Month: April 2023

Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division

A Southern California man pleaded guilty today to submitting false enrollment applications to Medicare that hid the real owners of a fraudulent hospice company, which then submitted over $3.1 million in false and fraudulent claims to Medicare.

According to court documents, Karen Sarkisyan, aka Kevin Sarkisyan, 44, of Glendale, submitted false and fraudulent Medicare enrollment forms for San Gabriel Hospice and Palliative Care Inc. (San Gabriel), falsely identifying a straw owner as the sole owner and manager, concealing the actual beneficial owners and managers. San Gabriel submitted approximately $3,668,050 in false and fraudulent claims to Medicare, of which $3,180,677 was paid after Sarkisyan submitted the false enrollment applications.

Sarkisyan pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to defraud the United States. He is scheduled to be sentenced on Sept. 11 and faces a maximum penalty of five years in prison. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors. 

Co-conspirator Gayk Akhsharumov previously pleaded guilty to health care fraud conspiracy and is scheduled to be sentenced on Aug. 14. A third co-conspirator was indicted for his role in the scheme but remains a fugitive.

Assistant Attorney General Kenneth A. Polite, Jr. of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, U.S. Attorney Martin Estrada for the Central District of California, Assistant Director in Charge Donald Always of the FBI Los Angeles Field Office, and Special Agent in Charge Timothy B. DeFrancesca of the Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General (HHS-OIG) made the announcement.

The FBI Los Angeles Field Office and HHS-OIG are investigating the case.

Assistant Chief Niall M. O’Donnell and Trial Attorneys Patrick J. Queenan and Alexandra Michael 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

The Justice Department filed a civil antitrust lawsuit today against Activision Blizzard, Inc. (Activision), one of the world’s largest video game developers and publishers, for imposing rules that limited competition for players in Activision’s Overwatch and Call of Duty professional esports leagues and suppressed the wages of esports players in these leagues in violation of the Sherman Act.

“Video games and esports are among the most popular and fastest growing forms of entertainment in the world today, and professional esports players—like all workers—deserve the benefits of competition for their services. Activision’s conduct prevented that from happening,” said Assistant Attorney General Jonathan Kanter of the Justice Department’s Antitrust Division. “Today’s lawsuit makes clear that the Antitrust Division remains committed to protecting workers across all types of industries from anticompetitive conduct.”

The complaint, filed today in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, alleges that in two esports leagues owned by Activision, Activision and the independently-owned teams in each league implemented a so-called Competitive Balance Tax. As alleged in the complaint, the Tax was structured to penalize teams in the Overwatch and Call of Duty Leagues, respectively, if a team’s player compensation exceeded a threshold set by Activision.

At the same time, the Antitrust Division filed a proposed consent decree to address its competition concerns. If approved by the Court, the proposed consent decree would prohibit Activision from imposing any rule that would, directly or indirectly, limit player compensation in any of Activision’s professional esports leagues, or that would tax, fine, or otherwise penalize any team for exceeding a certain amount of compensation for its players.

The proposed consent decree with Activision would also require Activision to certify that it has ended all Competitive Balance Taxes in its professional esports leagues, to implement revised antitrust compliance and whistleblower protection policies, and to provide notice and an explanation of the final judgment to teams and players in its professional esports leagues.

As required by the Tunney Act, the proposed consent decree, along with the competitive impact statement, will be published in the Federal Register. Any person may submit written comments concerning the proposed consent decree during a 60-day comment period to Chief, Civil Conduct Task Force, Antitrust Division, Department of Justice, 450 Fifth Street NW, Suite 8600, Washington, D.C. 20530. At the conclusion of the 60-day comment period, the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia may enter the final judgment upon finding it is in the public interest.

Today’s lawsuit is part of a broader focus of the Antitrust Division on anticompetitive labor market abuses. Anyone with information about anticompetitive conduct against workers, or any other violations of the antitrust laws, is encouraged to contact the Antitrust Division’s Citizen Complaint Center at 1-888-647-3258 or antitrust.complaints@usdoj.gov.

Source: United States Department of Justice News

An Indiana woman pleaded guilty in federal court last Friday in the District of Columbia to conspiring to file false tax returns and related charges.

According to court documents and statements made in court, Awett Tedla of Indianapolis was the owner and operator of Speedy Tax Services, L.L.C., a tax preparation business in Washington, D.C., and District Heights, Maryland. From 2012 through 2016, Tedla and her coconspirators prepared and electronically filed with the IRS fraudulent returns on behalf of clients and illegally-obtained identities of unwitting taxpayers, claiming purported refunds were due.  The false returns reported fictitious businesses and claimed certain tax credits in order to generate inflated tax refunds. Clients paid an increased fee depending on the size of the fraudulent refund.

Tedla also underreported business gross receipts and taxable income on her 2016 personal income tax return, and in total, evaded approximately $171,534 in income tax between 2013 through 2016.

She faces a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison for wire fraud, 10 years in prison for conspiring to file false claims, five years in prison for tax evasion and a mandatory sentence of two years in prison for aggravated identity theft. Tedla also faces a period of supervised release, restitution and monetary penalties. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

Acting Deputy Assistant Attorney General Stuart M. Goldberg of the Justice Department’s Tax Division made the announcement.

IRS-Criminal Investigation and the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration (TIGTA) are investigating the case.

Trial Attorneys Mark McDonald and George Meggali of the Justice Department’s Tax Division are prosecuting the case.

Source: United States Department of Justice News

An Ohio man was arrested this morning and charged with one count of malicious use of explosive materials and one count of possessing a destructive device.

According to court documents, on March 25, Aimenn D. Penny, 20, of Alliance, used Molotov cocktails against the Community Church of Chesterland (CCC), in Chesterland, Ohio, in an attempt to burn the church to the ground.

“As alleged in the charging documents, the defendant used an explosive device to cause harm to a church he found objectionable,” said Assistant Attorney General Matthew G. Olsen of the Justice Department’s National Security Division. “It is the solemn duty of the Department of Justice to safeguard the right of all Americans to free expression, and I commend the work of law enforcement in this matter.”

“Violence and destruction are never an acceptable way to express a disagreement with a particular viewpoint,” said First Assistant U.S. Attorney Michelle M. Baeppler for the Northern District of Ohio. “While, as Americans, we enjoy the right to disagree, doing so peacefully is the only appropriate option. The United States Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Ohio remains committed to protecting the rights of all citizens to express their viewpoints peacefully.”

“The FBI Cleveland Joint Terrorism Task Force worked alongside the Chester Township Police Department in the matter surrounding a Molotov cocktail used against the Community Church of Chesterland on March 25. The FBI leveraged its task force and its specialized resources to identify, locate and subsequently arrest the subject earlier today,” said Special Agent in Charge Gregory Nelsen of the FBI Cleveland Field Office. “We thank the collaborative work and strong partnership of the Chester Township Police and Lake and Geauga County local authorities who assisted.”

If convicted, Penny faces a mandatory minimum of five years and up to 20 years in prison for the malicious use of explosive materials charge and up to 10 years in prison for the possession of a destructive device charge.

The FBI Cleveland Field Office is investigating the case.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Brian Deckert for the Northern District of Ohio and Trial Attorneys Jacob Warren and Justin Sher of the National Security Division’s Counterterrorism Section are prosecuting the case.

A complaint is merely an allegation. All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.