Tag Archives: Chattanooga

Former Employee of U.S. Government Contractor in Afghanistan Pleads Guilty to Accepting Kickbacks From Subcontractor

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Monday, March 5, 2018

A former employee of a U.S. government contractor in Afghanistan pleaded guilty today to accepting illegal kickbacks from an Afghan subcontractor in return for his assistance in obtaining subcontracts on U.S. government contracts.

Acting Assistant Attorney General John P. Cronan of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division; U.S. Attorney Byung J. Pak of the Northern District of Georgia; Special Agent in Charge John Khin of the Defense Criminal Investigative Service’s (DCIS) Southeast Field Office, Atlanta Resident Agency; Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR) John F. Sopko; Director Frank Robey of the U.S. Army Criminal Investigation Command’s (CID) Major Procurement Fraud Unit (MPFU); Special Agent in Charge David J. LeValley of the FBI Atlanta Resident Agency and Special Agent in Charge Wendell W. Palmer of Air Force Office of Special Investigations (OSI), made the announcement.

Christopher McCray, 55, of Jonesboro, Georgia and Chattanooga, Tennessee, pleaded guilty to one count of accepting illegal kickbacks before U.S. District Judge Mark H. Cohen of the Northern District of Georgia.  He is scheduled to be sentenced by Judge Cohen on June 14 at 10:00 a.m. EST.  McCray was charged in an indictment filed on April 25, 2017 in the Northern District of Georgia with one count of conspiracy to accept kickbacks and 14 counts of accepting illegal kickbacks.

As part of his plea, McCray admitted that he was employed as the country manager for a subcontractor of an American company that was moving cargo for the Army and Air Force Exchange Service from Bagram Airfield to military bases through Afghanistan.  When the prime contractor needed McCray’s employer to take a much bigger role in the distribution, McCray had the chance to influence the choice of the necessary Afghan trucking company as a subcontractor to his employer.  McCray’s employer entered into a subcontract with an Afghan company but before the choice of the subcontractor was made, the Afghan trucking company secretly agreed to kick back to McCray 15 percent of the revenues it would receive on the contract, he admitted.  McCray thereafter remained as the only representative of his employer in Afghanistan for the duration of the subcontract and was responsible for checking the accuracy of the invoices submitted to McCray’s employer and the quality of the Afghan company’s work, all while secretly receiving the kickbacks, he admitted.

McCray received the secret payments from December 2012 to May 2014.  He and the Afghan trucking company also maintained a separate set of invoices, which showed the amounts charged to McCray’s employer and the amounts kept by the Afghan company and the amounts sent to McCray.  McCray was first paid in cash, then by wires sent to his bank in Atlanta and then by Western Union payments sent to his mother, who would deposit the funds, mostly in cash, into McCray’s bank accounts, he admitted.

DCIS, SIGAR, Army CID-MPFU, the FBI and Air Force OSI investigated this matter.  Trial Attorney James Gelber of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section and Assistant U.S. Attorney Brian Pearce of the Northern District of Georgia are prosecuting the case.

Five Plea Agreements Lead to Repayment to TennCare

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Wednesday, August 23, 2017

NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Five people, including residents of Arkansas and Alabama, have been ordered to make restitution to TennCare after they were each charged separately with TennCare fraud.

The Office of Inspector General (OIG) today announced the plea agreements, which include repayment of $147,000 to TennCare for healthcare insurance payments made on their behalf.

  • Keily Phillips, of Bridgeport, Alabama received four years’ probation in Marion County and was ordered to repay TennCare $48,340.80 and was ordered to repay the food stamp program a total of $12,015.00. She was arrested in October of 2014 and again in October 2015 stemming from charges she falsely reported her residency, family composition and marital income in order to render herself eligible for TennCare and the SNAP food stamp program. District Attorney General J. Michael Taylor prosecuted both cases.
  • Jann Cooke, of Jonesboro, Arkansas received 11 months 29 days supervised probation and is ordered to repay the state $19,952.37. She was also ordered to remain in supervision until the full amount is repaid. Cooke was charged in January of this year with claiming her family lived in Tennessee – when they actually resided in Arkansas – in order to receive TennCare benefits. At the time of arrest, Cooke was living in Gulf Breeze, Florida. With the assistance of the Shelby County Sheriff’s Office, Cook was extradited back to Tennessee. District Attorney General Amy T. Weirich prosecuted this case.
  • In Marshall County, Patricia Lindsay of Chapel Hill received six years judicial diversion and was ordered to repay a total of $37,070.96. She was charged in May of this year with failing to disclose her income to the state in order to illegally obtain TennCare benefits. District Attorney General Robert Carter prosecuted this case.
  • Carla A. Gonzalez of Clarksville received two years judicial diversion and was ordered to repay the state a total of $12,273.00. She was charged in October of 2016 with obtaining TennCare healthcare insurance by claiming a minor child as a dependent; otherwise, she would not have been eligible for TennCare. District Attorney General John W. Carney prosecuted this case.
  • Tasha Isaac of Chattanooga received six years state probation and is ordered to repay the state $18,000. She was charged in July of last year with not fully reporting her income to the state in order to obtain TennCare benefits. The judge also ordered supervised state probation until restitution is paid in full, a special condition. District Attorney General Neal Pinkston prosecuted this case.

The OIG, which is separate from TennCare, began full operation in February 2005 and has investigated cases leading to more than $3 million being repaid to TennCare, with a total estimated cost avoidance of more than $163.6 million for TennCare, according to latest figures. To date, 2,889 people have been charged with TennCare fraud.

Through the OIG Cash for Tips Program established by the Legislature, Tennesseans can get cash rewards for TennCare fraud tips that lead to convictions. Anyone can report suspected TennCare fraud by calling 1-800-433-3982 toll-free from anywhere in Tennessee, or visit the website and follow the prompts that read “Report TennCare Fraud.”