Month: March 2023

Source: United States Department of Justice News

DETROIT – A Southfield, Michigan man was sentenced today to seven years in federal prison for his role in distributing over 90,000 doses of Oxycontin, Percocet, and other opioids out of an area medical clinic, announced United States Attorney Dawn N. Ison.

Ison was joined in the announcement by James A. Tarasca, Special Agent in Charge of the Detroit Field Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Special Agent in Charge Orville Greene, Drug Enforcement Administration, Detroit Division, and Special Agent in Charge Mario Pinto of the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services, Office of Inspector General (HHS-OIG), Chicago Regional Office.

Lavar Carter, 45, was sentenced by United States District Judge Bernard A. Friedman. Carter initially became involved in the scheme as a patient recruiter where he used family members and people he encountered at soup kitchens to obtain information that was used to fill medically unnecessary opioid prescriptions. Carter eventually became employed at New Vision Rehab Center where he provided physicians with lists of patient names and identification that he knew were used to issue and fill medically unnecessary prescriptions. Carter and others exchanged the prescriptions for cash. Carter participated in the conspiracy between May 2019 and June 2020.

According to court records, Carter’s conduct was made even worse because, while released on bond in this case, he was surveilled by law enforcement agents working at another pain clinic to assist in the illegal distribution of more opioids.     

U.S. Attorney Ison stated, “The devastation created by the opioid crisis harms our entire country. My office will zealously pursue medical providers, clinic staff, and others who inflict harm upon our community through illicit distribution of these powerful drugs.”

“The illegal distribution of opioids continues to have devastating effects on our community,” said James A. Tarasca, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI’s Detroit Field Office. “The sentencing of Lavar Carter highlights how a partnership between the FBI, DEA, and HHS leads to the successful prosecution of individuals who seek to profit off the addiction of others.”

“Profiting from the suffering of vulnerable populations will not be tolerated.  Mr. Carter’s scheme of illegally funneling prescription pills into communities and fueling overdose deaths in exchange for profits has come to an end. I want to thank our law enforcement partners who worked collectively on this investigation,” stated Special Agent in Charge Orville Greene, Drug Enforcement Administration, Detroit Division.

“Facilitating the unlawful administration of prescription opioids, and other controlled substances, places beneficiaries of our federal health care programs at risk,” said Mario M. Pinto, Special Agent in Charge with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Inspector General. “We will continue to work with our law enforcement partners to pursue those who defraud our federal health care programs and engage in other unlawful conduct that can bring harm on our nation’s beneficiaries.”

This case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Regina R. McCullough and Philip A. Ross 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 Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Drug Enforcement Administration, and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Inspector General.

Source: United States Department of Justice News

A California man was sentenced to 65 months in prison for his role in conspiring with Peruvian-based call centers that defrauded Spanish-speaking United States residents by falsely threatening them with arrest, deportation, and other legal consequences. He is the eleventh defendant to be sentenced to prison in the scheme.

According to court documents, Luis Rendon, 60, of Harbor City, California, operated a distribution center that helped the call center operators execute their fraud scheme from Peru. He was part of a $15 million transnational fraud scheme aimed at defrauding Spanish-speaking residents of the United States by fraudulently threatening them with legal consequences if they did not pay for English-language learning products (products that the victims had never requested) or pay bogus “settlement fees.” More than 30,000 Spanish-speaking residents of the United States were defrauded.

“These cases demonstrate that the Consumer Protection Branch will vigorously pursue and prosecute transnational criminals who defraud vulnerable U.S. consumers,” said Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Brian M. Boynton, head of the Justice Department’s Civil Division. “Individuals who defraud members of our immigrant communities will be brought to justice and held accountable in U.S. courts.” 

“The U.S. Postal Inspection Service works assiduously to disrupt and dismantle criminal enterprises targeting U.S. consumers,” said Juan A. Vargas, Inspector in Charge, U.S. Postal Inspection Service Miami Division. “Together with our law enforcement partners, we are sending a clear message to the criminals who think they are safe because they are not located in the U.S.: We will continue to aggressively pursue, arrest, and extradite those that aim to defraud U.S. consumers.”

According to court documents, Rendon owned and operated International Latin Market, a California-based distribution center that facilitated the large-scale telemarketing fraud and extortion scheme from 2011 until late 2017. Rendon aided and abetted the scheme by providing lists of prospective victims to the call centers in Peru, processing card payments from victims, and sending low-quality computer tablets pre-loaded with English language courses to victims in the Miami area and across the United States. The call centers then threatened and harassed victims to pay for the fraudulent classes, pretending to be lawyers and law enforcement officials.

With today’s sentencing, seven Peruvian call center owner-operators and four distribution center operators who processed payments and facilitated the fraud in the United States have now been sentenced. The seven call center owner-operator defendants were extradited from Peru and pleaded guilty in federal court to conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud and received significant prison sentences. U.S. District Judge Robert N. Scola, Jr. sentenced Henrry Milla, Carlos Espinoza, Jerson Renteria, Fernan Huerta, Omar Cuzcano, Evelyng Milla, and Josmell Espinoza to sentences ranging from 88 months to 110 months in prison. Two defendants who facilitated the operations of these fraudulent call centers, Milagros Urmeneta and Gonzalo Bazan, were sentenced in a related matter last year. Angel Adrianzen, who similarly operated a U.S.-based distribution center that facilitated an additional group of fraudulent Peruvian call centers that defrauded Spanish-speaking residents in the United States, was sentenced to 121 months in prison by Judge Scola in 2021.

The U.S. Postal Inspection Service and the Consumer Protection Branch investigated the case. Senior Trial Attorney Phil Toomajian and Trial Attorney Max Goldman of the Consumer Protection Branch are prosecuting the cases, and Assistant United States Attorney Annika Miranda is handling asset forfeiture. The Federal Trade Commission, the Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida, the State Department’s Diplomatic Security Service and the Peruvian National Police provided critical assistance. 

The Department of Justice continues to investigate and bring charges in other similar matters involving threats against Spanish-speaking residents of the United States. If you or someone you know is age 60 or older and has been a victim of financial fraud, help is available at the National Elder Fraud Hotline: 1-833-FRAUD-11 (1-833-372-8311).

Additional information about the Consumer Protection Branch and its fraud enforcement efforts may be found at www.justice.gov/civil/consumer-protection-branch. 

Source: United States Department of Justice News

A former primary candidate for the U.S. House of Representatives pleaded guilty today to violating the Federal Election Campaign Act (FECA) by accepting a conduit campaign contribution.

According to court documents, Lynda Bennett, 65, of Maggie Valley, North Carolina, was a primary candidate for North Carolina’s 11th Congressional District in 2020. In late December 2019, Bennett borrowed $25,000 from a family member, representing that she needed the money for personal expenses because she had to spend a large amount of her own money on her campaign. The day after depositing the loaned money into a personal account, Bennett then caused $80,000, including the $25,000 in loaned funds, to be transferred to the bank account of Lynda Bennett for Congress (LBC), her authorized federal campaign committee. Under the FECA, Bennett was required to report a loan from a third-party individual as a campaign contribution. Bennett knowingly and willfully violated the FECA by reporting through LBC that the full $80,000 was a loan to her campaign using her own personal funds, rather than disclosing that $25,000 of that amount was a loan from another individual.

Bennett pleaded guilty to one count of accepting contributions in the name of another. She is scheduled to be sentenced on June 20.

Assistant Attorney General Kenneth A. Polite, Jr. of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, U.S. Attorney Matthew M. Graves for the District of Columbia, and Assistant Director in Charge David Sundberg of the FBI Washington Field Office made the announcement.

The FBI Washington Field Office investigated the case.

Trial Attorney Ryan R. Crosswell of the Criminal Division’s Public Integrity Section and Assistant U.S. Attorney Joshua S. Rothstein for the District of Columbia are prosecuting the case. Former Assistant U.S. Attorney Amanda R. Vaughn for the District of Columbia provided assistance.