Month: June 2022

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Defense News: Navy Week Charts Course to Memphis, TN June 13-19

Source: United States Navy

Memphis Navy Week brings Sailors from across the fleet to the area to emphasize the importance of the Navy to Memphis, the state of Tennessee, and the Nation. It is the first Navy
Week in Memphis since 2017.

Participating Navy organizations include Navy Band Great Lakes, USS Constitution, Naval Meteorology and Oceanography Command (METOC), United States Ceremonial Guard, Navy
Parachute Team, Navy Recruiting Command, Outreach and Diversity, Navy Talent Acquisition Group (NTAG) Nashville, Navy History and Heritage Command, and USS Tennessee(SSBN 734).

More than 75 Sailors will participate in education and community outreach events throughout the city, including a plethora of events hosted at the Museum of Science and History. All
participating commands will follow DOD, CDC, state, and local guidelines for safety during the current pandemic.

The Navy’s senior executive representative is Rear Admiral Alexis “Lex” T. Walker, commander, Navy Recruiting Command. Walker is a native of New York, and new to the Memphis area. During Memphis Navy Week, he will participate in community engagements, meet with local business, civic, education, and government leaders.

“I am excited and honored to represent the Navy and engage with the city of Memphis,” said Walker. “The city has been very welcoming to my family and me, as we settle in and focus on bringing the best and brightest into the Navy through our nationwide recruiting efforts.”

Navy Weeks are a series of outreach events coordinated by the Navy Office of Community Outreach designed to give Americans an opportunity to learn about the Navy, its people, and its importance to national security and prosperity. Since 2005, the Navy Week program has served as the Navy’s flagship outreach effort into areas of the country without a significant Navy presence, providing the public a firsthand look at why the Navy matters to cities like Memphis.

“We are excited to bring Navy Week back to Memphis,” said NAVCO’s director, Cmdr. John Fage. “Navy Weeks give us the opportunity to help connect Americans to their Navy. We are
looking forward to safely and responsibly building those connections in the Memphis area and showing everyone why their Navy is so important.”

Throughout the week, Sailors will participate in various events, engage with youth camps in the area and volunteer with the city of Memphis, Boys and Girls Club of Greater Memphis and Le Bonheur Children’s Hospital, to name a few. Residents will also enjoy free live music by Navy Band Great Lakes at venues throughout the week.

Memphis Navy Week is one of 14 Navy Weeks in 2022, which brings a variety of assets, equipment, and personnel to a single city for a weeklong series of engagements designed to bring America’s Navy closer to the people it protects. Each year, the program reaches more than 140 million people — about half the U.S. population.

Media organizations wishing to cover Memphis Navy Week events should contact Ian Lundy at
901-874-5803.

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Defense News: Joint and coalition warfighters test tactical expertise during Navy FST-J exercise

Source: United States Navy

FST-J exercises are a U.S. Navy-sponsored exercise that bring together multiple units from across the globe to train together in a virtual environment. The week-long exercise included participants from the U.S. Navy, Marine Corps, Air Force, and Army, and units from the Royal Australian Air Force, Royal Australian Navy, and Royal Canadian Navy.

The 505th CTS’s Professional Control Force provided mission support via Joint Semi-Automated Forces by providing realistic pilot role-play; the Air Operation Center Replication Cell provided critical command and control support to the carrier strike group and subordinate units.

“The [505th CTS] took it to the next level,” said Brynt Query, U.S. Fleet Forces Joint & Partner Nation Training team lead. “They are critical enablers; the Navy has no replication cell that compares to the 505th CTS team, and the FST-J mission would suffer without them.”  

FST-J exercises provide a valuable opportunity to build and test the tactical expertise of geographically separated units. The training also reduces the complex logistics involved in live exercises and allows for intricate and demanding tactical and operational scenarios. FST-J is one of many exercises the U.S. Navy and other units participate in to maintain maximum proficiency and cooperation.

“The 505th CTS support to FST exercises represents a convergence of our broad mission sets,” said Gregg Bourke, 505th CTS chief of operations.  “We not only send forward our Air Operations Center Replication Cell subject matter experts but also members of our Professional Control Force.  Combined, these two teams provide joint command and control and realistic presentation of airpower to our Navy and coalition partners.”

The 505th CTS and 926th OG/Det 1 produced seven Air Tasking Orders and Airspace Control Orders throughout the exercise.  In addition, the team supported the flying operations of 1,403 missions with 2,357 individual sorties to provide certification training in a joint maritime, air, and littoral high-end U.S. Indo-Pacific Command scenario.  The six-day exercise resulted in high-fidelity training for over 1,100 U.S. Sailors, Marines, Soldiers, and Airmen.

“Make no mistake, the United States Navy plays a vital role in addressing the pacing challenge in INDOPACOM,” said Milton Waddell, 505th CTS Air Operations Center Replication Cell team lead. “And should we experience a future in which the U.S. must defeat our competitors in the Pacific, we need sailors well-acquainted with how the U.S. Air Force employs airpower; this is the real value of these exercises.”

The Tactical Training Group Pacific, or TTGP, located in San Diego, California, facilitated the FST-J exercise by providing participants with the virtual architecture and distributed training environment.

At the culmination of the exercise, Hurlburt team members Tech. Sgt. Chadwick Goleta, Mark Hill, and Alyssa Medina were recognized for their outstanding performance by U.S. Navy Capt. Darren Glaser, TTGP commanding officer, presented a “Bravo Zulu,” a nautical signal, historically conveyed by flag-hoist or voice radio, meaning “well done,” typically extended in contemporary times as the highest compliment.

The 505th CTS reports to the 505th Combat Training Group, Nellis AFB, Nevada, and the 505th Command and Control Wing, headquartered at Hurlburt Field, Florida.  

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Security News: Justice Department Recovers Fraudulent Transfer of Proceeds Arising from Medical Kickback Scheme

Source: United States Department of Justice News

Alex Hart Raley Jr., who received millions from an individual subsequently found liable for violating the False Claims Act by paying kickbacks, has agreed to pay $2.3 million to resolve a civil lawsuit alleging that the transfer violated the Federal Debt Collection Procedures Act. Raley was not involved in the kickback violations. 

Floyd Calhoun Dent III, along with two other individuals, was found liable by a South Carolina jury in 2018 for submitting false claims to Medicare and TRICARE, in violation of the Anti-Kickback Statute and the False Claims Act. A judgment was subsequently entered against these defendants jointly for $114 million. Prior to the judgment, but after Dent had been served with a Department of Health and Human Services Inspector General subpoena, Dent transferred several million dollars to Raley. Dent acknowledged that he received nothing in return for this payment, but contended that it was intended to fulfill a childhood promise.  

“Individuals who receive the proceeds of fraudulent activity must return them,” said Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Brian M. Boynton, head of the Justice Department’s Civil Division. “Recovering ill-gotten gains that have been transferred to third parties is an important component of the department’s commitment to combat fraudulent schemes involving taxpayer funds.”

“Justice requires that ill-gotten gains – regardless of whose hands ultimately hold them – are restored to their rightful owner, which in this case is the United States of America,” said U.S. Attorney Corey Ellis for the District of South Carolina. 

The settlement announced today resolves the United States’ allegations that Dent’s transfer to Raley was a fraudulent transfer. The settlement requires him to surrender any retained funds, as well as gold and silver coins that Raley purchased with a portion of the transferred funds, to the Department of Justice and the Liquidating Trustee for now bankrupt Health Diagnostic Laboratories Inc., which will split these assets pursuant to a bankruptcy court agreement. 

The settlement was the result of a coordinated effort between the Civil Division’s Fraud and Corporate/Financial Litigation Sections, and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of South Carolina. The matter was handled by Senior Trial Counsel Alicia J. Bentley and Trial Attorney Andrew Warner of the Civil Division and Assistant U.S. Attorneys James Leventis, Johanna Valenzuela, and Joanna Stroud. 

The case is United States v. AROC Enterprises, LLC, et al. (D.S.C. Case No. 9:19-cv-234 RMG).

The claims resolved by the settlement are allegations only and there has been no determination of liability.

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Security News: Mexican National Charged with Assaulting Border Patrol Agents

Source: United States Department of Justice News

TUCSON, Ariz. – Last week, Miguel Angel Acatzihua-Temoxtle, 25, a citizen and national of Mexico, was arrested on two counts of Assault on a Federal Officer and Assault on a Federal Officer with the Use of a Deadly or Dangerous Weapon. Acatzihua-Temoxtle was charged by criminal complaint and had his initial appearance before United States Magistrate Judge Leslie A. Bowman on Thursday.

On May 31, 2022, Border Patrol Agents working near Newfield, Arizona received information that several groups of undocumented non-citizens were passing through the Baboquivari Mountain range. Agents inspected the area and found several individuals, including Acatzihua-Temoxtle.

Acatzihua-Temoxtle fled from the agents by running up the side of a wash. In his effort to flee, Acatzihua-Temoxtle kicked several large boulders to slow the pursuit of one of the agents. While Border Patrol was trying to detain him, Acatzihua-Temoxtle physically assaulted two of the agents, including by attempting to strangle one agent with his own lanyard.

Convictions for assault on a federal officer carry a maximum penalty of 8 years in prison, and up to a $250,000 fine. Assault on a federal officer with the use of a deadly or dangerous weapon carry a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison, and up to a $250,000 fine.

A criminal complaint is simply the method by which a person is charged with criminal activity and raises no inference of guilt. An individual is presumed innocent until competent evidence is presented to a jury that establishes guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.

Customs and Border Protection’s U.S. Border Patrol conducted the investigation in this case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Raquel Arellano, District of Arizona, Tucson, is handling the prosecution.

CASE NUMBER: 22-03230MJ-1
RELEASE NUMBER: 2022-086_Acatzihua-Temoxtle

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For more information on the U.S. Attorney’s Office, District of Arizona, visit http://www.justice.gov/usao/az/
Follow the U.S. Attorney’s Office, District of Arizona, on Twitter @USAO_AZ for the latest news.

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Security News: Suburban Chicago Home Sleep Testing Company To Pay $3.5 Million To Settle Federal Health Care Fraud Suit

Source: United States Department of Justice News

CHICAGO — A suburban Chicago diagnostics company that provides home sleep testing will pay $3.5 million to the United States to settle a civil lawsuit accusing the company of defrauding Medicare and four other federal health care programs through kickbacks and unnecessary home sleep testing.

The suit in U.S. District Court in Chicago alleged that SNAP DIAGNOSTICS LLC, a nationwide provider of home sleep testing diagnostic services based in Wheeling, Ill.; its founder, GIL RAVIV; and its vice president, STEPHEN BURTON, violated the False Claims Act and the Anti-Kickback Statute by fraudulently billing Medicare and four other federal health care programs for medically unnecessary services and for services that were occasioned by kickbacks.   The suit alleged that Raviv directed SNAP to submit claims for patients’ second and third nights of home sleep testing when, in fact, the company knew that only a single night of testing was needed to effectively diagnose obstructive sleep apnea and that it routinely tested and claimed only one night for patients with private health insurance.  As a result, the suit alleged that, in addition to defrauding five federal agencies, SNAP unlawfully multiplied the copays it received from senior citizens who were Medicare beneficiaries.  The suit also alleged that SNAP’s business model relied on several unlawful kickback schemes, which incentivized physicians and their staffs to refer all of their home sleep testing services to SNAP.

As part of a settlement agreement approved Friday by U.S. District Judge Mary M. Rowland, SNAP agreed to pay the United States $3.5 million, while Raviv will pay $300,000, and Burton $125,000, for a total settlement amount of $3.925 million.    These payments represent amounts the United States is willing to accept due solely to SNAP’s, Raviv’s, and Burton’s respective financial conditions, as shown by sworn financial disclosures.  SNAP and Raviv also entered into a corporate integrity agreement with the Office of Inspector General of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, requiring SNAP to, among other things, retain an independent review organization to perform annual reviews of claims and submit reports to the OIG-HHS.

The settlement was announced by John R. Lausch, Jr., United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois; Emmerson Buie, Jr., Special Agent-in-Charge of the Chicago Field Office of the FBI; Cynthia A. Bruce, Special Agent-in-Charge of the U.S. Department of Defense Office of Inspector General, Defense Criminal Investigative Service, Southeast Field Office; Gregory Billingsley, Special Agent-in-Charge of the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs Office of Inspector General’s Central Field Office; Mario Pinto, Special Agent-in-Charge of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of the Inspector General; Martin J. Dickman, Inspector General of the U.S. Railroad Retirement Board Office of the Inspector General in Chicago; and Amy K. Parker, Special Agent-in-Charge of the U.S. Office of Personnel Management Office of the Inspector General.  The government was represented by Senior Litigation Counsel Sarah J. North and Assistant U.S. Attorney Kate Flannery.

“When health care providers violate their obligation to properly bill for federally funded treatment, government programs and American taxpayers pay the price,” said U.S. Attorney Lausch.  “Our office remains committed to protecting taxpayers and preserving the integrity of our federal health care system.”

“American taxpayers should never foot the bill for private companies seeking to profit by defrauding government programs,” said FBI Special Agent-in-Charge Buie.  “The FBI will continue working with law enforcement and prosecutorial partners to fight illegal kickback schemes and ensure that justice is done within the federal medical system.”

“We aggressively investigate cases of fraud, which take money from VA programs meant to benefit our nation’s veterans and their families,” said VA OIG Special Agent-in-Charge Billingsley.  “The VA OIG thanks the U.S. Attorney’s Office and our law enforcement partners for their efforts in this joint investigation.  We encourage anyone who becomes aware of fraud against the VA to contact the VA OIG Hotline.”

“We are proud to be part of this collaborative effort and would like to thank our law enforcement partners and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for their dedication and excellent work in this case,” said RRB-OIG Inspector General Dickman.  “Medicare fraud remains a top federal law enforcement priority and providers who exploit our healthcare system will not be tolerated.”

“The OPM OIG is committed to holding accountable those who seek to enrich themselves by inflating costs and overbilling the Federal Employees Health Benefits Program for medically unnecessary tests,” said OPM OIG Special Agent-in-Charge Parker.  “We applaud our investigative staff and law enforcement partners on today’s settlement, which is a direct result of their hard work investigating these types of health care fraud schemes.”

“Individuals involved in this scheme defrauded TRICARE and I am pleased that the U.S. Attorney’s Office is requiring justice,” said DCIS Special Agent-in-Charge Bruce.  “DCIS agents will continue to pursue individuals who improperly profit from our military health care system and all taxpayers.”

The settlement resolves two civil lawsuits filed under the qui tam, or whistleblower, provisions of the False Claims Act.  The Act permits private citizens to bring lawsuits on behalf of the United States for false claims, and to share in any recovery.  The United States intervened in the two lawsuits and filed a complaint in intervention prior to the settlement.  The settlement agreement is neither an admission of liability by SNAP, Raviv, or Burton, nor a concession by the United States that its claims are not well founded.