News Releases

  • Massachusetts Man Sentenced for Role in Fraud Case
    12/8/2022
    Gregory Conigliaro of Southborough, Massachusetts, was sentenced to one year in prison and one year of supervised release for his part in a vast fraud case involving a company of which he was vice president and general manager. The company, New England Compounding Center (NECC), was fraudulently sending prescriptions, misrepresenting company policy, and avoiding oversight authorities. The company was responsible for a nationwide outbreak of fungal meningitis that was traced back to a pharmaceutical product manufactured by NECC. The VA OIG assisted in the investigation, along with the Food and Drug Administration Office of Criminal Investigations, FBI, Defense Criminal Investigative Service, and the US Postal Inspection Service.
  • Rhode Island Woman Sentenced for Theft of Government Funds
    12/8/2022
    From 2017 to 2019, Lisa Heino of Newport, Rhode Island, stole roughly $74,000 from a veteran for whom she was a conservator and representative payee. As a representative, Heino was legally obligated to use the veteran’s funds in their best interest, but she instead used the money to pay for her own personal expenses. After being removed as a conservator and payee, Heino continued to access the veteran’s bank account and benefits, transferring the money into her own account. She admitted to the crimes and was sentenced to two months in prison and three years of supervised release for theft of government funds. The VA OIG and Office of Personnel Management OIG conducted this investigation.
  • Florida Woman Sentenced to Three Years in Prison for Healthcare Fraud
    12/8/2022
    From 2018 to 2019, Ruth Bianca Fernandez of Pompano Beach, Florida, took part in a healthcare fraud scheme in which approximately $12 million in Medicare benefits was stolen. Fernandez and another coconspirator, Patsy Truglia, used a telemarketing company owned by Truglia to harvest information that was used to create fake orders for durable medical equipment. The scheme also involved paying bribes to physicians to approve the orders. Fernandez was sentenced to three years in prison after admitting to her role in the conspiracy. The VA OIG took part in the investigation, along with the HHS OIG, FBI, and IRS Criminal Investigation.
  • PRAC Health Care Subgroup Issued a Report Offering Insights into Telehealth and Program Integrity Risks across Healthcare Programs during the Pandemic
    12/1/2022
    The Pandemic Response Accountability Committee’s (PRAC) Health Care Subgroup published a report that offers insights about the expansion—and the emerging risks—of telehealth in selected programs across six agencies during the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic. The programs included the Veterans Health Administration, Medicare, TRICARE, Federal Employees Health Benefits Program, Office of Workers’ Compensation Programs, and Department of Justice prisoner healthcare services. The expansion of telehealth services clearly helped millions of individuals access health care during the crisis, but also introduced several integrity risks associated with billing, including high-volume billing, duplicate claims, and inappropriate charges for the most expensive telehealth services. The study found that program integrity can be strengthened by implementing ongoing monitoring of telehealth services, developing controls to prevent inappropriate payments, educating providers and individuals about telehealth, collecting additional data to support oversight, and collecting and reviewing data about the impact of telehealth on quality of care. PRAC’s Health Care Subgroup consists of the inspectors general from the Departments of Veterans Affairs, Justice, Defense, Labor, Health and Human Services, as well as the Office of Personnel Management.
  • Florida Man Pleaded Guilty to Making Threatening Communications
    11/29/2022
    In July 2020, Drummond Neil Smithson, an Army veteran from Florida, mailed a threatening communication from Ayer, Massachusetts, to VA threatening to injure members of Moms Demand Action, a grassroots organization advocating for the end to gun violence. Following his indictment by a federal grand jury in May 2022, Smithson pleaded guilty to one count of use of interstate communications to transmit a threat to injure. The investigation was conducted by the VA OIG and FBI.

  • Massachusetts Man Sentenced for Role in Fraud Case
    12/8/2022
    Gregory Conigliaro of Southborough, Massachusetts, was sentenced to one year in prison and one year of supervised release for his part in a vast fraud case involving a company of which he was vice president and general manager. The company, New England Compounding Center (NECC), was fraudulently sending prescriptions, misrepresenting company policy, and avoiding oversight authorities. The company was responsible for a nationwide outbreak of fungal meningitis that was traced back to a pharmaceutical product manufactured by NECC. The VA OIG assisted in the investigation, along with the Food and Drug Administration Office of Criminal Investigations, FBI, Defense Criminal Investigative Service, and the US Postal Inspection Service.
  • Rhode Island Woman Sentenced for Theft of Government Funds
    12/8/2022
    From 2017 to 2019, Lisa Heino of Newport, Rhode Island, stole roughly $74,000 from a veteran for whom she was a conservator and representative payee. As a representative, Heino was legally obligated to use the veteran’s funds in their best interest, but she instead used the money to pay for her own personal expenses. After being removed as a conservator and payee, Heino continued to access the veteran’s bank account and benefits, transferring the money into her own account. She admitted to the crimes and was sentenced to two months in prison and three years of supervised release for theft of government funds. The VA OIG and Office of Personnel Management OIG conducted this investigation.
  • Florida Woman Sentenced to Three Years in Prison for Healthcare Fraud
    12/8/2022
    From 2018 to 2019, Ruth Bianca Fernandez of Pompano Beach, Florida, took part in a healthcare fraud scheme in which approximately $12 million in Medicare benefits was stolen. Fernandez and another coconspirator, Patsy Truglia, used a telemarketing company owned by Truglia to harvest information that was used to create fake orders for durable medical equipment. The scheme also involved paying bribes to physicians to approve the orders. Fernandez was sentenced to three years in prison after admitting to her role in the conspiracy. The VA OIG took part in the investigation, along with the HHS OIG, FBI, and IRS Criminal Investigation.
  • PRAC Health Care Subgroup Issued a Report Offering Insights into Telehealth and Program Integrity Risks across Healthcare Programs during the Pandemic
    12/1/2022
    The Pandemic Response Accountability Committee’s (PRAC) Health Care Subgroup published a report that offers insights about the expansion—and the emerging risks—of telehealth in selected programs across six agencies during the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic. The programs included the Veterans Health Administration, Medicare, TRICARE, Federal Employees Health Benefits Program, Office of Workers’ Compensation Programs, and Department of Justice prisoner healthcare services. The expansion of telehealth services clearly helped millions of individuals access health care during the crisis, but also introduced several integrity risks associated with billing, including high-volume billing, duplicate claims, and inappropriate charges for the most expensive telehealth services. The study found that program integrity can be strengthened by implementing ongoing monitoring of telehealth services, developing controls to prevent inappropriate payments, educating providers and individuals about telehealth, collecting additional data to support oversight, and collecting and reviewing data about the impact of telehealth on quality of care. PRAC’s Health Care Subgroup consists of the inspectors general from the Departments of Veterans Affairs, Justice, Defense, Labor, Health and Human Services, as well as the Office of Personnel Management.
  • Florida Man Pleaded Guilty to Making Threatening Communications
    11/29/2022
    In July 2020, Drummond Neil Smithson, an Army veteran from Florida, mailed a threatening communication from Ayer, Massachusetts, to VA threatening to injure members of Moms Demand Action, a grassroots organization advocating for the end to gun violence. Following his indictment by a federal grand jury in May 2022, Smithson pleaded guilty to one count of use of interstate communications to transmit a threat to injure. The investigation was conducted by the VA OIG and FBI.
  • Two Former VA Employees Pleaded Guilty in $2.9 Million Scheme
    11/28/2022
    Starting in 2014, Randius McGlown and Charles Gates, two former employees at the Dallas VA Medical Center, carried out a scheme in which two fake companies created by McGlown—G4 Logistics and later Caprice Electronics—fraudulently billed the medical center for items and services that were never delivered. Using their official government positions, the pair created fake purchase orders and invoices billed by the companies that were paid for using the medical center’s purchasing card. The funds were then sent back to McGlown and Gates after being received in an account controlled by a third coconspirator. The two former employees pleaded guilty to theft of government funds. The total loss to VA was $2.9 million. The VA OIG conducted the investigation with assistance from the FBI’s Fort Worth Field Office and the General Services Administration OIG.
  • Massachusetts Man Charged for Allegedly Threatening VBA Official
    11/22/2022
    Andrew M. Nyamekye of Centerville, Massachusetts, was charged for allegedly making threats against an executive director at the Veterans Benefits Administration (VBA) regional office in Providence, Rhode Island, as well as to other current and former VA employees via text message. Nyamekye was employed by VA for approximately 10 years and worked at the Providence VBA regional office before his termination in March. He also served in the Army from 2007 to 2011. The VA OIG led the investigation with assistance from the VA Police, Federal Protective Service, and Barnstable Police Department in Massachusetts.
  • Sixth Defendant in Diving School Fraud Case Pleaded Guilty
    11/16/2022
    John Spyker of Yulee, Florida, became the sixth defendant to plead guilty for participating in a scheme that stole millions in VA education benefits from January 2021 to January 2022. The case involved fraudulent claims associated with two diving schools in Georgia: Diver’s Den in St. Marys and Scooba Shack in Richmond Hill. As the school certifying official and director of training at Diver’s Den, Spyker submitted fraudulent and false information to VA, including dates of student attendance, hours of instruction, and fake scholarship programs. Spyker and the other defendants defrauded more than $6 million in Post-9/11 GI Bill education benefits. Spyker faces up to five years in prison in addition to financial penalties and restitution. The VA OIG conducted this investigation.
  • Former Owner and Operator of Insurance Agency Sentenced for Stealing More than $380,000 in Government Benefits
    11/15/2022
    Patrick Quinn, the former owner of an insurance agency in Arlington, Massachusetts, was sentenced for stealing more than $380,000 in government benefits by falsely telling VA and the Social Security Administration (SSA) that he was unable to work due to a disability. After being discharged from the US Marine Corps in 1995, Quinn applied and was approved for VA disability compensation benefits based on a series of physical injuries and, later, post-traumatic stress disorder. In March 2005, Quinn applied for VA individual unemployability benefits, which is paid to individuals who are unable to maintain gainful employment due to service-connected disabilities. Similarly, in November 2005, Quinn applied and was approved for disability insurance benefits with SSA, claiming he was unable to work due to a disabling condition. In June 2006, Quinn applied for child’s insurance benefits, which are paid to the dependent of a disabled individual receiving disability insurance benefits, on behalf of his minor child. Contrary to his claims to VA and SSA, Quinn was actually self-employed as the owner and operator of an insurance agency since at least March 2003. He also served as the president, treasurer, secretary, and director of Insurance Management Consultants, Inc. from 2000 through 2007, despite telling VA and SSA that the company fired him in 2005. While operating his own insurance company, Quinn regularly received payments ranging from $6,500 to $15,000 and grew his business through acquisitions of nine smaller insurance companies at various times between 2012 and 2019. Additionally, Quinn was appointed by 65 insurance companies to conduct business on their behalf. Quinn was sentenced to one year and one day in prison, one year of supervised release, and restitution of nearly $99,000 to VA. Quinn has already paid restitution more than $281,000 to SSA. The VA OIG and SSA OIG conducted the investigation.
  • Navy Veteran Sentenced for Theft of Over $1 Million in Fraudulent Benefits
    11/7/2022
    Angela Marie Farr, who served in the navy from 2005 to 2009, filed claims to VA and the Social Security Administration (SSA) for disability compensation that fraudulently stated she suffered from posttraumatic stress disorder and chronic neck and back pain following a sexual assault and a driving accident that both purportedly occurred while she was on active duty. In support of these claims, Farr filed an entirely fabricated medical record allegedly from the navy, using the names of both real and fictitious physicians. Farr also conspired with her then husband to submit fraudulent disability claims, as well as with her mother to submit fraudulent claims on behalf of her father. The claims resulted in the coconspirators receiving more than $1 million in government benefits to which they were not entitled. Farr was sentenced to 30 months in prison, three years of supervised released, and approximately $476,000 in restitution after previously pleading guilty to theft of government property. The VA OIG and SSA OIG conducted this investigation.
  • Two Massachusetts Men Indicted for Allegedly Conspiring to Distribute Fentanyl at VA Medical Center
    11/7/2022
    Two Massachusetts men were indicted on multiple drug charges related to their alleged attempt to sell fentanyl from July to October 2022. Deiby Bladamil Casado Ruiz and Pedro Antonio Sanchez Bernabel allegedly conspired to distribute more than 40 grams of fentanyl at the Edith Nourse Rogers Memorial Veterans’ Hospital in Bedford, Massachusetts. The indictment further alleges that the pair targeted veterans who were seeking treatment for substance use disorder. Bernabel was charged with one count of conspiracy to distribute 40 grams or more of fentanyl and one count distribution of fentanyl. Ruiz was charged with one count of conspiracy to distribute 40 grams or more of fentanyl and two counts of distribution of fentanyl. The investigation involved the VA OIG, FBI, and DEA, with assistance from the Bedford VA Police and Lawrence Police Department.
  • New York Man Pleaded Guilty after Offering Bribe to VA Employee
    11/4/2022
    In September and October 2020, Muhammad Z. Aabdin of the Bronx, New York, attempted to win VA contracts to supply personal protective equipment by bribing a VA contracting officer. After making his offer via email and text message, Aabdin was eventually recorded during a phone conversation with an undercover VA OIG agent posing as the contracting officer. Aabdin pleaded guilty to offering a bribe to a public official and is scheduled to be sentenced in March 2023. The VA OIG conducted this investigation.
  • West Virginia Woman Indicted after Making Threats to VA Police Chief
    11/4/2022
    Courtney Sedler of Clarksburg, West Virginia, was indicted on three counts of influencing a federal officer by threat after she allegedly threatened to kill the Clarksburg VA medical center’s police chief. Sedler allegedly threatened the chief on three separate occasions throughout 2022. Sedler could face up to 10 years of incarceration if she is found guilty. The VA OIG and VA Police conducted this investigation.
  • Navy Veteran Pleaded Guilty to $2 Million Insurance Fraud Scheme
    11/3/2022
    From 2012 to 2015, Christopher Toups, a chief petty officer in the navy, conspired with other individuals, some of whom were sailors and health professionals, to submit fraudulent insurance claims under a program reserved for service members with traumatic injuries. The loss to the program, which is funded by sailors, was nearly $2 million. Aside from the claims Toups submitted for himself, he encouraged other service members to make claims under the program and to pay him a part of their claim payments as a “processing fee.” Toups worked with a navy medical doctor and his then spouse, a navy nurse, to fabricate the traumatic injuries. Toups pleaded guilty to several charges related to this scheme and is scheduled to be sentenced in early February. The VA OIG conducted this investigation with the FBI and Naval Criminal Investigative Service.
  • Florida Man Sentenced to 35 Years for Producing and Possessing Child Sexual Abuse Material
    11/3/2022
    Thomas Zayas of Orlando, Florida, was sentenced in federal court to 35 years in prison after pleading guilty to producing and possessing sexually explicit material of a child. A multiagency investigation discovered evidence that Zayas had posed as a teenage boy and coerced a 12-year-old victim into digitally sending explicit material. In addition to his prison sentence, Zayas received 15 years of supervised release and must register as a sex offender. This case was investigated by the VA OIG, FBI, the Orange County Sheriff’s Office, and the US Secret Service.
  • Montana Fiduciary Sentenced for Stealing Benefits from Elderly, Disabled Relative
    11/3/2022
    From 2019 to 2021, Ira Westbrook of Bozeman, Montana, served as the fiduciary of an elderly relative who had suffered a stroke and became disabled. A multiagency investigation found that, during this 16-month period, Westbrook stole more than $57,000 in Social Security and VA benefits and used the stolen funds to purchase personal items, including a Jeep Wrangler, a travel trailer, and other day-to-day expenses. Westbrook was sentenced to six months in prison, three years of supervised release, and $57,329 in restitution after previously pleading guilty to Social Security fraud. The VA OIG, SSA OIG, Bozeman Police Department, and Montana Adult Protective Services took part in the investigation.
  • Doctor Sentenced for Accepting Illegal Kickback Payment in Return for Writing Prescriptions for Compounded Drugs
    10/24/2022
    On January 22, 2014, Jerry May Keepers, a doctor licensed in the states of Oklahoma and Texas, knowingly received $25,000 from representatives of the OK Compounding pharmacy and agreed to refer prescriptions for expensive compounded drugs to the pharmacy. After the compounded medications were filled, the pharmacy filed claims with several federal healthcare programs, including TRICARE, Medicare, CHAMPVA, and the Federal Employees Compensation Act Program. Keepers was sentenced to 36 months of supervised probation after previously pleading guilty to one count of soliciting and receiving healthcare kickback in violation of the federal anti-kickback statute. The investigation was conducted by the VA OIG, Department of Labor OIG, IRS Criminal Investigation, US Postal Service OIG, FBI, Department of Health and Human Services OIG, and the Defense Criminal Investigative Service.
  • Louisiana Fiduciary Pleaded Guilty to Misappropriating Veteran’s Funds
    10/24/2022
    From 2016 until 2018, Sloane Signal-Debose of Slidell, Louisiana, was serving as the fiduciary of a veteran who needed assistance with the management of his finances. During that time, she took more than $100,000 from the veteran’s accounts and used it as the down payment on a home in her name and used additional funds from the veteran to pay contractors working on the home. Signal-Debose then submitted false records to VA to hide her misuse of the veteran’s funds. The former fiduciary pleaded guilty to misappropriating funds and faces up to five years in federal prison. The VA OIG conducted this investigation.
  • Purported Orthodox Christian Monk and General Counsel for Monastic Institute Arrested for $3.6 Million COVID Fraud Scheme
    10/14/2022
    Brian Andrew Bushell and Tracey M.A. Stockton of Marblehead, Massachusetts, were charged with conspiracy to commit wire fraud and unlawful monetary transactions in connection with their alleged submission of fraudulent applications for Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act funds. Shortly after CARES Act funds became available in April 2020, Bushell, with Stockton’s assistance, allegedly began submitting numerous applications to the Small Business Administration to receive economic injury disaster loans for several purported nonprofit religious organizations and related businesses he controlled. It is alleged that in the applications, Bushell vastly overstated the organizations’ 2019 operational expenses for the purpose of obtaining larger loan amounts, eventually totaling $3.5 million. Bushell and Stockton also submitted numerous applications for paycheck protection program (PPP) funds for Bushell’s organizations. They allegedly inflated his organizations’ number of employees and payroll expenses, and as a result, obtained an additional $146,608 in PPP funds. Bushell and Stockton used these funds on expenses that would not have been permitted under either program even if the funds had been obtained lawfully. Specifically, Bushell and Stockton allegedly spent more than $1 million of the funds on extensive renovations to two Marblehead properties they planned to develop into a monastic complex that featured a chapel, brewery, and beer garden; approximately $90,000 in audio video system equipment; and nearly $40,000 in antique furniture. This case was investigated in connection with the Pandemic Response Accountability Committee (PRAC) Fraud Task Force, which was established to promote transparency and coordinate oversight of the federal government’s COVID-19 pandemic response.
  • Houston Pharmacist Sent to Prison for Fraudulent Compounding Cream Scheme
    10/13/2022
    Kyhati Undavia, of Houston, Texas, was sentenced to 27 months in federal prison after previously pleading guilty to conspiracy to commit healthcare fraud. From December 2012 to December 2018, Undavia hired employees to market Memorial Pharmacy, which she controlled and operated, to physicians as a place to submit compounded drug prescriptions. Instead of providing prescriptions directly to the patients who could select a pharmacy of their choice, physicians sent the prescriptions directly to Memorial Pharmacy. Then, Undavia paid the physicians illegal kickbacks for the prescriptions. Beneficiaries often received medicated creams that they did not need or want. Undavia received approximately $22 million from TRICARE, Department of Labor Office of Workers’ Compensation Programs, and CHAMPVA for the prescriptions.
  • Arkansas Woman Sentenced to Prison for Misusing Disability Funds Meant for Her Husband
    10/6/2022
    In 2013, Brandi Goldman of Jonesboro, Arkansas, was married to a US Army reservist who suffered a severe traumatic brain injury in a service-connected accident. As a result of this injury, her husband had many serious physical challenges, and Goldman was appointed as his guardian and fiduciary. Between April 2015 and November 2017, Goldman received more than $258,600 in VA disability payments and $36,000 in Social Security payments. During that timeframe, she withdrew close to $200,000 in cash and accrued about $900 in ATM and overdraft fees. Goldman admitted to spending much of the cash to fund her methamphetamine habit, spending $150 on methamphetamine two to three times per week. She also admitted that five other people moved into the residence with her and her husband, none of whom paid rent or contributed to expenses, some of whom she regularly gave cash. She also admitted paying $68,000 in cash for another home, furnishings for the home, multiple vehicles, and a motor home. Goldman was sentenced to 20 months in prison, three years of supervised release, and $143,000 in restitution after previously pleading guilty to misappropriation by a fiduciary. The VA OIG and Social Security Administration OIG conducted the investigation.
  • Texas Woman Found Guilty for Defrauding VA and the Social Security Administration
    10/3/2022
    According to an investigation by the VA OIG and Social Security Administration OIG, Josephine Casandra Perez-Gorda of Dripping Springs, Texas, defrauded VA and the Social Security Administration by overstating the severity and extent of her spouse’s disability from October 2011 through August 2017. Mr. Perez, now deceased, was an Army veteran who participated in the fraud. The couple claimed Mr. Perez was paralyzed from the waist down from an injury he suffered while on active duty. The ruse included applying for and receiving a specially equipped vehicle, a specially adapted home and additional compensation based on his disability rating. The investigation began after the local news ran a story titled, “Homes for Our Troops Questions Veteran’s Paralysis after Video,” which involved a specially adapted house in Dripping Springs that was gifted to the couple by the nonprofit foundation Homes for Our Troops in December 2013. Although Mrs. Perez-Gorda claimed her husband was “paralyzed from the belly button down,” Mr. Perez was seen walking around the neighborhood and playing basketball. VA OIG agents videotaped Mr. Perez walking around without assistance. Mrs. Perez-Gorda was found guilty at trial in the Western District of Texas on charges of wire fraud, mail fraud, conspiracy to commit healthcare fraud, healthcare fraud, false statements related to a healthcare matter, theft of government funds, and aiding and abetting.
  • Former Philadelphia VA Hospital Employee Sentenced for Stealing Government Funds
    9/26/2022
    Bruce Minor, of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, was sentenced to two years in prison, three years of supervised release, and ordered to pay $462,256 in restitution for his scheme to embezzle money from the Philadelphia VA Medical Center. Between December 2015 and September 2019, Minor, a former travel clerk, created fraudulent travel reimbursement claims in the names of at least three other VA medical center employees and then diverted the funds into bank accounts he controlled. This case was investigated by the VA OIG.
  • Missouri Man Sentenced for $335 Million Fraud Scheme and Over $615,000 in Tax Violations
    9/26/2022
    Patrick Michael Dingle, of Parkville, Missouri, was sentenced to eight years in federal prison without parole and ordered to forfeit approximately $4.6 million for his role in a scheme to defraud federal programs that award contracts to firms owned by minorities, veterans, and service-disabled veterans. Dingle and his co-conspirators controlled and operated Zieson Construction Company, which was located in North Kansas City. The company was originally formed in 2009 with Stephon Ziegler, an African-American service-disabled veteran, as the nominal owner. Between 2009 and 2018, the company received approximately 199 federal contracts set aside for award to small businesses owned and controlled by service-disabled veterans or certified minorities. However, Ziegler did not control the day-to-day operations or the long-term decision making at the company. Dingle and his co-conspirators actually controlled and operated Zieson, and also received most of the profits. In a separate case, Dingle was ordered to pay approximately $615,000 in restitution to the Internal Revenue Service and $82,704 in restitution to the Missouri Department of Revenue after pleading guilty to filing false tax returns between 2013 and 2016.
  • Michigan Man Sentenced to Five Years For Defrauding VA
    9/19/2022
    Joseph Scott Gray of Lawton, Michigan, was sentenced to five years in federal prison for lying to VA to obtain over $250,000 in benefits to which he was not entitled. To obtain those benefits, Gray repeatedly told VA he could not walk or stand, when in fact, he could. On October 26, 2017, Gray went to the Battle Creek VA Medical Center for an exam, and he arrived in a wheelchair. During the exam, Gray told VA employees he had not walked in 10 years and could not use his left hand. Minutes later, Gray went to a local restaurant, where he was observed freely walking in and out of the building and carrying his leftovers in his left hand. Gray was convicted by a federal jury of four counts: engaging in a conspiracy to defraud the government; providing false statements to VA; theft of government funds; and presenting a false, fictitious, or fraudulent claim for benefits. After trial, the Court found that Gray committed perjury by falsely testifying that his medication caused him to lie to VA employees and that his medication caused him to go from being unable to walk one minute to being able to walk the next. The Court also found that Gray falsely testified that it was his brother, not him, in videos from a local feed store in which Gray was seen walking freely and carrying a 50 lb. bag of cat food. The VA OIG completed the investigation.
  • Woman Indicted for Preparing Fraudulent Paycheck Protection Program Loans Totaling over $1.1 Million
    9/15/2022
    Sharnae Every, of Houston, Texas, was charged with one count of conspiracy to commit mail fraud and two counts of mail fraud for preparing and submitting fraudulent Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loan applications. Allegedly, Every created a fictitious business and then recruited individuals to obtain money from the loan program. She charged individuals between $45 and $120 to create fraudulent PPP loan applications and then falsely certified that they were accurate. Once the loans were funded, Every charged individuals approximately $3,500 each. This case was the result of a referral from the COVID-19 Pandemic Response Accountability Committee. Investigators determined there were at least 110 PPP loan applications in the Thibodeaux, Louisiana, area that all had the same invoices and federal tax forms with the same business name and amounts. The VA OIG helped with this multiagency investigation.
  • Medical Technology Company President Convicted in $77 Million COVID-19 and Allergy Testing Scheme
    9/8/2022
    Mark Schena of Los Altos, California, the president of Arrayit Corporation—a Silicon Valley-based medical technology company—was convicted of participating in a scheme to mislead investors, commit healthcare fraud, and pay illegal kickbacks in connection with the submission of more than $77 million in false and fraudulent claims for COVID-19 and allergy testing. Schena defrauded Arrayit’s investors by claiming that he invented revolutionary technology to test for virtually any disease using only a few drops of blood, claiming that he was the “father of microarray technology” and on the shortlist for the Nobel Prize. Schena also falsely represented to investors that Arrayit could be valued at $4.5 billion based on purported revenues of $80 million per year, concealing that the company was on the verge of bankruptcy. Schena also orchestrated an illegal kickback and healthcare fraud scheme that involved submitting fraudulent claims to Medicare and private insurance for unnecessary allergy testing. Arrayit ran allergy screening tests on every patient for 120 different allergens, regardless of medical necessity. In order to obtain patient blood specimens, Schena paid kickbacks to marketers in violation of the Eliminating Kickbacks in Recovery Act and orchestrated a deceptive marketing plan that falsely claimed that the Arrayit test was highly accurate in diagnosing allergies, when it was not, in fact, a diagnostic test. Arrayit billed more per patient to Medicare for blood-based allergy testing than any other laboratory in the United States and billed some commercial insurers over $10,000 per test. In early 2020, when Arrayit’s allergy testing business declined because the COVID-19 pandemic, Schena falsely announced that Arrayit “had a test for COVID-19” based on Arrayit’s blood-testing technology. Seeking to capitalize on the nationwide shortage of COVID-19 testing, Schena orchestrated a deceptive marketing scheme that claimed that Dr. Anthony Fauci and other prominent government officials had mandated testing for COVID-19 and allergies at the same time and required that patients receiving the Arrayit COVID-19 test also be tested for allergies. Schena also falsely claimed that the Arrayit COVID-19 test was more accurate than a PCR test for diagnosing COVID-19 infections, while concealing from investors and patients taking the test that the Food and Drug Administration had informed him that the Arrayit test was not accurate enough to receive an Emergency Use Authorization. Schena is currently awaiting sentencing. The investigation was conducted by the VA OIG, FBI, Department of Health and Human Services OIG, Defense Criminal Investigative Service, and US Postal Inspection Service.
  • Florida Lab Owner Charged in $53 Million Healthcare Fraud and Kickback Scheme Related to Genetic Cancer Screening Tests
    9/2/2022
    According to a multiagency investigation, Daniel Hurt of Fort Lauderdale, Florida, the owner of several clinical laboratories, allegedly paid kickbacks and bribes to various entities who supplied referrals and orders for genetic cancer screening tests for Medicare and other healthcare benefit program beneficiaries, without regard to medical necessity. Medicare reimbursed the laboratories without knowing that the services were not medically necessary or were procured through the payment of kickbacks. From January 2019 to October 2021, Hurt, through the laboratories, submitted or caused to be submitted approximately 350,000 claims to Medicare. The scheme resulted in Medicare paying the laboratories at least $53.3 million for test claims, with Hurt receiving at least $26.9 million from the reimbursements. Hurt was charged in the District of New Jersey of one count of conspiracy to commit healthcare fraud. The investigation was conducted by the VA OIG, FBI, Department of Health and Human Services OIG, and Defense Criminal Investigative Service.
  • VA Employee at the Northampton VA Medical Center in Massachusetts Indicted on Child Pornography Offenses
    9/1/2022
    Kevin A. Divoll of Royalston, Massachusetts, was indicted on one count of distribution of child pornography and one count of possession of child pornography. Divoll, an employee at the Northampton VA Medical Center in Massachusetts, was identified as the owner and user of a device allegedly used to distribute child pornography over the medical center’s public Wi-Fi from May to July 2022. A search of his residence found that Divoll possessed child pornography that involved a prepubescent minor and a minor who had not attained 12 years of age. The VA OIG and VA Police conducted the investigation.
  • Global Healthcare Company to Pay $6.3 Million to Resolve False Claims Act Allegations
    9/1/2022
    The global healthcare company Novo Nordisk Inc. has agreed to pay $6.3 million to resolve allegations that it violated the False Claims Act by selling items to the United States that were manufactured in nondesignated countries in violation of the Trade Agreements Act of 1979. The Trade Agreements Act restricts the procurement of goods under certain government contracts to purchases from specific designated countries. From July 2012 through November 2020, Novo Nordisk allegedly sold to US government agencies its NovoFine 30G 8 mm needles and 32G 6 mm needles—all of which were manufactured in nondesignated countries. The investigation was conducted by the VA OIG, Department of Health and Human Services OIG, Defense Criminal Investigative Service, and Army Criminal Investigation Division.
  • Florida Man Sentenced for $20 Million Healthcare Fraud Scheme
    9/1/2022
    In 2018, Jonathan Michael Rouffe of Boca Raton, Florida, and his coconspirators established a conglomerate of durable medical equipment (DME) supply companies. During the creation of the companies, they lied to Medicare to secure billing privileges, including placing the companies in the names of straw owners. By concealing their true ownership, the conspirators gained control of more companies, which Medicare generally prohibits, enabling them to submit high volumes of illegal DME claims. During the course of one year, Rouffe and his coconspirators submitted more than $20 million in illegal DME claims, resulting in over $10 million in payments from Medicare and CHAMPVA. To attain such high volumes of claims, Rouffe and his coconspirators used illegal bribes and kickbacks. Specifically, they illegally purchased thousands of DME claims from so-called “marketers.” On invoices, the parties disguised the illegal kickback transactions as marketing services, and the coconspirators claimed that the DME prescriptions had been generated through “telemedicine,” despite no telemedicine actually occurring. Instead, doctors were bribed in exchange for DME approvals. Rouffe was sentenced to four years in prison, forfeiture of over $3 million, and restitution of approximately $11 million after previously pleading guilty to conspiracy to commit healthcare fraud. This case was investigated by the VA OIG, Department of Health and Human Services OIG, and FBI.
  • Former South Florida Pharmacy VP and Executive Assistant Sentenced for Roles in Healthcare Fraud Scheme
    8/23/2022
    Matthew Smith of Boca Raton, Florida, the former vice president of a pharmacy in Broward County, admitted to submitting fraudulent claims to Tricare and CHAMPVA for expensive, medically unnecessary compound drugs. Smith paid kickbacks to patient recruiters in exchange for their recruiting beneficiaries and referring prescriptions for the drugs. His executive assistant, Alisa Catoggio, also of Boca Raton, Florida, calculated and tracked the kickbacks and sham copay assistance programs used to further the scheme. The fraudulent referrals caused an actual loss to the government programs of approximately $88 million. Smith was sentenced to seven and a half years in prison. Catoggio, who also pleaded guilty, was sentenced to five years in prison. In addition to the prison sentence, the court imposed restitution of over $75 million. The VA OIG, Defense Criminal Investigative Service, Food and Drug Administration’s Office of Criminal Investigations, and FBI conducted this investigation.
  • Maryland Woman Convicted for Conspiracy to Fraudulently Obtain Military Disability Benefits
    8/19/2022
    Mary Francis Biggs of Lexington Park, Maryland, participated in a conspiracy organized by her daughter, Angela Farr, in which false and fraudulent documents were submitted to VA in support of disability claims in the name of Biggs’ husband. The fraudulent documents stated that the husband was homebound and required full-time assistance for basic tasks such as eating, bathing, and dressing. In fact, he lived an ordinary, active life. For at least some of the time, Biggs and Farr concealed their fraud from the husband. Biggs spent the fraudulently received disability compensation payments on daily living expenses, cruise vacations, and a kitchen renovation, even though she was aware that her husband was not entitled to the payments. As a result of the fraud scheme, from 2016 through 2019, Biggs and her husband received over $170,000 in disability benefits and early retirement pay to which they were not entitled. Biggs was convicted of conspiracy to commit theft of government property and theft of government property. The VA OIG and Social Security Administration OIG investigated the case.
  • Delaware Man Pleaded Guilty to Unlawfully Distributing Hydroxychloroquine and Other Prescription Drugs
    8/19/2022
    Jose Torres of Shelbyville, Delaware, conspired and agreed with others to unlawfully purchase short-supply drugs and resell those drugs to wholesale distributors. Torres and another company entered business arrangements with retail pharmacies that were not licensed to engage in the wholesale distribution of prescription drugs. He used the business arrangements with retail pharmacies to purchase prescription drugs from authorized distributors, only to resell those drugs to wholesale distributors at a significant markup. For example, on March 2020, Torres purchased hydroxychloroquine sulfate tablets from a pharmacy located in the Eastern District of Tennessee, an unlicensed wholesale distributor, for $178 per unit, and subsequently resold them to a VA medical center for $442 per unit. He pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to engage in the unlicensed wholesale distribution of prescription drugs. The investigation was conducted by the VA OIG and FDA Office of Criminal Investigations.
  • Veteran Convicted of Defrauding VA for Disability Benefits
    8/18/2022
    An investigation by the VA OIG and Social Security Administration OIG found that Bruce Hay, a veteran from Greeley, Kansas, fraudulently misrepresented the extent of symptoms related to a conversion disorder diagnosis to receive VA disability benefits. Hay claimed he had constant jerking movements and tremors; could walk only with the use of a walker; and could not perform daily activities, such as bathing, dressing, and eating. During VA examinations, he faked and exaggerated physical symptoms, displaying a significant limp, muscle spasms, and head bobs. Based on these misrepresentations, Hay was found to be 100 percent disabled by VA and as a result received more than $450,000 in VA benefits. Information collected through surveillance and testimony, however, showed Hay’s claims of mobility limitations to be false. Without assistance, he engaged in residential construction, hunted deer, drove regularly, and hauled more than a million pounds of scrap metal. A federal jury convicted Hay of wire fraud and theft of government funds.
  • Self-Proclaimed Body Builder Sentenced for Stealing Money from VA
    8/18/2022
    A VA OIG investigation found that Zachary Barton, a South Florida veteran and self-proclaimed bodybuilder, exaggerated his mental and physical impairments and received more than $245,000 in VA benefits to which he was not entitled. Barton admitted he lied on a mental health test by reporting to VA that he had been in combat, qualifying him for posttraumatic stress disorder benefits. He also reported that he could not lift more than 10 to 20 pounds or walk without a cane; however, surveillance footage and social media evidence showed Barton had no such limitations. Based on his lies, Barton was found to be 100 percent disabled by VA. He was sentenced to one year in prison and more than $245,000 in restitution.
  • Helicopter Flight Instructor Training Company and Community College Agreed to Pay $7.5 Million to Settle False Claims Act Allegations
    8/18/2022
    From 2013 to 2018, Universal Helicopters Inc., a private helicopter flight instructor training company, and Dodge City Community College allegedly made false statements to VA regarding enrollment in the their helicopter flight instructor program in order to obtain VA funding. As part of the Post-9/11 GI Bill program, VA provides tuition and fee payments to qualifying schools on behalf of eligible veterans. To qualify for the program, a school is required to certify to VA that no more than 85 percent of the students for any particular course are receiving VA benefits. This requirement, commonly referred to as the “85/15 rule,” is intended to prevent abuse of Post-9/11 GI Bill funding by ensuring that VA is paying fair market value tuition rates since at least 15 percent of the enrolled students would be paying the same rate with non-VA funds. The settlement resolves the following allegations: (1) the training company and community college falsely certified compliance with the 85/15 rule when the flight instructor program included certain expensive classes that were taken almost exclusively by veterans, and (2) to reach the required 15 percent threshold, the community college counted part-time students enrolled in only one online class per semester as full-time students, in violation of VA rules. The VA OIG assisted in this multiagency investigation.
  • Owner of Mississippi Barber College Sentenced for Fraudulently Obtaining GI Bill Funds from VA
    8/18/2022
    Anthony Kelley of Jackson, Mississippi, the owner of Trendsetters Barber College, was sentenced to one year in prison, three years of supervised release, and more than $402,000 in restitution after pleading guilty to wire fraud. From October 2016 to March 2019, Kelley offered a master barber course that was not an accredited course of study approved by the state’s Board of Barber Examiners. Kelley fraudulently represented that this course was an approved course of study and as a result was allowed to collect GI Bill money from veterans enrolled in the program. At least two veterans were enrolled in the course using their GI Bill benefits and, as a result, the VA made interstate wire transfers of federal funds to Kelley based on his fraudulent representations. The VA OIG investigated this case.
  • Rhode Island Woman Admits to Falsifying Military Service and Fraudulently Collecting More than $250,000 in Veteran Services and Charitable Contributions
    8/10/2022
    Sarah Jane Cavanaugh, 31, admitted that she falsely claimed to be a wounded veteran who had been awarded the Purple Heart and Bronze Star, and that she used those claims, the stolen identities of actual veterans, and fraudulent documents that she created to obtain charitable services intended for injured veterans. Additionally, while employed at the Providence VA Medical Center, she used her position as a licensed social worker to gain access to medical records belonging to a marine who was battling cancer. Cavanaugh then used this information to create fraudulent documents and medical records in her own name, indicating that she was an honorably discharged marine stricken with cancer. A search of Defense Department records indicates Cavanaugh never served in any branch of the military. Cavanaugh is scheduled to be sentenced on November 10, 2022.
  • VA Medical Center Employee Charged with Possession of Child Pornography
    8/8/2022
    Kevin Divoll, of Royalston, Massachusetts, was charged with one count of possession of child pornography. According to the charging document, investigators identified the internet protocol address of a device distributing child pornography and determined the device was using the public Wi-Fi at the Edward P. Boland VA Medical Center in Leeds. Further investigation identified that Divoll, an employee at the VA medical center, as the owner and user of the device. It is alleged that during a search of Divoll’s residence, a laptop, external hard drive, and cell phone were found to contain child pornography.
  • New York Woman Indicted for Theft and Misappropriation of Funds as a Fiduciary
    8/4/2022
    Trina Gigliotti, of Utica, New York, was indicted for misappropriating the funds of the legally incompetent spouse of a deceased veteran, as well as stealing from the VA. The charges filed against Gigliotti carry a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison, a fine of up to $250,000, and a term of supervised release of up to three years. The indictment also seeks forfeiture of $36,129.08, representing the amount allegedly stolen. This case is being investigated by the VA OIG.
  • Rhode Island Woman Pleads Guilty to Stealing Public Funds
    8/4/2022
    Lisa Heino, of Newport, Rhode Island, pleaded guilty to two counts of theft of public funds for stealing approximately $74,000 in VA and Office of Personnel Management (OPM) benefits from a veteran she was supposed to be protecting. In May 2014, Heino was appointed by the Massachusetts state court to serve as the conservator for the victim who was a veteran and retired federal employee. Later, in October 2014, Heino became the OPM representative payee for the victim as well. In these roles, Heino had access to the benefit payments that were directly deposited into the victim’s bank account. She then transferred these payments to her own bank account and used the funds for her own expenses. Sentencing is scheduled for December 2, 2022.
  • Florida Man Pleaded Guilty to Producing and Possessing Child Sexual Abuse Material
    8/3/2022
    Thomas Zayas, of Orlando, Florida, has pleaded guilty to enticing a minor to produce sexually explicit videos and to possessing child sexual abuse material. Zayas faces a minimum mandatory penalty of 15 years, and up to 30 years, in federal prison for production of child sexual abuse material and up to 10 years’ imprisonment for possession of child sexual abuse material. He faces a potential life term of supervised release on all counts. A sentencing date has been set for October 26, 2022. This case was investigated by the FBI, VA OIG, and the Orange County Sheriff’s Office.
  • New York Woman Charged with Theft and Misappropriation of Funds by a Fiduciary
    7/26/2022
    JoAnne Natalie of Saratoga Springs, New York, was indicted earlier this month for misappropriating the funds of a veteran declared legally incompetent, as well as stealing from VA. The charges filed against Natalie carry a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison, a fine of up to $250,000, and a term of supervised release of up to three years. The indictment also seeks forfeiture of more than $50000, representing the amount allegedly stolen. This case is being investigated by the VA OIG.
  • Army Veteran Sentenced to Prison for Receiving Nearly $1 Million in Veteran Benefits for Fraudulent Service-Connected Disabilities
    7/26/2022
    John Paul Cook of Marshall, North Carolina, was sentenced to 10 months in prison, five of which he will serve in home confinement, after pleading guilty to theft of public money. Cook defrauded VA by receiving nearly $1 million in veteran benefits based on fraudulent claims of service-connected disabilities. In November 1985, Cook enlisted in the Army and sustained an accidental injury while on duty six months later. Following the incident, Cook complained that a preexisting eye condition had worsened due to the accident. In 1987, following a medical evaluation, Cook was discharged, placed on the retired list, and began receiving VA disability-based compensation at a rate of 60 percent. Over the next 30 years, Cook’s disability-based compensation increased, following his repeated false claims of increased visual impairment and unemployability due to “severe visual deficit.” Based on these claims, VA declared Cook legally blind in 2005, and he began receiving disability-based compensation at the maximum rate. Cook’s monthly VA disability payments gradually increased from $1,411 per month in 1987 to $3,990 per month by 2017. In total, from 1987 through 2017, Cook received more than $978,000 in VA disability payments due to his claimed blindness, to which he was not lawfully entitled. The VA OIG investigated this case.
  • The VA OIG Helped in Nationwide Coordinated Law Enforcement Action that Charged Dozens for $1.2 Billion in Healthcare Fraud
    7/25/2022
    The Department of Justice (DOJ) today announced criminal charges against 36 defendants in 13 federal districts across the United States for more than $1.2 billion in alleged fraudulent telemedicine, cardiovascular and cancer genetic testing, and durable medical equipment (DME) schemes. The action includes criminal charges against several medical professionals and the owners and executives of telemedicine companies, clinical laboratories, DME companies, and marketing organizations. The alleged schemes involved the payment of illegal kickbacks and bribes by laboratory owners and operators in exchange for the referral of patients by medical professionals working with fraudulent telemedicine and digital medical technology companies. The charges include some of the first prosecutions in the nation related to fraudulent cardiovascular genetic testing, a burgeoning scheme. One particular case involved the operator of several clinical laboratories, who was charged in connection with a scheme to pay over $16 million in kickbacks to marketers who, in turn, paid kickbacks to telemedicine companies and call centers in exchange for doctors’ orders. As alleged in court documents, orders for cardiovascular and cancer genetic testing were used by the defendant and others to submit over $174 million in false and fraudulent claims to Medicare—but the results of the testing were not used in the treatment of patients. Other defendants charged in this enforcement action allegedly controlled a telemarketing network, based both domestically and overseas, that lured thousands of elderly or disabled patients into a criminal scheme. The owners of marketing organizations allegedly had telemarketers use deceptive techniques to induce Medicare beneficiaries to agree to cardiovascular and other genetic testing. The VA OIG was one of several agencies that participated in this law enforcement action.
  • Inform Diagnostics Agreed to Pay $16 Million to Resolve False Claims Act Allegations of Medically Unnecessary Tests
    7/21/2022
    Between 2013 and 2018, Inform Diagnostics, Inc. (formerly Miraca Life Sciences)—a clinical laboratory headquartered in Irving, Texas, that provides anatomic pathology services to physician practices throughout the United States—routinely conducted tests on biopsy specimens prior to a pathologist’s review and without an individualized determination regarding whether tests were medically necessary. The laboratory submitted these medically unnecessary tests for payment, causing Medicare and other federal healthcare programs to pay for false claims. Inform Diagnostics has agreed to pay $16 million to resolve these allegations. The investigation was conducted by the VA OIG, US Attorney’s Office, Department of Health and Human Services OIG, Office of Personnel Management OIG, and FBI.
  • Former Chief Of Cardiology at Palo Alto VA Medical Center Sentenced to Prison for Sexual Battery
    7/14/2022
    Beginning in the fall of 2017, former VA cardiologist John Giacomini of Atherton, California, repeatedly subjected a subordinate electrophysiologist to unwanted and unwelcome sexual contact, to include hugging, kissing, and intimate touching while on VA premises. On November 10, 2017, the victim explicitly told Giacomini she was not interested in a romantic or sexual relationship with him. Nevertheless, Giacomini continued to subject his subordinate to unwanted sexual advances and touching, culminating on December 20, 2017, when Giacomini turned out the lights in an office, pulled the victim out of her chair, and fondled her until a janitor opened the office door and interrupted the encounter. The victim later resigned from her position at VA, citing Giacomini’s behavior as her principal reason for leaving. Giacomini was sentenced to eight months in prison after previously pleading guilty to abusive sexual contact.
  • Former VA Social Worker to Admit to Falsifying Military Service and Identity Theft
    7/13/2022
    Sarah J. Cavanaugh of East Greenwich, Rhode Island, used her position as a licensed social worker at the Providence VA Medical Center to gain access to documents, personal information, and medical records belonging to a Marine and an actual cancer-stricken Navy veteran. She allegedly used the information to create fraudulent documents and medical records in her name, claiming that she was an honorably discharged Marine stricken with cancer. She portrayed herself as a wounded veteran who received a Purple Heart and the Bronze Star, replicas of which she purchased and publicly displayed on a US Marine uniform she wore at public events. Cavanaugh allegedly used this assumed identity in various schemes to obtain more than $250,000 in cash, charitable donations, and services reserved for injured veterans. According to a signed plea agreement, Cavanaugh will plead guilty to charges of fraud, aggravated identity theft, forgery, and fraudulent use of medals. The investigation was conducted by the VA OIG, VA Police Service, and FBI, with the assistance of the Defense Criminal Investigative Service, Naval Criminal Investigative Service, US Postal Inspection Service, and Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigations.
  • Texas Woman Charged with Fraud and Kickback Scheme
    7/5/2022
    Nora Alaniz of South Padre Island, Texas, was charged with conspiracy to pay and receive illegal kickbacks in exchange for the referral of prescriptions for compound drugs. Previously charged was Dr. Tajul Shams Chowdhury of McAllen, Texas. Alaniz is a registered nurse and the former owner of a home health care company located in Hidalgo County, while Chowdhury is a physician who operated a medical clinic in Edinburg. Alaniz allegedly received $70,000 in kickbacks disguised as employee salaries from a local pharmacy. In turn, she paid Chowdhury and employees of his medical clinic for the referrals. The indictment alleges Chowdhury wrote prescriptions and referred them to the pharmacy. As a result of the illegal kickback scheme, the pharmacy received more than $300,000 from healthcare benefit programs such as Medicare and Medicaid from January to July 2017. The VA OIG investigated this case with the U.S. Postal Service OIG, FBI, Defense Criminal Investigative Service, Department of Labor OIG, Texas Health and Human Services and the Department of Health and Human Services OIG, Texas Attorney General's Office - Medicaid Fraud Control Unit, and Texas Department of Insurance.
  • Iowa Man Sentenced to 27 Months in Prison for Criminal HIPAA Violations
    7/5/2022
    Dustin James Ortiz of Des Moines, Iowa, was sentenced to 27 months in prison after pleading guilty to wrongfully obtaining and disclosing individually identifiable health information. Ortiz, conspired with a then employee of the Des Moines VA Medical Center, to obtain individually identifiable health information of an individual without authorization required by law. Ortiz then disclosed the records to a third party. The VA OIG investigated the case.
  • Fifteen Texas Doctors Agree to Pay over $2.8 Million to Settle Kickback Allegations
    7/5/2022
    Fifteen more Texas doctors have agreed to pay a total of $2,831,280 to resolve False Claims Act allegations involving illegal kickbacks in violation of the Anti-Kickback Statute and Stark Law. The settlements resolve allegations that the doctors received thousands of dollars in remuneration from nine management service organizations in exchange for ordering laboratory tests from Little River Healthcare, True Health Diagnostics LLC, and/or Boston Heart Diagnostics Corporation. Little River Healthcare allegedly funded the remuneration to certain doctors, in the form of volume-based commissions paid to independent contractor recruiters, who used the management service organizations to pay numerous doctors for their referrals. The payments to the doctors were allegedly disguised as investment returns but in fact were based on, and offered in exchange for, the doctors’ referrals. As part of their settlements, the doctors have agreed to cooperate with the Department of Justice’s investigations of and litigation against other parties involved in the alleged violations of law. The civil settlements were the result of a coordinated effort between the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Texas and the Civil Division’s Commercial Litigation Branch, Fraud Section, with assistance from the Health and Human Services OIG, the Defense Criminal Investigative Service, and the VA OIG. More than $32 million has been recovered relating to conduct involving Little River Healthcare, True Health Diagnostics LLC, and/or Boston Heart Diagnostics Corporation, including False Claims Act settlements with a total of 33 physicians, two healthcare executives, and one laboratory.
  • Construction Company Owner Convicted of Fraudulently Obtaining More Than $240 Million in SDVOSB Contracts
    7/5/2022
    Michael Angelo Padron, along with co-conspirators Michael Wibracht and Ruben Villarreal, conspired to obtain government contracts under programs administered by the Small Business Administration. Padron conspired to install Villarreal, a service-disabled veteran, as the supposed owner of a general construction company held as a service-disabled veteran-owned small business (SDVOSB). Then Padron and Wibracht exercised disqualifying financial and operational control over the company. They concealed that control to secure more than $240 million in contracts that were set aside for SDVOSBs to benefit their larger, nonqualifying businesses. Pardon is scheduled to be sentenced on October 19, 2022. The Department of Justice’s Antitrust Division’s Washington Criminal II Section prosecuted the case, which was investigated by the VA OIG, Small Business Association OIG, Army Criminal Investigation Division Major Procurement Fraud Unit, Defense Criminal Investigative Service, and General Services Administration OIG, with assistance by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Texas and the Army Audit Agency.
  • California Mortgage Lender Agreed to Pay More than $1 Million to Resolve Fraud Allegations
    6/27/2022
    American Financial Network, Inc., a mortgage lender based in Brea, California, has agreed to pay more than $1 million to resolve allegations that it improperly and fraudulently originated government-backed mortgage loans insured by the Federal Housing Administration (FHA), a component of the US Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). Between December 2011 and March 2019, the mortgage lender knowingly underwrote and approved for insurance certain mortgages that did not meet FHA requirements or qualify for insurance, resulting in losses to the United States when the borrowers defaulted on those mortgages. The settlement further resolves allegations that the lender knowingly failed to perform quality control reviews that it was required to perform. The settlement was the result of a joint investigation conducted by the VA OIG, HUD OIG, and the US Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Washington.
  • Former Massachusetts Firefighter Pleaded Guilty to Possession and Distribution of Controlled Substances
    6/27/2022
    Joshua Eisnor of North Reading, Massachusetts, pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to distribute and to possess with intent to distribute controlled substances. He conspired to distribute controlled substances, including oxycodone, suboxone, Klonopin, and Adderall to other members of the Malden, Massachusetts, Fire Department where he worked as a firefighter. The VA OIG, Food and Drug Administration OIG, and FBI conducted the investigation.
  • Army Veteran Admitted to Sending Death Threats to VA Employees
    6/27/2022
    Mark Williams Jr., an Army veteran receiving treatment at VA facilities, pleaded guilty to threatening employees at the Lake Jackson VA Outpatient Clinic. Beginning in June 2021, Williams began sending threats toward the staff at various VA facilities. These included calls to the Lake Jackson VA Outpatient Clinic, the White House VA Hotline, and the Veterans Crisis Line. As part of his plea, he admitted that during a call on October 25, 2021, he made repeated threats to kill employees at the Lake Jackson VA facility. The VA OIG conducted the investigation.
  • Registered Nurse Guilty of Theft of Government Funds in COVID-19 Vaccination Scheme
    6/22/2022
    Bethann Kierczak of Southgate, Michigan, a registered nurse at the John D. Dingell VA Medical Center in Detroit, pleaded guilty to charges related to COVID-19 vaccination record cards fraud. According to court records, Kierczak admitted to stealing or embezzling authentic COVID-19 vaccination record cards from the VA hospital—along with vaccine lot numbers necessary to make the cards appear legitimate—and then reselling those cards and information to individuals within the metro Detroit community. Kierczak began the scheme as early as May 2021 and continued through September 2021, selling the cards for $150 to $200 each. The VA OIG investigated this case with the VA Police and the Medicare Fraud Strike Force, a partnership among the Criminal Division, U.S. Attorney’s Offices, and the US Health and Human Services OIG.
  • Michigan Woman Sentenced for Fraud in Benefits Scheme
    6/22/2022
    Melissa Flores was sentenced to two years in prison and $110,000 in restitution for her role in a scheme to defraud VA. Flores and a codefendant allegedly created aliases and obtained or created fraudulent documents to make it appear they were the heirs of various individuals who had died. Between 2013 and 2019, the two codefendants defrauded VA out of more than $430,000 and the Michigan Department of Treasury out of more than $40,000 in unclaimed property. Flores pleaded guilty last May to two counts of false pretenses and one count of forgery.
  • Georgia Man Pleaded Guilty to Fraud and Kickback Scheme Involving COVID-19 and Cancer Genetic Testing
    6/10/2022
    Erik Santos of Braselton, Georgia, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to violate the Federal Anti-Kickback statute and conspiracy to commit healthcare fraud. Santos owned and operated a company that conducted business with medical testing companies. From 2019 to 2020, he and others engaged in a scheme to provide medical testing companies with qualified patient leads and tests for medically unnecessary cancer genetic screening tests for Medicare beneficiaries in exchange for kickbacks of approximately $1,000 to $1,500 for each test that resulted in a reimbursement from Medicare. Santos entered into a sham contract and utilized sham invoices to make it appear that he was being paid for legitimate services and to conceal his kickback scheme. In March 2020, Santos extended his scheme to incorporate COVID-19 tests, along with more expensive and medically unnecessary tests. This investigation was conducted by the VA OIG, Department of Health and Human Services OIG, and Defense Criminal Investigative Service.
  • South Carolina Fiduciary Pleaded Guilty to Stealing Veterans’ Funds
    6/10/2022
    Raymond Huffman of Varnville, South Carolina, pleaded guilty to stealing funds from 10 military veterans. Huffman was appointed to be a fiduciary to receive payments on behalf of these veterans who, as a result of wars, injury, disease, or infirmities of advanced age, could not manage their VA benefits. Instead, Huffman—through his company Huffman Fiduciary Services—stole more than $300,000 from them. The VA OIG investigated this case.
  • Former Massachusetts Firefighter Charged with Possession and Distribution of Controlled Substances
    6/10/2022
    Joshua Eisnor of North Reading, Massachusetts, was charged with conspiracy to distribute and to possess with intent to distribute controlled substances. According to an investigation by the VA OIG, Food and Drug Administration OIG, and FBI, while working as a firefighter at the Malden Fire Department, Eisnor distributed controlled substances to other members of the fire department. Eisnor is scheduled to plead guilty on June 23, 2022.
  • Chicago Home Sleep Testing Company to Pay $3.5 Million to Settle Federal Healthcare Fraud Suit
    6/9/2022
    Suburban Chicago diagnostics company, Snap Diagnostics, a nationwide provider of home sleep testing diagnostic services will pay $3.5 million to the United States to settle a civil lawsuit accusing the company of defrauding Medicare and four other federal healthcare programs. Snap Diagnostics founder Gil Raviv and its vice president Stephen Burton violated the False Claims Act and the Anti-Kickback Statue by fraudulently billing federal healthcare programs for medically unnecessary services that were occasioned by the kickbacks. In addition to the settlement, Raviv will pay $300,000 and Burton will pay $125,000. The investigation was conducted by the VA OIG, Railroad Retirement Board OIG, Office of Personnel Management OIG, Department of Health and Human Services OIG, Defense Criminal Investigative Service, and FBI.
  • Veteran Sentenced to Prison for Defrauding VA for Disability Benefits
    6/9/2022
    Barry Wayne Hoover of Tampa, Florida, was sentenced to 27 months in federal prison and ordered to pay more than $429,000 in restitution for theft of government funds and for false statements to VA. Hoover, a Navy veteran, exaggerated the extent of his visual impairment to receive VA disability benefits to which he was not entitled. Hoover manipulated the results of subjective tests of his peripheral vision and was declared legally blind because of these tests. VA found Hoover 100% disabled and awarded him significant monetary benefits and other valuable services. VA OIG agents surveilled Hoover and discovered that he drove a car, a three-wheeled motorcycle, an ATV, and a boat, as well as engaged in hunting, fishing, and scuba diving all without assistance. This case was investigated by the VA OIG.
  • Former VA Travel Clerk Pleaded Guilty to Stealing Almost $500,000 in Government Funds
    5/27/2022
    Bruce Minor of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, pleaded guilty in connection with his scheme to embezzle money from his former employer, the Philadelphia VA Medical Center. In April 2022, Minor was charged with theft of government funds stemming from his theft of more than $487,000 in VA travel reimbursement funds, which he helped administer as part of his official duties as a travel clerk. To perpetrate the theft, Minor created fraudulent travel reimbursement claims in the names of at least three other VA employees and then diverted the fraudulently obtained funds into bank accounts he controlled. According to court documents, in an email to medical center management, Minor admitted to stealing approximately $13,000 in travel funds, though a subsequent investigation showed that he stole upwards of $487,000 between December 2015 and September 2019. The VA OIG conducted this investigation.
  • Louisiana Fiduciary Charged with Misappropriating Veteran’s Funds
    5/27/2022
    Sloane Signal-Debose of Slidell, Louisiana, was charged with misappropriating funds from a veteran while she was his fiduciary. From 2016 until 2018, Signal had control over the veteran’s finances and bank accounts. During that time, she took over $100,000 from the veteran’s accounts and used it as the down payment on a home in her name and used additional funds from the veteran to pay contractors working on the home. Signal then submitted false records to VA to hide her misuse of the veteran’s funds. If convicted, she faces up to five years in federal prison, three years of supervised release, and restitution. The VA OIG conducted this investigation.
  • Former VA Employee Sentenced for Stealing from VA and Veterans
    5/27/2022
    Dennis Gene Godbolt of Buckeye, Arizona, was sentenced after previously pleading guilty to one count of theft of government property. While employed by the VA Phoenix Health Care System, Godbolt stole property, mostly consisting of home furnishings, that had been donated by Walmart to VA for use by homeless and destitute veterans. Godbolt typically picked up donated items from the Walmart distribution center in Buckeye, Arizona, and transported the donations in a truck belonging to Voluntary Services. On numerous occasions, instead of taking the donations to VA facilities in Phoenix, Godbolt stole the items and placed them in his personal storage lockers. He was sentenced to five years of supervised probation and ordered to pay $95,000 in restitution to VA. The VA OIG conducted this investigation.
  • Former Pharmacy Technician Pleaded Guilty to Multimillion-Dollar Kickback Conspiracy
    5/24/2022
    Alisa Catoggio of Boca Raton, Florida, a former pharmacy technician and high-level executive assistant, has pleaded guilty to her role in a multimillion-dollar kickback conspiracy that defrauded TRICARE and CHAMPVA through a South Florida compounding pharmacy. Catoggio admitted that she was involved in a scheme that paid approximately $40 million in kickbacks to patient recruiters in exchange for their referring prescriptions issued to TRICARE and CHAMPVA beneficiaries to a Broward compounding pharmacy. The prescriptions were for expensive pain creams, scar creams, vitamins, and other medically unnecessary compound drugs, which were reimbursed at amounts of up to $15,000 for a one month’s supply. In addition, the Broward pharmacy did not charge the beneficiaries the mandatory copayments for the drugs, which constituted another form of illicit kickback. The coconspirators used phony charities to conceal this “no-copayment” kickback activity. The VA OIG, the Department of Defense Inspector General’s Defense Criminal Investigative Service, and the FBI Miami Field Office investigated this case.
  • Self-Proclaimed Body Builder Pleaded Guilty to Theft of Government Funds
    5/24/2022
    A VA OIG investigation found that Zachary Barton, a South Florida veteran and self-proclaimed bodybuilder, exaggerated his mental and physical impairments to increase the disability payments he received from VA. Barton admitted he lied on a mental health test by reporting to VA that he had been in combat, qualifying him for posttraumatic stress disorder benefits. He also falsely reported that he could not lift more than 10 to 20 pounds or walk without a cane. Based on these lies, VA found Barton was 100% disabled, when in fact Barton would routinely drive, walk his pet, go shopping, and perform strenuous weight-lifting with no difficulty. As a result of his misrepresentations, Barton received approximately $245,000 in VA benefits to which he was not entitled.
  • Houston-Area Pharmacy Owners, Pharmacists, and Doctor Charged in Kickback Scheme
    5/20/2022
    Six Texas men were indicted on multiple charges related to a healthcare fraud scheme involving two local pharmacies and a pain clinic. The defendants include the owners of the two pharmacies, one of whom also owned the pain clinic; one doctor employed at the pain clinic; two pharmacists; and one other coconspirator whose role was to recruit and refer federal employee patients to the clinic. The defendant doctor would see these patients and prescribe them unnecessary drugs at the request of the clinic’s owner, who paid him kickbacks. The charges also allege that the two pharmacist defendants would also be paid in kickbacks to fill compounded drug prescriptions. The pharmacies allegedly billed the Department of Labor Federal Employee Compensation Program, and once they received the funds, the two owners would disburse it among the coconspirators. If convicted, the defendants face up to five years in federal prison for the conspiracy and up to 10 years for the related healthcare fraud charges. The two owners were also charged with conspiracy to launder money and face another 10 years-in prison. The VA OIG, Department of Labor OIG, and US Postal Service OIG conducted the investigation, with the assistance of the FBI and Defense Criminal Investigative Service.
  • Florida Man Sentenced to 120 Months in Prison for Role in $50 Million Healthcare Fraud and Kickback Scheme
    5/20/2022
    Pat Truglia of Parkland, Florida, was sentenced to 120 months in prison for his role in a healthcare fraud and kickback scheme. Truglia and his coconspirators defrauded healthcare benefit programs by offering, paying, soliciting, and receiving kickbacks and bribes in exchange for completed doctors’ orders for durable medical equipment, namely orthotic braces. Truglia previously pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit healthcare fraud. Two codefendants, Nicholas Defonte and Christopher Cirri, both of Toms River, New Jersey, previously pleaded guilty to the same conspiracy and are awaiting sentencing. In addition to the prison term, Truglia was sentenced to three years of supervised release, restitution of close to $34 million, and forfeiture of approximately $9.5 million.
  • Missouri Man Sentenced for Fraud Scheme
    5/20/2022
    Stephon Ziegler of Weatherby Lake, Missouri, was sentenced in federal court to 12 months in prison without parole for falsely claiming ownership in a firm that fraudulently received hundreds of millions of dollars in government contracts set aside for service-disabled veterans and certified minorities. Ziegler, an African American service-disabled veteran, admitted that he falsely claimed to be the owner of Zieson Construction Company, a Missouri corporation whose primary business was obtaining federal construction contracts set aside for award to qualified small businesses. Zieson used Ziegler’s status to compete for federal contracts designated for businesses owned by service-disabled veterans and minorities. Between 2009 and 2018, Zieson was awarded approximately 199 federal contracts for which the government paid Zieson approximately $335 million. The VA OIG helped in this multiagency investigation.
  • Georgia Man Sentenced to 40 Months in Federal Prison for Defrauding Nonprofit Group
    5/17/2022
    Kentey Ramone Fielder of Augusta, Georgia, was sentenced in federal court to 40 months in prison and three years of supervised release for defrauding a nonprofit group. According to a multiagency investigation, Fielder and his company, Clean Contracting Services (CCSI), fraudulently obtained a contract to perform janitorial services at the Army’s Yakima Training Center, despite being disqualified from federal contracting in 2014. After obtaining the contract, Fielder posed as a government contracting official and contacted Yakima Specialties, a Yakima-based nonprofit group, and claimed that it had been awarded the contract. Yakima Specialties then performed the work but was unable to obtain payment because it did not have the real contract. Fielder then billed for and received payment for the work under CCSI. This contract was one of many that Fielder received using this fraudulent scheme. Fielder pleaded guilty to wire fraud and aggravated identity theft.
  • Massachusetts Man Indicted for Sending Threatening Communications
    5/17/2022
    Drummond Neil Smithson was indicted on one count of use of interstate communications to transmit a threat to injure. On or about July 19, 2020, Smithson, an Army veteran, mailed a threatening communication from Ayer, Massachusetts, to VA threatening to injure members of Moms Demand Action, a grassroots organization advocating for the end to gun violence. The charge provides for a sentence of up to five years in prison, up to three years of supervised release and a fine of $250,000. This investigation was conducted by the VA OIG, FBI, and Federal Medical Center, Devens.
  • Texas Pharmacist Pleaded Guilty for Role in Healthcare Fraud Conspiracy
    5/11/2022
    Jada Gilbert, the pharmacist-in-charge at Blue Ribbon Pharmacy in Harris County, Texas, billed healthcare insurance programs for high-adjudication pharmaceutical medications without dispensing them to beneficiaries. When pharmacy benefit managers conducted audits of the pharmacy, Gilbert conspired with a wholesale pharmaceutical company to produce forged documentation to prevent the recovery of at least $330,000. The owner of the wholesale pharmaceutical company was previously charged with false statements related to healthcare matters, wire fraud, conspiracy to defraud the United States, and hoarding designating scarce materials. Gilbert pleaded guilty in the Southern District of Mississippi to conspiracy to commit healthcare fraud. The investigation was conducted by the VA OIG, FBI, and the Food and Drug Administration’s Office of Criminal Investigations.
  • Jacksonville Man Sentenced to Federal Prison for Stealing His Twin’s Identity to Obtain Veterans Benefits
    4/29/2022
    Wayne Bowen of Jacksonville, Florida, was sentenced to two years in federal prison after pleading guilty to aggravated identity theft. He was also ordered to reimburse various federal agencies close to $64,000 for government benefits that he had received in connection with his identity theft scheme. According to court documents, in 2014, Bowen used the name, Social Security card, and military discharge papers of his estranged twin brother to apply for federally subsidized housing benefits. The specific subsidy—intended for indigent military veterans—was funded under a joint program administered by VA and the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). Unlike his twin, Bowen is not a military veteran. This case was investigated by the VA OIG, HUD OIG, and the US Department of Agriculture OIG.
  • Two Louisiana Men Sentenced for Fraud
    4/29/2022
    Joseph Campo of New Orleans, Louisiana, and Mario Deluca of Metairie, Louisiana, were sentenced for their roles in a healthcare fraud conspiracy. From about March 2014 to October 2016, the two defendants knowingly and willfully executed a scheme and artifice to defraud TRICARE and other healthcare benefit programs. Campo was sentenced to 28 months of imprisonment and $3 million in restitution; Deluca was sentenced to 36 months of probation and $777,000 in restitution. The VA OIG helped in this multiagency investigation.
  • The VA OIG Helped in Nationwide Coordinated Law Enforcement Action to Combat COVID-19 Fraud
    4/27/2022
    The Department of Justice (DOJ) today announced criminal charges against 21 defendants in nine federal districts across the United States for their alleged participation in various health care–related fraud schemes that exploited the COVID-19 pandemic. These cases allegedly resulted in over $149 million in COVID-19-related false billings to federal programs and theft from federally funded pandemic assistance programs. In connection with the enforcement action, DOJ seized over $8 million in cash and other fraud proceeds. Several cases announced today involve defendants who allegedly offered COVID-19 testing to induce patients to provide their personal identifiable information and a saliva or blood sample. The defendants then allegedly used the information and samples to submit false and fraudulent claims to Medicare for unrelated, medically unnecessary, and far more expensive tests or services. Today’s announcement also included charges against manufacturers and distributors of fake COVID-19 vaccination record cards who, according to the allegations, intentionally sought to obstruct the Department of Health and Human Services and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in their efforts to administer the nationwide vaccination program and provide Americans with accurate proof of vaccination. The VA OIG was one of several agencies that participated in this law enforcement action.
  • Two Texas Marketers Sentenced for Kickback Scheme
    4/21/2022
    Johnathon Yates Boyd III of Katy, Texas, was sentenced to 12 months of probation and more than $391,000 in restitution, and Bryan Fred Woodson of Beach City, Texas, was sentenced to 12 months of probation and more than $553,000 in restitution for helping orchestrate a kickback scheme. The scheme involved physicians who were recruited to receive kickback payments in exchange for writing and referring expensive compounded drug prescriptions to OK Compounding, a company controlled and operated by two other defendants. Boyd and Woodson, who both pleaded guilty to conspiracy to pay kickbacks, were responsible for forming R&A Marketing Group LLC, a company that recruited the physicians and introduced them to OK Compounding.
  • Owner and Operator of Insurance Agency Convicted of Stealing Government Benefits
    4/21/2022
    Patrick Quinn of Arlington, Massachusetts, was convicted of two counts of theft of public funds and two counts of making false statements. Since January 2012, Quinn stole more than $420,000 in veteran and social security benefits by falsely telling VA and the Social Security Administration (SSA) that he was unable to work due to a disability, when he owned and operated Quinn Insurance Group, Inc. The investigation was conducted by the VA OIG and the SSA OIG.
  • Prolific Fraudster Sentenced to 18 Months in Prison
    4/21/2022
    Ramón Julbe-Rosa was sentenced to 18 months in prison and close to $271,000 in restitution after pleading guilty to theft of government property and introducing unapproved new drugs into the United States. He defrauded the Social Security Administration and Medicare by receiving Social Security Disability Insurance Benefit payments while working. He also committed fraud against VA for fraudulently receiving unemployability benefits and against the Small Business Administration in connection with Major Disaster or Emergency Benefits related to Hurricane María. The VA OIG participated in this multiagency investigation.
  • Physician Partners of America to Pay $24.5 Million to Settle Allegations of Unnecessary Testing
    4/14/2022
    Rodolfo Gari, founder of Physician Partners of America LLC, headquartered in Tampa, Florida, and its former chief medical officer, Dr. Abraham Rivera, have agreed to pay $24.5 million to resolve allegations that they violated the False Claims Act by billing federal healthcare programs for unnecessary medical testing and services, paying unlawful remuneration to its physician employees, and making a false statement in connection with a loan obtained through the Small Business Administration’s Paycheck Protection Program. The VA OIG helped with this multiagency investigation.
  • Former VA Pharmacist Sentenced for Stealing Painkillers Meant for Veterans
    4/4/2022
    Matthew Camera, a resident of Erie, Pennsylvania, was sentenced in federal court to two years of probation for violating federal drug laws. According to information presented to the court, from January 2017 to June 2020, while Camera was employed as the pharmacy chief at the Erie VA Medical Center, he unlawfully obtained multiple dosage units of hydrocodone and oxycodone from pill bottles awaiting delivery to VA patients. The VA OIG investigated this case.
  • Doctor Pleaded Guilty to Workers’ Comp Fraud Conspiracy
    3/31/2022
    Robert Clay Smith, a Louisiana physician, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit healthcare fraud, wire fraud, and illegal remunerations (taking kickbacks). According to court documents, the scheme, which ran from 2013 until 2017, involved individuals associated with a medical supply and billing company recruiting Smith to dispense pain creams and patches to his workers’ compensation patients by offering him a split of the profits. The company acted as the billing agent for Smith, handling all the paperwork and submitting the allegedly fraudulent claims to the US Department of Labor, Office of Workers’ Compensation Programs and to private insurers. In exchange, the company paid Smith 50 to 55 percent of the profits collected from successfully billing insurers, at markups of 15 to 20 times what the medications cost.
  • New York Man Charged with Lying to Federal Aviation Administration
    3/31/2022
    Noah Felice of Fayetteville, New York, was arraigned after being charged in an indictment with lying to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). According to the indictment, in September 2017, Felice made false statements to the FAA on a Form 8500-8, which is an application pilots submit to the FAA to renew their medical certifications. The indictment alleges that Felice stated on the form that he had no history of criminal convictions and had never received medical disability benefits, when he knew that he had been convicted of multiple prior misdemeanor offenses and was receiving disability benefits from VA. This case is being investigated by the VA OIG and Department of Transportation OIG.
  • Pharmacy President Admitted to Role in $34 Million Compound Medication Scheme
    3/31/2022
    Robert Schneiderman of Langhorne, Pennsylvania, admitted to participating in a massive compounded-medication kickback scheme that he and others ran out of a pharmacy in Clifton, New Jersey. Schneiderman pleaded guilty in federal court to one count of conspiracy to commit healthcare fraud and one count of conspiracy to violate the Anti-Kickback Statute. From 2014 through 2016, Schneiderman and his coconspirators used Main Avenue Pharmacy, a mail-order pharmacy with a storefront in New Jersey, to run a fraud and kickback scheme involving compounded drugs like scar creams, pain creams, migraine mediation, and vitamins. Schneiderman was the president of Main Avenue Pharmacy and was a founder and CEO of its corporate parent. On compounded medications alone, Main Avenue Pharmacy received over $34 million in reimbursements from healthcare benefit programs. Approximately $8 million of that total was paid by federal payers. Schneiderman himself earned over $400,000 through the course of the scheme. This case was investigated by the VA OIG, FBI, Department of Defense OIG, Defense Criminal Investigative Service, and Department of Health and Human Services OIG.
  • Pennsylvania Doctor Agreed to Pay $3 Million to Resolve Alleged Violations of the False Claim Act
    3/30/2022
    Dr. Harry Doyle, a psychiatrist from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and his wife, Sonya Doyle, have agreed to pay a total of $3 million to resolve alleged violations of the False Claims Act. The alleged violations include submitting false billing to the US Department of Labor Office of Workers’ Compensation Programs (OWCP) for psychiatric services that were not provided, as well as upcoding and double-billing patient claims. As part of the settlement, the Doyles have also agreed to be voluntarily excluded from federal healthcare programs for a period of 25 years. This is the largest recovery against a single psychiatrist in the history of the OWCP. A multiagency investigation of Dr. Doyle’s practice revealed that from January 2013 through April 2021, the Doyles allegedly billed for services not rendered, some of which occurred when they were not physically present in the United States. This case was investigated by the VA OIG, the Department of Labor OIG, and the United States Postal Service OIG.
  • Ten Texas Doctors and a Healthcare Executive Agreed to Pay over $1.68 Million to Settle Kickback Allegations
    3/28/2022
    Ten Texas doctors and a healthcare executive have agreed to pay more than $1.68 million to resolve False Claims Act allegations involving illegal remuneration in violation of the Anti-Kickback Statute and Stark Law. According to a multiagency investigation, from 2015 to 2018, the doctors allegedly received thousands of dollars in illegal remuneration from eight management service organizations (MSOs) in exchange for ordering laboratory tests from Rockdale Hospital doing business as Little River Healthcare, True Health Diagnostics LLC, and Boston Heart Diagnostics Corporation. Little River funded the illegal remuneration to the doctors in the form of volume-based commissions paid to independent contractor recruiters, who used the MSOs to pay numerous doctors for their referrals. The MSO payments to the doctors were disguised as investment returns but in fact were based on, and offered in exchange for, the doctors’ referrals. As part of their settlements, the defendants have agreed to cooperate with the Department of Justice’s investigations of other parties involved in the alleged violations of law. To date, a total of 17 doctors and two healthcare executives involved in this scheme have agreed on settlements totaling more than $2.7 million. The civil settlements were the result of a coordinated effort between the VA OIG, Department of Health and Human Services OIG, Defense Criminal Investigative Service, and the US Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Texas.
  • Michigan Woman Defrauded VA Using Two Fictitious Children
    3/23/2022
    From 2002 to 2019, Terrie Lynn Christian of Newaygo, Michigan, engaged in a fraudulent scheme that targeted children’s benefits programs administered by VA and the Social Security Administration (SSA). This scheme, which involved obtaining benefits for two fictitious children, resulted in government losses of over $660,000, including approximately $110,000 for VA. Christian was sentenced in US District Court to 30 months in prison, three years of supervised release, and restitution of over $660,000. The VA OIG and SSA OIG investigated this case.
  • Georgia Man Sentenced for Role in Identity Theft Scheme
    3/18/2022
    According to a multiagency investigation, multiple individuals in Jamaica engaged in a scheme that involved redirecting the monthly benefit payments of veterans and Social Security recipients to alternate bank accounts. The stolen funds were then allegedly loaded onto prepaid credit cards and mailed to coconspirators in the Miami and Atlanta areas. These individuals also participated in telemarketing scams that targeted elderly US citizens, including veterans. One defendant was sentenced in the Southern District of Florida to 78 months of incarceration and restitution of over $900,000. The VA OIG, Homeland Security Investigations, and US Postal Inspection Service conducted the investigation. To date, 18 coconspirators have been indicted in connection with this scheme, 15 of whom have been sentenced to a combined 637 months of incarceration, 456 months of supervised release, 36 months of probation, and over $4 million in restitution. The loss to VA is more than $7 million.
  • Rhode Island Woman Arrested for Falsifying Military Service and Fraudulently Collecting Donations Intended for Wounded Veterans
    3/15/2022
    Sarah Jane Cavanaugh of Warwick, Rhode Island, was arrested on charges of using forged or counterfeited military discharge certificates, wire fraud, fraudulently holding herself out to be a medal recipient with intent to obtain money, property, or other tangible benefit, and aggravated identity theft. It is alleged that Cavanaugh claimed to be a wounded US Marine Corps veteran and recipient of a Purple Heart and Bronze Star and schemed to collect hundreds of thousands of dollars in veteran benefits and charitable contributions from organizations that provide monetary aid to veterans in need.
  • Jury Convicts Two Texas Men on Federal Fraud and False Statements Charges
    3/10/2022
    Nick L. Medeiros and Bobby D. Greaves, both of San Antonio, Texas, were found guilty of federal fraud and false statements charges by a jury in Albuquerque, New Mexico. A federal grand jury indicted Medeiros and Greaves on June 13, 2018, charging the two men with conspiracy, major fraud against the United States, and two counts of false statements. On March 10, 2020, a federal grand jury returned a four-count superseding indictment charging Medeiros and Greaves with unlawfully obtaining more than $3 million in government contracts by falsely and repeatedly representing to the United States that Medeiros, a service-disabled veteran, was operating independently from Greaves, his brother-in-law. The indictment alleged that instead Medeiros relied on Greaves, who is not a veteran, to complete all his government contract work by providing the labor and equipment. “Conspiring to gain federal contracts set aside for service-disabled veterans is reprehensible,” said Special Agent in Charge Jeffrey Breen of the VA OIG’s South Central Field Office. “These guilty verdicts send a clear message that anyone who attempts to do so will be held accountable. We thank the U.S. Attorney’s Office and our other law enforcement partners for their efforts in this case.”
  • Connecticut Man Admits Defrauding the VA to Receive Benefits
    3/10/2022
    Derrick Brewer, of Enfield, Connecticut, pleaded guilty to one count of theft of government funds. In March 2018, Brewer submitted paperwork to the VA offices in Hartford as part of an application for service-connected disability benefits. Specifically, he submitted form DD-214, which indicated that his discharge from his former service in the U.S. Coast Guard was characterized as “Honorable.” However, the form had been altered prior to its submission. According to official Coast Guard records, Brewer’s discharge was characterized as “Other Than Honorable Conditions” following his convictions under the Uniform Code of Military Justice. There is no record of the discharge characterization ever being upgraded. As a result of this submission, Brewer collected nearly $70,000 in VA benefits from March 2018 through September 2020. Sentencing is scheduled for May 27, 2022.
  • Former Chief of Cardiology at Palo Alto VA Hospital Pleads Guilty to Sexual Battery
    3/10/2022
    Former VA cardiologist John Giacomini, of Atherton, California, pleaded guilty to one count of felony abusive sexual contact. Beginning in the fall of 2017, Giacomini repeatedly subjected a subordinate electrophysiologist to unwanted and unwelcome sexual contact, to include hugging, kissing, and intimate touching while on VA premises. On November 10, 2017, the victim explicitly told Giacomini she was not interested in a romantic or sexual relationship with him. Nevertheless, Giacomini continued to subject his subordinate to unwanted sexual advances and touching, culminating on December 20, 2017, when Giacomini turned out the lights in an office, pulled the victim out of her chair, and fondled her until a janitor opened the office door and interrupted the encounter. The victim later resigned from her position at the VA, citing Giacomini’s behavior as her principal reason for leaving. Sentencing is scheduled for July 12, 2022.
  • Two Arkansas Men Indicted on Fraud Charges
    3/3/2022
    Hunter Matthew Burroughs and Stephen Keith Andrews were indicted by a federal grand jury in Fort Smith, Arkansas, for their roles in three separate conspiracies to defraud the US government and private workers’ compensation insurers. Their alleged crimes include a billing and kickback fraud scheme with multiple physicians and medical clinics and separate fraud schemes involving the shipment of medications from Arkansas to two Louisiana physicians, who then distributed those medications from their clinics in violation of Louisiana laws. Additionally, Burroughs was charged with wire fraud for allegedly falsifying emails he provided in a civil lawsuit involving his sale of the company.
  • Massachusetts Woman Sentenced for Stealing Veterans Affairs Funds
    3/3/2022
    Robin Calef, of Brockton, Massachusetts, was sentenced to one month in prison followed by three years of supervised release after previously pleading guilty to one count of theft of public funds in November 2021. She was also ordered to pay restitution in the amount of $102,289 to the VA. In December 2006, Calef’s sister, who was receiving VA monthly benefits, passed away. She failed to inform the VA of her sister’s death, and the VA continued to deposit monthly benefits into a joint bank account held by Calef and her sister until September 2017. Bank records revealed that Calef made monthly withdrawals of approximately the exact amount of VA benefit funds deposited into the joint account.
  • Government Contractor to Pay Record $48.5 Million Settlement
    3/2/2022
    TriMark USA—a contractor based in Mansfield, Massachusetts, that provides kitchen and food service equipment to federal customers—has agreed to pay $48.5 million to resolve allegations that its fraudulent actions led to federal agencies improperly awarding small business set-aside contracts to three small business with which TriMark worked. The settlement constitutes the largest-ever False Claims Act recovery based on allegations of small business contracting fraud. Between 2011 and 2021, TriMark identified federal set-aside contract opportunities for the small businesses to bid on using their set-aside status; instructed them on how to prepare their bids and what prices to propose; “ghostwrote” emails for those companies to send to government officials to make it appear as though the small businesses were performing work that TriMark was performing; and affirmatively concealed TriMark’s involvement in the contract. The case began in May 2019, when a whistleblower, a company known as Fox Unlimited Enterprises, filed a qui tam complaint under seal in the US District Court for the Northern District of New York. Per the False Claims Act, such complaints require the United States to investigate the allegations and elect whether to intervene and take over the action. In this case, the United States elected to intervene in the action in December 2021 and subsequently reached this settlement. Pursuant to the settlement agreement, Fox Unlimited Enterprises will receive $10.9 million of the settlement amount paid by TriMark. The VA OIG helped to investigate this case.
  • New Jersey Man Sentenced to 42 Months in Prison for Stealing Government Property
    3/2/2022
    Wagner “Wanny” Checonolasco of Lyndhurst, New Jersey, who previously pleaded guilty to conspiring to steal government property, was sentenced to 42 months in prison for his role in a scheme to steal more than $8 million worth of prescription HIV medication. According to an investigation by the VA OIG and FBI, from August 2017 to November 2019, Checonolasco conspired with Lisa M. Hoffman, a former pharmacy technician at the East Orange VA Medical Center, to steal HIV medication belonging to VA. Hoffman stole the medication from her employer and then sold it to Checonolasco for cash. In addition to the prison term, he was sentenced to three years of supervised release and ordered to pay restitution in the amount of $8.2 million. Hoffman, who previously pleaded guilty to her role in the scheme, is awaiting sentencing.
  • Fiduciary Indicted for Misappropriating Funds
    2/23/2022
    According to a VA OIG investigation, from March 2017 to March 2018, Robert Bruce Ralston of Evans City, Pennsylvania, who was the appointed fiduciary for a disabled veteran, caused 44 unauthorized withdrawals by check from the disabled veteran’s beneficiary account. The unauthorized checks totaled more than $34,000, which Ralston allegedly transferred to himself to pay phone bills, medical bills, and mortgage payments. Ralston was indicted by a federal grand jury on a charge of misappropriation by a fiduciary.
  • Doctor Pleaded Guilty to Role in Compounded Drugs Scheme
    2/22/2022
    Jerry May Keepers, 68, of Kingwood, Texas, pleaded guilty for writing and referring compounded drug prescriptions in return for illegal kickback payments. Keepers admitted that OK Compounding—a pharmacy controlled by two other defendants—solicited him to write prescriptions for his patients that would be filled by the pharmacy. On January 22, 2014, Keepers knowingly received $25,000 from representatives of OK Compounding, a payment he accepted to refer prescriptions for expensive compounded drugs. OK Compounding filled the medications and filed claims with several federal healthcare programs, including TRICARE, Medicare, CHAMPVA, and the Federal Employees Compensation Act Program. If his plea agreement is accepted, Keepers will serve 36 months of supervised probation and pay no more than $1.5 million in restitution. The investigation was conducted by the VA OIG, the Department of Labor OIG, IRS Criminal Investigation, US Postal Service OIG, FBI, the Department of Health and Human Services OIG, and Defense Criminal Investigative Service.
  • Ten Individuals Indicted for $300 Million Healthcare Kickback Scheme
    2/14/2022
    According to a multiagency investigation, the founders of several lab companies, including Unified Laboratory Services, Spectrum Diagnostic Laboratory, and Reliable Labs LLC, allegedly paid kickbacks to induce medical professionals to order medically unnecessary lab tests, which they then billed to Medicare and other federal healthcare programs. The medical professionals accepted the bribes and ordered millions of dollars’ worth of tests. Meanwhile, Unified, Spectrum, and Reliable disguised the kickbacks as legitimate business transactions, including as medical advisor agreement payments, salary offsets, lease payments, and marketing commissions. As a result of these kickbacks, the laboratories were able to submit more than $300 million in billing to federal government healthcare programs. Between 2015 and 2018, one doctor received more than $400,000 in kickbacks for ordering more than $4 million worth of lab tests, while another doctor received more than $300,000 in kickbacks for ordering more than $12 million worth of lab tests. Ten individuals, including the two doctors, have been indicted in connection with this scheme. If convicted, they face up to 55 years or more in federal prison. The investigation was conducted by the VA OIG, FBI, the US Department of Health and Human Services’ Office of Investigations, and the Defense Criminal Investigative Service.
  • Rhode Island Pharmaceutical Sales Director Sentenced to Time Served
    2/10/2022
    Robert A. Ronzio of North Providence, Rhode Island—the national sales director of the now-defunct New England Compounding Center (NECC)—was sentenced to time served for his role in conspiring to defraud the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Ronzio and his coconspirators created numerous work-around methods to make it appear to federal and state regulators that NECC was dispensing drugs pursuant to valid patient-specific prescriptions, when in fact it operated as a manufacturer distributing drugs in bulk. The NECC criminal case arose from the nationwide outbreak of fungal meningitis that was traced back to contaminated vials of preservative-free methylprednisolone acetate (MPA) manufactured by NECC. In 2012, 753 patients across 20 states were diagnosed with fungal infections after receiving these MPA injections, with more than 100 patients dying as a result. The outbreak was the largest public health crisis ever caused by a contaminated pharmaceutical drug. In December 2014, Ronzio and 13 other owners, employees, and associates of NECC were charged in a 131-count indictment. In December 2016, Ronzio pleaded guilty to one count of conspiring to defraud the FDA. He cooperated with the government and testified at the trials of three other NECC defendants.
  • Florida Man Sentenced to 15 Years for Consecutive Healthcare Fraud Conspiracies
    2/3/2022
    Patsy Truglia of Parkland, Florida, was sentenced to 15 years in federal prison for his role in two consecutive conspiracies to commit healthcare fraud. According to a multiagency investigation, from January 2018 to April 2019, Truglia and his coconspirators generated medically unnecessary physicians’ orders via a telemarketing operation for durable medical equipment (DME). Through the telemarketing operation, the personal and medical information of Medicare beneficiaries was harvested to create the unnecessary DME orders. The orders were then forwarded to purported “telemedicine” vendors that, in exchange for a fee, paid illegal bribes to physicians to sign the orders, often without ever contacting the beneficiaries. Truglia’s telemarketing operation used the orders as support for millions of dollars in false and fraudulent claims submitted to the Medicare program. To avoid Medicare scrutiny, Truglia spread the fraudulent claims across five DME storefronts operated under his ownership and control. The scheme led to about $25 million in fraudulent DME claims submitted to Medicare, resulting in approximately $12 million in payments. In April 2019, Truglia’s storefronts were subject to search warrants and a civil action under which, among other ramifications, enjoined Truglia and his five storefronts from engaging in any further healthcare fraud conduct. Undeterred, Truglia and other conspirators carried out a similar conspiracy using three new DME storefronts and different “telemedicine” vendors. This second conspiracy caused approximately $12 million in additional fraudulent DME claims to be submitted to Medicare, resulting in approximately $6.3 million in payments. In addition to his prison sentence, Truglia was ordered to pay $18.3 million in restitution.
  • Prolific Fraudster Pleaded Guilty to Theft of Government Property
    2/3/2022
    Ramón Julbe-Rosa pleaded guilty to 12 counts including theft of government property and introducing unapproved new drugs into the United States. His multiple fraud schemes included defrauding the Social Security Administration and Medicare by receiving Social Security Disability Insurance benefit payments while working; fraudulently receiving unemployability benefits from VA; and falsely stating that his primary residence—purported to be in Morovis, Puerto Rico—was damaged by Hurricane Maria, leading to the fraudulent approval of a Small Business Administration Disaster loan. In addition, Julbe-Rosa established and operated a website through which he promoted and sold various products intended as treatments for serious medical conditions without Food and Drug Administration approval. Julbe-Rosa was ordered to pay close to $217,000 in restitution, including approximately $119,000 to VA.
  • Florida Man Pleaded Guilty to Stealing Twin’s Identity for VA Benefits
    1/27/2022
    Wayne Bowen of Jacksonville, Florida, has pleaded guilty to aggravated identity theft for using his estranged identical twin brother’s name, Social Security card, and military discharge papers to apply for federally subsidized housing benefits. Due to his fraudulent use of his twin’s identity, Bowen received more than $32,000 in medical services from VA; close to $19,000 in housing subsidies from the Department of Housing and Urban Development; and more than $12,000 in nutritional benefits from the Department of Agriculture. Bowen’s brother confirmed that he did not apply for any of these benefits and that he never gave his twin permission to use his name. Bowen faces a mandatory sentence of two years in federal prison. He has agreed to repay approximately $64,000.
  • Florida Pharmacy Executive Pleaded Guilty to $88 Million Healthcare Fraud
    1/27/2022
    Matthew Smith of Palm Beach, Florida, has pleaded guilty to his role in a compounding pharmacy scheme that defrauded the Department of Defense’s Tricare and VA’s CHAMPVA benefit programs of approximately $88 million. Smith admitted to his role in fraudulently billing the two insurance providers for expensive, medically unnecessary compound drugs. To further the scheme, Smith and his coconspirators paid approximately $40 million in kickbacks to patients, patient recruiters, and doctors in exchange for them ordering expensive pain creams, scar creams, and vitamins without regard to the patients’ medical needs. He faces up to 10 years in federal prison.
  • Seven Doctors to Pay Settlement over Kickback Allegations
    1/25/2022
    Seven Texas doctors have agreed to pay more than $1.1 million to resolve False Claims Act allegations involving illegal remuneration in violation of the Anti-Kickback Statute and Stark Law. According to a multiagency investigation, from 2015 to 2018, the doctors allegedly received thousands of dollars in illegal remuneration from eight management service organizations (MSOs) in exchange for ordering laboratory tests from Rockdale Hospital doing business as Little River Healthcare, True Health Diagnostics LLC, and Boston Heart Diagnostics Corporation. Little River funded the illegal remuneration to the doctors in the form of volume-based commissions paid to independent contractor recruiters, who used the MSOs to pay numerous doctors for their referrals. The MSO payments to the doctors were disguised as investment returns but in fact were based on, and offered in exchange for, the doctors’ referrals. As part of their settlements, the physicians have agreed to cooperate with the Department of Justice’s investigations of other parties involved in the alleged violations of law.
  • Louisiana Woman Sentenced for Role in Healthcare Fraud Scheme
    1/21/2022
    Bonnie Jean Lawless Diaz of Slidell, Louisiana, was sentenced to 36 months of probation after pleading guilty in federal court relating to her role in a healthcare fraud conspiracy. According to a multiagency investigation, Diaz’s employer, Prime Pharmacy Solutions, colluded with physicians to provide compounding medication to CHAMPVA and TRICARE beneficiaries, even though the medication was not medically necessary or no doctor–patient relationship existed. The company billed CHAMPVA close to $619,000 for five VA beneficiaries and the TRICARE program for approximately $14 million. As the office manager for Prime Pharmacy Solutions, Diaz had knowledge of the fraud scheme and concealed it by knowingly submitting payment requests for the unnecessary compounded medications. She pleaded guilty to misprision (or knowing concealment). In addition to her probation sentence, Diaz was ordered to pay $180,000 in restitution.
  • Four Anchorage Individuals Sentenced for Scheme to Defraud VA
    1/20/2022
    Donald Garner, Richard Vaughan, Yalonda Moore, and Dale Johnson—all from Anchorage, Alaska—were sentenced for their involvement in a bribery and fraud scheme to obtain service-disabled veteran-owned small business (SDVOSB) government contracts with VA. Garner was a government contractor who, through his company Veteran Ability, provided various services to the US government, including VA. Vaughan worked at the Anchorage VA as a contract officer representative responsible for awarding and managing numerous contracts. Between 2015 and 2017, Garner directed Moore, his bookkeeper, to deliver over $29,000 in bribe payments to Vaughan. In exchange, Vaughan would select Veteran Ability to complete dozens of “purchase card” jobs, totaling more than $100,000. Vaughan also approved invoices submitted by Garner related to a snow removal contract for work that was either unnecessary or never performed, causing the government about $347,000 in losses. Additionally, between 2014 and 2016, Johnson, who was the owner of ADALECO General LLC, conspired with Garner to perpetrate a “pass-through” scheme in which Johnson allowed Garner to use ADALECO’s name to obtain SDVOSB set-aside contracts for which Garner’s company was not eligible, including the VA snow removal contract. Garner and Vaughan each pleaded guilty to one count of bribery involving a public official and were sentenced to one year and one day in federal prison, followed by three years of supervised release. They each must also pay $347,000 in restitution. Johnson pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to defraud the United States and was sentenced to five years’ probation and ordered to pay over $54,000 in restitution. Moore pleaded guilty to one count of obstruction of justice and was sentenced to three years’ probation.
  • Owner of Diving School Sentenced to 27 Months in Prison for Wire Fraud
    1/20/2022
    From January 2012 through July 2018, Tamara Brown of Haddon Heights, New Jersey, owned a private, for-profit commercial diving school that offered educational programs in commercial diving. As a for-profit institution, the diving school was required to be accredited through an approved accreditation body to be eligible to receive tuition funds from the Department of Education’s Higher Education Act programs. VA also relies upon the accreditation in evaluating the eligibility of veteran students to receive student aid funding. When renewing the diving school’s accreditation in 2012, Brown submitted fraudulent information to the accrediting authority regarding employment rates of the school’s graduates and wholly fabricated meeting minutes for advisory board meetings purportedly held by the school, which are required for accreditation. Brown was sentenced to 27 months in prison, three years of supervised release, a fine of $50,000, and $1.1 million in restitution.
  • Georgia Man Who Stole VA and Social Security Benefits Sentenced to Federal Prison
    1/20/2022
    According to a multiagency investigation, from 2012 to 2017, Jamare Mason of Snellville, Georgia, and his coconspirators obtained the personal information of disabled veterans and Social Security beneficiaries and used this information to fraudulently open bank accounts and prepaid debit cards in the victims’ names. They also forged documents that directed VA and the Social Security Administration to deposit benefit payments into those fraudulent accounts. The defendant’s scheme attempted to redirect over $1.8 million in benefits from more than 100 disabled veterans and Social Security beneficiaries, resulting in the actual loss of over $1 million. Mason was sentenced to 78 months in federal prison, five years of supervised release, and $1.3 million in restitution.
  • Former Biloxi VA Employee Sentenced to Prison for Stealing VA Property
    1/13/2022
    Chad Jacob of Saucier, Mississippi, was sentenced to 12 months in federal prison for stealing government property, including personal protective equipment, electronics, and medical equipment, while working as the assistant chief of supply chain management for the Gulf Coast Veterans Health Care System. In 2019 and 2020, Jacob stole items belonging to VA and resold them to local pawn stores and on his personal eBay account. In total, Jacob made more than $50,000 selling the stolen N95 masks and over $9,000 selling stolen iPads and iPhones. He was also ordered to pay a $40,000 fine and more than $23,000 in restitution to VA.
  • California Man Indicted for Stealing Identity of Army Veteran
    1/13/2022
    Kevin Middleton of Los Angeles, California (formerly of Brooklyn, New York), was indicted on multiple charges for allegedly using the identity of a veteran to apply for government benefits. Starting in 2018, Middleton posed as the veteran to obtain multiple identification cards, including a DMV identification card, Social Security card, and New York State identification card, and used these fraudulent identification cards to obtain a replacement VA card, which allowed him to receive social services from VA. In September 2018, VA social workers assisted Middleton with his application for Section 8 housing in the veteran’s name, which the New York City Housing Authority expedited because of his status as a military veteran. The Department of Housing and Urban Development paid more than $35,000 to subsidize the defendant’s rent. Using the veteran’s identity, Middleton also received $1,000 in benefits from the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program. Middleton was indicted for identity theft, criminal impersonation, grand larceny, welfare fraud, and a host of other charges.
  • Albany Woman Charged with Burglarizing VA Property
    1/13/2022
    Jamie Varieur of Albany, New York, was arrested for allegedly burglarizing a dwelling located at the Albany Stratton VA Medical Center. According to the complaint, Varieur broke into and entered the Fisher House—a home on VA property where military and veteran families can stay while a loved one is in the hospital—and stole various items from the kitchen. The case is being investigated by the VA OIG, Albany Police Department, and VA Police Service.
  • Business Owner Sentenced for Fraud Scheme
    1/7/2022
    Matthew C. McPherson of Olathe, Kansas, was sentenced to two years and four months in federal prison without parole for defrauding the government. From September 2009 to March 2018, McPherson participated in a conspiracy to obtain contracts set aside by the federal government for award to small businesses owned and controlled by veterans, service-disabled veterans, and certified minorities. McPherson, who is neither a certified minority nor a veteran, owned and operated construction companies that used the veteran and/or minority status of coconspirators to obtain federal contracts to which the companies would otherwise not be entitled. The companies received approximately $346 million in federal contracts. On June 3, 2019, McPherson pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and major program fraud. In addition to his prison sentence, McPherson has forfeited to the government more than $5.5 million, which represents his share of the fraud proceeds.
  • Montana Vascular Surgeon to Settle Healthcare Fraud Claims for $3.7 Million
    1/5/2022
    Dr. David Bellamah, a vascular surgeon who operates vein and surgery centers in Missoula and Kalispell, Montana, has agreed to pay the federal government $3.7 million to settle alleged False Claims Act violations. According to the civil complaint, from January 1, 2015, to March 31, 2017, Bellamah performed medically unnecessary surgeries based on improper techniques and submitted fraudulent bills for payment to four federal healthcare programs, including Medicare, Medicaid, TRICARE, and CHAMPVA. The settlement agreement between Bellamah and the US Attorney’s Office for the District of Montana, Department of Health and Human Services OIG, Defense Health Agency, VA, and a third party directs Bellamah to pay approximately $1.9 million in restitution and $1.8 million in additional damages.
  • North Carolina Home Health Services Company to Settle False Claims Act Allegations Related to Death of a Veteran
    1/3/2022
    Professional Family Care Services, Inc. (PFCS), a home health services company based in Fayetteville, North Carolina, has agreed to pay more than $45,000 to settle civil False Claims Act allegations related to fraudulent billings for work by a recently convicted felon under their employ. During 2015 and 2016, PFCS billed VA for home health services provided to W.R., an Army veteran, even though, at that time, W.R. was residing with the company’s employee, Certified Nurse Aide Tracey McNeill. PFCS based its billing for those services on falsified timesheets provided by McNeill, who failed to provide both the time and quality of care required under the VA program. After several months living with McNeill, purportedly receiving home health services provided by McNeill through PFCS, W.R. had to be admitted to the hospital. He was extremely malnourished and ultimately died within a few days of his admission. Earlier in 2021, McNeill was convicted of wire fraud for her misconduct related to W.R., sentenced to 12 months and one day in federal prison, and ordered to pay over $90,000 in restitution.

  • New Hampshire Man Found Guilty of Fraud
    12/28/2021
    Joseph A. Foistner of Mont Vernon, New Hampshire, was found guilty of four counts of bank fraud, as well as charges of wire fraud, money laundering, and making misrepresentations during bankruptcy proceedings. Foistner used fraudulent means to apply for over $8 million in loans from five different financial institutions, laundered money, and made material misrepresentations during bankruptcy proceedings between 2015 and 2018. Foistner, at the time of the scheme, was a licensed attorney in Massachusetts. In one of the bank fraud schemes, he submitted false information to obtain a loan by claiming falsely that his wife was earning over $200,000 per year as a paralegal. Each of the loans made to Foistner were backed by either VA or the Small Business Administration. Foistner is scheduled to be sentenced on April 4, 2022.
  • Former VA Employee Sentenced for Fraud
    12/9/2021
    Anthony Medrano, a veteran of the US Marine Corps and former employee of VA, admitted that between approximately November 2015 and May 2020, he submitted claims to VA in which he purported to be disabled to obtain caregiver benefits for his wife, when he was actually able-bodied and even participated in fitness challenges and coached youth sports. Medrano was sentenced in federal court to eight months in custody for defrauding VA out of more than $183,000. He executed this scheme while employed by VBA as a veterans service representative, a position in which he explained benefit programs and entitlement criteria to veterans applying for VA benefits.
  • Florida Man Guilty of Theft
    12/9/2021
    Barry Wayne Hoover of Tampa, Florida, a veteran of the United States Navy, exaggerated the extent of his visual impairment in order to receive VA disability benefits to which he was not entitled. Specifically, Hoover manipulated the results of subjective tests of his peripheral vision to reflect that he had only a five-degree visual field and was legally blind. VA found that Hoover was 100 percent disabled based on those manipulated tests. Hoover was found guilty of theft of government funds and making a false statement to a federal agency. He faces a maximum penalty of 10 years in federal prison. His sentencing hearing is scheduled for March 2022.
  • VA Office of Inspector General Leaders Receive 2021 Presidential Rank Award—Meritorious Executive
    12/8/2021
    Larry Reinkemeyer, the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Office of Inspector General’s (OIG’s) Assistant Inspector General for Audits and Evaluations, and Roy Fredrikson, Principal Deputy Counselor to the Inspector General, have each been awarded the Fiscal Year 2021 Presidential Rank Award—Meritorious Executive. The award is one of the most prestigious honors conferred to the career Senior Executive Service (SES) by the President of the United States. The Meritorious Executive award recognizes the extraordinary achievements by career executives in federal service. In addition to effecting meaningful change, nominees must demonstrate the highest level of leadership acumen. Only five percent of career SES may receive this honor in a nomination year.
  • Four Men Sentenced to Prison for Roles in Construction Insurance Fraud Scheme
    12/6/2021
    From March through December 2015, four men devised a scheme to unlawfully enrich themselves by issuing various performance and payment bonds—a type of insurance required on major construction contracts. During the fraud, Alexander Robert Xavier, formerly of Boca Raton, Florida, acted as a so-called “individual surety” and pledged over $30 million in assets to builders working on large-scale infrastructure and residential construction projects. In truth, and as the defendants well knew, there were no such assets, only worthless securities that the defendants referred to as “gold certificates.” Xavier was sentenced to 72 months in prison; Timothy “Guy” Castracane of Saratoga Springs, New York, was sentenced to 46 months in prison; Henry John Hattendorf of Las Vegas, Nevada, was sentenced to 24 months in prison; and Robert Michael Wann of Rancho Mirage, California, was sentenced to 54 months in prison. Each defendant was also sentenced to a term of supervised release of three years and ordered to pay over $2.6 million in restitution to victims of the fraud.
  • Ohio Man Found Guilty of Threatening a Federal Employee
    12/6/2021
    Lon R. Sweeney of Cleveland, Ohio, was found guilty of threatening a federal employee and acquitted of assault of an officer. On July 12, 2017, Sweeney left a voicemail message threatening bodily harm to a VA employee after VA had begun the process of assigning a fiduciary to manage Sweeney’s monetary VA benefits. During the same voicemail, Sweeney also threatened bodily harm against an employee of the VA OIG, Criminal Investigations Division, who had previously warned Sweeney about making threats to VA employees. Sweeney is scheduled to be sentenced on April 12, 2022.
  • Two Florida Men Charged with Healthcare Fraud
    11/23/2021
    Thomas Farese of Delray Beach, Florida, and Domenic J. Gatto Jr. of Palm Beach Gardens, Florida, were charged in connection with a multimillion-dollar scheme to defraud several healthcare benefit programs, including Medicare, TRICARE, and CHAMPVA. The scheme involved offering, paying, soliciting, and receiving kickbacks and bribes in exchange for doctors’ orders for durable medical equipment without regard to medical necessity, namely orthotic braces. The companies owned by Farese and Gatto subsequently fraudulently billed the healthcare benefit programs for the orders. Gatto and his conspirators entered a related kickback scheme involving prescriptions for compounded medications. The defendants caused losses to Medicare, TRICARE, and CHAMPVA of approximately $25 million. They were charged with conspiracy to commit wire fraud, conspiracy to commit healthcare fraud, healthcare fraud, conspiracy to transact in criminal proceeds, transacting in criminal proceeds, and conspiracy to violate the federal Anti-Kickback Statute.
  • DC Woman Indicted for Scheme to Steal More than $400,000 in Government Benefit Funds
    11/23/2021
    Rosemary Ogbenna of Washington, DC, was named in a 35-count indictment for allegedly carrying out a scheme to steal more than $400,000 in government benefit funds provided by the Social Security Administration (SSA) and VA. According to the indictment, Ogbenna operated a rooming house business and perpetrated the scheme to target some of her tenants. She obtained and maintained control over SSA and VA benefit funds intended for the care of elderly, mentally ill, disabled, and veteran beneficiaries, and used the funds for her own personal use and benefit.
  • Two VA Employees in Chicago Charged for Pocketing Cash from Vendors
    11/19/2021
    Two Chicago-based VA employees were charged in connection with a fraud scheme that involved pocketing cash payments from vendors in exchange for steering orders for medical equipment to those vendors. Andrew Lee is charged with one count of wire fraud, while Kimberly Dyson is charged with one count of conspiracy to commit bribery and four counts of bribery. Lee and Dyson worked as prosthetic clerks in the VHA Prosthetics Service in Chicago, where part of their duties was to select vendors to order medical equipment for VA patients using government purchase cards. The charges allege that Lee and Dyson schemed with coconspirators who owned or operated medical supply and distribution companies, in some cases placing orders for unnecessary and more costly monthly rentals of medical equipment, rather than purchasing the equipment as VA physicians had ordered. The scheme fraudulently caused the VA to overpay one company by more than $1.38 million from 2016 to 2020. Lee and Dyson pocketed kickbacks of at least $220,000 and $39,850, respectively.
  • Former Registered Nurse Anesthetist at Ann Arbor VA Hospital Sentenced to Three Years’ Probation on Drug Charges
    11/19/2021
    Former VA-certified registered nurse anesthetist, Elizabeth Prophitt of Saline, Michigan, was sentenced to three years’ probation for stealing controlled substances, including several opioids, from hospital-dispensing machines. Prophitt pleaded guilty to five counts of obtaining controlled substances by fraud, misrepresentation, or deceit. She used her position as a surgical nurse to steal more than 2,000 vials of Schedule II and Schedule IV controlled substances, which included fentanyl, hydromorphone, morphine, and midazolam. Prophitt would use protected patient information and falsify medical documents to obtain the controlled substances. Instead of using the medication on patients, she diverted the drugs for her own personal use.
  • Five Men Guilty of Stealing VA, Social Security Benefits
    11/18/2021
    Five out of seven conspirators were convicted for their roles in a scheme to defraud the VA and the Social Security Administration of more than $1.8 million. A Florida jury found Omar Shaquille Bailey and Ronaldo Garfield Green guilty following an eight-day trial, while a third codefendant, Jamare Mason, pleaded guilty on the second day of trial. Two other codefendants, Kadeem Gordon and Mario Ricketts, had pleaded guilty prior to trial, while two remaining codefendants have yet to be apprehended. The members of this conspiracy obtained the personally identifiable information of disabled veterans and Social Security beneficiaries and used this information to fraudulently open bank accounts and prepaid debit cards. They also forged documents in the victims’ names that directed the VA and the Social Security Administration to deposit benefit payments into those fraudulent accounts. The defendants and their coconspirators withdrew these funds from ATMs and banks throughout South Florida and Georgia for their own personal use. Much of the funds were ultimately funneled to the architects of the scheme in Jamaica. The five guilty defendants are awaiting sentencing.
  • Former VA Employee Sentenced to Ten Months for Assault
    11/15/2021
    Tiffany Lewis, a former employee of the VA medical center in Memphis, Tennessee, was sentenced to 10 months in federal prison for assaulting two VA police officers. On November 20, 2020, VA Police responded to the scene of a disturbance on VA property. Officers observed Lewis striking another individual. VA Police attempted to detain her, but she resisted arrest and struck the arresting officer. After being escorted to a holding room on VA property, Lewis punched another officer in the face. She pleaded guilty on August 2, 2021, to two counts of assaulting federal officers.
  • Former VA Pharmacy Chief Pleaded Guilty to Violating Drug Laws
    11/15/2021
    Matthew Camera of Erie, Pennsylvania, pleaded guilty to violating federal drug laws. From January 2017 to June 2020, while employed as the pharmacy chief at the VA medical center in Erie, he unlawfully obtained multiple dosage units of hydrocodone and oxycodone from pill bottles awaiting delivery to VA patients. Sentencing is scheduled for March 22, 2022.
  • Three Men Guilty in $50 Million Healthcare Fraud and Kickback Scheme
    11/15/2021
    Nicholas Defonte and Christopher Cirri, both of Toms River, New Jersey, and Pat Truglia of Parkland, Florida, each pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit healthcare fraud. Each defendant played a role in defrauding healthcare benefits by offering, paying, soliciting, and receiving kickbacks and bribes in exchange for completed doctors’ orders for durable medical equipment, specifically orthotic braces. The defendants then fraudulently billed Medicare, TRICARE, the Civilian Health and Medical Program of the Department of Veterans Affairs (CHAMPVA), and other healthcare benefit programs. Cirri, Defonte, and their conspirators owned and operated multiple call centers where they obtained prescriptions for compound medications and other medical products reimbursable by federal and private healthcare benefit programs. The defendants caused losses to Medicare, TRICARE, and CHAMPVA of approximately $50 million.
  • Two Men Sentenced for Health Care Fraud
    11/10/2021
    Michael Nolan, of Tampa, Florida, and Richard Epstein, of Aurora, Colorado, were sentenced for their roles in a conspiracy to defraud two federal health benefit programs, Medicare and the Civilian Health and Medical Program of the Department of Veterans Affairs (CHAMPVA). From October 2016 through April 2019, Epstein and Nolan ran a telemarketing company in Tampa called REMN Management LLC that targeted the elderly to generate thousands of medically unnecessary physicians’ orders for durable medical equipment and cancer genetic testing. Epstein and Nolan also created and operated Comprehensive Telcare LLC, a telemedicine company through which they illegally bribed physicians to sign the orders regardless of medical necessity. They then illegally sold the signed physicians’ orders to client-conspirators for use as support for false and fraudulent claims submitted to Medicare and CHAMPVA. The conspiracy resulted in the submission of at least $134 million in fraudulent claims and approximately $29 million in payments. Nolan was sentenced to six years and six months in federal prison, followed by three years’ supervised release, and was ordered to pay $2.1 million. Epstein was sentenced to five years and three months in federal prison, followed by three years’ supervised release, and was ordered to pay $3 million. The court also ordered Nolan, Epstein, and other conspirators to pay over $29 million in restitution.
  • Twenty People Indicted on Charges in Connection with Fraudulent Physical Therapy Business in Pennsylvania
    11/10/2021
    Twenty people, including the two founders of Hertel & Brown Physical & Aquatic Therapy and 18 of its employees, were indicted in Erie County, Pennsylvania, on charges of conspiracy to commit wire and healthcare fraud and healthcare fraud. According to the indictment, the defendants engaged in a multifaceted conspiracy from January 2007 to October 2021 that involved a range of fraudulent activities. These included allegedly using unlicensed technicians to provide therapy and then billing for the treatment as though licensed therapists had performed it, regularly billing for treatment using the name and credentials of physical therapists who were on vacation, recording and billing for time that exceeded the actual treatment time, among several other allegations.
  • Massachusetts Woman Pleads Guilty to Theft of Public Funds
    11/8/2021
    Robin Calef, of Brockton, Massachusetts, pleaded guilty to one count of theft of public funds. Calef shared a bank account with her sister, a veteran who was receiving monthly benefits from the VA. Her sister passed away in 2006 and Calef failed to report her death to the VA. Through September 2017, Calef stole approximately $102,289 in VA funds from the shared bank account. Sentencing is scheduled for March 1, 2022.
  • Pennsylvania Man Sentenced for Mishandling Brother’s VA Funds
    11/4/2021
    Andrew Ziacik, of New Kensington, Pennsylvania, was sentenced to one day of imprisonment followed by three years of supervised release and was ordered to pay a fine of $4,000. Between 2013 and 2017, Ziacik was an appointed federal fiduciary for his older brother, a service-disabled veteran. Ziacik was responsible for receiving his brother’s VA income and paying his brother’s debts. However, Ziacik admitted that he violated the terms of his fiduciary agreement by using the VA funds to purchase a Harley Davidson motorcycle, a diamond ring, and a GMC Sierra truck. As part of his sentence, Ziacik will pay restitution to his brother in the amount of $75,000.
  • Ohio Man Charged with Threatening VA Employee
    11/4/2021
    Patrick J. Rose, of Mansfield, Ohio, was charged with one count of influencing a federal official by threat. On October 4, 2021, Rose had a medical appointment with a clinical pharmacy specialist at the Mansfield VA Community Based Outpatient Clinic. After the specialist decided to discontinue Rose’s prescription for Diazepam, Rose became upset and allegedly threatened to “shoot somebody” and then left the appointment. Allegedly, Rose called the clinic and left a voicemail message threatening to kill the specialist and her family two days later.
  • Former VA Employee Guilty of Stealing HIV Medication
    11/4/2021
    Lisa Hoffman, a former pharmacy procurement technician at the East Orange VA Medical Center in New Jersey, pleaded guilty to theft of government property. From October 2015 to November 2019, Hoffman was responsible for ordering medication, including large quantities of HIV medication, for the center’s outpatient pharmacy. She stole approximately $10 million worth of HIV medication and sold it to Wagner Checonolasco of Lyndhurst, New Jersey. Hoffman is scheduled to be sentenced on March 9, 2022. Checonolasco previously pleaded guilty and is scheduled to be sentenced on December 15, 2021.
  • Thirteen Defendants Plead Guilty in $126 Million Compounding Fraud Scheme
    11/1/2021
    Thirteen defendants, including three compounding pharmacy owners, three physicians, two pharmacists, and three patient recruiters, pleaded guilty to a years-long, multistate scheme to defraud the Department of Labor’s Office of Workers’ Compensation Programs and TRICARE. The defendants submitted false and fraudulent claims to the OWCP and TRICARE for prescriptions for compounded and other drugs prescribed to injured federal workers and members of the armed forces. The defendants paid kickbacks to patient recruiters and to physicians to persuade them to prescribe the drugs. Medications were selected based on the amount of reimbursement and not on the patients’ needs. The drugs were then mailed to patients, even though the patients often never requested, wanted, or needed them. The defendants were indicted in June 2018 and are scheduled to be sentenced in February 2022.
  • Certified Nursing Assistant Sentenced for Elder Fraud
    10/21/2021
    Tracy McNeil, of Raeford, North Carolina, was sentenced to one year and one day in prison and ordered to pay $90,003 in restitution for committing wire fraud involving an elderly veteran in her care. From February 2015 to February 2017, McNeil fraudulently obtained benefits from the VA and the Office of Personal Management by executing a power of attorney over a disabled veteran who served in the Army and worked for the US Postal Service. The investigation revealed that McNeill arranged for the victim, who had dementia, to move into her home in February 2015 and then directed the VA and OPM to deposit the veteran’s benefits into her bank account. Between April 2015 and December 2016, the VA deposited $11,151 and OPM deposited $61,318 into McNeil’s account. Further, OPM disbursed the veteran’s life insurance in the amount of $17,533 to McNeil. A financial analysis showed that most of the funds were spent on McNeill’s personal expenses, including rent, utilities, credit card payments, and personal purchases.
  • New York Contractor Agrees to Settle False Claims Act Violations
    10/20/2021
    Strock Contracting, Inc., of Cheektowaga, New York, has agreed to enter into a consent judgement with the United States for $4.7 million to resolve claims that it violated the False Claims Act. The United States filed an action in federal court alleging that Strock Contracting profited financially after fraudulently obtaining federal contracts intended to benefit service-disabled veterans. The United States alleged the company, which was not owned or controlled by a veteran, recruited a service-disabled veteran to create a pass-through company, known as Veterans Enterprises Company, Inc. (VECO), which the Strock Contracting and its owner, Lee Strock, controlled. The company allegedly directed VECO to submit false certifications of eligibility to the government, which allowed them to obtain substantial profits on numerous federal contracts.
  • Former Cleveland VA Medical Center Supervisor Sentenced for Theft and Kickback Scheme
    10/18/2021
    William H. Precht, of Kent, Ohio, was sentenced to 37 months’ imprisonment and ordered to pay $1.25 million in restitution after he pleaded guilty to theft of government property and participating in a bribery and kickback scheme. In October 2010, Precht registered a purported vendor, a company he actually controlled, as a small disadvantaged business and veteran-owned small business in the VA vendor system. He then used his VA purchase card and other employee cards to purchase over $1 million in alleged medical supplies from the vendor. In addition, from May 2015 through January 2019, he conspired with Robert A. Vitale, a medical sales representative for multiple companies that conducted business with the medical center, to devise a scheme in which Precht would receive kickbacks and other items of value in exchange for steering VA business and other monetary awards to Vitale.
  • Maryland Army Veteran Facing Federal Charges for Falsely Claiming Paralysis
    10/18/2021
    William Rich, of Windsor Mill, Maryland, was arrested for allegedly obtaining more than $1 million dollars in veterans and Social Security Administration disability benefits by falsely claiming that he was a paraplegic. Allegedly, Rich misrepresented his physical condition in VA disability compensation claims, in communications with the VA, and during medical examinations in pursuit of VA disability benefits. While serving in Iraq in 2005, Rich sustained injuries that resulted in the loss of use of both lower extremities. However, approximately six weeks after his injuries, he made substantial progress toward recovery and was no longer paralyzed. Later records show the VA rated him one hundred percent disabled following an examination in 2007, in which the examining physician noted that he did not have access to Rich’s complete claims file, and so did not review Rich’s medical history or observe the earlier report. In 2018, the VA OIG conducted an audit of certain claims and learned of conduct by Rich inconsistent with his purported condition. Over the next two years, VA OIG special agents conducted surveillance and observed Rich walking, going up and down stairs, entering and exiting vehicles, lifting, bending, and carrying items—all without visible limitation or assistance of a medical device, including a wheelchair.
  • Man Who Shot Firearm inside Florida VA Medical Center Sentenced
    10/14/2021
    Larry Ray Bon, 62, was sentenced to over 16 years in prison for shooting a firearm inside the West Palm Beach VA Medical Center in Florida. Bon brought the firearm to the emergency room, and after becoming frustrated with medical staff, he retrieved it from his wheelchair and fired several shots. In March 2020, he pleaded guilty to three counts of assaulting, resisting, or impeding federal employees, and one count of possession of a firearm in a federal facility with intent to commit a crime. At that time, Bon was committed to the custody of the US Attorney General for 25 years of mental health care and treatment at a suitable medical facility. However, Bon was determined to no longer need psychiatric hospitalization, and was recently sentenced accordingly.
  • New York Man Sentenced for Making Telephonic Threats to VA Employees
    10/12/2021
    Robert Seifert, of Utica, New York, was sentenced to two years in prison for making telephonic threats to employees of the Albany Stratton VA Medical Center. He admitted that on January 14, 2021, he made successive calls to three separate employees and left each of them threatening voicemails in which he used demeaning and offensive language. Seifert’s threats caused the employees to fear for their own safety and property. He will also serve one year of post-imprisonment supervised release.
  • Florida Man Pleads Guilty to Healthcare Fraud
    10/12/2021
    Patsy Truglia of Parkland, Florida, pleaded guilty to two counts of conspiracy to commit healthcare fraud and one count of making a false statement in a matter involving a healthcare benefit program. From January 2018 through April 2019, Truglia and other conspirators generated medically unnecessary physicians’ orders via their telemarketing operation for orthotic devices like knee, back, and wrist braces. Truglia, co-defendant Ruth Bianca Fernandez, and other conspirators caused approximately $25 million in fraudulent durable medical equipment claims to be submitted to Medicare, resulting in approximately $12 million in payments.
  • Former Rogers Company Executive Pleads Guilty to Billing Fraud Scheme
    10/6/2021
    Amanda Dawn Rains of Fayetteville, Arkansas, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit mail, wire, and healthcare fraud, obtaining federal employees’ compensation fraudulently, and paying kickbacks. Rains, a former executive with a Rogers medical supply and billing company, participated in a scheme from 2013 to 2017 that defrauded the US government and private insurance companies.
  • Nurse Charged with Theft of Government Property in COVID-19 Scheme
    9/30/2021
    Nurse Bethann Kierczak of Southgate, Michigan, was charged with theft of government property and theft or embezzlement related to a healthcare benefit program. She allegedly stole authentic COVID-19 vaccination record cards from a VA hospital—along with vaccine lot numbers necessary to make the cards appear legitimate—and then resold those cards and information to individuals within the metro Detroit community.
  • Two Plead Guilty to Health Care Fraud Scheme
    9/30/2021
    Donald Peter Auzine of Baton Rouge, Louisiana, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit health care fraud. Bonnie Jean Lawless Diaz of Slidell, Louisiana, pleaded guilty of misprision (or knowing concealment) of the commission of a felony. From March 2014 through October 2016, Auzine, the marketing manager at Prime Pharmacy Solutions, defrauded TRICARE and other benefit programs. Diaz concealed the fraud by knowingly submitting compounded medications for which there was no medical necessity. Both will be sentenced on January 4, 2022.
  • Owner of For-Profit Trade School Sentenced to Nearly 20 Years in Prison for Defrauding VA
    9/27/2021
    Jonathan Dean Davis, the owner of Retail Ready Career Center in Texas, was sentenced for deceiving the VA of $72 million. Beginning in 2014, he offered a six-week heating, ventilation, and air conditioning course, promising to prepare veterans for careers in the HVAC industry. However, upon entering the workforce, many of these veterans discovered that the course had failed to teach them many of the basic skills necessary for entry-level technician jobs. Davis was also ordered to pay $65.2 million in restitution and forfeit $72.5 million to the federal government.
  • Owner of HVAC Training Course to Forfeit $72 Million for VA Tuition Fraud
    9/21/2021
    Jonathan Dean Davis, the owner of Retail Ready Career Center in Texas, who was found guilty of seven counts of wire fraud and four counts of money laundering will forfeit over $72 million to the government. Davis deceived the VA for tuition and fees for a heating, ventilation, and air conditioning training course that failed to prepare veterans for entry-level technician jobs.
  • Missouri Man Pleads Guilty to $335 Million Fraud Scheme and $615,000 in Tax Violations
    9/15/2021
    Patrick Michael Dingle of Parkville, Missouri, pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit wire and major program fraud. Dingle admitted that he conspired to fraudulently obtain contracts, valued at $335 million, set aside by the federal government for award to small businesses owned and controlled by veterans, service-disabled veterans, and certified minorities. Dingle also pleaded guilty, in a separate case, to filing false tax returns, ultimately cheating the government of more than $615,000 in owed taxes. A co-conspirator, Matthew C. McPherson of Olathe, Kansas, pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and major program fraud earlier this year and awaits sentencing.
  • Biloxi VA Employee Pleads Guilty to Stealing VA Property
    9/9/2021
    Chad Paul Jacob of Saucier, Mississippi, pleaded guilty to stealing personal protective equipment, electronics, and medical equipment while working as the assistant chief of supply chain management for the Gulf Coast Veterans Health Care System in Biloxi. From 2009 through December 2020, Jacob stole and resold VA property at local pawn stores and on his personal eBay account.
  • Pennsylvania Man Sentenced for Faking Military Hero Status and Stealing from the Government
    9/9/2021
    Richard Meleski of Chalfont, Pennsylvania, was sentenced to three years and four months in prison, three years of supervised release, and ordered to pay $302,121 in restitution for stealing VA benefits by pretending to be a veteran who had been captured by the enemy during combat. In July 2020, Meleski pleaded guilty to one count of healthcare fraud, two counts of mail fraud, one count of stolen valor, two counts of fraudulent military papers, as well as two counts of aiding and abetting straw purchases, and one count of making false statements in connection with receiving Social Security Administration disability benefits.
  • CEO and CFO of Boston-Area Spinal Device Company Charged in Kickback Scheme
    9/8/2021
    Kingsley R. Chin of Fort Lauderdale, Florida, the chief executive officer of SpineFrontier Inc., and Aditya Humad of Cambridge, Massachusetts, the company’s chief financial officer, were indicted on one count of conspiracy to violate the Anti-Kickback Statute, six counts of violations of the Anti-Kickback Statute, and one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering. Chin and Humad allegedly bribed surgeons to use SpineFrontier’s products, and in turn, the company received millions of dollars in revenue from surgeries the surgeons performed.
  • Louisiana Doctor Indicted for Illegally Dispensing over One Million Doses of Opioids and for $5.1 Million Health Care Fraud Scheme
    9/2/2021
    Adrian Dexter Talbot of Slidell, Louisiana, was charged for his role in distributing Schedule II controlled substances, including oxycodone and morphine, outside the scope of professional practice and for maintaining his clinic for the purpose of illegally distributing controlled substances. He was also charged with defrauding health care benefit programs of more than $5.1 million, given that the opioid prescriptions were filled using health insurance benefits.
  • Portsmouth Woman Sentenced for Fraud Schemes Targeting Veterans
    8/31/2021
    Rita Copeland, 59, of Portsmouth, Virginia, was sentenced today to nine and half years in prison for wire fraud and aggravated identity theft in connection with schemes to defraud veterans. She operated Veteran Services of the Commonwealth, an entity that claimed to provide veterans with caregiving, contracting, and rental assistance services. In total, from at least 2017 through 2020, Copeland’s schemes impacted at least 29 victims and resulted in a combined loss of approximately $430,000.
  • Three Texas Men Indicted for Distribution of Narcotics
    8/24/2021
    Scott Mitchell Brown, John Henry Swiencki, and David Jeffery Hughes, Jr., were all charged with one count of conspiring to distribute hydrocodone, oxycodone, and amphetamines. Brown was also indicted for stealing prescription medications, possessing stolen mail, and obtaining unauthorized health information from the Kerrville VA Medical Center in Texas.
  • Florida Man Sentenced for Theft of Government Funds
    8/23/2021
    David Naylor, 59, of Spring Hill, Florida, was sentenced to two years and three months in federal prison, followed by three years of supervised release, for theft of government funds. Naylor made false representations regarding his physical limitations in connection with his application for VA disability compensation.
  • Couple Sentenced in Large-Scale Fraud and Bribery Scheme Involving Two South Florida VA Hospitals
    8/20/2021
    Earron Starks was sentenced to 30 months’ imprisonment, followed by three years of supervised release, and ordered to pay over $2.4 million in restitution. Carlicha Starks was sentenced to three years of supervised release, including one year of home confinement, and ordered to pay $501,000 in restitution. They paid kickbacks to VA employees as part of a large-scale bribery scheme, which enabled the Starks couple and other corrupt vendors to receive over $20 million in purchase orders from VA medical centers in West Palm Beach and Miami. Fourteen additional defendants were charged for their roles in this scheme.
  • VA Employee Pleads Guilty to Theft of Medical Equipment
    8/17/2021
    Kevin Rumph, Jr., of Fairburn, Georgia, pleaded guilty to stealing more than $1.9 million in medical products while employed at a VA community based outpatient clinic in Atlanta. Between 2013 and 2021, Rumph made hundreds of unauthorized purchases of equipment used to treat obstructive sleep apnea. He then stole and sold the equipment to a vendor in Ohio. Sentencing is scheduled for November 17, 2021.
  • New Jersey Man Admits Stealing More Than $8.2 Million Worth of HIV Medication
    8/12/2021
    A New Jersey man admitted his role in a scheme to steal prescription HIV medication from the Department of Veterans Affairs. Wagner Checonolasco, aka “Wanny,” 34, of Lyndhurst, New Jersey, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Esther Salas in Newark federal court to an information charging him with conspiring to steal government property. According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court, from August 2017 through Nov. 20, 2019, Checonolasco conspired with Lisa M. Hoffman and others to steal HIV medication belonging to VA. Hoffman used her position as a procurement official at the Veterans Affairs Medical Center in East Orange to order large quantities of HIV prescription medications so that she could steal the excess medication and then sell it to Checonolasco, who then resold it for a profit. Checonolasco and Hoffman stole approximately $8.2 million worth of HIV medication belonging to the VAMC.
  • Georgia Man Pleads Guilty on Charges Related to COVID-19 Fraud Schemes
    8/11/2021
    Christopher A. Parris, 41, of Lawrenceville, Georgia, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit mail fraud related to a Ponzi scheme, as well as to wire fraud involving the fraudulent sale of purported N95 masks during the pandemic. With respect to the COVID-19 fraud scheme, Parris pleaded guilty to defrauding VA, as well as at least eight other victim companies, in a scheme involving personal protection equipment (PPE). Between February and April 10, 2020, the defendant, as the owner and operator of Encore Health Group, a company based in Atlanta that purported to broker medical equipment, offered to sell scarce PPE, including 3M-brand N95 respirator masks, to various medical supply companies and governmental entities, while knowingly misrepresenting his access to, and ability to obtain and deliver the PPE on time. In March 2021, Parris offered to sell VA 125 million N95 masks at a cost of $6.45 per mask. In this process, the defendant attempted to obtain an upfront payment of $3.075 million from the VA, even though he knew at the time that he had no access to the promised masks or present ability to deliver the promised masks. “The urgent need to protect veterans and VA healthcare workers during this fast-moving pandemic required VA to rapidly purchase personal protective equipment,” said VA Inspector General Michael J. Missal. “Working with our law enforcement partners, the VA Office of Inspector General stopped a criminal who was attempting to profit from this horrible crisis and prevented the government and taxpayers from being defrauded of hundreds of millions of dollars. The VA OIG will continue to work zealously to ensure schemes like this are uncovered, investigated, and prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.”
  • Massachusetts Woman Indicted for Stealing Government Benefits
    8/10/2021
    A Massachusetts woman was arrested in connection with fraudulently receiving federal workers’ compensation benefits and disability benefits from the Social Security Administration (SSA). According to the charging document, from approximately November 2017 through August 2021, Karen Nolan, 64, repeatedly stole federal workers’ compensation benefits, and from approximately July 2019 through August 2021 Nolan stole Social Security disability benefits. It is alleged that in April 2019, Nolan falsely reported to the SSA that she had not worked since 2017 due to a medical disability but was actively employed at a dermatology practice at the time. It is further alleged that Nolan made similar false statements to the Department of Labor, Office of Workers’ Compensation Programs.
  • Tacoma Landlord Agrees to Pay $16,618 for Overcharging Homeless Veteran Tenant and Fraudulently Obtaining Federal Funds
    8/9/2021
    Sunrhys LLC, a landlord and property management company headquartered in Tacoma, Washington, agreed to pay $16,618 to resolve allegations that it violated the False Claims Act by overcharging a tenant and by fraudulently obtaining federal funds from a federal program designed to provide housing to homeless Veterans. The United States alleged that Sunrhys violated the agreement and the HUD-VA Support Housing program requirements by fraudulently overcharging a veteran for monthly rent between July 2019 and April 2020.
  • Couple Sentenced for Feigning Blindness for VA & Social Security Benefits
    8/5/2021
    A husband and wife from Hutchinson, Kansas, have been sentenced for deceiving the federal government about a medical condition to receive benefit payments. Addison Lewis, 41, and Brandi Lewis, 38, each received five years of probation after pleading guilty to one count of theft of government property. From 2013 to 2018, Addison Lewis misrepresented himself as having cortical visual blindness to VA. In turn, the VA increased his benefits amount. Addison Lewis admitted misleading the VA by exaggerating symptoms and impairment attributed to cortical visual blindness. Brandi Lewis intentionally provided inaccurate information to the VA to support her husband’s false claim. The court ordered the couple to pay $111,510 in restitution to the Social Security Administration and $131,972 in restitution to the VA.
  • Louisiana Doctor Pleads Guilty to Workers’ Comp Fraud Conspiracy
    8/2/2021
    Robert Dale Bernauer, Sr., an orthopedic surgeon in Lake Charles, Louisiana, pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit mail fraud, wire fraud, health care fraud, fraud to obtain federal employees’ compensation, and illegal remunerations (taking kickbacks) in connection with a scheme to defraud federal and private insurers. Bernauer and his co-conspirators overbilled insurers for unnecessary medications provided to workers’ compensation patients from 2011 to 2017.
  • Former Florida Doctor Sentenced to Six Years In Federal Prison for $20 Million Health Care Fraud Scheme
    7/27/2021
    Richard Davidson, a former doctor from Delray Beach, Florida, was sentenced to six years in federal prison for conspiracy to commit health care fraud. In 2018, Davidson and his conspirators established several durable medical equipment supply companies in the names of straw owners. By concealing the companies’ true ownership, the conspirators were able to submit high volumes of illegal claims, resulting in more than $10 million in payments from Medicare and CHAMPVA.
  • North Carolina Man Pleads Guilty to Receiving Nearly $1 Million in Veteran Benefits Based on Fraudulent Service-Connected Disabilities
    7/22/2021
    John Paul Cook, 57, of Alexander, North Carolina, pleaded guilty to defrauding the VA. After enlisting in the Army in 1985, Cook sustained an accidental injury and complained the injury worsened a preexisting eye condition. In 1987, Cook was discharged and he began receiving benefits that would increase over the next 30 years due to Cook’s repeated false claims of increased visual impairment and unemployability. In 2005, the VA declared Cook legally blind and he began receiving disability-based compensation at the maximum rate despite repeatedly passing vision screening tests to obtain or renew his driver’s license and purchasing vehicles that he routinely drove.
  • NYC Man Arrested in Kidnapping of Elderly Woman with Dementia at West Los Angeles VA Medical Center
    7/22/2021
    Johnny Ray Gasca, 51, was arrested for allegedly abducting a 68-year-old woman with dementia from the West Los Angeles VA Medical Center in California. A witness recognized Gasca and reported he may have previously taken money from the woman’s bank and retirement accounts. Following his arrest, Gasca described the victim as his girlfriend and told agents that, after leaving the medical center, they stopped at a bank where the victim made a $15,000 withdrawal.
  • New Jersey Man Admits to Defrauding VA of $200,000
    7/22/2021
    Melvin Greenspan, 72, of Perrineville, New Jersey, pleaded guilty to defrauding VA of over $200,000 in survivor’s pension benefits. After the death of his mother in 2006, who had received survivor’s pension due to his father’s prior military service, Greenspan failed to notify the VA about his mother’s death and made withdrawals of the benefits through 2018.
  • Former Pharmacist Resentenced in Connection with 2012 Fungal Meningitis Outbreak
    7/22/2021
    Glenn Chin, a former supervisory pharmacist of the now-defunct New England Compounding Center, was resentenced to 126 months in prison and three years of supervised release and ordered to pay forfeiture of approximately $473,584 and restitution of $82 million. In 2012, 753 patients were diagnosed with a fungal infection after receiving injections of methylprednisolone acetate manufactured by the center, and more than 100 patients died as a result. The outbreak was the largest public health crisis ever caused by a contaminated pharmaceutical drug.
  • Albuquerque Couple Sentenced to Prison in Ayudando Guardians, Inc. Case
    7/19/2021
    Susan K. Harris, 74, and William S. Harris, 60, were sentenced to 47 years and 15 years in prison, respectively, for conspiracy to defraud the United States and other financial crimes committed in connection with the operation of Ayudando Guardians, Inc., a non-profit corporation that previously provided guardianship, conservatorship, and financial management to hundreds of people with special needs, including veterans. As president, Susan Harris unlawfully transferred money from client accounts to a comingled account without any client-based justification. The stolen funds were used to fund an extravagant lifestyle, including the purchases of homes, vehicles, luxury RVs, and cruises.
  • New York Man Pleads Guilty to Aggravated Harassment of VA Employees
    7/12/2021
    Robert Seifert, 63, of Utica, New York, pleaded guilty to making telephonic threats to employees of the Albany Stratton VA Medical Center. Seifert, who has been convicted twice before of threatening VA employees, admitted that on January 14, 2021, he made three calls to employees for no reason other than to harass and threaten them.
  • Former Owner of Defunct New England Compounding Center Resentenced to 14 Years in Prison in Connection with 2012 Fungal Meningitis Outbreak
    7/8/2021
    The former owner of the now-defunct New England Compounding Center was resentenced today in federal court in Boston in connection with the 2012 nationwide fungal meningitis outbreak. Barry Cadden, 54, previously of Wrentham, was sentenced to 174 months in prison. Cadden was also ordered to pay forfeiture of $1.4 million and restitution of $82 million. The defendant was resentenced after the First Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed his criminal convictions but vacated his sentence and forfeiture order.
  • Former Employee of Veterans Affairs Medical Center Indicted for Stealing More Than $10 Million Worth of HIV Medication
    7/8/2021
    A former pharmacy procurement technician was indicted today for stealing prescription HIV medications from the pharmacy of the Veterans Affairs Medical Center in East Orange, New Jersey. Lisa M. Hoffman, 48, of Orange, is charged by indictment with one count each of conspiracy, theft of government property, and theft of medical products.
  • Niece Of Veteran Pleads Guilty To Stealing VA Benefits
    7/6/2021
    Mende Leone, 37, pleaded guilty to misappropriation of a federal benefit by a fiduciary. As her uncle’s appointed fiduciary, Leone stole at least $151,000 of VA benefits intended for him.
  • Nonveteran Sentenced for Stealing Medical Treatment
    6/29/2021
    Kristopher M. Voyles, 31, was sentenced to 27 months in prison, three years’ supervised release, and restitution of $20,502. Voyles is not a veteran; however, he used the name, date of birth, and social security number of a veteran to receive medical services at the James H. Quillen VA Medical Center in Johnson City, Tennessee, in October 2019.
  • Former VA Physician Admits to Assault Charges
    6/28/2021
    Dr. Kenneth C. Ramdat admitted to assaulting two employees while employed at the Louis A. Johnson VA Hospital in Clarksburg, West Virginia. Ramdat was sentenced to one year of probation.
  • Seven Charged for Roles in $110 Million Health Care Scheme
    6/21/2021
    A compound pharmacy owner in Texas, three marketers, a referring physician, and two clinic employees were charged with health care fraud, conspiracy to pay and receive illegal kickbacks, and conspiracy to commit money laundering in connection with a multi-million dollar scheme. From May 2014 to September 2016, Pharr Family Pharmacy allegedly billed federal health care programs more than $110 million, including claims that were false, fraudulent, and the result of illegal kickbacks.
  • Former CEO Sentenced for Defrauding VA and FEMA
    6/17/2021
    Robert S. Stewart, the former owner of Federal Government Experts LLC in Arlington, Virginia, was sentenced to 21 months in prison with three years of supervised release for making false statements to multiple federal agencies in order to fraudulently obtain multimillion-dollar government contracts, COVID-19 emergency relief loans, and undeserved military service benefits.
  • School Owner Sentenced for Defrauding Program Dedicated to Rehabilitating Disabled Vets
    6/17/2021
    Francis Engles of Bowie, Maryland, was sentenced to 30 months in prison and ordered to pay $150,000 in restitution for defrauding a VA program dedicated to rehabilitating military veterans with disabilities. As the owner of Engles Security Training School, Engles falsely represented to the VA that his company was providing veterans with months-long courses when, in fact, the school offered veterans far less.
  • Bronx Man Indicted for Offering Bribes to VA Contracting Officer
    6/16/2021
    Muhammad Z. Aabdin of Bronx, New York, was indicted for offering bribes to a VA contracting officer in exchange for the award of VA contracts for personal protective equipment.
  • Man Indicted for Sending Threatening Text Message to VA Social Worker
    6/10/2021
    Daniel Devaty of Elyria, Ohio, was charged with influencing a federal official by threatening a family member. Devaty allegedly sent a text message to the cell phone of a VA social worker threatening to kill his daughters.
  • VA Employee Pleads Guilty after Recording Co-workers in Clinic Restroom
    6/7/2021
    Robert Sampson of Gulf Breeze, Florida, pleaded guilty to charges of video voyeurism and disorderly conduct. Sampson secretly recorded eight fellow VA employees using a hidden camera, disguised to look like a cell phone charger power adapter, that he placed in a restroom at the VA Joint Ambulatory Care Center in Pensacola on multiple occasions from August 2019 to June 2020.
  • Georgia Man Sentenced for Role in Healthcare Fraud Scheme against Tricare
    6/7/2021
    Erik Santos of Georgia was sentenced to over 11 years in federal prison for defrauding Tricare of approximately $12 million through a compounding pharmacy fraud scheme. In January 2021, Santos pleaded guilty to one count of conspiring to commit healthcare fraud and wire fraud.
  • DOJ Announces Coordinated Law Enforcement Action to Combat Health Care Fraud Related to COVID-19
    5/27/2021
    The Department of Justice charged 14 defendants in seven federal districts for their alleged participation in various health care fraud schemes that exploited the COVID-19 pandemic and resulted in over $143 million in false billings.
  • Pennsylvania Man Charged with Stealing from US Government
    5/27/2021
    Michael Pierce of Washington, Pennsylvania, has been charged with stealing approximately $12,800 from the US government between October 2018 and September 2019.
  • New Charges Filed against Medical Technology Company President and Two Others in Alleged Fraudulent COVID-19 Testing Scheme
    5/27/2021
    A federal grand jury charged Mark Schena, the president of the California-based medical technology company, Arrayit Corporation, in connection with the submission of over $70 million in false and fraudulent claims for allergy and COVID-19 testing. Additionally, a criminal information was filed against both Paul Haje, Arrayit’s vice president of marketing, and Marc Jablonski, president of an Arizona-based marketing organization, in related schemes. The new charges are part of coordinated law enforcement actions filed in seven federal districts in response to alleged schemes that have exploited the COVID-19 pandemic.
  • VA Employee Sentenced to Prison for Stealing Veterans’ Personal Information
    5/26/2021
    Phillip Hill, a former VA program analyst, was sentenced to 46 months in prison for stealing personal information from veterans and VA employees while employed at the Central Arkansas Veterans Healthcare System. The investigation revealed that Hill contacted another individual and attempted to sell personal identifying information to a buyer for approximately $100,000.
  • Barber College Owner Pleads Guilty to Wire Fraud Scheme
    5/24/2021
    Anthony Kelley, owner of Trendsetters Barber College in Jackson, Mississippi, pleaded guilty to two counts of wire fraud in a scheme to steal federal funds. Around October 2016 through March 2019, the college offered a master barber course that was not accredited by the state’s board of barber examiners. Kelley fraudulently represented that this course was approved and, as a result, was allowed to collect GI Bill money from veterans enrolled in the program.
  • Pharmacy Technician Arrested for Stealing Prescribed Narcotics
    5/21/2021
    Scott M. Brown, a pharmacy technician at the Kerrville VA Medical Center in Texas, was charged with one count of theft of U.S. mail for stealing hydrocodone and oxycodone prescriptions from the medical center’s mailroom as well as from residential mailboxes between March and April 2021.
  • Former VA Employee Sentenced for Conspiring to Accept Bribes
    5/17/2021
    Daniel Bruce Ross, of Hope Mills, North Carolina, was sentenced to two years in prison for accepting bribes in exchange for steering over $1 million worth of projects to a construction company while working as an agent for the VA’s Specially Adapted Housing grant program. He was also ordered to pay $21,520 in restitution.
  • Former VA Hospital Nursing Assistant Sentenced to Seven Consecutive Life Sentences for Murdering Seven Veterans and Assault with Intent to Commit Murder of an Eighth
    5/11/2021
    Reta Mays, 46, was sentenced for the murder and assault charges in the deaths of eight veterans at the VA Medical Center in Clarksburg, West Virginia. Mays pleaded guilty in July 2020 to seven counts of second-degree murder in the deaths of veterans Robert Edge Sr., Robert Kozul, Archie Edgell, George Shaw, W.A.H., Felix McDermott, and Raymond Golden. She pleaded guilty to one count of assault with intent to commit murder involving the death of veteran Russell Posey. “While responsibility for these heinous criminal acts lies with Reta Mays, an extensive healthcare inspection by our office found the facility had serious and pervasive clinical and administrative failures that contributed to them going undetected,” said VA Inspector General Michael J. Missal. “I hope that the victims’ families can find some measure of solace knowing that Mays was caught and punished, and that steps are being taken to help ensure other families do not suffer the same loss.”
  • Owner of Dog Training School Sentenced for Defrauding VA
    5/3/2021
    Bradley Lane Croft, owner of Universal K-9 Inc. in San Antonio, Texas, was sentenced to nearly 10 years of imprisonment for scheming to defraud the federal government of more than $1.5 million in GI Bill benefits to train service canines and their handlers. In addition to the prison term, Croft pay approximately $1.5 million in restitution.
  • Owner of Diving School Admits Wire Fraud
    4/29/2021
    Tamara Brown, of Haddon Heights, New Jersey, pleaded guilty to fraudulently obtaining funding for her commercial diving school and its students. In 2012, Brown submitted fraudulent information when renewing the school’s accreditation. As a for-profit institution, the school was required to be accredited in order to receive funding from the Department of Education and VA. The school, despite not satisfying minimum accreditation requirements, would continue to receive funding through 2017.
  • Portsmouth Woman Pleads Guilty to Fraud Schemes Targeting Veterans
    4/26/2021
    Rita Copeland, 59, of Portsmouth, Virginia, pleaded guilty today to wire fraud and aggravated identity theft in connection with a scheme to defraud veterans. Copeland operated an entity known as Veteran Services of the Commonwealth and purported to provide various services to veterans from 2016 through 2020. She caused a number of victims to apply for VA home improvement grants and then used a portion of the grant payments to her own benefit instead of performing the promised work.
  • Co-conspirator Charged with Stealing $470,000 from VA and Michigan Treasury
    4/26/2021
    Sophia J. Quill, 60, was charged with defrauding the VA and the Michigan Department of Treasury out of $470,000. Quill and her co-conspirator Melissa Flores, who was arraigned last year, allegedly created aliases and obtained or created fraudulent documents to make it appear that they were heirs to various individuals who died.
  • Five People Charged, Two Others Admit Guilt in $93 Million Health Care Fraud Scheme
    4/26/2021
    Thomas Farese of Delray Beach, Florida; Pat Truglia of Parkland, Florida; Domenic J. Gatto Jr. of Palm Beach Gardens, Florida; and Nicholas Defonte and Christopher Cirri, both of Toms River, New Jersey, have been charged for their roles in durable medical equipment and genetic cancer screening kickback fraud schemes. Brian Herbstman of Jackson, New Jersey, pleaded guilty to conspiring to commit health care fraud and violating the Anti-Kickback Statute and Sean Hogan of Old Bridge, New Jersey, pleaded guilty to conspiring to engage in money laundering.
  • Construction Firm Pays $2.5 Million to Settle Allegations of Exploiting Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Business Program
    4/20/2021
    The owners of Stronghold Engineering, Inc. in Perris, California, have paid the United States $2.5 million to resolve allegations the firm violated federal law through its involvement in contracts obtained by a related company under a program designated for small businesses owned by service-disabled veterans.
  • For-Profit Trade School Owner Found Guilty of Defrauding VA, Student Veterans
    4/19/2021
    Jonathan Dean Davis, the owner of Retail Ready Career Center, was found guilty of seven counts of wire fraud and four counts of money laundering in the Northern District of Texas. Davis was convicted of deceiving VA of $72 million and misleading student veterans who attended the center’s heating, ventilation, and air conditioning training course.
  • National Guard Soldier Charged with Defrauding VA and NYC Department of Correction
    4/13/2021
    Shawn Pierre Hobbs, a soldier for the Connecticut Army National Guard and a Rikers Island correction officer employed by the New York City Department of Correction, was arrested yesterday in El Paso, Texas, on wire fraud and aggravated identity theft charges. VA Inspector General Michael J. Missal said, “The charges unsealed today are the result of the hard work and dedication of the VA OIG’s special agents working with our law enforcement partners. The VA OIG will seek to hold accountable those who perpetrate fraud and steal benefits that are intended for deserving veterans.”
  • Bronx Man Charged with Offering a Bribe to VA Government Official
    4/9/2021
    Muhammad Z. Aabdin, 30, of New York City, has been charged by complaint with offering a bribe to a VA contracting officer in September 2020. Specifically, Aabdin allegedly offered to share profits with the officer in exchange for her awarding VA contracts to Aabdin for personal protective equipment.
  • Health Net Federal Services Pays Over $97M for Overstated Billings to the VA
    4/6/2021
    Health Net Federal Services LLC has paid $97,237,391 to resolve duplicate and inflated claims submitted to the VA. In 2013, Health Net entered into a $5.05 billion contract with the VA under the Patient-Centered Community Care program. In 2017, the VA OIG audited Health Net and found evidence suggesting the company had billed the VA for duplicate claims amounting to approximately $30 million and failed to reduce billings to the VA for approximately $1 million in provider rate savings, as contractually required. “The VA Office of Inspector General is strongly committed to promoting fiscal accountability throughout VA,” said VA Inspector General Michael J. Missal. “This settlement will return funds to VA programs and services that directly benefit our nation’s veterans. I applaud the teamwork and dedication that led to this significant recovery.”
  • Postal Employee Pleads Guilty to Theft of Mail
    3/30/2021
    Candy Ehler, 51, of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, pleaded guilty to three counts of theft of mail by an employee. An investigation confirmed a pattern of missing medication packages containing opioid-based controlled substances that required signature confirmation of receipt. Following an attempt by the assigned mail carrier to deliver the packages, they were returned to the Lower Paxton Post Office. Once returned, video surveillance revealed Ehler removing the packages.
  • Former Construction Company Owner Indicted for Defrauding Federal Program Intended for Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Businesses
    3/17/2021
    Michael Angelo Padron was indicted in San Antonio, Texas, for his role in a long-running scheme to defraud the United States. Padron, along with co-conspirators Ruben Villarreal and Michael Wibracht, allegedly obtained government contracts under programs administered by the Small Business Administration for which neither his nor his co-conspirators’ companies were eligible. Villarreal and Wibracht pleaded guilty to the scheme on Nov. 20, 2020, and March 4, 2021, respectively. “The VA OIG commends our law enforcement partners for bringing these additional charges to achieve justice in this case,” said VA Inspector General Michael J. Missal. “The VA OIG remains diligent in investigating all who commit fraud and seek to benefit improperly from programs that are meant for deserving veterans.”
  • Man Sentenced for Distributing Fentanyl
    3/10/2021
    Matthew Pizarro, 32, of Stoughton, Massachusetts, was sentenced to 10 years in prison and eight years of supervised release for distribution of fentanyl, one count of distribution of 40 grams or more of fentanyl, and one count of possession with intent to distribute 28 grams or more of crack cocaine. Pizarro was indicted in October 2018 and has been in custody since his arrest in August 2018.
  • Former VA Employee Charged with Stealing HIV Medication
    3/10/2021
    Lisa M. Hoffman, 48, a former pharmacy technician at East Orange VA Medical Center in New Jersey, was charged with stealing more than $8.2 million worth of HIV medication. Hoffman used her position to order, then steal, large amounts of HIV medication, which she later sold to an associate for cash.
  • Construction Company Owners Pleaded Guilty to Defrauding Federal Program Intended for Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Businesses
    3/5/2021
    Michael Wibracht of San Antonio, Texas, the former owner of several construction companies, defrauded the United States by obtaining government contracts under programs administered by the Small Business Administration for which neither his nor his co-conspirators’ companies were eligible. One co-conspirator, Ruben Villarreal, also of San Antonio, pleaded guilty on Nov. 20, 2020, to participating in the same conspiracy. “The defendants conspired to fraudulently obtain multi-million dollar government contracts under a program designed to benefit service-disabled veterans,” said VA Inspector General Michael J. Missal. “These guilty pleas send a clear message that individuals and companies who defraud the government contracting process for service-disabled veterans will be held accountable.”
  • Home Health Aide Charged with Stealing Money from a Disabled Veteran
    3/4/2021
    Philliann Barnett, 42, of New Britain, Connecticut, was arrested on a criminal complaint charging her with bank fraud for allegedly stealing money from a disabled veteran. She worked for a company that serviced disabled veterans receiving benefits from the VA.
  • Former VA Hospice Nurse Sentenced for Diverting and Tampering with Morphine Meant for Dying Veterans
    2/24/2021
    Kathleen Noftle, of Tewksbury, Massachusetts, was sentenced to 40 months in prison and three years of supervised release for diverting morphine while she was employed as a nurse in the hospice unit at the Bedford VA Medical Center. In October 2020, Noftle pleaded guilty to one count of tampering with a consumer product and one count of obtaining a controlled substance by misrepresentation, fraud, deception, and subterfuge.
  • VA Procurement Supervisor Indicted for Pocketing Kickbacks
    2/5/2021
    Thomas E. Duncan, a supervisor at the Jesse Brown VA Medical Center in Chicago, Illinois, was charged with five counts of wire fraud, one count of witness tampering, and one count of falsifying records. Duncan allegedly received approximately $36,250 in kickbacks from Daniel Dingle, the president of a medical supply company, in exchange for steering at least $1.7 million in product orders to Dingle’s company, many of which were never fulfilled. Dingle was charged with four counts of wire fraud.
  • Owner of Southeastern Physical Therapy to Pay $152,000 to Settle False Claims Allegations
    2/5/2021
    Darren Cady, owner of Southeastern Physical Therapy in Asheville, North Carolina, agreed to resolve allegations that he received illegal kickbacks and violated the False Claims Act by submitting claims to the VA for reimbursement for medically unnecessary durable medical equipment.
  • Tampa, Florida Businesswoman Pleads Guilty to Criminal Healthcare and Tax Fraud Charges
    2/4/2021
    Kelly Wolfe, 49, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit health care fraud and filing a false tax return. In addition, Wolfe and her company, Regency, Inc., have agreed to pay up to $20,332,516, to resolve allegations that Wolfe and Regency violated the False Claims Act, including falsifying documentation in order to fraudulently establish durable medical equipment corporations to bill Medicare and CHAMPVA for medically unnecessary equipment.
  • West Virginia Woman Who Faked Her Own Death Sentenced for Conspiracy to Obstruct Justice
    2/3/2021
    Julie Wheeler of West Virginia was sentenced to 12 months and one day for her role in a conspiracy to obstruct justice. Wheeler’s sentence was ordered to be served consecutively with her 42-month sentence previously imposed for a healthcare fraud conviction. In a case that garnered national media attention, Wheeler and her husband, Rodney Wheeler, conspired to fake her death to avoid sentencing for healthcare fraud, specifically her overbilling of a VA program for spina bifida care. Rodney Wheeler also pleaded guilty for his role in the conspiracy and will be sentenced on April 5, 2021.
  • Arlington, Virginia Businessman Pleads Guilty to Defrauding Multiple Federal Agencies
    2/3/2021
    Robert S. Stewart Jr., 35, pleaded guilty to making false statements in order to obtain multimillion-dollar government contracts, COVID-19 emergency relief loans, and undeserved military service benefits. Stewart, the owner and president of Federal Government Experts LLC, also defrauded the VA by falsely claiming to be entitled to veteran’s benefits for serving in the Marine Corps when, in fact, he never served in the Marines. He is scheduled to be sentenced on June 16, 2021.
  • New York Man Charged with Aggravated Harassment of VA Employees
    1/28/2021
    Robert Seifert, age 62, of Utica, New York, was charged with aggravated harassment for making telephonic threats to VA employees at the Albany Stratton VA Medical Center.
  • Businessman Charged in Scheme to Hoard Personal Protective Equipment and Price Gouge Health Care Providers
    1/27/2021
    Kenneth Bryan Ritchey, 57, of Ocean Springs, Mississippi, was charged with defrauding the United States and other health care providers in a $1.8 million scheme related to acquiring and hoarding personal protective equipment and price gouging health care providers, including numerous VA hospitals.
  • Former VA Doctor Sentenced to 20 Years in Federal Prison for Involuntary Manslaughter and Mail Fraud
    1/25/2021
    Robert Morris Levy, 54, of Fayetteville, Arkansas, was sentenced to 20 years in federal prison and ordered to pay approximately $497,000 in restitution for one count each of involuntary manslaughter and mail fraud. Levy served as the chief of pathology and laboratory medical services at the Veterans Health Care System of the Ozarks in Fayetteville from 2005 until his termination in 2018. Levy was suspended in 2016 for being intoxicated on duty. Following a three-month treatment program, he returned to work under the condition he maintain sobriety and submit to random alcohol and drug screening. To avoid testing positive, however, Levy illegally used an undetectable chemical substance that causes prolonged intoxication. While employed by the VA, Levy incorrectly diagnosed diseases and falsified medical records, including the misdiagnosis of lung cancer in a veteran who would later die without treatment. “This sentence should send a strong message that those who abuse their positions of trust in caring for veterans will be held accountable. I thank the VA OIG special agents who worked tirelessly on this case and the US Attorney’s Office for its outstanding efforts. Our thoughts are with all those harmed by Dr. Levy’s actions and we hope they find some small measure of comfort from what happened here today,” said VA Inspector General Michael J. Missal.
  • Former VA Doctor Sentenced to 25 Years in Prison for Sexual Abuse of Veterans
    1/25/2021
    Jonathan Yates, 52, of Bluefield, Virginia, was sentenced to 25 years in federal prison for sexually abusing veterans. While employed as doctor of osteopathic medicine at the VA Medical Center in Beckley, West Virginia, Yates rubbed the genitals of two veterans and digitally penetrated a third veteran’s rectum under the guise of legitimate medicine. This conduct, performed while Yates was acting under color of law in his capacity as a VA physician and a federal employee, deprived the veterans of their constitutional right to bodily integrity and caused them pain. “This sentence is the culmination of the exceptional work of the OIG special agents and our law enforcement partners. Our thoughts are with the veterans who suffered horrific abuse by a doctor entrusted with their care, and we remain vigilant in our efforts to keep all VA patients safe from harm,” said VA Inspector General Michael J. Missal.
  • Case Manager and Property Agent Plead Guilty to Stealing Federal Funds Designated to Help Homeless Veterans
    1/21/2021
    A former case manager at a nonprofit organization dedicated to combating veteran homelessness and a property agent have pleaded guilty to conspiring to steal approximately $124,000 in federal funds intended to help homeless veterans. Between approximately October 2013 and November 2015, Camelia Revels was employed at HOPE Atlanta where she was responsible for confirming a veteran’s eligibility to participate in the program, assisting veterans in finding suitable housing, and preparing the vouchers to secure issuance of funds to vendors. Among the vendors Revels provided to her supervisor for approval were companies that were owned and operated by Katrise Jones. Jones was supposed to act as a property agent and assist the veterans with finding suitable housing. In December 2014, HOPE Atlanta learned that Jones was not making rental payments on behalf of veterans and directed Revels to no longer work with her. Revels ignored this directive and continued her scheme with Jones, which included the opening of a joint bank account where stolen funds were deposited. Sentencing is scheduled for April 2021. “The VA OIG’s continued oversight of VA’s grant programs, which are used to provide housing for at-risk homeless veterans, is one of the agency’s highest priorities because it safeguards the integrity of VA’s programs designed to end veteran homelessness. As detailed in the charging document, the defendants’ fraud scheme adversely impacted the well-being of homeless veterans, their families, and the programs designed to assist them during a time of need,” said David Spilker, special agent in charge at the VA OIG.
  • VA Respiratory Therapist Sentenced to Prison for Stealing and Selling a Ventilator and Other Medical Supplies
    1/11/2021
    Gene Wamsley, 42, of Bonney Lake, Washington, was sentenced to three months in prison and nine months of home confinement for theft of government property and ordered to pay $132,291 in restitution. Wamsley admitted to stealing and selling a ventilator and other respiratory medical equipment during the COVID-19 pandemic. In January 2020, the Seattle VA Medical Center reported two bronchoscopes, used for examining a patient’s airway, were missing. A third bronchoscope was reported missing in April 2020. Wamsley admitted to stealing and selling three bronchoscopes worth over $100,000 for $15,750 via eBay. During a search of Wamsley’s home, law enforcement seized a fourth stolen bronchoscope and a stolen $6,000 sleep apnea device. The VA Office of Inspector General investigation also revealed that in April 2020, Wamsley stole a $9,950 respirator and sold it via eBay for $6,000.
  • 73-Year-Old Fayetteville Man Sentenced to 5 Years of Probation for Obtaining Almost $1M in VA Benefits Through Fraud
    1/6/2021
    William Dosher Cain, of Fayetteville, North Carolina, was sentenced on January 5, 2021, to five years of probation and ordered to perform 250 hours of community service for fraudulently obtaining healthcare benefits from the VA. He was also ordered to pay $903,668 in restitution and forfeited $155,041 in cash, a modified 2018 Toyota Sienna van, and a mobility scooter. In a related civil action, he forfeited a condominium. Cain, an Army veteran, represented to the VA that as a result of shrapnel wounds sustained in Vietnam in 1965 he had suffered the loss of use of both legs. Cain presented that he was unable to perform daily activities such as dressing and bathing without assistance, and that he was dependent on a wheelchair or motorized scooter for mobility. However, Cain maintained an active lifestyle throughout this time, including working as a firearms instructor, enjoying beach activities, playing basketball, dancing, and attending social events. He also bought a third-floor condominium in a building with no elevator. Cain pleaded guilty on June 17, 2020.
  • Former Bank Manager Sentenced to Prison After Stealing Nearly $1.2 Million in Benefits from the Social Security Administration and VA
    1/4/2021
    Javier Montano, 57, a former bank branch manager in Las Vegas, Nevada, was sentenced to two years and six months in prison after pleading guilty to fraudulently obtaining nearly $1.2 million in social security and VA benefits. In addition to the term of imprisonment, Montano was also sentenced to three years of supervised release and ordered to pay $1,196,075.95 in restitution to the Social Security Administration and VA. “The VA Office of Inspector General tirelessly pursues allegations of fraud, waste, and abuse affecting VA programs,” said VA Inspector General Michael J. Missal. “This conduct was particularly disturbing as it involved an individual who abused his position of trust.”

  • TriWest Healthcare Alliance Corp. Agrees to Pay $179.7 Million to Resolve Overpayments from the VA
    12/31/2020
    TriWest Healthcare Alliance, a Phoenix, Arizona corporation, has agreed to pay the United States $179,700,000 to resolve claims that it received overpayments from the VA in connection with its administration of certain VA health care programs. TriWest administers government health care programs, to include certain portions of the VA Patient-Centered Community Care Program (PC3) and the VA’s former Veterans Choice Program (Choice). Both programs have enabled veterans to obtain medical care from providers in their communities. As an administrator of these programs, TriWest is paid by the VA to coordinate medical appointments and make payments to health care providers.
  • Veteran Indicted for Falsifying Records of Travel for Treatment
    12/22/2020
    Edward Parks of Liberal, Kansas, was charged with one count of submitting false claims for travel reimbursement to the Department of Veterans Affairs and one count of making a false statement to investigators from the VA’s Office of Inspector General. The indictment alleges he falsely claimed he travelled in 2019 to Wichita, Kansas, from Liberal, Kansas, for medical appointments in order to be reimbursed under the Beneficiary Travel Program. If convicted, he could face up to five years in federal prison and a fine up to $250,000 on each count. The VA OIG investigated and Assistant U.S. Attorney Debra Barnett is prosecuting.
  • Government Contractor Admits Scheme to Inflate Costs on Federal Projects and Pays $11 Million to Resolve Criminal and Civil Probes
    12/17/2020
    Schneider Electric Buildings Americas, Inc. (Schneider Electric), a nationwide provider of electricity solutions for buildings and data centers with its principal place of business in Carrollton, Texas, will pay $11 million to resolve criminal and civil investigations relating to kickbacks and overcharges on eight federally-funded energy savings performance contracts (ESPCs), the Department of Justice announced on December 17, 2020. Under the contracts, Schneider Electric was to install a variety of energy saving upgrades such as solar panels, LED lighting, and insulation in federal buildings.
  • Agawam Man Sentenced for Defrauding VA Hospitals by Failing to Inspect Medical Gas Systems
    12/17/2020
    A vendor for several Veterans Affairs medical facilities was sentenced on December 17, 2020 for defrauding the VA by creating false invoices and reports for medical gas inspections that never took place. Chester Wojcik, 49, of Agawam, Mass., was sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge Mark G. Mastroianni to two years of probation. In August 2020, Wojcik pleaded guilty to one count of wire fraud.
  • Medical Equipment Company Handicare USA, LLC, Agrees to Pay $800,000 to Resolve False Claims Act Action
    12/16/2020
    Handicare USA (doing business as Prism Medical Services), agreed to pay the United States $800,000 to resolve allegations that it knowingly submitted false claims to the Department of Veteran Affairs (“VA”) in the performance of various contracts to install patient ceiling lifts in VA hospitals.
  • Three Family Members Sentenced In Connection With Defrauding Veterans Health Care In The Villages
    12/8/2020
    Miller Wilson, Jr. (50, Sparr), his daughter, Myoshi Wilson (26, Citra), and his ex-wife, Erica Wilson (43, Ocala) were sentenced on December 8, 2020, by Senior United States District Judge James D. Whittemore for their roles in a scheme to defraud the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs health care benefits. Each had previously pleaded guilty.
  • Michigan Woman Sentenced for Defrauding U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs of Over $1.7 Million in Benefits
    12/4/2020
    A Michigan woman was sentenced on December 4, 2020, to three years and five months in prison after pleading guilty to carrying out a scheme to defraud the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) of more than $1.7 million in veterans benefits, announced U.S. Attorney Nicholas A. Trutanich for the District of Nevada.
  • Workrite Companies to Pay $7.1 Million to Settle Alleged Furniture Overcharges
    12/3/2020
    Ergonomic office furniture maker Workrite Ergonomics LLC, a Delaware company, and its parent, Knape & Vogt Manufacturing Co. (collectively, Workrite), have agreed to pay $7.1 million to resolve allegations under the False Claims Act that they overcharged the federal government for office furniture under General Services Administration (GSA) contracts, the Department of Justice announced on December 3, 2020.
  • Federal Indictment Charges Buncombe County Man for Receiving Veteran Benefits Based on Fraudulent Service-Connected Disabilities
    12/2/2020
    U.S. Attorney Andrew Murray announced on December 2, 2020, that John Paul Cook, 57, of Alexander, N.C. is facing multiple federal charges for defrauding the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (the VA) by receiving veteran benefits based on fraudulent service-connected disabilities.
  • Florida Attorney Admits Role in $7.5 Million Bank Extortion Scheme
    12/1/2020
    A Florida attorney, on December 1, 2020, admitted his role in a scheme to extort $7.5 million from a California bank, Attorney for the United States Rachael A. Honig announced. Richard L. Williams, 73, of Miami, Florida, pleaded guilty by videoconference before U.S. District Judge Susan D. Wigenton to an information charging him with conspiracy to transmit an interstate communication with the intent to extort.
  • For-Profit Trade School Owner Charged With Defrauding VA, Student Veterans
    11/23/2020
    The owner of a for-profit trade school has been charged with defrauding the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs and student veterans, announced U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Texas Erin Nealy Cox.
  • Former Cleveland VA Medical Center Supervisor Charged with Theft of Government Property and Fraud
    11/20/2020
    U.S. Attorney Justin Herdman announced on November 20, 2020, that a grand jury sitting in Cleveland has returned a 28-count indictment charging William H. Precht, age 53, of Kent, Ohio, with theft of government property, conspiracy to commit wire fraud and honest services fraud, wire fraud, and false statements relating to health care matters.
  • Physician Indicted on Assault Charges
    11/5/2020
    Dr. Kenneth C. Ramdat, a physician employed at the Louis A. Johnson VA Hospital in Clarksburg, West Virginia, is facing federal criminal charges. Ramdat, 65, of Silver Springs, Maryland, was indicted on two counts of “Abusive Sexual Contact” and two counts of “Simple Assault.” Ramdat is accused of touching two staff women’s breasts without permission in two separate incidents in August 2019 and October 2019 at the hospital in Harrison County.
  • Raeford Woman Had Initial Appearance on Wire and Mail Fraud Charges
    11/2/2020
    A Raeford woman self-surrendered on charges of wire and mail fraud. According to court documents, Tracey Cathey McNeill, Age 50, devised a scheme and artifice to defraud the Department of Veterans Affairs and the U.S. Office of Personnel Management by obtaining disability, retirement, and life insurance payments issued by those agencies for the benefit of W.R., an individual in McNeill’s care at the time of the alleged scheme. The documents allege that between April 2015 and February 2017, McNeill received over $90,000 in benefits from the agencies.
  • Enfield Man Charged with Defrauding the Department of Veterans Affairs to Receive Benefits
    10/29/2020
    John H. Durham, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut; Christopher Algieri, Special Agent in Charge of the Department of Veteran Affairs, Office of the Inspector General, Northeast Field Office; and James M. Noble, Special Agent in Charge, Coast Guard Investigative Service, Northeast Region, announced that DERRICK BREWER, 35, of Enfield, was arrested on October 29, 2020 on a criminal complaint charging him with offenses related to his submission of altered documents to the Department of Veterans Affairs (“VA”).
  • Owner of Local Technical Training School Sentenced for Defrauding the VA out of almost $30 Million in G.I. Bill Education Benefits
    10/27/2020
    Nimesh Shah, owner of Blue Star Learning, a technical training school in San Diego, was sentenced in federal court on October 27, 2020 to 45 months in custody as a result of a multi-year scheme that defrauded the Department of Veterans Affairs out of almost $30 million in Post-9/11 G.I. Bill benefits.
  • New Kensington Man Indicted for Misappropriating VA Beneficiary Funds
    10/27/2020
    A resident of New Kensington, Pennsylvania, has been indicted by a federal grand jury in Pittsburgh on a charge of misappropriation of U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs ("VA") beneficiary funds, United States Attorney Scott W. Brady announced on October 27, 2020.
  • U.S. Navy Service Members Sentenced in Sweeping Corruption and Insurance Fraud Scheme
    10/23/2020
    Two U.S. Navy service members caught in a sweeping corruption case involving false claims to the Traumatic Servicemembers Group Life Insurance Program were sentenced in federal court on October 23, 2020.
  • Former VA Hospice Nurse Pleads Guilty to Diverting and Tampering with Morphine Meant for Dying Veterans
    10/21/2020
    A Tewksbury woman pleaded guilty on October 21, 2020, to charges of diverting morphine while she employed as a nurse in the hospice unit at the Veterans Affairs (VA) Medical Center campus in Bedford.
  • OC Man Who Fraudulently Obtained VA Benefits by Falsely Claiming to Be a Wounded Marine Sentenced to Over One Year in Prison
    10/8/2020
    An Orange County man who falsely held himself out to be a United States Marine Corps combat veteran and two-time Purple Heart recipient to fraudulently obtain veterans’ health care and housing benefits was sentenced on October 8, 2020, to 16 months in federal prison.
  • Bergen County Man Charged with Conspiring to Steal More Than $7.8 Million Worth of HIV Medication from Veterans Affairs Medical Center
    10/7/2020
    A Bergen County, New Jersey, man was charged for his role in stealing prescription HIV medication from the pharmacy of the East Orange VA Medical Center, U.S. Attorney Craig Carpenito announced on October 7, 2020.
  • Rochester Man Sentenced To 20 Years In Prison For Chinappi's Gun Store Burglary And Lying About Military Medals
    10/7/2020
    U.S. Attorney James P. Kennedy, Jr. announced on October 7, 2020, that Marcos D. Guzman, 36, of Rochester, NY, who was convicted of theft of firearms from a Federal Firearms Licensee, possession of firearms by a convicted felon, and fraudulent representations about the receipt of military medals, was sentenced to serve 20 years in prison by U.S. District Judge Elizabeth A. Wolford. Guzman was also ordered to pay $41,500 in restitution to August Chinappi, former owner of Chinappi’s Firearms & Supplies.
  • Veterans Affairs respiratory therapist pleads guilty to stealing and selling COVID-19 respiratory supplies
    10/5/2020
    A respiratory therapist at the Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Seattle pleaded guilty on October 5, 2020, in U.S. District Court in Seattle to theft of government property, announced U.S. Attorney Brian T. Moran. GENE WAMSLEY, 41, of Bonney Lake, Washington, admits stealing a ventilator and other respiratory medical equipment in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic and selling it for his own gain. WAMSLEY faces up to ten years in prison when sentenced by U.S. District Judge James L. Robart on January 11, 2021.
  • Trucking School Owner Sentenced to 4 Years in Federal Prison for Fraudulently Obtaining $4.1 Million in Veterans’ Education Benefits
    10/5/2020
    The owner of a San Fernando Valley trucking school was sentenced on October 5, 2020, to 48 months for leading a sophisticated scheme to defraud the United States Department of Veterans Affairs out of more than $4 million in education benefits involving over 100 veterans who did not attend classes.
  • District of New Jersey Announces Charges in Health Care Fraud Cases as Part of Nationwide Federal Law Enforcement Effort
    9/30/2020
    Six individuals have been charged in New Jersey for their roles in a massive nationwide prescription medication and durable medical equipment telemedicine scheme, and three others admitted their roles in three other health care fraud cases. The announcements are part of a federal law enforcement effort to crack down on health care fraud nationwide.
  • Doctor Pleads Guilty to Obstructing Telemedicine Investigation
    9/25/2020
    A Dallas-area doctor pled guilty on September 25, 2020, to obstructing a federal health care investigation. Cody Hiland, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Arkansas, Michael C. Mentavlos, Special Agent in Charge of the Defense Criminal Investigative Service Southwest Field Office, Patrick Roche, Acting Special Agent in Charge of the Department of Veterans Affairs Office of Inspector General South Central Field Office, Miranda L. Bennett, Special Agent in Charge for the Office of Inspector General of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, and Diane Upchurch, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI Little Rock Field Office, announced Dr. Lorraine De Blanche, 56, pled guilty this afternoon before U.S. District Judge Brian S. Miller.
  • Spring Hill Man Pleads Guilty To Theft Of Government Funds
    9/23/2020
    David Naylor (58, Spring Hill) has pleaded guilty to theft of government funds. He faces a maximum penalty of 10 years in federal prison. A sentencing date has not yet been set.
  • Texas Woman Sentenced to Prison for Role in $5.5 Million Federal Worker’s Compensation Overbilling Scheme
    9/22/2020
    A Texas woman was sentenced to 18 months in prison on September 22, 2020, for her role in a $5.5 million scheme to overbill the U.S. Department of Labor Office of Workers’ Compensation Program for physical therapy and other services.
  • Boca Raton Doctor Pleads Guilty To $20 Million Health Care Fraud Scheme
    9/18/2020
    Dr. Richard Davidson (41, Boca Raton) has pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit health care fraud. He faces a maximum penalty of 10 years in federal prison. Davidson has also agreed to forfeit $2,472,087 to the United States, which represents the proceeds he obtained through the commission of the offense. A sentencing date has not yet been set.
  • Former Veterans Affairs Doctor Pleads Guilty to Three Civil Rights Offenses
    9/17/2020
    A doctor of osteopathic medicine who formerly worked at the Veterans Affairs (VA) Medical Center in Beckley, West Virginia, pleaded guilty on September 17, 2020, to three counts of depriving veterans of their civil rights under color of law by sexually abusing them.
  • Former Veterans Affairs Doctor Pleads Guilty to Three Civil Rights Offenses
    9/17/2020
    A doctor of osteopathic medicine who formerly worked at the Veterans Affairs (VA) Medical Center in Beckley, West Virginia, pleaded guilty on September 17, 2020, to three counts of depriving veterans of their civil rights under color of law by sexually abusing them.
  • Buffalo Man Sentenced For Assaulting A VA Police Officer
    9/16/2020
    U.S. Attorney James P. Kennedy, Jr. announced on September 16, 2020, that Darnell Curry, 27, of Buffalo, NY, who was convicted of assaulting, resisting, or impeding a federal officer, was sentenced to serve six months in prison by U.S. Magistrate Judge H. Kenneth Schroeder, Jr.
  • Senior Veterans Affairs Official in Philadelphia Indicted for Soliciting Bribes
    9/16/2020
    United States Attorney William M. McSwain announced that Ralph Johnson, 54, of Kinzers, PA, former Chief of Environmental Management Services at the Corporal Michael J. Cresenz Veterans Affairs Medical Center (VAMC) in Philadelphia, PA, was charged by Indictment for soliciting and accepting bribes in connection with contracts and purchase orders at the medical center.
  • Former VA Employee Pleads Guilty to Embezzling $70,000 Using Mobile Payment Application
    9/14/2020
    A former Department of Veteran Affairs (VA) employee was sentenced on September 14, 2020 for embezzling nearly $70,000 in VA funds. Michael Donaher, 41, of Lakeville, was sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge Indira Talwani to time served (approximately one day), three years of supervised release with the first six months to be served in a sober house, and ordered to pay $69,720 in restitution. The government recommended a sentence of one year and one day incarceration. In May 2020, Donaher pleaded guilty to one count of embezzlement and theft of public money, property or records after being arrested and charged in January.
  • VA Hospital Nurse Charged with Using her Position to Obtain Painkillers
    9/11/2020
    A resident of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, has been indicted by a federal grand jury in Pittsburgh on charges of violating federal narcotics laws, United States Attorney Scott W. Brady announced on September 11, 2020.
  • Las Vegas Resident Pleads Guilty To Fraudulently Obtaining Nearly $1.2 Million In Benefits From The Social Security Administration And Department Of Veterans Affairs
    9/10/2020
    A Las Vegas resident pleaded guilty in federal court on September 9, 2020 to fraudulently obtaining nearly $1.2 million in Social Security Administration (SSA) and Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) benefits, announced U.S. Attorney Nicholas A. Trutanich for the District of Nevada.
  • Owner Of Fraudulent Telemarketing Company Sentenced To Four Years In Federal Prison
    9/4/2020
    Chief U.S. District Judge Steven D. Merryday on September 4, 2020, sentenced Samuel Friedman (45, Land O’ Lakes) to four years in federal prison for health care fraud. The court also ordered Friedman to forfeit his interests in real property as well as a bank account containing nearly $475,000, which were traceable to proceeds of the offense. Restitution was ordered in the amount of $3.42 million.
  • Springfield Woman Sentenced to Prison for Health Care Fraud and Tax Evasion
    9/4/2020
    On September 2, 2020, a Springfield woman who owned several durable medical equipment stores in Oregon was sentenced to federal prison for defrauding six health insurance plans of approximately $1.3 million and for evading $99,000 in federal income taxes, announced U.S. Attorney Billy J. Williams.
  • Three Family Members Plead Guilty In Connection With Defrauding Veterans Health Care In The Villages
    8/26/2020
    Miller Wilson, Jr. (50, Sparr), his daughter, Myoshi Wilson (26, Citra), and Erica Wilson (43, Ocala) have each pleaded guilty for their roles a scheme to defraud the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs health care benefits.
  • Agawam Man Pleads Guilty to Defrauding VA Hospitals by Failing to Inspect Medical Gas Systems
    8/20/2020
    A vendor for several Veterans Affairs medical facilities pleaded guilty today to a scheme to profit by billing for, but failing to perform, critical medical gas inspections at VA facilities. Chester Wojcik, 49, of Agawam, Mass., pleaded guilty to one count of wire fraud. U.S. District Court Judge Mark G. Mastroianni scheduled sentencing for Nov. 19, 2020.
  • NextHealth Marketer Charged in $60 Million Kickback Scheme
    8/20/2020
    A pharmacy marketer who allegedly collected more than $60 million in illegal kickbacks has been charged with violating the federal Anti-Kickback Statute, Northern District of Texas First Assistant U.S. Attorney Prerak Shah announced on August 20, 2020.
  • Florida Man Pleads Guilty To Threatening A VA Employee
    8/19/2020
    U.S. Attorney James P. Kennedy, Jr. announced on August 19, 2020, that Michael F. Hanley, 49, of Clearwater, Florida, pleaded guilty, before U.S. Magistrate Judge Michael J. Roemer, to threatening a federal employee. The charge carries a maximum penalty of one year in prison and $100,000 fine.
  • Wheelers Indicted for Conspiracy to Obstruct Justice
    8/19/2020
    A federal grand jury has returned an indictment charging Julie Wheeler, 44, and her husband Rodney Wheeler, 48, both of Beaver, with conspiracy to obstruct justice, according to United States Attorney Mike Stuart.
  • Max Prison Sentence + Restitution For Discharged Veteran Who Faked Military Honors And Combat-Related Mental Health Illness To Claim VA Benefits
    8/19/2020
    A veteran who reaped federal monetary benefits for faking a mental health condition and who falsely claimed to have earned two of the highest honors bestowed for military service was sentenced to the top of his sentencing guideline range and will pay restitution for his crimes, said Charles “Charlie” Peeler, the United States Attorney for the Middle District of Georgia.
  • U.S. DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS POLICE OFFICER INDICTED FOR UNAUTHORIZED LEADS AND OHLEG SEARCHES AND TAMPERING WITH RECORDS
    8/12/2020
    Prosecutor Ron O’Brien said, “This man was an entrusted employee who abused his position to obtain law enforcement data on coworkers and acquaintances for his own personal non-law enforcement purposes.” Prosecutor Ron O’Brien announces that the Franklin County Grand Jury has returned a 24 count indictment against Horace Ryan Greene of Springfield, age 54, for 6 counts of Unauthorized Use of the Law Enforcement Automated Database System (LEADS), 15 counts of Unauthorized Use of the Ohio Law Enforcement Gateway (OHLEG), and 3 counts of Tampering with Records. Greene has worked for the Columbus VA Ambulatory Care Center as a police officer since January of 2017. “It is alleged that between June of 2017 through October of 2019, Greene conducted unauthorized searches to acquire personal information on other Columbus VA police officers and VA employees, as well as non-VA employees,” O’Brien stated. O’Brien commended the VA Office of Inspector General Criminal Investigations Division, the VA Office of Security and Law Enforcement, and the Columbus VA Police for their investigation of this case. Arraignment for Greene is scheduled for Wednesday, August 26th at 1:30 pm in courtroom 2A at 345 S. High Street in downtown Columbus.
  • North Country Man Sentenced for Making a False Statement to the VA
    8/11/2020
    Alex Cheney, age 55, of Moriah, New York, was sentenced on August 11, 2020, to 3 years of probation and 100 hours of community service for making a false statement to the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) in order to receive Individual Unemployability benefits.
  • Pensacola Man Pleads Guilty To Possessing Firearms At Veterans Affairs Facility
    7/31/2020
    United States Attorney Lawrence Keefe, of the Northern District of Florida, announced on July 30, 2020, that Pensacola resident Howell E. Camp, 58, pled guilty to carrying a concealed firearm and possession of firearms on federal property, stemming from a May 6 incident at the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Joint Ambulatory Care Clinic in Pensacola. Camp admitted that he illegally possessed a 5.56 millimeter Del-Ton Incorporated rifle and a 9 millimeter Smith & Wesson pistol while at the federal facility.
  • Former Cemetery Owner Sentenced For Defrauding Customers
    7/29/2020
    The United States Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Pennsylvania announced that Arminda Martin, age 49, formerly of York County, Pennsylvania, was sentenced on July 28, 2020, to 12 months’ and one day imprisonment to be followed by two years of supervised release, by Chief District Court Judge John E. Jones, III, for conspiring to commit mail fraud. The sentence represents a downward adjustment of approximately 32 months to account for prison time that Martin has served for a related fraud scheme in Ohio.
  • Acting Manhattan U.S. Attorney Announces $49 Million Settlement With Biotech Testing Company For Fraudulent Billing And Kickback Practices
    7/23/2020
    Audrey Strauss, the Acting United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, Scott J. Lampert, Special Agent in Charge of the New York Regional Office of the U.S. Department of Health, Office of Inspector General (“HHS OIG”), Leigh-Alistair Barzey, Special Agent in Charge of the Northeast Field Office of the U.S. Department of Defense - Office of Inspector General’s Defense Criminal Investigative Service (“DCIS”), and Christopher Algieri, Special Agent in Charge of the Department of Veterans Affairs (“VA”), Office of Inspector General, Northeast Field Office (“VA OIG”), announced on July, 23, 2020, a $49 million settlement with PROGENITY, INC. (“PROGENITY”), a San Diego-based biotechnology company that provides molecular and diagnostic tests. The settlement resolves claims that PROGENITY fraudulently billed federal healthcare programs for prenatal tests and provided kickbacks to physicians to induce to them to order PROGENITY tests for their patients. The Office’s lawsuit filed in Manhattan federal court alleges that PROGENITY overbilled Medicaid and the VA by fraudulently using a billing code that misrepresented the tests provided. The lawsuit further alleges that PROGENITY provided illegal kickbacks in the form of excessive “draw fees” to physicians, meals and happy hours for physicians and their staff, and the improper reduction or waiver of patient coinsurance and deductible payments.
  • Bucks County Man Pleads Guilty to Faking a Military Career as a Navy SEAL, Stealing from the Government, and Straw Purchasing Firearms
    7/22/2020
    United States Attorney William M. McSwain announced that Richard Meleski, 58, of Chalfont, PA, pleaded guilty to multiple charges, including healthcare fraud, mail fraud, stolen valor, and aiding and abetting straw purchases of firearms.
  • Atlanta man arraigned for embezzling over $200,000 from his disabled father’s VA account
    7/22/2020
    William Dorsey, Jr., has been arraigned for embezzling over $200,000 from his father’s beneficiary account funded by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA.)
  • Oakland County Woman Accused of Stealing $70,000 from Elderly Victim
    7/16/2020
    An Oakland County woman was arraigned recently on multiple charges after she allegedly stole more than $70,000 from an elderly veteran. Margaret Risdon, 60, of Bloomfield Hills, was arraigned July 16 in 48th District Court before Magistrate Andra Richardson on one count of embezzlement from a vulnerable adult between $50,000 and $100,000, a 15-year felony, and two counts of failing to file taxes, both five-year felonies.
  • OIG Statement on Louis A. Johnson VA Medical Center in Clarksburg, West Virginia
    7/14/2020
    VA Inspector General Michael Missal, US Attorney for the Northern District of West Virginia Bill Powell, and other law enforcement partners announced today that Reta Mays, of Harrison County, West Virginia, pleaded guilty to seven counts of second-degree murder in the deaths of seven veterans at the Louis A. Johnson Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Clarksburg, West Virginia. Mays, a nursing assistant, also pleaded guilty to one count of assault with intent to commit murder involving the death of an eighth veteran. Mays admitted to administering insulin to several patients with the intent to cause their deaths.
  • Former VA Hospital Nursing Assistant Admits to Murdering Seven Veterans and Assault with Intent to Commit Murder of an Eighth
    7/14/2020
    A former nursing assistant pled guilty on July 14, 2020, in federal court here to murder and assault charges in the deaths of eight veterans at the Veterans Affairs Medical Center (VAMC) in Clarksburg, West Virginia, U.S. Attorney Bill Powell announced.
  • Universal Health Services, Inc. to Pay $117 Million to Settle False Claims Act Allegations
    7/10/2020
    United States Attorney William M. McSwain announced on July 10, 2020, that Universal Health Services, Inc. and UHS of Delaware, Inc. (together, UHS) have agreed to pay $117 million to resolve alleged violations of the False Claims Act for billing for medically unnecessary inpatient behavioral health services and failing to provide adequate and appropriate services. UHS, which is headquartered in King of Prussia, Pennsylvania, owns and provides management and administrative services to nearly 200 acute care inpatient psychiatric hospitals and residential psychiatric and behavioral treatment facilities nationwide.
  • Montana Psychiatrist Sentenced for Unlawful Possession of an Opioid
    7/7/2020
    A Montana psychiatrist who admitted to unlawfully prescribing and abusing an opioid was sentenced on July 7, 2020, to five years of probation and ordered to pay a fine of $4,000, U.S. Attorney Kurt Alme said. In addition, as part of his sentence the psychiatrist cannot prescribe any controlled substance during his five years of probation.
  • Man Who Shot Firearm Inside West Palm Beach VA Medical Center Committed to 25 Years in Custody
    7/6/2020
    On July 6, 2020, federal district judge Kenneth A. Marra committed a man who fired gunshots inside a West Palm Beach VA Medical Center to the custody of the U.S. Attorney General for 25 years of mental health care and treatment at a suitable medical facility. The commitment is a provisional sentence for sixty-year old defendant Larry Ray Bon, a former West Palm Beach resident. If during Bon’s commitment, it is determined that he no longer needs treatment, Bon will reappear in federal court, where a judge will sentence him to a federal prison term of between 12.5 and 25 years. Lawyers for the U.S. and Bon jointly recommended this provisional sentence arrangement for the defendant.
  • Deltona Man Sentenced For Theft Of Government Funds
    7/2/2020
    U.S. District Judge Paul G. Byron has sentenced Bobby Morlen (54, Deltona) to two years in federal prison for theft of government funds. As part of his sentence, the court also entered a money judgment of $131,457.16, the amount of proceeds from the offense, and ordered Morlen to pay restitution. A federal jury had found Morlen guilty on January 22, 2020.
  • Owner Of Fraudulent Telemarketing Company Pleads Guilty To Health Care Fraud Conspiracy
    7/2/2020
    Samuel Friedman (47, Pasco County) pleaded guilty July 2, 2020, to conspiracy to commit health care fraud. He faces a maximum penalty of 10 years in federal prison. A sentencing date has not yet been set. According to the plea agreement, Friedman owned and operated a telemarketing operation known as SKF Enterprises, LLC. SKF targeted the Medicare-aged population to generate orders for durable medical equipment (“DME”) and cancer genetic (“CGx”) testing. SKF’s call center employees were trained to follow a script of triage questions designed to upsell DME and CGx testing to Medicare beneficiaries. SKF then packaged this information into the format of a prescription for doctors’ approval under the guise of “telemedicine,” but no proper telemedicine occurred. Rather, doctors’ signatures were secured in exchange for bribes and kickbacks. During the scheme, Friedman bribed numerous doctors, through fraudulent “telemedicine” companies, to sign and to approve thousands of DME and CGx-testing orders, regardless of medical necessity. Once signed by doctors, Friedman sold the prescriptions to client-conspirators for submission to Medicare and the Civilian Health and Medical Program of the Department of Veterans Affairs. The conspirators attempted to conceal their illegal kickback relationships using sham boilerplate marketing agreements. For these illegal sales, conspirators paid SKF more than $3.4 million.
  • Rochester Gun Store Burglar Admits To Lying About Military Medals
    7/2/2020
    U.S. Attorney James P. Kennedy, Jr. announced today that Marcos D. Guzman, 36, of Rochester, NY, pleaded guilty to making fraudulent representations about the receipt of military medals before U.S. District Judge Elizabeth A. Wolford. The charge carries a maximum penalty of one year in prison and a $100,000 fine. Assistant U.S. Attorney Brett A. Harvey, who is handling the case, stated that Guzman lied to the U.S. Probation Office about his military service and being awarded two Purple Hearts in order to try to get a lower sentence on two pending firearms offenses. Specifically, the defendant lied about serving in the United States National Guard, being deployed to Iraq for 18 months, and receiving two Purple Hearts for saving another soldier on the battlefield in Iraq. Guzman provided photographs to the U.S. Probation Office that purported to show the two Purple Heart certificates. The Purple Heart certificates were fake. In April 2019, Guzman was convicted of theft of firearms from a Federal Firearms Licensee and possession of firearms by a convicted felon, after stealing approximately 87 firearms from Chinappi’s Firearms & Supplies, a gun store on West Ridge Road in Spencerport, NY. Co-defendants Dakota Sarfaty and Luis D. Marcano-Agosto have also been convicted. Many of the firearms were sold on the streets of Rochester.
  • Acting Manhattan U.S. Attorney Announces $678 Million Settlement Of Fraud Lawsuit Against Novartis Pharmaceuticals Corporation For Operating Sham Speaker Programs Through Which It Paid Over $100 Million To Doctors To Unlawfully Induce Them To Prescribe No
    7/1/2020
    Audrey Strauss, the Acting United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, William F. Sweeney Jr., Assistant Director-in-Charge of the New York Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (“FBI”), Gregory E. Demske, Chief Counsel to the Inspector General of the United States Department of Health and Human Services, Office of the Inspector General (“HHS-OIG”), Scott J. Lampert, Special Agent in Charge of HHS-OIG’s New York Regional Office, Leigh-Alistair Barzey, Special Agent in Charge of the Northeast Field Office of the U.S. Department of Defense - Office of Inspector General’s Defense Criminal Investigative Service (“DCIS”), and Christopher Algieri, Special Agent in Charge the Department of Veterans Affairs, Office of Inspector General, Northeast Field Office (“VA OIG”), announced July 1, 2020, that the United States has settled a civil fraud lawsuit against NOVARTIS PHARMACEUTICALS CORPORATION (“NOVARTIS”), part of Swiss drug manufacturer Novartis International AG, alleging that NOVARTIS violated the federal False Claims Act and Anti-Kickback Statute by providing doctors with cash payments, recreational outings, lavish meals, and expensive alcohol to induce them to prescribe NOVARTIS cardiovascular and diabetes drugs reimbursed by federal healthcare programs. Specifically, the Government alleged that NOVARTIS organized tens of thousands of sham educational events at high-end restaurants and other venues, paid exorbitant speaker fees to doctors who gave no meaningful presentations, and provided expensive meals and alcohol to doctor attendees and their guests. When those doctors then prescribed NOVARTIS’s cardiovascular and diabetes drugs, federal healthcare programs paid hundreds of millions of dollars in reimbursements for these tainted prescriptions. As part of the settlement, approved today by U.S. District Judge Paul G. Gardephe, NOVARTIS will pay the United States and various States a total of $678 million. NOVARTIS also made extensive factual admissions in the settlement and agreed to strict limitations on any future speaker programs, including reductions to the amount it may spend on such programs.
  • Former Cemetery Owner Sentenced For Defrauding Customers
    6/30/2020
    The United States Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Pennsylvania announced that Theodore Martin, age 57, formerly of York County, Pennsylvania, was sentenced June 30, 2020 to 13 months’ imprisonment to be followed by two years of supervised release by Chief United States District Court Judge John E. Jones III, for conspiring to commit mail fraud. The sentence represents a downward adjustment of approximately twenty-eight months to account for prison time that Martin has served for a related fraud scheme in Ohio.
  • Beckley Woman Who Faked Death to Avoid Sentencing Will Serve 42 Months in Federal Prison for Health Care Fraud
    6/30/2020
    Julie M. Wheeler, 43, of Beckley, was sentenced by Senior United States District Judge John T. Copenhaver, Jr. to 42 months in federal prison for federal health care fraud, announced United States Attorney Mike Stuart. After serving her prison sentence, she will be placed on supervised release for three years. She was further ordered to pay restitution in the amount of $289,055.07, an amount calculated by the Veterans Administration (VA) and approved by the court.
  • “Compound King” and Wife Sentenced in $21 Million Health Care Fraud Scheme; Fugitive Sought
    6/25/2020
    A Houston pharmacist and his wife were sentenced June 25, 2020, for their roles in an approximately $21.8 million Department of Labor (DOL) - Office of Workers Compensation Programs and Federal Employees Compensation Act fraud scheme.
  • Former Veterans Affairs Police Officer Sentenced To 24 Months In Prison For Criminal Civil Rights Violation And Making False Entries In A Report
    6/24/2020
    U.S. District Judge Susan C. Bucklew on June 24, 2020, sentenced Norman Nicholson (57, Largo) to 24 months in federal prison for depriving an individual of his Fourth Amendment right to a reasonable search and seizure under color of law and one count of knowingly making false entries in a report with the intent to obstruct an investigation within the jurisdiction of a federal agency.
  • Bhaskar Patel Sentenced in Kickback and Bribery Scheme in Connection with Government Contracts
    6/22/2020
    The Office of the United States Attorney for the District of Vermont announced that Bhaskar Patel, 69, of Horseheads, New York, was sentenced June 19, 2020, in federal district court in connection with a kickback and bribery scheme conducted in connection with federal energy savings performance contracts (“ESPCs”). While employed by Schneider Electric Buildings America (“Schneider”), Patel unlawfully solicited and accepted $2,536,119.19 in bribes and kickbacks associated with ESPCs from subcontractors to Schneider. According to the Information filed in the case, the scheme ran from June 6, 2011 through April 19, 2016, involved dozens of bribes and kickbacks from eight subcontractors to Schneider, and included amounts ranging from $6,231 to $136,990.19.
  • Fayetteville Man Pleads Guilty to Obtaining VA Benefits through Fraud
    6/18/2020
    Matthew G.T. Martin, United States Attorney for the Middle District of North Carolina, announced today that WILLIE DOSHER CAIN pleaded guilty to a felony count of theft of government funds related to healthcare fraud.
  • Veteran’s Affairs Respiratory Therapist Charged with Stealing COVID-19-related Medical Supplies and Selling Them on eBay
    6/17/2020
    Between January and June 2020, the defendant allegedly stole and sold ventilators, bronchoscopes, and other respiratory support equipment.
  • Owners of Groveland Companies Sentenced for Defrauding Government Contracting Programs
    6/17/2020
    Three men were sentenced June 17, 2020, in federal court in Boston for conspiracy to defraud the United States and mail fraud in connection with a scheme to obtain government contracts.
  • VA Employee Sentenced For Orchestrating $19 Million Corruption Scheme
    6/12/2020
    United States Attorney Jason R. Dunn announced that Joseph Prince, age 61, of Aurora, Colorado was sentenced yesterday to serve 192 months (16 years) in federal prison for health care fraud, conspiracy, payment of illegal kickbacks and gratuities, money laundering, and conflict of interest charges. Prince was also ordered to serve 3 years of supervised release and pay $18,777,134.68 in restitution to the Veteran’s Health Administration. Prince, who appeared at the sentencing hearing free on bond, was remanded at the hearing’s conclusion.
  • Buffalo Man Pleads Guilty To Assaulting A VA Police Officer
    6/12/2020
    U.S. Attorney James P. Kennedy, Jr. announced today that Darnell Curry, 27, of Buffalo, NY, pleaded guilty before U.S. Magistrate Judge H. Kenneth Schroeder to assaulting, resisting, or impeding a federal officer. The charge carries a maximum penalty of one year in prison and a $100,000 fine.
  • Craig M. Young sentenced to71 months in prison in $11 million Ayudando Guardians financial fraud scheme
    6/11/2020
    A federal judge in Santa Fe, New Mexico sentenced Craig M. Young, 55, of Albuquerque to 71 months in federal prison June 11, 2020, for conspiracy and conspiracy to commit money laundering in connection with the operation of Ayudando Guardians, Inc., a non-profit corporation based in Albuquerque that previously provided guardianship, conservatorship, and financial management to hundreds of people with special needs.
  • Medical Technology Company President Charged in Scheme to Defraud Investors and Health Care Benefit Programs in Connection with COVID-19 Testing
    6/9/2020
    The president of a California-based medical technology company was charged in a complaint unsealed today in the Northern District of California, in connection with his alleged participation in schemes to mislead investors, to manipulate the company’s stock price and to conspire to commit health care fraud in connection with the submission of over $69 million in false and fraudulent claims for allergy and COVID-19 testing.
  • Four Florida Men Charged for Their Roles in a $54 Million Compound Pharmacy Kickback Scheme
    6/5/2020
    Four Florida men were charged in an indictment unsealed June 4, 2020, for their alleged participation in a compound pharmacy kickback scheme. James Wesley Moss, 57, of Zephyrhills, Edward Christopher White, 38, of Panama City Beach, David Byron Copeland, 52, of Tallahassee, and Michael Alton Gordon, 56, of Fort Myers, were each charged in an indictment filed in the Middle District of Florida with one count of conspiracy to defraud the United States and to pay or receive health care kickbacks.
  • Oklahoma Contractors to Pay $2.8 Million to Settle False Claims Act Allegations Concerning Fraudulently Obtained Small Business Contracts
    6/2/2020
    Tulsa, Oklahoma-based contractor the Ross Group Construction Corporation (Ross Group), and its corporate affiliates, have agreed to pay over $2.8 million to settle allegations that they violated the False Claims Act by improperly obtaining federal set-aside contracts reserved for disadvantaged small businesses, the Justice Department announced today.
  • Suspects Arraigned on Charges for Stealing $470,000 in Public Benefits by Defrauding VA, Michigan Treasury
    6/1/2020
    Two people were arraigned on charges recently for defrauding the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) and Michigan Department of Treasury out of hundreds of thousands of dollars by submitting fraudulent documents in support of claims for VA survivor benefits and Michigan Unclaimed Property. A third individual has been charged in connection with this fraud but has not yet been arraigned.
  • Federal Indictment For Pensacola Man Accused Of Possessing Firearms at Veterans Affairs Facility
    5/26/2020
    Today a federal grand jury has indicted a Pensacola man for the possession of firearms, including a concealed firearm, at the Department of Veterans Affairs Joint Ambulatory Care Clinic in Pensacola. The three-count indictment alleges that Pensacola resident Howell E. Camp, 58, illegally possessed a 5.56 millimeter Del-Ton Incorporated rifle and a 9 millimeter Smith & Wesson pistol at the federal facility. It is alleged that Camp possessed these firearms with the intent to commit a crime on May 6, 2020.
  • Former Chief Of Cardiology At Palo Alto VA Hospital Indicted For Sexual Battery Of Subordinate Doctor
    5/18/2020
    A federal grand jury in San Jose indicted Dr. John Giacomini for Abusive Sexual Contact, announced United States Attorney David L. Anderson, Special Agent in Charge James K. Wahleithner of the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs’ Office of Inspector General, Criminal Investigations Division, and Chief of Police Martin Sizemore of the Veterans Affairs Police Service, Palo Alto Health Care Division.
  • Former Veterans Affairs Doctor Indicted on Multiple Civil Rights Charges
    5/12/2020
    A federal grand jury in Charleston, West Virginia, today returned a seven-count indictment charging Dr. Jonathan Yates, 51, with federal civil rights and abusive sexual contact offenses. Yates, a doctor of osteopathic medicine who formerly worked at the Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Beckley, West Virginia, is charged with five counts of depriving veterans of their civil rights under color of law, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 242, and two counts of abusive sexual contact, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 2244(b). He was previously charged in a criminal complaint with depriving a veteran of his civil rights under color of law.
  • Central New York Construction Companies and Others to Pay Nearly $4.5 Million to Resolve Allegations of Fraud Involving Contracting Opportunities Meant for Disabled Veterans
    5/4/2020
    Northland Associates Inc., its president James Tyler, The Diverse Construction Group LLC, and their bonding agent, Rose & Kiernan Inc., have agreed to pay the United States $4,470,000 to resolve allegations that they fraudulently exploited contracting opportunities reserved for veteran-owned small businesses and small businesses operating in historically underutilized business zones.
  • Guaranteed Rate to Pay $15 Million to Resolve Allegations It Knowingly Caused False Claims to Government Mortgage Loan Programs
    4/29/2020
    Guaranteed Rate Inc. has agreed to pay the United States $15.06 million to resolve allegations that it violated the False Claims Act and the Financial Institutions Reform, Recovery and Enforcement Act of 1989 (FIRREA) by knowingly violating material program requirements when it originated and underwrote mortgages insured by the Department of Housing and Urban Development’s Federal Housing Administration or guaranteed by the Department of Veterans Affairs, the Department of Justice announced today. Guaranteed Rate is headquartered in Chicago, Illinois, with branches across the United States.
  • Surgeon Agrees to Pay $1.75 Million to Resolve Allegations that He Accepted Kickbacks from SpineFrontier
    4/24/2020
    The U.S. Attorney’s Office announced today that Dr. Jeffrey R. Carlson of Newport News, Virginia, has agreed to pay $1.75 million to resolve allegations that he accepted kickbacks from SpineFrontier Inc., a Massachusetts-based medical device manufacturer.
  • VA Employee Agrees to Plead Guilty to Embezzling $70,000 Using Mobile Payment Application
    4/13/2020
    A Department of Veteran Affairs (VA) employee has agreed to plead guilty to embezzling nearly $70,000 in VA funds.
  • Georgia Man Arrested for Attempting to Defraud the Department of Veterans Affairs in a Multimillion-Dollar COVID-19 Scam
    4/10/2020
    Christopher Parris, a 39-year-old Atlanta, Georgia resident, was arrested and charged in federal court in the District of Columbia with fraud for attempting to sell millions of nonexistent respirator masks to the Department of Veterans Affairs in exchange for large upfront payments.
  • MiMedx Group Inc. Agrees to Pay $6.5 Million to Resolve False Claims Act Allegations of False Commercial Pricing Disclosures
    4/6/2020
    A biopharmaceutical company based in Marietta, Georgia that manufactures and sells human tissue grafts, will pay $6.5 million to resolve allegations that it violated the False Claims Act by knowingly submitting false commercial pricing disclosures to the United States Department of Veterans Affairs, the Justice Department announced today.
  • Former Veterans Affairs Doctor Charged with Civil Rights Offense
    4/2/2020
    A doctor of osteopathic medicine who formerly worked at the Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Beckley, West Virginia, has been charged in a criminal complaint with depriving a veteran of his civil rights under color of law.
  • Georgia Man Arrested for Orchestrating Scheme to Defraud Health Care Benefit Programs Related to COVID-19 and Genetic Cancer Testing
    3/30/2020
    A Georgia man will appear in court today for his alleged role in a conspiracy to defraud federally funded and private health care benefit programs by submitting fraudulent testing claims for COVID-19 and genetic cancer screenings.
  • Former Co-Owner and COO of Pharmacy Pleads Guilty in Prescription Drug Billing Scheme
    3/27/2020
    An additional defendant pled guilty in a long-running investigation into a prescription drug-billing scheme involving a Haleyville, Ala.-based pharmacy, Northside Pharmacy doing business as Global Compounding Pharmacy.
  • Former Veterans Affairs Police Officer Pleads Guilty to Criminal Civil Rights Violation and Making False Entries in a Report
    3/24/2020
    A former VA police officer pleaded guilty to one count of depriving an individual of his Fourth Amendment right to a reasonable search and seizure under the color of law and one count of knowingly making false entries in a report with the intent to obstruct an investigation within the jurisdiction of a federal agency.
  • VA Employee Found Guilty Of Corruption Charges And Defrauding VA Of Nearly $19 Million In A Year
    3/13/2020
    United States Attorney Jason R. Dunn announced that yesterday a jury sitting in U.S. District Court in Denver found former Veterans Affairs (VA) employee Joseph Prince, age 60, of Aurora, Colorado, guilty of felony health care fraud, conspiracy, payment of illegal kickbacks and gratuities, money laundering charges and conflict of interest. The verdict is the result of an eight-day jury trial before U.S. District Court Judge Raymond P. Moore. Prince’s bond was continued and he was ordered to home incarceration pending his sentencing.
  • Indictment: Arizona Veteran Committed Fraud To Obtain Government Contracts
    3/12/2020
    A Marine veteran was indicted on charges she committed fraud to obtain government contracts for a business in Overland Park that sold commercial flooring and furniture.
  • Former Operator Of Minnesota VA Outpatient Clinics Agrees To Pay $1.85 Million To Resolve False Claims Act Allegations Concerning Veterans’ Wait Times
    3/12/2020
    The Justice Department announced that Sterling Medical Associates Inc. (Sterling) will pay $1.85 million to resolve allegations under the False Claims Act that it failed to schedule veterans’ medical appointments timely at two outpatient clinics in Minnesota, resulting in the submission of false claims to the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA).
  • “Compound King” Convicted in $21 Million Health Care Fraud Scheme
    3/11/2020
    A federal jury sitting in Houston, Texas, found a pharmacist guilty of charges related to health care fraud, wire fraud and money laundering.
  • U.S. Attorney Sues Spinal Device Company and Its Executives for Allegations that they Paid Kickbacks to Surgeons
    3/5/2020
    The U.S. Attorney’s Office has filed a civil health care fraud complaint against SpineFrontier, Inc. (SpineFrontier); Impartial Medical Experts, LLC (IME); Kingsley Chin, the founder and CEO of SpineFrontier; Aditya Humad, the CFO of SpineFrontier; Vanessa Dudley, Chin’s wife and the Business Administrator of IME; and other entities Chin owns and controls.
  • Lecanto Medical Biller Sentenced In Large Healthcare Fraud Scheme
    3/4/2020
    U.S. District Judge Mary S. Scriven today sentenced Teresa Johnson (53, Lecanto) to five years’ probation, with four months of home detention, for conspiring with a local doctor to commit health care fraud. As part of her sentence, the court also ordered Johnson to pay restitution to the defrauded federal health care programs and, entered a money judgment of more than $5,700, representing a portion of Johnson’s health care fraud proceeds.
  • Former VA Podiatry Chief Sentenced to 6.5 Years in Prison for Health Care Fraud Scheme
    3/3/2020
    Anthony Lazzarino, 69, former Chief of Podiatry for the Veterans Affairs’ Northern California Health Care System, was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge John A. Mendez to six years and six months in prison for health care fraud and conspiracy to commit wire fraud, U.S. Attorney McGregor W. Scott announced.
  • Part-owner and chief financial officer of Ayudando Guardians sentenced to 20 years in prison for $11 million financial fraud scheme
    3/3/2020
    A federal judge in Santa Fe, New Mexico sentenced Sharon A. Moore, 64, of Albuquerque to 20 years in federal prison on March 2 for conspiracy and other financial crimes committed in connection with the operation of Ayudando Guardians, Inc., a non-profit corporation based in Albuquerque that previously provided guardianship, conservatorship, and financial management to hundreds of people with special needs. Meanwhile, the judge issued bench warrants for Susan K. Harris, 73, and William S. Harris, 58, of Albuquerque after they failed to appear with Moore for their scheduled sentencing hearing.
  • Former VA Podiatry Chief Sentenced to 6.5 Years in Prison for Health Care Fraud Scheme
    3/3/2020
    Anthony Lazzarino, 69, former Chief of Podiatry for the Veterans Affairs’ (VA) Northern California Health Care System, was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge John A. Mendez to six years and six months in prison for health care fraud and conspiracy to commit wire fraud, U.S. Attorney McGregor W. Scott announced.
  • Former Veterans Affairs Official Sentenced To 18 Months In Federal Prison For Role In Bribery Scheme To Rig Federal Contracts
    2/26/2020
    United States Attorney Jason R. Dunn announced that former U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs official Dwane Nevins, age 55, was sentenced to serve 18 months in federal prison followed by 3 years of supervised release for corruption offenses. The FBI’s Denver Field Office and the Veterans Affairs Office of Inspector General, Criminal Investigations Division, Central Field Office, joined in today’s announcement.
  • Joint Audit of the Department of Defense and Department of Veterans Affairs Efforts to Achieve Electronic Health Record Interoperability
    2/24/2020
    The VA Office of Inspector General and and the Department of Defense (DoD) Office of Inspector General plan to begin in February 2020 the joint audit of DoD's and VA's efforts to achieve electronic health record interoperability. The objective of the joint audit is to determine the extent to which the actions taken by VA and the DoD in acquiring and implementing a common, commercial electronic health record system and supporting architecture will achieve interoperability among the Departments and with external health care providers.
  • Raleigh County Woman Enters Guilty Plea to Health Care Fraud
    2/11/2020
    Julie M. Wheeler entered a guilty plea for federal health care fraud, announced United States Attorney Mike Stuart. Wheeler, 43, of Beckley, faces up to 10 years of incarceration, a $250,000 fine, and three years of supervised release when sentenced on May 20, 2020. She will also be subject to an order of restitution in an amount ranging from $302,131 to $469,983, with the final determination to be made by the Court at sentencing.
  • Attorney General James Announces Sentencing Of Man Who Stole Money Intended For Veterans
    2/6/2020
    Attorney General Letitia James announced the sentencing of Michael Erber (“Erber”), 62, of Brooklyn for stealing money intended to pay the rent of homeless New York City veterans from four Community Based Organizations.
  • Agawam Man Charged with Defrauding VA Hospitals by Failing to Inspect Medical Gas Systems
    2/5/2020
    A vendor for several Veterans Affairs medical facilities was charged yesterday in connection with a scheme to profit by billing for, but failing to perform, critical medical gas inspections at VA facilities.
  • U. S. Settles False Claims Act Allegations Against Southeastern Retina Associates
    2/4/2020
    Southeastern Retina Associates ("SERA") has paid $1.5 million to resolve False Claims Act allegations in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Tennessee.
  • Michigan Woman Pleads Guilty to Defrauding U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs Out of $1.7 Million in Veterans Benefits
    1/31/2020
    Claudia Ann Merrill, 61, of Farmington Hills, Michigan, pleaded guilty today to defrauding the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs out of more than $1.75 million in veterans benefits, announced U.S. Attorney Nicholas A. Trutanich for the District of Nevada.
  • VA Employee Charged with Embezzling $70,000 Using Mobile Payment Application
    1/28/2020
    A Department of Veteran Affairs (VA) employee was charged in federal court in Boston with embezzling nearly $70,000 in VA funds.
  • Wisconsin Accountant Found Guilty of Conspiracy to Obtain Over $260 Million in Small Business Contracts
    1/27/2020
    Mark F. Spindler, a certified public accountant, was found guilty of conspiring with Brian L. Ganos in a scheme to use front companies to obtain set-aside contracts intended for small businesses led by service-disabled veterans and disadvantaged individuals.
  • Florida Academy Agrees To Pay $512,000 To Resolve Misrepresentation Claims Impacting Veterans’ Post-9/11 Tuition Subsidy Program
    1/27/2020
    United States Attorney Maria Chapa Lopez announces that Florida Academy has agreed to pay $512,500 to the United States to resolve allegations that it made misrepresentations to the United States Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) in order to maintain its eligibility to receive VA funding under the Post-9/11 GI Bill.
  • Federal Jury Convicts Deltona Man Of Theft Of Government Funds
    1/22/2020
    Orlando, Florida – United States Attorney Maria Chapa Lopez announces that a federal jury today found Bobby Morlen (54, Deltona) guilty of two counts of theft of government funds. Morlen faces a maximum penalty of 10 years in federal prison on each count. His sentencing hearing is scheduled for April 8, 2020.
  • Matthew Courtney to Pay $700,000 to Settle False Claims Act Allegations
    1/22/2020
    United States Attorney Peter G. Strasser announced that Matthew Courtney will pay $700,000 to resolve allegations that he violated the False Claims Act.
  • Huntington Man Sentenced for Illegally Accessing Veterans' Records
    1/21/2020
    A Huntington man was sentenced to six months in prison for illegally accessing the medical records of six veterans, announced United States Attorney Mike Stuart. Jeffrey Miller, 40, a former Veterans Benefits Administration employee, was also sentenced to one year of supervised release.
  • Forty-Four Additional Defendants Served and Accused of Defrauding Government and Insurance Companies by Falsifying Patient Records for Cataract Surgeries
    1/17/2020
    Attorney General Mark Brnovich announced that an additional 44 summonses have been served on current or former employees of the Kokopelli Eye Institute in the case against Dr. Michael Lee Ham, an eye surgeon with Kokopelli who was recently indicted for an alleged fraudulent billing scheme.
  • Former Vice President of Insys Therapeutics Sentenced for Racketeering Conspiracy
    1/13/2020
    The former Vice President of Managed Markets for Insys Therapeutics was sentenced today in federal court in Boston for his role in conspiring to bribe practitioners to prescribe fentanyl-based pain medication, often when medically unnecessary.
  • Owners of Groveland Companies Charged for Defrauding Government Contracting Programs
    1/10/2020
    Three men were charged in federal court in Boston with conspiracy to defraud the United States and mail fraud in connection with a scheme to obtain government contracts.
  • Caldwell University Agrees To Pay More Than $4.8 Million To Resolve Allegations Of Violating False Claims Act
    1/3/2020
    Caldwell University has agreed to pay the United States more than $4.8 million to resolve allegations that it engaged in a fraudulent scheme to defraud a federal education benefit program, U.S. Attorney Craig Carpenito announced.