Tag Archives: criminal division

PTC Inc. Subsidiaries Agree to Pay More Than $14 Million to Resolve Foreign Bribery Charges

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Two subsidiaries of Massachusetts software company PTC Inc. entered into a non-prosecution agreement and agreed to pay a $14.54 million penalty today to resolve the government’s investigation into whether the companies improperly provided recreational travel to Chinese government officials in violation of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA), announced Assistant Attorney General Leslie R. Caldwell of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division.

According to admissions made in the resolution documents, Parametric Technology (Shanghai) Software Company Ltd. and Parametric Technology (Hong Kong) Ltd. (collectively, PTC China), through local business partners, arranged and paid for employees of various Chinese state-owned enterprises to travel to the United States, ostensibly for training at PTC Inc.’s headquarters in Massachusetts, but primarily for recreational travel to other parts of the United States, including New York, Los Angeles, Las Vegas and Hawaii.  PTC China paid a total of more than $1 million through its business partners to fund these trips, while during the same time period, PTC China entered into more than $13 million in contracts with the Chinese state-owned entities.  Company employees typically accompanied the Chinese officials on these trips.  PTC China admitted that the cost of these recreational trips was routinely hidden within the price of PTC China’s software sales to the Chinese state-owned entities whose employees went on the trips.

As part of the non-prosecution agreement, PTC China agreed to pay the criminal penalty, to continue to cooperate with the department, to enhance its compliance program and to periodically report to the department on the implementation of its enhanced compliance program.  The department reached this resolution based on a number of factors.  Among other factors, PTC China did not receive voluntary disclosure credit or full cooperation credit because, at the time of its initial disclosure, it failed to disclose relevant facts that it had learned in connection with a prior internal investigation and did not disclose those facts until the department uncovered additional information independently and brought them to PTC China’s attention.  By the conclusion of the investigation, however, the companies had provided to the department all relevant facts known to them, including information about individuals involved in the FCPA misconduct.

In a related matter, PTC Inc. reached a settlement today with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) under which it agreed to pay $11,858,000 in disgorgement plus $1.764 million in prejudgment interest.  Thus, the approximately $28 million in combined penalty and disgorgement far exceeds the $13 million in contracts associated with the improper payments.

The FBI’s Boston Field Office investigated the case.  Trial Attorney Aisling O’Shea of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section prosecuted the case.  The U.S. Attorney’s Office of the District of Massachusetts and the SEC also provided assistance during the investigation.

Executives of Swiss and Las Vegas Companies Convicted in International Investment Fraud Scheme

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A federal jury in Las Vegas convicted two men of conspiracy, wire fraud and securities fraud yesterday for their roles in an approximately $10 million international investment fraud scheme involving numerous victims.

Assistant Attorney General Leslie R. Caldwell of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, U.S. Attorney Daniel G. Bogden of the District of Nevada and Special Agent in Charge Laura A. Bucheit of the FBI’s Las Vegas Field Office made the announcement.

Anthony Brandel, 48, of Las Vegas, and James Warras, 69, of Waterford, Wisconsin, were each convicted of one count of conspiracy, nine counts of wire fraud and eight counts of securities fraud following a five-day trial before Senior U.S. District Judge Kent J. Dawson of the District of Nevada.  The defendants are scheduled to be sentenced on March 2, 2016, by Judge Dawson.

According to evidence presented at trial, Brandel and Warras conspired with others in the United States and Switzerland to promote investments and loan instruments that they knew to be fraudulent.  The conspirators told victims that, for an up-front payment, a Swiss company known as the Malom (Make A Lot of Money) Group AG would provide access to lucrative investment opportunities and substantial cash loans.  To effectuate this scheme, the defendants fabricated bank documents purporting to show that the Malom Group had large amounts of money in several European financial institutions.  And as part of an effort to defraud an investor who held an equity stake in a corporation that had filed for bankruptcy, Warras submitted a sworn affidavit to the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in the District of New Hampshire in which he made false statements about the value of certain bonds that the defendants promoted to the investor.

Brandel and Warras were charged together with four other defendants, including Joseph Micelli, 62, a former California attorney who pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud and securities fraud and is set to be sentenced on Feb. 23, 2016.  The remaining defendants are either at large or awaiting extradition from other countries.

The FBI’s Las Vegas Field Office investigated the case.  Assistant Chief Brian R. Young and Trial Attorneys Melissa Aoyagi and Anna G. Kaminska of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section are prosecuting the case with assistance from the Criminal Division’s Office of International Affairs and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Nevada.  The Securities and Exchange Commission’s Enforcement Division, which referred the matter to the department and is conducting a parallel civil enforcement investigation, also provided valuable assistance.

Today’s announcement is 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.  Since fiscal year 2009, the Justice Department has filed over 18,000 financial fraud cases against more than 25,000 defendants.  For more information on the task force, visit www.stopfraud.gov.

Former Military Contractor Sentenced to 12 Months in Prison for Paying Bribes to Army Officers during Iraq War

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The former president of a defense contractor providing services to the U.S. military in Iraq was sentenced today to 12 months and one day in prison for his role in a scheme to pay more than $1.2 million in bribes to U.S. Army contracting personnel in exchange for being awarded lucrative defense contracts, announced Assistant Attorney General Leslie R. Caldwell of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division and U.S. Attorney Zane David Memeger for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania.

U.S. District Judge Joel H. Slomsky in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania sentenced Justin W. Lee, 37, of Philadelphia, the former president of Lee Dynamics International (LDI), who pleaded guilty in July 2011 to one count of conspiracy to commit bribery and four substantive counts of bribery.

In connection with his guilty plea, Lee admitted that as the president of LDI and previously as an officer of American Logistics Services (ALS), a Kuwaiti company providing supplies to the U.S. military in Iraq, he paid multiple bribes in the form of cash, airline tickets, trips and hotel stays, among other things, to military contracting personnel in exchange for their agreement to take official action to award lucrative contracts to both LDI and ALS.

Lee’s father and co-defendant, George Lee, who was the CEO of both companies, was sentenced to 54 months in prison in July 2015 for one count of bribery.  This marks the end of a long-running investigation, which began in 2006, that led to the conviction of seven other defendants, including several high-ranking contracting officers.

The U.S. Army Criminal Investigation Command, the Defense Criminal Investigative Service and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security – Immigration and Customs Enforcement investigated the case, and the Office of the Special Inspector General for Iraq Reconstruction, the FBI and the Internal Revenue Service previously contributed to the investigation.  Trial Attorneys Richard B. Evans and John Keller of the Criminal Division’s Public Integrity Section and the U.S. Attorney’s Office of the Eastern District of Pennsylvania prosecuted the case.  Mark W. Pletcher and Emily W. Allen of the U.S. Attorney’s Office of the Southern District of California previously provided substantial assistance.

Army Captain Pleads Guilty to Gratuities Charge

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A Colorado Springs, Colorado, man pleaded guilty today in federal court before U.S. District Judge Terrence W. Boyle of the Eastern District of North Carolina to solicitation and receipt of a gratuity, announced Assistant Attorney General Leslie R. Caldwell of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division and U.S. Attorney Thomas G. Walker of the Eastern District of North Carolina.

In connection with his plea, Captain David Anthony Kline, 32, admitted that while serving as a first lieutenant in the U.S. Army stationed at Kandahar Air Field (KAF) in Afghanistan, he sought and accepted $50,000 in gratuities from a contractor who was doing business with the U.S. military.  Specifically, from January 2008 to April 2009, then-1st Lt. Kline was deployed to KAF where he oversaw the handling of transportation movement requests (TMRs) directing the transport of supplies from one location to another across Afghanistan.  Although contracting procedures technically did not permit the authorizing officer to specify the particular Afghan trucking company that would perform the transportation, in practice, Kline and others were able to designate the Afghan company of their choice.  Kline admitted that he sought and accepted $50,000 in U.S. currency from an Afghan national who owned a trucking company doing business on government contracts at KAF, in return for Kline’s facilitation of the award and payment of numerous transportation contracts.

The case was investigated by the Defense Criminal Investigation Service, Army Criminal Investigation Command, the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction and FBI.  The case was prosecuted by Trial Attorney Wade Weems of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section and Assistant U.S. Attorney Banumathi Rangarajan of the Eastern District of North Carolina.

Former Contracting Officer Sentenced for Bribery in Connection with Awarding of U.S. Postal Service Contracts

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A Glenn Dale, Maryland, man and former U.S. Postal Service contracting officer was sentenced today to 15 months in prison for receiving bribes in connection with the awarding of mail delivery contracts.

Assistant Attorney General Leslie R. Caldwell of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, U.S. Attorney Rod J. Rosenstein of the District of Maryland and Special Agent in Charge Paul L. Bowman of the U.S. Postal Service’s Office of Inspector General made the announcement.

In May 2015, Gregory Cooper, 59, pleaded guilty to accepting more than $25,000 in bribes from a co-defendant who owned two companies that bid on and secured transportation contracts with the Postal Service for mail delivery.  Those bribes came in a variety of forms, ranging from fitness equipment delivered to Cooper’s Maryland home to a semester’s worth of college tuition for Cooper’s daughter, in addition to $15,900 in cash.  Cooper admitted that in exchange for these payments, he gave favorable consideration to his co-defendant’s companies in the bidding process for nine Postal Service contracts, all of which were awarded to the co-defendant’s companies.

In addition to his prison sentence, U.S. District Judge George J. Hazel of the District of Maryland ordered Cooper to forfeit the amount of the bribes, $25,931.76, and to serve three years of supervised release following his prison sentence.

This case was prosecuted by Trial Attorneys Mark J. Cipolletti and Monique Abrishami of the Criminal Division’s Public Integrity Section and Assistant U.S. Attorneys David Salem and Arun G. Rao of the District of Maryland.  The case was investigated by special agents from the U.S. Postal Service Office of Inspector General.

Florida Investment Advisor Sentenced to 18 Months in Prison for Orchestrating $9 Million Investment Fraud Scheme

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A Tampa, Florida, area investment advisor was sentenced to 18 months in prison today for perpetrating a $9 million investment fraud scheme involving Facebook stock.

Assistant Attorney General Leslie R. Caldwell of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, U.S. Attorney A. Lee Bentley III of the Middle District of Florida, Special Agent in Charge Paul Wysopal of the FBI’s Tampa Field Office and Inspector in Charge Ronald J. Verrochio of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service (USPIS) Miami Division made the announcement.

Gignesh Movalia, 40, a registered investment advisor, was also ordered by Chief U.S. District Judge Steven D. Merryday of the Middle District of Florida to pay $5,394,419 in restitution and to three years of supervised release following his prison sentence.  Movalia pleaded guilty on Aug. 13, 2015, to one count of investment advisor fraud.

In connection with his guilty plea, Movalia admitted that he founded OM Global Investment Fund LLC in 2009 and subsequently used the fund to defraud investors.  Specifically, in 2011 and 2012, Movalia raised more than $9 million from 130 investors by falsely claiming to have access to pre-initial public offering shares of Facebook Inc.  Rather than using this money to buy Facebook shares as promised, however, Movalia invested the money in other securities and concealed that fact from investors.  By September 2013 when it went into receivership, the OM Global Fund lost approximately $9 million, with $6 million of those losses as a result of the fraud scheme.

The case was investigated by the FBI and USPIS, with assistance provided by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s Miami Regional Office.  The case was prosecuted by Trial Attorney Andrew H. Warren of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section.

Colorado Man Sentenced to Life in Prison for Kidnapping a Toddler and Producing Child Pornography

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A Colorado man was sentenced today to life in prison for kidnapping a toddler and producing child pornography, announced Assistant Attorney General Leslie R. Caldwell of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, U.S. Attorney Benjamin B. Wagner of the Eastern District of California and Special Agent in Charge Ryan L. Spradlin of ICE-HSI San Francisco Office.

Shawn McCormack, 31, of Colorado Springs, Colorado, was found guilty in April 2015 by a federal jury of four counts of sexual exploitation of a child and two counts of kidnapping.  Senior U.S. District Judge Anthony W. Ishii of the Eastern District of California presided over the trial and imposed the sentence.

“McCormack’s depraved actions in this case are the stuff of nightmares.  While posing as a trusted friend and house guest, McCormack kidnapped his hosts’ toddler child and sexually abused the child in local motels and parked cars,” said Assistant Attorney General Caldwell.  “Through tireless efforts, law enforcement was able to rescue the victim from further abuse and ensure that McCormack never again will victimize another child.”

“McCormack’s acts were both vile and heart-breaking, and they may have continued undetected for years but for the imaginative, dogged, and painstaking work of the investigators who brought him to justice,” said U.S. Attorney Wagner.  “We are gratified by the sentence McCormack received today, which is both severe and just, and while the harm that he inflicted cannot be undone, we can be assured that he will not be able to inflict further harm upon our most vulnerable.”

“The sexual exploitation of children is a heinous crime that leaves lifelong emotional scars on young victims,” said Special Agent in Charge Spradlin.  “It is our duty to protect those who cannot protect themselves.  Together with our law enforcement partners, we will continue to pursue child predators and make them accountable for their dark and monstrous deeds.”

According to evidence presented at trial, McCormack, feigning to be a friend, traveled to a couple’s residence in Bakersfield, California, and stayed as an overnight guest on multiple occasions.  During several of the overnight stays, in the middle of the night, McCormack removed the couple’s toddler from the house and sexually abused the toddler in nearby motels and other locations, and then returned the toddler to the house before the parents awoke.  The evidence demonstrated that McCormack photographed and recorded the sexual abuse and distributed the images and videos to others online, including to an undercover officer with the Toronto Police Services.  McCormack also recorded his sexual abuse of a second toddler and distributed those images as well.

The trial evidence showed that, in 2010, during forensic analysis of the computer of another individual, Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) agents in Boston, discovered images and recordings distributed by McCormack.  After the agents identified the date, time and motel room in which one of the videos had been produced, they learned that McCormack had rented that motel room on the night when the recording was created.

This case is part of an ongoing HSI-led investigation being conducted by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Field Offices in Bakersfield, California; Colorado Springs, Colorado; and Boston, Massachusetts; the Bakersfield Police Department; the Colorado Springs Police Department; Toronto Police Services and the FBI.  This case was prosecuted by Trial Attorney Maureen C. Cain of the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS) and Assistant U.S. Attorneys Patrick R. Delahunty and Megan A.S. Richards of the Eastern District of California.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice.  Led by U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and CEOS, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims.  For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.justice.gov/psc.

Medical Biller Sentenced to 45 Months in Prison for Role in $4 Million Health Care Fraud Scheme

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The medical biller of a Chicago-area visiting physician practice was sentenced today to 45 months in prison for her role in a $4 million health care fraud scheme.

Assistant Attorney General Leslie R. Caldwell of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, U.S. Attorney Zachary T. Fardon of the Northern District of Illinois, Special Agent in Charge Lamont Pugh III of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services-Office of Inspector General (HHS-OIG) in Chicago and Acting Special Agent in Charge John A. Brown of the FBI’s Chicago Division made the announcement.

Mary Talaga, 54, of Elmwood Park, Illinois, was convicted in May 2015 following a jury trial of one count of conspiracy to commit health care fraud, six counts of health care fraud and three counts of false statements relating to a health care matter.  In addition to imposing the prison term, U.S. District Judge Gary Feinerman of the Northern District of Illinois ordered Talaga to pay approximately $1 million in restitution.

From 2007 to 2011, Talaga was the primary medical biller at Medicall Physicians Group Ltd., a physician practice that visited patients in their homes and prescribed home health care.  The evidence at trial showed that Talaga and her co-conspirators routinely billed Medicare for overseeing patient care plans (a service known as “care plan oversight” or CPO) when, in fact, the doctors at Medicall rarely provided the service.  The evidence at trial also showed that Talaga and her co-conspirators billed Medicare for other services that were never provided, including services rendered to patients who were deceased, services purportedly provided by medical professionals no longer employed by Medicall, and services purportedly provided by medical professionals who, based on billing records, worked over 24 hours per day.

According to the evidence presented at trial, during the five-year conspiracy, Medicall submitted bills to Medicare for more than $4 million in services that were never provided.  Medicare paid more than $1 million on those claims.

Rick Brown, 58, of Rockford, Illinois, and Roger A. Lucero, 64, of Elmhurst, Illinois, were also convicted of offenses based on their roles in the scheme.  Brown was convicted along with Talaga at trial and was previously sentenced to serve more than seven years in prison.  Lucero, Medicall’s Medical Director, pleaded guilty and will be sentenced at a later date.

The case was investigated jointly by HHS-OIG and the FBI, 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 of the Northern District of Illinois.  This case was prosecuted by Trial Attorney Brooke Harper and Senior Trial Attorney Jon Juenger of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section.

Since its inception in March 2007, the Medicare Fraud Strike Force, now operating in nine cities across the country, has charged over 2,300 defendants who collectively have billed the Medicare program for over $7 billion.  In addition, the HHS Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, working in conjunction with the HHS-OIG, are taking steps to increase accountability and decrease the presence of fraudulent providers.

Former Silk Road Task Force Agent Pleads Guilty to Money Laundering and Obstruction

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Ex-Secret Service Agent Used Status to Pocket $820,000 Worth of Bitcoin 

A former U.S. Secret Service special agent pleaded guilty today to money laundering and obstruction of justice in connection with his theft of digital currency during the federal investigation of Silk Road, an online marketplace used to facilitate the purchase and sale of illegal drugs and other contraband.

Assistant Attorney General Leslie R. Caldwell of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, U.S. Attorney Melinda Haag of the Northern District of California, Chief Richard Weber of the IRS-Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI), Special Agent in Charge David J. Johnson of the FBI’s San Francisco Division, Special Agent in Charge Michael P. Tompkins of the Justice Department’s Office of the Inspector General’s Washington, D.C. Field Office, and Special Agent in Charge Lori Hazenstab of the Department of Homeland Security’s Office of the Inspector General in Washington D.C. made the announcement.

Shaun W. Bridges, 32, of Laurel, Maryland, had been a special agent with the U.S. Secret Service for approximately six years in the Baltimore Field Office and was assigned to the Electronic Crimes Task Force.  He pleaded guilty before the U.S. District Judge Richard Seeborg of the Northern District of California and a sentencing hearing is scheduled for Dec. 7, 2015.

“There is a bright line between enforcing the law and breaking it,” said Assistant Attorney General Caldwell.  “Law enforcement officers who cross that line not only harm their immediate victims but also betray the public trust.  This case shows we will act quickly to hold wrongdoers accountable, no matter who they are.”

“Mr. Bridges has now admitted that he brazenly stole $820,000 worth of digital currency while working as a U.S. Secret Service special agent, a move that completely violated the public’s trust,” said U.S. Attorney Haag.  “We depend on those in federal law enforcement having the highest integrity and unshakeable honor, and Mr. Bridges has demonstrated that he utterly lacks those qualities.  We appreciate the hard work of our federal partners that went into bringing Mr. Bridges to justice.”

“Through a series of complex transactions, the defendant stole bitcoins worth hundreds of thousands of dollars,” said Chief Weber.  “This case is an excellent example of the financial expertise of our special agents. Through the analysis of both the block chain and data from the Silk Road servers, we were able to trace the flow of funds, which eventually led to the defendant.”

Between 2012 and 2014, Bridges was assigned to the Baltimore Silk Road Task Force, a multi-agency group investigating illegal activity on Silk Road.  Bridges’ responsibilities included, among other things, conducting forensic computer investigations in an effort to locate, identify and prosecute targets, including Ross Ulbricht, aka Dread Pirate Roberts, who ran Silk Road.

According to his plea agreement, Bridges admitted that in January 2013 he used an administrator account on the Silk Road website that belonged to another individual to fraudulently obtain access to that website, reset passwords of various accounts and to move bitcoin from those accounts into a bitcoin “wallet” that Bridges controlled.  Bridges admitted that he moved and stole approximately 20,000 bitcoin, which at that time was worth approximately $350,000.

Bridges admitted that he moved the stolen bitcoin into an account at Mt. Gox, an online digital currency exchange based in Japan.  According to his admissions, he liquidated the bitcoin into $820,000 of U.S. currency between March and May 2013, and had the funds transferred to personal investment accounts in the United States.

Bridges’ plea agreement also established that he obstructed the Baltimore federal grand jury’s investigations of Silk Road and Ulbricht in a number of ways, including by impeding the ability of the investigation to fully utilize a cooperator’s access to Silk Road.  In addition, Bridges admitted that he made multiple false and misleading statements to investigators in connection with the San Francisco federal grand jury’s investigation into his own illegal acts, and that he encouraged another government employee to lie to investigators.

Bridges is one of two federal agents to plead guilty in connection with illegal activity during the investigation of Silk Road.  Carl M. Force, 46, of Baltimore, was a special agent with the Drug Enforcement Administration and was also assigned to the Baltimore Silk Road Task Force.  On July 1, 2015, Force pleaded guilty to a three-count information charging him with money laundering related to his theft of over $700,000 in digital currency while acting as an undercover agent on the Task Force.  Force is scheduled to be sentenced by Judge Seeborg on Oct. 19, 2015.

The case was investigated by the FBI’s San Francisco Division, the IRS-CI’s San Francisco Division, the Justice Department’s Office of the Inspector General and the Department of Homeland Security’s Office of the Inspector General in Washington, D.C.  The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Kathryn Haun and William Frentzen of the Northern District of California and Trial Attorney Richard B. Evans of the Criminal Division’s Public Integrity Section, with assistance from Assistant U.S. Attorney Arvon Perteet.

Detroit-Area Physician Pleads Guilty for Role in $5.7 Million Fraud Scheme

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A Detroit-area medical doctor who prescribed unnecessary controlled substances and billed for unperformed office visits and diagnostic testing pleaded guilty today for his role in a $5.7 million health care fraud scheme.

Assistant Attorney General Leslie R. Caldwell of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, U.S. Attorney Barbara L. McQuade of the Eastern District of Michigan, Special Agent in Charge Paul M. Abbate of the FBI’s Detroit Field Office, 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 and Special Agent in Charge Jarod J. Koopman of Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI) made the announcement.

Laran Lerner, 59, of Northville, Michigan, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Victoria A. Roberts of the Eastern District of Michigan to one count of health care fraud and one count of structuring cash transactions to avoid bank reporting requirements, as charged in a two-count information filed on Aug. 21, 2015.  Sentencing is set for Jan. 24, 2015.

According to admissions made as part of his plea agreement, Lerner lured patients into his clinic with prescriptions for unnecessary controlled substances.  Lerner admitted that he billed and caused Medicare to be billed for a variety of unnecessary prescriptions, tests and office visits to make it appear as though he was providing legitimate medical services instead of medically unnecessary controlled substances.  According to admissions made as part of his plea agreement, Medicare was billed $5,748,237.31, as a result of Lerner’s unnecessary prescriptions, office visits and diagnostic testing.

As part of the plea agreement, Lerner agreed to permanently surrender his Drug Enforcement Administration controlled substance registration and agreed not to re-apply in the future.

Lerner also pleaded guilty to structuring cash deposits he received as a result of his scheme to avoid triggering the requirement under federal law that domestic banks file a report – called a Currency Transaction Report – with the Secretary of Treasury for all transactions in currency over $10,000.  Lerner admitted that he knew about this requirement and caused his cash deposits to be structured in $5,000 increments on consecutive days at various branch locations in the Detroit area to avoid detection.  According to court documents, Lerner deposited $70,000 in cash in April 2013 alone by making deposits of $5,000 on fourteen different days.

The case was investigated by the FBI, HHS-OIG and IRS-CI, 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 of the Eastern District of Michigan.  The case is being prosecuted by Trial Attorney Elizabeth Young of the Fraud Section.

Since its inception in March 2007, the Medicare Fraud Strike Force, now operating in nine cities across the country, has charged over 2,300 defendants who collectively have billed the Medicare program for over $7 billion.  In addition, the HHS Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, working in conjunction with the HHS-OIG, are taking steps to increase accountability and decrease the presence of fraudulent providers.