Month: May 2023

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Podiatrist Sentenced for Fraudulently Billing Medicare Nearly $2M Under False Identity

Source: United States Department of Justice News

A Michigan podiatrist was sentenced today to seven years in prison for orchestrating a health care fraud conspiracy that resulted in almost $2 million in false and fraudulent claims being submitted to Medicare, as well as for falsifying records and identity theft. 

According to court documents, Dr. Kenneth Mitchell, 61, of Wayne County, owned and operated a podiatry practice in Michigan specializing in on-site foot care provided to adult foster home residents. Mitchell had previously been suspended by Medicare for suspicious billing practices, banning him from receiving any Medicare funds while the suspension remained in place. 

After his own Medicare suspension went into effect, Mitchell created a new entity called Urban Health Care Group PLLC (Urban). Mitchell then convinced another doctor – one who was not subject to suspension and therefore could bill Medicare – to enroll in the Medicare program and place her name on corporate and banking documents relating to Urban. Under this arrangement, Mitchell submitted bills to Medicare falsely stating that the other doctor provided the services to patients. Mitchell’s deception enabled him to bill Medicare through Urban for nearly $2 million in services that were false or fraudulent.

After Mitchell was indicted, Medicare suspended Urban’s billing privileges. Mitchell then created false statements, even going so far as to forge at least one signature on a fraudulent letter sent to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), to impede the government’s ongoing investigation and contradict the government’s case against him.

Assistant Attorney General Kenneth A. Polite, Jr. of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division and Deputy Inspector General for Investigations Christian J. Schrank of the HHS Office of the Inspector General (HHS-OIG) made the announcement.

HHS-OIG investigated the case.

Trial Attorneys Kathleen Cooperstein and Shankar Ramamurthy of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section prosecuted 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.

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Attorney General Merrick B. Garland Delivers a Statement Following the Jury Verdict in the Proud Boys Trial

Source: United States Department of Justice News

Statement as Delivered

Today, the Justice Department secured the conviction of four leaders of the Proud Boys for seditious conspiracy related to the January 6th attack on the Capitol.

In addition, those defendants and a fifth member of the Proud Boys were all convicted of felonies including obstructing Congress’s certification of the 2020 presidential election results and conspiring to prevent Congress and federal officers from discharging their duties.

The evidence presented at trial detailed the extent of the violence at the Capitol on January 6th and the central role these defendants played in setting into motion the unlawful events of that day.

Today’s verdict makes clear that the Justice Department will do everything in its power to defend the American people and American democracy.

Since the January 6th attack, the Justice Department has conducted one of the largest, most complex, and most resource-intensive investigations in our history.

We have worked to analyze massive amounts of physical and digital data. We have recovered devices, decrypted electronic messages, triangulated phones, and pored through tens of thousands of hours of video.  

We have also benefited from tens of thousands of tips we received from the public. Following these digital and physical footprints, we were able to identify hundreds of people who, often masked, took part in the unlawful conduct on that day.

I am grateful to the Department’s prosecutors, FBI agents, investigators, analysts, and others who have worked on these cases with extraordinary diligence, skill, integrity, and courage.

Over the past two years, the Department has secured more than 600 convictions for a wide range of criminal conduct on January 6th, as well as in the days and weeks leading up to the attack.

We have secured the convictions of defendants who fought, punched, tackled, and even tased police officers who were defending the Capitol that day; who crushed one officer in a door and dragged another down a flight of stairs; who attacked law enforcement officers with chemical agents that burned their eyes and skin; and who assaulted officers with pipes, poles, and other dangerous or deadly weapons.

We have secured the convictions of defendants who obstructed the certification of a presidential election as well as the subsequent criminal investigation in the events of January 6th.

And now – after three trials – we have secured the convictions of leaders of both the Proud Boys and the Oath Keepers for seditious conspiracy – specifically conspiring to oppose by force the lawful transfer of presidential power.

Our work will continue.

At my Senate confirmation hearing just over a month after January 6th, I promised that the Justice Department would do everything in its power to hold accountable those responsible for the heinous attack that sought to disrupt a cornerstone of our democracy: the peaceful transfer of power to a newly elected government.

And as I have said repeatedly, the Department will conduct all of its work in a manner that adheres to the rule of law and honors our obligation to protect the civil rights and civil liberties of everyone in this country.

Today’s verdict is another example of our steadfast commitment to keeping those promises.

The Justice Department will never stop working to defend the democracy to which all Americans are entitled.

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Defense News: NIWC Pacific Holds Change of Command, Retirement Ceremony

Source: United States Navy

As commanding officer, McKenna will lead more than 5,200 civilian employees and military members across the globe in serving NIWC Pacific’s information warfare mission.

A native of Middleton, Wisconsin, McKenna’s naval career began in 2000 at Officer Candidate School in Naval Air Station Pensacola, Florida. Since then, he has logged more than 3,000 flight hours as an operational aviator and served in various leadership roles, including lead project officer and department head, as well as commanding officer for USS Theodore Roosevelt (CVN 71).

Prior to assuming command at NIWC Pacific, he served as Naval Information Warfare Systems Command (NAVWAR) Commander Rear Adm. Doug Small’s executive assistant.

“The technology here is amazing, and the capability we deliver to the fleet is vital, but first and foremost, it’s the workforce here that’s been the most awe inspiring and has me most excited about what the next 36 months will bring,” McKenna said. “I’m inheriting that workforce, and that is one hundred percent a testament to Capt. Gainer.”

During the retirement portion of the ceremony, Small, presiding officer of the change of command ceremony, thanked Gainer for his leadership over the last six years, first as executive officer then as commanding officer: “NIWC Pacific plays an outsized role in preparing the Navy for whatever’s next in the strategic powers competition. Capt. Gainer has been at the heart of making sure the constant sense of urgency, associated with that competition, is brought to bear here every single day. I’m sure Capt. McKenna will do the same.”

Small presented Gainer with the Legion of Merit award for exceptionally meritorious conduct in the performance of outstanding service during his tours at NIWC Pacific. In the award summary, Small highlighted his “significant, positive impact” while leading the Navy’s largest command, control, communications, computers, intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (C4ISR), cyber, and space warfare center: “Capt. Gainer’s technical acumen, vision, and focused leadership were instrumental in enabling NIWC Pacific’s leading role in reshaping 21st century warfare.”

Under his leadership, NIWC Pacific managed more than 600 technical projects and delivered more than $8 billion of C4ISR, cyber, and space capabilities to the fleet.

When Gainer, a native of Bellingham, Washington, assumed command in May 2020, it was in a socially-distanced, limited-attendance ceremony in the early days of the coronavirus pandemic. Today he retired after 30 years of naval service surrounded by family and friends.

“It’s important to me that we recognize this career as a joint effort,” Gainer said, highlighting teams and initiatives at the Center exemplifying the collaborative culture needed to accomplish its mission. “We’ll never be done fortifying our culture — it’s a 24/7, 365-day a year job,” Gainer said. “And I’m proud of every team or activity that shines a light on how we’re all interconnected.”

NIWC Pacific’s mission is to conduct research, development, engineering, and support of integrated command, control, communications, computers, intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance, cyber, and space systems across all warfighting domains, and to rapidly prototype, conduct test and evaluation, and provide acquisition, installation, and in-service engineering support.

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Defense News: SURFLANT Hosts Commander’s Training Symposium 23-1

Source: United States Navy

 



The conference provided a venue for leaders to focus on the symposium’s key topics and an opportunity for McLane to bring waterfront leaders together to discuss future challenges and ways to support the North Star 75 initiative. This is a goal for 75 mission-capable ships, “ready on any given day” according to Vice Adm. Roy Kitchener, Commander, Naval Surface Forces, and Commander, Naval Surface Force U.S. Pacific Fleet.



”The Surface Force is focused on getting ready,” McLane said. “We clearly have this drumbeat now. The over-arching theme of this symposium is three aspects; the ‘Get Real, Get Better’ initiative for our fleet, our command leadership getting their ships ready, and finally getting real about the global security environment.”



More than 150 surface leaders, including flag officers, commanding officers, executive officers, senior enlisted leaders and SURFLANT staff members, gathered to discuss a litany of warfighting readiness topics.

Discussions included how SURFLANT commands and assets fit into an era of Great Power Competition, and best practices for ensuring Sailors have what they need to succeed. Master Chief Petty Officer of the Navy James Honea served as a keynote speaker and focused his discussion on building a better force.



”It is important to give Sailors the tools and requested processes upfront, so they can be the best fighting force possible, but also the best people possible,” Honea said. “This path involves the Chiefs Mess. I don’t want to give ships unqualified Sailors, but I also don’t want our Sailors burnt out due to our new manning initiatives.”

During the waterfront symposium, Vice Adm. Jim Kilby, commander, Task Force 80 and deputy commander, U.S. Fleet Forces Command shared the importance of a call to action for every leader.  “We must consistently self-assess and self-correct to create a culture of learning and continuous improvement,” said Kilby.

“As warfighters we know or research the standard, we assess a problem set using root cause analysis, and learn from it scaling what we’ve learned across the organization.”

Leaders and civilian experts presented briefs, discussed numerous topics and answered questions regarding U.S. Navy operations and interoperability with allies and partner nations.



SURFLANT mans, trains and equips assigned surface forces and shore activities, ensuring a capable force for conducting prompt and sustained operations in support of United States national interests. The SURFLANT force is composed of nearly 80 ships, 17 pre-commissioning units, and more than 30 shore commands.

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Defense News: Medical Exercise Certifies Mission Ready Casualty Receiving Treatment Ship

Source: United States Navy

In a collaboration between Commander, Naval Surface Forces Atlantic (SURFLANT) and Naval Medical Forces Atlantic (NMFL), the certification exercise provided the CRTS team with shipboard orientation, a lecture series, and ended with a mass casualty drill aboard Bataan. About 30 Sailors from Bataan teamed up with 75 medical staff from NMRTC Portsmouth’s CRTS team to conduct the training.

“Over the course of three days, this multidisciplinary team was exposed to the realities of auteur, maritime medicine,” said Cmdr. Jonathan Levenson, the SURFLANT force nurse who led the team for the exercise.

A CRTS is Bataan’s secondary role as a large medical asset during deployment and being able to train with CRTS 5 counterparts to supplement mission readiness and success.

“Working under the senior medical officer and the medical leaders of USS Bataan, along with Fleet Surgical Team (FST) 8, the CRTS M+1 was certified as mission ready to activate the capabilities of the largest surface combatant medical asset afloat,” explained Levenson. “This One Navy Medicine team is now ready to provide robust, lifesaving, surgical and nursing care directly to the operational forces.”

This exercise was the third year where SURFLANT led a cross-functional collaboration with support from U.S. Fleet Forces Command (USFFC) and Commander, Task Force (CTF) 80 to ensure that the amphibious squadrons and Marine expeditionary units have a fully, required operational capability and projected operational environment (ROC/POE) manned and medically capable amphibious ready group.

“The SURFLANT and USFFC teams were very impressed with the competency and professionalism demonstrated by NMRTC Portsmouth personnel,” concluded Dr. Brett Hicks, the SURFLANT deputy force surgeon. “They are to be highly commended!”

NMFL, headquartered in Portsmouth, Virginia, delivers operationally focused medical expertise and capabilities to meet Fleet, Marine and Joint Force requirements by providing equipment, sustainment and maintenance of medical forces during combat operations and public health crises. NMFL provides oversight for 21 NMRTCs, logistics, and public health and dental services throughout the U.S. East Coast, U.S. Gulf Coast, Cuba, Hawaii, Europe, and the Middle East.

Navy Medicine – represented by more than 44,000 highly-trained military and civilian health care professionals – provides enduring expeditionary medical support to the warfighter on, below, and above the sea, and ashore.