Monthly Archives: November 2012

Owner of Chantilly Pain Clinic Sentenced to 180 Months for Drug-Trafficking, Fraud Charges

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11/9/2012

ALEXANDRIA, Va. – Paul Boccone, 56, was sentenced today to 180 months in prison, followed by three years of supervised release, for turning his Chantilly-based pain clinic into a haven for drug addicts, servicing thousands of customers traveling hundreds of miles to illegally obtain large amounts of oxycodone and other prescription pain medicine. Charles Brown, Jr., 52, the lead nurse practitioner at Chantilly Specialists, was also sentenced today to 60 months in prison, followed by three years of supervised release, for his role in distributing oxycodone.

Neil H. MacBride, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia; Kenneth T. Cuccinelli, Attorney General of Virginia; James W. McJunkin, Assistant Director in Charge of the FBI’s Washington Field Office; Richard A. Raven, Special Agent in Charge of the Washington Field Office of IRS-Criminal Investigation; and Nick DiGuilio, Special Agent in Charge for the Inspector General’s Office of the United States Department of Health and Human Services in Philadelphia, made the announcement after sentencing by United States District Judge Claude M. Hilton.

Boccone was convicted on Aug. 3, 2012, of conspiring to distribute and distributing oxycodone, healthcare fraud, and payroll tax evasion. According to court records and evidence at trial, Boccone was the owner and president of Chantilly Specialists, a pain management clinic in Chantilly, Va. Lacking any medical education, qualifications, or licensing, Boccone hired medical professionals with no background or specialized training in pain management. He treated patients and prescribed narcotics by directing medical practitioners to endorse prescriptions that he wrote.

Over the course of the conspiracy, evidence showed that at least four Chantilly Specialists patients died of overdoses related to the drugs they obtained from the practice. Brown, at Buccone’s direction, altered one of the patient’s files after Chantilly Specialists learned of that patient’s death.

Evidence showed that Brown provided 600 customers more than 800,000 oxycodone-based pills, including 14,400 to a single addict.

This case was investigated by the FBI Washington Field Office; IRS-Criminal Investigation; and the Department of Health and Human Services’ Office of the Inspector General, with assistance from the Fairfax County Police Department.

Assistant United States Attorney Michael P. Ben’Ary and Special Assistant United States Attorney and Virginia Assistant Attorney General Marc J. Birnbaum are prosecuting the case on behalf of the United States.

A copy of this press release may be found on the website of the United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia at http://www.justice.gov/usao/vae. Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia at http://www.vaed.uscourts.gov or on http://pacer.uspci.uscourts.gov.

Global Competition Review Highlights GeyerGorey LLP’s White Collar Practice in the Competition Area

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US Government Intervenes in Whistleblower Lawsuit Against Fluor Companies

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Thursday, November 8, 2012
US Government Intervenes in False Claims Lawsuit Against Fluor Companies
Texas-based Company Allegedly Used Federal Funds for Lobbying Activities

The government has intervened in a lawsuit against Fluor Hanford Inc. and its parent company, Fluor Corporation (collectively Fluor), in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Washington, the Justice Department announced today.   Fluor Hanford, Inc. is a subsidiary of Fluor Corporation, a Texas-based corporation that provides a wide variety of services to government and private customers.   The False Claims Act lawsuit was originally filed by whistleblower Loydene Rambo, a former employee of Fluor.

 

Between 1999 and 2008, Fluor had a prime contract with the Department of Energy (DOE) to provide a wide variety of security, maintenance and operational services at the DOE’s Hanford Nuclear Site in southeastern Washington State.   As part of its contract, Fluor was responsible for managing and operating the Hazardous Materials Management and Emergency Response (HAMMER) Center, a federally-funded facility established to train Hanford site workers as well as first responders and law enforcement personnel.

The whistleblower complaint alleges that, as a condition of receiving its DOE contract, Fluor was required to certify that it would not use federal funds for lobbying activities.   The complaint further alleges that between 2005 and 2008, Fluor ignored these restrictions and used DOE funding to lobby Congress and executive branch officials for more funding for HAMMER.   The complaint alleges that Fluor, and two lobbying firms hired by Fluor and paid using DOE funds, Secure Horizons LLC and Congressional Strategies LLC, lobbied members of Congress and executive branch agencies to include additional funds for HAMMER in agency appropriations.  The United States intervened in the lawsuit with respect to Fluor, but declined to intervene with respect to additional defendants, including Secure Horizons LLC and Congressional Strategies LLC.

“The taxpayer money Congress allocated for this program was for training federal emergency response personnel and first responders, not to lobby Congress and others for more funding,” said Stuart F. Delery, Acting Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Division of the Department of Justice.   “When public funds are misused, as alleged in this case, the Justice Department will work to restore them to the Treasury.”

“The allegations set forth in the whistleblower complaint are troubling and very serious,”

said Michael C. Ormsby, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Washington. “My Office will continue to work with the Justice Department to ensure a just resolution of these alleged violations of federal law.”

Ms. Rambo’s lawsuit was filed under the False Claims Act, which authorizes private parties to sue on behalf of the United States and share in any recovery.   The act authorizes the United States to intervene in such a suit and take over the responsibility for litigating it.   The United States has informed the court that it intends to file its own complaint in the action.

The case is being handled by the Civil Division of the Department of Justice and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Washington, with the assistance of the Department of Energy Office of Inspector General.

Ms. Rambo’s lawsuit is captioned U.S. ex rel. Rambo v. Fluor Hanford, et al., cv-11-5037.   The claims asserted in this case are allegations only, and there has been no determination of liability.

Indictments Returned in Hammond Federal Court (USAO-NDIN)

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HAMMOND, IN—The United States Attorney’s Office announced that the following Indictments were returned on November 8, 2012:

  • Hoosier EMS Roy Dunn, 59, and Kahley Vergon-Mayotte, 27, both of Winimac, Indiana; and Anthony Bitterling, 39, of Monticello, Indiana, were charged in an indictment with conspiracy to commit health care fraud. These charges were filed as the result of an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the United States Department of Health and Human Services, and the Indiana Medicaid Fraud Control Unit. This case has been assigned to and will be prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Diane Berkowitz.
  • Edwin Tollinchi-Rodriguez, 27, of East Chicago, Indiana, was charged in an indictment with aggravated sexual abuse. This case resulted from an investigation by members of the Indiana Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force, including the Federal Bureau of Investigation; the East Chicago Police Department; and the Lansing, Illinois Police Department. This case has been assigned to and will be prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Jill Koster.
  • Kevin Paul Brewster, 40, of Portage, Indiana, was charged in an indictment with four counts of production of child pornography, one count of receipt of child pornography, and one count of possession of child pornography. This case resulted from an investigation by members of the Indiana Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force, including the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Portage Police Department. This case has been assigned to and will be prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Jill Koster.
  • Austin Nwaka, dba Service Above Self, of Canby, Indiana, and Phyllis Lark, dba Absolute Care, of Hammond, Indiana, were charged in an indictment with health care fraud. Lark was also charged with making false statements to a federal agent. These charges were filed as the result of an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Indiana Medicaid Fraud Control Unit. This case has been assigned to and will be prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Diane Berkowitz.
  • Daron Moten, 23, of Gary, Indiana, was charged in an indictment with possession of a firearm by a convicted felon. These charges were filed as the result of an investigation by the by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives and the Gary Police Department. This case has been assigned to and will be prosecuted by Special Assistant United States Attorney Armando Salinas, Jr.
  • Michael J. Plake, 47, of Lafayette, Indiana, and Paul Cardwell, 46, formerly of Monticello, Indiana, were charged in an indictment with conspiracy to commit mail fraud. These charges were filed as the result of an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. This case has been assigned to and will be prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Diane Berkowitz.

The United States Attorney’s Office emphasized that an indictment is merely an allegation and that all persons charged are presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty in court.

If convicted in court, any specific sentence to be imposed will be determined by the judge after a consideration of federal sentencing statutes and the Federal Sentencing Guidelines.

North Carolina Real Estate Investor Pleads Guilty to Mail Fraud Scheme at Foreclosure Auctions

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The most recent Antitrust Division foreclosure auction case filing with the USAO of the Eastern District of North Carolina and the FBI suggests that extensive investigative resources are being expended to combat a variety of fraud schemes that plague foreclosure auctions.  Chief among them are “auction pooling” schemes engaged in by “auction rings” of conspirators who refrain from competing against each other inside the public auction who then have a private auction where the property “strike price” is bid higher by the conspirators.  The difference in prices between the public and private auctions is a good estimate of “loss” for Title 18 charging purposes or for calculating “commerce” for Title 15 USC Section 1 charging purposes.  Note that the Antitrust Division, like almost all government agencies, is struggling with tightened budgets and the fact that a case like this one is being pursued, that involves a significant expenditure of travel expenses, suggests that there is strong institutional focus with deep resources for these kinds of investigations.  Although it is never a good idea to engage in mortgage foreclosure auction fraud, it is a particularly bad idea in this enforcement environment.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 8, 2012
WWW.JUSTICE.GOV		 AT
(202) 514-2007
TTY (866) 544-5309

NORTH CAROLINA REAL ESTATE INVESTOR PLEADS GUILTY TO MAIL FRAUD SCHEME FOR THE PURCHASE OF REAL ESTATE AT PUBLIC FORECLOSURE AUCTIONS

WASHINGTON — A real estate investor pleaded guilty today to conspiring to commit mail fraud at public real estate foreclosure auctions held in Raleigh, N.C., and surrounding areas, the Department of Justice announced. This is the second charge in the department’s ongoing investigation into real estate foreclosure auctions in eastern North Carolina.

According to the one-count felony charge filed on Oct. 4, 2012, in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina, in Greenville, real estate investor, Darren K. Phillips, conspired with a group of real estate speculators to participate in a scheme to defraud financial institutions, homeowners and others with a legal interest in select properties, and to obtain money and property from financial institutions, homeowners and others with a legal interest in rigged properties through false and fraudulent pretenses or representations.  According to the plea agreement, Phillips has agreed to cooperate with the department’s ongoing investigation.

The primary purpose of the conspiracy was to fraudulently acquire title to rigged foreclosure properties offered through public auctions at artificially suppressed prices, to make and receive payoffs from co-conspirators and to divert money away from financial institutions, homeowners and others with a legal interest in the rigged foreclosure properties, the department said in court papers.  The conspiracy resulted in mortgage holders, some of which were financial institutions, receiving a lower price for the foreclosure property.  Philips is charged with participating in the conspiracy beginning at least as early as February 2001 and continuing until at least May 2004.

“By artificially suppressing auction prices through payoffs and other illegal actions, the conspirators profited at the expense of homeowners and financial institutions,” said Scott D. Hammond, Deputy Assistant Attorney General in charge of the Antitrust Division’s criminal enforcement program.  “The division will continue to work with our law enforcement partners to investigate anticompetitive practices in real estate foreclosure auctions in North Carolina and elsewhere.”

Phillips is charged with conspiracy to commit mail fraud affecting a financial institution, which carries a maximum sentence of 30 years in prison and a $1 million fine.

Phillips is the second person to be charged in this investigation. In September 2010, Christopher Deans, a real estate speculator from Raleigh, pleaded guilty in the U.S. District Court in Greenville in connection with the investigation.

Today’s plea arose from an ongoing federal antitrust investigation of fraud and bidding irregularities in certain real estate foreclosure auctions in the Eastern District of North Carolina.  The investigation is being conducted by the Antitrust Division’s Atlanta Field Office and the FBI’s Atlanta Field Office, with assistance from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of North Carolina. Anyone with information concerning bid rigging or fraud related to real estate foreclosure auctions should contact the Antitrust Division’s Atlanta Field Office at 404-331-7100, or visit www.justice.gov/atr/contact/newcase.htm.

Today’s plea is part of efforts underway by President Barack Obama’s Financial Fraud Enforcement Task Force.  President Obama established the interagency Financial Fraud Enforcement Task Force to wage an aggressive, coordinated and proactive effort to investigate and prosecute financial crimes.  The task force includes representatives from a broad range of federal agencies, regulatory authorities, inspectors general and state and local law enforcement who, working together, bring to bear a powerful array of criminal and civil enforcement resources.  The task force is working to improve efforts across the federal executive branch, and with state and local partners, to investigate and prosecute significant financial crimes, ensure just and effective punishment for those who perpetrate financial crimes, combat discrimination in the lending and financial markets, and recover proceeds for victims of financial crimes.  One component of the task force is the national Mortgage Fraud Working Group, co-chaired by Benjamin B. Wagner, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of California.  For more information on the task force, visit www.StopFraud.gov.

 

 

Detroit-area Physician Sentenced to 60 Months for Health Care Fraud (USAO-EDMI)

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11/6/2012

Jonathan Agbebiyi, 63, of Sterling Heights, Michigan, was sentenced yesterday for his role in a $5.4 million Medicare fraud scheme, announced United States Attorney Barbara L. McQuade. McQuade was joined in the announcement by Assistant Attorney General Lanny A Breuer of the Criminal Division in Washington, DC, Special Agent-In-Charge, Robert Foley, III, Federal Bureau of Investigation and Special Agent in Charge Lamont Pugh III of the Health and Human Services – Office of Inspector General’s (OIG) Chicago Regional Office.

Agbebiyi was sentenced by United States District Judge Arthur J. Tarnow to 60 months in prison, followed by 2 years supervised release, and ordered to pay $2,982,029.19 in restitution.

In May, 2012, Jonathan Agbebiyi, 63, of Sterling Heights, Michigan, was convicted of one count of conspiracy to commit health care fraud, and six counts of health care fraud. Agbebiyi was a staff physician at three clinics which operated in Livonia, Michigan, between 2007 and 2010: Blessed Medical Clinic, Alpha and Omega Medical Clinic, and Manuel Medical Clinic.

According to the evidence presented during the one week trial, Jonathan Agbebiyi, an obstetrician/gynecologist, joined a conspiracy to bill Medicare for medically unnecessary neurological tests. Some of the tests involved sending an electrical current through the arms and legs of the patients. Clinic employees, who lacked any meaningful training, administered the diagnostic tests. The patients never received any follow up treatment by neurologists.
Evidence at trial showed that the patients were not referred to the clinics by their primary care physicians, or for any other legitimate purpose, but rather were recruited with prescriptions for controlled substances, cash payments, and fast food. The three clinics then billed the Medicare program for various diagnostic tests that were medically unnecessary.

United States Attorney Barbara L. McQuade stated, “This doctor exposed patients to electrical currents for neurological testing solely to generate money for himself at the expense of the Medicare program. We hope that cases like this one will deter other doctors from using patients as commodities for personal gain.”

This case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Frances Lee Carlson and Philip A. Ross of the Eastern District of Michigan, with assistance from Assistant Chief Gejaa T. Gobena 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 Eastern District of Michigan.

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.
Since their inception in March 2007, strike force operations in nine locations have charged more than 1,330 defendants who collectively have falsely billed the Medicare program for more than $4 billion. In addition, the HHS Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, working in conjunction with the HHS-OIG, are taking steps to increase accountability and decrease the presence of fraudulent providers.

California Man Sentenced to 15 Months in Prison For Conspiracy to Defraud USAID of $386,279 – Admitted Scheme to Embezzle Agency Funds Meant for Global Health

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PRESS RELEASE
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE For Information Contact:
Tuesday, November 6, 2012 Public Affairs
(202) 252-6933

WASHINGTON – Everett Lipscomb Jr., 42, of Aliso Viejo, Calif., has been sentenced
to 15 months in prison on a charge stemming from his role in a conspiracy to embezzle more than $386,000 from a federal program meant to address global health problems.
The sentence was announced by Ronald C. Machen Jr., U.S. Attorney for the District of
Columbia, and Michael G. Carroll, Deputy Inspector General for the U.S. Agency for
International Development (USAID).
Lipscomb pled guilty in March 2012 to one count of conspiracy to commit wire and mail
fraud, a federal felony. He was sentenced on Nov. 5, 2012 by the Honorable Beryl A. Howell in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. As part of his sentence, Lipscomb was ordered to pay full restitution of $386,279 to USAID. Lipscomb also consented to an order forfeiting any property he owned up to that amount. As indicated in court filings, the government has already seized about $49,000 in proceeds from the scheme from other coconspirators. Upon completion of his prison term, Lipscomb will be placed on two years of supervised release.
As part of his plea, Lipscomb admitted that he conspired together with Mark Adams, a
former deputy director at a private contractor that did business with USAID, and Adams’s wife, Latasha Bell. Lipscomb admitted that Adams used his position at the contracting company to submit and approve false and fraudulent invoices and thereby obtain money.
In Lipscomb’s case, the bogus invoices claimed amounts due for services from Octopus
Limited Audio and Visual, a company controlled by Lipscomb. However, neither Lipscomb nor Octopus – or anyone else – performed the work and services claimed on the invoices. Lipscomb admitted that between April 2008 and August 2010, he received payments from the USAID contracting company totaling $386,279. Of that amount, Lipscomb kept $157,372 for himself and passed the remainder, $228,907, back to Adams and Bell.
Lipscomb further admitted that the fraudulent bills were paid with money that should
have been used for USAID’s global health program. The program addresses major global issues, including HIV/AIDS. At sentencing, Judge Howell noted that the company that employed Adams was seriously impacted by the crime. The company lost its contract with USAID and several employees lost their jobs as a result.
Adams, 44, and Bell, 36, of Fort Washington, Md., pled guilty last month to their roles in
the conspiracy. Adams admitted that the scheme involved more than $1.084 million in
fraudulent payments through such fake invoices between 2006 and 2010. Adams and Bell used the payments to complete an extensive renovation of their home and to buy luxury automobiles.
Adams and Bell are scheduled to be sentenced on Dec. 14, 2012, also before Judge
Howell. Under federal sentencing guidelines, Adams faces a sentence of up to 51 to 63 months of incarceration. Under the plea agreement, Bell agreed to a sentence of home confinement.
In announcing the sentence, U.S. Attorney Machen and Deputy Inspector General Carroll
commended the work of the special agents from the USAID Office of Inspector General, which investigated the case. They also thanked those who worked on the case from the U.S. Attorney’s Office, including Paralegal Specialists Krishawn Graham and Nicole Wattelet, Forensic Accountant Crystal Boodoo, Assistant U.S. Attorney Anthony Saler, who handled forfeiture issues, and Assistant U.S. Attorney Jonathan Hooks, who is prosecuting the case.

GeyerGorey LLP opens Philadelphia office

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GeyerGorey LLP Announced Today that it Opened an Office in Philadelphia.

Northern California Real Estate Investor Agrees to Plead Guilty to Bid Rigging at Foreclosure Auctions

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The most recent Antitrust Division case filing with the FBI suggests that extensive investigative resources are being expended to combat fraud involving foreclosure auctions.  Chief among them are “auction pooling” schemes engaged in by “auction rings” of conspirators who refrain from competing against each other inside the public auction who then have a private auction where the property “strike price” is bid higher by the conspirators.  The difference in prices between the public and private auctions is a good estimate of “loss” for Title 18 charging purposes or for calculating “commerce” for Title 15 USC Section 1 charging purposes.  Although it is never a good idea to engage in mortgage foreclosure auction fraud, it is a particularly bad idea in this enforcement environment.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 1, 2012
WWW.JUSTICE.GOV		 AT
(202) 514-2007
TTY (866) 544-5309

NORTHERN CALIFORNIA REAL ESTATE INVESTOR AGREES TO PLEAD
GUILTY TO BID RIGGING AT PUBLIC FORECLOSURE AUCTIONS

Investigation Has Yielded 26 Plea Agreements to Date

WASHINGTON — A Northern California real estate investor has agreed to plead guilty for his role in conspiracies to rig bids and commit mail fraud at public real estate foreclosure auctions in Northern California, the Department of Justice announced.

A four-count felony charge was filed today in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, in San Francisco, against Norman Montalvo, of Concord, Calif. Montalvo is the 26th individual to plead guilty or agree to plead guilty as a result of the department’s ongoing antitrust investigation into bid rigging and fraud at public real estate foreclosure auctions in Northern California.

According to court documents, Montalvo conspired with others not to bid against one another, but instead to designate a winning bidder to obtain selected properties at public real estate foreclosure auctions in San Francisco and San Mateo counties, Calif. Montalvo was also charged with a conspiracy to use the mail to carry out a scheme to fraudulently acquire title to selected properties sold at public auctions, to make and receive payoffs, and to divert to co-conspirators money that would have otherwise gone to mortgage holders and others.

The department said Montalvo conspired with others to rig bids and commit mail fraud at public real estate foreclosure auctions in San Francisco and San Mateo counties beginning as early as June 2008 and continuing until about September 2010.

“The real estate investors involved in the conspiracy illegally restrained competition at  foreclosure auctions by falsely creating the appearance of unfettered bidding while they were secretly colluding to suppress prices,” said Scott D. Hammond, Deputy Assistant Attorney General of the Antitrust Division’s criminal enforcement program. “The Antitrust Division remains committed to holding accountable those involved in anticompetitive acts that harm lenders and distressed homeowners.”

The department said that the primary purpose of the conspiracies was to suppress and restrain competition and to conceal payoffs in order to obtain selected real estate offered at San Francisco and San Mateo County public foreclosure auctions at non-competitive prices. When real estate properties are sold at these auctions, the proceeds are used to pay off the mortgage and other debt attached to the property, with remaining proceeds, if any, paid to the homeowner. According to court documents, these conspirators paid and received money that otherwise would have gone to pay off the mortgage and other holders of debt secured by the properties, and, in some cases, the defaulting homeowner.

“Our vigorous pursuit in enforcing fraudulent anticompetitive practices at foreclosure auctions here in northern California is evident in this guilty plea,” said Joel Moss, Acting Special Agent in Charge of the FBI San Francisco Division. “Criminals who take advantage of the real estate auction process will be brought to justice by the FBI and the Department of Justice.”

A violation of the Sherman Act carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison and a $1 million fine for individuals. The maximum fine for the Sherman Act charges may be increased to twice the gain derived from the crime or twice the loss suffered by the victim if either amount is greater than $1 million. A count of conspiracy to commit mail fraud carries a maximum sentence of 30 years in prison and a $1 million fine. The government can also seek to forfeit the proceeds earned from participating in the conspiracy to commit mail fraud.

The charges today are the latest cases filed by the department in its ongoing investigation into bid rigging and fraud at public real estate foreclosure auctions in San Francisco, San Mateo, Contra Costa and Alameda counties, Calif. These investigations are being conducted by the Antitrust Division’s San Francisco Office and the FBI’s San Francisco office. Anyone with information concerning bid rigging or fraud related to public real estate foreclosure auctions should contact the Antitrust Division’s San Francisco Field Office at 415-436-6660, visit www.justice.gov/atr/contact/newcase.htm or call the FBI tip line at 415-553-7400.

Today’s charges are part of efforts underway by President Obama’s Financial Fraud Enforcement Task Force (FFETF), which was created in November 2009 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 more than 10,000 financial fraud cases against nearly 15,000 defendants, including more than 2,700 mortgage fraud defendants. For more information on the task force, visit www.stopfraud.gov.

GeyerGorey LLP announces formation and opens a Washington D.C. office

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GeyerGorey LLP officially announces formation and opens office in Washington D.C.