarah Frances Bolhuis Has Agreed To Plead Guilty For Her Role In A $7.5 Million Scheme</em></p>
<p> <strong>GRAND RAPIDS, MICHIGAN</strong> — Sarah Frances Bolhuis, 70, of Antrim County, Michigan, was charged with two felonies in connection with a scheme to defraud others of their money, U.S. Attorney Patrick A. Miles, Jr. announced today. Federal investigators believe that more than 50 individuals in Michigan, Indiana, Illinois, and Florida may have fallen victim to the fraud and collectively lost more than $5 million in the scheme.</p>
<p>The felony charges filed today in U.S. District Court in Grand Rapids allege that Sarah Bolhuis devised and executed a scheme to defraud to obtain money from others between 2006 and 2015. As part of the scheme, the government alleges that Bolhuis, operating under the names American Financial (AMFI), TriLogic, and Prestige Benefits, falsely represented to prospective clients that she was engaged in the business of providing various financial services and investment <a class="wpil_keyword_link" href="https://www.fraudswatch.com/category/loans/" title="loan" data-wpil-keyword-link="linked" data-wpil-monitor-id="211">loan</a> opportunities. In truth, as alleged in the Felony Information, Bolhuis did not use client money as promised; instead, she made payments to a business partner, made return-of-principal and other payments to clients, paid &#8220;finder fees&#8221; to individuals who successfully recruited new clients, and paid various personal living and entertainment expenses. Bolhuis also is alleged to have laundered proceeds of the fraud by depositing into a bank account money she obtained from one victim and withdrawing $27,500 from the same account to make a payment to another victim.</p>
<p>Bolhuis has signed a plea agreement in which she waived her right to indictment by a Grand Jury and agreed to enter guilty pleas to the wire fraud and money laundering charges. In the plea agreement filed with the Court today, Bolhuis has admitted making the following false and fraudulent misrepresentations and promises concerning the <a class="wpil_keyword_link" href="https://www.fraudswatch.com/tag/financial-fraud/" title="financial" data-wpil-keyword-link="linked" data-wpil-monitor-id="574">financial</a> services she claimed to provide:</p>
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<li>She falsely claimed that her business provided short term funding to adult foster care homes and to individuals seeking debt refinancing;</li>
<li>She falsely claimed she would invest certain client money in overseas accounts;</li>
<li>She falsely represented that certain funds would be invested in silver coins;</li>
<li>She falsely promised that she was making payments on a client’s home <a class="wpil_keyword_link" href="https://www.fraudswatch.com/category/mortgage/" title="mortgage" data-wpil-keyword-link="linked" data-wpil-monitor-id="53">mortgage</a> (including a second mortgage taken out by the client to fund investments with Bolhuis) using interest and/or fees earned from the investments; and</li>
<li>She promised to pay some of her clients between 3% and 5% interest per month on the principal monies provided to her by her clients. Some clients were promised even higher interest rates.</li>
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<p>Additionally, Bolhuis admitted in the plea agreement that the total amount of money obtained in the scheme was approximately $7.5 million. Although some of those funds were paid to participants during the course of the scheme, more than $5 million in fraudulent proceeds must be repaid to the victims.</p>
<p>Bolhuis faces a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison on the fraud charge and a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison for money laundering. The Court will determine the sentence after considering the federal sentencing guidelines and statutory sentencing factors. An arraignment and change of plea will be scheduled with the Court. Until a defendant enters a plea and is found guilty, charges in a Felony Information are merely accusations, and a defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty in a court of law.</p>
<p>Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI) and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) are investigating this matter. Assistant U.S. Attorney Christopher O’Connor is prosecuting the case.</p>
<p>Individuals who believe they may be victims of the fraud and have not yet been interviewed by the Internal Revenue Service or the Federal Bureau of Investigation may contact the FBI office in Traverse City at (231) 946-7201 to provide information concerning their participation. Victims of the fraud may obtain information concerning this case, including a copy of the Felony Information and Plea Agreement, and notifications of court dates, by visiting the U.S. Attorney’s victim assistance website at:<a href="https://www.justice.gov/usao-wdmi/victim-and-witness-assistance-program/vw-large-cases">http://www.justice.gov/usao-wdmi/victim-and-witness-assistance-program/vw-large-cases</a>, or by calling the victim coordinator at (616) 808-2034.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.justice.gov/usao-wdmi/pr/northern-michigan-woman-charged-wire-fraud-and-money-laundering-multi-million-dollar">Original PressReleases&#8230;</a></p>

Healthcare Fraud: Rafael Chikvashvili Sentenced for Charges Related to a health Care Fraud and Wire Fraud Conspiracy
<h2>Maryland Health Care Provider Sentenced to 10 Years in Federal Prison for Health Care Fraud RRafael Chikvashviliesulting in Patient Deaths</h2>
<p><strong>Patients Died Because No Radiologist Reviewed X-Rays; Defendant Cheated Medicare and Medicaid of More Than $6 Million</strong></p>
<p><strong><em>Baltimore, </em></strong>Maryland – U. S. District Judge James K. Bredar sentenced the owner of Alpha Diagnostics, Rafael Chikvashvili, age 69, of Baltimore, Maryland, today to 10 years in prison, followed by two years of supervised release, for charges related to a health care fraud and wire fraud conspiracy resulting in the deaths of patients, as well as false statements and aggravated identity theft, related to a scheme to defraud Medicare and Medicaid of more than $6 million. Judge Bredar also ordered that Chikvashvili pay restitution and forfeit proceeds of the fraud, with the exact amount to be determined at a later date. Chikvashvili has been detained since his conviction by a federal jury on February 17, 2016.</p>
<p>The sentence was announced by United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Rod J. Rosenstein; Special Agent in Charge Nicholas DiGiulio, Office of Investigations, Office of Inspector General of the Department of Health and Human Services; and Special Agent in Charge Kevin Perkins of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Baltimore Field Office.</p>
<p>“The evidence showed that Rafael Chikvashvili failed to provide medical services to patients who needed them, and billed for services that he did not provide,” said U.S. Attorney Rod J. Rosenstein. “The jury found that two patients died because their X-rays were not reviewed by a qualified radiologist. Health care fraud has consequences, in money wasted and lives lost.”</p>
<p>According to the evidence presented at the two-and-a-half week trial, Chikvashvili formed Alpha Diagnostics Services, Inc., which later became Alpha Diagnostics, LLC, in 1993, and was the Managing Member, Authorized Official, Managing Employee, President and Chief Executive Officer for Alpha Diagnostics. Chikvashvili holds a PhD in mathematics, but was never a medical doctor or licensed physician. Timothy Emeigh was the Vice President in charge of Operations at Alpha Diagnostics and was a licensed radiologic technologist.</p>
<p>Alpha Diagnostics was a portable diagnostic services provider, principally of X-rays, but also provided ultrasound tests, and cardiologic examinations. Alpha Diagnostics’ clients included nursing homes whose patients were covered by Medicare and Medicaid. Alpha Diagnostics operated in Maryland, Delaware, Pennsylvania, Virginia and the District of Columbia, but was headquartered in Owings Mills, Maryland, where Chikvashvili worked full time.</p>
<p>Based on the evidence, the jury found that from 1997 through October 2013, Chikvashvili conspired with others to defraud Medicare and Medicaid by: creating false radiology, ultrasound and cardiologic interpretation reports; by submitting insurance claims for medical examination interpretations that were never completed by licensed physicians; by falsely representing to Medicare and Medicaid, as well as to treating physicians, that the interpretations had, in fact, been completed by actual licensed physicians; by submitting insurance claims for radiology, ultrasound and cardiologic examinations (and their associated costs) that were never performed and/or were not ordered by the treating physician; and by submitting claims for transportation and other charges that Alpha Diagnostics was not entitled to receive.</p>
<p>According to witness testimony, Chikvashvili instructed his non-physician employees, including Emeigh, to interpret X-rays, ultrasounds and cardiologic examinations instead of licensed radiologists. For example, in June 2012, Emeigh traveled to Jamaica for a vacation. The evidence showed that Chikvashvili directed Emeigh, through text messages and telephone calls, to view medical images using his personal laptop in his hotel room and then draft false physician interpretation reports. Alpha Diagnostics personnel subsequently submitted false claims to Medicare for these images and fraudulent physician reports.</p>
<p>The evidence showed that Chikvashvili also caused employees to draft licensed physician’s examination reports. Chikvashvili, in turn, caused a copy of the handwritten signature of the actual physician to be affixed to the report, or forged the physician’s signature himself, creating the appearance that a licensed physician had performed the medical interpretation.</p>
<p>According to the testimony provided at trial, two patients died because their X-rays were not interpreted by a qualified radiologist. Instead, non-physician Alpha Diagnostics employees reviewed the images and failed to detect congestive heart failure. As a result of the incorrect reading the her chest X-ray, the first patient with congestive heart failure was not transferred to an acute care facility for treatment, as is standard medical practice, but remained in a rehabilitative nursing home. The patient died four days after unqualified Alpha Diagnostics personnel misinterpreted her chest X-ray. Witnesses testified that had the patient been transferred, her symptoms could have been addressed. The second patient was scheduled to undergo elective surgery and the chest X-ray was a pre-operation test to determine if the patient could safely have surgery. According to the evidence presented at trial, although the patient’s X-ray revealed mild congestive heart failure, the non-physician Alpha Diagnostics employee failed to detect it. A patient in congestive heart failure is at an increased risk of bleeding during and after surgery. As a result of the incorrect reading of the chest X-ray, the patient was cleared for elective surgery and experienced significant bleeding after the elective surgery, and the worsening of her congestive heart failure. Six days after unqualified Alpha Diagnostics personnel misinterpreted her chest X-ray, the patient died.</p>
<p>Subsequently, Alpha Diagnostics submitted claims to Medicare falsely representing that licensed radiologists had interpreted both patients’ chest X-rays. Medicare paid Alpha Diagnostics $8.87 for the first claim and $218.36 for the second claim.</p>
<p>The evidence showed that over the course of the conspiracy, Chikvashvili and Alpha Diagnostics received more than $6 million from fraudulent claims submitted to Medicare and Medicaid.</p>
<p>Timothy Emeigh, age 51, of York Springs, Pennsylvania previously pleaded guilty to health care fraud and is scheduled to be sentenced on June 17, 2016.</p>
<p>United States Attorney Rod J. Rosenstein praised the HHS-OIG and the FBI for their work in the investigation. Mr. Rosenstein thanked Assistant United States Attorneys Leo J. Wise and P. Michael Cunningham, who prosecuted the case.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.justice.gov/usao-md/pr/maryland-health-care-provider-sentenced-10-years-federal-prison-health-care-fraud">Original PressReleases &#8230; </a></p>
<h2>FBI Original Announcements</h2>
<p>A longtime Maryland health care provider was sentenced to 10 years in prison recently for cheating Medicare, Medicaid, and private insurers out of more than $20 million—and causing patients to die as a result.</p>
<p>“This was an unusual case,” said Special Agent Keith Custer, who led the investigation from the FBI’s Baltimore Division. “Most health care fraud that results in injury or death happens when providers illegally bill for unnecessary procedures. This case wasn’t about providing unnecessary care, it was about denying people the care they desperately needed and deserved.”</p>
<p>Rafael Chikvashvili, a 69-year-old Baltimore resident, owned Alpha Diagnostics, a company that provided portable X-rays and other examinations to patients primarily in nursing homes and retirement communities in the Maryland area.</p>
<p>Beginning in 1997, Chikvashvili conspired with others to defraud Medicare, Medicaid, and other insurers in a variety of ways, including by creating false radiology reports that were never ordered or interpreted by a physician. What caused at least two patient deaths, according to court testimony, was that Chikvashvili instructed his non-physician employees—including Timothy Emeigh, the company’s vice president of operations, who was a radiologic technologist but not a doctor—to interpret X-rays instead of sending them to licensed physicians.</p>
<p>A non-physician Alpha Diagnostics employee reviewed one nursing home resident’s chest X-ray images and failed to detect congestive heart failure. As a result, the patient was not transferred to an acute care facility for treatment—which is standard practice—but remained in the nursing home, where she died four days later. Had the patient been transferred, experts said, her symptoms could have been addressed.</p>
<p>A second patient had a chest X-ray as a pre-operative test to determine if she could safely undergo elective surgery. The non-physician Alpha Diagnostics employee who interpreted the X-rays failed to detect mild congestive heart failure. As a result, the patient was cleared for surgery, after which her congestive heart failure worsened. She died six days later.</p>
<p>“The vast majority of Alpha Diagnostic’s client base was from nursing homes and retirement communities,” Custer said. “This is an extremely vulnerable population,” he explained, “because it is not unexpected when they become sick and die. That was how Chikvashvili’s fraud was able to go on for nearly 20 years.”</p>
<p>In 2013, two Alpha Diagnostics X-ray technicians contacted authorities and said the company was upcoding—an illegal practice in which businesses bill insurance providers for more expensive services than were performed. The employees also said they suspected Emeigh was doing X-ray interpretations at Chikvashvili’s instruction and that real doctors’ names were being used fraudulently.</p>
<p>Custer and investigators from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General began interviewing doctors whose names were on the X-ray reports. “It was clear from the beginning that the reports were fakes,” Custer noted. One of the doctors was living out of the country when the reports with his name were created, and others confirmed that their names and provider numbers had been used fraudulently.</p>
<p>Chikvashvili, who holds a Ph.D. in mathematics but was never a medical doctor or licensed physician, claimed through his defense attorneys he was unaware of any wrongdoing and blamed the situation on actions by his employees. But a jury heard evidence to the contrary. In February 2016, he was convicted on a variety of charges related to the fraud and was sentenced in June. Emeigh, 52, had previously pleaded guilty to health care fraud and was sentenced to four years in prison.</p>
<p>Emeigh told investigators that prior to the fraud scheme being shut down, he was doing nearly 80 percent of Alpha Diagnostics’ X-ray interpretations in Maryland—readings that should have been done by a licensed physician. “He probably did tens of thousands of them over the course of the fraud,” Custer said. “There is no telling how many patients suffered or died because of these crimes.”</p>
<p><a href="https://www.fbi.gov/news/stories/health-care-providers-crimes-caused-patients-deaths">Original PressReleases &#8230;</a></p>

Cyber Crime: Leonid Momotok to Computer Hacking And Trading Scheme
<h2>Georgia Trader Pleads Guilty To Largest Known Computer Hacking And Trading Scheme</h2>
<h3>More Than 150,000 Press Releases Stolen from Three Major Newswire Companies Used to Generate Approximately $30 Million in Illegal Trading Profits</h3>
<p>Earlier today, Leonid Momotok, of Suwanee, Georgia, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud for his role in an international scheme to hack into three business newswires and steal yet-to-be published press releases containing non-public financial information that was then used to make trades that generated approximately $30 million in illegal profits. The guilty plea was entered before United States Magistrate Judge Ramon E. Reyes, Jr. at the federal courthouse in Brooklyn, New York. When sentenced, Momotok faces up to 20 years in prison, as well as restitution, criminal forfeiture, and a fine.</p>
<p>The guilty plea was announced by Robert L. Capers, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York, and Diego Rodriguez, Assistant Director-in-Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation, New York Field Office.</p>
<p>“Using non-public press releases stolen by overseas hackers, Momotok and his group of traders engaged in a brazen scheme that was unprecedented in its scope, impact and sophistication,” stated United States Attorney Capers. “Today’s guilty plea demonstrates our steadfast commitment and preparedness to combating the ever-evolving threat of cybercrime and to protecting the integrity of our <a class="wpil_keyword_link" href="https://www.fraudswatch.com/tag/financial-fraud/" title="financial" data-wpil-keyword-link="linked" data-wpil-monitor-id="570">financial</a> markets.” Mr. Capers thanked the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Department of Justice’s Office of International Affairs (OIA) for their cooperation and assistance in the investigation.</p>
<p>“In one of the most sophisticated insider trading cases we’ve seen to-date, Momotok and other traders used information to trade on from not yet released press releases obtained by hackers from newswire services. The scheme profited the traders approximately $30 million in ill-gotten profits. Today’s guilty plea should send a message to others who seek to cheat the system for a lucrative payday- these schemes only end with prison time and forfeiture of those profits,” stated Assistant Director-in-Charge Rodriguez.</p>
<p>According to court filings and facts presented at the plea hearing, between February 2010 and August 2015, computer hackers based in Ukraine gained unauthorized access into the computer networks of Marketwired L.P., PR Newswire Association LLC (PRN), and Business Wire (collectively, the “Newswire Companies”). The hackers used a series of sophisticated cyber-attacks to gain access to the Newswire Companies’ computer networks. Once in the computer networks, the hackers stole press releases about upcoming announcements by public companies concerning earnings, gross margins, revenues, and other confidential and material financial information. At one point, one of the hackers sent an online chat message in Russian to another individual stating, “I’m hacking prnewswire.com.” In another online chat, the hackers stated that they had compromised the log-in credentials of 15 Business Wire employees.</p>
<p>To capitalize on this stolen information, the hackers shared the stolen press releases with Momotok and other traders through overseas servers. In a series of emails, the hackers provided the traders with credentials and instructions on how to access and use the overseas servers. To assist the hackers steal the most valuable information, the traders created “shopping lists” or “wish lists” for the hackers listing desired upcoming press releases from Marketwired and PRN for publicly traded companies. Once Momotok and the other traders received the stolen press releases, they used that information to execute trades ahead of the issuance of the press release. In order to execute trades before the press releases were made public, Momotok and the other traders sometimes had to execute trades in extremely short windows of time. Frequently, all of this illegal trading activity occurred on the same day. Momotok and the other traders traded on stolen press releases containing material nonpublic information about publicly traded companies that included, among hundreds of others: Align Technology Inc.; Caterpillar Inc.; Hewlett Packard; Home Depot; Panera Bread Co.; and Verisign Inc.</p>
<p>Momotok and his co-conspirators’ gained more than $30 million from their illegal trades. In exchange for providing Momotok and the other traders with the stolen press releases, the hackers received a percentage of the illegal proceeds, which were transferred to them through foreign shell companies.</p>
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<p>The government’s case is being prosecuted by the Office’s Business and Securities Fraud and National Security and Cybercrime Sections. Assistant United States Attorneys Christopher A. Ott, Christopher L. Nasson and Richard M. Tucker are in charge of the prosecution, with assistance provided by Assistant United States Attorneys Brian D. Morris and Tanisha Payne of the Office’s Civil Division, which is responsible for the forfeiture of assets.</p>
<p>The charges were brought in connection with the President’s Financial Fraud Enforcement Task Force. The task force was established to wage an aggressive, coordinated, and proactive effort to investigate and prosecute financial crimes. With more than 20 federal agencies, 94 U.S. Attorneys’ offices, and state and local partners, it is the broadest coalition of law enforcement, investigatory, and regulatory agencies ever assembled to combat fraud. Since its formation, the task force has made great strides in facilitating increased investigation and prosecution of financial crimes; enhancing coordination and cooperation among federal, state, and local authorities; addressing discrimination in the lending and financial markets; and conducting outreach to the public, victims, financial institutions, and other organizations. Since fiscal year 2009, the Justice Department has filed over 18,000 financial fraud cases against more than 25,000 defendants. For more information on the task force, please visit ww.StopFraud.gov.</p>
<p><strong><u>The Defendant</u></strong><strong>:</strong></p>
<p>LEONID MOMOTOK<br />
Age: 48<br />
Residence: Suwanee, Georgia</p>
<p>E.D.N.Y. Docket No. 15-CR-381 (RJD)</p>
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<p><a href="https://www.justice.gov/usao-edny/pr/georgia-trader-pleads-guilty-largest-known-computer-hacking-and-trading-scheme">Original PressReleases &#8230;</a></p>

Financial Fraud: Alexander Matthews and Sultana Siddiqui Sentenced for Mortgage Fraud
<h2>North Potomac Mortgage Broker Sentenced to Federal Prison for Defrauding Investors of Over $400,000</h2>
<h3>Promised to Pay Back Loans from Individual Investors With Substantial Returns in a Short Amount of Time, But Instead Used the Money for Personal Gain</h3>
<p><strong><em>Greenbelt</em></strong>, Maryland – U.S. District Judge Theodore D. Chuang sentenced Sultana Siddiqui, a/k/a Sultana Ahmad, age 56, of North Potomac, Maryland, today to two years in federal prison, followed by three years of supervised release, for conspiring to commit <strong>wire and mail fraud</strong> arising from an <strong>investment fraud scheme</strong>. Judge Chuang also entered an order requiring Siddiqui to forfeit $405,000, and pay restitution of $402,800, the loss resulting from the scheme minus $2,200 in “lulling payments” paid to two of the victims in order to prevent them from going to authorities.</p>
<p>Judge Chuang ordered that Siddiqui be immediately taken into custody after finding that she violated the conditions of her pretrial release by visiting the victims this weekend.</p>
<p>The sentence was announced by United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Rod J. Rosenstein; Special Agent in Charge Kevin Perkins of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Baltimore Field Office; Special Agent in Charge Olga Acevedo of the Federal Housing Finance Agency Office of Inspector General; and Montgomery County State’s Attorney John McCarthy.</p>
<p>According to her guilty plea, Siddiqui was a <a class="wpil_keyword_link" href="https://www.fraudswatch.com/category/mortgage/" title="mortgage" data-wpil-keyword-link="linked" data-wpil-monitor-id="52">mortgage</a> broker who falsely represented to individual victims that co-conspirator Alexander Matthews was an investor or developer who could secure substantial returns on the <em>victims&#8217; investments</em> in a short time period. Siddiqui solicited investments from each of the victims, vouched for Matthews&#8217;s trustworthiness and business acumen, and received money from the victims. She deposited most of the money from the victims into her personal bank account. Then she and/or Matthews provided each victim with a post-dated check in the amount of the victim&#8217;s investment plus the promised return. None of the post-dated checks were negotiable on the promised return date. After the victims discovered that the post-dated checks were not negotiable, Siddiqui and/or Matthews sent lulling payments and/or email communications to the victims.</p>
<p>For example, in 2008, a real estate agent and her husband agreed to invest $300,000, drawn on their <em>home equity line of credit</em>, to renovate a home in Clifton, Virginia, which Siddiqui and Matthews claimed was to be leased by the FBI. Siddiqui, however, deposited the money in her personal bank account, and no lease agreement existed with the FBI. Siddiqui and Matthews used the money for their own benefit, providing only a small number of lulling payments to the victims.</p>
<p>In November 2010, at Siddiqui’s urging, another victim agreed to invest $50,000 with Matthews and give Siddiqui a $5,000 <em>personal <a class="wpil_keyword_link" href="https://www.fraudswatch.com/category/loans/" title="loan" data-wpil-keyword-link="linked" data-wpil-monitor-id="210">loan</a></em>. In return, Siddiqui gave the victim a promissory note for the investment signed by Matthews, and two post-dated checks: one for $6,000 from a bank account held by Siddiqui; and one for $60,000 from an account held by Matthews. When the victim attempted to cash the checks, a bank official told her they were not negotiable. Siddiqui sent several lulling emails to the victim, claiming that she would be repaid, but the victim has not received any payment.</p>
<p><strong>Siddiqui and Matthews defrauded the victims of approximately $355,000</strong>.</p>
<p>Siddiqui admitted to <strong>defrauding</strong> another individual of $50,000 in a transaction in 2014.</p>
<p>Alexander Matthews, age 50, of Dunn Loring, Virginia, pleaded guilty in 2011 in federal court in the Eastern District of Virginia to his participation in the conspiracy and was sentenced to 10 years in prison.</p>
<p>The Maryland Mortgage Fraud Task Force was established to unify the agencies that regulate and investigate <strong>mortgage fraud</strong> and promote the early detection, identification, prevention and prosecution of <em>mortgage fraud schemes</em>. This case, as well as other cases brought by members of the Task Force, demonstrates the commitment of law enforcement agencies to protect consumers from <a href="https://www.fraudswatch.com/category/fraud/">fraud</a> and promote the integrity of the credit markets. Information about<strong> mortgage fraud</strong> prosecutions is available <a href="https://www.justice.gov/usao-md/financial-fraud-and-identity-theft"><u>http://www.justice.gov/usao-md/financial-fraud-and-identity-theft</u></a>.</p>
<p>Today’s announcement is part of the efforts undertaken in connection with the President’s <a class="wpil_keyword_link" href="https://www.fraudswatch.com/tag/financial-fraud/" title="Financial" data-wpil-keyword-link="linked" data-wpil-monitor-id="569">Financial</a> Fraud Enforcement Task Force. The task force was established to wage an aggressive, coordinated and proactive effort to investigate and prosecute <strong>financial crimes.</strong> With more than 20 federal agencies, 94 U.S. attorneys’ offices, and state and local partners, it’s the broadest coalition of law enforcement, investigatory and regulatory agencies ever assembled to combat <a href="https://www.fraudswatch.com/category/fraud/"><strong>fraud</strong></a>. Since its formation, the task force has made great strides in facilitating increased investigation and prosecution of <em>financial crimes</em>; enhancing coordination and cooperation among federal, state and local authorities; addressing discrimination in the lending and financial markets; and conducting outreach to the public, victims, financial institutions and other organizations. Since fiscal year 2009, the Justice Department has filed over 18,000 <strong>financial fraud</strong> cases against more than 25,000 defendants. For more information on the task force, please visit <a href="http://www.stopfraud.gov/"><u>www.StopFraud.gov</u></a>.</p>
<p>United States Attorney Rod J. Rosenstein commended the FBI, Federal Housing Finance Agency Office of Inspector General, and Montgomery County State’s Attorney’s Office for their work in the investigation and thanked Assistant U.S. Attorney Ray D. McKenzie, who prosecuted the case.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.justice.gov/usao-md/pr/north-potomac-mortgage-broker-sentenced-federal-prison-defrauding-investors-over-400000">Original PressReleases &#8230;</a></p>

Financial Fraud: Manuel Ponce Vazquez Guilty to Defrauding Charities and Law Firms
<h2>Quincy Man Pleads Guilty to Defrauding Charities and Law Firms</h2>
<p>BOSTON – A Quincy man pleaded guilty today in U.S. District Court in Boston to using counterfeit cashier’s checks to defraud victims, including charities and law firms, of at least $1 million.</p>
<p>Manuel Ponce Vazquez, 59, pleaded guilty to an Information charging him with one count of mail fraud. Ponce Vazquez was charged and arrested in April 2016. U.S. District Court Judge Indira Talwani scheduled sentencing for Nov. 4, 2016.</p>
<p>Beginning around August 2013, Ponce Vazquez and his co-conspirators defrauded law firms and other victims by sending them counterfeit cashier’s checks, then convincing them to forward a portion of the checks’ supposed value to bank accounts Ponce Vazquez opened, generally using an alias. Once the checks were discovered to be fraudulent, the victims’ bank accounts were debited, and the victims were left with thousands of dollars in losses, having unwittingly forwarded their own money to Ponce Vazquez.</p>
<p>On several occasions, Ponce Vazquez and his co-conspirators targeted charities and other non-profits. Posing as a philanthropist, a conspirator would tell a charity that he wished to make a large donation of a specified amount. Soon after, the charity would receive a cashier’s check, ostensibly from the supposed donor, but in excess of the expected amount. The conspirator would explain that the excess money had been sent by mistake and ask for it to be returned, claiming in several instances that it was needed urgently to help a child suffering from an acute illness who required surgery within the week. Only after the charity had sent Ponce Vazquez thousands of dollars would it learn that the cashier’s check was a fake.</p>
<p>More frequently, the targets of Ponce Vazquez’s scam were law firms who believed they were being hired to help collect a debt. Before the firms took any action to collect the supposed debt, they received counterfeit cashier’s checks, ostensibly from the debtors, fully repaying the debt. At the direction of one of Ponce Vazquez’s co-conspirators, the firms forwarded the majority of the checks’ purported value to a bank account that Ponce Vazquez controlled, unwittingly paying Ponce Vazquez using the firms’ own money.</p>
<p>The charging statute provides a sentence of no greater than 20 years in prison, three years of supervised release, a fine of $250,000 or twice the gross gain or loss, whichever is greater, and restitution. Actual sentences for federal crimes are typically less than the maximum penalties. Sentences are imposed by a federal district court judge based upon the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.</p>
<p>United States Attorney Carmen M. Ortiz and Harold H. Shaw, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Boston Field Division, made the announcement today. Assistance was also provided by Braintree Police Department and the Norfolk District Attorney’s Office. This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Brian A. Pérez-Daple of Ortiz’s Economic Crimes Unit.</p>

Financial Fraud: David H. DeMathews Sentenced for Wire Fraud and Money Laundering
<h2>Columbus Businessman Sentenced to 142 Months for Wire Fraud, Money Laundering</h2>
<p>COLUMBUS, Ohio – David H. DeMathews, 63, of Columbus, was sentenced in U.S. District Court to 142 months in prison and ordered to pay approximately $730,000 in restitution for one count of <strong>wire fraud</strong> and one count of <strong>money laundering</strong>.</p>
<p>Benjamin C. Glassman, Acting United States Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio and Angela L. Byers, Special Agent in Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Cincinnati Field Division, announced the sentence handed down today by U.S. District Judge Michael H. Watson.</p>
<p>DeMathews used his positions as Director of National Accounts and Executive Vice President of American Escrow and Title Services, Inc. (AETS), and President of DEMCO Advisory Corporation (DEMCO) to execute a <a class="wpil_keyword_link" href="https://www.fraudswatch.com/tag/financial-fraud/" title="financial" data-wpil-keyword-link="linked" data-wpil-monitor-id="568">financial</a> fraud scheme.</p>
<p>DeMathews told some victims he would invest their money in the construction of multi-million dollar buildings that were supposed to generate repayment to the investors. He promised some victims he would invest their money in Starbucks franchise opportunities in Central America, hospital projects in Panama and Nicaragua, and a water treatment plant in Florida.</p>
<p>He also used some victims’ investments to make partial repayments to other victims, in order to convince those victims that AETS and DEMCO were generating income, and to encourage those victims to make additional investments in AETS and DEMCO.</p>
<p>From 2009 through April 2014, DeMathews had no legitimate income of any kind. He received approximately $911,000 for the purpose of executing his scheme, and misappropriated those funds for primarily his personal use. Those personal expenditures included, but were not limited to: <a class="wpil_keyword_link" href="https://www.fraudswatch.com/category/mortgage/" title="mortgage" data-wpil-keyword-link="linked" data-wpil-monitor-id="51">mortgage</a> payments on two houses, numerous lavish big game hunting trips and other vacations to Europe and South Africa, expensive retail purchases, and effectively all of the defendant’s daily living expenses.</p>
<p>DeMathews also used the investors’ money to satisfy monthly restitution payment obligations ordered in the amount of approximately $3.7 million related to a federal criminal case in the Central District of California, in which he was convicted of multiple counts of <strong><a class="wpil_keyword_link" href="https://www.fraudswatch.com/category/loans/" title="loan" data-wpil-keyword-link="linked" data-wpil-monitor-id="209">loan</a> and credit application fraud</strong> in April 2000.</p>
<p>“Mr. DeMathews is responsible not only for wiping away the financial resources of many families—the effects of which will be felt for years to come—but also for causing profound levels of stress and emotional injury,” Acting U.S. Attorney Glassman said. “He preyed on vulnerable victims. For example, he induced a mentally incompetent woman to invest her engagement ring. Another victim was forced to surrender individual life insurance policies, before being diagnosed with cancer and learning that he did not have long to live and would be leaving his family with no means of financial stability.”</p>
<p>To carry out his most recent scheme, DeMathews fraudulently: created at least two shell companies; had business cards made; provided paperwork from foreign companies and governments that were written in different languages; continuously sent emails to the victims convincing them that he was traveling and working very hard to get the alleged projects secured; had others open bank accounts for him so that he never had any identifiable assets in his name; laundered victim money to pay his $200 monthly restitution obligation for his 2000 fraud conviction in the Central District of California; requested that Google suppress search results related to his prior federal convictions on similar charges so that his victims could not easily discover his past charges; advised victims that he was the President of DEMCO and doctored a letterhead to perpetrate his fraud and provided complex blueprints and similar documents to victims to convince them that he was working on specific projects.</p>
<p>He was indicted by a federal grand jury in March 2015 and pleaded guilty in March 2016.</p>
<p>Acting U.S. Attorney Glassman commended the investigation of this case by the FBI, and Assistant United States Attorney Jessica H. Kim, who is prosecuting the case.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.justice.gov/usao-sdoh/pr/columbus-businessman-sentenced-142-months-wire-fraud-money-laundering">Original PressReleases &#8230;</a></p>

Bankruptcy: Elpidio Gongora Guilty Plea to a Scheme Involving Defrauding Personal Injury Clients, Tax Evasion and Hiding Assets from U.S. Bankruptcy Trustee
<h2>San Antonio Businessman Enters Guilty Plea to a Scheme Involving Defrauding Personal Injury Clients, Tax Evasion and Hiding Assets from U.S. Bankruptcy Trustee</h2>
<p>In San Antonio this morning, 47-year-old San Antonio businessman Elpidio Gongora (aka “Pete Gongora”) pleaded guilty to federal charges in connection with a <em>scheme to defraud personal injury clients</em>; <em>evading payment</em> of more than $1.6 million in taxes; and, attempting to hide assets valued at $429,000 from the <em>Bankruptcy Trustee</em>. That announcement was made today by United States Attorney Richard L. Durbin, Jr.; Christopher Combs, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Special Agent in Charge of the San Antonio Division; William Cotter, Internal Revenue Service (IRS) Criminal Investigation Special Agent in Charge; and, Judy A. Robbins, U.S. Trustee for the Southern and Western Districts of Texas.</p>
<p>Appearing before United States District Judge Fred Biery, Gongora pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit <strong>mail fraud</strong>, one count of <strong>bankruptcy fraud</strong>, and one count of <strong>tax evasion</strong>. According to court documents, from 2009 through 2014, Gongora, aided and abetted by his co-defendants&#8211;Rosa Ramirez, Juan Rodriguez, and Ronald Higgins&#8211;operated the law offices of several personal injury attorneys, including the Law Office of Ronald Higgins in the city of San Antonio and elsewhere in Texas, Arkansas and New Mexico. Ramirez, age 49 of San Antonio, Rodriguez, age 48 of San Antonio, and Higgins, age 55 formerly of San Antonio, await jury selection and trial currently scheduled for September 12<sup>th</sup>. All three are charged with one count of conspiracy to commit <em>mail fraud</em>. Ramirez is also charged with five counts of mail fraud and five counts of aggravated <strong>identity theft</strong>.</p>
<p>By pleading guilty, Gongora admitted that he stole money from the personal injury clients by failing to pay monies owed to clients under settlement agreements or to pay obligations for medical treatment and physical therapy after committing to do so. To carry out this scheme, Gongora collected the proceeds of fraudulently endorsed personal injury settlement checks and would hide from the attorneys his failure to pay clients settlement proceeds to which they were entitled.</p>
<p>In 2013, Gongora and his wife filed for Chapter 7 <strong>Bankruptcy</strong> in the Western District of Texas. By pleading guilty, Gongora admitted to his failure to disclose to the <em>Bankruptcy Trustee</em> that he owned personal assets that included a 33-foot Chris Craft cabin cruiser; a 29-foot 2005 Seaswirl boat; a 2005 Ford F-150 truck; real property located on Elm Valley in San Antonio; and, a residence located in Aransas Pass, TX.</p>
<p>By pleading guilty, Gongora also admitted that he willfully attempted to evade paying over $1.6 million in taxes, penalties and interest owed to the Internal Revenue Service for calendar years 2003 through 2005 and 2007 through 2013.</p>
<p>Gongora faces up to 20 years in federal prison for conspiracy to commit mail fraud; up to five years imprisonment for bankruptcy fraud; and, up to five years imprisonment for tax evasion.</p>
<p>This investigation was conducted by agents with the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI) and the U.S. Trustee’s Office. Assistant United States Attorney Bud Paulissen is prosecuting this case on behalf of the Government.</p>
<p><strong>An indictment is merely a charge and should not be considered as evidence of guilt. Ramirez, Rodriguez and Higgins are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.</strong></p>
<p><a href="https://www.justice.gov/usao-wdtx/pr/san-antonio-businessman-enters-guilty-plea-scheme-involving-defrauding-personal-injury">Original PressReleases &#8230;</a></p>
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Cyber Crime: Ramon Batista, Edwin Fana and Jose Santana Charged For Cell Phone Fraud Scheme
<h2>Defendants Charged with Participating in Sophisticated International Cell Phone Fraud Scheme</h2>
<p>Criminal charges were unsealed against multiple defendants relating to their participation in a sophisticated global cell phone fraud scheme, involving the takeover or compromise of cell phone customers’ accounts and the “cloning” of their phones to make fraudulent international calls.</p>
<p>U.S. Attorney Wifredo A. Ferrer of the Southern District of Florida, Assistant Attorney General Leslie R. Caldwell of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division and Special Agent in Charge George L. Piro of the FBI’s Miami Field Office made the announcement.</p>
<p><strong>Ramon Batista</strong>, aka Porfirio, 49, of Orlando, Florida; <strong>Edwin Fana</strong>, 36, of Miami Gardens, Florida; and <strong>Jose Santana</strong>, aka Octavio Perez, 52, of Royal Palm Beach, Florida, made their initial appearances in court this week after being arrested or self-surrendering. Batista, Fana and Santana were each charged in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida with one count of conspiracy to commit <em>wire fraud</em>; <em>access device fraud</em>; the use, production or possession of<em> modified telecommunications instruments</em>; and the use or possession of hardware or software configured to obtain telecommunications services, as well as additional counts of <strong>wire fraud and aggravated identity theft</strong>.</p>
<p>According to the indictment, the defendants and their co-conspirators participated in a scheme to steal access to and fraudulently open new cell phone accounts using the personal information of individuals around the United States. The conspirators then trafficked in the cell phone customers’ telecommunication identifying information, using that data as well as other software and hardware to reprogram cell phones that they controlled to transmit thousands of international calls to Cuba, Jamaica, the Dominican Republic and other countries with high calling rates. The calls were billed to the victims’ compromised accounts.</p>
<p>Moreover, according to allegations in the indictment, as part of the scheme, the conspirators used the reprogrammed cell phones and additional telecommunications equipment to run illegal call-termination businesses—contracting with calling card companies, Voice over Internet Protocol providers and other telecommunications companies nationwide—in which the defendants routed international calls for payment and then transmitted those calls through the reprogrammed phones without paying for access to the phone companies’ networks. In so doing, they pushed costs from themselves to cell phone customers around the country and those customers’ cell phone providers, which typically absorbed the costs for the fraudulent international calls, according to the indictment.</p>
<p>The charges and allegations contained in the indictment are merely accusations. The defendants are presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty.</p>
<p>The FBI investigated the case, dubbed Operation Toll Free, which is part of the bureau’s ongoing effort to combat large-scale telecommunications fraud. Senior Counsel Matthew A. Lamberti of the Criminal Division’s Computer Crime and Intellectual Property Section and Assistant U.S. Attorney Jared M. Strauss of the Southern District of Florida are prosecuting the case.</p>
<p>Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Southern District of Florida at <a href="http://www.flsd.uscourts.gov/"><u>www.flsd.uscourts.gov</u></a> or on <a href="http://pacer.flsd.uscourts.gov/"><u>http://pacer.flsd.uscourts.gov</u></a>.</p>

Financial Fraud: Albert Shih-Der Chang Was Arrested For Mail Fraud and Money Laundering Charges
<h2 class="node-title">FBI Arrests Dallas Technology Company’s Former Lead Systems Engineer on Mail Fraud and Money Laundering Charges</h2>
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<p><strong>DALLAS</strong> — Albert Shih-Der Chang, a former Lead Systems Engineer for a Dallas technology company known as One Technologies, was arrested at his residence in Fairview, Texas, this morning by special agents with the FBI on an indictment charging federal felony offenses stemming from his approximate $2.4 million theft or embezzlement from the company, announced U.S. Attorney John Parker of the Northern District of Texas.</p>
<p>A federal grand jury in Dallas returned the 11-count indictment yesterday charging Chang with 10 counts of mail fraud and one count of money laundering. Chang, 35, made his initial appearance in federal court this afternoon before U.S. Magistrate Judge Renée Harris Toliver and was released on bond with conditions.</p>
<p>According to the indictment, from approximately October 4, 2004, through August 15, 2014, Chang worked for One Technologies, initially as its Network/Systems Administrator and later as its Lead Systems Engineer.</p>
<p>The indictment alleges that from approximately June 2008 through August 2014, Chang devised and ran a scheme to defraud One Technologies by causing the company to pay more than $2.4 million as a result of his false and fraudulent pretenses, representations and promises. Chang caused One Technologies to transfer funds, based on material representations, to <a class="wpil_keyword_link" href="https://www.fraudswatch.com/tag/financial-fraud/" title="financial" data-wpil-keyword-link="linked" data-wpil-monitor-id="567">financial</a> accounts he controlled, and Chang caused One Technologies to purchase products, purportedly for the company’s use, that Chang later converted to his own use.</p>
<p>To carry out his scheme, Chang allegedly created fictitious companies and opened bank accounts or PayPal accounts for them, rented mailboxes for them, and contracted for virtual offices for them with mail forwarding services. He also created and submitted fictitious purchase requisitions, orders, invoices, and receipts that One Technologies paid.</p>
<p>The money laundering count alleges that from approximately April 15, 2013, until May 30, 2013, Chang wired-transferred nearly $300,000 from his joint account at Chase Bank to a title company to purchase a residence on Stone Hinge Drive in Fairview, and that funds transfer involved the proceeds of the fraud.</p>
<p>An indictment is an accusation by a federal grand jury, and a defendant is entitled to the presumption of innocence unless proven guilty. However, if convicted, the maximum statutory penalty for each mail fraud count is 20 years in federal prison and a $250,000 fine. The money laundering count, upon conviction, carries a maximum statutory penalty of 10 years in federal prison and a $250,000 fine. Restitution could also be ordered. The indictment also includes a forfeiture allegation that would require the defendant, upon conviction, to forfeit any property that constitutes or was derived from proceeds traceable to the fraud, including his residence in Fairview.</p>
<p>The FBI is in charge of the investigation and the Fairview Police Department assisted with the arrest. Assistant U.S. Attorney C.S. Heath is in charge of the prosecution.</p>
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Michael Danilovich Sentenced For Racketeering, Health Care Fraud, Securities Fraud, Mail Fraud, Wire Fraud, And Money Laundering
<h2>Michael Danilovich Sentenced To 25 Years For Racketeering, Health Care Fraud, Securities Fraud, Mail Fraud, Wire Fraud, And Money Laundering</h2>
<h3>Racketeering Conviction Included Largest No-Fault Insurance Fraud Scheme Ever Charged</h3>
<p>Preet Bharara, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, announced that MICHAEL DANILOVICH was sentenced today to 25 years in prison in connection with his conviction for 16 counts of <em>racketeering conspiracy, securities fraud, health care fraud, mail fraud, wire fraud, and money laundering</em> charges following a five-week jury trial. The jury convicted DANILOVICH of racketeering arising out of his operation, from 2007 through 2012, of the largest single no-fault <strong>automobile insurance fraud scheme</strong> ever charged; his operation, from 2007 to 2009, of two <strong>investment fraud</strong> schemes, Lyons Ward &; Associates and the Rockford Group; and his attempted operation, from 2011 to 2012, of a third <em>investment fraud scheme</em>, Baron &; Caplan Association, including after he was arrested and released on bail in this case. DANILOVICH was sentenced today by United States District Judge Deborah A. Batts, who presided over the trial.</p>
<p>U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara said: “Michael Danilovich made a career out of <em>defrauding people</em>. From running the largest no-fault <em>insurance fraud scheme</em> in the country to operating multi-million dollar investment frauds, Danilovich’s deception was wide-ranging. Thanks to the outstanding work of the FBI and the NYPD, Danilovich’s career of crime has been put to an end.”</p>
<p>According to the Superseding Indictment, evidence admitted at trial, court filings, and statements made in open court:</p>
<p>From 2007 through 2012, DANILOVICH was a leader of an enterprise engaged in a pattern of racketeering that included a massive scheme to defraud automobile insurance companies under New York’s no-fault insurance law, multiple securities fraud schemes, money laundering, and the operation of illegal gambling businesses.</p>
<p>Under New York State law, every vehicle registered in the state is required to have no-fault automobile insurance, which enables the driver and passengers of a registered and insured vehicle to obtain benefits of up to $50,000 per person for injuries sustained in an automobile accident, regardless of fault (the “No-Fault Law”). The No-Fault Law requires prompt payment for medical treatment, thereby obviating the need for claimants to file personal injury lawsuits in order to be reimbursed. Under the No-Fault Law, patients can assign their right to reimbursement from an insurance company to others, including medical clinics that provide treatment for their injuries. New York State law also requires that all medical clinics in the state be incorporated, owned, operated, and controlled by a licensed medical practitioner in order to be eligible for reimbursement under the No-Fault Law. Insurance companies will not honor claims for medical treatments from a medical clinic that is not actually owned, operated, and controlled by a licensed medical professional.</p>
<p>From 2007 through 2012, DANILOVICH’s organization defrauded automobile insurance companies of more than $100 million by, among other things, creating and operating medical clinics that provided unnecessary and excessive medical treatments in order to take advantage of the No-Fault Law. In addition, Danilovich’s organization fraudulently owned and controlled more than a dozen medical professional corporations (“PCs”) – including no fault clinics, MRI offices, and acupuncture and chiropractic PCs – by paying licensed medical professionals to use their licenses to incorporate the professional corporations. DANILOVICH and his co-conspirators paid kickbacks of thousands of dollars to runners to recruit patients to receive the same battery of tests and treatments, and received kickbacks from other co-conspirators for referring patients for additional unnecessary treatments. All told, Danilovich’s organization billed insurance companies for tens of millions of dollars in fraudulent medical treatments. Furthermore, DANILOVICH and his co-conspirators laundered the proceeds of the fraud through check-cashing entities and shell companies, and used the money to pay for luxury cars, watches, and vacations.</p>
<p>In addition to the no-fault insurance fraud scheme, DANILOVICH was convicted for operating two investment fraud schemes that swindled innocent victims out of nearly $18 million. Both schemes – Lyons Ward &; Associates and the Rockford Group – purported to be settlement claims funding companies that invested in lawsuits in return for a portion of future settlements. DANILOVICH also attempted to operate a third scheme, Baron &; Caplan Association, including after he was arrested and released on bail in this case. As part of these schemes, DANILOVICH and his co-conspirators created bogus documents and account statements used by cold-callers to solicit victims through false representations. In reality, there was no investment fund at all; instead, DANILOVICH and his co-conspirators simply stole the money invested by victims and laundered the proceeds by wiring them overseas to shell companies in Eastern Europe, which were then turned into cash in the United States.</p>
<p>DANILOVICH’s organization also operated high-stakes illegal poker games and illegal sports books.</p>
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<p>At DANILOVICH’s first trial in the fall of 2013, a mistrial was declared after the jury failed to reach a unanimous verdict on all counts.</p>
<p>On March 19, 2015, co-defendant Mikhail Zemlyansky was convicted following a four-week trial before U.S. District Judge J. Paul Oetken of six counts of racketeering conspiracy, securities fraud, mail fraud, and wire fraud charges, related to the crimes committed by the Zemlyansky/Danilovich Organization. On January 28, 2016, Judge Oekten sentenced Zemlyansky to 15 years in prison.</p>
<p>Mr. Bharara thanked the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the New York City Police Department for their continued outstanding work in this investigation. Mr. Bharara also thanked the National Insurance Crime Bureau, the investigative units of the insurance companies, the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office, and the Alabama Securities Commission for their valuable assistance with the investigation.</p>
<p>The case is being prosecuted by the Office’s Violent &; Organized Crime Unit. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Daniel S. Noble, Joshua A. Naftalis, and Jaimie L. Nawaday are in charge of the prosecution.</p>

Financial Fraud: Wafa Abboud, Marcelle P. Bailey and Rami Misbah Taha Indicted For Embezzling And Laundering From Charity
<h2>Former Executive Director And Two Co-Defendants Indicted For Embezzling And Laundering Hundreds Of Thousands Of Dollars From Charity</h2>
<p>On Friday, July 15, 2016, a federal grand jury in Brooklyn returned a seven-count indictment charging Wafa Abboud, the former executive director of a charity that provides services to individuals with developmental disabilities, and Marcelle P. Bailey and Rami Misbah Taha, with embezzling and laundering hundreds of thousands of dollars from that charity for Abboud’s personal use. The defendants were also charged with bank fraud in connection with Abboud’s purchase of her residence in Merrick, New York.</p>
<p>The charges were announced by Robert L. Capers, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York; Eric Schneiderman, New York State Attorney General; and Diego Rodriguez, Assistant Director-in-Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation, New York Field Office.</p>
<p>As is alleged in the federal indictment, between January 2011 and her termination in May 2016, Abboud served as the Executive Director of Human First, Inc. (Human First), a not-for-profit social services provider based in Nassau County, New York, that provided services to children and young adults with autism and other development disabilities throughout the metropolitan New York City area.</p>
<p>The government’s investigation revealed that, during the relevant period, Abboud directed Human First to pay approximately $900,000 in purported consulting fees to a company controlled by her co-defendant, Bailey. Abboud, in turn, used hundreds of thousands of dollars of these funds to pay her personal expenses, including more than $114,000 in personal credit card debt, which included charges for cosmetic surgery, family vacations, jewelry, meals, and spa treatments. She also used the funds to pay property taxes on her Merrick residence and to make large international wire transfers.</p>
<p>In December 2014, Abboud purchased the Merrick residence for $1.3 million, making a down payment of $340,000. In the months prior to that purchase, she authorized hundreds of thousands of dollars in payments from Human First to companies controlled by her co-defendant Taha, payments that were purportedly for renovation work being performed on Human First owned properties. Instead, those funds were re-routed to Abboud and used to fund the down payment on her residence. Similarly, between April and December 2015, Abboud directed Human First to pay more than $400,000 to Taha-controlled entities, the vast majority of which were then transferred to a construction company as a payment for renovations on Abboud’s residence.</p>
<p>Abboud, Bailey, and Taha are also charged with conspiracy to commit bank fraud in connection with false statements they made to secure the $1 million <a class="wpil_keyword_link" href="https://www.fraudswatch.com/category/mortgage/" title="mortgage" data-wpil-keyword-link="linked" data-wpil-monitor-id="50">mortgage</a> on Abboud’s residence.</p>
<p>United States Attorney Capers stated, “Embezzlement of public funds meant to aid individuals with developmental disabilities impacts some of the most vulnerable members of our community. With this indictment, we serve notice that those who engage in such crimes will be vigorously investigated and held to account.” Mr. Capers extended his grateful appreciation to the New York State Office of the Inspector General for its assistance.</p>
<p>“The crimes alleged by state and federal prosecutors are troubling, particularly because they involve funds intended to benefit the developmentally disabled community,” said Attorney General Schneiderman. “When individuals embezzle funds intended for a charitable purpose it undermines the mission of the charity and harms all donors and honest non-profit organizations.”</p>
<p>“As alleged, Wafa Abboud embezzled and laundered hundreds of thousands of dollars from a charity she was entrusted to run over a time period of five years. Abboud used co-conspirators to help her steal funds that were intended to help children with disabilities; instead the funds were used to finance a lavish lifestyle. Corruption is corruption wherever it exists. The FBI is committed to investigating and rooting it out, whether it happens in a public office or a nonprofit organization,” stated FBI Assistant Director-in-Charge Rodriguez.</p>
<p>The charges announced today are merely allegations, and the defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty. If convicted of the embezzlement charges, the defendants face a maximum sentence of 10 years’ imprisonment. If convicted of conspiracy to embezzle public funds, the defendants face a maximum sentence of five years’ imprisonment. If convicted of bank fraud or conspiracy to commit bank fraud, the defendants face a maximum sentence of 30 years. If convicted of conducting an unlawful monetary transaction over $10,000, the defendants Abboud and Taha face a maximum sentence of 10 years.</p>
<p>The government’s case is being prosecuted by the Office’s Public Integrity Section. Assistant United States Attorneys Robert Polemeni and Nathan Reilly, along with Special Assistant United States Attorney John Chiara (Special Counsel, Office of the New York State Attorney General) are in charge of the prosecution.</p>
<p> ;</p>
<p><strong><u>The Defendants</u></strong>:</p>
<p>WAFA ABBOUD<br />
Age: 48<br />
Merrick, New York</p>
<p>MARCELLE P. BAILEY<br />
Age: 49<br />
Floral Park, New York</p>
<p>RAMI MISBAH TAHA<br />
Age: 39<br />
Bronx, New York</p>
<p>E.D.N.Y. Docket No. 16-CR-396</p>
<p><a href="https://www.justice.gov/usao-edny/pr/former-executive-director-and-two-co-defendants-indicted-embezzling-and-laundering">Original PressReleases &#8230;</a></p>

Financial Fraud: Laquitta S. Brackins Sentenced For Mail and Wire Fraud by Defrauding a Cell Phone Insurance Provider
<h1 class="node-title">Defendant Receives Lengthy Sentence for Cell Phone Insurance Fraud</h1>
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<p>ATLANTA &#8211; Laquitta S. Brackins has been sentenced to federal prison for conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud by defrauding a cell phone insurance provider. Brackins, along with a co-conspirator, filed thousands of false insurance claims on cell phones that did not belong to them and received over $1.6 million worth of cell phones from those claims.</p>
<p>“Cell phone insurance fraud drives up costs for all cell phone consumers,” said U.S. Attorney John Horn. “These defendants submitted thousands of fraudulent claims in the hope they could profit before anyone noticed.”</p>
<p>According to U.S. Attorney Horn, the charges and other information presented in court: Brackins and co-conspirator Nicholas L. Johnson defrauded Asurion Protection Services, LLC, and its cellular service provider clients, by submitting fraudulent cell phone insurance claims. Together, they obtained over $1.6 million worth of cell phones.</p>
<p>As part of the conspiracy, Brackins recruited cell phone subscribers from the Atlanta area and also traveled out of state to find individuals willing to allow her to use their cell phone contracts in her scheme. The defendants also used false identification documents and forged cell phone bills to file fraudulent claims with Asurion. Under Asurion’s insurance program, subscribers receive replacement phones to replace lost or stolen phones covered by the insurance. Brackins was linked with over 3,600 fraudulent submissions and she received over 2,900 phones as a result. After the defendants received the fraudulent phones, they and others involved in the scheme sold the phones to electronic wholesalers in the Atlanta area. Once she was indicted, Brackins fled and lived under false names at various hotels. She continued the scheme, having fraudulently obtained phones sent to her at the hotels.</p>
<p>Laquitta S. Brackins, 35, of Atlanta, Georgia, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Steve C. Jones to seven years, three months in prison to be followed by three years of supervised release, and ordered to pay restitution in the amount of $1,617,629. Brackins was convicted on these charges on April 19, 2016, after she pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud, as well as to substantive mail and wire fraud counts.</p>
<p>Judge Jones previously sentenced Nicholas L. Johnson, 33, of Atlanta, Georgia, on March 29, 2016, to one year, nine months in prison to be followed by three years of supervised release, and he was ordered to pay restitution in the amount of $191,093. Johnson was convicted of these charges on January 4, 2016, after he pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud, as well as to substantive mail and wire fraud counts.</p>
<p>This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation.</p>
<p>Assistant United States Attorney Christopher J. Huber and Special Assistant United States Attorney Diane C. Schulman prosecuted the case.</p>
<p>For further information please contact the U.S. Attorney’s Public Affairs Office at USAGAN.PressEmails@usdoj.gov</p>
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<p>or <span class="baec5a81-e4d6-4674-97f3-e9220f0136c1">(404) 581-6016</span>. The Internet address for the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Georgia is <a href="https://www.justice.gov/usao-ndga">http://www.justice.gov/usao-ndga</a>.</p>
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<div class="field__item even"><a href="https://www.justice.gov/usao-ndga/pr/defendant-receives-lengthy-sentence-cell-phone-insurance-fraud">Original PressReleases &#8230;</a></div>

Corrine Brown and Elias “Ronnie” Simmons Charged With Fraud Scheme
<h2>Congresswoman Corrine Brown And Chief Of Staff Charged With Fraud Scheme Involving Bogus Non-Profit Scholarship Entity</h2>
<p>Jacksonville, FL – Congresswoman Corrine Brown and her chief of staff were indicted today for their roles in a <strong>conspiracy and fraud scheme</strong> involving a <strong>fraudulent education charity</strong>.</p>
<p>Brown, 69, of Jacksonville, Florida, and her chief of staff, Elias “Ronnie” Simmons, 50, of Laurel, Maryland, were charged today in a 24-count indictment with participating in a conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud, multiple counts of mail and wire fraud, concealing material facts on required financial disclosure forms, theft of government property, obstruction of the due administration of the internal revenue laws, and filing false tax returns.</p>
<p>U.S. Attorney A. Lee Bentley III, Assistant Attorney General Leslie R. Caldwell of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, Special Agent in Charge Michelle Klimt of the FBI’s Jacksonville Division, and Special Agent in Charge Kim Lappin of the Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI) Tampa Field Office made the announcement.</p>
<p>“Our Office is committed to ferreting out and prosecuting all forms of corruption and fraud, regardless of who the offender is,” said U.S. Attorney Bentley. “In our nation, no one is above the law.”</p>
<p>&#8220;Congresswoman Brown and her chief of staff are alleged to have used the Congresswoman&#8217;s official position to solicit over $800,000 in donations to a supposed charitable organization, only to use that organization as a personal slush fund,&#8221; said Assistant Attorney General Caldwell. &#8220;Corruption erodes the public&#8217;s trust in our entire system of representative government. One of the department&#8217;s most important responsibilites is to root out corruption at all levels of government and to bring wrongdoers to justice.&#8221;</p>
<p>“Corrupt public officials undermine the integrity of our government and violate the public’s trust,” said Michelle S. Klimt, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI Jacksonville Division. “That is why public corruption is the FBI’s top criminal priority. It is incredibly disappointing that an elected official, who took an oath year after year to serve others, would exploit the needs of children and abuse the charitable hearts of constituents to advance her own personal and political agendas and deliver them with virtually nothing.”</p>
<p>&#8220;The defendants are alleged to have committed a multitude of criminal violations, including fraudulently receiving and using hundreds of thousands of dollars in contributions meant for a nonprofit organization for their own personal and professional benefit,” said Richard Weber, Chief, IRS Criminal Investigation. “The American public expects and deserves equitable enforcement of our tax laws.”</p>
<p>The indictment alleges that between late 2012 and early 2016, Brown and Simmons participated in a conspiracy and fraud scheme involving One Door for Education – Amy Anderson Scholarship Fund (One Door) in which the defendants and others acting on their behalf solicited more than $800,000 in charitable donations based on false representations that the donations would be used for college scholarships and school computer drives, among other things. According to the indictment, Brown and Simmons allegedly solicited donations from individuals and corporate entities that Brown knew by virtue of her position in the U.S. House of Representatives, many of whom the defendants led to believe that One Door was a properly-registered 501(c)(3) non-profit organization, when, in fact, it was not.</p>
<p>Contrary to the defendants’ representations, the indictment alleges that Brown, Simmons and Carla Wiley, the president of One Door, among others, used the vast majority of One Door donations for their personal and professional benefit, including tens of thousands of dollars in cash deposits that Simmons made to Brown’s personal bank accounts. In one instance, Simmons is alleged to have deposited $2,100 in One Door funds into Brown’s personal bank account the same day that Brown wrote a check for a similar amount to pay taxes she owed. Likewise, the indictment alleges that Brown and Simmons used the outside consulting company of one of Brown’s employees to funnel One Door funds to Brown and others for their personal use. According to the indictment, more than $200,000 in One Door funds were used to pay for events hosted by Brown or held in her honor, including a golf tournament in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida; lavish receptions during an annual conference in Washington, D.C.; the use of a luxury box during a concert in Washington, D.C.; and the use of a luxury box during an NFL game in the Washington, D.C., area.</p>
<p>Despite raising over $800,000 in donations, the indictment alleges that One Door was associated with only two scholarships totaling $1,200 that were awarded to students to cover expenses related to attending a college or university.</p>
<p>Simmons is also charged with theft of government property based on the misuse of his position as Brown’s chief of staff to obtain congressional employment for a close relative. Between 2001 and early 2016, Simmons’ relative allegedly received approximately $735,000 in government salary payments despite performing no known work for the U.S. House of Representatives. The indictment alleges that between 2009 and late 2015, Simmons diverted over $80,000 of his relative’s government salary for his personal benefit, including through transfers to his personal bank accounts, payments on his personal credit cards and <a class="wpil_keyword_link" href="https://www.fraudswatch.com/category/loans/" title="loan" data-wpil-keyword-link="linked" data-wpil-monitor-id="208">loan</a> payments on his boat.</p>
<p>Simmons and Brown are also charged with failing to disclose, among other things, the reportable income they received from One Door and the salary payments that Simmons diverted from his relative’s government employment on required <a class="wpil_keyword_link" href="https://www.fraudswatch.com/tag/financial-fraud/" title="financial" data-wpil-keyword-link="linked" data-wpil-monitor-id="566">financial</a> disclosure forms submitted to the U.S. House of Representatives and made available to the general public.</p>
<p>Brown is also charged with engaging in tax obstruction between 2008 and 2014 and, in certain years, filing false returns based on her repeated failure to report income from substantial cash deposits to her personal bank accounts and her repeated deduction of inflated and fabricated charitable donations. According to the indictment, in various years, Brown claimed deductions on her tax returns based on false donations she claimed she made to One Door, as well as to local churches and non-profit organizations in the Jacksonville area.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.justice.gov/usao-mdfl/file/874081/download">Wiley</a>, the president of One Door, pleaded guilty for her involvement in the scheme on March 3, 2016.</p>
<p>The charges and allegations contained in an indictment are merely accusations. The defendants are presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty.</p>
<p>The FBI and IRS-CI are investigating the case. Deputy Chief Eric G. Olshan of the Criminal Division’s Public Integrity Section and Assistant U.S. Attorneys A. Tysen Duva and Michael J. Coolican of the Middle District of Florida are prosecuting the case.</p>
<p><strong>UPDATE:</strong> Brown and Simmons will make their initial appearances in Jacksonville today before United States Magistrate Judge James R. Klindt at 1:00 p.m. (Courtroom 5-D).</p>
<p><a href="https://www.justice.gov/usao-mdfl/pr/congresswoman-corrine-brown-and-chief-staff-charged-fraud-scheme-involving-bogus-non">Original PressReleases &#8230;</a></p>

Richard Hirsch and James McClung Was Sentenced In Foreign Bribery Scheme
<h2>Two Former Executives Of Louis Berger International Sentenced In Foreign Bribery Scheme</h2>
<p>TRENTON, N.J. – Two former executives of Louis Berger International (LBI), a New Jersey-based construction management company, have been sentenced in connection with a long-running <strong>bribery scheme</strong> to secure government construction management contracts by bribing officials in India, Indonesia, Vietnam and Kuwait.</p>
<p>U.S. Attorney Paul J. Fishman of the District of New Jersey, Assistant Attorney General Leslie R. Caldwell of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, and Special Agent in Charge Timothy Gallagher of the FBI’s Newark Division made the announcement today.</p>
<p><strong>Richard Hirsch</strong>, 62, of Makaati, Philippines, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Mary L. Cooper to two years of probation and fined $10,000. Hirsch previously served as the senior vice president responsible for the company’s operations in Indonesia, Thailand, the Philippines and Vietnam. <strong>James McClung</strong>, 60, of Dubai, United Arab Emirates, was sentenced by Judge Cooper on July 7, 2016, to one year plus one day in jail. McClung previously served as the senior vice president responsible for the company’s operations in India and Vietnam. On July 17, 2015, McClung and Hirsch each pleaded guilty before Judge Cooper in Trenton federal court to one count of conspiracy to violate the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) and one substantive count of violating the FCPA.</p>
<p>According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court:</p>
<p>From 1998 through 2010, LBI and its employees, including Hirsch and McClung, orchestrated $3.9 million in bribe payments to foreign officials in various countries in order to secure government contracts. To conceal the payments, the conspirators made payments under the guise of “commitment fees,” “counterpart per diems” and other payments to third-party vendors. In reality, the payments were intended to fund bribes to foreign officials who had awarded contracts to LBI or who supervised LBI’s work on contracts, the defendants admitted.</p>
<p>McClung cooperated with the government’s investigation by identifying other executives at LBI who had knowledge of bribery. Some of the information provided by McClung was also helpful to the government’s successful prosecution of LBI’s former CEO, Derrish Wolff, who pleaded guilty to <strong>accounting fraud</strong> in December 2014.</p>
<p>On July 17, 2015, LBI entered into a deferred prosecution agreement and admitted its own criminal conduct, including its participation in a conspiracy to violate the anti-bribery provisions of the FCPA. Pursuant to the DPA, LBI agreed to pay a $17.1 million criminal penalty, to implement rigorous internal controls, to continue to cooperate fully with the department and to retain a compliance monitor for at least three years.</p>
<p>This case was investigated by the FBI’s Newark Division under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Gallagher. The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Thomas J. Eicher, chief of the Criminal Division for the U.S. Attorney’s Office, District of New Jersey, and Trial Attorney John W. Borchert of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section. The Criminal Division’s Office of International Affairs also provided assistance.</p>
<p>Defense counsel:</p>
<p>Hirsch: William G. Sullivan Esq., Chicago, Illinois</p>
<p>McClung: Kelly B. Kramer Esq., Washington, D.C.</p>

Action Against International VAT Fraud
<h2>Eight Member States Take Action Against International VAT Fraud</h2>
<p>Yesterday, from a coordination centre at Eurojust, Europol supported an international action day against a criminal network involved in international VAT fraud and money laundering defrauding EU citizens of approximately EUR 57 million in tax revenues via companies selling electronic items, hardware and software.</p>
<p>Searches of homes and premises, seizures and arrests were carried out in eight countries, starting in the early hours of the morning.<br />
Europol deployed a mobile office at the coordination centre and a forensic analyst to Germany to facilitate real-time information exchange and cross-match analysis of the data collected. Letters of Request and other judicial instruments were facilitated on the spot.</p>
<p>The international cooperation leading to today&#8217;s joint n began in June 2015, when a German prosecutor at the Bielefeld Public Prosecution Office informed Eurojust about a preliminary investigation it has been carrying out regarding a complex VAT fraud case, and enquired whether France was also investigating the same companies as missing traders or knew of other investigations concerning those suspects.</p>
<p>Three coordination meetings were held at Eurojust in The Hague to facilitate, progress and conclude four ongoing investigations at national level in Germany and France. All parties involved agreed, at an early stage, to coordinate their national activities, and to participate in a joint action day, making efforts to avoid both adversely affecting the ongoing investigations in the other Member States and possible conflicts of jurisdiction.</p>
<p>This coordination centre, initiated by the Bielefeld Public Prosecutor&#8217;s Office, the Paris National <a class="wpil_keyword_link" href="https://www.fraudswatch.com/tag/financial-fraud/" title="Financial" data-wpil-keyword-link="linked" data-wpil-monitor-id="565">Financial</a> Prosecutor&#8217;s Office and an investigative judge of the Paris court specialised in financial investigations, with the support of the French National Tax Intelligence Directorate (DNEF), was set up by the German and French National Desks at Eurojust in close cooperation with Cyprus, Italy, Latvia, Luxembourg, Poland and the UK.</p>
<p><strong>Figures at a glance</strong></p>
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<li>Number of arrests: 7</li>
<li>Number of freezing/seizure orders: 27</li>
<li>Number of searches: 57</li>
<li>Number of hearings of witnesses and suspects: 12</li>
<li>Assets seized: more than EUR 4.5 million, including seized IT products</li>
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<p>Michael Rauschenbach, Europol&#8217;s Head of Serious and Organised Crime, said:<br />
Once again, decisive and co-ordinated action by the Member States, supported throughout by Europol and Eurojust, demonstrates to organised criminal gangs that their fraudulent activities will not be tolerated. Value Added Tax fraud is not a victimless crime, nor a &#8216;white collar&#8217; theft from Governments; this money is stolen from the citizens of the European Union as it deprives our people of the means of investment for essential public services, such as hospitals, schools and infrastructure.</p>
<p>Ms Gabriele Launhardt, Deputy National Member at the German Desk at Eurojust, said:<br />
This operation sends a clear message that Eurojust and its partners help the national authorities of the Member States to join forces across national borders to pursue those we suspect of involvement in organised crime. Through our coordination meetings and the coordination centre, we contributed to preventing this group from hiding behind national borders and continuing to defraud taxpayers of huge amounts of tax money.</p>

Real Estate Investors Pleaded Guilty for their Roles in Bid-Rigging and Fraud Conspiracies
<h2 id="node-title">Three Georgia Real Estate Investors Plead Guilty to Bid Rigging and Bank Fraud at Public Home Foreclosure Auctions</h2>
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<p>Three Georgia real estate investors pleaded guilty today for their roles in bid-rigging and fraud conspiracies committed at public real estate foreclosure auctions in Georgia, the Department of Justice announced today.</p>
<p>Jeffrey Wayne Brock, David Wallace “Chuck” Doughty, and Stanley Ralph Sullivan each admitted that they agreed to rig auctions of foreclosed homes in Cobb County from June 2007 until January 2012. According to court documents filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia, Brock, Doughty, Sullivan and their co-conspirators agreed not to compete for the purchase of selected foreclosed homes so that they could win the auctions for those homes with artificially low bids. The winning bidders then made payoffs to conspirators who had refrained from bidding against them. As a result, conspirators profited from money that otherwise would have gone to <a class="wpil_keyword_link" href="https://www.fraudswatch.com/category/mortgage/" title="mortgage" data-wpil-keyword-link="linked" data-wpil-monitor-id="49">mortgage</a> holders and other secured debt holders, and in some cases, to the owners of foreclosed homes.</p>
<p>“These defendants conspired to corrupt foreclosure auctions that should have benefited lenders and homeowners,” said Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Renata Hesse, head of the Justice Department’s Antitrust Division. “The Antitrust Division will continue to work with our colleagues at the FBI to pursue those who took advantage of disruption caused by the <a class="wpil_keyword_link" href="https://www.fraudswatch.com/tag/financial-fraud/" title="financial" data-wpil-keyword-link="linked" data-wpil-monitor-id="564">financial</a> crisis to line their own pockets.”</p>
<p>“Foreclosure auction fraud in Georgia remains a focus for the FBI investigators and federal prosecutors within the Antitrust Division of the U.S. Department of Justice,” said Special Agent in Charge J. Britt Johnson of the FBI’s Atlanta Division. “By the very nature of this criminal act, the bank, and more importantly, the home owner in financial distress, are the victims that these federal laws were created to protect. The FBI will continue to provide investigative assets toward these matters in order to keep the level playing field that the law intended regarding these auctions.”</p>
<p>Including the individuals pleading today, twenty defendants have been charged in connection with the department’s ongoing investigation into bid rigging and fraudulent schemes involving real estate foreclosure auctions in the Atlanta area. Eighteen of those have either pleaded guilty or agree to plead guilty.</p>
<p>These charges have been filed as a result of the ongoing investigation being conducted by the Antitrust Division’s Washington Criminal II Section, the FBI’s Atlanta Division and the U.S. Attorney’s Office of the Northern District of Georgia, in connection with the president’s Financial Fraud Enforcement Task Force. The president established the task force to wage an aggressive, coordinated and proactive effort to investigate and prosecute financial crimes. With more than 20 federal agencies, 94 U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and state and local partners, it is the broadest coalition of law enforcement, investigatory and regulatory agencies ever assembled to combat fraud. Since its formation, the task force has made great strides in facilitating increased investigation and prosecution of financial crimes; enhancing coordination and cooperation among federal, state, and local authorities; addressing discrimination in the lending and financial markets; and conducting outreach to the public, victims, financial institutions and other organizations. Since fiscal year 2009, the Justice Department has filed over 18,000 financial fraud cases against more than 25,000 defendants. For more information about the task force, please visi t<a href="http://www.stopfraud.gov/">www.StopFraud.gov</a>. Anyone with information concerning bid rigging or fraud related to public real estate foreclosure auctions should contact the Washington Criminal II Section of the Antitrust Division at 202-598-4000, call the Antitrust Division’s Citizen Complaint Center at 888-647-3258, or visit <a href="https://www.justice.gov/atr/report-violations">http://www.justice.gov/atr/report-violations</a>.</p>
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The National Health Care Fraud Takedown Known Cases
<h2>Fifteen Charged In Middle District As Part Of Largest National Health Care Fraud Takedown In History</h2>
<p><strong>List Of Group Charged On National Helth Care Fraud:</strong></p>
<p>Yosbel Marimon, Greggory Jackson, Belinda Jalloh, Robert Lee Lanier, Maria Lugo, Janice and Thurman Hammock, Louis William Rimondi, Douglas Thompson, Craig DeMange.</p>
<p>Tampa, FL – United States Attorney A. Lee Bentley, III, Attorney General Loretta E. Lynch, and Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Sylvia Mathews Burwell announced today an unprecedented nationwide sweep led by the <strong>Medicare Fraud</strong> Strike Force in 36 federal districts, resulting in criminal and civil charges against 301 individuals, including 61 doctors, nurses and other licensed medical professionals, for their alleged participation in health care fraud schemes involving approximately $900 million in false billings. Twenty-three state <strong>Medicaid Fraud</strong> Control Units also participated in today’s arrests. In addition, the HHS Centers for Medicare &; Medicaid Services (CMS) is suspending payment to a number of providers using its suspension authority provided in the Affordable Care Act. This coordinated takedown is the largest in history, both in terms of the number of defendants charged and loss amount.</p>
<p>“As this takedown should make clear, health care fraud is not an abstract violation or benign offense – It is a serious crime,” said Attorney General Loretta Lynch. “The wrongdoers that we pursue in these operations seek to use public funds for private enrichment. They target real people – many of them in need of significant medical care. They promise effective cures and therapies, but they provide none. Above all, they abuse basic bonds of trust – between doctor and patient; between pharmacist and doctor; between taxpayer and government – and pervert them to their own ends. The Department of Justice is determined to continue working to ensure that the American people know that their health care system works for them – and them alone.”</p>
<p>“Protecting our nation’s health care programs is a top priority of our Office,” said U.S. Attorney Bentley. “We are committed to prosecuting all those who submit false claims to these important programs, whether they be health care providers or dishonest individuals seeking benefits to which they are not entitled. Every tax dollar appropriated by Congress for health care should be spent on deserving patients in need.”</p>
<p>In the Middle District of Florida, 15 individuals were charged with participating in a variety of schemes, including compound pharmacy fraud and intravenous prescription drug fraud involving millions in fraudulent billing. Among those charged are business owners, a registered nurse, a pharmacist, and a physician’s assistant.</p>
<p>“Health care providers and patients are key to protecting the Medicare and Medicaid programs, but when they instead choose to commit fraud or to lie in order to obtain government benefits they are not entitled to, they steal precious tax dollars and corrupt the integrity of our health care system,” said Special Agent in Charge Shimon R. Richmond of the U.S. Department of Health &; Human Services Office of Inspector General (HHS OIG). &#8220;This takedown reflects the dedication of OIG and our law enforcement partners to bring such fraudsters to justice.&#8221;</p>
<p>“The Social Security Office of the Inspector General is committed to pursuing those who violate the public’s trust by stealing SSA benefits. We are pleased with the aggressive action by the U.S. Attorney’s Office and our law enforcement partners’ joint efforts in identifying and prosecuting those who commit fraud, as one of our many efforts to protect the integrity of Social Security and Medicare programs for those who rely on them now and into the future,” stated Special Agent-in-Charge Margaret Moore-Jackson, SSA/Office of the Inspector General.</p>
<p>&#8220;These arrests highlight the commitment of the Defense Criminal Investigative Service (DCIS) and its law enforcement partners to protect the integrity of the Department of Defense (DoD) health care program-Tricare,&#8221; said Special Agent in Charge John F. Khin, Southeast Field Office. DCIS aggressively investigates health care providers that defraud the DoD, to preserve American taxpayer dollars intended to care for our Warfighters, their family members, and <a class="wpil_keyword_link" href="https://www.fraudswatch.com/category/military-scammer/" title="military" data-wpil-keyword-link="linked" data-wpil-monitor-id="376">military</a> retirees.</p>
<p>“Despite recent challenging events occurring in our territory, FBI Tampa remained devoted to dedicating resources to the National Health Care Fraud initiative,” stated FBI Special Agent in Charge Paul Wysopal. “Agents will continue to identify and investigate individuals who seek to personally benefit from the medical needs of a very vulnerable population.”</p>
<p>The Medicare Fraud Strike Force operations are part of the Health Care Fraud Prevention &; Enforcement Action Team (HEAT), a joint initiative announced in May 2009 between the Department of Justice and HHS to focus their efforts to prevent and deter fraud and enforce current anti-fraud laws around the country. The Medicare Fraud Strike Force operates in nine locations and since its inception in March 2007 has charged over 2,900 defendants who collectively have falsely billed the Medicare program for over $8.9 billion.</p>
<p>Including today’s enforcement actions, nearly 1,200 individuals have been charged in national takedown operations, which have involved more than $3.4 billion in fraudulent billings. Today’s announcement marks the second time that districts outside of Strike Force locations participated in a national takedown, and they accounted for 82 defendants charged in this takedown.</p>
<p>The cases announced today are being prosecuted and investigated by U.S. Attorney’s Offices nationwide, along with Medicare Fraud Strike Force teams from the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section, and agents from the FBI, HHS-OIG, Drug Enforcement Administration, DCIS, SSA-OIG, and state Medicaid Fraud Control Units.</p>
<p>A complaint or indictment is merely a charge, and all defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.</p>
<p class="rtecenter"><u><strong>Middle District of Florida Cases</strong></u></p>
<p>Yosbel Marimon (39, Winter Park), owner of several Orlando-area infusion clinics, was indicted on one charge of conspiracy to commit health care fraud and wire fraud, six counts of health care fraud, and one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering. The charges stem from her role in a scheme to defraud Medicare by billing for more than $11.1 million in expensive intravenous prescription drugs that the clinics never purchased, never administered, and were not medically necessary. As a result of the scheme, Medicare paid over $8.6 million in fraudulent claims.</p>
<p>Greggory Jackson (40, Eagle Lake), Dustin “Drey” Chennells (40. Mount Dora), Michael Ayotunde (53, Ocala), Tashima Kenny (32, Davenport), Iris Ayala (54, Clermont), and Nalita Rajkumar (28, Lake Park) were indicted on a charge of conspiracy to commit health care fraud and wire fraud. Jackson also was indicted on two charges of receiving illegal kickbacks, two charges of paying illegal kickbacks, and two counts of money laundering. Kenny was also indicted on one count of money laundering. Jackson, Chennells, Kenny, and others managed and operated a telemarketing call center known as DMA Logistics d/b/a Nation Wide Meds located inside Life Worth Living Pharmacy. Ayotunde, a licensed pharmacist, is the owner and operator of Life Worth Living Pharmacy. Ayala is a licensed physician, and Rajkumar is a licensed physician assistant. The charges stem from these individuals’ roles in a compounding pharmacy fraud scheme that victimized the TRICARE program. Based on false and fraudulent claims, TRICARE made more than $5.7 million in reimbursement payments to Life Worth Living Pharmacy.</p>
<p>Belinda Jalloh (60, New Port Richey), a registered nurse, has been charged with one count of theft of government services stemming from her violation of an order from the Department of Health and Human Services excluding her from participating in the Medicare program. The order prohibited her from treating Medicare beneficiaries. Despite the exclusion, she applied for, and obtained, employment at a facility that billed Medicare for her treatment of Medicare beneficiaries.</p>
<p>Robert Lee Lanier (57, Jacksonville) has been charged with one count of theft of government property and one count of making a false statement. Lanier provided false information regarding his employment to the Social Security Administration. Between 2007 and January 2016, Lanier collected more than $236,682 in Social Security and Medicare benefits to which he was not entitled.</p>
<p>Maria Lugo (65, Marion County) was indicted for theft of government funds stemming from her concealment of her living arrangements while simultaneously collecting disability benefit payments from the Social Security Administration. Lugo falsely claimed a separation from her husband, whose income rendered her ineligible to receive disability benefits and Medicaid. From June 2000 through May 2016, Lugo obtained $118,346.12 in SSA benefit payments and $99,483.62 in Medicaid utilization that she was not entitled to receive.</p>
<p>Janice and Thurman Hammock (66 and 62, Citrus County) were indicted for theft of government funds stemming from their concealment of their living arrangements while Janice Hammock collected disability benefit payments from the Social Security Administration. Both spouses falsely claimed to be separated from one another, causing the wife to receive substantially more federal benefits than otherwise permitted. She illegally obtained $75,048.89 in SSA benefit payments and $101,465.07 in Medicaid utilization from January 2004 through May 2016.</p>
<p>Louis William Rimondi, IV (47, Marco Island) was indicted on two charges of theft of government money stemming from his alleged concealment from the Social Security Administration and Medicare of his return to gainful employment while continuing to collect disability benefits and Medicare benefits. From January 2010 through February 2016, Rimondi fraudulently collected $101,466 in SSA disability benefits to which he was not entitled. From January 2011 through February 2016, he also fraudulently received $20,467 in Medicare benefits to which he was not entitled.</p>
<p>Douglas Thompson (51, Jacksonville) was indicted on one count of theft of government property, one count of making a false statement, and three counts of wire fraud stemming from his role in a scheme to fraudulently receive approximately $108,834 in benefits under the Federal Medicaid Health Care Benefit Program and the Supplemental Security Income Program. For more than five years, Thompson collected benefits by falsely claiming he was unemployed and had no income when, in fact, he operated a business, Douglas Thompson Industries Inc. (or DTI Inc.), which brokered the sale of trucking equipment. When questioned about DTI Inc., Thompson provided a written statement to the Social Security Administration that falsely stated that he had never heard of DTI Inc. and was not working.</p>
<p>Craig DeMange, Sr. (62, Oviedo) was indicted on one count of making a false statement to the Social Security Administration concerning his employment, which hindered the agency’s efforts to determine his continued eligibility for disability benefits. As a result of DeMange’s false statement, he defrauded the SSA and the United States Department of Health and Human Services of approximately $25,000 in disability and Medicare benefits.</p>
<p>These cases will be prosecuted by Middle District of Florida Assistant United States Attorneys Yolande G. Viacava, Emily C.L. Chang, William S. Hamilton, Michael J. Coolican, Mac Heavener, and Department of Justice Trial Attorneys Timothy Loper and Christopher Hunter of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section.</p>
<p class="rteright"><u>Maximum Penalties per charge:</u></p>
<p class="rteright">Theft of Government Money: 10 years in federal prison.</p>
<p class="rteright">Conspiracy to Commit Healthcare Fraud and Fraud: 20 years in federal prison.</p>
<p class="rteright">Healthcare Fraud: 10 years in federal prison.</p>
<p class="rteright">Conspiracy to Commit Money Laundering: 20 years in federal prison.</p>
<p class="rteright">Money Laundering: 10 years in federal prison.</p>
<p class="rteright">False Statement: 5 years in federal prison.</p>
<p class="rteright">Wire Fraud: 20 years in federal prison.</p>