Month: February 2023

Source: United States Department of Justice News

A federal jury in the Middle District of Florida convicted a Virginia man today for his role in a scheme to defraud Medicare of over $1 million in prescription drug benefits.

According to court documents and evidence presented at trial, Ronald A. Beasley II, 33, of Portsmouth, was the pharmacist in charge at NH Pharma, a pharmacy located in Lake Mary, Florida. Through NH Pharma, Beasley and his co-conspirators billed Medicare for expensive compound drug creams that they never actually purchased or dispensed, and instead provided Medicare patients an inexpensive compound drug cream not covered by Medicare. Inventory records showed that NH Pharma did not buy enough of the expensive prescription drugs to fill all the prescriptions NH Pharma billed to Medicare. In total, Beasley and his co-conspirators received more than $1 million in fraudulent proceeds from Medicare.

Beasley was convicted of conspiracy to commit health care fraud and three counts of health care fraud. He is scheduled to be sentenced on April 25 and faces a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison on each count. 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; Assistant Director Luis Quesada of the FBI’s Criminal Investigative Division; Special Agent in Charge David Walker of the FBI Tampa Field Office; and Special Agent in Charge Omar Pérez Aybar of the Department of Health and Human Services Office of the Inspector General (HHS-OIG), Miami Regional Office made the announcement.

The FBI and HHS-OIG investigated the case.

Trial Attorneys Reginald Cuyler Jr. and Darren C. Halverson of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section are prosecuting the case.

The Fraud Section leads the Criminal Division’s efforts to combat health care fraud through the Health Care Fraud Strike Force Program. Since March 2007, this program, comprised of 15 strike forces operating in 25 federal districts, has charged more than 5,000 defendants who collectively have billed federal health care programs and private insurers more than $24 billion. In addition, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, working in conjunction with the Office of the Inspector General for the Department of Health and Human Services, are taking steps to hold providers accountable for their involvement in health care fraud schemes. More information can be found at https://www.justice.gov/criminal-fraud/health-care-fraud-unit.

Source: United States Department of Justice News

ANCHORAGE – An Anchorage man was sentenced yesterday to 10 years in federal prison for stealing 22 firearms from an Anchorage gun store in 2019.   

According to court documents, Gian Carlo Clemente Pangilinan aka “G,” 26, pleaded guilty in September 2022 to stealing 22 firearms from Granny’s Guns, a federally licensed firearms dealer located in Anchorage, on June 6, 2019, along with three co-conspirators.

Pangilinan and the three co-conspirators drove a stolen Chevy Trailblazer to Wrightway Auto Carriers in Anchorage where they broke into the building and stole license plates, filing cabinets and a GMC Sierra pickup. Pangilinan and a co-conspirator then got into another stolen vehicle, a Chevy Suburban, and drove it through the front window of Granny’s Guns. The two other co-conspirators drove the stolen pickup alongside the broken window and loaded 22 firearms into the back of the truck and drove away. They later transferred the stolen firearms from the truck into a black GMC Denali and lit the stolen GMC Sierra pickup on fire in an effort to destroy evidence.

Later the same day, officers with the Anchorage Police Department tried to stop the GMC Denali and an associated gold pickup when multiple shots were fired from the gold pickup, occupied by Pangilinan and a co-conspirator. On June 18, 2019, Pangilinan and two co-conspirators attempted to recover an impounded vehicle which contained one of the stolen firearms from the Granny’s Guns burglary. All four co-conspirators were indicted in October 2020 and subsequently arrested on the charges. Pangilinan is also facing charges in state court.

“Stolen firearms are a threat to the safety of all Alaskans,” said U.S. Attorney S. Lane Tucker for the District of Alaska. “The blatant disregard for public safety and law enforcement both during and after this series of violent crimes by Pangilinan and his co-conspirators show just how dangerous they are to our community. We will continue to work closely with local, state and federal law enforcement to fight violent crime and keep our communities safe from people who endanger our neighborhoods.” 

“All of the involved defendants demonstrated a complete indifference to the safety of others through their actions in their violent crime spree,” stated Police Chief Michael Kerle. “From the theft of multiple vehicles, to firing shots in public, driving erratically on our streets, and stealing multiple firearms; it is imperative they are held accountable for their behavior. Pangilinan’s sentencing is a big part of that. We are grateful for the efforts of all our law enforcement partners who were involved in seeing this case through.”

Co-conspirators in this case include:

• Muna Junior Rode, 23, pleaded guilty to stealing firearms and is awaiting sentencing.
• Kao Chiang Saelee, aka “Robbie,” 40, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to steal firearms from a licensed dealer and was sentenced to 5 years’ imprisonment. 
• Hans Mikaele Wells, aka “Mika,” 26, pleaded guilty to stealing firearms and was sentenced to 9 years’ imprisonment.

The Anchorage Police Department and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) investigated the case.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Jennifer Ivers prosecuted the case.

This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), the centerpiece of the Department of Justice’s violent crime reduction efforts.  PSN is an evidence-based program proven to be effective at reducing violent crime.  Through PSN, a broad spectrum of stakeholders work together to identify the most pressing violent crime problems in the community and develop comprehensive solutions to address them.  As part of this strategy, PSN focuses enforcement efforts on the most violent offenders and partners with locally based prevention and reentry programs for lasting reductions in crime. 

 

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Source: United States Department of Justice News

MIAMI – Nicholas James Sorgenfrey, 38, of Port St. Lucie, Fla., who previously had been convicted of a sex offense, has been sentenced to 12 years in prison for possessing child sexual abuse material on his cell phone and cloud storage account.

According to the affidavit, Sorgenfrey uploaded child sexual abuse material to his cell phone service provider’s cloud storage system. A review of this content revealed material of prepubescent minors. After a search of his residence, Sorgenfrey admitted to using social media apps to obtain sexually explicit images and videos. A search of his phone revealed several videos depicting sexually explicit conduct of children, including preteen children.

United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida Markenzy Lapointe and acting Special Agent in Charge Maged Behnam, FBI Miami, announced the sentence imposed by U.S. District Court Judge Aileen Cannon who sits in Ft. Pierce, Fla.

FBI and the Martin County Sheriff’s Office investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Christopher Hudock prosecuted it. 

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood (PSC), 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 United States Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, PSC 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 PSC’s initiative and information regarding internet safety, please visit www.justice.gov/psc.

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 on http://pacer.flsd.uscourts.gov.

Source: United States Department of Justice News

DETROIT – A Madison Heights pharmacist was sentenced today to 84 months in federal prison based on his convictions for conspiring to distribute over 25,000 opioid pills and for money laundering, announced United States Attorney Dawn N. Ison.

Ison was joined in the announcement by Orville O. Greene, Special Agent in Charge, Drug Enforcement Administration, Detroit Division and Acting Special Agent in Charge Charles Miller, Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigations, Detroit Division.

Yousef Kosho, 44, was sentenced by United States District Court Judge Cleland. According to court records, Kosho operated Great Health Pharmacy, in Madison Heights, Michigan. He used the pharmacy to engage in a scheme and pattern of illegal conduct involving the unlawful distribution of prescription drugs. Specifically, Kosho distributed prescription drugs from the pharmacy illegally, outside the course of usual professional pharmacy practice and for no legitimate medical purpose.

Kosho would unlawfully dispense controlled substances by filling prescriptions for patient recruiters, including co-defendant Omar Madison, upon accepting cash payments. At times, these prescriptions would be dispensed in the names of patients who never frequented the pharmacy. Co-defendant patient recruiter Madison would simply provide prescriptions to Kosho for dispensing without ever bringing the patient to the pharmacy. At other times, Kosho would sell entire pharmacy stock bottles of controlled substances to co-defendant Madison, and others without any medical prescriptions. 

Kosho pled guilty to unlawfully dispensing 25,253 dosage units of Schedule II controlled substances including Oxycodone HCl, Oxymorphone HCl, Oxycodone-Acetaminophen, Hydrocodone-Acetaminophen, and more than 200,000 milliliters of Schedule V controlled substance Promethazine with Codeine.

As part of the court’s sentence, Kohso was also ordered to forfeit approximately $1.2 million in cash that was seized by federal agents during the investigation.  His co-defendant, Omar Madison, pleaded guilty to the drug trafficking conspiracy charge and was sentenced on February 7, 2023, to 72 months in federal prison.

“This pharmacist was spreading poison in our community instead of dispensing medicine and providing sound medical advice,” stated U.S. Attorney Ison.  “My office will continue to investigate and prosecute medical professionals who abuse their licenses by selling drugs to satisfy their greed.” 

“Irresponsible and criminal behavior by trusted medical professionals will absolutely not be tolerated. Mr. Kosho will now face the consequences of his unlawful acts. This case is a perfect example of what can be achieved when DEA and our law enforcement partners work collaboratively,” said DEA Special Agent in Charge Orville O. Greene.

“Our communities rely on our pharmacies to relieve suffering and not contribute to harmful addictions. Today’s sentence highlights the seriousness of Kohso’s conduct” said Charles Miller, Acting Special Agent in Charge Detroit Field Office, Internal Revenue Service – Criminal Investigation.  “IRS-CI will remain vigilant in working with our law enforcement partners to identify and investigate those seeking to intensify opioid addiction in our society.” 

This case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Alison Furtaw and Regina McCullough, as part of the district’s efforts to address the nation’s opioid crisis.  The Eastern District of Michigan is one of twelve districts included in the Attorney General’s Opioid Fraud Abuse and Detection initiative.  The case was investigated by special agents of the Drug Enforcement Agency and the Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigations.

Source: United States Department of Justice News

DETROIT – A Detroit man was sentenced today to 8 years in federal prison on charges of conspiring to defraud multiple government agencies out of more than $2.2 million in Covid-19 pandemic assistance funds and also to defraud the United States Postal Service (USPS) of more than $200,000, United States Attorney Dawn N. Ison announced today.

Ison was joined in the announcement by Irene Lindow, Special Agent in Charge, Chicago Region, U.S. Department of Labor Office of Inspector General, James A. Tarasca, Special Agent in Charge of the Detroit Field Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and Andre Martin, Special Agent in Charge, U.S. Postal Service Office of Inspector General.

Chaz Duane Shields, 35, of Detroit, was sentenced this afternoon by United States District Judge Robert H. Cleland in the United States District Court in Port Huron.  Judge Cleland also ordered Shields to pay over $2 million in restitution to the States of California, Michigan, Nevada, and Louisiana, the Small Business Administration, and the USPS.

According to court records, beginning as early as May 2020 and continuing through at least July 2021, Shields and his co-conspirators agreed to submit more than 240 fraudulent unemployment insurance claims to over 20 states, in order to fraudulently obtain more than $2.2 million in unemployment insurance benefits.  Shields also successfully obtained a fraudulent $20,833 Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loan.

Separately, Shields defrauded the U.S. Postal Service of over $200,000 through a scheme in which he conspired to submit more than 1,000 fraudulent Domestic Indemnity Insurance claims, in the names of more than 40 separate individuals to the USPS.  Shields and others used USPS Self-Service Kiosks to mail a number of packages.  For each of the packages, the conspirators subsequently filed a fraudulent Domestic Indemnity Insurance claim by attesting that the package contained an item of significant value.  In reality, the packages typically contained empty plastic picture frames with little to no value.  The USPS mailed a check for each successful claim, which Chaz and his co-conspirators cashed, knowing that they were not entitled to the postal indemnity insurance payments. 

Shields has an extensive history of fraud and deceit, having accumulated six separate state fraud convictions – five in Michigan and one in Maryland – since 2016.

“We remain committed to working with our law enforcement partners to investigate and prosecute thefts from a multitude of federal programs, especially those aimed at pandemic relief.  Individuals who steal money from the government should know that they will be held accountable.  Today’s sentence sends a strong message that financial crime does not pay,” U.S. Attorney Ison said.

“Shields and his co-conspirators submitted fraudulent unemployment insurance claims that siphoned off more than $2 million intended to assist individuals who lost their jobs during the COVID-19 pandemic,” said James A. Tarasca, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI’s Detroit Field Office. “The FBI remains committed to working with our law enforcement partners to identify fraudsters like this defendant and hold them fully accountable for their crimes.”

“Chaz Shields and his co-conspirators submitted more than 240 fraudulent unemployment insurance claims to multiple state workforce agencies, resulting in the payment of more than $2.2 million in fraudulent benefits.  Their scheme diverted money away from American workers in need of relief from the financial effects of unemployment.  We will continue to work with our law enforcement partners to safeguard the unemployment insurance system from those who exploit these benefit programs,” said Irene Lindow, Special Agent-in-Charge, Great Lakes Region, U.S. Department of Labor, Office of Inspector General.

Co-conspirators Cortney Shaquan Shields, 31, and Daeshawn Tamar Posey, 27, both of Detroit were previously sentenced to 41 months and 63 months in prison, respectively, in connection with this case.  Co-conspirator Brittany Levett Witherspoon, 26, of Warren has also pleaded guilty and will be sentenced on May 1, 2023.

This case was investigated by the U.S. Department of Labor, Office of the Inspector General, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and the USPS Office of the Inspector General.  The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Ryan A. Particka, and Timothy J. Wyse, and Special Assistant United States Attorney Corinne M. Lambert.