Former Daycare Worker Pleads Guilty To Producing Child Pornography – July 15, 2020
Titus Miller was employed at Playful Painters Daycare, located in Lincoln Nebraska. Miller worked at night and was a supervisor at the daycare. During the time periods of the Indictment, Miller produced videos of minor victims, with ages ranging from 4 to 6 years old, engaging in sexually explicit conduct. Miller used a cellular phone to produce the videos and transported some of the videos to a person in Alabama.
Former CEO Of Oil & Gas Company Sentenced To 14 Years In Prison For $65 Million Bank Fraud Over 15 Years – July 15, 2020
In October 2019, Jeffrey Lyons, the former CEO of Worley & Obetz, pleaded guilty to one count of defrauding Fulton Bank of over $65 million between 2003 and 2018. Lyons admitted that he, along with Worley & Obetz’s two controllers, Karen Connelly and Judith Avilez, committed bank fraud by providing Fulton Bank with dozens of fraudulent financial statements and a fraudulently altered supply agreement between Worley & Obetz and its largest customer, Giant Food. Worley & Obetz was an oil and gas company in Manheim, PA, that provided services and home heating oil, gasoline, diesel, and propane to its customers.
Former Supervisor In Tax Commissioner’s Office Pleads Guilty To $30,000 In Bribery And Blackmail – July 14, 2020
Gerald Harris, a former supervisor in the DeKalb County Tax Commissioner’s Office, has pleaded guilty to accepting bribe payments from customers to unlawfully register vehicles and then trying to blackmail a bribe payer by threatening to inform on her to the FBI.
Former Veterans Affairs Medical Center Hospital Nursing Assistant Admits To Murdering 7 Veterans And Assault With Intent To Commit Murder Of An 8th – July 14, 2020
Reta Mays was employed as a nursing assistant at the VAMC, working the night shift during the same period of time veterans in her care died of hypoglycemia while being treated at the hospital. Nursing assistants at the VAMC are not qualified or authorized to administer any medication to patients, including insulin. Mays admitted to administering insulin to several patients with the intent to cause their deaths.
Former Business Manager Of Union Pleads Guilty To Embezzling $50,000 From Labor Union – July 13, 2020
Rick Drain was the business manager of a local union and used his position to defraud the union. Law enforcement learned that Drain had defrauded the union of approximately $50,000 by collecting dues and other fees from union members and keeping the money for himself, not depositing it into the union’s bank account. T
https://www.justice.gov/usao-sdwv/pr/wood-county-man-pleads-guilty-embezzling-labor-union
27 Skilled Nursing Facilities Controlled By Longwood Management Corp. To Pay $16.7 Million To Resolve Allegations Of Inflated Medicare Bills – July 13, 2020
Longwood’s business plan called for substantial revenue from Medicare, and it pressured therapists to provide additional, unnecessary services when targets were not met.
Longwood allegedly knowingly submitted or caused the submission of false and fraudulent claims to Medicare for medically unreasonable and unnecessary Ultra High levels of rehabilitation therapy for Medicare Part A residents. Specifically, Longwood allegedly pressured therapists to increase the amount of therapy provided to patients to meet pre-planned targets for Medicare revenue. These targets were alleged to have been set without regard to patients’ individual therapy needs and could only be achieved by billing for a high percentage of patients at the Ultra High level.
This inflated overbilling to Medicare occurred from January 1, 2006 through October 10, 2014 at 21 facilities.
President Of Law Enforcement Union (Former Police Officer ) And Union Treasurer Charged With Defrauding Union’s Annuity Fund – July 13, 2020
Kenneth Wynder was a former New York State Trooper and the president of the Law Enforcement Employees Benevolent Association (“LEEBA”).
From at least in or about 2012 up to and including the date of this complaint, Wynder participated in a scheme to steal, embezzle, and misappropriate money from the Annuity Fund and individual members’ retirement accounts. Specifically, Wynder made hundreds of thousands of dollars of fraudulent transfers from the Annuity Fund to LEEBA’s operating account, which he controlled, and regularly used the funds, once transferred from the Annuity Fund, to enrich himself at union members’ expense, including through unauthorized and excessive checks to himself and cash withdrawals for his own benefit. In addition, Wynder caused the union to pay for various personal expenses such as a second residence, clothing, travel expenses, and the purchase of a personal automobile, all paid for by the union, and none of which were contemporaneously reported to the Internal Revenue Service (“IRS”), as required.
From at least in or about 2017 through in or about August 2019, while serving as LEEBA’s Treasurer, and after learning of the federal investigation into LEEBA’s finances including the embezzlement scheme described above, Steven Whittick repeatedly lied to federal agents in an effort to obstruct that investigation.
Former VA Medical Center Pharmacist Sentenced To Prison For Stealing Controlled Drugs From Veterans’ Prescriptions – July 13, 2020
Melissa Richardson was a licensed pharmacist, who was formerly employed with the Overton Brooks VA Medical Center (VAMC) in Shreveport, stole various quantities of Hydrocodone out of individual prescription bottles as she verified mail-out prescriptions meant for veterans. The prescriptions at issue had been prepared by a pharmacy technician and were awaiting a second count and verification from Richardson. Video surveillance from inside the VAMC controlled substances vault showed Richardson slipping the pills into her pocket as she counted the prescriptions. In multiple instances, she slipped pills into her pocket before the pills were counted. Video footage showed her then verify that the prescription was correct in the VAMC’s computer system, seal the bottle, place it in a sealed envelope, and drop it in a bin for mail-out. When federal agents confronted Richardson, she had 236 loose pills in her pocket.
IT Manager Sentenced To Prison For Ordering Apple MacBook Pros For Company And Then Selling Them On The Internet For Personal Gain – July 11, 2020
Matt Richmond was jailed for two years over the scam committed while he was a Senior IT Manager at the firm’s office. Richmond, who had worked at the company for more than three years, was responsible for ordering in IT equipment .
An investigation was launched at the company after it was reported that he had been ordering laptops through the company account then selling them for his own gain.
Richmond had authority to order up to £50,000 worth equipment a month before requiring a counter signature from the head of the finance department.
The company’s finance department carried out an audit which showed that Richmond ordered a total of 113 Apple MacBook Pros between January and December 2018. All were delivered to his home address.
Gulfport, Mississippi Mayor And Wife Indicted On Federal Fraud Charges – July 10, 2020
The indictment alleges that defendants Mario King and Natasha King began soliciting funds in late 2018 for a Gala to be held on March 23, 2019, in Moss Point. The written solicitation stated that the gala honors and supports organizations that are making a difference for the mental health community. Proceeds support the efforts of mental health in the City of Moss Point with a focus on the Moss Point School District, converting spaces into a therapeutic and innovative learning environment.
Pursuant to allegations in the indictment, it was the understanding of those contributing to the Gala, either in the form of tickets purchased or contributions, that the proceeds from the Gala would go to the Moss Point School District. Some of the funds were used to pay for the cost of the Gala, but the remaining proceeds did not go to the Moss Point School District. Instead, it is alleged that defendants Mario King and Natasha R. King used the proceeds for personal purchases, including the down payment on the purchase of a vehicle, cash withdrawals and the payment of credit card debts involving charges to complete the purchase of a personal pet.
https://www.justice.gov/usao-sdms/pr/moss-point-mayor-and-wife-indicted-federal-fraud-charges
Former Employee Of Medical Packaging Company Pleads Guilty With Sabotaging Electronic Shipping Records Leading To Delayed Shipment Of PPE To Healthcare Providers – July 10, 2020
Christopher Dobbins had administrator access to the computer systems containing the company’s shipping information. In March 2020, Dobbins was terminated from his employment at the company, losing his access to the company’s computer systems. On March 26, Dobbins received his final paycheck from the company. Three days later, Dobbins used a fake user account that he had previously created while employed at the company to log into the company’s computer systems.
Once logged in through the fake user account, Dobbins allegedly created a second fake user account and then used that second account to edit approximately 115,581 records and delete approximately 2,371 records. After taking these actions, the complaint alleges, Dobbins deactivated both fake user accounts and logged out of the system. The edits and deletions to the company’s records disrupted the company’s shipping processes, causing delays in the delivery of much-needed PPEs to healthcare providers.
Physician Assistant To Pay $25,000 To Resolve Allegations Of Receiving Kickbacks From Pharmaceutical Company – July 10, 2020
PHILADELPHIA – First Assistant United States Attorney Jennifer Arbittier Williams announced that physician assistant Sarah Malstrom will pay $25,000 to resolve allegations that she received kickbacks from the company formerly named Aqua Pharmaceuticals, in order to incentivize Malstrom to prescribe Aqua’s dermatology drugs.
The settlement resolves allegations that Sarah Malstrom knowingly solicited and received kickbacks from Aqua Pharmaceuticals. Malstrom allegedly received different forms of kickbacks from Aqua, through its sales representatives and executives, such as improper in-office and out-of-office meals and food items, gift cards, and gifts, and also entered into speaking engagements, advisory boards, and consulting services in exchange for compensation intended in part to induce Malstrom to prescribe Aqua drugs. This settlement follows the resolution with the pharmaceutical company, which called for a $3.5 million payment to resolve the kickback allegations.
3 Bank Executives Indicted For Fraud Against Failed $5 Billion Bank Over 11 Years – July 10, 2020
According to the 46-count Indictment, from 2006 through April 2017, Ashton Ryan, William Burnell, Robert Calloway, and Frank Adolph conspired to defraud First NBC Bank through a variety of schemes. Ryan was the President and CEO of the First NBC Bank for most of its existence. Burnell was the Chief Credit Officer. Calloway was an Executive Vice President. Adolph was a borrower at the Bank who was charged with conspiring with the three Bank executives to obtain loans based on false statements and forged documents.
Ryan, Burnell and Calloway each received millions of dollars in compensation from the Bank during the course of the conspiracy. Ryan also received personal benefits from three of the borrower relationships.
The First NBC Bank’s failure cost the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation deposit insurance fund just under $1 billion.
U.S. University Researcher Charged With Illegally Using $4.1 Million In U.S. Grant Funds To Develop Scientific Expertise For China – July 9, 2020
A rheumatology professor and researcher with strong ties to China has been ordered held without bond to face a charge of grant fraud for not disclosing that he was engaged in a sophisticated scheme to use approximately $4.1 million in grants from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to develop China’s expertise in the areas of rheumatology and immunology. He is also charged with making false statements about maintaining employment in China at the same time he was employed at universities in the United States, including The Ohio State University.
Song Guo Zheng, 57, was arrested Friday, May 22, 2020, after he arrived in Anchorage, Alaska, aboard a charter flight and as he prepared to board another charter flight to China. When he was arrested, he was carrying three large bags, one small suitcase and a briefcase containing two laptops, three cellular telephones, several USB drives, several silver bars, expired Chinese passports for his family, deeds for property in China and other items.
U.S. Postal Service Mail Carrier Pleads Guilty To Attempted Election Fraud – July 9, 2020
Thomas Cooper of Dry Fork, West Virginia, pled guilty to one count of “Attempt to Defraud the Residents of West Virginia of a Fair Election” and one count of “Injury to the Mail.” Cooper held a U.S. Postal Service contract to deliver mail in Pendleton County. In April 2020, the Clerk of Pendleton County received “2020 Primary Election COVID-19 Mail-In Absentee Request” forms from eight voters on which the voter’s party-ballot request appeared to have been altered.
The clerk reported the finding to the West Virginia Secretary of State’s office, which began an investigation. The investigation found five ballot requests that had been altered from “Democrat” to “Republican.” On three other requests, the party wasn’t changed, but the request had been altered.
Cooper was responsible for the mail delivery of the three towns from which the tampered requests were mailed: Onego, Riverton, and Franklin, West Virginia. Cooper admitted today to altering some of the requests.
https://www.justice.gov/usao-ndwv/pr/pendleton-county-mail-carrier-admits-attempted-election-fraud
U.S. Postal Service Employee Charged With Stealing Mail – July 9, 2020
Brittany Freeman worked as a mail carrier for the Goreville post office. The indictment charges that she stole over $500 worth of rebate checks sent by Menards to customers along her mail routes in February and March, 2020.
https://www.justice.gov/usao-sdil/pr/postal-employee-charged-stealing-mail
Former Employee Pleads Guilty To Sabotage Of Former Employers – July 9, 2020
From about 2012 until August 14, 2017, Carlor Irias worked for Company A, which was in the business of that developing and distributing specialized urological medical devices including scopes and laser fibers. IRIAS was responsible for designing marketing templates, coordinating sales, and developing client contacts. IRIAS terminated his employment with Company A on August 14, 2017, after which time he was no longer authorized to access Company A’s cloud-based server, which handled marketing-related functions, including storing email contact lists and marketing templates and brochures.
On November 2, 2018, IRIAS accessed Company A’s secured cloud-based computer system from his home in Cutler Bay, Florida without authorization and thereafter exported the contents to a server under his control. He then deleted the information from the cloud-based system. As a result of the unauthorized intrusion, Company A was unable to conduct marketing campaigns from about November 2018 until October 2019. Company A was also unable to contact and communicate with their customer base for approximately two or three months, which jeopardized Company A’s reputation in the specialized field in which it operated. As a result of such conduct, IRIAS recklessly caused damage to Company A, in the amount of approximately $14,593.
Former Bank Executive Sentenced To Prison For Using $1.6 Million In Bank Funds For Luxury Vacations And Other Personal Expenses – July 9, 2020
Archie G. Overby had been the President, Chief Operating Officer, and Chairman of the Board of First National Bank in Waupaca. Overby admitted that starting by 2010 and continuing through 2013, he caused the bank to pay for $1.6 million in travel, entertainment, and other personal expenses for himself, family members, friends, and associates, all of which had no legitimate banking purpose. The expenses included airfare, lodging, and a climbing expedition to Mt. Kilimanjaro, Tanzania, as well as stays at a spa in Arizona and in villas in St. Maarten.
Former CEO of Pain Management Company Sentenced To Prison For Role In Approximately $4 Million Medicare Kickback Scheme – July 9, 2020
John Davis abused his position as CEO of Comprehensive Pain Specialists (CPS) to arrange for referrals of Medicare durable medical equipment (DME) orders to his co-conspirator, Brenda Montgomery, and her company, CCC Medical. Evidence showed that Davis operated a shell company called ProMed Solutions (ProMed), which he had registered in the name of his wife. Davis received over $770,000 in illegal kickbacks disguised as payments to his wife and ProMed. Together, Davis and Montgomery pocketed over $2.9 million dollars in improper reimbursements from Medicare. Davis used company funds from CPS to pay bonuses to providers who ordered DME for Medicare beneficiaries and referred those orders to CCC Medical. Davis received 60 percent of the Medicare profit from these referrals, while the company he ran lost the opportunity to bill for these services.
Evidence at trial also showed that in April and May of 2015, Davis became concerned about the size of the kickback payments that he was receiving from CCC Medical. To address this concern, Davis and Montgomery engaged in a sham sale of ProMed, which had no assets, no employees, no equipment, no office space, and no customers other than CPS. Evidence further showed that Davis and Montgomery set the price for the sham sale based upon the average monthly kickbacks that Davis had been paid for the previous eight months. When CPS referrals slowed, Davis agreed to reduce the purported “purchase price” to $150,000. When Davis received the last check for the sham sale, he began cutting off referrals to CCC Medical.
Former Department of Defense Contracting Officer And Maryland Woman Charged With Defrauding Government Of More Than $490,000 – July 9, 2020
Thomas Bouchard and Chantelle Boyd were and charged with one count of conspiracy and 10 counts of theft of government funds. Boyd was also charged with false declarations before the grand jury.
Bouchard was the Contracting Officer in charge of the U.S. Army Natick Contracting Division, a full service contracting organization for the Department of Defense. In 2014, Bouchard allegedly used his long-standing relationship with Evolution Enterprise, Inc., a government contractor, to have Boyd hired for a “no show” job as an assistant that specifically supported Bouchard. Boyd’s position cost the Department of Defense more than $490,000 during her time at Evolution from 2014 to 2018, during which she performed little if any useful function.
Bouchard and Boyd took numerous government-funded trips, ranging in duration from two to 15 days, under the guise that they were work related. This included 31 trips to Orlando, Fla., among other locations such as Clearwater Beach, Fla., and Stafford, Va., during which Boyd performed little if any work. For many of the trips, Bouchard and Boyd stayed in the same hotel room and spent time at the pool and Disney parks – all during business hours. It is alleged that in order to conceal the personal nature of the trips, Bouchard altered and created false travel expenses for Boyd, which Bouchard approved to reimburse Boyd for out-of-pocket expenses.