Category Archives: Important Legal Filings

Vietnamese National Charged in Widespread International Scheme to Steal and Sell Hundreds of Thousands of U.s. Persons’ Personally Identifiable Information

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A Vietnamese national has been indicted in the District of New Hampshire for allegedly participating in an international scheme to steal and sell hundreds of thousands of Americans’ personally identifiable information (PII) through various underground websites that he operated.

Acting Assistant Attorney General Mythili Raman of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, U.S. Attorney John P. Kacavas of the District of New Hampshire, and Resident Agent in Charge Holly Fraumeni of the U.S. Secret Service’s Manchester Field Office made the announcement after the indictment was unsealed.

Hieu Minh Ngo, 24, a Vietnamese national, was charged in a 15-count indictment filed under seal in November 2012, charging him with conspiracy to commit wire fraud, substantive wire fraud, conspiracy to commit identity fraud, substantive identity fraud, aggravated identity theft, conspiracy to commit access device fraud, and substantive access device fraud.  Ngo was arrested upon his entry into the United States in February 2013.  The statutory maximum penalties are five years on the identity fraud and identity fraud conspiracy counts, two years each on the aggravated identity theft counts, 20 years on the wire fraud count and wire fraud conspiracy counts, 10 years on the substantive access device fraud count and five years on the conspiracy to commit access device fraud count.

According to the indictment, from 2007 through 2012, Ngo and other members of the conspiracy acquired, offered for sale, sold, and/or transferred to others packages of PII for more than 500,000 individuals.  These packages, known as “fullz,” typically included a person’s name, date of birth, social security number, bank account number and bank routing number.  During this same time, Ngo and other members of the conspiracy acquired, offered for sale, sold, and/or transferred to others stolen payment card data, which typically included the victim account holder’s payment card number, expiration date, card verification value number, account holder name, account holder address and phone number.

The indictment alleges that Ngo operated one or more online marketplaces for various carding activities, known as carder forums, where he stored and offered for sale “fullz” and other PII, including “fullz” of individuals located in the District of New Hampshire.  On two carder forums, Ngo and his co-conspirators offered buyers the option to obtain a specified quantity of “fullz” or to submit a query of a particular name to obtain that person’s associated PII.  Ngo and his co-conspirators allegedly offered several categories of PII, depending on how recently the data had been acquired, and charged higher prices for more recent data.  Ngo allegedly made arrangements with others who, after paying a fee, could access and then and re-sell the stolen payment card data, “fullz” and other PII.  Ngo and his co-conspirators created one or more accounts with a digital currency service and used those accounts to receive funds for the stolen payment card data, “fullz” and other PII that they sold.

The case was investigated by the U.S. Secret Service and is being prosecuted by Trial Attorney Mona Sedky of the Criminal Division’s Computer Crime and Intellectual Property Section and Assistant U.S. Attorney Arnold H. Huftalen of the District of New Hampshire.

Operators of Michigan Adult Day Care Centers Convicted in $3.2 Million Medicare Fraud Scheme

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A federal jury in Detroit today convicted the owner and the program coordinator of two Flint, Mich., adult day care centers for their participation in a $3.2 million Medicare fraud scheme.

Acting Assistant Attorney General Mythili Raman of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division; U.S. Attorney Barbara L. McQuade of the Eastern District of Michigan; Acting Special Agent in Charge John Robert Shoup of the FBI 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), Office of Investigations Detroit Office made the announcement.

Glenn English, 53, was found guilty in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan of one count of conspiracy to commit health care fraud and seven counts of health care fraud for directing a psychotherapy fraud scheme through New Century Adult Day Program Services LLC and New Century Adult Day Treatment Inc. (collectively known as New Century).

Richard Hogan, 67, an unlicensed social worker who worked as a program coordinator at New Century, was found guilty of one count of conspiracy to commit health care fraud.

The defendants were charged in a superseding indictment returned Dec. 11, 2012.  Another individual charged in the superseding indictment, Donald Berry, awaits trial at a later date.

According to evidence presented at trial, English owned and operated New Century as an adult day care center through which he billed Medicare for individual and group psychotherapy services.  As shown at trial, New Century brought in mentally disabled residents of Flint-area adult foster care homes (AFCs), as well as people seeking narcotic drugs, and used their names to bill Medicare for psychotherapy that was not provided.  The evidence showed that English and Hogan lured drug seekers to New Century with the promise that they could see a doctor there who would prescribe for them the narcotics they wanted if they signed up for the psychotherapy program.  New Century used the signatures and Medicare information of these AFC residents and drug seekers to claim that it was providing them psychotherapy, when in fact it was not.
The evidence also showed that English directed New Century employees to fabricate patient records to give the false impression that psychotherapy was being provided.  Social workers and untrained employees wrote fake progress notes for therapy sessions that never occurred.  Further, English and New Century employees directed New Century clients to pre-sign sign-in sheets for months at a time, and used these signatures to claim to Medicare they had provided services.  On multiple occasions, New Century billed Medicare as if its social workers had provided over 24 hours of care in a single day.

From March 2010 through April 2012, New Century billed approximately $3.2 million and received more than $988,000 from Medicare.

The health care fraud conspiracy count carries a maximum potential penalty of 10 years in prison; each count of health care fraud carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison.  Sentencing for both defendants is scheduled for Feb. 27, 2014.

The investigation was led by the FBI and HHS-OIG and was brought by 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 1,500 defendants who have collectively billed the Medicare program for more than $5 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.

LIBOR update: Wall Street Journal Ordered Not to Divulge Libor Names

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Journal Ordered Not to Divulge Libor Names

U.K. Prosecutors Win Injunction Amid Investigation

“A British judge ordered the Journal and David Enrich, the newspaper’s European banking editor, to comply with a request by the U.K.’s Serious Fraud Office prohibiting the newspaper from publishing names of individuals not yet made public in the government’s ongoing investigation into alleged manipulation of the London interbank offered rate, or Libor.”

Former Los Angeles-area Pastor Sentenced for Role in $11 Million Medicare Fraud Scheme

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A pastor and owner of a Los Angeles-area medical supply company was sentenced today for his role in a power wheelchair fraud scheme that defrauded Medicare out of more than $11 million.

Acting Assistant Attorney General Mythili Raman of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division; U.S. Attorney André Birotte Jr. of the Central District of California; Special Agent in Charge Glenn R. Ferry of the Los Angeles Region of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General (HHS-OIG); Assistant Director in Charge Bill L. Lewis of the FBI’s Los Angeles Field Office; and Special Agent in Charge Joseph Fendrick of the California Department of Justice, Bureau of Medi-Cal Fraud and Elder Abuse made the announcement.

Charles Agbu, 58, of Carson, Calif., was sentenced by U.S. District Judge George H. Wu to serve 87 months in prison and was ordered to pay $5,788,725 in restitution to Medicare.  In December 2012, Agbu pleaded guilty to conspiracy and money laundering charges based on his role as owner and operator of Bonfee Inc., a fraudulent durable medical equipment (DME) supply company that Agbu operated with his daughter and co-defendant, Obiageli Agbu, and members of his family from a nondescript office building in Carson.  Agbu admitted that he paid patient recruiters and doctors to provide him with fraudulent prescriptions for expensive, highly specialized power wheelchairs and other DME that he, Obiageli Agbu and their co-conspirators used in submitting more than $11 million false claims to Medicare.  Agbu billed the power wheelchairs to Medicare at a rate of approximately $6,000 per wheelchair even though he paid approximately $900 wholesale per wheelchair.  In many cases, the Medicare beneficiaries to whom Agbu and his co-conspirators claimed they supplied the power wheelchairs and DME did not have any legitimate medical need for the medical equipment, and, in some cases, never received the medical equipment from Agbu’s company.  At the time Agbu engaged in this fraud, he was a pastor at Pilgrim Congregational Church in South Central Los Angeles.

On Sept. 30, 2013, and Oct. 2, 2013, Agbu’s co-defendants, Alejandro Maciel, 43, of Huntington Park, Calif., and Dr. Emmanuel Ayodele, 65, of Los Angeles, were sentenced to serve 41 and 37 months in prison and ordered to pay $5,388,755 and $6,355,949 in restitution to Medicare, respectively.  Two other co-defendants, Dr. Juan Van Putten and Candelaria Estrada, have pleaded guilty to Medicare fraud charges and are scheduled for sentencing on Dec.12, 2013, and Oct. 31, 2013, respectively.  Obiageli Agbu was convicted by a jury on nine counts of conspiracy to commit health care fraud and health care fraud on July 19, 2013.  Her sentencing date has not been set.

The case is being investigated by the FBI, HHS-OIG and the California Department of Justice and was brought as part of the Medicare Fraud Strike Force, under the supervision of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Central District of California.  The case is being prosecuted by Trial Attorneys Jonathan T. Baum and Alexander Porter of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section.

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 its inception in March 2007, the Medicare Fraud Strike Force, now operating in nine cities across the country, has charged more than 1,500 defendants who have collectively billed the Medicare program for more than $5 billion.  In addition, HHS’s Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, working in conjunction with HHS-OIG, is taking steps to increase accountability and decrease the presence of fraudulent providers.

Patricia Davis, former Assistant Director, Fraud Section, Civil Division, joins GeyerGorey LLP

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Sweet Lime Portrait Design, Family Photography, Baby Photography, Maternity Photography
Patricia Davis, a twenty-year veteran of the Department of Justice, has joined GeyerGorey LLP as of counsel.  She previously served as Assistant Director, Fraud Section, Civil Division, U.S. Department of Justice, where she was responsible for investigating and prosecuting hundreds of cases involving fraud on government healthcare, procurement and grant/loan programs.  Prior to joining the Department, Ms. Davis was Deputy Counsel to the Inspector General at the General Services Administration.  She is the eleventh former DOJ prosecutor to join the boutique law firm in less than a year.

(See the firm’s Representative Matters by clicking here [this is not a comprehensive list and does not yet incorporate any of Ms. Davis’s experience])

 “The scope and breadth of Pat’s experience is unparalleled.  Much of the Civil Division’s enforcement program focusing on Defense Department contracts and pharmaceuticals rested squarely on her shoulders,” said Brad Geyer, one of the firm’s founding partners.  “We are delighted that Pat has decided to join us.”

Robert Zastrow, who was Verizon’s Assistant General Counsel for 15 years before co-founding the firm in October 2012, added,“ Pat Davis is an excellent addition to our corporate compliance and white collar practice.”

 “I believe that Pat brings our firm to a new level in terms of our ability to get cases placed appropriately and to enhance the chances that our qui tam (False Claims Act) cases will be adopted by the government,” said Hays Gorey, a firm co-founder.  “With Pat’s terrific background and deep legal knowledge, we are uniquely positioned to develop cases so that they are ready, when filed, to be transitioned immediately to the appropriate U.S. Attorney’s Office or the Civil Division of the Department of Justice.”

Headquartered in Washington, D.C., with offices in New York, Boston, Philadelphia and Dallas, GeyerGorey LLP specializes in white collar criminal defense, particularly investigations and cases involving allegations of economic crimes, including violations of the federal antitrust laws (price fixing, bid rigging, territorial and customer allocation agreements), the procurement and grant fraud statutes, the securities laws, the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, the False Claims Act and other whistleblower actions.  The firm also conducts internal investigations of possible criminal conduct and provides advice regarding compliance with antitrust, anti-bribery and other laws and regulations, in addition to advising on voluntary and mandatory disclosure issues. For further information, please call Patricia Davis at (202) 559-1456 or email [email protected].

GeyerGorey llp Assists Claude Moore Colonial Farm in Re-Opening During Shut-Down

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The Claude Moore Colonial Farm at Turkey Run in McLean, Virginia, is a living history museum depicting the typical tenant farm in late colonial Virginia on the eve of the Revolution.  This gem, a favorite among children and their parents and schools in the Washington, D.C., metropolitan area, was a casualty of the Government shut-down.  The National Park Service ordered the Farm to close on October 1st.

The Farm is located on land that it leases from the National Park Service.  It is privately funded, deriving its operating expenses from admissions fees and proceeds from its various programs.  Its staff are employees of the Farm, not of the federal government.  Although it has from time to time benefitted from federal grants for capital improvements or operating expenses, the National Park Service had informed the Farm earlier this year that it would receive no federal funds for the Government’s Fiscal Year 2014 which began on October 1st.

The Farm believed that as an independent entity that relied on no federal funds for the current fiscal year, and no services from the Park Service even for access to the facility because the Farm lies on a road open to the public and essential for access to two federal agencies, it should not be subject to the order to shut its gates.  The Farm turned to GeyerGorey attorney Phillip Zane, a veteran of many lawsuits between private entities and the federal government, and the father of one of the Farm’s junior interpreters, as well as Scott Helsel, its regular counsel from Walton & Adams in Reston, Virginia.  Mr. Zane engaged attorneys of the Office of the Solicitor of the Department of the Interior, which has responsibility for the National Park Service, in week-long negotiations and fact-finding.

Through the efforts of Mr. Zane and others at the Farm, notably Farm Director Anna Eberly, officials of the Department of the Interior and the National Park Service were convinced that the Claude Moore Colonial Farm should not be subject to the Government shut-down.  After eight dark days that threatened the Farm’s busiest fund-raising season and its largest annual event, the Park Police removed the barricades from the Farm’s entrances and the Farm reopened on October 9th.

For more information about Claude Moore Colonial Farm, please visit www.1771.org, or attend its Fall Market Fair on October 19th & 20th.  For more information about GeyerGorey llp’s experience handling federal litigation and investigations, please contact Mr. Zane at 202-644-8731, or any of his colleagues at GeyerGorey at 888-486-3337, or [email protected].

AMR Scores Win as Home State Texas Quits US Airways Merger Suit

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The decision by the Texas Attorney General to settle should not affect the litigation.

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-10-02/amr-scores-win-as-home-state-texas-quits-us-airways-merger-suit.html

FORMER PROJECT MANAGER CONVICTED FOR ROLE IN CONSPIRACY SCHEMES INVOLVING TWO EPA SUPERFUND SITES IN NEW JERSEY

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WASHINGTON — A New Jersey jury convicted a former project manager for his  central role in conspiracies that spanned seven years and involved kickbacks in  excess of $1.5 million at two Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Superfund  sites in New Jersey, the Department of Justice announced today.  The jury returned guilty verdicts on 10  counts charged in the indictment against Gordon D. McDonald, which was filed on  Aug. 31, 2009.

In addition to today’s conviction,  to date, eight individuals and three companies have pleaded guilty to charges  arising out of this investigation.

After a two-week trial, McDonald, a former project manager for a prime contractor, was convicted  of engaging in separate bid-rigging, kickback and/or fraud conspiracies with  three subcontractors at two New Jersey Superfund sites – Federal Creosote in  Manville, N.J., and Diamond Alkali in Newark, N.J.  He was also convicted of engaging in an  international money laundering scheme, major fraud against the United States,  accepting illegal kickbacks, committing two tax violations and obstruction of  justice. The various conspiracies took  place at different time periods from approximately December 2000 until approximately April 2007.  McDonald was acquitted on counts eight and nine involving certain fraud and kickback charges.

“Today’s guilty verdict sends a clear message that  corrupt purchasing officials will be held accountable for engaging in  fraudulent schemes designed to undermine the government’s competitive  contracting practices,” said Bill Baer, Assistant Attorney General in charge of  the Department of Justice’s Antitrust Division.   “The Antitrust Division is committed to ensuring there is fair play and competition  in our markets.”

As part of  the conspiracies, McDonald and co-conspirators at his former company accepted  kickbacks from sub-contractors in exchange for the award of sub-contracts at  Federal Creosote.  McDonald provided  co-conspirators at Bennett Environmental Inc., a Canadian-based company that  treats and disposes of contaminated soil, with bid prices of their competitors,  which allowed them to submit higher bid prices and still be awarded the  sub-contracts.  In exchange for  McDonald’s assistance, Bennett Environmental, Inc. provided him with over $1.5  million in kickback payments.

According to court documents, McDonald also  accepted kickbacks in exchange for the award of sub-contracts at the Federal  Creosote and Diamond Alkali sites from the owner of JMJ Environmental Inc., a  wastewater treatment and chemical supply company, and the co-owner of National  Industrial Supply LLC, an industrial pipes supplier.  He participated in a conspiracy with the  owner of JMJ and co-conspirators to rig bids and allocate sub-contracts at  inflated prices for wastewater treatment supplies and services at Federal Creosote.

The cleanup at Federal Creosote was  primarily funded by the EPA.  An  interagency agreement between the EPA and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers designated that the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers hire the prime contractors at Federal Creosote.  According to a settlement with the EPA and  the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection, Tierra Solutions was  required to fund remedial action and maintenance of Diamond Alkali.  Tierra Solutions hired the prime contractor  for the remedial action and maintenance of Diamond Alkali.

Sentencing is  scheduled for Jan. 6, 2014, before Judge Susan D. Wigenton.  To date, more than $6 million in criminal  fines and restitution have been imposed, and five individuals have been  sentenced to serve more than 10 years in total prison time.

Today’s  conviction is the result of an ongoing federal antitrust investigation being  conducted by the Antitrust Division’s New York Office, the EPA Office of  Inspector General and the Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigation.  Anyone with information concerning bid  rigging, kickbacks, tax offenses or fraud relating to subcontracts awarded at  the Federal Creosote Superfund site or Diamond Alkali Superfund site should  contact the Antitrust Division’s New York Office at 212-335-8000

Former Employee of Florida Property Management Company Sentenced to Serve Time in Prison for Wire Fraud

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A former residential sales manager of a Florida property management company was sentenced to serve 24 months in prison today in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida, in Orlando, for his participation in a wire fraud scheme involving housing repair contracts for the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), the Department of Justice announced.

Ryan J. Piana pleaded guilty on July 16, 2013, to two wire fraud counts of a 10-count indictment. In addition to his prison sentence, U.S. District Court Judge Roy B. Dalton Jr. also sentenced Piana to pay $147,285 in restitution to the VA.

The indictment, originally filed in January 2012, in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, in Rockford, charged Piana, Ronald B. Hurst and Bryant A. Carbonell with conspiring to commit bribery and wire fraud from beginning at least as early as January 2006 continuing until as late as September 2007.  Piana, Hurst and Carbonell were also charged with bribery and wire fraud.  As part of the plea agreement, the United States agreed to dismiss the remaining counts against Piana at the time of his sentencing.

“Steering contracts to a company in return for kickbacks distorts the competitive process and harms consumers,” said Bill Baer, Assistant Attorney General in charge of the Department of Justice’s Antitrust Division.  “The Antitrust Division will not tolerate anticompetitive activity that defrauds the Department of Veterans Affairs.”

Piana is a former residential sales manager at West Palm Beach, Fla.-based Ocwen Loan Servicing LLC, and Hurst and Carbonell are former contractors for Ocwen.  According to court documents, Ocwen managed foreclosed properties under contract with the VA, which guaranteed qualifying residential mortgages for veterans.  Under the contract between the VA and Ocwen, if a veteran defaulted, Ocwen completed necessary repairs and re-sold the property.  Proceeds from the re-sale of VA-acquired properties directly benefit the VA by reducing the cost of guaranteeing residential mortgages to veterans.

According to the charges, Hurst and Carbonell paid Piana to steer housing repair work to companies affiliated with Hurst and Carbonell.  Piana recruited other Ocwen employees into the scheme and paid them on behalf of himself and the other conspirators.  The department said in order to execute the scheme, the conspirators sent, or caused to be sent, various transmissions via wire communication.

Carbonell pleaded guilty to the wire fraud counts on Sept. 21, 2012.  Hurst pleaded guilty to the same counts on Feb. 15, 2013.  Both Hurst and Carbonell entered their guilty pleas in the U.S. District Court in Rockford. Their sentencing dates are scheduled for Dec. 5 and 6, 2013, respectively.

This is the third case involving properties managed by Ocwen under contract with the VA. On Dec. 3, 2010, Benjamin K. Graves, also a former Ocwen employee, pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court in Orlando to wire fraud in connection with the VA contract.  On Jan. 25, 2012, Joshua R. Nusbaum, another a former Ocwen employee, and Andrew J. Nusbaum, a former Ocwen contractor, pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court in Orlando to wire fraud in connection with the same VA contract.

The sentence announced today resulted from an ongoing federal investigation of housing repair contracts performed under contract with the VA.  The investigation is being conducted by the Antitrust Division’s Chicago Office and the Central Field Office of the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Office of Inspector General, Criminal Investigations Division, located in Hines, Ill.

Two New Jersey Investors Plead Guilty for Their Roles in Bid-rigging Schemes at Municipal Tax Lien Auctions

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Two financial investors who purchased municipal tax liens pleaded guilty today for their roles in a conspiracy to rig bids at auctions conducted by New Jersey municipalities for the sale of those tax liens, the Department of Justice announced.

A felony charge was filed today in U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey in Newark, against Robert U. Del Vecchio Sr., of Hawthorne, N.J. According to the charge, from in or about 2000 until approximately December 2008, Del Vecchio Sr. participated in a conspiracy to rig bids at auctions for the sale of municipal tax liens in New Jersey by agreeing to allocate among certain bidders which liens each would bid on.  Additionally, a felony charge was filed today in the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey in Newark, against Michael Mastellone, of Cedar Knolls, N.J. for participating in a similar conspiracy from in or about 2000 until approximately February 2009.  The department said that Del Vecchio Sr. and Mastellone proceeded to submit bids in accordance with the agreements and purchased tax liens at collusive and non-competitive interest rates.

“By conspiring to rig the bids of municipal tax liens, the conspirators profited at the expense of those already struggling financially,” said Scott D. Hammond, Deputy Assistant Attorney General for the Antitrust Division’s criminal enforcement program.  “Protecting Americans from these types of bid-rigging schemes remains a high priority for the division.”

The department said the primary purpose of the conspiracy was to suppress and restrain competition in order to obtain selected municipal tax liens offered at public auctions at non-competitive interest rates.  When the owner of real property fails to pay taxes on that property, the municipality in which the property is located may attach a lien for the amount of the unpaid taxes.  If the taxes remain unpaid after a waiting period, the lien may be sold at auction.  State law requires that investors bid on the interest rate delinquent property owners will pay upon redemption.  By law, the bid opens at 18 percent interest and, through a competitive bidding process, can be driven down to zero percent.  If a lien remains unpaid after a certain period of time, the investor who purchased the lien may begin foreclosure proceedings against the property to which the lien is attached.

According to the court documents, Del Vecchio Sr. and Mastellone were involved in the conspiracy with others not to bid against one another at municipal tax lien auctions in New Jersey.  Since the conspiracy permitted the conspirators to purchase tax liens with limited competition, each conspirator was able to obtain liens which earned a higher interest rate.  Property owners were therefore made to pay higher interest on their tax debts than they would have paid had their liens been purchased in open and honest competition, the department said.

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 a Sherman Act violation may be increased to twice the gain derived from the crime or twice the loss suffered by the victims if either amount is greater than the $1 million statutory maximum.

Today’s pleas are the 13th and 14th guilty pleas resulting from an ongoing investigation into bid rigging or fraud related to municipal tax lien auctions.  Nine individuals – Isadore H. May, Richard J. Pisciotta Jr., William A. Collins, Robert W. Stein, David M. Farber, Robert E. Rothman, Stephen E. Hruby, David Butler and Norman T. Remick – and three companies –  DSBD LLC, Crusader Servicing Corp. and Mercer S.M.E. Inc. – have previously pleaded guilty as part of this investigation.    Today’s 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’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.

This ongoing investigation is being conducted by the Antitrust Division’s New York Office and the FBI’s Atlantic City, N.J., office.  Anyone with information concerning bid rigging or fraud related to municipal tax lien auctions should contact the Antitrust Division’s New York Office at 212-335-8000, visit www.justice.gov/atr/contact/newcase.htm or contact the Atlantic City Resident Agency of the FBI at 609-677-6400.