Month: August 2022

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Security News: Caldwell Man Sentenced to 5.5 years for Possession with Intent to Distribute Methamphetamine

Source: United States Department of Justice News

BOISE B A Caldwell man was sentenced to 66 months in federal prison for possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine.

According to court records, Shawn Simpson, 56, of Caldwell, Idaho, was found slumped over in the driver’s seat of his vehicle. During the wellness check, Caldwell police officers observed that Simpson was acting erratically. While attempting to assess whether Simpson would need medical attention, another officer deployed their K-9, which is trained to detect odors of controlled substances. The K-9 positively alerted to the presence of controlled substances in the vehicle. A subsequent search of the vehicle uncovered approximately 120 grams of methamphetamine, two digital scales, and over $700 in cash.  

Simpson has a criminal history spanning 27 years with prior state convictions for petit theft, forgery, disorderly conduct, multiple convictions of possession of controlled substances with intent to deliver and multiple convictions of possession of controlled substances. 

U.S. District Judge Scott W. Skavdahl, from the District of Wyoming, sitting by designation, also ordered Simpson to pay a $500 fine and to serve 5 years of supervised release following his prison sentence. Simpson pleaded guilty to the charge on February 8, 2022.

U.S. Attorney Josh Hurwit, of the District of Idaho, made the announcement and commended the investigation by the Caldwell Police Department, which led to the charges.     

This case was prosecuted by the Special Assistant United States Attorney hired by the Ada County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office with funds provided by the High Intensity Drug Trafficking Areas (HIDTA) program.  HIDTA is part of the Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP) created by Congress with the Anti-Drug Abuse Act of 1988.  It provides assistance to federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies operating in areas determined to be critical drug-trafficking regions of the United States.  Idaho is part of the Oregon-Idaho HIDTA.  The Idaho HIDTA is a collaboration of local, multi-jurisdictional law enforcement drug task forces, and prosecuting agencies dedicated to addressing regional drug trafficking organizations that operate in Ada, Canyon, Bannock, Kootenai, and Malheur Counties.

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Security News: St. Louis man sentenced to 10+ years on gun charges

Source: United States Department of Justice News

ST. LOUIS – U.S. District Judge Stephen R. Clark on Tuesday sentenced a convicted felon from St. Louis to more than 10 years in prison on gun charges.

Judge Clark sentenced Terrell Gunn, 43, to eight years and seven months in prison on a 2022 charge of being a felon in possession of a firearm and two more years for violating his supervised release from a 2016 conviction on another felon in possession charge.

Gunn pleaded guilty to the 2022 charge in March, admitting that a search of his south St. Louis home by the U.S. Probation Office on Dec. 15, 2021 found six handguns, including two that were stolen, a stolen shotgun and an AK-47-style rifle. Gunn also had marijuana and hundreds of rounds of ammunition.

The case was investigated by the U.S. Probation Office and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. Assistant U.S. Attorney Jennifer Szczucinski prosecuted the case

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Security News: Watertown Medical Practice to Pay $850,000 to Resolve False Claims Act Allegations

Source: United States Department of Justice News

North Country Neurology, P.C. Admitted that it Submitted Hundreds of Claims to Medicare for Botox that had Been Paid for by Other Insurers and that it Billed at the Higher Physician’s Rate for Services Rendered by a Physician Assistant

ALBANY, NEW YORK – North Country Neurology, P.C., a physician-owned medical practice located in Watertown, New York, has agreed to pay $850,000 for what it admitted was “improper” and “reckless” billing to the federal government for medical services, announced United States Attorney Carla B. Freedman.

“The integrity of our federal health care system depends on accurate and honest billing by medical providers,” said United States Attorney Freedman.  “While North Country Neurology will pay a steep price for submitting false claims for payment to Medicare, I commend the practice and its management for accepting responsibility for its past actions and for implementing forward-looking compliance measures in response to our investigation to assure systems are in place to facilitate and promote ethical and legal conduct in the future.”

North Country Neurology employed physicians and a physician assistant who rendered care to Medicare beneficiaries.  In certain circumstances, Medicare allows practices to bill for services rendered by a non-physician practitioner (NPP), including a physician assistant, “incident to” the services that are personally rendered by a physician.  These services, even though not personally rendered by a physician, may be billed in a physician’s name if several requirements are met.  One such requirement is that a physician directly supervise the NPP rendering the services, meaning that a physician is present in the office suite and immediately available to furnish assistance and direction throughout the procedure.  Although Medicare will reimburse practices for certain procedures rendered by NPPs without a physician’s direct supervision, such services are reimbursed at a lesser rate than service rendered or directly supervised by a physician.

North Country Neurology admitted that, on 120 occasions from September 2015 through June 2019, it “submitted or caused to be submitted claims for payment to Medicare that improperly listed a physician as the rendering provider for services rendered by a physician assistant when no physician was physically present in the office and immediately available to furnish assistance and direction throughout the performance of the procedure.”  The practice further admitted that it “knew or should have known the requirements of incident-to billing and that it was improper to submit claims to Medicare in a physician’s name for services rendered by an NPP when no physician was in the office” because, among other reasons, its billing company had informed the practice’s owner of separate incident-to billing violations several years earlier.

North Country Neurology also improperly billed Medicare for the drug Botox, even though the same Botox had already been paid for by other insurers.  From March 2015 through February 2021, North Country Neurology purchased Botox for its Medicare patients, while its other patients purchased Botox at a specialty pharmacy and had it shipped to the practice.  The practice admitted that on approximately 761 occasions during this period, its providers administered and the practice billed Medicare for Botox that was paid for by another insurer “in reckless disregard to the fact that Medicare reimbursement for the administration of Botox included reimbursement for the cost of the drug being administered.”

North Country Neurology acknowledged that, during the period covered by the settlement agreement, it “had an insufficient compliance program, and one that was not well-suited to identify fraud, waste, and abuse.”  Shortly after learning of the United States’ investigation, the practice voluntarily retained a third-party compliance and practice-management consultant to help it develop and implement various practices and procedures to ensure compliance with federal rules and regulations going forward.

“This settlement is another example of our commitment to holding the health care industry accountable for proper billing practices,” said Special Agent in Charge Scott J. Lampert of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Inspector General (HHS-OIG), Office of Investigations.  “Along with our law enforcement partners, HHS-OIG will continue to ensure that individuals and entities billing federal health care programs do so in an honest manner.”

The investigation and settlement were the result of a coordinated effort among the United States Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of New York, HHS-OIG, and the Defense Criminal Investigative Service Northeast Field Office.  The United States was represented by Assistant United States Attorney Adam J. Katz.

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Security News: Joint Statement by Assistant Attorney General Clarke and U.S. Attorney Hoff on Third Anniversary of Walmart Shooting

Source: United States Department of Justice News

Kristen Clarke, Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Rights Division at the U.S. Department of Justice and Ashley C. Hoff, the United States Attorney for the Western District of Texas, release this statement on the third anniversary of the mass shooting in an El Paso Walmart that resulted in the deaths of 23 individuals and injured numerous others.

“Today, with heavy hearts, we mark the third anniversary of the tragedy that occurred in El Paso.  Our thoughts remain with those who lost their lives and those who were injured, as well as their loved ones, the El Paso community, and the countless others who were impacted by this senseless, reprehensible crime. Our commitment to pursue justice for all those affected by this violent act of hate remains unwavering.” 

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Security News: Indianapolis Felon Sentenced to 2 Years in Prison for Illegally Possessing Firearms, Including a Stolen Handgun

Source: United States Department of Justice News

INDIANAPOLIS – Tremain Prevot, 39, of Indianapolis, was sentenced to two years in federal prison after pleading guilty to being a felon in possession of a firearm.

According to court documents, on June 4, 2020, law enforcement officers responded to a report of a person with a firearm in the area of 25th Street and Post Road on the far east side of Indianapolis. Officers arrived on the scene and saw Prevot carrying an AR15-style rifle and a black handgun, both loaded with extended magazines. The handgun was stolen. Prevot has four prior felony convictions, including a conviction for carrying a handgun without a license. Prevot admitted to the responding officers that he knew he was a convicted felon and was prohibited from possessing firearms.

Zachary A. Myers, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Indiana; Daryl S. McCormick, Special Agent in Charge of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives Columbus Field Division (ATF), and Chief Randal Taylor of the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department (IMPD) made the announcement.

ATF and IMPD investigated the case. The sentence was imposed by U.S. District Chief Judge Tanya Walton Pratt. As part of the sentence, Judge Pratt ordered that Prevot be supervised by the U.S. Probation Office for one year following his release from federal prison.

U.S. Attorney Myers thanked Assistant U.S. Attorney Pamela S. Domash who prosecuted this case.

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. The Department of Justice reinvigorated PSN in 2017 as part of the Department’s renewed focus on targeting violent criminals, directing all U.S. Attorney’s Offices to work in partnership with federal, state, local, and tribal law enforcement, and the local community to develop effective, locally based strategies to reduce violent crime.