Month: April 2022

Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division

A New York physician was charged in an indictment unsealed today in the Eastern District of New York for an alleged $10 million health care fraud scheme involving the submission of false and fraudulent claims to Medicare and Medicare Part D plans. 

According to court documents, Elemer Raffai, 56, of Rome, between approximately July 2016 and June 2017, allegedly signed prescriptions and order forms via purported telemedicine services for durable medical equipment (DME) that were not medically necessary. Raffai caused these claims to be submitted based solely on a short telephone conversation for beneficiaries he did not physically examine and evaluate and that were induced, in part, by the payments of bribes and kickbacks to Raffai. The indictment further alleges that Raffai, with others, submitted or caused the submission of approximately $10 million in false and fraudulent claims to Medicare for DME, and Medicare paid more than $4 million on those claims.

Raffai is charged with health care fraud. He was arrested and is making his initial court appearance today in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of New York. If convicted, Raffai faces a maximum total penalty of 10 years in prison. 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 Breon Peace for the Eastern District of New York; Special Agent in Charge Scott J. Lampert of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General’s (HHS-OIG) Office of Investigations; Assistant Director Luis Quesada of the FBI’s Criminal Investigative Division; and Special Agent in Charge Janeen DiGuiseppi of the FBI’s Albany Field Office made the announcement. 

HHS-OIG and the FBI investigated the case.

Trial Attorneys Kelly M. Lyons and Andrew Estes of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section prosecuted the case.

An indictment is merely an allegation, and all defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

Source: United States Department of Justice News

The Office of the United States Attorney for the District of Vermont stated that Lisa Wheeler, 56, of Lyndonville, Vermont was sentenced by United States Chief Judge Geoffrey W. Crawford on April 19, 2022 to time served for selling misbranded pet medications which were not approved for use in the United States. Chief Judge Crawford also sentenced Wheeler to three months of probation during which she must complete 20 hours of community service at a humane society or other animal charity. The maximum penalty for this misdemeanor offense was one year imprisonment and a $100,000 fine.

Wheeler also agreed to forfeit a substantial amount of pet medications, which were seized from her residence pursuant to a search warrant executed in August 2020. As the government noted at sentencing, Wheeler fully accepted responsibility for the offense and cooperated with the investigation.

According to court records, in 2020, Wheeler received voluminous shipments of prescription pet products, including flea medications, from a United Kingdom company associated with Bestflea.com, Petbucket.com, and Pharma Group. These medications were unapproved versions of prescription pet drugs available in the United States. Wheeler received hundreds of bulk packages of these pet medications and repackaged them for shipping to customers within the United States. Wheeler received a commission from the owner of the British companies for each parcel she shipped on their behalf.   

Acting Special Agent in Charge Ronne G. Malham, Food and Drug Administration Office of Criminal Investigations New York Field Office stated that “FDA’s responsibility to protect the public health includes ensuring that prescription drugs for animals are safe and effective and dispensed according to valid veterinary prescriptions. We will continue to pursue and bring to justice those who attempt to evade the laws designed to protect our companion animals.”

This case was investigated by the Food and Drug Administration (Office of Criminal Investigations) and the U.S. Postal Inspection Service. United States Attorney Nikolas P. Kerest commended the efforts of the FDA Office of Criminal Investigations and the U.S. Postal Inspection Service in the investigation of Wheeler.

The United States is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Joseph Perella. Wheeler is represented by Mary Nerino, Esq. of the Federal Public Defender’s Office in Burlington, Vermont. 

Source: United States Department of Justice News

As to the charge of wire fraud, GOLL may receive up to a maximum of 20 years in prison, up to three years of supervised release, and a fine of up to $250,000.00 or twice the gross gain or twice the gross loss to any victims. As to the charge of filing false tax returns, GOLL may receive up to 3 years in prison, up to one year of supervised release, and a fine of up to $100,000.00. Each count also carries a $100 mandatory special assessment fee. As part of his plea, GOLL agreed to make full restitution to Company A and to the IRS.

U.S. Attorney Evans praised the work of the U.S. Secret Service and Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation, which investigated this case jointly. Assistant U.S. Attorney Matthew R. Payne is in charge of the prosecution.

Source: United States Department of Justice News

AUGUSTA, GA:  Four defendants are awaiting sentencing after admitting they participated in an operation that used pill presses to package and distribute illegal drugs.

Albert Bynoe, a/k/a “Chino,” a/k/a “Bossman Chino,” 35, of Decatur, Ga., awaits sentencing after pleading guilty to Conspiracy to Possess with Intent to Distribute, and to Distribute, Methamphetamine, said David H. Estes, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Georgia. The guilty plea subjects Bynoe to a statutory sentence of up to 20 years in prison, along with substantial financial penalties, followed by a period of supervised release after completion of any prison term.

There is no parole in the federal system.

“Our law enforcement partners did exceptional work in identifying and intercepting foreign shipments of materials used to manufacture pills containing illegal drugs,” said U.S. Attorney Estes. “Our office is committed to prosecuting makers and distributors of illegal substances that threaten the health and safety of our communities.”

Bynoe’s mother, Cynthia Dessaure-Outlaw, 58, of Grovetown, Ga., awaits sentencing after pleading guilty to Unlawful Transport of Drug Paraphernalia. Two other defendants, Darnee Cooper, a/k/a “Lafayette,” a/k/a “Lafayette Bandz,” 34, of Columbia, S.C., and Nicholas Butler, 42, of Augusta, await sentencing after pleading guilty to Possession of Methamphetamine with Intent to Distribute.

As described in court documents and proceedings, the investigation began in 2018 when U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents flagged a shipment addressed to Dessaure-Outlaw that contained, among other items, molds for a commercial pill press. Dessaure-Outlaw voluntarily forfeited the materials. In 2020, investigators from the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration flagged a shipment of a pill press sent to Dessaure-Outlaw’s Grovetown address, and located three prior shipments that had been sent to a Columbia, S.C. address in Bynoe’s name along with large amounts of powdered binding agents used to manufacture pills.

In 2021, agents searched Bynoe’s residence in Decatur, Georgia and his rented storage unit in Tucker, Ga., seizing methamphetamine, a pill press machine, pill molds in the shape of a joker and seashells, firearms, drug paraphernalia, and cash. A September 2021 federal indictment charged Dessaure-Outlaw and Bynoe in the operation, along with Cooper, Butler and other members of the conspiracy. All four defendants pled guilty.

Sentencing for the four defendants has not yet been scheduled.

“As part of safeguarding our borders from serious health and security threats, Customs and Border Protection Savannah continues its strong collaboration with our Southern District law enforcement partners.” said, Scott Huntly, Assistant Port Director for CBP Savannah.

“Our mission at DEA is to disrupt, dismantle, and destroy drug trafficking organizations – and this illegal pill pressing operation is different,” said Robert J. Murphy, the Special Agent in Charge of the Atlanta Field Division of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration. “Thanks to the collective efforts of our law enforcement partners, these criminals will be held accountable.”

“We are committed to working with our partners to get dangerous drugs out of our communities,” said Vic Reynolds, Director of the Georgia Bureau of Investigation. “Illegal and unidentified pills on the streets pose a danger to public health. Thank you to the men and women working each day to bring these violators to justice.” 

The case was investigated by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, U.S. Customs and Border Protection National Targeting Center, the Georgia Bureau of Investigation, the Chatham-Savannah Counter Narcotics Team, the Dekalb County Sheriff’s Office, and the Cobb County Sheriff’s Office.  The case was prosecuted for the United States by Southern District of Georgia Assistant U.S. Attorneys Matthew A. Josephson and Jeremiah L. Johnson.

Source: United States Department of Justice News

CAMDEN, N.J. – A New York man was sentenced today to 235 months in prison for enticing and transporting a minor across state lines to engage in sexual activity, and for receiving images of child sexual abuse from another minor, U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger announced.

Richard Gabriel Piedra Ordonez, 37, of Queens, New York, previously pleaded guilty by videoconference before U.S. District Judge Noel L. Hillman to a three-count information charging him with one count of coercion and enticement of a minor; one count of transporting a minor to engage in criminal sexual activity; and one count of receiving child pornography.  Judge Hillman imposed the sentence today in Camden federal court.

According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court:

In April 2019, Piedra began communicating with a New Jersey resident who was under the age of 16 using Snapchat and other social media and messaging platforms. Piedra was aware of the minor’s age and misrepresented his own age as 19 when he was actually 35 years old.  Over the course of the subsequent months, Piedra and the victim met in person and engaged sexual activity.  On multiple occasions, Piedra traveled to New Jersey to have sex with the victim and drove the victim to his home in New York City, where they engaged in sexual activity.

Federal law enforcement agents executing a search warrant on Piedra’s residence in December 2019 found sexually explicit images and videos of minors on a hard drive located in Piedra’s bedroom. Further investigation revealed that, in 2017, Piedra had communicated with an Indiana resident who was under the age of 15 using various social media and messaging platforms. Piedra was aware of the minor’s age and misrepresented his own age as 19 years old.  Piedra requested and received sexually explicit images and videos from the Indiana victim.

In addition to the prison term, Judge Hillman sentenced Piedra to 10 years of supervised release and ordered him to register as a sex offender.

U.S. Attorney Sellinger credited special agents with FBI’s Atlantic City Child Exploitation & Human Trafficking Task Force, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge George M. Crouch Jr. in Newark; the Atlantic County Prosecutor’s Office, under the direction of Acting Prosecutor Cary Shill; and the N.J State Police, under the direction of Col. Patrick J. Callahan, with the investigation leading to today’s sentencing. He also thanked the Cape May County Prosecutor’s Office, under the direction of Prosecutor Jeffrey H. Sutherland, for its assistance with the investigation.

The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Daniel A. Friedman of the U.S. Attorney’s Office’s Criminal Division in Camden.