Month: March 2022

Source: United States Department of Justice News

Leonard C Boyle, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, today announced that WINDHAM EYE GROUP, P.C., an ophthalmological medical practice located in Windham, and its owners, DANA WOODS, M.D. and WILLIAM KAUFOLD, M.D., have entered into a civil settlement agreement with the federal and state governments to resolve allegations that they improperly employed an individual who was excluded from all federal healthcare programs.

To resolve their liability, Windham Eye Group, Woods and Kaufold will pay $192,699.

Windham Eye Group employed Michael Vallone as its practice administrator between February 2010 and May 2021.  Vallone had previously been convicted in the District of Jersey of health care fraud.  As a result of his conviction, he was excluded from all federal health care programs. 

When the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of the Inspector General (HHS-OIG) excludes an individual or entity from federal health care programs, no program payments may be made for items or services furnished by that excluded individual or entity.  In September 1999, HHS-OIG issued a Special Advisory Bulletin in order to provide guidance to health care providers who might employ or contract with an excluded individual or entity.  In May 2013, HHS-OIG issued an Updated Special Advisor Bulletin containing additional guidance.  Both the original and updated Special Advisory Bulletins advised that, in order to avoid potential liability, health care providers should check the List of Excluded Individuals/Entities on the HHS-OIG web site (http://oig.hhs.gov/exclusions).

During the time that Vallone served as the practice administrator for Windham Eye Group, the practice and its owners billed and sought reimbursements from federal healthcare programs, including Medicare, Medicaid, and TRICARE.  A portion of the reimbursements that Windham Eye Group and its owners received were used to pay Vallone’s salary and benefits.

This matter was investigated by the Office of Inspector General for the Department of Health and Human Services.  The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Richard M. Molot and Assistant Attorney General Greggory O’Connell of the Connecticut Office of the Attorney General.

People who suspect health care fraud are encouraged to report it by calling 1-800-HHS-TIPS or the Health Care Fraud Task Force at (203) 777-6311.

Source: United States Department of Justice News

NEW BERN, N.C. – A Wilmington woman was sentenced today by United States District Judge Louise W. Flanagan to 12 months and one day and two years of supervised release for Fraud in Connection with Visas, Permits, and other Documents. 

According to court documents and other information presented in court, Roydera Hackworth, 63, was an attorney licensed to practice in North Carolina and in 2012 was suspended by the North Carolina State Bar (NCSB) from practicing law.  In 2014, the Board of Immigration Appeals suspended her from practicing in immigration matters before the Executive Office for Immigration Review (i.e., the Board of Immigration Appeals and the immigration courts) and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS).

In 2019, evidence based on information DHS Disciplinary Counsel discovered in USCIS records disclosed that Hackworth violated her suspension and continued to practice, prepare, and submit Form G-28s (Notice of Entry of Appearance as Attorney or Accredited Representative), petitions, and applications with USCIS on behalf of client petitioners and applicants for immigration benefits.

Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), and USCIS Fraud Detection and National Security (FDNS) reviewed documents and interviewed persons that Hackworth “represented” which revealed that Hackworth impersonated another licensed attorney, submitted various immigration related documents which she signed under penalty of perjury representing that she was the other attorney, and averred that she was not suspended and was in fact authorized to practice law.

The review by HSI and FDNS revealed that between 6 and 24 clients were represented by Hackworth with no knowledge that Hackworth was submitting their immigration petitions and application under the name of the other attorney.

The DHS Disciplinary Counsel said: “Hackworth’s disregard of the Board of Immigration Appeals suspension order caused harm to her clients and to the immigration system.  Her unscrupulous behavior required further action to protect the public and the immigration system. We are thankful the U.S. Attorney’s Office took the information we discovered and prosecuted Hackworth.”

Complaints regarding immigration attorneys appearing before DHS can be sent to DisciplinaryCounsel@uscis.dhs.gov or for attorneys appearing before the immigration courts or the Board of Immigration Appeals to EOIR.Attorney.Discipline@usdoj.gov.

“Hackworth not only violated the oath of her profession and the laws of the US immigration system, but she also violated her client’s trust when she fraudulently represented them,” said Special Agent in Charge Ronnie Martinez, who oversees HSI operations in North Carolina and South Carolina. “Preventing the exploitation of people and protecting the integrity of the US immigration system are hallmarks of HSI’s mission.”

Michael Easley, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of North Carolina made the announcement. HSI and USCIS FDNS conducted the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Sebastian Kielmanovich prosecuted the case.

Related court documents and information can be found on the website of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina or on PACER by searching for Case No. 7:21-CR-93-FL.

Source: United States Department of Justice News

The Office of the United States Attorney for the District of Vermont stated that Darren Johnson, aka “Buck,” 40, of St. Albans, Vermont, was sentenced today to serve 18 months in prison after his conviction for distribution of cocaine base.  Chief United States District Judge Geoffrey Crawford also ordered Johnson to serve a three-year term of supervised release after his incarceration.  Johnson may face additional incarceration for a probation violation that is pending in Dorchester, Massachusetts.  

According to court records, Johnson sold fentanyl-laced heroin and cocaine base to confidential informants in late 2019 and early 2020.  Burlington Police arrested Johnson on March 20, 2020, seizing over $5,000 in cash and drug trafficking paraphernalia.  Johnson was cited to appear in Chittenden County Superior Court but failed to appear, resulting in the issuance of an arrest warrant.  On July 18, 2021, a Franklin County Sheriff’s Deputy conducted a traffic stop of a vehicle that was in the wrong lane of a road in St. Albans.  Johnson was a passenger in the vehicle and was arrested due to his failure to appear.  A search of Johnson’s person resulted in the seizure of over $8,000 in cash.  A consent search of the vehicle resulted in the seizure of cocaine base and a Glock Model 45 9mm firearm.  The investigation by the Franklin County Sheriff’s Department determined that Johnson had obtained the firearm from one of his drug customers.

United States Attorney Nikolas P. Kerest commended the investigatory efforts of both the Burlington Police Department and Franklin County Sheriff’s Office, as well as the assistance of the Drug Enforcement Administration and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives.    

Assistant United States Attorney Jonathan A. Ophardt handled the prosecution.  Johnson was represented by Assistant Federal Public Defender Sara Puls, Esq.

This case was prosecuted as part of the joint federal, state, and local Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN) Program, the centerpiece of the Department of Justice’s violent crime reduction efforts.  PSN is an evidence-based program proven to be effective at reducing violent crime.  Through PSN, a broad spectrum of stakeholders works together to identify the most pressing violent crime problems in the community and develop comprehensive solutions to address them.  As part of this strategy, PSN focuses enforcement efforts on the most violent offenders and partners with locally based prevention and reentry programs for lasting reductions in crime.  For more information, please visit https://www.justice.gov/psn.

Source: United States Department of Justice News

The Department of Justice’s International Criminal Investigative Training Assistance Program (ICITAP) and the Department of State’s Counterterrorism Bureau (DOS/CT) recently launched a new program to support women in leadership roles in counterterrorism.

The project, Engaging Multinational Police Women on Equality and Rights (EMPoWER), builds the capacity of women to combat terrorism by supporting them through leadership opportunities and inclusion in counterterrorism efforts. The EMPoWER Program conducted its first-ever regional symposium this week in Opatija, Croatia, drawing more than two dozen law enforcement participants from Albania, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Kosovo, Montenegro, North Macedonia, and Kenya.

“It is said that when it comes to terrorism, the world is small,” said ICITAP Director Gregory Ducot. “We recognize the need to increase the participation of women in counterterrorism law enforcement by educating leaders, creating opportunities for networking, and connecting with professional colleagues.”

“As leaders, we are supposed to listen to everyone around us,” said Samuel L. Pineda, Director of the Programs Office with DOS/CT. “We are supposed to empower people to be their best. And that’s what the EMPoWER Program is supposed to do: help us all become better through education, through support, and through operational networks that help us carry out our mission.”

“We hope that this is the first of many symposiums that not only help women to succeed in their role in the country-specific law enforcement agencies, but will also help U.S. counterterrorism efforts abroad,” said ICITAP Senior Law Enforcement Advisor – EMPoWER Lynn Holland.

The inaugural symposium in Croatia included executive law enforcement and counterterrorism subject matter experts, who provided weeklong advanced professional training.

Developing advanced training, providing mentorship programs, and offering insight into current trends in new technology are key elements for building the capacity of women engaged in combatting terrorism globally.

The EMPoWER Program plans to expand its initiatives in other regions, including Asia and Africa and the Middle East and serve as the beginning of the process of identifying and engaging up-and-coming  leaders in the field of counterterrorism in their respective countries. Consecutively, this initiative will lead to the creation of regional task forces in which selected leaders will engage in international collaboration, strategic communication, and information sharing with U.S. government agencies, jointly working toward the goal of countering terrorism on the global platform.

To learn more about ICITAP, visit: https://www.justice.gov/criminal-icitap.

Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division

A California man pleaded guilty today in the Central District of California to stealing government funds designed to aid medical providers in the treatment of patients suffering from COVID-19. He also admitted to stealing additional government funds intended to help small businesses during the COVID-19 pandemic.

According to court documents, Gurgen Israyelyan, 39, of West Hills, admitted he owned Saint Christopher Hospice Inc. (SCH), a hospice agency in North Hollywood, which closed around September 2019. SCH, which was never operational during the COVID-19 pandemic, received approximately $89,162 designated for the medical treatment and care of COVID-19 patients. Israyelyan admitted he stole the funds by spending them for his personal use and by transferring them to family members, including a family member in Armenia, rather than using the funds in conjunction with pandemic relief efforts as required.

The charges against Israyelyan resulted from his intentional misuse of funds distributed from the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act Provider Relief Fund, money specially apportioned by the CARES Act to help health care providers who were financially impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic to provide care to patients who were suffering from COVID-19, and to compensate providers for the cost of that care. These funds were critical to delivering relief to health care providers and maintaining access to medical care during the pandemic.

As part of his guilty plea, Israyelyan further admitted that he submitted, or caused to be submitted, five fraudulent Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) applications to the Small Business Administration (SBA) on behalf of SCH and four other entities that Israyelyan controlled: GMG Holdings LLC, Double G Ventures LLC, One Touch Assistants LLC, and G.I. Construction Group. As a result of the fraudulent EIDL applications, the SBA disbursed approximately $428,100 of EIDL funds to Israyelyan, all of which were proceeds that Israyelyan knew he was not entitled to and which Israyelyan used for his own personal benefit, contrary to EIDL requirements. The EIDL program, which was expanded under the CARES Act, was designed to provide loans to small businesses that suffered substantial economic injury from the COVID-19 pandemic.

Israyelyan pleaded guilty to three counts of theft of government property. He is scheduled to be sentenced on June 13 and faces up to 10 years in prison for each count. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

Assistant Attorney General Kenneth A. Polite Jr. of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division; U.S. Attorney Tracy L. Wilkison for the Central District of California; Special Agent in Charge Timothy B. Francesca of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Office of Inspector General’s Los Angeles Regional Office; Assistant Director Luis Quesada of the FBI’s Criminal Investigative Division; and Assistant Director Kristi Johnson of the FBI’s Los Angeles Field Office made the announcement.

Trial Attorney Chris Wenger and Senior Litigation Counsel Jim Hayes of the National Rapid Response Strike Force of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section are prosecuting the case.

On May 17, 2021, the Attorney General established the COVID-19 Fraud Enforcement Task Force to marshal the resources of the Department of Justice in partnership with agencies across government to enhance efforts to combat and prevent pandemic-related fraud. The Task Force bolsters efforts to investigate and prosecute the most culpable domestic and international criminal actors and assists agencies tasked with administering relief programs to prevent fraud by, among other methods, augmenting and incorporating existing coordination mechanisms, identifying resources and techniques to uncover fraudulent actors and their schemes, and sharing and harnessing information and insights gained from prior enforcement efforts. For more information on the department’s response to the pandemic, please visit https://www.justice.gov/coronavirus.

Anyone with information about allegations of attempted fraud involving COVID-19 can report it by calling the Department of Justice’s National Center for Disaster Fraud (NCDF) Hotline at 866-720-5721 or via the NCDF Web Complaint Form at https://www.justice.gov/disaster-fraud/ncdf-disaster-complaint-form.