Archive for the ‘General’ Category
Detroit Area Physical Therapist Pleads Guilty to Causing More Than $1.6 Million in Fraudulent Medicare Billing no comments
Detroit area physical therapist Jay Jha, 45, pleaded guilty today to participating in a conspiracy to defraud the Medicare program of approximately $18.3 million. Jha, of Troy, Mich., pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit health care fraud before U.S. District Judge Gerald Rosen. At sentencing, scheduled for Dec. 16, 2009, Jha faces a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine.
According to information contained in plea documents, Jha, a physical therapist licensed in the state of Michigan, began working in approximately February 2003 as a contract therapist for a co-conspirator. The co-conspirator owned and controlled several companies operating in the Detroit area that purported to provide physical and occupational therapy services to Medicare beneficiaries. Jha admitted that he, the co-conspirator, and others created fictitious therapy files appearing to document physical and occupational therapy services provided to Medicare beneficiaries, when in fact no such services had been provided. According to court documents, the fictitious services reflected in the files were billed to Medicare through sham Medicare providers controlled by co-conspirators.
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Tennessee Demolition and Salvage Companies Indicted for Clean Air Act Violations and Defrauding the United States no comments
Two demolition and salvage companies and three of their respective owners and supervisors were indicted today by a federal grand jury in Chattanooga, Tenn., the Justice Department announced.
The indictment describes a year-long scheme in which the former Standard Coosa Thatcher plant in Chattanooga was illegally demolished while still containing large amounts of asbestos. The indictment goes on to allege that any asbestos that was removed from the plant prior to demolition was removed illegally, scattered in open debris piles, and left exposed to the elements in the vicinity. The indictment also alleges the efforts owners and supervisors made to cover up their illegal activities by falsifying documents and lying to federal authorities.
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United States Transfers Guantanamo Bay Detainee to Afghanistan no comments
The Department of Justice today announced that Mohammed Jawad, a native of Afghanistan, has been transferred from the detention facility at Guantanamo Bay to Afghanistan.
On July 30, 2009, consistent with the U.S. government’s notice that it would no longer treat Jawad as detainable under the Authorization for Use of Military Force, a federal court ordered the U.S. government to release him from detention at Guantanamo Bay. On Aug. 6, 2009, in accordance with Congressionally-mandated reporting requirements, the administration informed Congress of its intent to transfer Jawad.
Former Government Official Indicted on Public Corruption Charges Related to Ongoing Abramoff Investigation no comments
A former Congressional staffer and chief of staff in two federal agencies was indicted today by a federal grand jury in the District of Columbia on public corruption charges, the Justice Department announced.
The five-count indictment charges Horace M. Cooper, 44, of Lorton, Va., with one count of conspiracy, one count of fraudulent concealment, two counts of false statements, and one count of obstruction of an official proceeding. U.S. Magistrate Judge Alan Kay today issued a criminal summons directing Cooper to make an initial appearance in U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia on Wednesday, Sept. 9, 2009, at 1:45 p.m.
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Former Military Contractor Sentenced for Participating in Scheme to Steal Large Quantities of Fuel from U.S. Army in Afghanistan no comments
Raschad L. “Sean” Lewis, a former fuel section employee of Kellogg Brown and Root Inc. (KBR) assigned to Bagram Airfield in Afghanistan, was sentenced today to 84 months in prison for his role in a bribery and a fuel diversion scheme, announced Assistant Attorney General Lanny A. Breuer of the Criminal Division and U.S. Attorney Dana J. Boente for the Eastern District of Virginia. U.S. District Court Judge Leonie M. Brinkema also ordered Lewis to pay $891,000 in restitution and serve three years of supervised release.
Lewis was convicted by a federal jury on June 17, 2009, of conspiracy, false writing, bribery of a public official and false claims. According to court documents, KBR had a contract to provide support services to the U.S. Army at Bagram Airfield, including unloading truckloads of jet fuel delivered by drivers hired by Red Star Enterprises Limited (Red Star). Evidence at trial proved that between May and September 2006, Lewis and other KBR employees conspired to accept payments from drivers, who in fact were selling their fuel to parties outside the airfield, in return for providing the drivers with documents to deliver to Red Star falsely showing that the truckloads of fuel had been delivered to the airfield. According to evidence presented in court, more than 48 truckloads of fuel were diverted for sale outside the airfield between May and September 2006, valued at more than $800,000.
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