Middle District of Florida

Tampa, FL - Two years ago, the Department of Justice announced the revitalization and enhancement of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), the centerpiece of the department’s violent crime reduction strategy. PSN is an evidence-based program proven to be effective at reducing violent crime. Through PSN, a broad spectrum of stakeholders work together to identify the most pressing violent crime problems in the community and develop comprehensive solutions to address them. As part of this strategy, PSN focuses enforcement efforts on the most violent offenders and partners with locally based prevention and reentry programs for lasting reductions in crime.

Throughout the past two years, we have partnered with all levels of law enforcement, local organizations, and members of the community to reduce violent crime and make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. According to FBI’s Uniform Crime Report released this week, the violent crime rate decreased for the second consecutive year, down 3.9 percent from the 2017 numbers.

“The revitalized Project Safe Neighborhoods program is a major success,” said Attorney General William P. Barr. “It packs a powerful punch by combining advanced data with local leadership, further reducing violence in communities across the country and improving overall public safety. U.S. Attorneys continue to focus their enforcement efforts against the most violent criminals and work in partnership with federal, state, local, and tribal police. The Justice Department’s relationships across the board have never been stronger.”

“We are proud of the dedication and hard work by our law enforcement and community partners as we strive to reduce crime throughout our district,” said U.S. Attorney Maria Chapa Lopez. “Project Safe Neighborhoods only works when we enlist the support, expertise, and perspectives of our law enforcement partners and the community. Together, we will continue to make our communities safer places to live, work, and play.” 

As we celebrate the two-year anniversary of the revitalized PSN program, here are some of the highlights of our PSN actions over the past year:

Enforcement Actions

The U.S. Attorney’s Office continues to work with federal, state, and local partners to implement PSN throughout the Middle District of Florida. These coordinated efforts ensure that federal efforts are focused against the most violent offenders.

• Beginning in December 2018, a long-term investigation of a violent drug trafficking organization known as the “Bird Gang,” operating primarily in Tampa, has culminated in the indictment of 26 individuals charged with various federal firearms and drug offenses. Since the arrests, no reported shootings have occurred in the neighborhood where the gang had operated.

• In May 2019, Jacksonville’s new Crime Gun Intelligence Center (CGIC) officially opened. CGIC is a collaborative effort among the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office, the State Attorney’s Office for the Fourth Judicial Circuit, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, and the U.S. Attorney’s Office. Several individuals have already been arrested and indicted as a result of leads generated from CGIC.

• As part of the U.S. Marshals Service’s Operation Triple Beam, Ft. Myers PSN efforts resulted in more than 120 arrests involving firearms, drugs, and violent crime.

Community Partnerships

Community engagement is a critical component in the successful implementation of PSN. The USAO-MDFL frequently engages diverse stakeholders in providing training, prevention, intervention, and reentry strategies and programs. Some recent activities include:

• National Night Out and Coffee with a Cop
• Great American Teach-In
• Preventing Targeted School Violence
• Federal Reentry Courts and Local Networks (Tampa; Orlando; Jacksonville)
• Engagement with more than 10,600 citizens

Improvements to Community Safety

• For the second consecutive year, the estimated number of violent crimes in the nation decreased when compared with the previous year’s statistics, according to FBI figures released today. In 2018, the number of violent crimes was down 3.3 percent from the 2017 number.
• The 2018 statistics also show the estimated rate of violent crime was 368.9 offenses per 100,000 inhabitants. The violent crime rate fell 3.9 percent when compared with the 2017 rate.
• According to the recently released FBI Uniform Crime Report, the violent crime rate decreased for several cities in the Middle District of Florida. The 2018 statistics show the greater Tampa Bay region’s estimated rate of violent crime was 306 offenses per 100,000 inhabitants. This represents an 8 percent reduction in the violent crime rate when compared with the 2017 rate. Ft Myers saw a reduction of 9 percent and Jacksonville had a reduction of almost 6 percent. 

These enforcement actions and partnerships are part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. The Department of Justice reinvigorated PSN in 2017 as part of the Department’s renewed focus on targeting violent criminals, directing all U.S. Attorney’s Offices to work in partnership with federal, state, local, and tribal law enforcement and the local community to develop effective, locally based strategies to reduce violent crime. To learn more about Project Safe Neighborhoods, go to www.justice.gov/psn.

 

Tampa, Florida – Nicholas Skaroulis (58, Tarpon Springs) has pleaded guilty to one count of violating the Endangered Species Act by causing the unlawful export of wildlife. Skaroulis faces a maximum penalty of one year in federal prison. A sentencing date has not yet been set.

According to the plea agreement, Skaroulis owned and operated Sponges Direct, Inc., a business located in Tarpon Springs, Florida. Among other things, the company sold non-living natural sponges to customers, both domestic and foreign. During 2014 through 2018, the company sold and exported non-living sponges to customers outside of the United States. The company failed to disclose the contents of these shipments on U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Declaration Forms as required by federal regulation. By doing so, the company evaded the payment of inspection and user fees on each shipment.

The United States Fish and Wildlife Service investigated this case. It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Jay L. Hoffer.

The owner of a Tampa, Florida-area medical marketing company was sentenced to 70 months in prison today for his role in a $2.2 million Medicare fraud scheme involving the payment of kickbacks and bribes to fraudulent medical clinics in Miami in exchange for the referral of Medicare beneficiaries for expensive genetic tests that were medically unnecessary, and for his role in the illegal structuring of cash withdrawal transactions.

Assistant Attorney General Brian A. Benczkowski of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, U.S. Attorney Maria Chapa Lopez of the Middle District of Florida, Special Agent in Charge Michael McPherson of the FBI’s Tampa Field Office and Assistant Inspector General Omar Perez of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of the Inspector General’s (HHS-OIG) Miami Regional Office made the announcement.

U.S. District Judge Susan C. Bucklew of the Middle District of Florida, sentenced David Brock Lovelace, 49, of Land o’ Lakes, Florida, the owner of DBL Management LLC in Land o’ Lakes.  After a one-week jury trial in July 2019, Lovelace was found guilty of one count of conspiracy to defraud the United States and pay and receive illegal health care kickbacks and one count of structuring cash withdrawals to avoid reporting requirements.

According to the evidence presented at trial, Lovelace was paid by a genetic testing laboratory for each DNA swab that Lovelace arranged to be referred to the laboratory.  In order to obtain DNA swabs, Lovelace paid illegal cash kickbacks and bribes to medical clinics in Miami in exchange for the referral of DNA swabs that were obtained from Medicare beneficiaries.  Lovelace directed the owners of the medical clinics to collect the DNA of all the patients who visited the clinics, regardless of whether the patients actually had any medical need for DNA testing.  In turn, the clinics provided food and other inducements to beneficiaries to get them to visit the clinics where their DNA was collected. 

The evidence at trial showed that the test results were never provided to the beneficiaries; rather, co-conspirators at the clinics paid doctors and obtained prescriptions for the DNA testing, frequently without any patient interaction.

From November 2013 to May 2014, the evidence at trial showed that Lovelace paid these kickbacks in the form of cash bribes to Miami clinic owners.  From May 2014 to November 2014, after his arrest on other health care fraud charges, the evidence showed that Lovelace established shell companies, including Healthcare Marketing Florida of Melbourne, Florida, and recruited others to help him continue the scheme while he was out on pretrial release awaiting trial in his first criminal case. 

Lovelace was previously found guilty by a jury in December 2015 of various health care fraud, money laundering and identity theft charges in a case handled by the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section.  He is currently serving 14 years in prison on those charges.  The sentence imposed today was ordered to be served consecutively with the 14-year sentence previously imposed.   

The FBI and HHS investigated the case, which was brought as part of the Medicare Fraud Strike Force, under the supervision of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Florida.  Trial Attorney John Michelich and Assistant Deputy Chief Jacob Foster of the Fraud Section prosecuted the case.

The Fraud Section leads the Medicare Fraud Strike Force.  Since its inception in March 2007, the Medicare Fraud Strike Force, which maintains 15 strike forces operating in 24 districts, has charged nearly 4,000 defendants who have collectively billed the Medicare program for more than $16 billion.  In addition, the HHS Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, working in conjunction with the HHS-OIG, are taking steps to increase accountability and decrease the presence of fraudulent providers.

Orlando, Florida – U.S. District Judge Carlos E. Mendoza today sentenced Ishod Hazell (26, Orlando) to three years in federal prison for committing aggravated identity theft and using unauthorized access devices at Universal Orlando theme parks. The court also ordered Hazell to pay restitution in the amount of $153,598.99, representing the total losses to Universal.

Hazell had pleaded guilty on July 16, 2019.

According to court documents, between June 16, 2018, and February 27, 2019, Hazell used 91 different stolen credit card numbers to purchase theme park tickets and hotel packages from Universal valued at approximately $291,170.  Hazell routinely called the Universal call center to make the fraudulent purchases, each time using a different stolen credit card number and identifying himself as the credit card holder. After making the fraudulent purchases, Hazell and his associates used the theme parks’ self-serve kiosks to pick up the tickets. The tickets were then sold to unsuspecting vacationers using an online website.

This case was investigated by the U.S. Secret Service. It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Chauncey A. Bratt.

Jacksonville, Florida – Joanna Arlean Tukes has pleaded guilty to aiding and assisting others with the filing of fraudulent tax returns. She faces a maximum penalty of three years in federal prison. Tukes has also agreed to pay $366,000 in restitution to the IRS for the tax loss caused by the offenses. A sentencing date has not yet been set.

According to the plea agreement, since 2012, Tukes owned and operated a tax return preparation business in Jacksonville. In preparing income tax returns for others, Tukes reported false information, including false claims for deductible expenses and losses, to reduce the amount owed by, or to increase the amount refunded to, the taxpayers. She then electronically filed the tax returns with the IRS causing the IRS either to issue refunds when taxes would have been owed in the absence of the fraud, or to issue larger refunds than would have been due in the absence of the fraud.

For example, Tukes prepared and filed a 2015 tax return in which she represented that the taxpayer had a business with no income and $99,651 in expenses. She also represented that the taxpayer had incurred medical and dental expenses of $29,600 and unreimbursed employee expenses of $15,600. Tukes subtracted the business “loss” of $99,651 from the taxpayer’s gross income and deducted a portion of the claimed expenses from the taxpayer’s adjusted gross income. When Tukes made these representations, she knew that the taxpayer was a wage-earning employee of a corporation and did not operate a business in 2015, and that the taxpayer had not incurred the claimed expenses. After Tukes filed the tax return, the IRS issued a refund to the taxpayer in the amount of $28,836. In the absence of the false statements, the taxpayer would have owed additional tax in the amount of $12,459. In this instance, the tax loss to the IRS was $41,295.

This case was investigated by the Internal Revenue Service – Criminal Investigation. It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Arnold B. Corsmeier.

Jacksonville, Florida – U.S. District Judge Brian J. Davis has sentenced Kirkland George Lawrence (34, Jacksonville), a/k/a “Killa,” to eight years and nine months in federal prison for attempted distribution of heroin, possessing a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime, possessing a firearm as a convicted felon, and distribution of cocaine. The court also ordered Lawrence to forfeit the Smith & Wesson pistol that he had used in one of the offenses. 

Lawrence had pleaded guilty on June 28, 2019.

According to court documents, in April 2018, Lawrence agreed to sell drugs to a confidential informant (CI) working at the direction of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. The CI traveled to Lawrence’s apartment in the Arlington area of Jacksonville, where Lawrence sold a powder to the CI that Lawrence had represented to be heroin. It was later determined that the substance did not contain heroin. At the time of the sale, Lawrence was seated at a kitchen table, within reach of a pistol, and holding an infant.

The following day, the CI returned to Lawrence’s apartment after Lawrence agreed to sell a firearm. Inside the apartment, Lawrence brandished a pistol while additional firearms were visible on a sofa and on the floor. Lawrence also retrieved an Uzi pistol from a kitchen cabinet and displayed it to the CI. Lawrence then retrieved a Smith and Wesson pistol from outside of the apartment and sold it to the CI. Approximately two weeks later, following the execution of a search warrant at his apartment, Lawrence was arrested by officers from the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office. At the time, Lawrence was in possession of another Smith & Wesson pistol.

In October 2018, while on bond for his previous arrest, Lawrence sold cocaine to the CI on three occasions. Lawrence was arrested again and admitted to the officers that he believed that the purported heroin that he had sold in April 2018 was genuine. During these incidents, Lawrence had a prior felony conviction for attempted armed robbery and is therefore prohibited from possessing any firearms or ammunition under federal law.

This case was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office. It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Laura Cofer Taylor.

This is another case prosecuted as part of the Department of Justice’s “Project Safe Neighborhoods” Program (PSN), which is a nationwide, crime reduction strategy aimed at decreasing violent crime in communities. It involves a comprehensive approach to public safety — one that includes investigating and prosecuting crimes, along with prevention and reentry efforts. In the Middle District of Florida, U.S. Attorney Maria Chapa Lopez coordinates PSN efforts in cooperation with various federal, state, and local law enforcement officials.

Jacksonville, Florida – Richard Ronnie Jenkins (39, Jacksonville) today pleaded guilty to transporting a person in interstate commerce for the purpose of prostitution. He faces a maximum penalty of 10 years in federal prison. A sentencing date has not yet been set.

According to the plea agreement, Jenkins met the victim (N.J.) on July 14, 2019, after N.J. had posted an online advertisement for prostitution in Fayetteville, North Carolina. Jenkins agreed to pay N.J. $160 for sex, then fraudulently told N.J. that she could make a lot more money by engaging in prostitution in Jacksonville, Florida. N.J. agreed to go to Jacksonville with Jenkins, not knowing that Jenkins intended to keep all of the money that N.J. would make. Jenkins then had sex with N.J. in his car and refused to pay her.

As Jenkins drove through the night from North Carolina to Jacksonville, he instructed N.J. to begin posting advertisements for prostitution in the Jacksonville area using a phone number with an app-generated 904 area code. When they arrived in Jacksonville on July 15, 2019, Jenkins obtained a hotel room and arranged three prostitution “dates” for N.J. The following day, Jenkins arranged a fourth “date” for N.J. Jenkins supervised each of these “dates” from the hotel parking lot. He came to the room after each “date” to collect all of the money, which he refused to share with N.J. N.J. engaged in the “dates” because she was afraid of Jenkins and because she had no funds or other resources that she could use to leave.

On July 16, 2019, Jenkins took N.J. to a hair braiding shop in Jacksonville and instructed the employees to place long braids in N.J.’s hair. Jenkins then left the shop. Believing that the shop employees were associates of Jenkins, N.J. took her phone into the bathroom, contacted a family member, and reported that she was in Jacksonville with a pimp. N.J.’s mother contacted the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office (JSO) and reported that N.J. had been kidnapped. During the phone call, N.J. can be heard crying and stating that Jenkins was trying to call her and, that if she did not answer, she believed that Jenkins would find her and kill her. A JSO patrol officer responded to the shop and recovered N.J. Shortly thereafter, Jenkins was arrested nearby.

This case was investigated by the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Laura Cofer Taylor and Special Assistant United States Attorney Erin Wolfson.

Tampa, Florida – U.S. District Judge Elizabeth A. Kovachevich today sentenced Justin Scott Hunt (31, Tampa) to 12 years and 8 months in federal prison for attempting to entice a minor to engage in sexual activity and attempting to transfer obscene material to a minor. 

A jury found Hunt guilty on March 21, 2019.

According to court documents, Hunt engaged in six months of online conversation with someone he believed to be a small child and the child’s mother.  In reality, he was talking to an undercover agent. On numerous occasions, Hunt requested to meet the child and described, in graphic detail, the sex acts that he planned to engage in with the child.

“This predator intended to rape a young child,” said HSI Tampa Assistant Special Agent in Charge Micah McCombs. “Instead, he was stopped in his tracks by HSI special agents and will now be held accountable for his crimes.”

This case was investigated by Homeland Security Investigations. It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Gregory T. Nolan and Candace Garcia Rich.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by United States Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS), Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.justice.gov/psc.

Jacksonville, Florida – A federal jury today found Katrina Brown (39, Jacksonville) and Reginald Brown (57, Jacksonville) guilty of conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud, aiding and abetting mail and wire fraud, and aiding and abetting money laundering. The jury also found Katrina Brown guilty of attempted bank fraud and making false statements to a federally insured financial institution, and Reginald Brown guilty of failure to file an income tax return with the Internal Revenue Service for tax year 2014. Each bank fraud or false statement offense carries a maximum penalty of 30 years in federal prison. Each conspiracy and aiding and abetting mail and wire fraud charge carries a maximum penalty of 20 years’ imprisonment. The money laundering offense carries a maximum sentence of 10 years in federal prison, and the income tax charge carries a penalty of up to a year in prison.

Sentencings are scheduled for January 27, 2020. At sentencing, the United States intends to seek forfeiture from the defendants of at least $754,613.10, which is alleged to be traceable to the offenses.

According to the evidence presented at trial, in late 2013, Katrina Brown was the principal for two businesses (Basic Products, LLC and CoWealth, LLC), which in 2011 obtained a loan in the amount of $2,652,000 from the Small Business Administration (SBA), and a loan of $380,000, and a grant of approximately $260,000 from the City of Jacksonville (COJ), to fund a small business that specialized in the manufacturing, bottling, and selling of barbecue sauce. As a member of the Jacksonville City Council, Reginald Brown was knowledgeable of City Ordinance 2011-290-E, which authorized the COJ loan and grant – proceeds of which he and Katrina Brown would later obtain by fraud.

Katrina Brown’s family had been in the barbecue business in Jacksonville for many years. The $3.2 million in financing was intended to fund an expansion of Basic Products and help create permanent manufacturing jobs in Northwest Jacksonville. Each time Katrina Brown sought money for Basic Products from BizCapital, the SBA-approved lender, she submitted a Loan Reimbursement Form that included the purported business expenses for which Basic Products sought reimbursement.

In late 2013, when the barbecue business was not meeting financial projections, Katrina Brown assisted Jacksonville City Councilman Reginald Brown in incorporating two businesses (A Plus Training and Consultants, LLC and RB Packaging, LLC) with the Florida Division of Corporations. A Plus Training and RB Packaging, however, never performed any legitimate business. Instead of properly notifying BizCapital that Basic Products was in financial distress, Katrina Brown worked with Reginald Brown to submit fake invoices from A Plus Training and RB Packaging to the SBA lender, BizCapital, claiming that the businesses performed work for Basic Products, when they businesses did not.

BizCapital sent checks, at times larger than $60,000, to RB Packaging and A Plus Training, which, on paper, were headquartered at Reginald Brown’s home and his mother’s home, respectively. Reginald Brown deposited those checks into the bank accounts for A Plus Training and RB Packaging, then withdrew a significant portion of the money and provided it to Katrina Brown, who either kept the cash or laundered the money by depositing it back into the Basic Products bank account so that she could control the funds. During this time, from late 2013 to early 2015, Reginald Brown, A Plus Training, and RB Packaging served as a conduit to receive $264,419.04 in proceeds from the SBA loan and the COJ grant, then funneled at least $166,500 back to Basic Products. Reginald Brown kept money not provided to Katrina Brown, despite performing no legitimate work or services for Basic Products, and used the majority of the money for personal expenses. Reginald Brown never filed a tax return for tax year 2014, the period of these primary occurrences, and failed to disclose to the IRS that he had received tens of thousands of dollars from the SBA.

In December 2014, BizCapital sent all loan draw information to the City of Jacksonville, which included the numerous fraudulent A Plus Training and RB Packaging invoices. The loan draw information, including the fraudulently induced payments to A Plus Training and RB Packaging, was relied upon by the COJ before it wired $210,549.99 in taxpayer-funded grant money to BizCapital for the intended use of Basic Products. Before the money was sent to BizCapital, neither Katrina Brown nor Reginald Brown informed BizCapital or the city that Basic Products had fraudulently obtained loan payments to Reginald Brown’s shell companies (A Plus Training and RB Packaging).

After BizCapital informed Katrina Brown that the SBA loan was in default status in January 2015, she then attempted to obtain two bank loans in 2015 and 2016 by submitting doctored and false bank statements to loan brokers, seeking loans from WebBank to infuse cash into her and her family’s businesses. Instead of providing the actual bank statements of the businesses, Katrina Brown falsified the businesses’ bank statements in an attempt to make it appear to the lender that the businesses were credit worthy, when in fact they were not.

This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigation. It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Tysen Duva and Michael J. Coolican.

Orlando, FL – United States Attorney Maria Chapa Lopez announces that a federal jury today found Fredy David Ramos (44, Orlando) guilty of illegal reentry to the United States after deportation. Ramos faces a maximum penalty of two years in federal prison. His sentencing hearing is scheduled for December 18, 2019.

According to testimony and evidence presented at trial, as well as other court documents, Ramos was deported to Honduras by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in 2011. Ramos subsequently illegally reentered the United States on an unknown date. On October 27, 2018, Ramos was arrested and convicted for possession of cocaine and a firearm in Orlando. After his state criminal proceeding concluded, ICE arrested Ramos for his illegal reentry into the United States.

“This case highlights ICE’s commitment to targeting criminals and threats to public safety as we enforce our nation’s immigration laws,” said Miami Field Office Director Michael W. Meade.

This case was investigated by Immigration and Customs Enforcement – Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO). It is being prosecuted by Special Assistant United States Attorney Brandon Bayliss.

Tampa, Florida – United States Attorney Maria Chapa Lopez announces the return of an indictment charging Norman Nicholson (56, Largo) with one count of making false records in a federal investigation and one count of depriving an individual of their rights under color of law. If convicted, Nicholson faces a maximum penalty of 20 years’ imprisonment for the obstruction charge and up to one year in federal prison for the civil rights violation.

According to the indictment, while employed as a police officer with the Bay Pines Veterans Affairs facility, Nicholson used excessive and unreasonable force during the arrest of a United States Army veteran. Nicholson then authored two false arrest affidavits and a police report in which he attempted to cover up the incident.

An indictment is merely a formal charge that a defendant has committed one or more violations of federal criminal law, and every defendant is presumed innocent unless, and until, proven guilty.

This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. It will be prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Diego F. Novaes.

Fort Myers, FL - A currently imprisoned Florida businessman pleaded guilty today to making false statements on a financial disclosure statement he provided to the Justice Department, announced Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Richard E. Zuckerman of the Justice Department’s Tax Division and U.S. Attorney Maria Chapa Lopez of the Middle District of Florida.

According to documents filed with the court, Casey Padula, age 51, formerly of Port Charlotte, Florida, made the false statements on a financial disclosure statement he was required to submit to the government after pleading guilty to tax and bank fraud. On July 17, 2017, in the prior prosecution, Padula was sentenced to 57 months in prison on one count of conspiracy to defraud the United States and commit bank fraud. Padula admitted using offshore entities and accounts to commit the tax fraud. Padula also committed bank fraud by carrying out a fraudulent short-sale transaction designed to reduce or eliminate his $1.5 million mortgage at Bank of America. Pursuant to his plea agreement, Padula was required to provide a full and accurate financial disclosure statement to the government. Instead Padula submitted a false financial disclosure statement in which he failed to disclose numerous assets, including a boat valued at almost $340,000, at least $80,000 in cash, and a $90,000 Mercedes he had recently purchased for his daughter.

Padula faces a statutory maximum sentence of five years in prison.  He also faces a period of supervised release and monetary penalties.

Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Zuckerman and U.S. Attorney Chapa Lopez thanked special agents of Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigation, who conducted the investigation, and Assistant Chief Todd Ellinwood of the Tax Division, who is prosecuting the case.

A currently imprisoned Florida businessman pleaded guilty today to making false statements on a financial disclosure statement he provided to the Justice Department, announced Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Richard E. Zuckerman of the Justice Department’s Tax Division and U.S. Attorney Maria Chapa Lopez of the Middle District of Florida.

According to documents filed with the court, Casey Padula, age 51, formerly of Port Charlotte, Florida, made the false statements on a financial disclosure statement he was required to submit to the government after pleading guilty to tax and bank fraud. On July 17, 2017, in the prior prosecution, Padula was sentenced to 57 months in prison on one count of conspiracy to defraud the United States and commit bank fraud. Padula admitted using offshore entities and accounts to commit the tax fraud. Padula also committed bank fraud by carrying out a fraudulent short-sale transaction designed to reduce or eliminate his $1.5 million mortgage at Bank of America. Pursuant to his plea agreement, Padula was required to provide a full and accurate financial disclosure statement to the government. Instead Padula submitted a false financial disclosure statement in which he failed to disclose numerous assets, including a boat valued at almost $340,000, at least $80,000 in cash, and a $90,000 Mercedes he had recently purchased for his daughter.

Padula faces a statutory maximum sentence of five years in prison.  He also faces a period of supervised release and monetary penalties.

Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Zuckerman and U.S. Attorney Chapa Lopez thanked special agents of Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigation, who conducted the investigation, and Assistant Chief Todd Ellinwood of the Tax Division, who is prosecuting the case.

Orlando, Florida – U.S. District Judge Paul G. Byron has sentenced Robinson Jason Resto (40, Orlando) to two years in federal prison for possessing a firearm, after having been previously convicted of a felony. Resto had pleaded guilty on July 25, 2019. 

According to court documents, on March 25, 2019, Resto began communicating with an individual who was cooperating with law enforcement via text messages about firearms that the individual had for sale. The two eventually arranged for Resto to obtain a 9 mm Ruger Model P95DC firearm in exchange for a cash payment and a “throwaway” gun that Resto had in his possession. In arranging the trade/purchase, and when the two met in a parking lot to consummate the deal on April 4, 2019, Resto also expressed interest in obtaining an AK-47 assault rifle.  At the time, Resto had been convicted of multiple felony offenses, including one prior state conviction for possession of a firearm by a convicted felon. As such, he is prohibited from possessing a firearm or ammunition under federal law.   

This case was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, with assistance from the Orlando Police Department. It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Dana E. Hill.

This is another case prosecuted as part of the Department of Justice’s “Project Safe Neighborhoods” Program (PSN), which is a nationwide, crime reduction strategy aimed at decreasing violent crime in communities. It involves a comprehensive approach to public safety — one that includes investigating and prosecuting crimes, along with prevention and reentry efforts. In the Middle District of Florida, U.S. Attorney Maria Chapa Lopez coordinates PSN efforts in cooperation with various federal, state, and local law enforcement officials.

Orlando, Florida – A federal jury has found William Tosca (35, Kissimmee) guilty of failing to register and update a registration as required by the Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act (SORNA). He faces a maximum penalty of 10 years in federal prison. His sentencing hearing is scheduled for December 16, 2019.

According to testimony and evidence presented at trial, in January 2013, Tosca was convicted by a jury in Massachusetts of a qualifying sex offense. While incarcerated in Massachusetts, the state’s sex offender registry board notified Tosca of his need to register as a sex offender. In October 2015, after being informed of his need to update his registration, Tosca failed to register in Massachusetts. In October 2016, he then moved to Florida and again failed to update his registration.

SORNA is part of the Adam Walsh Child Protection and Safety Act of 2006. The Adam Walsh Act also provides for the use of federal law enforcement resources, including the United States Marshals Service, to assist state and local authorities in locating and apprehending non-compliant sex offenders.

This case was investigated by the United States Marshals Service, the Osceola County Sherriff’s Office, the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, and the Massachusetts Sex Offender Registry Board. It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Sean P. Shecter.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by United States Attorney’s Offices and the Criminal Division's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS), Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.justice.gov/psc.

Fort Myers, FL – U.S. District Judge Sheri Polster Chappell has sentenced Jose Mario Moreno Parada (37, Naples) to eight years and four months in federal prison for smuggling goods from the United States, possessing firearms with obliterated serial numbers, and making false statements to federal agents. The court also ordered Parada to forfeit the firearms involved in the offenses. 

Parada had pleaded guilty on May 10, 2019. 

According to court documents, Parada and his coconspirators purchased rifles in southwest Florida, obliterated their serial numbers, concealed them in vehicles, and then arranged to export the loaded vehicles to South America. In 2018, in connection with this case, 133 firearms, concealed in three vehicles and destined for Bolivia, were intercepted by law enforcement in south Florida.   

This case was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, Homeland Security Investigations, the Collier County Sheriff’s Office, and U.S. Customs and Border Protection. It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Simon R. Eth.

Jacksonville, Florida – United States District Judge Brian J. Davis has sentenced Jimmie Dwight Whitfield (43, Atlantic Beach) to 37 months in federal prison for failing to register as a sex offender after absconding from supervision in Georgia and establishing residence in Florida. Whitfield was also sentenced to a 5-year term of supervised release and required to register as a sex offender. He has been in custody since his arrest on October 25, 2018.          

According to court documents, in 1995, Whitfield was convicted of sexually assaulting a 4-year-old child in Jacksonville. In 2006, he was convicted of sexual battery and sodomy against a mentally challenged adult in Valdosta, Georgia. Following his release from prison, Whitfield resided at a motel in Valdosta while serving a term of supervised probation. In March 2018, he cut off his ankle monitor, fled to Florida, and established a residence in Atlantic Beach. Whitfield failed to register as a sex offender in Florida as required by federal and state law. On October 25, 2018, he was arrested at his home in Atlantic Beach for violating his probation. During an interview with law enforcement, he admitted that he had cut off his ankle monitor and that he knew he was not allowed to leave Georgia without permission.

The Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act is part of the Adam Walsh Child Protection and Safety Act of 2006. The Adam Walsh Act also provides for the use of federal law enforcement resources, including the United States Marshals Service, to assist state and local authorities in locating and apprehending non-compliant sex offenders. 

This case was investigated by the United States Marshals Service, the Lowndes County (Georgia) Sheriff’s Office, the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office, and the Florida Department of Law Enforcement. It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney D. Rodney Brown.

This is another case brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by the United States Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.justice.gov/psc.

Ocala, Florida – Senior United States District Judge John Antoon II has sentenced Cesar Osiris DeLeon-Castillo (36, Clermont) and Jefry Agustin Valerio-Perez (39, Orlando) to 5 years and 4 years and nine months in federal prison, respectively, for possession with the intent to distribute one kilogram of heroin. DeLeon-Castillo and Valerio-Perez had pleaded guilty in June 2019.

According to court documents, DeLeon-Castillo and Valerio-Perez were arrested on March 14, 2019, in the parking lot outside a barber shop in Clermont, where DeLeon-Castillo had worked. At the time, the men were attempting to complete a drug transaction involving $56,000 in exchange for a kilogram of heroin that they had in their possession. DeLeon-Castillo and Valerio-Perez were taken into custody at the scene. 

This case was investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration with support from the Volusia County Sheriff’s Office and the Lake County Sheriff’s Office. It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Michael P. Felicetta.

Ocala, Florida – Senior United States District Judge John Antoon II has sentenced Malik Mustafa Al-Ameen (57, Summerfield) to 20 months in federal prison for theft of government funds. He was also ordered to pay the government $77,178 in restitution. Al-Ameen had pleaded guilty on July 1, 2019.

According to court records, Al-Ameen stole more than $77,000 from the Social Security Administration by submitting false documents regarding his eligibility for Supplemental Security Income (SSI) benefits. Al-Ameen had falsely claimed that he was single and owned no properties when, in fact, he was married and owned a rental property in West Palm Beach. Al-Ameen has more than 60 criminal state convictions in Florida, spanning 40 years, many of which involve fraud or stealing. This is his first federal conviction.

This case was investigated by the Social Security Administration. It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Michael P. Felicetta.

Tampa, Florida – U.S. District Judge Steven Merryday today sentenced Mario Marquez Roberson (28, St. Petersburg) to 15 years and 8 months in federal prison for distribution of 4-flouroisobutyrl fentanyl, a synthetic opioid. 

Roberson had pleaded guilty on April 2, 2019.

According to court documents, Roberson engaged in six transactions with an undercover officer during which he sold the officer hydromorphone pills and an approximate total of 52 grams of a synthetic opioid.

This case was investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration and the St. Petersburg Police Department. It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Callan Albritton.

This investigation is also the result of the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) program. The principal mission of the OCDETF program is to identify, disrupt, and dismantle the most serious drug trafficking and money laundering organizations and those primarily responsible for the nation’s drug supply.

Jacksonville, Florida – Sanjay Lama (29, Jacksonville) has been arrested and charged with using the internet to attempt to entice a 12-year-old child to engage in sexual activity. Lama is a citizen of Nepal who is legally residing in Jacksonville. If convicted, he faces a mandatory minimum penalty of 10 years, and up to life, in federal prison and a potential life term of supervised release. Lama has been detained pending a detention hearing scheduled for October 1, 2019.

According to court documents, on September 25, 2019, an undercover FBI agent, who was posing online as a 12-year-old child, was contacted by the user “Awesome_Jack,” who was later identified as Lama. On that day, during an online conversation between Lama and the undercover agent, Lama expressed his desire to meet the “child” to engage in sexual activity. Lama further provided the undercover agent with details about the sexual acts that he wished to perform on the “child.” Later that day, Lama rode his motorcycle to a prearranged location in Jacksonville to meet the “child” and was arrested by FBI agents.          

This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation in Jacksonville. It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney D. Rodney Brown.

It is another case brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by the United States Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.justice.gov/psc.  

Jacksonville, Florida – United States District Judge Timothy J. Corrigan has sentenced Jaceta Anya Streeter (39, Jacksonville) to 13 years and 4 months in federal prison for committing aggravated identity theft and wire fraud while on federal supervised release. Streeter, a 19-time convicted felon, was also ordered to pay restitution to the victims she defrauded.

According to court documents, in 2006, after being found guilty at trial for participating in a scheme involving the passing of counterfeit checks, Streeter was sentenced to seven years in federal prison, followed by three years of supervised release. Following her release from prison, and while on federal supervised release, the court issued a warrant for Streeter, as her whereabouts were unknown and she was considered a fugitive. When the U.S. Marshals Service eventually located and arrested Streeter in Orlando, she had multiple counterfeit forms of identification in her possession.

Further investigation determined that Streeter had engaged in a scheme involving credit card fraud and identity theft. She had obtained credit card account numbers for various victims, along with the victims’ personal identifiable information. Using this information, Streeter then went to various merchants, including home improvement and clothing stores, and fraudulently purchased large quantities of merchandise.

This case was investigated by the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office, the U.S. Department of Treasury – Office of Inspector General (Jacksonville Field Office), the U.S. Marshals Service, and the United States Secret Service (Jacksonville Field Office). It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Kevin C. Frein.

WASHINGTON – A federal law enforcement action involving fraudulent genetic cancer testing has resulted  in charges in five federal districts against 35 defendants associated with dozens of telemedicine companies and cancer genetic testing laboratories (CGx) for their alleged participation in one of the largest health care fraud schemes ever charged. According to the charges, these defendants fraudulently billed Medicare more than $2.1 billion for these CGx tests.  Among those charged today are 10 medical professionals, including nine doctors.

The Department of Justice, Criminal Division, together with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of the Inspector General (HHS-OIG) and FBI spearheaded today’s landmark investigation  and prosecution that resulted in charges against CEOs, CFOs and others.

In addition, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, Center for Program Integrity (CMS/CPI), announced today that it took adverse administrative action against cancer genetic  testing companies and medical professionals who submitted more than $1.7 billion in claims to the Medicare program.

Today’s announcement is a culmination of coordinated law enforcement activities over the past month that were led by the Criminal Division’s Health Care Fraud Unit, resulting in charges against over 380 individuals who allegedly billed federal health care programs for more than $3 billion and allegedly prescribed/dispensed approx.  50 million controlled substance pills in Houston, across Texas, the West Coast, the Gulf Coast, the Northeast, Florida and Georgia, and the Midwest.  These include charges against 105 defendants for opioid-related offenses, and charges against 178 medical professionals. 

Today’s enforcement actions were led and coordinated by the Health Care Fraud Unit of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section in conjunction with its Medicare Fraud Strike Force (MFSF), as well as the U.S. Attorney’s Offices for the Southern District of Florida, Middle District of Florida, Southern District of Georgia, Eastern District of Louisiana, and Middle District of Louisiana.  The MFSF is a partnership among the Criminal Division, U.S. Attorney’s Offices, the FBI, DEA and HHS-OIG.  In addition, the operation included the participation of various other federal, state and local law enforcement agencies, including the Louisiana Medicaid Fraud Control Unit.

The coordinated federal investigation targeted an alleged scheme involving the payment of illegal kickbacks and bribes by CGx laboratories in exchange for the referral of Medicare beneficiaries by medical professionals working with fraudulent telemedicine companies for expensive cancer genetic tests that were medically unnecessary.

Often, the test results were not provided to the beneficiaries or were worthless to their actual doctors.  Some of the defendants allegedly controlled a telemarketing network that lured hundreds of thousands of elderly and/or disabled patients into a criminal scheme that affected victims nationwide.  The defendants allegedly paid doctors to prescribe CGx testing, either without any patient interaction or with only a brief telephonic conversation with patients they had never met or seen. 

“These defendants allegedly duped Medicare beneficiaries into signing up for unnecessary genetic tests, costing Medicare billions of dollars,” Assistant Attorney General Brian A. Benczkowski of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division.  “Together with our law enforcement partners, the Department will continue to protect the public fisc and prosecute those who steal our taxpayer dollars.”

“The scope and sophistication of the health care fraud detected in Operation Double Helix and the related Operation Brace Yourself is nearly unprecedented.  But the citizens of the Southern District of Georgia should know that we put together an unprecedented response,” said U.S. Attorney Bobby L. Christine of the Southern District of Georgia.  “Our office charged more defendants, responsible for more health care fraud losses, than ever before in this office’s history. While these charges might be some of the first, they won’t be the last.” 

“The defendants allegedly targeted elderly, disabled and other vulnerable consumers, luring them into this fraudulent scheme that affected victims nationwide and generated losses in excess of 1 billion dollars which spanned multiple jurisdictions,”  said U.S. Attorney Peter G. Strasser for the Eastern District of Louisiana.  “Schemes such as these have a profound effect on our nation, not only by the monies lost in the scheme, but also by stoking public distrust in some medical institutions.  It is imperative to preserve taxpayer confidence whenever and wherever possible.  Our office, along with our investigative partners, reminds seniors and their caregivers to be vigilant for fraudulent schemes.  If you are aware of or believe you are the victim of a health care fraud scheme, please contact law enforcement.”

“We are honored to work every day alongside our law enforcement partners to stop the exploitation of vulnerable patients and misuse of taxpayer dollars,” said CMS Administrator Seema Verma. “In order to prevent additional financial losses, CMS has taken swift action to protect the Medicare Trust Funds from the providers who allegedly have fraudulently billed over $1.7 billion. CMS continues to use a comprehensive and aggressive program integrity approach that includes fraud prevention, claims review, beneficiary education, and targeting high-risk areas of the federal healthcare programs with new tools and innovative demonstrations.”   

“Healthcare fraud and related illegal kickbacks and bribes impact the entire nation," said Assistant Director Terry Wade of the FBI’s Criminal Investigative Division.  “Fraudulently using genetic testing laboratories for unnecessary tests erodes the confidence of patients and costs taxpayers millions of dollars.  These investigations revealed some medical professionals placing their greed before the needs of the patients and communities they serve.  Today's law enforcement actions reinforce that the FBI, along with its partners, will continue to pursue and stop this type of illegal activity.”

“Unfortunately, audacious schemes such as those alleged in the indictments are pervasive and exploit the promise of new medical technologies such as genetic testing and telemedicine for financial gain, not patient care,” said Deputy Inspector General for Investigations Gary L. Cantrell of HHS-OIG.  “Instead of receiving quality care, Medicare beneficiaries may be victimized in the form of scare tactics, identity theft, and in some cases, left to pay out of pocket.  We will continue working with our law enforcement partners to investigate those who steal from federal healthcare programs and protect the millions of Americans who rely on them.”

                                                                  *********

In the Southern District of Florida, the following defendants were charged: 

Richard Garipoli, 42, of Loxahatchee, Florida, the owner of a telemedicine company Lotus Health LLC (“Lotus Health”), located in Loxahatchee, is charged with conspiracy to commit health care fraud, conspiracy to pay and receive kickbacks, and substantive counts of health care fraud and receiving kickbacks.  The indictment charges that from January 2017 through September 2019, Garipoli, and unnamed co-conspirators, billed Medicare and Medicare Advantage plans over $326 million, for which Medicare paid over $84 million, for false and fraudulent Cancer Genomic tests (CGx Tests) that were not medically necessary, and not eligible for Medicare reimbursement.  Doctors contracted with Lotus Health allegedly authorized bogus doctors’ orders that the CGx Tests were medically necessary when the doctors did not engage in treatment of the beneficiaries, had no physician-patient relationship with them, and often did not even speak with the beneficiaries for whom they ordered tests.  The Indictment alleges that various companies paid kickbacks to Lotus Health in exchange for ordering and arranging for the ordering of CGx tests for Medicare beneficiaries, without regard to whether the CGx tests were medically necessary or eligible for Medicare reimbursement, and without regard for the fact that the tests were prescribed without any physician-patient relationship.  Various laboratories including Clio Laboratories in Lawrenceville, Georgia and LabSolutions in Atlanta, Georgia and Easton, Pennsylvania then allegedly submitted false and fraudulent claims to Medicare and Medicare Advantage plans for the false and fraudulent CGx tests that were not medically necessary and not eligible for Medicare reimbursement.  Garipoli and others allegedly concealed the submission of these false and fraudulent claims to Medicare and Medicare Advantage plans; and diverted fraud proceeds for their personal use and benefit, the use and benefit of others and to further the fraud.  The case is being prosecuted by Trial Attorneys James Hayes and Tim Loper of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section

Jamie Simmons, 62, a resident of South Carolina, and the owner of telemedicine companies MedSymphony LLC (MedSymphony) and Meetmydocc LLC (Meetmydoc) in Ft. Lauderdale Florida, is charged with conspiracy to commit health care fraud, conspiracy to pay and receive kickbacks, and substantive counts of health care fraud and receiving kickbacks.  The indictment alleges that from January 2018 through September 2019, Simmons, and unnamed co-conspirators, billed Medicare and Medicare Advantage plans over $56 million, for which Medicare paid over $17 million, for false and fraudulent Cancer Genomic tests (CGx Tests) that were not medically necessary, and not eligible for Medicare reimbursement.  Doctors contracted with MedSymphony authorized bogus doctors’ orders that the CGx Tests were medically necessary when the doctors did not engage in treatment of the beneficiaries, had no physician-patient relationship with them, and often did not even speak with the beneficiaries for whom they ordered tests.  The Indictment alleges that various companies paid kickbacks to MedSymphony through Meetmydoc in exchange for ordering and arranging for the ordering of CGx tests for Medicare beneficiaries, without regard to whether the CGx tests were medically necessary or eligible for Medicare reimbursement, and without regard for the fact that the tests were prescribed without any physician-patient relationship.  Various laboratories then submitted false and fraudulent claims to Medicare and Medicare Advantage plans for the false and fraudulent CGx tests that were not medically necessary and not eligible for Medicare reimbursement.  Simmons and others allegedly concealed the submission of these false and fraudulent claims to Medicare and Medicare Advantage plans; and diverted fraud proceeds for their personal use and benefit, the use and benefit of others and to further the fraud.  The case is being prosecuted by Trial Attorneys James Hayes and Tim Loper.

Minal Patel, 40, of Atlanta, Georgia was charged based on his role in an alleged scheme to solicit medically unnecessary CGx tests from Medicare beneficiaries through telemarketing and “health fairs.”  The tests were then approved by telemedicine doctors who allegedly did not engage in treatment of the beneficiaries, and often did not even speak with the beneficiaries for whom they ordered tests.  Patel, the owner of LabSolutions in Georgia and Pennsylvania, then paid the telemarketers illegal kickbacks and bribes in exchange for the doctor’s orders and medically unnecessary tests.  LabSolutions billed Medicare for more than $494 million.  In addition, the government seized approximately $30 million in bank accounts from Patel, as well as luxury vehicles, including a Ferrari and a Range Rover.  The case is being prosecuted by Trial Attorneys Tim Loper and James Hayes.

In the Eastern District of Louisiana, the following defendant was charged:

Khalid Satary, 47, of Suwanee, Georgia was charged based on his role in an alleged scheme to solicit medically unnecessary cancer genetic (CGx) tests from Medicare beneficiaries through telemarketing and “health fairs.”  The tests were then approved by telemedicine doctors who did not engage in treatment of the beneficiaries, and often did not even speak with the beneficiaries for whom they ordered tests.  Satary, the owner of several labs in Georgia, Oklahoma and Louisiana, and his co-conspirators, through companies they controlled, then paid the telemarketers illegal kickbacks and bribes in exchange for the doctor’s orders and medically unnecessary tests.  The labs included Performance Laboratories in Oklahoma, Lazarus Services in Louisiana, and Clio Labs in Georgia, where Elmore was CEO.  Performance Labs, Clio Labs and Lazarus Services collectively billed Medicare for more than $547 million.  In addition, the government  seized 16 bank accounts and restrained real estate from Satary.  The case is being prosecuted by Trial Attorneys Timothy Loper and Jared Hasten.

In the Southern District of Georgia, 19 defendants were charged:

Anthony T. Securo, 56, of Columbus, Georgia, was indicted by a federal grand jury in Savannah, Ga., for his role in a scheme to bill Medicare and other health benefit programs for medically unnecessary durable medical equipment. According to the indictment, Securo, a medical doctor, signed thousands of orders for durable medical equipment for Medicare beneficiaries he claimed to be “treating,” but in fact never even met. These thousands of items were billed to Medicare for more than $23 million. According to the indictment, Securo ordered these medically unnecessary items after having short telephone conversations with the patients, but then signed medical records stating that Securo had performed examinations or physical tests of the patients that were never actually performed.

In addition, 18 other defendants were charged in the Southern District of Georgia by way of criminal information.  The 18 other defendants include two “telemedicine” physician recruiters, seven physicians, two nurse practitioners, two individuals who brokered the sale of physician orders, one company that brokered the sale of physician orders, and four durable medical equipment companies.  In total, the 19 defendants charged in the Southern District of Georgia were responsible for over $400 million in genetic testing, durable medical equipment, and pain cream billing to Medicare, according to court documents. The cases are being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys J. Thomas Clarkson Jonathan A. Porter of the Southern District of Georgia

In the Northern District of Texas, the following defendant was charged: 

Daniel R. Canchola, MD, 49, Flower Mound Texas, a physician, was charged for his alleged referral of Medicare beneficiaries for medically unnecessary “cancer screening,” or “CGx,” genetic tests.  Canchola received illegal kickbacks and bribes for the CGx orders he signed, and he did so without examining or speaking to patients and in the absence of any physician-patient relationship.  Oftentimes the beneficiaries for whom Canchola ordered CGx tests never received their test results.  From in or about January 2018 through in or about March 2019, Canchola caused the submission of over $69 million in false and fraudulent claims to Medicare.  The case is being prosecuted by Trial Attorney Brynn Schiess of the Fraud Section.

In the Middle District of Florida, the following defendant was charged:

Ivan Andre Scott, 34, Kissimmee, Florida, a marketer, was charged for his role in an alleged $2.8 million scheme to provide Medicare beneficiary information to doctors and telemedicine companies, that could then be billed for medically unnecessary genetic testing.  The case is being prosecuted by Trial Attorney Alejandro J. Salicrup of the Fraud Section.

In the Middle District of Louisiana, the following defendants were charged:

Mark Allen, 51, of Greer, South Carolina, and Kevin Hanley, 42, of Prairieville, Louisiana were charged for their roles in an alleged scheme to solicit medically unnecessary cancer genetic (CGx) tests from Medicare beneficiaries, have the tests approved by telemedicine doctors who did not engage in treatment of the beneficiaries, and submit claims through clinical testing laboratories that paid kickbacks in exchange for the referrals.  Allen and his co-conspirators, through companies they controlled, solicited the tests and arranged for approvals by telemedicine providers.  They then transmitted the test samples and orders to labs in Louisiana, including Acadian Diagnostic Laboratories, LLC, where Hanley was the CFO, and elsewhere.  Acadian, through Hanley and others, paid kickbacks to companies controlled by Allen and others to obtain the referrals, and submitted claims to Medicare for the tests.  Acadian and other labs billed Medicare for more than $240 million.  The case is being prosecuted by Trial Attorneys Tim Loper, Justin Woodard and Gary Winters of the Fraud Section and Assistant U.S. Attorney Kristen Craig of the Middle District of Louisiana.

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

The Fraud Section leads the Medicare Fraud Strike Force.  Since its inception in March 2007, the Medicare Fraud Strike Force, which maintains 15 strike forces operating in 24 districts, has charged nearly 4,000 defendants who have collectively billed the Medicare program for more than $16 billion.  In addition, the HHS Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, working in conjunction with the HHS-OIG, are taking steps to increase accountability and decrease the presence of fraudulent providers.

 

# # #

 

19-1039

 

A federal law enforcement action involving fraudulent genetic cancer testing has resulted  in charges in five federal districts against 35 defendants associated with dozens of telemedicine companies and cancer genetic testing laboratories (CGx) for their alleged participation in one of the largest health care fraud schemes ever charged. According to the charges, these defendants fraudulently billed Medicare more than $2.1 billion for these CGx tests.  Among those charged today are 10 medical professionals, including nine doctors.

The Department of Justice, Criminal Division, together with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of the Inspector General (HHS-OIG) and FBI spearheaded today’s landmark investigation  and prosecution that resulted in charges against CEOs, CFOs and others.

In addition, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, Center for Program Integrity (CMS/CPI), announced today that it took adverse administrative action against cancer genetic  testing companies and medical professionals who submitted more than $1.7 billion in claims to the Medicare program.

Today’s announcement is a culmination of coordinated law enforcement activities over the past month that were led by the Criminal Division’s Health Care Fraud Unit, resulting in charges against over 380 individuals who allegedly billed federal health care programs for more than $3 billion and allegedly prescribed/dispensed approximately 50 million controlled substance pills in Houston, across Texas, the West Coast, the Gulf Coast, the Northeast, Florida and Georgia, and the Midwest.  These include charges against 105 defendants for opioid-related offenses, and charges against 178 medical professionals. 

Today’s enforcement actions were led and coordinated by the Health Care Fraud Unit of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section in conjunction with its Medicare Fraud Strike Force (MFSF), as well as the U.S. Attorney’s Offices for the Southern District of Florida, Middle District of Florida, Southern District of Georgia, Eastern District of Louisiana, and Middle District of Louisiana.  The MFSF is a partnership among the Criminal Division, U.S. Attorney’s Offices, the FBI, DEA and HHS-OIG.  In addition, the operation included the participation of various other federal, state and local law enforcement agencies, including the Louisiana Medicaid Fraud Control Unit.

The coordinated federal investigation targeted an alleged scheme involving the payment of illegal kickbacks and bribes by CGx laboratories in exchange for the referral of Medicare beneficiaries by medical professionals working with fraudulent telemedicine companies for expensive cancer genetic tests that were medically unnecessary.

Often, the test results were not provided to the beneficiaries or were worthless to their actual doctors.  Some of the defendants allegedly controlled a telemarketing network that lured hundreds of thousands of elderly and/or disabled patients into a criminal scheme that affected victims nationwide.  The defendants allegedly paid doctors to prescribe CGx testing, either without any patient interaction or with only a brief telephonic conversation with patients they had never met or seen. 

“These defendants allegedly duped Medicare beneficiaries into signing up for unnecessary genetic tests, costing Medicare billions of dollars,” Assistant Attorney General Brian A. Benczkowski of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division.  “Together with our law enforcement partners, the Department will continue to protect the public fisc and prosecute those who steal our taxpayer dollars.”

“The scope and sophistication of the health care fraud detected in Operation Double Helix and the related Operation Brace Yourself is nearly unprecedented.  But the citizens of the Southern District of Georgia should know that we put together an unprecedented response,” said U.S. Attorney Bobby L. Christine of the Southern District of Georgia.  “Our office charged more defendants, responsible for more health care fraud losses, than ever before in this office’s history. While these charges might be some of the first, they won’t be the last.” 

“The defendants allegedly targeted elderly, disabled and other vulnerable consumers, luring them into this fraudulent scheme that affected victims nationwide and generated losses in excess of one billion dollars which spanned multiple jurisdictions,”  said U.S. Attorney Peter G. Strasser for the Eastern District of Louisiana.  “Schemes such as these have a profound effect on our nation, not only by the monies lost in the scheme, but also by stoking public distrust in some medical institutions.  It is imperative to preserve taxpayer confidence whenever and wherever possible.  Our office, along with our investigative partners, reminds seniors and their caregivers to be vigilant for fraudulent schemes.  If you are aware of or believe you are the victim of a health care fraud scheme, please contact law enforcement.”

“The defendants are alleged to have capitalized on the fears of elderly Americans in order to induce them to sign up for unnecessary or non-existent cancer screening tests,” said U.S. Attorney Ariana Fajardo Orshan of the Southern District of Florida.   “The genetic testing fraud schemes put personal greed above the preservation of the American health care system.  The U.S. Attorney’s Office in South Florida, alongside our law enforcement and USAO partners, remains committed to protecting taxpayer dollars and the Medicare program from abuse.”

“We are honored to work every day alongside our law enforcement partners to stop the exploitation of vulnerable patients and misuse of taxpayer dollars,” said CMS Administrator Seema Verma. “In order to prevent additional financial losses, CMS has taken swift action to protect the Medicare Trust Funds from the providers who allegedly have fraudulently billed over $1.7 billion. CMS continues to use a comprehensive and aggressive program integrity approach that includes fraud prevention, claims review, beneficiary education, and targeting high-risk areas of the federal healthcare programs with new tools and innovative demonstrations.”   

“Healthcare fraud and related illegal kickbacks and bribes impact the entire nation," said Assistant Director Terry Wade of the FBI’s Criminal Investigative Division.  “Fraudulently using genetic testing laboratories for unnecessary tests erodes the confidence of patients and costs taxpayers millions of dollars.  These investigations revealed some medical professionals placing their greed before the needs of the patients and communities they serve.  Today's law enforcement actions reinforce that the FBI, along with its partners, will continue to pursue and stop this type of illegal activity.”

“Unfortunately, audacious schemes such as those alleged in the indictments are pervasive and exploit the promise of new medical technologies such as genetic testing and telemedicine for financial gain, not patient care,” said Deputy Inspector General for Investigations Gary L. Cantrell of HHS-OIG.  “Instead of receiving quality care, Medicare beneficiaries may be victimized in the form of scare tactics, identity theft, and in some cases, left to pay out of pocket.  We will continue working with our law enforcement partners to investigate those who steal from federal healthcare programs and protect the millions of Americans who rely on them.”

*********

In the Southern District of Florida, the following defendants were charged: 

Richard Garipoli, 42, of Loxahatchee, Florida, the owner of a telemedicine company Lotus Health LLC (Lotus Health), located in Loxahatchee, is charged with conspiracy to commit health care fraud, conspiracy to pay and receive kickbacks, and substantive counts of health care fraud and receiving kickbacks.  The indictment charges that from January 2017 through September 2019, Garipoli, and unnamed co-conspirators, billed Medicare and Medicare Advantage plans over $326 million, for which Medicare paid over $84 million, for false and fraudulent Cancer Genomic tests (CGx Tests) that were not medically necessary, and not eligible for Medicare reimbursement.  Doctors contracted with Lotus Health allegedly authorized bogus doctors’ orders that the CGx Tests were medically necessary when the doctors did not engage in treatment of the beneficiaries, had no physician-patient relationship with them, and often did not even speak with the beneficiaries for whom they ordered tests.  The Indictment alleges that various companies paid kickbacks to Lotus Health in exchange for ordering and arranging for the ordering of CGx tests for Medicare beneficiaries, without regard to whether the CGx tests were medically necessary or eligible for Medicare reimbursement, and without regard for the fact that the tests were prescribed without any physician-patient relationship.  Various laboratories including Clio Laboratories in Lawrenceville, Georgia and LabSolutions in Atlanta, Georgia and Easton, Pennsylvania then allegedly submitted false and fraudulent claims to Medicare and Medicare Advantage plans for the false and fraudulent CGx tests that were not medically necessary and not eligible for Medicare reimbursement.  Garipoli and others allegedly concealed the submission of these false and fraudulent claims to Medicare and Medicare Advantage plans; and diverted fraud proceeds for their personal use and benefit, the use and benefit of others and to further the fraud.  The case is being prosecuted by Trial Attorneys James Hayes and Tim Loper of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section

Jamie Simmons, 62, a resident of South Carolina, and the owner of telemedicine companies MedSymphony LLC (MedSymphony) and Meetmydocc LLC (Meetmydoc) in Ft. Lauderdale Florida, is charged with conspiracy to commit health care fraud, conspiracy to pay and receive kickbacks, and substantive counts of health care fraud and receiving kickbacks.  The indictment alleges that from January 2018 through September 2019, Simmons, and unnamed co-conspirators, billed Medicare and Medicare Advantage plans over $56 million, for which Medicare paid over $17 million, for false and fraudulent Cancer Genomic tests (CGx Tests) that were not medically necessary, and not eligible for Medicare reimbursement.  Doctors contracted with MedSymphony authorized bogus doctors’ orders that the CGx Tests were medically necessary when the doctors did not engage in treatment of the beneficiaries, had no physician-patient relationship with them, and often did not even speak with the beneficiaries for whom they ordered tests.  The Indictment alleges that various companies paid kickbacks to MedSymphony through Meetmydoc in exchange for ordering and arranging for the ordering of CGx tests for Medicare beneficiaries, without regard to whether the CGx tests were medically necessary or eligible for Medicare reimbursement, and without regard for the fact that the tests were prescribed without any physician-patient relationship.  Various laboratories then submitted false and fraudulent claims to Medicare and Medicare Advantage plans for the false and fraudulent CGx tests that were not medically necessary and not eligible for Medicare reimbursement.  Simmons and others allegedly concealed the submission of these false and fraudulent claims to Medicare and Medicare Advantage plans; and diverted fraud proceeds for their personal use and benefit, the use and benefit of others and to further the fraud.  The case is being prosecuted by Trial Attorneys James Hayes and Tim Loper.

Minal Patel, 40, of Atlanta, Georgia was charged based on his role in an alleged scheme to solicit medically unnecessary CGx tests from Medicare beneficiaries through telemarketing and “health fairs.”  The tests were then approved by telemedicine doctors who allegedly did not engage in treatment of the beneficiaries, and often did not even speak with the beneficiaries for whom they ordered tests.  Patel, the owner of LabSolutions in Georgia and Pennsylvania, then paid the telemarketers illegal kickbacks and bribes in exchange for the doctor’s orders and medically unnecessary tests.  LabSolutions billed Medicare for more than $494 million.  In addition, the government seized approximately $30 million in bank accounts from Patel, as well as luxury vehicles, including a Ferrari and a Range Rover.  The case is being prosecuted by Trial Attorneys Tim Loper and James Hayes.

In the Eastern District of Louisiana, the following defendant was charged:

Khalid Satary, 47, of Suwanee, Georgia was charged based on his role in an alleged scheme to solicit medically unnecessary cancer genetic (CGx) tests from Medicare beneficiaries through telemarketing and “health fairs.”  The tests were then approved by telemedicine doctors who did not engage in treatment of the beneficiaries, and often did not even speak with the beneficiaries for whom they ordered tests.  Satary, the owner of several labs in Georgia, Oklahoma and Louisiana, and his co-conspirators, through companies they controlled, then paid the telemarketers illegal kickbacks and bribes in exchange for the doctor’s orders and medically unnecessary tests.  The labs included Performance Laboratories in Oklahoma, Lazarus Services in Louisiana, and Clio Labs in Georgia.  Performance Labs, Clio Labs and Lazarus Services collectively billed Medicare for more than $547 million.  In addition, the government  seized 16 bank accounts and restrained real estate from Satary.  The case is being prosecuted by Trial Attorneys Timothy Loper and Jared Hasten.

In the Southern District of Georgia, 19 defendants were charged:

Anthony T. Securo, 56, of Columbus, Georgia, was indicted by a federal grand jury in Savannah, Georgia, for his role in a scheme to bill Medicare and other health benefit programs for medically unnecessary durable medical equipment. According to the indictment, Securo, a medical doctor, signed thousands of orders for durable medical equipment for Medicare beneficiaries he claimed to be “treating,” but in fact never even met. These thousands of items were billed to Medicare for more than $23 million. According to the indictment, Securo ordered these medically unnecessary items after having short telephone conversations with the patients, but then signed medical records stating that Securo had performed examinations or physical tests of the patients that were never actually performed.

In addition, 18 other defendants were charged in the Southern District of Georgia by way of criminal information.  The 18 other defendants include two “telemedicine” physician recruiters, seven physicians, two nurse practitioners, two individuals who brokered the sale of physician orders, one company that brokered the sale of physician orders, and four durable medical equipment companies.  In total, the 19 defendants charged in the Southern District of Georgia were responsible for over $400 million in genetic testing, durable medical equipment, and pain cream billing to Medicare, according to court documents. The cases are being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys J. Thomas Clarkson Jonathan A. Porter of the Southern District of Georgia

In the Northern District of Texas, the following defendant was charged:  

Daniel R. Canchola, M.D., 49, Flower Mound Texas, a physician, was charged for his alleged referral of Medicare beneficiaries for medically unnecessary “cancer screening,” or “CGx,” genetic tests.  Canchola received illegal kickbacks and bribes for the CGx orders he signed, and he did so without examining or speaking to patients and in the absence of any physician-patient relationship.  Oftentimes the beneficiaries for whom Canchola ordered CGx tests never received their test results.  From in or about January 2018 through in or about March 2019, Canchola caused the submission of over $69 million in false and fraudulent claims to Medicare.  The case is being prosecuted by Trial Attorney Brynn Schiess of the Fraud Section.

Sekhar Rao, M.D., 48 of Austin, Texas, and Vinay Parameswara, M.D., 46, of Austin, Texas, were charged for their role in alleged referrals of TRICARE beneficiaries for medically unnecessary “cancer screening” genetic tests and toxicology tests.  Rao and Parameswara did not examine or speak with the beneficiaries they signed testing orders for and there was no physician-patient relationship between the physicians and these beneficiaries.  Tests were repeated many times and beneficiaries often did not receive the results of their tests. From in or about May 2014 and until in or about June 2016, Rao, Parameswara and others caused the submission of over $36 million in false and fraudulent claims to TRICARE. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant Chief Adrienne Frazior of the Fraud Section.

In the Middle District of Florida, the following defendant was charged:

Ivan Andre Scott, 34, Kissimmee, Florida, a marketer, was charged for his role in an alleged $2.8 million scheme to provide Medicare beneficiary information to doctors and telemedicine companies, that could then be billed for medically unnecessary genetic testing.  The case is being prosecuted by Trial Attorney Alejandro J. Salicrup of the Fraud Section.

In the Middle District of Louisiana, the following defendants were charged:

Mark Allen, 51, of Greer, South Carolina, and Kevin Hanley, 42, of Prairieville, Louisiana, were charged for their roles in an alleged scheme to solicit medically unnecessary cancer genetic (CGx) tests from Medicare beneficiaries, have the tests approved by telemedicine doctors who did not engage in treatment of the beneficiaries, and submit claims through clinical testing laboratories that paid kickbacks in exchange for the referrals.  Allen and his co-conspirators, through companies they controlled, solicited the tests and arranged for approvals by telemedicine providers.  They then transmitted the test samples and orders to labs in Louisiana, including Acadian Diagnostic Laboratories LLC, where Hanley was the CFO, and elsewhere.  Acadian, through Hanley and others, paid kickbacks to companies controlled by Allen and others to obtain the referrals, and submitted claims to Medicare for the tests.  Acadian and other labs billed Medicare for more than $240 million.  The case is being prosecuted by Trial Attorneys Tim Loper, Justin Woodard and Gary Winters of the Fraud Section and Assistant U.S. Attorney Kristen Craig of the Middle District of Louisiana.

In addition, as part of the Northeast Regional Takedown announced on Sept. 26, the District of New Jersey announced charges against the following:

Matthew S. Ellis, MD, 53, of Gainesville, Florida; Edward B. Kostishion, 59, of Lakeland, Florida; Kyle D. Mclean, 36, of Arlington Heights, Illinois; Kacey C. Plaisance, 38, of Altamonte Springs, Florida; Jeremy Richey, 39, of Mars, Pennsylvania; and Jeffrey Tamulski, 46, of Tampa, Florida. Kostishion, Plaisance, and Richey operated Ark Laboratory Network LLC (Ark), a company that purported to operate a network of laboratories that facilitated genetic testing.  Ark partnered with Privy Health, Inc., a company that McLean operated, and another company to acquire DNA samples and Medicare information from hundreds of patients through various methods, including offering $75 gift cards to patients, all without the involvement of a treating health care professional.  Ellis, a physician based in Gainesville, served as the ordering physician who authorized genetic testing for hundreds of patients across the country that he never saw, examined, or treated.  These included patients from New Jersey and various other states where Ellis was not licensed to practice medicine.  Through this process, Ellis, Kostishion, Plaisance, and McLean submitted and caused to be submitted fraudulent orders for genetic tests to numerous clinical laboratories.  These orders falsely certified that Ellis was the patients’ treating physician and, in many cases, contained false information indicating that a patient had a personal or family history of cancer, when, in fact, the patient had no cancer history whatsoever.  In 2018 alone, Medicare paid clinical laboratories at least approximately $4.6 million for genetic tests that Ellis ordered in this manner.  In addition, Kostishion, Plaisance, Richey, and Tamulski entered into kickback agreements with certain clinical laboratories under which the laboratories would pay Ark a bribe in exchange for delivering DNA samples and orders for genetic tests.  The bribe payments were based on the percentage of Medicare revenue that the laboratories received in connection with the tests.  Among other things, Kostishion, Plaisance, Richey, and Tamulski concealed these kickback arrangements through issuing sham invoices to laboratories that purportedly reflected services provided at an hourly rate even though the parties had already agreed upon the bribe amount, which was based on the revenue the laboratories received.  In 2018, the clinical laboratories paid Ark at least approximately $1.8 million in bribes.  The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Bernard Cooney of the District of New Jersey.

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

The Fraud Section leads the Medicare Fraud Strike Force.  Since its inception in March 2007, the Medicare Fraud Strike Force, which maintains 15 strike forces operating in 24 districts, has charged nearly 4,000 defendants who have collectively billed the Medicare program for more than $16 billion.  In addition, the HHS Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, working in conjunction with the HHS-OIG, are taking steps to increase accountability and decrease the presence of fraudulent providers.

Tampa, Florida – U.S. District Judge Mary S. Scriven today sentenced Richard Buffington (49, Clearwater) to 46 months in federal prison for committing wire fraud. The court also ordered Buffington to forfeit more than $1.2 million, which is traceable to the proceeds of the offense, and to pay more than $1.2 million in restitution to the victims of his fraud scheme.

Buffington had pleaded guilty on April 30, 2019.

According to court documents, from at least January 2013 through August 29, 2018, Buffington defrauded approximately 28 investors, from Florida and across the United States, out of more than $1.2 million by selling unregistered, non-exempt securities in the form of preferred shares. He made false and fraudulent representations to victim-investors about the need for funding for Green Street Equities (“GSE”). Buffington, GSE’s listed Chairman and President, pitched GSE as a company focused on investing in “green companies” (i.e., environmentally friendly projects). Buffington’s misrepresentations to investors included that: (1) GSE would go public soon after the investors’ stock purchase, and (2) that GSE would use investor money to acquire ownership interests in various companies in the “green energy” sector. Based on Buffington’s misrepresentations, victim-investors sent funds believing that that Buffington would use such money to fund GSE and its investments or acquisitions. Investors accepted Buffington’s misrepresentations about GSE because prior to 2013, he had successfully raised funds for a company that had gone public and from which investors had profited.

Buffington also made fraudulent representations to “green sector” companies, which he included on GSE’s website and in its Private Placement Memoranda. Some of those companies appear to have been paper companies; others were legitimate companies towards which Buffington had promised any GSE-raised investor funding would be directed to fund their respective “green sector” projects.   

In the end, although Buffington marketed GSE as a company making meaningful investments or acquisitions in “green companies,” neither GSE nor Buffington ever made any such investments or acquisitions. Instead, Buffington used any monies that he raised, including money wired by an undercover agent, for his personal benefit, which included drinking, gambling, and drug use.

This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Florida Office of Financial Regulation. It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Kaitlin R. O’Donnell.

Jacksonville, Florida – U.S. District Judge Brian J. Davis today sentenced James Edward Phillips, III (45, Jacksonville) to 10 years in federal prison for selling cocaine and possessing a firearm as a convicted felon. Phillips had pleaded guilty on June 11, 2019.

According to court documents, on four occasions during the summer of 2018, Phillips sold cocaine to a confidential informant working at the direction of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. On two of those occasions, Phillips also sold a total of three firearms, one of which was a rifle equipped with a 50-round drum magazine. At the time, Phillips was a 15-time convicted felon and therefore prohibited from possessing firearms or ammunition under federal law. His previous convictions include kidnapping with a firearm, armed burglary with assault or battery, armed burglary, battery on a law enforcement officer, possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, burglary, and grand theft.

This case was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives. It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Laura Cofer Taylor.

This is another case prosecuted as part of the Department of Justice’s “Project Safe Neighborhoods” Program (PSN), which is a nationwide, crime reduction strategy aimed at decreasing violent crime in communities. It involves a comprehensive approach to public safety — one that includes investigating and prosecuting crimes, along with prevention and reentry efforts. In the Middle District of Florida, U.S. Attorney Maria Chapa Lopez coordinates PSN efforts in cooperation with various federal, state, and local law enforcement officials.

Tampa, Florida – United States Attorney Maria Chapa Lopez announces a significant health care fraud and opioid enforcement operation across the Middle District of Florida, involving charges against seven individuals for their alleged involvement in various schemes to defraud Medicare, Medicaid, and other federal health care benefit programs, and in various conspiracies to illicitly obtain and distribute oxycodone and other controlled substances. 

Among those charged in partnership with the Justice Department’s Medicare Fraud Strike Force are the following:

          United States v. Teresa Johnson

Teresa Johnson (53, Lecanto) is charged in a one-count Information with conspiracy to commit health care fraud. She faces a maximum penalty of 10 years in federal prison. According to the Information, from November 2016 through October 2018, Johnson owned and operated Tri-County Medical Billing and submitted false and fraudulent claims to Medicare, Medicaid, Tricare, and ChampVA, on behalf of a medical doctor who owned clinics in Crystal River, Spring Hill, and Celebration, Florida. The case is being investigated by the Health and Human Services - Office of Inspector General (HHS-OIG), the FBI, the Department of Defense - Office of Inspector General (DoD-OIG), the Department of Veterans’ Affairs - Office of Inspector General (VA-OIG), and the Florida Office of Attorney General’s Medicaid Fraud Control Unit (MFCU). The case will be prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Kelley Howard-Allen.

          United States v. Hong Truong

Hong Truong (54, Dunedin) is charged in a 16-count indictment with conspiracy to unlawfully distribute and dispense Schedule II controlled substances, unlawful distribution and dispensing of Schedule II controlled substances, and using a place for unlawful drug distribution of the Schedule II controlled substances oxycodone 30 mg and hydromorphone 8mg in return for cash. Truong faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in federal prison on each of the counts. According to the indictment, Truong is a licensed pharmacist who owned and operated HP Pharmacy in Pinellas Park. From May 2015 through August 2016, Truong used her pharmacy to distribute and dispense Schedule II controlled substance prescriptions outside the scope of usual professional practice and for no legitimate medical purpose. This case was investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration and is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Kelley Howard-Allen and Greg Pizzo.

          United States v. Jessica Evans

Jessica Evans (34, St. Petersburg) is charged by Information with conspiracy to unlawfully distribute and dispense the Schedule II controlled substances oxycodone, methadone, and hydromorphone using forged and fraudulent prescriptions. Evans, who worked as a pharmacy technician at HP Pharmacy, faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in federal prison. This case was investigated by the DEA and is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Kelley Howard-Allen and Greg Pizzo.

          United States v. Lucretia Mullan

Lucretia Mullan (34, St. Petersburg) is charged by Information with conspiracy to unlawfully distribute and dispense the Schedule II controlled substances oxycodone, methadone, and hydromorphone using forged and fraudulent prescriptions. She faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in federal prison. Mullan was employed as a medical assistant at a pain management clinic where she generated the fraudulent opiate prescriptions. This case was investigated by the DEA and is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Kelley Howard-Allen and Greg Pizzo.

          United States v. Robin Lloyd

Robin Lloyd (37, St. Petersburg) is charged by Information with conspiracy to unlawfully distribute and dispense the Schedule II controlled substances oxycodone, methadone, and hydromorphone using forged and fraudulent prescriptions. She faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in federal prison. Lloyd was employed as a medical assistant at a pain management clinic where she generated the fraudulent opiate prescriptions. This case was investigated by the DEA and is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Kelley Howard-Allen and Greg Pizzo.

          United States v. Patrice Jackson

Patrice Jackson (37, Bradenton) is charged by Information with conspiracy to unlawfully distribute the Schedule II controlled substances oxycodone, methadone, and hydromorphone using forged and fraudulent prescriptions. Shen faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in federal prison. Jackson obtained the fraudulent opiate prescriptions from Mullan and Lloyd and then obtained the Schedule II controlled substances from Truong and Evans at HP Pharmacy for distribution. This case was investigated by the DEA and is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Kelley Howard-Allen and Greg Pizzo.

          United States v. Marcus Anderson

Marcus Anderson (34, St. Petersburg) is charged in a 13-count indictment with health care fraud and aggravated identity theft for stealing rendering providers’ identities to submit more than $1.2 million in false and fraudulent claims to Medicaid. He faces a maximum penalty of 10 years in federal prison for each of the seven health care fraud counts and a consecutive two years in prison for the six aggravated identity counts. The case is being investigated by HHS-OIG, the Florida Office of Attorney General/MFCU, and the St. Petersburg Police Department. This case will be prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Kristen A. Fiore.

An indictment and information are merely formal charges that a defendant has committed one or more violations of federal criminal law, and every defendant is presumed innocent unless, and until, proven guilty.

Ft. Myers, Florida – United States Attorney Maria Chapa Lopez announces the return by a grand jury of an indictment charging Alex Jared Zwiefelhofer (22, Wisconsin) and Craig Austin Lang (29, Arizona and North Carolina) with conspiracy to commit robbery affecting commerce and to discharge a firearm during and in relation to a crime of violence, robbery interfering in commerce, and discharging a firearm during and in relation to a crime of violence, resulting in death. The statutory penalties for these offenses include up to life imprisonment and death.

According to court documents, on April 10, 2018, two individuals, S.L., Jr. and D.L., were found dead in Estero, Florida from multiple gunshot wounds to the head and body. Further investigation revealed that the couple had traveled to Estero from Brooksville, Florida to complete the purchase of several firearms from an individual that had listed them for sale on a website known as Armslist. As a result of the investigation, Zwiefelhofer and Lang, were identified as the individuals who were believed to have murdered the couple during the course of an armed robbery for $3,000 that the couple intended to use to purchase the firearms.

Zwiefelhofer made his initial appearance in Madison, Wisconsin, and was detained pending his return to the Middle District of Florida in Ft. Myers. Lang is currently in custody, in Ukraine, pursuant to a provisional arrest request from the United States.

An indictment is merely a formal charge that a defendant has committed one or more violations of federal criminal law, and every defendant is presumed innocent unless, and until, proven guilty.        

This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Lee County Sheriff’s Office. It will be prosecuted by Ft. Myers Assistant United States Attorneys Jesus M. Casas and Josephine W. Thomas. 

Fort Myers, Florida – U.S. District Judge Sheri Polster Chappell today sentenced Romeo Valentin Sanchez (32, Cape Coral) to life in federal prison for producing child pornography, enticing a minor to engage in sexual conduct, and possessing child pornography. The court also ordered Sanchez to forfeit two cellphones that he had used to receive and store the images. 

Sanchez was found guilty by a jury on February 25, 2019, after a five-day trial.

According to testimony and evidence presented at trial, Sanchez, a convicted sex offender, lured a 14-year-old victim into a sexual relationship that lasted several months. In addition to engaging in sex acts with the victim, Sanchez also induced the victim to make and send him pornographic videos.

After officers from the Cape Coral Police Department seized Sanchez’s phone and informed him that he was under investigation for his sexual exploitation of the first victim, Sanchez obtained a second cellphone and attempted to entice a second middle-school-aged child into a sexual relationship. Sanchez lured the victim by creating a fraudulent social media profile of a 13-year-old boy in an attempt to trick the victim into a sexual relationship. Although no in-person encounter occurred with the second victim, Sanchez was able to induce the victim to send him child pornography.

This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Innocent Images Task Force and the Cape Coral Police Department. It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Charles Schmitz.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse.  Led by United States Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS), Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims.  For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.justice.gov/psc.

The Justice Department announced today a significant health care fraud enforcement operation across Florida and Georgia, involving charges against a total of 67 individuals across four federal districts for their alleged involvement in various schemes to defraud Medicare and Medicaid.  The conduct allegedly resulted in more than $160 million in fraudulent billings.  Those charged included physicians as well as other medical and business professionals. In addition, in the state of Florida, 16 defendants, including one licensed mental health professionals, have been charged with defrauding the Medicaid program out of over $1.2 million.  Florida’s Medicaid Fraud Control Unit (MFCU) investigated these cases.

The charges announced today aggressively target schemes alleged to have billed Medicare, Medicaid and private insurance companies for medically unnecessary services, such as home health, prescriptions drugs and durable medical equipment.

Today’s enforcement actions were led and coordinated by the Health Care Fraud Unit of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section in conjunction with its Medicare Fraud Strike Force (MFSF) partners, a partnership among the Criminal Division, U.S. Attorney’s Offices, the FBI and U.S. Health and Human Services-Office of Inspector General (HHS-OIG).  In addition, the operation includes the participation of various other federal law enforcement agencies and state MFCUs. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, Center for Program Integrity (CMS/CPI) also announced today that all appropriate administrative actions would be taken based on these charges.  

“The defendants charged today allegedly bilked the American people to the tune of millions in fraudulent billings,” said Assistant Attorney General Brian A. Benczkowski of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division.  “All Americans should stand with the Department as we fight the fight against these unscrupulous schemes in Florida, Georgia, and across the country.” 

“Anyone who seeks to exploit our federal healthcare programs for personal gain and illicit profit should know that we will prosecute them to the fullest extent of the law,” said U.S. Attorney Maria Chapa Lopez for the Middle District of Florida.  “The American people must have confidence in the healthcare services for which they pay and receive, and trust in those who administer them.”

“Health care programs provide vital services to Americans,” said U.S. Attorney Ariana Fajardo Orshan of the Southern District of Florida.  “Those who perpetuate these pervasive health care fraud schemes steal taxpayer dollars from intended beneficiaries and threaten the viability of government programs.  We commend the coordinated and continued efforts of our federal law enforcement partners to root out fraud and abuse in our healthcare system.”  

“The drug dealer stereotype involves violent gang members peddling poison in our streets, but often the illicit dealers wear white coats and work in medical offices,” said U.S. Attorney Bobby L. Christine for the Southern District of Georgia.  “People who violate medical oaths and ethical codes to turn illegal profits by fueling the opioid crisis will find prosecutors and investigators working tirelessly to swap their lab coats for prison uniforms.”

“Being a healthcare professional in the Medicare program is a privilege, not a right.  When physicians and other healthcare providers put their own financial gain above patient well-being and honest billing of government health programs, they violate the basic trust that taxpayers extend to healthcare professionals,” said Special Agent in Charge Derrick L. Jackson of the HHS-OIG Atlanta Regional Office.  “Today’s arrests put corrupt medical professionals on alert that law enforcement will do everything possible to root out all forms of waste, fraud and abuse in our federal health care programs.”

“FBI Atlanta and its Savannah Resident Agency are proud to have participated in this nationwide effort to help protect the much needed federal funds that Medicare provides,” said Special Agent in Charge Chris Hacker of the FBI’s Atlanta Field Office.  “When providers are driven by greed and abuse the Medicare program, every tax paying citizen is a victim, especially those who use the federal funds for their health care needs. Improper billing inflates costs and the FBI and its law enforcement partners are determined to hold those who do it accountable.”

“The FBI and its federal, state and local partners are working tirelessly every day to detect and combat schemes like those announced today,” said Special Agent in Charge George L. Piro of the FBI’s Miami field office.  “Despite our efforts, we still need the public's help in reporting suspicious activity.  If anyone suspects they are a victim of health care fraud please call your local FBI office or the HHS Office of Inspector General.”

“We commend the law enforcement partnerships for this operation and pledge to continue our commitment to protecting the nation's federally funded healthcare system and the people who depend on it," said Special Agent in Charge Michael McPherson of the FBI’s Tampa Division.

*********

Among those charged in partnership between Strike Force attorneys and U.S. Attorney’s Offices are the following:

In the Northern District of Georgia, one defendant was charged.

Donald Graham, 49, of Smyrna, Georgia, a former employee of a metro Atlanta hospital, has been charged for allegedly stealing and selling individually identifiable health information that was used to submit fraudulent claims to Medicaid.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Jeffrey A. Brown of the Northern District of Georgia and Assistant Attorney General Elizabeth Grofic of the Georgia Medicaid Fraud Control Unit are handling the case.

In the Southern District of Georgia, six defendants were charged and one civil complaint was filed. 

Jenna Savage, 26 of Port Wentworth, Georgia; Norman Lee Burnsed, 27 of Port Wentworth, Georgia; Tucker Chambers, 21 of Ellabell, Georgia; Macaila Brown, 22 of Rincon, Georgia; and Cameron Hilliard, 26 of Savannah, Georgia, were indicted by a federal grand jury in Savannah with conspiracy charges under the Controlled Substances Act relating to the distribution of oxycodone, Adderall, alprazolam, and clonazepam. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Katelyn Semales and Marcela Mateo are prosecuting the case.

David L. Williford, 59, of Rincon, Georgia, a pharmacist, was charged by information with one count of acquiring a controlled substance (oxycodone) by misrepresentation, fraud, or forgery. Assistant U.S. Attorney Jonathan A. Porter is prosecuting the case.

Darien Pharmacy and Janice Ann Colter, 62, of Darien, Georgia, a pharmacist, were named in a civil complaint filed in federal court that accused Darien Pharmacy and Colter of filling prescriptions for controlled substances that the defendants knew or should have known were not issued for legitimate medical reasons, and by a provider not acting with the regular course of professional practice. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Bradford C. Patrick and Jonathan A. Porter are prosecuting the case.

In the Middle District of Florida, two defendants were charged. 

Teresa Johnson, 53, of Lecanto, Florida, was charged by information with one count of conspiracy to commit health care fraud and submit fraudulent claims to Medicare, Medicaid, Tricare and ChampaVA.  According to the indictment, Johnson owned and operated Tri-County Medical Billing and, from November 2016 through October 2018, knowingly submitted false and fraudulent claims on behalf of a medical doctor who owned clinics in Crystal River, Spring Hill and Celebration, Florida.  HHS-OIG, FBI, DoD-OIG, VA-OIG and the Florida Office of Attorney General Medicaid Fraud Control Unit investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Kelley Howard-Allen is prosecuting the case.

Marcus Anderson, 34, of St. Petersburg, Florida, was charged in a thirteen-count indictment with health care fraud and aggravated identity theft for allegedly stealing rendering providers’ identities to submit more than $1.2 million in false and fraudulent claims to Medicaid. HHS-OIG and the Florida Office of Attorney General’s Medicaid Fraud Control Unit investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Kristen A. Fiore will prosecute the case.

In the Southern District of Florida, 42 defendants were charged.

Ana Maria Fernandez, 62, and Berta Leon, 69, of Miami, Florida, were charged with conspiracy to defraud the U.S. and the solicitation and receipt of kickbacks in connection with a federal health care program.  According to the indictment, the defendants participated in a conspiracy to use their company ABC Medical Solutions Corp. of Miami, to solicit and receive kickback payments for the referral of Medicare beneficiaries to home health agencies, including ACM Home Health Corp. of Miami and TC Home Health Care Inc. of Hialeah, Florida.  This case was investigated by HHS-OIG and the FBI.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Timothy J. Abraham of the Southern District of Florida is prosecuting this case.  

Sara Tania Ruiz, 55, of Hialeah, and Maria Laura Prieto, 60, of Miami, were charged by indictment with conspiracy to defraud the U.S. and the solicitation and receipt of kickbacks in connection with a federal health care program.  According to the indictment, the defendants participated in a conspiracy to solicit and receive kickback payments for the referral of Medicare beneficiaries to home health agencies, including ACM Home Health Corp. of Miami and TC Home Health Care Inc. of Hialeah.  This case was investigated by HHS-OIG and the FBI.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Timothy J. Abraham of the Southern District of Florida is prosecuting this case. 

Marisol Padilla, 48, of Hialeah, was charged by indictment with conspiracy to defraud the U.S. and the solicitation and receipt of kickbacks in connection with a federal health care program.  According to the indictment, the defendant participated in a conspiracy to solicit and receive kickback payments for the referral of Medicare beneficiaries to TC Home Health Care of  Hialeah. This case was investigated by HHS-OIG and the FBI.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Timothy J. Abraham is prosecuting this case.

Juan Jose Mesa, 58, and Madelaine Varona, 47, both of Miami, owners and/or operators of All Excellent OT-PT Service LLC of Miami and Cruz Healthcare Corp. of Miami, respectively; Sandra Cardona, 47, of Hialeah, an allegedly unlicensed therapist; and Silvia Salvatori, 67, of Pembroke Pines, Florida, a licensed massage therapist, were charged by indictment with one count of conspiracy to commit health care fraud and wire fraud.  Mesa and Varona were also charged with five and six counts of health care fraud, respectively.  The charges stem from Mesa’s and Varona’s alleged roles in a scheme to defraud Part A of the Medicare program of more than $4 million by billing for home health services that were not rendered and paying kickbacks to patient recruiters in exchange for patient referrals.  Cardona and Salvatori, who were allegedly not licensed to provide physical therapy, accepted payment from a licensed physical therapist, paid by their co-conspirators, in exchange for allegedly obtaining signed patient visitation forms from Medicare beneficiaries used to submit false and fraudulent claims.  This case was investigated by HHS-OIG and the FBI.  The case is being handled by Assistant U.S. Attorney Kevin Larsen of the Southern District of Florida.

Ivan Bejerano, 49, of Miami, was charged by indictment with seven counts of health care fraud and one count of conspiracy to commit health care and wire fraud.  According to the indictment, Dynamic Physical Rehab Inc. (Dynamic) was a Miami medical clinic that purportedly provided private insurance beneficiaries with various medical treatments and services. From June 2017 through July 2019, Bejerano allegedly submitted and caused the submission of claims, via interstate wires, totaling approximately $2.5 million that falsely and fraudulently represented that various health care benefits, primarily physical therapy, were medically necessary, prescribed by a doctor, and had been provided by Dynamic to insurance beneficiaries of Blue Cross Blue Shield (BCBS).  This case was investigated by the FBI.  This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Shannon Shaw of the Southern District of Florida. 

Jocelyn De La Caridad Perez, 41, and Joaquin Guevara, 46, both of Miami, were charged by indictment with one count of conspiracy to receive health care kickbacks.  Perez was also charged with one count of conspiracy to commit health care fraud and wire fraud, and Guevara was also charged with three counts of receipt of kickbacks in connection with a federal health care program.  According to the indictment, Perez was an administrator of Joe Rehabilitation and Diagnostic, Inc. (Joe Rehab), an outpatient rehabilitation facility in Doral, Florida, that purportedly provided therapy services to Medicare beneficiaries.  As part of the fraudulent scheme, Perez allegedly conspired with others to pay kickbacks and bribes for the referral of Medicare beneficiaries to Joe Rehab so their information could be used to submit fraudulent claims to Medicare for services purportedly provided, regardless of whether the Medicare beneficiaries needed or received the services.  This case was investigated by HHS-OIG and the FBI.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Anne P. McNamara of the Southern District of Florida is prosecuting this case.  

Deivys Ernesto Alvarez, 48, of Hialeah, was charged by indictment with one count of conspiracy to commit health care fraud and wire fraud and four counts of health care fraud.  According to the indictment, Alvarez was the owner of Diagnostic Center of Medley Inc., a Miami medical clinic.  AP & JL Medical Center Inc. (AP & JL) was another Miami medical clinic that purportedly provided private insurance beneficiaries with various medical treatments and services.  Alvarez and co-conspirators allegedly recruited and paid Comcast Corp. and Telemundo Corp. employees, through Diagnostic Center of Medley Inc., and referred those employees and/or the employees’ personal information to AP & JL to fraudulently bill BCBS.  Alvarez and his co-conspirators allegedly submitted and caused the submission of false and fraudulent claims, via interstate wires, totaling approximately $800,500. This case was investigated by HHS-OIG and the FBI.  This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Timothy J. Abraham of the Southern District of Florida. 

Elba Cobos Baile, 60, and Yolanda Castano, 55, both of Miami, were charged by indictment with four counts of health care fraud and one count of conspiracy to commit health care fraud and wire fraud.  Cobos and Castano were the owners and operators of Pharmacy Solution, a retail pharmacy in Miami-Dade County. The indictment alleges that from on or about March 1, 2012 to September 17, 2014, Cobos and Castano submitted and caused the submission of claims, via interstate wires, which falsely and fraudulently represented that various health care benefits, primarily prescription drugs, were medically necessary, prescribed by a doctor and had been provided by Pharmacy Solution to Medicare beneficiaries.  As a result of these false and fraudulent claims, Medicare prescription drug plan sponsors allegedly made payments funded by the Medicare Part D Program to the corporate bank accounts of Pharmacy Solution in the approximate amount of at least $2.1 million. This case was investigated by HHS-OIG and the FBI.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Christopher J. Clark of the Southern District of Florida is prosecuting this case. 

Tania Rodriguez, 48, and Rafael Vidal, 61, both of Miami, were charged by indictment with one count of conspiracy to commit healthcare and wire fraud and seven counts of health care fraud.  According to the indictment, the defendants participated in a conspiracy to use their company, American United Pharmacy Corp. of Miami, to offer and pay kickbacks for the referral of Medicare beneficiaries to their pharmacy, and to submit false and fraudulent claims to Medicare for prescription drugs that were not provided to Medicare beneficiaries.  Assistant U.S. Attorney David Turken of the Southern District of Florida is prosecuting this case.  

Ricardo Ignacio Perez, 54, and Ricardo Perez-Leon, 31, both of Miami, the owners and operators of three Miami pharmacies, were charged by indictment with one count of conspiracy to commit health care fraud and wire fraud; one count of conspiracy to defraud the United States and pay and receive health care kickbacks; and three counts of health care fraud.  The indictment alleges that the defendants participated in a scheme to pay kickbacks and bribes to patient recruiters and to fraudulently bill Medicare drug plan sponsors for prescription medications.  The indictment alleges that, during the course of the fraudulent scheme, the defendants received approximately $5.3 million from Medicare drug plan sponsors for prescription medications that were medically unnecessary, never provided and/or never purchased by the defendants’ pharmacies.  This case was investigated by HHS-OIG and the FBI.  The case is being prosecuted by Trial Attorneys Sara Clingan and Tim Loper of the Fraud Section. 

Steven Kahn, 61, of Boca Raton, and Pamela Edwin, 33, of Delray Beach, the owner and office manager, respectively, of a Broward county telemedicine company, were charged by indictment with one count of conspiracy to commit health care fraud and wire fraud and three counts of wire fraud. Kahn was also charged with five counts of money laundering.  The indictment alleges that the defendants paid kickbacks and bribes to physicians in exchange for signing doctors’ orders, and that the defendants then sold the doctors’ orders to Medicare providers who used the orders to submit approximately $39 million in fraudulent claims to Medicare.  This case was investigated by HHS-OIG and the FBI.  The case is being prosecuted by Trial Attorneys Sara Clingan and Catherine Wagner of the Fraud Section.

Jordan Karlick, 33, of Boca Raton, Michael Moranz, 32, of Lake Worth, and Jordan Chibnick, 36, of Plantation, the owners of Palm Beach durable medical equipment (DME) companies, were charged by indictment with one count of conspiracy to commit healthcare fraud and wire fraud, one count of conspiracy to defraud the United States and pay kickbacks, four counts of health care fraud, and three counts of payment of kickbacks.  The indictment alleges that the defendants paid kickbacks and bribes in exchange for signed doctors’ orders for DME, which the defendants used to fraudulently bill Medicare for over $23 million.  The indictment alleges that defendants sought to impede Medicare beneficiary’s ability to return DME that they did not want or need to defendants’ companies, so that defendants could continue to bill Medicare for that DME.  This case was investigated by HHS-OIG and the FBI.  The case is being prosecuted by Trial Attorneys Sara Clingan and Catherine Wagner of the Fraud Section.

Richard S. Mallia, D.P.M., 55, a podiatrist, was charged by indictment with one count of conspiracy to defraud the United States and to receive kickbacks, one count of conspiracy to commit health care fraud and wire fraud, and three counts of health care fraud, for his role in a health care fraud conspiracy that caused a loss of approximately $7.7 million to the Medicare program.  The indictment alleges that Mallia accepted cash kickbacks in exchange for writing medically unnecessary home health prescriptions and also participated in a scheme to submit claims to Medicare for relatively expensive foot procedures that he never performed.  This case was investigated by HHS-OIG, the FBI, and United States Secret Service. The case is being prosecuted by Trial Attorney Alexander Pogozelski of the Fraud Section.

Peter Port, 64, of Boca Raton, Brian Dublynn, 62, of Fort Lauderdale, and Jennifer Sanford, 57, of Hollywood, were charged for their alleged participation in a scheme to defraud private health insurance companies.  Port, Dublynn and Sanford were each charged with one count of conspiracy to commit health care fraud and wire fraud and four counts of health care fraud.  In addition, Port and Dublynn were each charged with one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering and five counts of money laundering.  The defendants caused Safe Haven Recovery Inc. (Safe Haven), a substance abuse treatment facility in Miami, and several clinical laboratories to submit false and fraudulent claims to health insurance plans for addiction treatment services that were not provided as billed and laboratory tests that were not medically necessary. This case was investigated by the FBI.  This case is being handled by Trial Attorney David A. Snider of the Fraud Section.

Maribel Sera, 51, of Hialeah, was charged by information with conspiracy to defraud the U.S. and the solicitation and receipt of kickbacks in connection with a federal health care program.  According to the information, the defendant participated in a conspiracy to solicit and receive kickback payments for the referral of Medicare beneficiaries to TC Home Health Care of Hialeah. HHS-OIG and the FBI investigated this case.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Timothy J. Abraham is prosecuting this case.

Francisco Abreu Tartabull, 53, of Miami, was charged by indictment with conspiracy to commit health care fraud and wire fraud in connection with his role in a $2.1 million private insurance fraud scheme.  According to the indictment, Tartabull was the owner and operator of South Dade Medical Center Inc. (South Dade), a Miami medical clinic that purportedly provided Blue Cross Blue Shield insurance beneficiaries with various medical treatments and services.  As part of the fraudulent scheme, Tartabull and his co-conspirators submitted more than $2.1 million in fraudulent claims to Blue Cross Blue Shield.  These claims falsely represented that the benefits Tartabull’s clinic had billed insurance for were medically necessary, prescribed by a doctor, and had been provided by South Dade to these beneficiaries.  As a result of these false claims, Blue Cross Blue Shield paid Tartabull’s clinic more than $920,000.  Tartabull then used this ill-gotten money for his own personal use and benefit, and to further the fraud.  The FBI investigated this case.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Anne P. McNamara is prosecuting this case.   

*********

The charges and allegations contained in the indictments are merely accusations.  The defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

The Fraud Section leads the Medicare Fraud Strike Force (MFSF), which is part of a joint initiative between the Department of Justice and HHS to focus their efforts to prevent and deter fraud and enforce current anti-fraud laws around the country.  Since its inception in March 2007, MFSF maintains 15 strike forces operating in 24 districts and has charged nearly 4,000 defendants who have collectively billed the Medicare program for more than $14 billion.  In addition, HHS Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, working in conjunction with HHS-OIG, are taking steps to increase accountability and decrease the presence of fraudulent providers.

Tampa, Florida – United States District Judge Steven D. Merryday has sentenced Jonathan Budowski (48, Brooksville), a/k/a “Hard Times,” to 20 years and 8 months in federal prison for his role in selling multiple kilograms of methamphetamine as part of a drug trafficking conspiracy, while maintaining an arsenal of firearms and ammunition to protect his drug stash and proceeds. Budowski was also ordered to forfeit five firearms, including an assault rifle, and 196 rounds of ammunition.

Budowski had pleaded guilty on May 22, 2019.

According to court documents, Budowski sold methamphetamine in multi-ounce quantities to a wide range of lower-level drug suppliers for several years, usually while armed. In September 2017, Budowski faced multiple state charges unrelated to this case, including felony domestic battery. After he failed to appear in state court as required, law enforcement officers secured a warrant for his arrest and a tipster alerted law enforcement that Budowski was hiding out in a motel. Law enforcement observed Budowski using his vehicle and his motel room in a manner consistent with drug dealing and ultimately had to use tear gas to draw Budowski out of the motel room to arrest him. Upon searching the motel room, officers found three loaded firearms, more than 100 rounds of ammunition, a distribution quantity of methamphetamine, and narcotics packaging materials. Budowski later stated, in a recorded call, that he had strongly considered engaging the officers in a shootout rather than submit to arrest. When officers searched Budowski’s vehicle, they recovered three more loaded firearms, including an assault rifle, as well as ammunition and drug paraphernalia.

Budowski’s criminal record includes 41 prior convictions.

This case was jointly investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Pasco Sheriff’s Office, and the Sumter County Sheriff’s Office, with assistance from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Michael M. Gordon.

Orlando, Florida – United States Attorney Maria Chapa Lopez announces that brothers Salvatore Esposito (47, Orlando) and Joseph Esposito (43, Orlando) have agreed to plead guilty to an Information charging them with conspiracy to commit wire fraud and mail fraud. Each faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in federal prison. Their initial appearances and change of plea hearings have been scheduled for October 2, 2019.

According to court documents, the Espositos operated U.S. Coin Bullion, a local Orlando company formed in 2012. From 2014 to July 2019, the Espositos engaged in a conspiracy to defraud U.S. Coin Bullion’s customers. Instead of using the customers’ funds to purchase precious metals as had been promised, the Espositos caused U.S. Coin Bullion to use customer funds to pay other customers, to pay commissions and other business expenses, and to purchase silver for the company itself. 

U.S. Coin Bullion used its customers’ funds to purchase silver on “margin,” or “leverage,” by which it acquired an interest in the silver by paying only a portion of its full price. The company took out loans to purchase the silver on margin and then used more customer funds to pay the interest associated with those loans, as well as storage fees for the silver. And, because it was buying on margin, U.S. Coin Bullion was subject to “margin calls”; if the market price for silver declined, the company might immediately have to deposit more (customer) funds into its accounts to maintain its interest in the silver.

U.S. Coin Bullion never told its customers that their funds were being used in this way. By at least 2016, it was regularly using its customers’ funds to buy millions of dollars worth of silver. When the price for silver fell from more than $35 an ounce (in 2012) to less than $15 an ounce during the conspiracy, the company experienced massive losses and had to spend customer funds due to margin calls.

To cover up U.S. Coin Bullion’s losses, the Espositos provided customers with false account statements making it appear that the company had purchased the silver for the customers (not itself) and that their accounts maintained value despite any drop in the market price of silver. Ultimately, U.S. Coin Bullion’s margin purchases resulted in a loss of nearly all the market value of the silver that its customers believed they had purchased and held.

An information is merely a formal charge that a defendant has committed one or more violations of federal criminal law, and every defendant is presumed innocent unless, and until, proven guilty.

To date, the United States Secret Service has identified more than 120 victims who have been defrauded as a result of this conspiracy, with total losses of over $7.9 million. A dedicated email address ([email protected]) has been established for victims to provide victim impact statements and any other information related to their losses.  

This case was investigated by the U.S. Secret Service, with assistance from the Florida Attorney General's Office of Citizen Services – Consumer Assistance Program which has provided invaluable assistance with the victims. This case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Roger B. Handberg.

Tampa, Florida – United States Attorney Maria Chapa Lopez announces the return of an indictment charging Heidi Kalous (39, Dunedin) with conspiring to distribute a substance that contained a mixture of heroin and fentanyl, and distributing a substance that contained a mixture of heroin, fentanyl, and acetyl fentanyl, causing death. If convicted, Kalous faces a minimum mandatory penalty of 20 years, and up to life, in federal prison.

According to court documents, beginning no later than June 5, 2019, and continuing through June 28, 2019, Kalous conspired with others to possess and distribute heroin, fentanyl, and acetyl fentanyl.

On June 5, 2019, Kalous distributed two bags containing a mixture of heroin and fentanyl to an individual. The individual injected himself with the substance from the bags and died. A medical autopsy revealed that the cause of death was an accidental overdose caused by fentanyl toxicity.

Between June 5 and June 27, 2019, Kalous continued to distribute narcotics, including crack cocaine, fentanyl, acetyl fentanyl and heroin, out of a motel in Dunedin.

An indictment is merely a formal charge that a defendant has committed one or more violations of federal criminal law, and every defendant is presumed innocent unless, and until, proven guilty.

This case is part of the Middle District of Florida’s anti-opioid strategy to combat opioid trafficking and abuse. This case was investigated by the Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office and the Drug Enforcement Administration, with assistance from the Pinellas County Medical Examiner’s Office. It will be prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Diego F. Novaes.

Tampa, Florida – United States Attorney Maria Chapa Lopez announces that Matthew Enhoffer (34, St. Petersburg) has been arrested and charged by federal criminal complaint with distribution and possession of child pornography. If convicted, Enhoffer faces a minimum mandatory penalty of 5 years, and up to 20 years, in federal prison. Federal agents arrested Enhoffer, a police officer with the St. Petersburg Police Department, yesterday without incident.

According to the

complaint , an individual using the screen name “thehoff727” distributed child pornography on Snapchat, a mobile web-based communications application. Further investigation revealed that the Internet Protocol (IP) address and subscriber information associated with that account was linked to Enhoffer’s residence.

On September 11, 2019, agents from Homeland Security Investigations executed a search warrant at Enhoffer’s home and seized several electronic devices. An examination of Enhoffer’s cellphone revealed a collection of child-pornographic images and videos, including multiple images and videos involving children under the age of 12 in bondage, being raped, and forced to perform sex acts.

A criminal complaint is merely an allegation that a defendant has committed one or more violations of federal criminal law, and every defendant is presumed innocent unless, and until, proven guilty.

This case was investigated by Homeland Security Investigations. It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Lisa M. Thelwell.

This is another case brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by the United States Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.justice.gov/psc.  

Tampa, Florida – U.S. District Judge Elizabeth A. Kovachevich has sentenced Tammy Marie Steffen (37, Holiday) to four years and nine months in federal prison for cyberstalking and sending threatening communications online.

Steffen had pleaded guilty on December 21, 2018.

According to the plea agreement, from at least August 2016 and continuing through July 2018, Steffen engaged in a course of conduct with the intent to harass or intimidate six victims. Specifically, Steffen cyberstalked, harassed, and threatened several of her former colleagues and associates through repeated emails, phone calls, text messages, and social media messages using numerous phone numbers and accounts. To date, the FBI has identified at least 369 Instagram accounts and 18 email accounts that Steffen had created and used to cyberstalk, harass, and threaten the victims. For example, Steffen threatened to “slice [the victim] up into little pieces” and told another victim that “all hell is gonna rain fire down on your world like never seen before” and then sent a picture of a female holding two knives, with a caption that read, “I’m coming.” In addition to the threatening messages online, Steffen made countless “spoofed” phone calls to the victims. She used voice-disguising software to mask her identity when she repeatedly called the victims at their homes and businesses.

This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Lisa M. Thelwell and Rachel K. Jones.

Jacksonville, Florida – U.S. District Judge Timothy J. Corrigan has sentenced Allen Pernell Branch (32, Jacksonville) to five years and six months in federal prison for distributing crack cocaine. Branch’s brother, Brian Nathaniel Branch (33, Jacksonville), was sentenced to 10 years and 10 months in federal prison for distributing crack cocaine and possessing a firearm as a convicted felon.

Allen Branch had pleaded guilty on April 23, 2019, and Brian Branch had pleaded guilty on June 10, 2019.

According to court documents, Allen and Brian Branch, both previously convicted felons, were associated with a drug house on West 22nd Street in Jacksonville. On two occasions, Allen Branch cooked powder cocaine into crack cocaine and then sold it to a confidential informant who was working at the direction of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF). On another occasion, Brian Branch sold crack cocaine to the confidential informant at an apartment in Arlington. During that transaction, Brian Branch displayed a pistol to the confidential informant. The pistol was recovered when ATF raided the apartment. Brian Branch’s previous felony convictions include possessing a firearm as a convicted felon, aggravated assault, possession of cocaine (four times), and attempted robbery. As a previously convicted felon he is prohibited from possessing firearms or ammunition under federal law.

This case was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Laura Cofer Taylor.

This is another case prosecuted as part of the Department of Justice’s “Project Safe Neighborhoods” Program (PSN), which is a nationwide, crime reduction strategy aimed at decreasing violent crime in communities. It involves a comprehensive approach to public safety — one that includes investigating and prosecuting crimes, along with prevention and reentry efforts. In the Middle District of Florida, U.S. Attorney Maria Chapa Lopez coordinates PSN efforts in cooperation with various federal, state, and local law enforcement officials.

 

Orlando, Florida – U.S. District Judge G. Kendall Sharp today sentenced Dondi Kentrail Freeney (34, Sanford) to seven years and six months in federal prison, and Telvin Javon Williams (25, Sanford) to five years in federal prison, for their roles in a cocaine trafficking conspiracy. Freeney and Williams had pleaded guilty on June 25, 2019.    

On August 9, 2019, a federal jury found Benjamin Greene Robinson (32, Daytona Beach) guilty for his role in this same conspiracy. A final conspirator, Antonio Toray Chandler (39, Belle Isle), has signed a plea agreement and is scheduled to appear in court on September 20, 2019.   

According to court documents, and testimony and evidence presented during Robinson’s trial, in January 2016, the conspirators arranged for multiple shipments of cocaine to be sent through the U.S. Postal Service (USPS) from California to various addresses in Daytona and Sanford. During the investigation, the FBI and the USPS seized three packages of the packages, each containing two kilograms of cocaine hidden inside tubs of protein powder. Law enforcement identified five additional shipments that the conspirators had successfully shipped through the mail. In 2016, during the month of January, the conspirators were responsible for shipping 14 kilograms of cocaine through the mail, estimated to be worth of $490,000. 

Freeney was involved in all aspects of the scheme, including arranging for payments and shipments and tracking down lost packages. Williams provided cash to Freeney and also received one of the 2-kilogram packages in Sanford.

This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, with assistance from the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, the Lake County Sherriff’s Office, and the Volusia Bureau of Investigation. It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Dana E. Hill.

Orlando, Florida, – U.S. District Judge G. Kendall Sharp today sentenced Robert Wells (37, Palm Coast) to 18 months in federal prison for possessing a loaded handgun and ammunition as a convicted felon. The court also ordered Wells to forfeit the firearm and ammunition. 

Wells was convicted on May 1, 2019, following a bench trial.  

According to the stipulated facts and court documents, on the morning of February 3, 2018, a citizen contacted the Daytona Beach Police (DBPD) and reported that Wells was behaving suspiciously near her home and carrying a gun. DBPD identified Wells and, with the help of another citizen, determined that Wells had hidden the loaded firearm he had been carrying behind a trash can at a nearby shopping mall. Wells later admitted that he had come to Daytona Beach for drugs and had found the firearm. At the time of the incident, Wells had prior convictions for multiple felony offenses, including aggravated battery (2006); possession of cocaine (2008); battery on a law enforcement officer (2008); and resisting an officer with violence (2008).

This case was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosive and the Daytona Beach Police Department. It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Dana E. Hill.

This is another case prosecuted as part of the Department of Justice’s “Project Safe Neighborhoods” Program (PSN), which is a nationwide, crime reduction strategy aimed at decreasing violent crime in communities. It involves a comprehensive approach to public safety — one that includes investigating and prosecuting crimes, along with prevention and reentry efforts. In the Middle District of Florida, U.S. Attorney Maria Chapa Lopez coordinates PSN efforts in cooperation with various federal, state, and local law enforcement officials.

 

Orlando, FL – U.S. District Judge G. Kendall Sharp today sentenced Melvin Mack Gatlin (34, Tucker, GA) to four years in federal prison for committing credit card fraud and identity theft while visiting Orlando in early April 2018. The court also ordered Gatlin to forfeit the computer and credit card encoder he had used to commit the offense and, to pay $7,184.24 in restitution to his victims. Gatlin had pleaded guilty on June 17, 2019.   

According to court documents, on April 1, 2018, Gatlin used a fake driver license and a counterfeit credit card, in the name of a victim, R.P., to check into a resort hotel. The following day, using the fake driver license and a counterfeit credit card, he purchased 11 theme park tickets. On April 3, 2018, he purchased 11 more theme park tickets using the fake driver license and a counterfeit credit card. Gatlin was arrested and admitted that he had obtained the fake credit cards and stolen account numbers on the dark web. Investigators found that Gatlin had incurred thousands of dollars in fraudulent transactions in just a few days in Orlando. 

This case was investigated by the United States Secret Service, with assistance from the Orlando Police Department. It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Dana E. Hill.

Jacksonville, Florida – Maria Chapa Lopez announces that, on September 17, 2019, a three-judge panel of the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit affirmed the 120-year federal-prison sentence of Kyle Adam Kirby (39, Live Oak), who was convicted of producing, attempting to produce, possessing, and accessing images and videos depicting the sexual abuse of minors. Kirby was arrested on October 28, 2015, at the Live Oak Police Department (LOPD) and has remained in custody since that date. A federal jury found him guilty on December 7, 2017.

According to testimony and evidence at trial, on October 22, 2015, FBI agents and other law enforcement officers executed a search warrant at Kirby’s residence as a result of an online child exploitation investigation. At that time, Kirby was a sergeant with the Live Oak Police Department. That same morning, the LOPD chief authorized the agents to inspect and search the computer located inside Kirby’s patrol car. A forensic examination of this computer revealed that it contained images depicting young children engaged in sexually explicit conduct. Kirby had used the patrol car’s computer to search for, download, access, and possess child pornography from as early as December 24, 2014.

A later search of an LOPD desktop computer used by Kirby revealed images depicting nude and partially undressed children in at least three different bathrooms. The evidence at trial revealed that Kirby had used one or more concealed cameras to surreptitiously film the unsuspecting minors. He had then transferred these images to the LOPD desktop computer and later had unsuccessfully attempted to delete them. Agents were able to locate folders on the computer named for several of Kirby’s victims.   

In March 2018, United States District Judge Timothy J. Corrigan sentenced Kirby to serve 120 years in federal prison for these crimes. Kirby appealed his sentence to the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit, but that court affirmed, holding that the district court had not erred in calculating Kirby’s United States Sentence Guidelines advisory sentence of life imprisonment, which the court said, means a sentence that is “indefinite in duration.” The court said that Kirby’s 120-year sentence was “the closest available sentence to indefinite incarceration,” and concluded that, “when the Sentencing Guidelines recommend life imprisonment, they mean life imprisonment.”

The Court of Appeals also held that Kirby’s sentence was not unreasonably long, noting that, before imposing the longest sentence that it could, the District Court had “thoroughly discussed Kirby’s particularly heinous conduct and direct participation in the creation of child pornography, his breach of public trust as a police officer, and his total failure to take responsibility for his actions.”

This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Columbia County Sheriff’s Office, and the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, with the full cooperation of the Live Oak Police Department. Assistant United States Attorney D. Rodney Brown prosecuted the case in the District Court, and Linda Julin McNamara, Sara Sweeney, and Michelle Thresher Taylor represented the United States on appeal.

It is another case brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by the United States Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.justice.gov/psc.   

Jacksonville, FL – U.S. District Judge Brian J. Davis has sentenced Anthony Donta Jones (39, Atlanta) to 10 years in federal prison for possession with intent to distribute 500 grams or more of a mixture and substance containing a detectable amount of methamphetamine. Jones was found guilty on April 10, 2019.

According to court documents, on May 23, 2018, Jones traveled to Jacksonville, Florida from Atlanta, Georgia, after agreeing to deliver 15 pounds of methamphetamine to a confidential informant. Jones arrived in Jacksonville where he was detained. A Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office canine performed a narcotics “sniff” of Jones’ vehicle and alerted to the presence of narcotics near the vehicle’s trunk. Agents then searched the vehicle and located six gallon-sized plastic bags containing methamphetamine that was concealed in comforter bags. Agents also located a stolen, loaded Ruger .38 caliber revolver in the driver’s side door and seized a total of $2,611 in U.S. currency.

This case was investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration, along with the Putnam County Sheriff’s Office, and the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office. It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Beatriz Gonzalez.

Tampa, Florida – U.S. District Judge Virginia M. Hernandez-Covington has sentenced Alfredo Milan Caceres-Lopez (44, Colombia) to 20 years in federal prison for conspiracy to distribute five kilograms or more of cocaine while onboard a vessel subject to the jurisdiction of the United States. On June 12, 2019, his brother, and co-defendant, Juan Carlos Caceres-Lopez (50, Colombia) was sentenced to 12 years in federal prison for his involvement in the conspiracy.

According to court documents, since at least 2013, Alfredo Milan Caceres-Lopez, with the assistance of his brother, planned, organized, and coordinated the smuggling of almost four tons of cocaine into the United States from the Guajira region of Colombia and Venezuela, through the Dominican Republic and the Caribbean Sea. Alfredo Milan Caceres-Lopez dispatched seven cocaine smuggling ventures, three of which were interdicted by the United States Coast Guard.

This case was investigated by the Panama Express Strike Force, an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) comprised of agents and analysts from Homeland Security Investigations, the United States Coast Guard Investigative Service, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Drug Enforcement Administration and U.S. Southern Command's Joint Interagency Task Force South. The principal mission of the OCDETF program is to identify, disrupt, and dismantle the most serious drug trafficking and money laundering organizations and those primarily responsible for the nation’s drug supply. The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Diego F. Novaes.

Jacksonville, Florida – United States Attorney Maria Chapa Lopez announces the unsealing of an indictment charging Robert H. Hendricks (63, Ponte Vedra) with 12 counts of wire fraud. If convicted, Hendricks faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in federal prison on each count. The indictment also notifies Hendricks that the United States is seeking a money judgment of at least $2,638,924.34, the proceeds of the charged criminal conduct.

According to the indictment, Hendricks solicited his friends and clients to invest in fraudulent and sham investments in real property and commercial business ventures. To convince the victims of the veracity of their investments, Hendricks provided falsified property documents that represented the purported investments and made statements to hide and conceal the purpose of his scheme. Hendricks spent the funds to personally enrich himself and others.

An indictment is merely a formal charge that a defendant has committed one or more violations of federal criminal law, and every defendant is presumed innocent unless, and until, proven guilty.

This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. It will be prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Ashley Washington.

Tampa, Florida – United States District Judge William F. Jung has sentenced Rashid Iman Turner (32, Ft. Myers) to 41 years in federal prison for his involvement in a string of armed robberies of banks and retail stores. Turner was also ordered to pay $103,782.78 in restitution to the victims. A federal jury had found Turner guilty on May 29, 2019.

According to evidence presented at trial, in August and October 2017, Turner and co-defendant Petrie Addison robbed Family Dollar and Dollar General stores in Lehigh Acres. In both retail robberies, shortly after closing time, Turner and Addison held the employees at gunpoint, threatened to kill them and their families, forced them to open the safes, and stole cash from the stores. Co-defendant Dakiriya Lias served as their getaway driver for the Dollar General robbery.   

In November 2017, Turner and Addison robbed a Wells Fargo Bank in Spring Hill. And, in December 2017, co-defendant Zachary Gloster joined Turner and Addison and they robbed Seacoast Banks in Arcadia and Port St. Lucie. In each of the bank robberies, the defendants stormed through the bank’s front doors shortly after opening time, held the employees at gunpoint, looted the teller drawers, and fled less than two minutes later.

Addison, Gloster, and Lias pleaded guilty for their roles in this case prior to Turner’s trial. This morning, Gloster was sentenced to 20 years in prison for his role. Addison and Lias are currently awaiting sentencing.

This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, with assistance from the Ft. Myers Police Department, the Lee County Sheriff’s Office, the Pasco County Sheriff’s Office, the Hernando County Sheriff’s Office, the Florida Highway Patrol, the Arcadia Police Department, the Port St. Lucie Police Department, and the Sarasota County Sheriff’s Office. It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Michael M. Gordon.

This is another case prosecuted as part of the Department of Justice’s “Project Safe Neighborhoods” Program (PSN), which is a nationwide, crime reduction strategy aimed at decreasing violent crime in communities. It involves a comprehensive approach to public safety — one that includes investigating and prosecuting crimes, along with prevention and reentry efforts. In the Middle District of Florida, U.S. Attorney Maria Chapa Lopez coordinates PSN efforts in cooperation with various federal, state, and local law enforcement officials.

Jacksonville, Florida – Douglas Scott Phillips (52, Richmond Hill, Georgia) has pleaded guilty to using the internet to attempt to entice a child to engage in sexual activity. Phillips faces a minimum mandatory penalty of 10 years, and up to life, in federal prison, and a potential life term of supervised release.

According to court documents, on November 15, 2018, a detective from the St. Johns County Sheriff’s Office engaged in an online undercover operation to identify individuals seeking to meet children for sex. The detective posted a notice on an online bulletin board using the fictitious persona of a “mother” with “a young 11-year-old daughter.” Phillips responded to the notice and confirmed the age of the “daughter.” Phillips indicated that he was “very interested” and sent the “mother” an explicit photo of himself. 

Over the next two months, Phillips and the undercover officer had several online conversations in which Phillips expressed his desire and intention to engage in sexual activity with the “child.” During the conversations, Phillips instructed the “child” how to masturbate and sent pornographic photos illustrating how to do so. Phillips stated that he wanted to teach the “child” about sex in person. On January 7, 2019, Phillips told the “mother” that he was “serious about making this [meeting with the “child”] happen” and confirmed that he had texted with the “child” about masturbation.  

On January 18, 2019, Phillips was arrested at his home in Georgia. During an interview, Phillips admitted seeing the advertisement and following up “just to see what it was.” He also admitted to engaging in sexual conversations with the “mother” and sending explicit pictures of himself to the “child.”         

This case was investigated by the St. Johns County Sheriff’s Office, Homeland Security Investigations, the Liberty County (GA) Sheriff’s Office, and the Bryan County (GA) Sheriff’s Office. It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney D. Rodney Brown.

This is another case brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by the United States Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.justice.gov/psc.

Fort Myers, Florida – U.S. District Judge Sheri Polster Chappell today sentenced Warren Alan Baxter (54, Cape Coral) to eight years in federal prison for possession of child pornography. The court also ordered Baxter to forfeit his computer, hard drive, and cellphone, which he had used to facilitate the offense. 

Baxter had pleaded guilty on June 20, 2019.

According to court documents, on June 5, 2018, law enforcement received a report that Baxter had asked a 17-year-old boy to send him nude photos. On July 5, 2018, pursuant to that report and a subsequent investigation, officers went to Baxter’s home. During an interview with officers, Baxter admitted that he had images of underage girls on his phone, and he provided the officers with his computer, hard drive, and cellphone. A search of those items revealed more than 700 videos and more than 900 images of minors engaging in sexually explicit conduct. Baxter acknowledged that he knew there were images of young children engaged in sexually explicit conduct on his devices and that he had obtained all of the images over the internet. 

This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Innocent Images Task Force, with assistance from the Lee County Sheriff’s Office. It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Charles D. Schmitz and Yolande G. Viacava.

This is another case brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by the United States Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.justice.gov/psc.

Jacksonville, Florida – United States Attorney Maria Chapa Lopez announces the arrest of Jason Brian Goff (42, Starke) on a criminal complaint charging him with attempted production of child pornography. If convicted, Goff faces a minimum mandatory penalty of 15 years, and up to 30 years, in federal prison and a potential life term of supervised release.

According to the

complaint , beginning on July 24, 2018, Goff was employed as a custodian at Clay High School in Green Cove Springs. On August 22, 2019, two 14-year-old female students reported a suspected camera in an unassigned, locked locker in the girls’ gym locker room. When school administrators unlocked the locker, they discovered a cellphone taped to the inside wall of the locker with the camera lens pointed out of a pre-fabricated hole aimed at a changing area. As the school janitor, Goff had access to the area and the ability to unlock the type of locks on the locker containing the cellphone.

A forensic review of the cellphone revealed images and videos of high school girls changing in the locker room. At the end of one of the videos, the phone pans down and a Clay County School identification badge can be seen hanging from the waist of the person holding the phone. The photo on the badge matches the photo on Goff’s Clay County School identification badge. The cellphone also contained “selfie” photos of Goff and text messages from Goff’s phone number.

Goff’s detention hearing is scheduled for Tuesday, September 17, at 2:00 p.m., before the Honorable U.S. Magistrate Judge James R. Klindt.  

A criminal complaint is merely an allegation that a defendant has committed one or more violations of federal criminal law, and every defendant is presumed innocent unless, and until, proven guilty.

This case was investigated by the Clay County Sheriff’s Office, and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Homeland Security Investigations. It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Kelly S. Karase.

It is another case brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by the United States Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.justice.gov/psc.

Tampa, Florida – David Allen Boileau (58, Holiday) today pleaded guilty to criminal interference with a right to fair housing. He faces up to one year in federal prison. A sentencing date has not yet been set.

According to court documents, over the course of several months, Boileau engaged in a course of conduct intended to threaten and intimidate an Iraqi-American family so that they would move out of their neighborhood and, more broadly, leave the United States. The family, now naturalized United States citizens, had immigrated to the United States from Iraq in 2015 through a refugee visa.

Boileau threw screws at a car parked on the family’s property, broke into their house, and went through the family’s mail. Boileau also made several derogatory statements regarding their national origin and religion, referring to them as “ISIS” and an “eyesore to this country,” adding that he disliked Muslims and people of Middle Eastern descent. Witnesses reported that, on one occasion, Boileau yelled at the family to get out of his neighborhood and country. Boileau reported that his goal was to “take care of that family” and to “clean up America.” Boileau also threatened to kill witnesses who reported his conduct to local law enforcement authorities. As a result of Boileau’s conduct, the Iraqi-American family was afraid to be in their house and, at one point, left their home to stay with extended family.

This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Frank Murray.

Tampa, Florida – U.S. District Judge Mary S. Scriven has sentenced Arnold Gerard Nelson, Jr. (33, Tampa) to 5 years and 10 months in federal prison and James Thomas Lang, III (33, Tampa) to 11years in federal prison for conspiring to distribute and possess with the intent to distribute at least100 grams of heroin and fentanyl. As part of the sentence, the court also entered a money judgment against Lang for $19,350, and a money judgment against Nelson for $25,200, the proceeds of the conspiracy. Nelson and Lang had previously pleaded guilty to the offense.  

According to court documents, from January 23 through October 30, 2018, Nelson and Lang conspired to sell substances containing heroin and fentanyl, and engaged in a series of transactions with an undercover officer (UC) and a confidential informant (CI). On January 23, 2018, Nelson and two other individuals met with the UC and CI at a residence in New Port Richey. During this meeting, Nelson sold the UC more than 28 grams of a substance containing heroin and fentanyl. Nelson said he had a source for heroin, and needed help moving the product.

On April 5, 2019, Nelson and the CI arranged to meet again to conduct another narcotics transaction. On this occasion, Nelson and Lang met with the UC and CI at the residence in New Port Richey, and sold the UC more than 55 grams of a substance containing heroin and fentanyl.

Nelson and Lang met with the UC and CI again at the same residence on April 19 and May 10, 2018, and sold heroin to the UC. On both occasions, they sold approximately 57 grams of heroin and, during the May 10 transaction, they also sold approximately 23 grams of tablets purported to contain the drug ecstasy (MDMA). According to laboratory analysis, the tablets actually contained methamphetamine. 

On June 14, 2018, Nelson and Lang met the UC and CI at a restaurant in Tampa and sold the UC approximately 54 grams of heroin. After this transaction, Lang continued to communicate with the UC about possible narcotics and firearms sales. Lang met with the UC four additional times between July 12 and November 1, 2018. During these meetings, Lang sold the UC more heroin and tablets containing methamphetamine. Lang also sold the UC three firearms.

This case was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, and the Pasco Sheriff’s Office. It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Michael Sinacore.

This is another case prosecuted as part of the Department of Justice’s “Project Safe Neighborhoods” Program (PSN), which is a nationwide, crime reduction strategy aimed at decreasing violent crime in communities. It involves a comprehensive approach to public safety – one that includes investigating and prosecuting crimes, along with prevention and reentry efforts. In the Middle District of Florida, U.S. Attorney Maria Chapa Lopez coordinates PSN efforts in cooperation with various federal, state, and local law enforcement officials.

Orlando, Florida – U.S. District Judge Roy B. Dalton, Jr. has sentenced Rohan Brown (41, Sanford) to four years and three months in federal prison for mail fraud, wire fraud, and aggravated identify theft related to his participation in two fraud schemes.

Brown had pleaded guilty on July 3, 2018. On September 10, 2018, he failed to appear for his sentencing hearing and absconded to Jamaica. He later self-surrendered to the U.S. Marshals Service.

According to court documents, between March 2014 and August 2016, Brown participated in two fraud schemes. He participated in a sweepstakes fraud scheme in which elderly victims were told they had won a sweepstakes but, in order to receive their winnings, they had to send money for “taxes” to Brown. In a second scheme, Social Security benefits were diverted into accounts opened in the name of multiple victims and sent to Brown’s address. Once Brown received the fraudulent debit cards for those accounts, he used them to purchase money orders or obtain cash. Brown’s specific role in both schemes was to receive mail containing victims’ money or fraudulent access devices (debit cards) loaded with Social Security benefits and, in turn, send a portion of the money to others in Jamaica. The cash and debit cards were sent to Brown’s home or another residence to which he had access.

During a search of Brown’s residence, law enforcement officers recovered documentation for fraudulent bank accounts and debit cards that had been opened in the names of multiple victims. As a result of the diversion scheme, the Social Security Administration suffered a loss of $135,377.80. Losses related to the sweepstakes scheme are still pending.

This case was investigated by the United States Postal Inspection Service, the Social Security Administration – Office of the Inspector General, the Seminole County Financial Crimes Task Force, with assistance from the U.S. Marshals Service. It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Sean P. Shecter.