Dec. 3, 2024

California Man Arrested for Allegedly Exporting Shipments of Firearms, Ammunition and Other Military Items to North Korea

Shenghua Wen, 41, of Ontario, California, was arrested today on a criminal complaint alleging that he exported shipments of firearms, ammunition and other military items to North Korea that were concealed inside shipping containers bound from Long Beach.

Nov. 22, 2024

Justice Department's Procurement Collusion Strike Force Commemorates Fifth Anniversary with Law Enforcement Partners

Yesterday, the Justice Department’s Antitrust Division and Procurement Collusion Strike Force (PCSF) commemorated the PCSF’s fifth anniversary in Washington with a celebration involving law enforcement partners and key stakeholders from across the government. Assistant Attorney General (AAG) Jonathan Kanter, PCSF Director Daniel Glad and other department officials were joined by representatives from among the PSCF’s 12 national law enforcement partners and 25 U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and other key stakeholders from the law enforcement and oversight community.

Nov. 21, 2024

Former U.S. Navy Officer Sentenced in Conspiracy to Steal and Sell U.S. Military Gear to Countries Around the World

A former United States Navy Petty Officer First Class who served for more than 20 years in the Navy has been sentenced to eighteen months in federal prison for orchestrating a conspiracy that stole more than $850,000 worth of military gear earmarked for fellow Navy members and then sold the goods to high bidders from more than fifty countries, including China and Russia, announced United States Attorney Zachary A. Cunha. Richard Allen, 53, of Citrus Heights, CA, was sentenced in U.S. District Court in Providence, RI, by U.S. District Court Chief Judge John J. McConnell, Jr., to eighteen months of incarceration to be followed by three years of federal supervised release. Allen pleaded guilty on August 29, 2024, to conspiracy and six counts of money laundering.

Nov. 21, 2024

Fresno Doctors Agree to Pay $2.4 Million to Resolve Kickback Allegations

In two separate settlements, Fresno physicians have agreed to collectively pay more than $2.4 million to resolve allegations that they solicited and received unlawful kickbacks in exchange for directing prescriptions to a group of mail-order pharmacies controlled by an individual named Matthew H. Peters, U.S. Attorney Phillip A. Talbert announced today. The United States contends that these arrangements violated the Anti-Kickback Statute and the False Claims Act. In the first settlement, Fresno podiatrist Dr. Jagpreet Mukker and his medical corporation, Jay Mukker, DPM Inc., have agreed to pay a total of $1,598,891 to the United States to resolve allegations that they participated in the unlawful kickback arrangement causing Dr. Mukker to issue prescriptions for beneficiaries of federal health care programs (including Medicare, TRICARE, and Medi-Cal), which the United States alleges violated the False Claims Act.

Nov. 15, 2024

Pharmaceutical Company QOL Medical and CEO Agree to Pay $47M for Allegedly Paying Kickbacks to Induce Claims for QOL’s Drug Sucraid

Pharmaceutical company QOL Medical LLC (QOL) and its co-owner and CEO, Frederick E. Cooper, have agreed to pay $47 million to resolve allegations that they caused the submission of false claims to federal health care programs, in violation of the False Claims Act and similar state statutes, by offering kickbacks in the form of free Carbon-13 breath testing services to induce claims for QOL’s drug Sucraid. Sucraid is an FDA-approved therapy for the rare genetic condition Congenital Sucrase-Isomaltase Deficiency (CSID). CSID patients have difficulty digesting sucrose (table sugar) and suffer from gastrointestinal symptoms such as diarrhea, abdominal pain, bloating and gas.

Nov. 12, 2024

Father and Son Owners of Florida Marketing and Medical Device Companies Charged with $28 Million Health Care Fraud and Kickback Scheme

Two Florida men were arraigned today on charges relating to their roles in a multimillion-dollar durable medical equipment (DME) and prescription drug health care fraud and kickback scheme, Attorney for the United States Vikas Khanna announced. Nicholas A. Alberino, 61, of Boca Raton, Florida, and his son, Nicholas P. Alberino, 34, of Parkland, Florida, are each charged in a seven-count indictment with conspiracy to commit health care fraud and wire fraud, wire fraud, conspiracy to violate the federal Anti-Kickback Statute, and four counts of violating the Anti-Kickback Statute. The defendants were each arraigned today before U.S. District Judge Esther Salas in Newark federal court, and each pleaded not guilty.

Nov. 12, 2024

U.S. Attorney’s Office Commitment to Protecting Patients and Consumers from Health Care Fraud Leads to Exponential Growth in Prosecutions

Vanessa R. Waldref, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Washington, announced that in the last several months, the office she leads prosecuted several significant cases that protected patients, consumers, and the community from health care fraud.

Nov. 12, 2024

UCHealth Agrees to Pay $23M to Resolve Allegations of Fraudulent Billing for Emergency Department Visits

University of Colorado Health, known as UCHealth and headquartered in Aurora, Colorado, has agreed to pay $23 million to resolve allegations that it violated the False Claims Act in seeking and receiving payment from federal health care programs for visits to its emergency departments, by falsely coding certain Evaluation & Management (E&M) claims submitted to the Medicare and TRICARE programs.

Nov. 12, 2024

Former Air National Guardsman Sentenced to 15 Years in Prison for Unlawfully Disclosing Classified National Defense Information

A former member of the U.S. Air National Guard (USANG), Jack Douglas Teixeira, 22, of North Dighton, Massachusetts, was sentenced today in federal court in Boston for retaining and transmitting hundreds of pages of classified National Defense Information (NDI), including many documents designated top secret, on an online social media platform in 2022 and 2023. Teixeira, was sentenced to 15 years in prison to be followed by three years of supervised release. Teixeira was also barred from having contact with foreign agents.

Nov. 8, 2024

Doctor Convicted of Accepting Kickbacks for Blood, Urine Samples

An internal medicine doctor was convicted last week of accepting more than $200,000 in kickbacks for sending patient samples to particular labs, announced U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Texas Leigha Simonton. Dr. Hector Ubaldo, 60, was indicted in September. After a two-day trial, it took a federal jury just 14 minutes to find him guilty of conspiracy to pay and receive healthcare kickbacks and solicitation and receipt of illegal kickbacks.