Category Archives: Fraud

2 cancer charities that swindled $75.8M from donors settle fraud case

Two nationwide organizations purporting to be cancer charities have entered an agreement with the Federal Trade Commission, all 50 states and the District of Columbia, concluding the largest joint enforcement action ever undertaken by the FTC and state charity regulators.

In its complaint filed in May 2015, the FTC alleged four nonprofits bilked more than $187 million from donors between 2008 and 2012. Cancer Fund of America Inc., and Cancer Support Services Inc., which were operated by James Reynolds, Sr., were responsible for more than $75 million of that amount. The charities claimed to raise money for people with cancer but actually spent donated funds on lavish vacations and expensive cars, among other things, according to the FTC.

Source

CEO email fraud costing billions to businesses

If your CEO sends you an email request to transfer a few million dollars from the company coffers into an offshore account, then your business might be the target of a sophisticated email scam.

This form of “business email crime”, where hackers impersonate the email account of a company’s head honcho and send requests for staff to transfer company funds offshore has cost companies over US$2 billion in the past two years, according to the US Federal Bureau of Investigation.

Source

Hoosier veteran claimed Wounded Warrior Project was “A fraud” in 2013

Indianapolis, Ind., (March 11, 2016) –  A Hoosier Army veteran injured in combat is reacting to the national scandal surrounding the Wounded Warrior Project.

The board of directors for the veterans charity fired it’s top executives Thursday accused of spending millions on travel, meetings and administration.

Dean Graham claimed WWP was “a fraud” on his Help Indiana Veterans charity website in 2013.

Graham was hit with a lawsuit from WWP, was forced to settle and shut down his website.

Source

Va. man pleads guilty in massive tax fraud case

WASHINGTON (AP) – A Fredericksburg, Virginia, man had pleaded guilty to taking part in a massive tax refund fraud scheme.

The U.S. Department of Justice’s Office of Public Affairs said in a news release that 35-year-old Bradley King pleaded guilty on Monday to conspiracy to defraud the United States, theft of public money and aiding and abetting in fraud.

Source

Houstonians plead guilty in $13 million health care fraud case

Mkrtich “Mike” Yepremian, 58, of Houston, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit health care fraud and paying kickbacks to marketers of Medicare and Medicaid patients. Also pleading guilty today was Bompa Mbokoso Mompiere, 56, of Houston, who also pleaded to the conspiracy.

Over the last few weeks, three others have also been convicted – Mike Wilson, 47, Jermaine Doleman, 38, and Eric Johnson, 62, all of Houston. They pleaded guilty to the conspiracy and to committing health care fraud.

According to the factual basis in support of the plea, Yepremian ran several false clinics in Houston and Conroe. Yepremian paid marketers, including Wilson, Doleman and Johnson, to bring patients to the clinics for a battery of diagnostic tests and blood work, regardless of medical need. Yepremian paid the marketers approximately $100 for each patient brought to his clinics. In turn, the marketers paid the patients approximately $50 each.

Source

Jury convicts former Alaska prosecutor in state’s largest-ever money laundering case

ANCHORAGE –

A federal jury has found former municipal prosecutor and Anchorage businessman Mark Avery guilty of three counts of wire fraud totaling $31 million, six counts of money laundering, one count of bank fraud, and one count of making false statements to a back. All counts are felonies. The verdicts are the largest money laundering convictions ever prosecuted in Alaska, according to federal prosecutors.

Source

North Texas men charged in fraud that cost military health system $65M

Two North Texas men were indicted on multiple felonies for their roles in a complex health care fraud conspiracy that caused more than $65 million in losses to TRICARE, the U.S. Dept. of Defense Military Health System, U.S. Attorney John Parker announced in a news release Wednesday.

Richard Robert Cesario, 44, of Plano and John Paul Cooper, 47, of Southlake are each charged with one count of conspiracy to commit health care fraud, four counts of receipt of illegal remuneration, and six counts of payment of illegal remuneration. They each face up to 60 years in federal prison and $2.5 million in fines for the 11 felony charges they each face.

Source

N.J. couple avoid prison in $7M Medicaid fraud

An Elizabeth couple, described by authorities as low-level but essential players in a fraud scheme, avoided prison time for their roles in a plan to bill Medicaid millions for home health care services that were never done or performed by unlicensed aides.

Nelson and Sonia Mesa were sentenced to three years probation, with Sonia Mesa receiving four months of home detention Thursday by U.S. District Judge Katherine Hayden. Federal prosecutors had sought prison sentences for both, or at least a minimum of six months of home confinement.

Source