Month: April 2022

Greenbelt, Maryland – U.S. District Judge Paula Xinis sentenced Charles Benjamin Stewart, Jr., age 49, of Upper Marlboro, Maryland, on April 18, 2022, to eight years in federal prison, followed by five years of supervised release for conspiracy to distribute heroin and cocaine; for illegally transporting a firearm obtained out of state; and for possession with intent to distribute heroin and cocaine. 

The sentence was announced by United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Erek L. Barron; Special Agent in Charge Jarod A. Forget of the Drug Enforcement Administration – Washington Field Division; Special Agent in Charge Toni M. Crosby of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) Baltimore Field Division; Calvert County Sheriff Mike Evans; St. Mary’s County Sheriff Timothy K. Cameron; and Chief Malik Aziz of the Prince George’s County Police Department.

According to his guilty plea, from at least June 2016 through July 2017, Stewart conspired with Patrick Nathan Broxton, Stephen Eugene Clark, Jr., Stephen Michael Kinnison, Robert Eugene Davidson, and others to distribute heroin and cocaine in Calvert and Prince George’s County.  Stewart obtained heroin from Broxton and then sold smaller quantities of heroin to Kinnison, Davidson, and others.  Stewart also supplied cocaine to Kinnison and others for further distribution. 

During the course of the conspiracy, Stewart regularly communicated with Broxton, Clark, Kinnison, Davidson, and others, both in person and via phone calls and text messaging, to arrange narcotics transactions.  Between September 8, 2016 and February 10, 2017 law enforcement arranged controlled purchases of heroin from Stewart on four occasions, totaling 23 grams.  Law enforcement also obtained court-authorized wiretaps for the cellular telephones used by Stewart, Broxton, Clark, Kinnison, and Davidson. 

For example, between April 11 and 13, 2017, Stewart and Broxton communicated by telephone to arrange a heroin transaction at a convenience store in Anne Arundel County, Maryland.  Law enforcement conducted surveillance and saw Broxton meet Stewart at the convenience store, where Stewart bought 150 grams of heroin.  Immediately following the meeting, Stewart returned to his residence and contacted one of his customers to see if the customer needed more heroin.

As detailed in his plea agreement, on three occasions between April 15 and May 6, 2017, Stewart purchased a total of more than 210 grams of cocaine from Clark.  For example, on April 24, 2017, Stewart arranged by phone to purchase 4.5 ounces of cocaine from Clark for $4,000.  Later that day, law enforcement surveilled the meeting at a fast-food restaurant in Prince George’s County, where Stewart and Clark completed the transaction.

On July 6, 2017, law enforcement executed search warrants at locations associated with the drug distribution conspiracy, including Stewart’s two residences in Upper Marlboro.  From Stewart’s residences, law enforcement recovered, among other things, a total of approximately 138 grams of heroin; approximately three grams of cocaine, crack cocaine and procaine (a local anesthetic drug); a prescription pill bottle containing approximately 89 Oxycodone pills; approximately three grams of a white powdery substance consisting of cocaine, heroin, caffeine, and diphenhydramine (an antihistamine); approximately 15 grams of cocaine; a total of $40,235 in cash; and drug paraphernalia, including an electric grinder and digital scale, both with heroin and cocaine residue; two bottles of Mannitol powder (a cutting agent); and empty zip-lock baggies.  Stewart admitted that he possessed the controlled substances, baggies, and grinder as part of his drug trafficking business and intended to distribute the drugs.

In addition, law enforcement officers also located and seized a .40 caliber semi-automatic pistol loaded with nine rounds of ammunition and a spare magazine loaded with nine rounds of .40 caliber ammunition; a 9mm luger caliber semi-automatic pistol; a 12-gauge pump-action firearm; nine rounds of 9mm ammunition; approximately 21 rounds of .40 caliber ammunition; seven 12-gauge shotgun shells; and approximately $16,687 in cash.  Stewart admitted that he possessed the firearms and ammunition in furtherance of his drug trafficking business.  Further investigation revealed that the 12-gauge pump-action firearm and the .40 caliber semi-automatic pistol were both stolen.  Stewart also admitted that, between January 24, 2014 and July 6, 2017, he caused the transportation of a Smith and Wesson model SD9VE, from outside Maryland to his residence, while he was on probation. 

Co-defendants Patrick Nathan Broxton, age 50, of Ellicott City, Maryland; Stephen Eugene Clark, Jr., age 57, of Laurel, Maryland; Stephen Michael Kinnison, age 47, of Lusby, Maryland; and Robert Eugene Davidson, age 32, of Sunderland, Maryland, previously pleaded guilty to their roles in the conspiracy and were sentenced to between 19 months and 10 years in federal prison.

This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and make our neighborhoods safer for everyone.  Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN) is 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 work 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.

This case is also part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) investigation.  OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles the highest-level criminal organizations that threaten the United States using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach that leverages the strengths of federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies against criminal networks.  

United States Attorney Erek L. Barron commended the DEA, the ATF, the Calvert County Sheriff’s Office, the St. Mary’s County Sheriff’s Office, and the Prince George’s County Police Department for their work in the investigation.  Mr. Barron thanked Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Jared Engelking and Assistant U.S. Attorney Adam K. Ake, who prosecuted the case.

For more information on the Maryland U.S. Attorney’s Office, its priorities, and resources available to help the community, please visit https://www.justice.gov/usao-md/project-safe-neighborhoods-psnexile and https://www.justice.gov/usao-md/community-outreach.

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The Department of Justice 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, the department seized over $8 million in cash and other fraud proceeds.

“The Department of Justice’s Health Care Fraud Unit and our partners are dedicated to rooting out schemes that have exploited the pandemic,” said Assistant Attorney General Kenneth A. Polite, Jr. of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division. “Today’s enforcement action reinforces our commitment to using all available tools to hold accountable medical professionals, corporate executives, and others who have placed greed above care during an unprecedented public health emergency.”

“This COVID-19 health care fraud enforcement action involves extraordinary efforts to prosecute some of the largest and most wide-ranging pandemic frauds detected to date,” said Director for COVID-19 Fraud Enforcement Kevin Chambers. “The scale and complexity of the schemes prosecuted today illustrates the success of our unprecedented interagency effort to quickly investigate and prosecute those who abuse our critical health care programs.”

This announcement builds on the success of the May 2021 COVID-19 Enforcement Action and involves the prosecution of various COVID-19 health care fraud schemes. For example, several cases announced today involve defendants who allegedly offered COVID-19 testing to induce patients to provide their personal identifying information and a saliva or blood sample. The defendants are alleged to have then used the information and samples to submit false and fraudulent claims to Medicare for unrelated, medically unnecessary, and far more expensive tests or services. In one such scheme in the Central District of California, two owners of a clinical laboratory were charged with a health care fraud, kickback, and money laundering scheme that involved the fraudulent billing of over $214 million for laboratory tests, over $125 million of which allegedly involved fraudulent claims during the pandemic for COVID-19 and respiratory pathogen tests. In two separate cases in the District of Maryland and the Eastern District of New York, owners of medical clinics allegedly obtained confidential information from patients seeking COVID-19 testing at drive-thru testing sites and then submitted fraudulent claims for lengthy office visits with the patients that did not, in fact, occur. The proceeds of these fraudulent schemes were allegedly laundered through shell corporations in the United States, transferred to foreign countries, and used to purchase real estate and luxury items.

“Throughout the pandemic, we have seen trusted medical professionals orchestrate and carry out egregious crimes against their patients all for financial gain,” said Assistant Director Luis Quesada of the FBI’s Criminal Investigative Division. “These health care fraud abuses erode the integrity and trust patients have with those in the health care industry, particularly during a vulnerable and worrisome time for many individuals. The actions of these criminals are unacceptable, and the FBI, working in coordination with our law enforcement partners, will continue to investigate and pursue those who exploit the integrity of the health care industry for profit.”

In another type of COVID-19 health care fraud scheme announced today, defendants allegedly exploited policies that the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) put in place to enable increased access to care during the COVID-19 pandemic. For example, in the Southern District of Florida, one medical professional was charged with a health care fraud, wire fraud, and kickback scheme that allegedly involved billing for sham telemedicine encounters that did not occur and agreeing to order unnecessary genetic testing in exchange for access to telehealth patients. Late last year, one defendant previously was sentenced to 82 months in prison in connection with this scheme.

“The attempt to profit from the COVID-19 pandemic by targeting beneficiaries and stealing from federal health care programs is unconscionable,” said Inspector General Christi A. Grimm of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). “HHS-OIG is proud to work alongside our law enforcement partners at the federal and state levels to ensure that bad actors who perpetrate egregious and harmful crimes are held accountable.”

Today’s announcement includes charges against two additional defendants for schemes targeting the Provider Relief Fund (PRF). The PRF is part of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act, a federal law enacted in March 2020 that provided financial assistance to medical providers to provide needed medical care to Americans suffering from COVID-19. In total, 10 defendants have been charged with crimes related to misappropriating PRF monies intended for frontline medical providers and three have pleaded guilty.

Today’s announcement also includes charges against manufacturers and distributors of fake COVID-19 vaccination record cards who, according to the allegations, intentionally sought to obstruct the HHS and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in their efforts to administer the nationwide vaccination program and provide Americans with accurate proof of vaccination. For example, in the Northern District of California, three additional defendants were charged in a scheme to sell homeoprophylaxis immunizations for COVID-19 and falsify COVID-19 vaccination record cards to make it appear that customers received government-authorized vaccines. One defendant allegedly misused her position as the Director of Pharmacy at a northern California hospital to obtain real lot numbers for the Moderna vaccine that were then used to falsify COVID-19 vaccination record cards. Another defendant pleaded guilty in April 2022. In a separate case in the Western District of Washington, one manufacturer was charged in the multistate distribution of fake COVID-19 vaccination record cards after allegedly telling an undercover federal agent that “until I get caught and go to jail, [expletive] it I’m taking the money, ha! I don’t care.”

Additionally, the Center for Program Integrity, Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CPI/CMS) separately announced today that it has taken an additional 28 administrative actions against providers for their alleged involvement in fraud, waste, and abuse schemes related to the delivery of care for COVID-19, as well as schemes that capitalize upon the public health emergency.

“We are committed to working closely with our law enforcement partners to combat fraud, waste and abuse in our federal health care programs,” said CMS Administrator Chiquita Brooks-LaSure. “The administrative actions CMS has taken protect the Medicare Trust Funds while also safeguarding people enrolled in Medicare.”

Today’s enforcement actions were led and coordinated by Assistant Chief Jacob Foster and Trial Attorney D. Keith Clouser of the National Rapid Response Strike Force, and Assistant Chief Justin Woodard of the Health Care Fraud Unit’s Gulf Coast Strike Force in the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section. The Fraud Section’s National Rapid Response Strike Force and the Health Care Fraud Unit’s Strike Forces (SF) in Brooklyn, the Gulf Coast, Miami, Los Angeles, and Newark, as well as the U.S. Attorneys’ Offices for the District of Maryland, District of New Jersey, District of Utah, Northern District of California, and Western District of Tennessee are prosecuting these cases. Descriptions of each case involved in today’s enforcement action are available on the department’s website at: https://www.justice.gov/criminal-fraud/health-care-fraud-unit/case-summaries.

In addition to the FBI, HHS-OIG, and CPI/CMS, the U.S. Postal Inspection Service; Department of Defense Office of Inspector General; Department of the Interior Office of the Inspector General; Department of Labor Office of the Inspector General; Food and Drug Administration Office of Criminal Investigations; Homeland Security Investigations; U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs Office of the Inspector General; and other federal and local law enforcement agencies participated in the law enforcement action.

The Fraud Section leads the Health Care Fraud Strike Force. Since its inception in March 2007, the Health Care Fraud Strike Force, which maintains 15 strike forces operating in 24 federal districts, has charged more than 4,200 defendants who have collectively billed the Medicare program for nearly $19 billion. In addition, the CMS, working in conjunction with the HHS-OIG, are taking steps to increase accountability and decrease the presence of fraudulent providers.

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.

The Department of Justice needs the public’s assistance in remaining vigilant and reporting suspected fraudulent activity. To report suspected fraud, contact the National Center for Disaster Fraud (NCDF) at (866) 720-5721 or file an online complaint at: https://www.justice.gov/disaster-fraud/webform/ncdf-disaster-complaint-form. Complaints filed will be reviewed at the NCDF and referred to federal, state, local, or international law enforcement or regulatory agencies for investigation.

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