Month: May 2023

Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division

A Tennessee woman pleaded guilty today to unlawfully distributing controlled substances and health care fraud.

According to court documents, Kelly McCallum, 41, of Dyersburg, was an advance practice registered nurse who operated Convenient Care Clinic and held a registration from the DEA, which allowed her to prescribe controlled substances. From January 2017 until early 2021, McCallum had sexual relationships with two patients for whom she was their medical provider. She was aware that another patient fatally overdosed after she prescribed them controlled substances but nevertheless continued to prescribe controlled substances outside the usual course of professional practice and not for a legitimate medical purpose. McCallum also billed Medicare and Medicaid for examinations and other services that she did not personally render, resulting in Medicare and Medicaid paying her approximately $16,234 for services she did not provide.

McCallum pleaded guilty to two counts of unlawful distribution of controlled substances and one count of health care fraud. She is scheduled to be sentenced on Oct. 3 and faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison on each controlled substance count, and a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison on the health care fraud count. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

In June 2021, the Tennessee Board of Nursing summarily suspended McCallum’s registered nurse license and advance practice registered nurse certificate and ordered her to cease and desist from practicing in the state of Tennessee.

Assistant Attorney General Kenneth A. Polite, Jr. of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, U.S. Attorney Kevin G. Ritz for the Western District of Tennessee, Special Agent in Charge Chris Ramage of the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation’s Medicaid Fraud Control Division for West Tennessee, Special Agent in Charge Tamala Miles of the Department of Health and Human Services Office of the Inspector General (HHS-OIG), Acting Special Agent in Charge Douglas S. DePodesta of the FBI Memphis Field Office, and Special Agent in Charge J. Todd Scott of the DEA Louisville Division made the announcement.

The HHS-OIG, FBI, DEA, and Tennessee Bureau of Investigation are investigating the case.

Assistant Chief Jillian Willis and Trial Attorney Kathryn Furtado of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section and Assistant U.S. Attorney Christie Hopper for the Western District of Tennessee are prosecuting the case.

Since its inception in late 2018, the Appalachian Regional Prescription Opioid (ARPO) Strike Force has partnered with federal and state law enforcement agencies and U.S. Attorneys’ Offices throughout Appalachia to prosecute medical professionals and others involved in the illegal prescription and distribution of opioids. Over the past four years, ARPO has charged over 115 defendants, collectively responsible for issuing prescriptions for over 115 million controlled substance dosage units. As a result, to date, more than 70 defendants have been convicted. More information can be found at www.justice.gov/criminal-fraud/health-care-fraud-unit.

Information about available treatment programs is available as follows:

Tennessee patients receiving care from this practice that wish to obtain information on how to find treatment for mental and substance use disorders, where to access naloxone and other harm reduction services, and information about crisis helplines can utilize these Tennessee resources:

• Search for substance use treatment facilities at www.findtreatment.gov/.
• Call 855-CRISIS-1 (855) 274-7471 or Text “TN” to 741-741, a crisis service and suicide prevention hotline.
• The Tennessee REDLINE is the 24/7/365 resource for substance abuse treatment referrals. Anyone can call or text (800) 889-9789 for confidential referrals.
• Naloxone Public Overdose Response Programs in Tennessee supply naloxone and may be found using this list.

Visit www.tn.gov/behavioral-health/substance-abuse-services/prevention/rops.html to see a locator map. Naloxone may also be found in your local pharmacy and billed to insurance and Medicaid.

In addition, those needing access to opioid treatment service can contact the Department of Health and Human Services’ Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration 24/7 National Helpline for referrals to treatment services at 1-800-662-4359.

Medications obtained illicitly are very dangerous as they are often not what they appear, and frequently contain contaminants and extremely potent substances such as fentanyl that greatly increase the risk of overdose and death.

Source: United States Department of Justice News

CONCORD – A Derry man pleaded guilty today in federal court to unlawfully possessing a destructive device known as a “Molotov cocktail,” U.S. Attorney Jane E. Young announces.

Zachary Tringali, 28, pleaded guilty to an indictment charging him with receipt and possession of an unregistered destructive device. U.S. District Court Judge Steven McAuliffe scheduled sentencing for August 22, 2023. Tringali was charged on April 11, 2022.

On August 6, 2021, Derry Police Department officers were investigating a reported burglary from Tringali’s commercial storage unit. The officers uncovered 12 assembled Molotov cocktails in the storage unit. A Molotov cocktail is an incendiary weapon consisting of a flammable liquid with a wick in a breakable container. Tringali admitted to knowingly possessing these weapons and failing to register them in the National Firearms Registration and Transfer Record, as required by federal law.

The charging statute provides a sentence of no greater than 10 years in prison, 3 years of supervised release, and a fine of $10,000. Sentences are imposed by a federal district court judge based upon the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and statutes which govern the determination of a sentence in a criminal case.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation, Boston Division, led the investigation. Valuable assistance was provided by the Derry Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney Jarad E. Hodes is prosecuting the case.  

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Source: United States Department of Justice News

Damian Williams, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, announced that MICHAEL PASCHAL was found guilty of all four counts at trial, including sex trafficking a minor and conspiracy to commit sex trafficking of a minor.  The verdict followed a seven-day trial before U.S District Judge Vernon S. Broderick.

U.S. Attorney Damian Williams said: “Michael Paschal targeted a vulnerable teenager and prostituted her with others for his own profit.  He induced the minor victim with promises of food and shelter and then immediately exploited her.  The jury’s guilty verdict and the Court’s immediate remand of the defendant send a clear message to the public that those who prostitute minors will be held accountable.  We thank and commend the brave victim who came forward to law enforcement and testified at trial.  Her testimony was critical in holding the defendant accountable and ensuring that he cannot harm other victims, including minors, again.”

According to the Indictment, documents previously filed in the case, and the evidence admitted at trial:

In or around July 2020, PASCHAL and a co-conspirator (“CC-1”) met a 17-year-old minor victim (“Minor Victim-1”) in another state.  PASCHAL and CC-1 induced Minor Victim-1 to travel with him from another state to his house in the Bronx with promises of food and shelter and with the intent to prostitute Minor Victim-1 from his Bronx residence. 

PASCHAL operated a prostitution business from his residence in the Bronx.  Minor Victim-1 stayed at PASCHAL’s residence for several weeks in July 2020, during which time PASCHAL prostituted Minor Victim-1. 

When Minor Victim-1 became sick, PASCHAL transported Minor Victim-1 to a children’s hospital for medical care.  PASCHAL communicated with employees of the Administration for Children’s Services while Minor Victim-1 was in the hospital in an attempt to have Minor Victim-1 released into his custody.

That effort was unsuccessful, and Minor Victim-1 was returned to her home state.  However, several weeks later, PASCHAL again began prostituting Minor Victim-1 from his residence in the Bronx.  PASCHAL posted prostitution ads with sexually explicit photographs of Minor Victim-1 and communicated with sex buyers to facilitate commercial sex with Minor Victim-1.

PASCHAL prostituted Minor Victim-1, and worked with others to prostitute Minor Victim-1, for weeks until she was recovered from PASCHAL’s residence in or about December 2020.  When confronted, PASCHAL told law enforcement, in substance, “what’s the big deal, she’s about to turn 18 anyway.”

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PASCHAL, 52, of the Bronx, New York, was convicted of one count of conspiracy to commit sex trafficking of a minor, which carries a maximum sentence of life in prison; one count of sex trafficking of a minor, which carries a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years in prison and a maximum sentence of life in prison; one count of transporting a minor for the purpose of prostitution, which carries a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years in prison and a maximum sentence of life in prison; and one count of enticing an individual to travel interstate for the purpose of prostitution, which carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison.  The defendant was remanded into custody after the guilty verdict.

The minimum and maximum potential sentences in this case are prescribed by Congress and are provided here for informational purposes only, as any sentencing of the defendant would be determined by the judge.  PASCHAL is scheduled to be sentenced on September 6, 2023.

Any individuals who believe they have information that may be relevant to this case should contact the U.S. Attorney’s Office at 1-866-874-8900 and reference this case.

Mr. Williams praised the outstanding work of Homeland Security Investigations. 

The case is being prosecuted by the Office’s General Crimes Unit.  Assistant U.S. Attorneys Kevin Mead, Jackie Delligatti, and Jane Kim are in charge of the prosecution, with the assistance of Paralegal Specialist Isabel Loftus.