Month: June 2022

Source: United States Department of Justice News

Miami, Florida – Yesterday, a federal judge in Miami ordered that a Hialeah resident who allegedly submitted more than $4 million in fraudulent health care claims to Medicare be detained pending trial, after the defendant was arrested on board a jet ski headed south from Key West toward Cuba.

According to allegations in the criminal complaint, from February through April, 54-year-old Ernesto Cruz Graveran owned Xiko Enterprises, Inc., a Florida corporation which purported to provide durable medical equipment (“DME”) to eligible Medicare beneficiaries.  The complaint alleges that Xiko, in only a two-month period in 2022, submitted approximately $4.2 million in fraudulent health care claims to Medicare for DME that Xiko never provided, and that Medicare beneficiaries never requested.  As a result, Medicare paid Xiko over $2.1 million.  For example, according to the claims that Xiko submitted to Medicare, one physician purportedly prescribed DME from Xiko for approximately 145 Medicare beneficiaries, and Xiko billed Medicare over $1 million for DME referred by this one physician.  But, according to the complaint, none of those 145 beneficiaries were in fact patients of that physician, and that physician never prescribed any of the billed-for DME.

The government alleged in court that the U.S. Coast Guard and U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers located Graveran aboard a broken-down jet ski in the waters south of Key West, headed in the direction of Cuba, roughly 90 miles away. Graveran was aboard the jet ski along with one other individual, who was known to law enforcement to be an alien smuggler.  The jet ski was outfitted with a special fuel cell to allow for long trips, and within the compartments of the jet ski, law enforcement discovered a trove of food and water bottles. 

U.S. Magistrate Judge Alicia Otazo-Reyes agreed with the government that Graveran should not be released on bond, and the Court ordered that Graveran remained detained at the Federal Detention Center in Miami until his trial. 

Juan Antonio Gonzalez, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Florida; Omar Perez Aybar, Special Agent in Charge, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Inspector General (HHS-OIG), Miami Region; and Anthony Salisbury, Special Agent in Charge, Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), Miami Field Office, announced the charges.  

Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael B. Homer is prosecuting this case.  

A complaint is a charging instrument containing allegations.  A defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty in a court of law.

Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Southern District of Florida at www.flsd.uscourts.gov or at http://pacer.flsd.uscourts.gov, under case number 22-mj-02982.

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Source: United States Department of Justice News

A California man who previously served as an executive at an energy company pleaded guilty today to defrauding investors of more than $15 million as part of a Ponzi scheme involving limited partnerships created to provide services to oil and gas companies in North Dakota.

According to court documents, Joey Stanton Dodson, 58, formerly of Indio, engaged in a scheme between November 2012 and May 2015 to defraud investors while serving as the executive chairman and managing partner of Citadel Energy Partners. In his role, Dodson had certain responsibilities for three limited partnerships, Fort Berthold Water Partners L.P., Citadel Watford City Disposal Partners L.P., and H20 Partners L.P., which included raising funds for the limited partnerships, controlling their bank accounts, and disseminating their financial information to investors. As part of the scheme, Dodson made materially false and misleading representations and omissions to prospective and existing investors regarding his receipt of compensation, the intended use of investor funds, and the status of a potential acquisition of the limited partnerships by a private-equity firm, among other things. 

After inducing investors to deposit their funds, Dodson pooled the funds from the limited partnerships and conducted multiple transfers between Citadel-related accounts that helped him divert investor funds for his own benefit and conceal his actions. In total, Dodson fraudulently raised over $15.6 million from 51 investors and misappropriated $1.3 million in investor funds, which he used to repay investors in an unrelated investment he operated under an entity known as Duke Equity and to pay other personal expenses. After Dodson’s misappropriation was discovered, the limited partnerships were placed into bankruptcy and the investors suffered a total loss of their investments.        

Dodson pleaded guilty to one count of wire fraud. He is scheduled to be sentenced on Oct. 25 and faces a maximum penalty of 20 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 Stephanie M. Hinds for the Northern District of California; and Special Agent in Charge Sean Ragan of the FBI’s San Francisco Field Office made the announcement.

The FBI’s San Francisco Field Office investigated the case. 

Trial Attorney Jason M. Covert of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section and Assistant U.S. Attorney Sarah Griswold of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of California are prosecuting the case. The Enforcement Division of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission provided valuable assistance.

Source: United States Department of Justice News

BRUNSWICK, GA:  A Chatham County man has pled guilty to child exploitation charges, cancelling his trial that had been set for this week in Brunswick.

Rodney Bryant, 37, of Savannah, pled guilty in U.S. District Court to Production of Child Pornography and Possession of Child Pornography, said David H. Estes, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Georgia. The production charge carries a mandatory minimum sentence of 15 years in prison, up to 30, along with five years to life of supervised release, substantial financial penalties and restitution, and registration upon release as a sex offender.

There is no parole in the federal system.

“Pedophiles who produce child pornography and share it on the Internet doom exploited children to a lifetime of victimization,” said U.S. Attorney Estes. “Thanks to the diligence and determination of our law enforcement partners and prosecutors, Rodney Bryant will be held accountable for these heinous crimes.”

As described in court documents and testimony, agents from Homeland Security Investigations and the Savannah Police Department searched Bryant’s residence in 2020 after the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children provided cybertips regarding images of child sexual abuse to the Georgia Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force. Investigators later seized dozens of electronic devices from Bryant’s home, and found thousands of images of child sexual abuse and child erotica on those devices. The investigation determined Bryant produced many of those images in Georgia and at his previous residence in Fort Drum, N.Y.

Bryant had been scheduled for a jury trial, but it was cancelled by his guilty plea to key charges in the case. Sentencing before U.S. District Court Judge Lisa Godbey Wood will be held after completion of a pre-sentencing investigation by U.S. Probation Services.

“Bryant is a predator who not only abused children, but he also recorded these horrible acts for others to see. Thankfully, he will no longer be able to continue his deplorable acts of abuse and we all can breathe a little easier,” said Special Agent in Charge Katrina W. Berger, who oversees Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) operations in Georgia and Alabama. “HSI and its partners will continue to find, arrest and prosecute those who seek to exploit our most vulnerable population.”

The case was investigated by Homeland Security Investigations and the Savannah Police Department, and prosecuted for the United States by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Jennifer J. Kirkland and Project Safe Childhood Coordinator Tara M. Lyons.

This investigation took place under the umbrella of the U.S. Department of Justice’s Project Safe Childhood. Anyone with information on suspected child sexual exploitation can contact the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children at 800-843-5678, or https://report.cybertip.org/.

Source: United States Department of Justice News

PHILADELPHIA – United States Attorney Jennifer Arbittier Williams announced that David Elmakayes, 26, of Philadelphia, PA, was sentenced to 15 years in prison and three years of supervised release by United States District Court Judge Chad F. Kenney for using an explosive device to damage an ATM machine and for illegally possessing a firearm.

The defendant was charged on June 18, 2020, with malicious damage of property with an explosive device and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, charges which were the result of an incident that occurred during a period of civil unrest and protests in Philadelphia in response to the killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis, MN. In addition to the largely peaceful protests, incidents of looting, burglary, arson, destruction of property, and other violent acts occurred.

On the night of June 3, 2020, the defendant used an explosive device to heavily damage an automated teller machine on the sidewalk at 217 East Westmoreland Street in North Philadelphia. When he was arrested a short time later, police discovered that had three more explosive devices in his possession, as well as a .32 caliber pistol and other firearms.

“This defendant took advantage of a volatile situation on the streets of Philadelphia to commit a dangerous act that could have injured many people,” said U.S. Attorney Williams. “Damaging property with an explosive device and illegally carrying a firearm are federal crimes which our Office will aggressively prosecute. Elmakayes will now spend 15 years in prison for these crimes.”

“This defendant possessed and recklessly used an explosive device which had the potential to cause significant damage and injure countless people,” said Matthew Varisco, Special Agent in charge of ATF’s Philadelphia Field Office. “ATF is committed to protecting our communities from harm and working with our law enforcement partners to disrupt violent activity.” 

The case was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, the Philadelphia Police Department, and the Philadelphia Fire Marshal’s Office, and is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Joseph A. LaBar

Source: United States Department of Justice

A federal judge in the Southern District of Mississippi unsealed an indictment in which the United States charged a California man and a Nevada woman with one count each of sex trafficking by force, fraud or coercion; conspiracy to commit sex trafficking by force, fraud and coercion; and interstate transportation for purposes of prostitution.  

According to the indictment, between April 2020 and June 2020, Michael Deon Fulcher, 52, and Jonzie Hamilton, 33, used force, fraud and coercion to cause an adult woman to engage in commercial sex acts in multiple states. 

The charge of sex trafficking by force, fraud or coercion carries a mandatory minimum sentence of 15 years and a maximum of life in prison, up to five years of supervised release and a fine of up to $250,000. Sentences are imposed by a federal district court judge based on the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.  

The FBI is asking anyone with information about Michael Deon Fulcher and Jonzie Hamilton to contact the FBI Jackson Field Office at (601) 948-5000. If you or someone you know is a victim of human trafficking, please call the National Human Trafficking Hotline at 1-888-373-7888.

Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division, U.S. Attorney Darren J. LaMarca for the Southern District of Mississippi and Special Agent in Charge Jermicha L. Fomby for the FBI Jackson Field Office made the announcement. The FBI conducted the investigation with the assistance of the Mississippi Bureau of Investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Kathlyn Van Buskirk of the Southern District of Mississippi and Trial Attorney Kate Alexander of the Civil Rights Division’s Human Trafficking Prosecution Unit are prosecuting the case.

An indictment is merely an allegation, and the defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty.