Month: August 2022

Source: United States Department of Justice News

CHARLOTTE, N.C. – Charlotte-based BSN Medical Inc. (BSN) has agreed to resolve allegations that it marketed and promoted various products that did not meet the Medicare or Medicaid program’s reasonable and necessary requirements, thereby causing the submission of false claims for payment to the health care programs, announced Dena J. King, U.S. Attorney for the Western District of North Carolina. BSN agreed to pay $785,672.14 to resolve the allegations.  

Tamala Miles, Special Agent in Charge of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Inspector General (HHS-OIG) for the region including North Carolina, joins U.S. Attorney King in making today’s announcement.

BSN is a medical device and equipment manufacturer located in Charlotte, that specializes in the areas of compression therapy, wound care and orthopedics. The settlement resolves allegations that from January 1, 2015 through December 31, 2017, BSN marketed and promoted various products that were not reimbursable because BSN had either not obtained approval from the Medicare Pricing, Data Analysis and Coding (PDAC) contractor, or for which PDAC approval had expired, in connection with three Healthcare Common Procedural Coding System (HCPCS) Codes, specifically, E2607, L0625 and L0626.

The allegations arose from a lawsuit filed by a whistleblower under the qui tam provisions of the federal False Claims Act and multiple state false claims act statutes. Under the federal False Claims Acts, private citizens can bring suit on behalf of the government for false claims and share in any recovery. The act also allows the government to intervene and take over the action.  The government conducted the investigation and intervened in this action to effectuate the settlement.

The settlement is a result of the coordinated effort between the Department of Health and Human Services Office of the Inspector General, a National Association of Medicaid Fraud Control Units (NAMFCU) Team, which included representatives from the Offices of Attorneys General from the states of North Carolina and Indiana, and the United States Attorney’s Office for the Western District of North Carolina. 

The lawsuit resolved by this settlement is United States et al. ex rel. Bruce Carroll v. BSN Medical, Inc., et al. (3:17-CV-480), filed in the Western District of North Carolina. The claims resolved in this settlement are allegations only and there has been no determination of liability.

Source: United States Department of Justice News

DENVER—The United States Attorney’s Office t0day announced that PDC Energy, Inc., an oil and gas company headquartered in Denver, Colorado, has paid $194,000 to resolve allegations that it drilled, and then operated, an oil and gas well that removed federal minerals without permission.

In order to access federal minerals managed by the Bureau of Land Management (“BLM”), oil and gas exploration companies must first obtain a federal lease and a BLM-issued permit to drill an oil and gas well. The federal lease includes an obligation to pay a mineral royalty to the United States for the federal minerals produced from the well.  Taking minerals without permission is considered a trespass.

The United States contends that in 2015, PDC drilled a well into federal minerals in Weld County, Colorado, without first obtaining the necessary permissions. The United States further contends that PDC then operated that well for several years without paying compensation to the United States for the minerals it extracted. PDC notified the United States of this well after a prior investigation and settlement with PDC involving mineral trespass. PDC fully cooperated with the investigation.

“Federal public lands belong to all of us, and protecting them is a priority for our office,” said U.S. Attorney Cole Finegan. “Oil and gas companies that wish to drill on federal lands and take minerals owned by the public must obtain permission.”

 “This settlement is the direct result of the Department of the Interior’s Office of the Inspector General, the Bureau of Land Management, and the Office of the Solicitor working collaboratively and diligently with the Department of Justice to protect our nation’s mineral resources and ensure that public revenues are collected on behalf of all American taxpayers,” said Ron Gonzales, Special Agent in Charge for the Department of the Interior, Office of Inspector General’s Energy Investigations Unit.

“The BLM is responsible for the management of the public’s energy and mineral resources. We take that responsibility seriously both to ensure the public receives the compensation due and to enable stewardship of impacted lands and resources,” said BLM Colorado State Director Doug Vilsack.

This case was handled by Assistant U.S. Attorney Andrea Wang.

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

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Source: United States Department of Justice News

Orlando, Florida – United States Attorney Roger B. Handberg announces the return of an indictment charging Francisco Javier Aguilar Canales, a/k/a Javier Francisco Aguilar Canales (31, Hull, Georgia), with aggravated identity theft and use of a fraudulently obtained United States passport. If convicted, Aguilar Canales faces a maximum penalty of 12 years in federal prison. 

According to the indictment, Aguilar Canales used someone else’s name and birthdate to obtain a United States passport. Thereafter, he used that passport, even though he knew that it had been fraudulently obtained.

An indictment is merely a formal charge that a defendant has committed one or more violations of federal criminal law, and every defendant is presumed innocent unless, and until, proven guilty.

This case is being investigated by the U.S. Department of State’s Diplomatic Security Service. It will be prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Emily C. L. Chang.

Source: United States Department of Justice News

Orlando, Florida – United States Attorney Roger B. Handberg announces the return of an indictment charging Gabriel Almenas Carrasquillo (34, Orlando) with attempted enticement of a minor to engage in sexual activity. If convicted, Almenas Carrasquillo faces a maximum penalty of life in federal prison. The indictment also notifies Almenas Carrasquillo that the United States intends to forfeit the cellphone used to commit the alleged offense.

An indictment is merely a formal charge that a defendant has committed one or more violations of federal criminal law, and every defendant is presumed innocent unless, and until, proven guilty.

This case is being investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Metropolitan Bureau of Investigation. It will be prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Emily C. L. Chang.

This is another case brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by the United States Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.justice.gov/psc.

Source: United States Department of Justice News

Orlando, Florida – United States Attorney Roger B. Handberg announces the return of an indictment charging Tulio Ivan Figueroa-Carrion (34, Tampa) with attempted enticement of a minor to engage in sexual activity. If convicted, Figueroa-Carrion faces a maximum penalty of life in federal prison. The indictment also notifies Figueroa-Carrion that the United States intends to forfeit the cellphone used to commit the alleged offense.

An indictment is merely a formal charge that a defendant has committed one or more violations of federal criminal law, and every defendant is presumed innocent unless, and until, proven guilty.

This case is being investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation.  It will be prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Emily C. L. Chang.

This is another case brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by the United States Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.justice.gov/psc.