Owners of Miami Home Health Companies Sentenced to Prison in $48 Million Health Care Fraud Scheme

Wednesday, February 27, 2013

The owners and operators of two Miami health care agencies were sentenced to nine years and more than four years in prison today, respectively, and ordered to pay millions in restitution for their participation in a $48 million home health Medicare fraud scheme that billed for unnecessary home health care and therapy services.

The sentences, imposed in federal court in the Southern District of Florida, were announced by Assistant Attorney General Lanny A. Breuer of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division; U.S. Attorney Wifredo A. Ferrer of the Southern District of Florida; Michael B. Steinbach, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI’s Miami Field Office; and Special Agent in Charge Christopher B. Dennis of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General (HHS-OIG), Office of Investigations Miami office.

U.S. District Judge Frederico A. Moreno sentenced Rogelio Rodriguez, 43, and Raymond Aday, 48, both of the Miami-Dade area, to 108 months and 51 months in prison, respectively.  In addition to the prison term, Judge Moreno sentenced Rodriguez to pay $33 million in restitution, and Aday to pay $2.1 million in restitution.  Both defendants were also sentenced to serve three years of supervised release and pay a $100,000 fine.  In December 2012, each pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit health care fraud.

According to court documents, Rodriguez was the owner of both Caring Nurse Home Health Corp. and Good Quality Home Health Inc., and Aday was a manager at Caring Nurse and owner of Good Quality.

According to plea documents, Rodriguez and Aday conspired with patient recruiters for the purpose of billing the Medicare program for unnecessary home health care and therapy services.  Rodriguez, Aday and their co-conspirators paid kickbacks and bribes to patient recruiters.  In return, recruiters provided patients to Caring Nurse and Good Quality, as well as prescriptions, plans of care (POCs) and certifications for medically unnecessary therapy and home health services for Medicare beneficiaries.  Rodriguez and Aday used these prescriptions, POCs and medical certifications to fraudulently bill the Medicare program for home health care services, which both Rodriguez and Aday knew was in violation of federal criminal laws.

According to court documents, nurses and office staff at Caring Nurse and Good Quality falsified patient files to make it appear the Medicare beneficiaries qualified for services they did not.  Rodriguez admitted to knowing that these files were falsified so the Medicare program could be billed for medically unnecessary therapy and home health related services.

From approximately January 2006 through June 2011, Caring Nurse and Good Quality submitted approximately $48 million in claims for home health services that were not medically necessary and/or were not provided.  According to court documents, Medicare paid approximately $33 million for these fraudulent claims.

This case is being prosecuted by Assistant Chief Joseph S. Beemsterboer of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section.  The case was investigated by the FBI and HHS-OIG, and was brought as part of the Medicare Fraud Strike Force, supervised by the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida.

Since its inception in March 2007, the Medicare Fraud Strike Force, now operating in nine cities across the country, has charged more than 1,480 defendants who have collectively billed the Medicare program for more than $4.8 billion. In addition, HHS’s Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, working in conjunction with HHS-OIG, is taking steps to increase accountability and decrease the presence of fraudulent providers.

To learn more about the Health Care Fraud Prevention and Enforcement Action Team (HEAT), go to: www.stopmedicarefraud.gov.

Former Owners of Los Angeles-Area Medical Equipment Wholesaler Plead Guilty to Conspiring with Customers to Defraud Medicare

Tuesday, February 26, 2013

Two former owners of a Los Angeles-area medical equipment wholesale supply company pleaded guilty today to conspiring with their customers to defraud Medicare.

The pleas were announced by Assistant Attorney General Lanny A. Breuer of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division; U.S. Attorney André Birotte Jr. of the Central District of California; Glenn R. Ferry, Special Agent in Charge for the Los Angeles Region of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General (HHS-OIG); Bill L. Lewis, Assistant Director in Charge of the FBI’s Los Angeles Field Office; and Joseph Fendrick, Special Agent in Charge of the California Department of Justice, Bureau of Medi-Cal Fraud and Elder Abuse (Cal-DOJ).

Rajinder Singh Paul, 69, and Baljit Kaur Paul, 65, of Redlands, Calif., each pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Percy Anderson in the Central District of California to one count of conspiracy to commit health care fraud.

In court documents, Rajinder and Baljit Paul admitted that they were the president and vice president, respectively, and shareholders of AHPK Inc., a medical equipment wholesale supply company located in Redlands and Ontario, Calif., and formally known as Major’s Wholesale Medical Supply Inc.  The Pauls later sold Major’s Wholesale Medical Supply Inc. to Major’s Wholesale Medical Supply LLC (collectively, “Major’s”) and, according to court documents, remained employed at Major’s Wholesale Medical Supply LLC as consultants until they were terminated in February 2009.

During the time the Pauls either owned or worked as consultants for Major’s, Major’s sold durable medical equipment (DME) almost exclusively to customers who owned and operated DME supply companies, according to court documents.  A majority of Major’s customers were Medicare providers and relied on Medicare to make money, which they did by billing Medicare for the DME that they purchased from Major’s.

One of the more popular items of DME that the Pauls sold at Major’s were power wheelchairs.  Court documents indicate that to attract customers, the Pauls sold power wheelchairs to Major’s customers wholesale for between $850 to $1,000 each.  Major’s customers, however, billed these power wheelchairs to Medicare at a rate of between $3,000 to $6,000 per wheelchair.

The Pauls admitted they knew that Major’s customers were dependent on Medicare for their revenue, and that Major’s customers could not pay Major’s unless Medicare paid the customers first.  To foster customer loyalty, the Pauls engaged in a variety of conduct over a period of six years that helped Major’s customers defraud Medicare, including by providing Major’s customers with false inventory purchase agreements that showed they had higher credit limits than they really did.  Major’s customers submitted these false inventory purchase agreements to Medicare to prove, as required by Medicare, the ability to purchase the volume of DME they billed.

The Pauls also admitted they provided Major’s customers with backdated invoices, knowing customers were billing Medicare for power wheelchairs and DME before the customers actually purchased or delivered the equipment.  The Pauls admitted that by backdating these invoices, they provided Major’s customers with the paper trail the customers needed to prove to Medicare that they had both purchased the DME and purchased it before they submitted their claims to Medicare.  According to court documents, the Pauls backdated or falsified invoices for more than 100 different customers.

Court documents indicate that two of many customers who conspired with the Pauls to defraud Medicare owned and operated a number of fraudulent DME supply companies in the Los Angeles area, including one customer who used “straw” or nominee owners to operate the customer’s companies.  The Pauls admitted they provided these two customers with false inventory purchase agreements and backdated invoices that the customers used to defraud Medicare.  The Pauls admitted that as a result of their conduct, these two customers were able to use their fraudulent DME supply companies to submit approximately $16,662,143 in false claims to, and receive approximately $9,743,609.42 in ill-gotten reimbursement payments from, Medicare.

At sentencing, scheduled for July 8, 2013, the Pauls each face a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine.

This case is being prosecuted by Jonathan T. Baum of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section.  The case was investigated by the FBI, HHS-OIG, and Cal DOJ and was brought as part of the Medicare Fraud Strike Force, supervised by the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Central District of California.

Since its inception in March 2007, the Medicare Fraud Strike Force, now operating in nine cities across the country, has charged more than 1,480 defendants who have collectively billed the Medicare program for more than $4.8 billion. In addition, HHS’s Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, working in conjunction with HHS-OIG, are taking steps to increase accountability and decrease the presence of fraudulent providers.  To learn more about the Health Care Fraud Prevention and Enforcement Action Team (HEAT), go to: www.stopmedicarefraud.gov.

 

Florida Couple Pleads Guilty for Roles in Procurement Contract Bribery Scheme

Tuesday, February 26, 2013

A Florida couple who owned a military contracting company pleaded guilty today in federal court in Salt Lake City for their roles in a bribery and fraud scheme involving federal procurement contracts, announced Assistant Attorney General Lanny A. Breuer of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division and U.S. Attorney David B. Barlow for the District of Utah.

Sylvester Zugrav, 70, of Sarasota, Fla., pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit bribery and procurement fraud.  His wife, Maria Zugrav, 67, also of Sarasota, pleaded guilty to misprision of a felony related to her efforts to conceal the conspiracy.  The Zugravs were charged in an indictment, returned on Oct. 12, 2011, along with Jose Mendez, 51, of Farr West, Utah, a procurement program manager for the U.S. Air Force Foreign Materials Acquisition Support Office (FMASO) at Hill Air Force Base, in Ogden, Utah.

Mendez was charged in the indictment with conspiracy, bribery and procurement fraud, and has since pleaded guilty to all charges and agreed to forfeit more than $180,000 he received as part of the bribery scheme and awaits sentencing.

According to court documents, the Zugravs owned Atlas International Trading Company, a business that contracted to provide foreign military materials to the U.S. government through FMASO.

In his plea agreement, Sylvester Zugrav admitted that, from 2008 through August 2011, he gave Mendez more than $180,000 in bribe payments, and offered Mendez more than $1.05 million in additional bribe payments contingent upon Atlas’s receipt of future contracts with FMASO.  In exchange for Sylvester Zugrav’s bribe payments and offers, Mendez ensured that Atlas and Sylvester Zugrav received favorable treatment in connection with procurement contracts, including, among other things, assisting Atlas in obtaining and maintaining procurement contracts; assisting Atlas in receiving payments on such contracts; and providing Atlas with contract bid or proposal information or source selection information before the award of procurement contracts.

In her plea agreement, Maria Zugrav admitted that she was aware of Sylvester Zugrav’s bribe payments to Mendez and assisted with concealment of the crime.  According to court records, Sylvester Zugrav provided bribe payments to Mendez in three ways: cash payments via Federal Express to Mendez’s residential address; in-person payments of cash and other things of value; and electronic wire transfers to a bank account in Mexico opened by and in the name of Mendez’s cousin.  Between November 2009 and August 2011, Sylvester Zugrav sent nine FedEx packages to Mendez’s home address.  Each package contained $5,000 in cash, except the last package, containing $3,000, which was seized by law enforcement.  Maria Zugrav assisted her husband and Mendez’s bribe scheme by limiting cash withdrawals from Atlas’ bank account to not more than $5,000 to avoid scrutiny by banking officials and law enforcement. According to the plea documents, on multiple occasions when Sylvester Zugrav and Mendez traveled to the same location, Sylvester Zugrav would give Mendez cash payments and other things of value.  From 2008 through August 2011, Sylvester Zugrav gave Mendez seven in-person cash payments ranging from $500 to $10,000, and purchased a laptop computer and software package worth over $2,900.

As Mendez admitted, during the course of the corrupt scheme, Mendez opened a foreign bank account so that Sylvester Zugrav could pay Mendez larger bribe payments.  Mendez asked his cousin in Mexico to open an account there.  After the account was opened by Mendez’s cousin, Maria Zugrav made wire transfers to the bank account located in Mexico in the name of Mendez’s cousin to avoid detection of the larger bribe payments by law enforcement.  From 2008 through August 2011, Maria Zugrav sent 10 wire transfers to the Mexico account ranging from $350 to $26,700.

Court records also describe additional steps taken to conceal the bribery scheme, including creating and using covert e-mail accounts, using encrypted documents, adopting false names and using code words.  For instance, to avoid detection of their e-mail communications, Sylvester Zugrav and Mendez established e-mail accounts to be used only to communicate requests and offers for bribe payments.  Sylvester Zugrav and Mendez also created password-protected documents for e-mail communications, and used code words and false names. Within the encrypted documents, Mendez adopted the moniker “Chuco” and Sylvester Zugrav used the codename “Chuco”  They referred to cash as “literature.”

Sylvester Zugrav faces a maximum potential penalty of five years in prison and a $250,000 fine on the conspiracy count, and Maria Zugrav faces a maximum penalty of three years in prison and a $250,000 fine on the misprision count.  Sentencing for the Zugravs is scheduled for June 19, 2013.

The case was investigated by the FBI and the Air Force Office of Special Investigations.  The case is being prosecuted by Trial Attorneys Marquest J. Meeks and Edward P. Sullivan of the Criminal Division’s Public Integrity Section, Assistant U.S. Attorney Carlos A. Esqueda for the District of Utah and Trial Attorney Deborah Curtis of the National Security Division’s Counterespionage Section.

South Carolina Ambulance Company to Pay U.S $800,000 to Resolve False Claims Allegations

Monday, February 25, 2013
Williston Rescue Squad Inc. has agreed to pay the United States $800,000 to resolve allegations that it violated the False Claims Act by making false claims for payment to Medicare for ambulance transports, the Justice Department announced today.  Williston, based in Williston, S.C., provides ambulance transport services in the southwestern part of South Carolina.

 

Medicare is a federally-funded health care program that is intended to provide basic medical insurance to people over the age of 65.  Medicare reimburses providers only for non-emergency ambulance transports if the patient transported is bed-confined or has a medical condition that requires ambulance transportation.  The settlement resolves allegations that Williston billed Medicare for routine, non-emergency ambulance transports that were not medically necessary and that Williston created false documents to make the transports appear to meet the Medicare requirements.

“Billing Medicare for unnecessary ambulance transports contributes to the soaring costs of health care,” said Stuart F. Delery, Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Division.  “The Department of Justice is committed to pursuing companies that waste limited Medicare funds.”

 

“Medicare fraud is stealing, and it is crippling America’s health care system.  We have doubled the number of attorneys working these cases in South Carolina.  Take notice, if you are bilking the Medicare system designed to support our elders, we are working to find you.  For the honest service providers, which is a greater majority of the community, you can report fraud at  1-800-MEDICARE,” said William N. Nettles, U.S. Attorney for the District of South Carolina.

 

The settlement resolves a lawsuit filed by Sandra McKee under the qui tam, or whistleblower provisions, of the False Claims Act.  McKee is a clinical social worker at a facility that regularly received patients transported by Williston’s ambulances.  Under the False Claims Act, private citizens can bring suit on behalf of the United States and share in any recovery.  Ms. McKee will receive $160,000 as her share of the government’s recovery.

 

This resolution is part of the government’s emphasis on combating health care fraud and another step for the Health Care Fraud Prevention and Enforcement Action Team (HEAT) initiative, which was announced by Attorney General Eric Holder and Kathleen Sebelius, Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services in May 2009. The partnership between the two departments has focused efforts to reduce and prevent Medicare and Medicaid financial fraud through enhanced cooperation. One of the most powerful tools in that effort is the False Claims Act, which the Justice Department has used to recover nearly $10.2 billion since January 2009 in cases involving fraud against federal health care programs. The Justice Department’s total recoveries in False Claims Act cases since January 2009 are over $14 billion.

 

To learn more about the Health Care Fraud Prevention and Enforcement Action Team (HEAT), go to: www.stopmedicarefraud.gov.

 

The United States’ investigation was conducted by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of South Carolina, the Justice Department’s Civil Division, and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of the Inspector General.  The claims settled by this agreement are allegations only; there has been no determination of liability.

 

The False Claims Act suit was filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of South Carolina and is captioned United States ex rel. McKee v. Williston Rescue Squad, Inc., No.  11-CV-00186 (D.S.C.).

Miami Pharmacy Owner Sentenced to 14 Years in Prison in $23 Million Health Care Fraud Scheme

Monday, February 25, 2013
A co-owner and operator of three Miami discount pharmacies was sentenced today to 168 months in prison for his role in a health care fraud scheme that submitted more than $23 million in false claims to Medicare.

The sentence was announced by Assistant Attorney General Lanny A. Breuer of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division; U.S. Attorney Wifredo A. Ferrer of the Southern District of Florida; Michael B. Steinbach, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI’s Miami Field Office; and Special Agent in Charge Christopher B. Dennis of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General (HHS-OIG), Office of Investigations Miami office.

Jose Carlos Morales, 55, of Miami, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Joan A. Lenard in the Southern District of Florida.  In addition to his prison term, Morales was sentenced to serve three years of supervised release and to pay a $100,000 fine.  A hearing to determine the amount of restitution Morales will pay has been scheduled for April 29, 2013.

On Dec. 6, 2012, Morales pleaded guilty in the Southern District of Florida to one count of conspiracy to commit health care fraud and one count of conspiracy to defraud the United States and pay illegal health care kickbacks.

According to court documents, Morales was the co-owner of Pharmovisa Inc. and PharmovisaMD Inc., which operated a total of three pharmacies in Miami.  Morales paid illegal health care kickbacks to co-conspirators in return for a stream of beneficiary information to be used to submit claims to Medicare and Medicaid.  The beneficiaries who were referred to the pharmacies in exchange for kickback payments resided at assisted living facilities (ALFs) located in Miami.  Morales and his alleged co-conspirators also paid illegal health care kickbacks to physicians in exchange for prescription referrals, which the pharmacies ultimately billed to Medicare.

Court documents also reveal that beginning in approximately 2007, drivers working for Morales’ pharmacies, at his direction, delivered “bingo cards” containing pop out medications to ALFs located throughout the Southern District of Florida.  Morales instructed the drivers to pick up any unused “bingo cards” so that Morales pharmacy personnel could put the medications back into pill bottles.  Unused and partially used medications were eventually re-billed to Medicare and Medicaid, and a majority of the previously submitted claims to Medicare and Medicaid were never reversed.  Morales also instructed Morales pharmacy personnel to place unused and partially used medications into bottles to be sold directly to the general public from the “community” pharmacy shelves.

Morales and his alleged co-conspirators also engaged in sham financial transactions to facilitate and conceal the fraud schemes and the flow of fraud proceeds, according to court documents.  In most instances, the sham transactions involved shell entities owned and/or controlled by Morales or his alleged co-conspirators.

According to court documents, Morales and his co-conspirators submitted and caused to be submitted approximately $23,367,755 in false and fraudulent claims to the Medicare and Florida Medicaid programs.

The case is being prosecuted by Trial Attorney Allan J. Medina and Special Trial Attorney William Parente of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section.  This case was investigated by the FBI and HHS-OIG and was brought as part of the Medicare Fraud Strike Force, supervised by the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida.

Since its inception in March 2007, the Medicare Fraud Strike Force, now operating in nine cities across the country, has charged more than 1,480 defendants who have collectively billed the Medicare program for more than $4.8 billion. In addition, HHS’s Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, working in conjunction with HHS-OIG, are taking steps to increase accountability and decrease the presence of fraudulent providers.  To learn more about the Health Care Fraud Prevention and Enforcement Action Team (HEAT), go to: www.stopmedicarefraud.gov.

Illegal Marketer of Medicare Information Admits Role in Detroit-area Home Health Care Fraud Scheme

Friday, February 22, 2013
A health care worker who sold Medicare beneficiary information to Detroit-area home health agency operators as part of a $24.7 million home health care fraud conspiracy pleaded guilty today for his role in the scheme, which sought to profit by billing for home healthcare services that were medically unnecessary and not provided.

The guilty plea was announced by Assistant Attorney General Lanny A. Breuer of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Michigan Barbara L. McQuade, Special Agent in Charge Robert D. Foley III of the FBI’s Detroit Field Office and Special Agent in Charge Lamont Pugh III of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General (HHS-OIG), Chicago Regional Office.

Clarence Cooper, 54, of Detroit, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Victoria A. Roberts in the Eastern District of Michigan to one count of conspiracy to commit health care fraud.

According to court documents, Cooper and others conspired to defraud Medicare through purported home health care companies operating in the Detroit area, including now-defunct First Choice Home Health Care Services Inc. and Reliance Home Care, LLC.  Cooper admitted that he sold Medicare information he obtained from Detroit-area Medicare beneficiaries to other conspirators at these and other health care companies, knowing that it was to be used to submit claims to Medicare for home health services that were not medically necessary and/or not provided.  According to court documents, from 2008 through May 2012, Cooper sold co-conspirators the Medicare information of hundreds of Medicare beneficiaries, at $200 to $300 per beneficiary, and this Medicare information was used at these companies to bill Medicare for nearly $1 million in home health care services.

Court documents show that the larger scheme in which Cooper participated resulted in more than $24.7 million in claims to Medicare for the cost of home health services, psychotherapy and other medical services.

Cooper faces a maximum potential penalty of 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine.  Sentencing is currently scheduled for July 23, 2013.

This case is being prosecuted by Trial Attorney William G. Kanellis and Assistant Chief Gejaa Gobena of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section.  It was investigated by the FBI and HHS-OIG, and was brought as part of the Medicare Fraud Strike Force, supervised by the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Michigan.

Since its inception in March 2007, the Medicare Fraud Strike Force, now operating in nine cities across the country, has charged more than 1,480 defendants who have collectively billed the Medicare program for more than $4.8 billion. In addition, HHS’s Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, working in conjunction with HHS-OIG, is taking steps to increase accountability and decrease the presence of fraudulent providers.

To learn more about the Health Care Fraud Prevention and Enforcement Action Team (HEAT), go to: www.stopmedicarefraud.gov.

North Carolina Commodities Firm Owner Sentenced to 36 Months in Prison for Multimillion-dollar Fraud

The principal and co-owner of North Carolina-based Integra Capital Management LLC, was sentenced today to serve 36 months in prison for his role in a scheme to defraud commodities trading investors of more than $3.2 million, announced Assistant Attorney General Lanny A. Breuer of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division and U.S. Attorney of the Western District of North Carolina Anne M. Tompkins.
Nicholas Cox, 35, of Lexington, N.C., was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Max O. Cogburn Jr., in the Western District of North Carolina. In addition to his prison term, Cox was sentenced to serve three years of supervised release and ordered to pay $1,981,477 in restitution.
On Dec. 22, 2012, Cox pleaded guilty in the Western District of North Carolina to one count of conspiracy to commit mail fraud, five counts of mail fraud and one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering.
According to court documents, between September 2006 and January 2009, Cox and his co-conspirator, Rodney Whitney, 50, of Archdale, N.C., the co-owner of Integra, engaged in a scheme to defraud investors in commodity trading pools operated by the firm. Integra was established purportedly for the purpose of pooling investors’ funds in commodity pools, and investing in commodity futures and foreign currency exchange trading. According to court documents, Cox and Whitney obtained and misappropriated more than $3.2 million in investor funds and fabricated account statements and tax forms to conceal their fraud.
According to court documents, Cox and Whitney falsely represented, among other things, that Integra’s managers had more than 30 years of combined market experience; that Integra paid dividends of two to five percent of the investor’s initial investment, which was derived from Integra’s trading profits; and investors could remove their principal investments within five days upon giving notice to Integra. According to court documents, Cox and Whitney used the money invested by later investors to pay the monthly investment returns they had promised to earlier investors, to purchase real estate, to fund other business ventures and to purchase automobiles and other personal goods and services.
On March 21, 2011, Whitney pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud and one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering. He was sentenced on Jan. 7, 2013, to 60 months in prison for his role in the scheme.
The case was prosecuted by Trial Attorney Luke Marsh of the Criminal Division’ s Fraud Section and Benjamin Bain-Creed and Kenny Smith of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of North Carolina. The case was investigated by the U.S. Postal Inspection Service.
This prosecution was done in coordination 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’s 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. Over the past three fiscal years, the Justice Department has filed nearly 10,000 financial fraud cases against nearly 15,000 defendants including more than 2,900 mortgage fraud defendants. For more information on the task force, please visit www.StopFraud.gov .

Former U.S. Army Staff Sergeant Pleads Guilty in Tennessee to Bribery Scheme

A former U.S. Army staff sergeant pleaded guilty today to accepting thousands of dollars in bribes from contractors while he was deployed to Iraq, announced Assistant Attorney General Lanny A. Breuer of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division and U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Tennessee William C. Killian.

Richard A. Gilliland, 44, of Fayetteville, Tenn., pleaded guilty before U.S. Magistrate Judge Susan K. Lee in the Eastern District of Tennessee to a criminal information charging him with one count of conspiracy to accept illegal bribes.

According to court documents, from October 2007 until November 2008, Gilliland was a U.S. Army staff sergeant who worked with the Civil Affairs Unit at Camp Victory in Iraq and also was assigned as a pay agent responsible for U.S. government funds.  As a pay agent, Gilliland was responsible for paying contractors to perform work in accordance with civil development objectives set forth by U.S. Army commanders in furtherance of the strategic mission of Coalition Forces in Iraq.

While deployed to Iraq in October 2007, Gilliland worked closely with two Iraqi contracting companies and their American representatives.  Gilliland admitted to receiving approximately $27,200 and a laptop in bribes from American representatives of the contracting companies in return for his attempt to influence contracts for the Iraqi-based contractors and his assistance in acquiring used and non-working generators from the Defense Reutilization and Marketing Office.  After receiving the bribes, Gilliland wired the cash payments he received back to the United States.

The case is being prosecuted by Special Trial Attorney Mark Grider of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section, on detail from the Special Inspector General for Iraq Reconstruction (SIGIR), and Assistant U.S. Attorney John MacCoon of the Eastern District of Tennessee.  The case was investigated by SIGIR.

North Carolina Commodities Firm Owner Sentenced to 36 Months in Prison for Multimillion-dollar Fraud

The principal and co-owner of North Carolina-based Integra Capital Management LLC, was sentenced today to serve 36 months in prison for his role in a scheme to defraud commodities trading investors of more than $3.2 million, announced Assistant Attorney General Lanny A. Breuer of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division and U.S. Attorney of the Western District of North Carolina Anne M. Tompkins.

 Nicholas Cox, 35, of Lexington, N.C., was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Max O. Cogburn Jr., in the Western District of North Carolina. In addition to his prison term, Cox was sentenced to serve three years of supervised release and ordered to pay $1,981,477 in restitution.

On Dec. 22, 2012, Cox pleaded guilty in the Western District of North Carolina to one count of conspiracy to commit mail fraud, five counts of mail fraud and one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering.

According to court documents, between September 2006 and January 2009, Cox and his co-conspirator, Rodney Whitney, 50, of Archdale, N.C., the co-owner of Integra, engaged in a scheme to defraud investors in commodity trading pools operated by the firm.  Integra was established purportedly for the purpose of pooling investors’ funds in commodity pools, and investing in commodity futures and foreign currency exchange trading.  According to court documents, Cox and Whitney obtained and misappropriated more than $3.2 million in investor funds and fabricated account statements and tax forms to conceal their fraud.

According to court documents, Cox and Whitney falsely represented, among other things, that Integra’s managers had more than 30 years of combined market experience; that Integra paid dividends of two to five percent of the investor’s initial investment, which was derived from Integra’s trading profits; and investors could remove their principal investments within five days upon giving notice to Integra.  According to court documents, Cox and Whitney used the money invested by later investors to pay the monthly investment returns they had promised to earlier investors, to purchase real estate, to fund other business ventures and to purchase automobiles and other personal goods and services.

On March 21, 2011, Whitney pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud and one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering.  He was sentenced on Jan. 7, 2013, to 60 months in prison for his role in the scheme.

The case was prosecuted by Trial Attorney Luke Marsh of the Criminal Division’ s Fraud Section and Benjamin Bain-Creed and Kenny Smith of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of North Carolina. The case was investigated by the U.S. Postal Inspection Service.

 

This prosecution was done in coordination 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’s 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.  Over the past three fiscal years, the Justice Department has filed nearly 10,000 financial fraud cases against nearly 15,000 defendants including more than 2,900 mortgage fraud defendants. For more information on the task force, please visit www.StopFraud.gov .

GeyerGorey LLP Opens New York Office

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

PRLog (Press Release) – Feb. 18, 2013 – WASHINGTON — GeyerGorey LLP today announced the opening of a new office in New York. This is the firm’s fourth office.  The New York office now joins with the firm’s Washington, D.C., Philadelphia and Boston offices in providing international and inside-the-beltway experience to individuals and companies that have become — or wish to avoid becoming — the subject of federal criminal law enforcement agency interest. Partner Robert J. Zastrow, resident in the Boston office, will oversee client matters in New York.
GeyerGorey LLP aims to meet the needs of companies for advice and training in compliance with federal criminal laws and in the detection of wrongdoing by corporate employees. The firm also specializes in the defense of white-collar criminal cases. The firm’s Web site may be found at www.GeyerGorey.com.

The New York office is located at 112 W. 34th Street, 17th Floor, New York, NY  10120.  The office telephone number is (212) 920-0676.  For further information, please call Robert Zastrow at (212) 920-0676 or send an email to [email protected].