Three Defendants Charged With Stealing More Than $485,000 By Filing Claims for Mental Health Treatments Never Received

Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus R. Vance, Jr., and New York State Department of Financial Services Superintendent Benjamin M. Lawsky announced the arrests of three individuals for defrauding insurance companies and employment health plans of more than $485,000. The defendants are accused of submitting hundreds of false claims for mental health care treatments that they never received. SUDHA KAILAS, 33, HERLINA LUIS, 37, and JANICE SICH, 52, have been charged with Grand Larceny and Insurance Fraud, among other charges.[1]

Leader And Three Members And Associates Of The Trinitarios Gang Plead Guilty In Manhattan Federal Court To Crimes Including Racketeering, Narcotics Trafficking, And Firearms Offenses

Preet Bharara, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, announced today that JONATHAN FELIZ, the leader of the Manhattan branch of the “Trinitarios,” a violent street and prison gang, and LOUINSKY MINIER, RUDY SANTANA, and ALBERTO MONTILLA, all of whom are members or associates of the Trinitarios, pled guilty to crimes including racketeering, narcotics trafficking, and firearms offenses. MINIER also pled guilty to causing the death of rival gang member, Roy Abreu, on November 23, 2006. The four defendants were charged along with 39 others in the Southern District of New York in March 2009 and June 2010.FELIZ and SANTANA pled guilty today before United States District Judge George B. Daniels.

INTERNATIONAL GUN TRAFFICKING RING DISMANTLED BY ARRESTS OF NORTH CAROLINA RESIDENT AND CHINESE NATIONALS

One defendant was arraigned today, and another appeared in an ongoing removal hearing, in connection with their roles in a multi-national firearms trafficking investigation being conducted in the Eastern District of New York and elsewhere. A criminal complaint was unsealed earlier this week in federal court in Brooklyn charging Joseph Debose, a resident of North Carolina and Staff Sergeant in a U.S. Special Forces National Guard Unit, with illegal gun dealing and aiding others, including Chinese nationals Zhifu Lin and Lilan Li, in the illegal export of firearms to China.1 Debose was arrested May 20, 2012, in a sting operation by federal agents in Smithfield, North Carolina, when he arrived to provide another shipment of firearms for export. At the time of his arrest, Debose was carrying a loaded .45 caliber pistol. In addition, agents seized twelve other firearms from Debose, which were intended for export.

Tempe Elementary School District to Pay $148,000 to Settle EEOC Age Discrimination Suit

PHOENIX – Tempe Elementary School District No. 3 will pay $148,092 and furnish other relief to settlean age discrimination lawsuit filed by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), the agency announced today.

Manhattan U.S. Attorney Charges Fourteen Individuals With Illegal Prescription Pill Diversion And Distribution In Upper Manhattan

Preet Bharara, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, Wilbert L. Plummer, the Acting Special Agent in Charge of the New York Field Office of the Drug Enforcement Administration (“DEA”), and Raymond Kelly of the New York City Police Department (“NYPD”), today announced charges against JULIO CESAR GUERRERO BRITO, HECTOR LUIS VARGAS-PAREDES, JONATHAN CRUZ, VIRGILIO ANTONIO DIAZ GARCIANO, RUBEN ALEXANDER SANTIAGO-GUILLERMO, PLINO RAMOS, EWARD DELROSARIO, AGUSTIN CABREA-GERMAN, and ARTURO LARA for conspiring to distribute oxycodone and oxymorphone. In a second complaint, JENNY GOMEZ, FELIX ABREU, and JOANNA FUERTES are charged with conspiring to distribute oxycodone and oxymorphone, and in a third complaint, WALID ZEYAD ASMAR and HECTOR JIMINEZ are charged with conspiring to distribute oxycodone. The defendants allegedly participated in the distribution of illegally diverted prescription pills through open-air, hand-to-hand, and car sales on certain blocks in Upper Manhattan. Multiple defendants also allegedly assisted in transporting these drugs to New England, where they command higher prices on the illegal market. The oxycodone was distributed in various forms, including what is commonly known as “Percocet,” and the oxymorphone was distributed in a form commonly known as “Opana.”

Manhattan U.S. Attorney Sues SEEDCO And Seven Former Managers For Falsely Reporting Job Placements in A Federally-Funded Program

Preet Bharara, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York announced today that the United States has filed a civil fraud lawsuit against structured employment economic development corporation, or SEEDCO, a national not-for-profit corporation that operated two New York City Workforce1 Career Centers, and ALEX SAAVEDRA, SHOMARI GREENE, ALAN KATZ, TAGEWATEE CHANDARPAUL, SHANDELL SANTIAGO-VELEZ, MITCHELL McCLINTON, and MONIQUE TARRY, former managerial employees of the company (collectively, the “Individual Defendants”), for fraud in connection with a federally-funded program to provide job placement assistance to unemployed and underemployed New York City residents. Workforce1 is a service provided through New York City’s Department of Small Business Services, (“SBS”) that prepares and connects job candidates to job opportunities. According to the Complaint, SEEDCO fraudulently collected millions of dollars in federal funds for job placement services that it did not provide, as well as obtained contracts based on falsified performance reports. The lawsuit seeks treble damages and civil penalties under the False Claims Act for the fraudulent claims and false statements submitted by SEEDCO.

Health Care Consultant Sentenced In Manhattan Court To Two Years In Prison For Bribing New York State Senator Carl Kruger

Preet Bharara, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, announced that SOLOMON KALISH, a health care consultant, was sentenced today in Manhattan federal court to two years in prison for participating in a scheme to bribe New York State Senator Carl Kruger. KALISH pled guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit honest services fraud in January 2012. He was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Jed S. Rakoff.