Month: August 2022

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Security News: Woman Convicted in $34 Million Health Care Fraud Scheme

Source: United States Department of Justice News

A federal jury convicted a North Carolina woman last Thursday for her role in a scheme to defraud several private health insurers by submitting over $34 million in false and fraudulent claims for physical therapy services that were never actually provided.   

According to court documents and evidence presented at trial, Jaroslava Ruiz, 50, of Chapel Hill, paid kickbacks and bribes to patient recruiters and patients with private insurance in exchange for allowing four Miami physical therapy clinics to bill for medical services that were never actually provided to those patients. Ruiz and her co-conspirators falsified medical records to give the impression that the physical therapy services were medically necessary, prescribed by a doctor, and actually rendered. In truth and fact, none or virtually none of the purported services had been provided. Ruiz and her co-conspirators submitted approximately $34.6 million in false and fraudulent claims to several private insurers for those nonexistent physical therapy services, of which the insurers paid approximately $7.7 million.

Ruiz was convicted of one count of conspiracy to commit health care fraud and wire fraud, and 10 counts of health care fraud. She faces up to 20 years in prison on the conspiracy count, and up to 10 years in prison on each health care fraud count. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors. Sentencing is scheduled for Oct. 26, 2022.

Assistant Attorney General Kenneth A. Polite, Jr. of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division; U.S. Attorney Juan Antonio Gonzalez for the Southern District of Florida; Assistant Director Luis Quesada of the FBI’s Criminal Investigative Division; and Special Agent in Charge George L. Piro of the FBI’s Miami Field Office made the announcement.  

The FBI is investigating the case.

Trial Attorneys Emily Gurskis and Patrick Queenan of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section are prosecuting the case.

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Security News: Two East Stroudsburg Women Sentenced For Evading Tobacco Excise Taxes

Source: United States Department of Justice News

HARRISBURG—The United States Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Pennsylvania announced that Hope Carbone, age 72, and Donna Venturini, age 70, both of East Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania, were sentenced on August 5, 2022, by U.S. District Court Judge Jennifer P. Wilson to two years of probation for conspiring to evade federal excise taxes on imported large cigars.  

According to United States Attorney Gerard M. Karam, Carbone and Venturini previously admitted to conspiring with Jose Dominguez, the owner of cigar manufacturer Victor Sinclair Cigars, to evade the excise taxes imposed on the importation of Victor Sinclair manufactured cigars from 2009 to 2011.  Carbone and Venturini served as the U.S. importer for Victor Sinclair Cigars, which is located in the Dominican Republic.  Through fraudulent invoices, Dominguez, Carbone, and Venturini collected approximately $3.9 million in excise taxes from U.S. purchasers of Victor Sinclair manufactured cigars.  Of that amount, the co-conspirators paid only approximately $2.1 million to the government, retaining approximately $1.8 million for themselves.  As part of their sentence, Carbone and Venturini were ordered to pay restitution.

Jose Dominguez pleaded guilty to conspiracy to evade federal excise taxes in June 2022.  He is awaiting sentencing.

The case was investigated by the INternal Revenue Service – Criminal Investigation and the Department of Treasury, Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau.  Assistant U.S. Attorneys Carlo D. Marchioli and Joseph J. Terz prosecuted the case.

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Security News: Local Fabrication Company Executive Charged for Fraud and Failing to Pay Over $440,000 in Employment Taxes

Source: United States Department of Justice News

Des Moines, IA – A Keswick man made his initial appearance today in federal court in Des Moines for tax and bank fraud charges.

Thomas Sieren, age 59, is charged in a 24-count indictment returned on July 19, 2022. According to court documents, Sieren was the Vice President of TCS Fabricating, Inc., a local fabrication company. TCS Fabricating, Inc. was required by law to withhold taxes from employee wages and to pay the withheld amounts to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) on a periodic basis. These withheld taxes, sometimes known as “trust fund taxes,” include income taxes and Federal Insurance Contributions Act (FICA) taxes that fund Social Security and Medicare. It is alleged that Sieren failed to pay the IRS over $440,000 from 2016 to 2020. On TCS Fabricating, Inc.’s behalf, Sieren also allegedly submitted two Paycheck Protection Program loan applications in which he falsely represented that the company had employees for which it paid payroll taxes.

“Business owners are required to withhold income taxes for their employees and remit those taxes to the IRS,” said Special Agent in Charge, Tyler Hatcher. “IRS-Criminal Investigation takes these crimes very seriously not only because of the impact on federal revenue, but more importantly because of the way employee benefits are impacted.”

Sieren is charged with twenty counts of Failure to Collect, Account for, and Pay Over Trust Fund Taxes, two counts of Bank Fraud, and two counts of False Statements to a Financial Institution. If convicted, he faces a maximum penalty of 30 years in prison. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

U.S. Attorney Richard D. Westphal of the Southern District of Iowa and made the announcement. Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation is investigating the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Kyle Essley is prosecuting 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.

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Security News: Omaha Man Sentenced for Firearm Offenses

Source: United States Department of Justice News

COUNCIL BLUFFS, IA – Jesse Dean Seifert, age 33, was sentenced on Wednesday, August 3, 2022, to 77 months in prison for charges of Possession of an Unregistered Firearm and Prohibited Person in Possession of a Firearm. This sentence is consecutive to any state prison sentence. Seifert must also serve a three-year term of supervised release after the prison term. There is no parole in the federal system.

In September 2021, police attempted to stop Seifert who was driving stolen dump truck. Seifert eluded officers and abandoned the truck in a residential neighborhood and fled on foot. Seifert dropped a firearm—a loaded sawed off shotgun—as he eluded police. Seifert was apprehended a short distance from the firearm. He was also in possession of methamphetamine and drug paraphernalia.

United States Attorney Richard D. Westphal of the Southern District of Iowa made the announcement. The Council Bluffs Police Department, Pottawattamie County Sheriff Department, and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives investigated the case. The case was prosecuted by the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Iowa as part of Project Safe Neighborhoods, 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.

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Defense News: USS Arlington (LPD 24) arrives in Stockholm

Source: United States Navy

Arlington, with embarked elements of the 22nd Marine Expeditionary Unit (MEU), is operating in the Baltic Sea to strengthen relationships with NATO allies and partners while conducting combined training and theater-security cooperation engagements. This marks Arlington’s first time operating in the Baltic Sea since departing on deployment earlier this year, as well as the first time the ARG-MEU has fully aggregated in the Baltic.

“We look forward to re-aggregating as a three-ship ARG-MEU team while operating in the Baltics,” said Capt. Eric Kellum, commanding officer of Arlington. “The Sailors and Marines are especially excited to visit Sweden as our first port visit in the Baltics, as we are committed to our NATO allies and partners in the region.”

Arlington entered the Baltic Sea after months of operations throughout European and African waters, including one bilateral exercise and three multinational exercises, as well as four scheduled port visits in Greece, Turkey, Tunisia and Croatia. These exercises included Alexander the Great with Greece, EFES with Turkey, and African Lion on the northern coast of Africa. The ship completed a mid-deployment voyage repair in July in Rijeka, Croatia.

“This is the first opportunity that the Marines on the Arlington have visited the Baltic,” said Lt. Col. Christopher Myette, executive officer of the 22nd MEU embarked aboard Arlington. “We look forward to enjoying the same hospitality our fellow Marines on the other ships enjoyed previously in the deployment. Sweden is a critical partner, and this is a great opportunity for the Marines to experience some of its rich culture before we resume training with our allies and partners in the region.”

While in Sweden, Arlington Sailors and Marines will explore the historically and culturally significant city of Stockholm, learning its culture through Stockholm Old Town Walk and Stockholm’s Must Sees tours. The crew will also be able to participate in a Stockholm Craft Beer and Swedish Pop Wonders tour.

The Kearsarge ARG and embarked 22nd MEU are under the command and control of Task Force 61/2. In addition to Arlington, the ARG consists of the Wasp-class amphibious assault ship USS Kearsarge (LHD 3) and the Whidbey Island-class dock landing ship USS Gunston Hall (LSD 44).

As Arlington docks in Stockholm, Kearsarge is conducting a visit to Helsinki, Finland, and Gunston Hall calls on Tallinn, Estonia. These port visits demonstrate the United States’ commitment to working with key NATO allied and partner nations to preserve security and stability in the Baltic Sea region.

Embarked commands with the Kearsarge ARG include Amphibious Squadron SIX, 22nd MEU, Fleet Surgical Team 2, Fleet Surgical Team 4, Tactical Air Control Squadron 22, Helicopter Sea Combat Squadron 22, Helicopter Sea Combat Squadron 28, Assault Craft Unit 2, Assault Craft Unit 4, Naval Beach Group 2, and Beach Master Unit 2.

Amphibious ready groups and larger amphibious task forces provide military commanders a wide range of flexible capabilities including maritime security operations, expeditionary power projection, strike operations, forward naval presence, crisis response, sea control, deterrence, counter-terrorism, information operations, security cooperation and counter-proliferation, and humanitarian assistance and disaster relief.

For over 80 years, U.S. Naval Forces Europe-U.S. Naval Forces Africa (NAVEUR-NAVAF) has forged strategic relationships with our Allies and Partners, leveraging a foundation of shared values to preserve security and stability.

Headquartered in Naples, Italy, NAVEUR-NAVAF operates U.S. naval forces in the U.S. European Command (USEUCOM) and U.S. Africa Command (USAFRICOM) areas of responsibility. U.S. Sixth Fleet is permanently assigned to NAVEUR-NAVAF, and employs maritime forces through the full spectrum of joint and naval operations.