Category: US Department of Justice

Source: United States Department of Justice News

            WASHINGTON– A local dentist and dental hygienist, at a dental clinic in the District of Columbia, are charged in an indictment with conspiracy and other charges related to health care fraud.

            Dr. Steven A. Price, 66, of the District of Columbia, and Keidi C. Moore, 37, of Temple Hills, Maryland, were presented yesterday after the indictment was unsealed charging them with conspiracy, health care fraud, false statements related to a health care fraud matter, and wire fraud. The indictment also includes a forfeiture allegation seeking all proceeds of the alleged crimes.

            The charges were announced by U.S. Attorney Matthew M. Graves, Special Agent in Charge Wayne Jacobs, of the FBI Washington Field Office Criminal and Cyber Division, Daniel W. Lucas, Inspector General for the District of Columbia, and Special Agent in Charge Maureen R. Dixon, of the Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General.

            According to the indictment, Price operated a dental practice, The Washington Smile Center, in the District of Columbia, where Moore was employed as a dental hygienist. The indictment alleges that, beginning on or about January 1, 2017, and continuing through on or about March 22, 2022, Price and Moore conspired to defraud D.C. Medicaid by filing or causing to be filed false claims for dental services that were not provided to D.C. Medicaid beneficiaries. As part of the scheme, according to the indictment, Price and Moore caused multiple claims for two CDT codes (clinical crown lengthening and space maintainers) to be submitted to D.C. Medicaid, totaling more than $4 million, In some instances, patients were alleged to have been provided more than 30 clinical crown lengthening procedures and more than 20 space maintainers during the relevant period.

            Conspiracy and wire fraud charges carry statutory maximum of 20 years in prison. The health care fraud charge carries a statutory maximum of 10 years in prison, and the charge of false statements relating to a health care matter carries a statutory maximum of five years. The charges also carry potential financial penalties. The maximum statutory sentence for federal offenses is prescribed by Congress and is provided here for informational purposes. The sentencing will be determined by the court based on the advisory Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

            This case is being investigated by the FBI’s Washington Field Office, the Office of the Inspector General for the District of Columbia – Medicaid Fraud Control Unit, and the Department of Health and Human Services Office of the Inspector General.

            The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Diane Lucas, with assistance from Assistant U.S. Attorney Anne McNamara.

            An indictment is merely an allegation, and all defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

Source: United States Department of Justice News

Good evening, and thank you for the kind introduction. It’s great to be here with you tonight. I really appreciate everyone at the AAMA for welcoming me here today.

I’m grateful for all of the tremendous work that you all are doing to make your communities – and this country – a better place.  As mayors, you are on the front lines, protecting our communities, and confronting the most difficult challenges facing our country.  So many of these challenges are tied to matters of civil rights and racial justice. Ensuring police accountability. Preventing and responding to hate crimes. Protecting the right to vote. Furthering environmental justice. Making sure that public services and our communities are accessible to everyone. I know that many of you are thinking hard every day about how to address difficult issues like these. We greatly appreciate the magnitude and breadth of the issues that you’re dealing with in your roles leading our nation’s cities.

Your legacies and the AAMA’s ongoing efforts today underscore why the fight against injustice remains critical and why our country’s public servants – and everyone in this room – must continue to fight every day to protect our most hallowed rights. We fight to uphold justice, even when it seems like the deck is stacked against us. It is during those times that we must continue that pursuit of justice until all Americans secure the rights we hold most sacred.

At the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division, we are responsible for ensuring our most vital rights – the rights that make America a true democracy – are protected. Now, I’m not going to pretend that this isn’t a challenging time to be tasked with protecting rights like the right to constitutional policing, the right to vote, the right to bodily autonomy, the right to be free from discrimination.

But we are not strangers to challenging times. We have been down this road before. Indeed, the Justice Department was borne out of one such period in our country’s history. As Attorney General Merrick Garland frequently reminds the public, one of the principal reasons the Justice Department was created after the Civil War was to coordinate efforts to prosecute white supremacists like the Ku Klux Klan that were terrorizing Black communities and using violence to block them from exercising their constitutional rights.

Remarks as Prepared for Delivery

The department remains committed to pursuing justice. And while there is much work that remains to be done, the Justice Department has made significant gains on some of the biggest civil rights issues during this Administration. This includes our efforts to enforce hate crimes laws, promote police accountability, and protect fair housing opportunities.

We’re tackling hate crimes head-on and using our federal civil rights laws, like the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd Hate Crimes Prevention Act to hold accountable the defendant who killed 10 Black people at the Tops grocery store in Buffalo, New York. Last summer, a federal grand jury indicted that defendant on 27 counts, including hate crimes charges. As Attorney General Garland made clear after this indictment, the Justice Department fully recognizes the threat that hatred and violent extremism pose to the safety of American people and to our cities.  We will continue to be relentless in our efforts to combat hate crimes, to support communities, and to hold perpetrators accountable.

We also secured convictions and sentences against all three men responsible for the racially-motivated killing of Ahmaud Arbery in Georgia. When we brought those defendants to trial, the evidence showed that the defendants held racist beliefs that led them to stereotype and dehumanize Mr. Arbery simply because he was Black.  Ultimately, two defendants received life sentences, and the third, who is 52 years old, was sentenced to 35 years.

We are also committed to the principle that no one is above the law, and we are holding law enforcement officers accountable when they violate civil and constitutional rights. We have secured federal convictions and sentences against Derek Chauvin, the former Minneapolis officer who killed George Floyd, and the three other officers who failed to intervene to stop the killing. Last July, all four officers were sentenced, with Chauvin receiving more than 20 years in prison.

Our work is in the criminal justice space is motivated by a core principle: Every American in our country deserves constitutional policing.

We all remember the tragic death of Breonna Taylor three years ago. Ms. Taylor should have awakened in her apartment, just like any other morning. Tragically, she did not. Prior to that fateful day, Louisville police officers drafted what they knew was a false affidavit to support a search warrant for Ms. Taylor’s home. When officers executed the warrant, they broke down the door to her apartment. Last summer, the Justice Department brought charges against the officers who falsified the warrant and against another officer who recklessly discharged his firearm during the execution of the warrant.

We have also opened a civil pattern or practice investigation into the Louisville Metro government and police department. Based on our exhaustive investigation, we found that the Louisville Police Department and Louisville Metro Government engaged in a “pattern or practice” of conduct that violates our Constitution and our federal laws. We found that the department unlawfully discriminates against Black people in its enforcement activities, uses excessive force, including unjustified neck restraints and the unreasonable use of police dogs and tasers, conducts searches based on invalid warrants and more. Fortunately, the city has committed to working with the Justice Department to embark on a path to reform to help ensure constitutional policing going forward.

This work is not limited to Louisville: we’re also investigating other law enforcement agencies right now in Minneapolis, Phoenix, New York City, Louisiana and more.

We are taking on banks that engage in modern-day redlining and holding them accountable when they fail to provide equal access to credit to Black people and other people of color. We have launched an anti-redlining initiative that has secured over $84 million to date to remedy the economic harms resulting from these practices. In January, the department secured its largest redlining settlement ever involving City National Bank, in the city of Los Angeles. The settlement will provide over $31 million to impacted individuals and communities. Last month, we secured another significant settlement in a redlining case against Park National Bank, which is headquartered near Columbus, Ohio. This practice of redlining – failing to provide mortgage lending and other services in communities of color – is unlawful and must be stopped.

These are just some of the issues we are tackling here in the Civil Rights Division. We’re also fighting on the environmental justice front, we’re forging ahead with our work in the disability space to protect our most vulnerable community members, we’re confronting voter suppression wherever it rears its head, and we’re taking on increasingly virulent attacks against LGBTQI+ community members and children.

Before I leave, I want you to know that I understand the challenges ahead. These are not easy times, but history reminds us of the need to keep marching forward. We in the Civil Rights Division will continue to deliver justice and equity. We will continue to use the law as a weapon against unlawful discrimination. We will continue to hold perpetrators of hate and police misconduct accountable. And I am privileged to call you partners in our work. Thank you.

Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division

The Department of Justice today announced criminal charges against 18 defendants in nine federal districts across the United States for their alleged participation in various fraud schemes involving health care services that exploited the COVID-19 pandemic and allegedly resulted in over $490 million in COVID-19 related false billings to federal programs and theft from federally funded pandemic programs.

In connection with the enforcement action, the department seized over $16 million in cash and other fraud proceeds. The Center for Program Integrity of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CPI/CMS) separately announced today that it took adverse administrative actions in the last year against 28 medical providers for their alleged involvement in COVID-19 schemes.

“The Justice Department will not tolerate those who exploited the pandemic for personal gain and stole taxpayer dollars,” said Attorney General Merrick B. Garland. “This unprecedented enforcement action against defendants across the country makes clear that the Department is using every available resource to combat and prevent COVID-19 related fraud and safeguard the integrity of taxpayer-funded programs.”

“Today’s announcement marks the largest-ever coordinated law enforcement action in the United States targeting health care fraud schemes that exploit the COVID-19 pandemic,” said Assistant Attorney General Kenneth A. Polite, Jr. of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division. “The Criminal Division’s Health Care Fraud Unit and our partners are committed to rooting out pandemic-related fraud and holding accountable anyone seeking to profit from a public health emergency.”

Today’s announcement builds on the successes of the April 2022 COVID-19 Enforcement Action and the May 2021 COVID-19 Enforcement Action and involves the prosecution of various COVID-19 health care fraud schemes.

In one of the most significant types of COVID-19 health care fraud schemes announced today, multiple defendants were charged with defrauding the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) COVID-19 Uninsured Program. The Uninsured Program was designed to prevent the further spread of the pandemic by providing access to uninsured patients for testing and treatment. The Uninsured Program was also designed to provide financial support to health care providers fighting the COVID-19 pandemic by reimbursing them for services provided to uninsured individuals. The Uninsured Program ultimately ceased operating due to the exhaustion of funding.

“Exploiting the COVID-19 pandemic and viewing the public health emergency as an opportunity to steal money and resources from federal health care programs shows a clear disregard for the well-being and safety of those who rely on government-funded health care services,” said Inspector General Christi A. Grimm of the Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General (HHS-OIG). “As today’s enforcement action demonstrates, HHS-OIG and our partners remain steadfast in our commitment to protecting critical public health measures from fraud.” 

In the Central District of California, a lab owner was charged for allegedly submitting over $358 million in false and fraudulent claims to Medicare, HRSA, and a private insurance company for laboratory testing. The indictment alleges that the defendant’s lab performed COVID-19 screening testing for nursing homes and other facilities with vulnerable elderly populations, as well as primary and secondary schools. But to increase its reimbursements, the defendant allegedly fraudulently added claims for respiratory pathogen panel tests even though ordering providers and facility administrators did not want or need them. Also in the Central District of California, a medical doctor was charged for allegedly orchestrating an approximately $230 million fraud on the Uninsured Program. The doctor was the second highest biller in the country to the Uninsured Program, and he allegedly submitted fraudulent claims for treatment of patients who were insured, billed for services that were not rendered, and billed for services that were not medically necessary. He allegedly used over $100 million in fraud proceeds for high-risk options trading. The doctor is also charged with two other individuals for allegedly submitting over 70 fraudulent loan applications through the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) and Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) Program and fraudulently obtaining over $3 million in loan funds.

“I am proud of the successful partnership of the CMS, the Department of Justice, and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General to combat fraud, waste, and abuse in federal programs,” said CMS Administrator Chiquita Brooks-LaSure. “It is particularly offensive to discover individuals who took advantage of the pandemic to defraud the government. CMS will continue to aggressively investigate COVID-19-related fraud and has already taken actions against 28 providers to protect the sustainability of the Medicare program.”

The announcement also includes first-of-their-kind charges against suppliers of COVID-19 over-the-counter tests, which Medicare began to cover in April 2022 for beneficiaries who requested them. These kits were provided to the public to slow the spread of the deadly disease, but wrongdoers allegedly sought to exploit the program by repeatedly supplying patients or, in some instances, deceased patients, with dozens of COVID-19 tests that they did not want or need. In the Middle District of Florida, a doctor and a marketer were charged for allegedly unlawfully purchasing Medicare beneficiary identification numbers and shipping over-the-counter tests to beneficiaries throughout the country who did not request the tests, causing over $8.4 million in fraudulent claims to Medicare.

Charges were also brought under the Health Care Fraud Unit’s Provider Relief Fund (PRF) Initiative. The PRF is part of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act, a federal law enacted in March 2020 that provided financial assistance to medical providers to deliver needed medical care to Americans suffering from COVID-19. In the Eastern District of Louisiana, the operator of a primary care clinic and purported spa was charged with allegedly submitting fraudulent loan agreements, attestations, and other documentation from which she received over $1.1 million in PRF and EIDL funds that were used to purchase real estate, luxury vehicles, a boat, a trailer, a time share, and luxury vacations, among other expenditures. In total, 12 defendants have been charged with crimes related to misappropriating funds intended for frontline medical providers, and seven have pleaded guilty.

The law enforcement action also includes charges against manufacturers and distributors of fake COVID-19 vaccination record cards, who intentionally sought to obstruct the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in their efforts to administer the nationwide vaccination program and provide Americans with accurate proof of vaccination. In the Eastern District of New York, three medical professionals who worked at a small midwife practice were charged for allegedly distributing nearly 2,700 forged COVID-19 vaccination record cards to individuals who were not vaccinated. Instead of administering the COVID-19 vaccine, the defendants allegedly destroyed vials of COVID-19 vaccines that were intended to be used to inoculate patients. Despite being a small midwife practice, it was one of the busiest vaccination sites in New York State, outpacing large, state-run vaccination sites. In the District of Utah, two individuals were charged for allegedly manufacturing and selling online approximately 120,000 counterfeit COVID-19 vaccination record cards across the country, especially in areas that were subject to more stringent COVID-19 vaccine restrictions.

Today’s enforcement action was led and coordinated by Assistant Chiefs Justin M. Woodard and Debra Jaroslawicz and Trial Attorney D. Keith Clouser of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section. The Health Care Fraud Unit’s Strike Forces in Brooklyn, the Gulf Coast, Los Angeles, and Tampa; the National Rapid Response Strike Force; and the U.S. Attorneys’ Offices for the Central District of California, Middle District of Florida, Eastern District of Louisiana, Middle District of Louisiana, Western District of Louisiana, Eastern District of New York, District of Puerto Rico, District of Utah, and Western District of Washington are prosecuting these cases, with assistance from the Health Care Fraud Unit’s Data Analytics Team. Descriptions of each case involved in today’s enforcement action are available on the department’s website at www.justice.gov/criminal-fraud/health-care-fraud-unit/2023-case-summaries.

In addition to the FBI and HHS-OIG, the Small Business Administration Office of Inspector General, Defense Criminal Investigative Service, Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation, Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration, Homeland Security Investigations, Department of Homeland Security Office of Inspector General; Department of Defense Office of Inspector General, AMTRAK Office of Inspector General, California Department of Health Care Services, and other federal and state law enforcement agencies participated in the law enforcement action.

The Health Care Fraud Strike Force is part of a joint initiative between the Department of Justice and HHS to prevent and deter health care fraud and enforce current anti-fraud laws around the country. In the past three years, the Health Care Fraud Strike Force has rooted out health care fraud related to the COVID-19 pandemic. To date, 53 defendants have been charged in nationwide COVID-19 Health Care Fraud Enforcement Actions for causing over $784 million in loss associated with the pandemic, and 20 defendants have been convicted.

On May 17, 2021, the Attorney General established the COVID-19 Fraud Enforcement Task Force to marshal the resources of the Department of Justice in partnership with agencies across government to enhance efforts to combat and prevent pandemic-related fraud. The Task Force bolsters efforts to investigate and prosecute the most culpable domestic and international criminal actors and assists agencies tasked with administering relief programs to prevent fraud by, among other methods, augmenting and incorporating existing coordination mechanisms, identifying resources and techniques to uncover fraudulent actors and their schemes, and sharing and harnessing information and insights gained from prior enforcement efforts. For more information on the department’s response to the pandemic, please visit www.justice.gov/coronavirus.

The Department of Justice needs the public’s assistance in remaining vigilant and reporting suspected fraudulent activity. To report suspected fraud, contact the National Center for Disaster Fraud (NCDF) at (866) 720-5721 or file an online complaint at www.justice.gov/disaster-fraud/webform/ncdf-disaster-complaint-form. Complaints filed will be reviewed at the NCDF and referred to federal, state, local, or international law enforcement or regulatory agencies for investigation.

An indictment, complaint, or information is merely an allegation. All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

Source: United States Department of Justice News

OKLAHOMA CITY – Today, CHARLES DEAN LACK, 56, of Wayne, Oklahoma, entered a plea of guilty on a federal charge of threatening to murder federal law enforcement officers, announced United States Attorney Robert J. Troester. 

According to an affidavit filed in support of the criminal complaint, on or about August 5, 2022, the Federal Bureau of Investigation learned that Lack had communicated an intention to travel to Will Rogers World Airport (WRWA) and kill federal officers when he arrived.  The affidavit further alleges Lack had previously visited WRWA on three separate occasions to determine the location of certain federal law enforcement officials within the WRWA.

On August 17, 2022, a federal grand jury returned a two-count indictment against Lack.  Count 1 charged him with threatening to murder federal law enforcement officers, and Count 2 charged him with interstate transmission of a threatening communication.

Today, Lack entered a plea of guilty to Count 1 of the indictment before U.S. District Judge Timothy D. DeGiusti.  A sentencing hearing will be scheduled in approximately 90 days.  At sentencing, Lack faces a maximum penalty of 10 years of imprisonment, three years of supervised release, and a $250,000 fine.  Lack has been in federal custody since August 8, 2022.

This case is the result of investigations by the FBI Oklahoma City Field Office and Oklahoma City Police Department.  Assistant U.S. Attorneys Matt Dillon and Mark Stoneman are prosecuting the case.

Reference is made to public filings for more information.

Source: United States Department of Justice

The Justice Department today issued a Dear Colleague Letter for state and local courts and juvenile justice agencies regarding the imposition and enforcement of fines and fees for adults and youth. The letter addresses common court-imposed fines and fees practices, and cautions against those practices that may be unlawful, unfairly penalize individuals who are unable to pay or otherwise have a discriminatory effect. The department provides this letter as part of its ongoing commitment to fairness, economic justice and combating the policies that disproportionately contribute to justice system involvement for low-income communities.

The letter highlights a number of key issues regarding fines and fees, such as the importance of conducting a meaningful ability-to-pay assessment before imposing adverse consequences for failure to pay, considering alternatives to fines and fees, guarding against excessive penalties and ensuring due process protections, including the assistance of counsel when appropriate.

The letter reminds court systems and other federal financial assistance recipients of their ongoing obligations not to discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, religion, sex and disability; to provide meaningful access to individuals with limited English proficiency; and to ensure that appropriate recordkeeping can help identify and avoid potential violations of federal nondiscrimination laws. The department will also follow up on this letter by building a best practices guide, highlighting innovative work by states and court leaders in this area.

 “Justice in the United States should not depend on one’s income or background,” said Associate Attorney General Vanita Gupta. “The Justice Department’s updated guidance addresses practices that disproportionately affect low-income communities and people of color, can trap individuals and their families in patterns of poverty and punishment and may violate the civil rights of adults and youth alike. Many jurisdictions have innovated to reduce reliance on fines and fees, and the Justice Department is building on that momentum to advance equal justice and public safety for all.”

“The unfettered imposition of fines and fees across country has entrapped poor people, too many of whom are people of color, in a cycle of escalating debt, unnecessary incarceration and debilitating entanglement in our justice system,” said Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division. “By confronting the harms that can result from aggressive imposition of fines and fees, we can bring an end to debtors’ prisons and promote equal justice under law for all. The Justice Department stands ready to help courts and juvenile justice agencies put in place reforms and practices that address public safety needs while protecting civil and constitutional rights.”

“Obligations to satisfy fines and fees have a devastating effect on adults and youth who are experiencing poverty and other economic adversities, trapping many in an unending cycle of poverty and debt,” said Director Rachel Rossi of the Office for Access to Justice. “These obligations can also interfere with full and fair access to our justice system. For these reasons, we must remain vigilant to prevent harmful practices that do not serve the interests of justice. This letter is an important step in that ongoing process.”

“Fees and fines practices in the criminal and juvenile justice systems impose the heaviest burden on those who are least able to pay, drawing them deeper into the justice system,” said Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Amy L. Solomon of the Office of Justice Programs. “We will be working with jurisdictions across the country to end or limit these unfair practices, so that adults and youth in the justice system have the opportunity they need to move forward in their lives.”

In the coming weeks, the Bureau of Justice Assistance will also release a solicitation seeking a training and technical assistance provider to work with a select number of jurisdictions interested in understanding and reforming their fines and fees policies and practices. The ultimate goal is to help these jurisdictions reduce the use of unjust fines and fees and redirect the resources used in these systems into activities with a greater return on public safety.

The letter is grounded in constitutional principles, including the Sixth, Eighth and Fourteenth Amendments, as well as federal nondiscrimination statutes, including Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (Title VI) and the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 (Safe Streets Act). A copy of today’s letter can be found here. Additional information about the Civil Rights Division’s work to uphold and protect civil and constitutional rights is available online at www.justice.gov/crt. Complaints about discriminatory practices may be reported to the Civil Rights Division through its internet reporting portal at civilrights.justice.gov.