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.

Nov. 5, 2024

Leonard Glenn Francis Sentenced to 15 Years in Prison for Massive Bribery, Fraud and Disappearance

Leonard Glenn Francis, mastermind of an unprecedented bribery and fraud scheme targeting the U.S. Navy, was sentenced in federal court today to 180 months in prison and ordered to pay $20 million in restitution to the Navy and a $150,000 fine. Francis was also ordered to forfeit $35 million in ill-gotten proceeds from his crimes.

Nov. 5, 2024

Confluence Corp. Settles Allegations of False Claims for Payment of Work Performed by Unqualified Welders

United States Attorney Clare E. Connors announced that Confluence Corp. d/b/a Regal Service Company (“Regal”), a Hawaii corporation and Department of the Navy contractor, has agreed to pay $300,000 to settle allegations that it violated the False Claims Act by knowingly submitting false claims for payment for work performed by unqualified welders on the USS Chung Hoon, USS John Paul Jones, and USS William P. Lawrence at the Pearl Harbor Naval Shipyard and Intermediate Maintenance Facility between January 2020 and October 2021.

Nov. 5, 2024

U.S. Army Research Biologist Sentenced To 51 Months Imprisonment For Engaging In A Bribery Scheme And Ordered To Forfeit The Funds

Jason Edmonds, age 45 of North East, Maryland was sentenced yesterday to 51 months in federal prison and 3 years of supervised release for conspiring to commit bribery at the Aberdeen Proving Ground. In addition, the Court ordered Edmonds to forfeit $111,794.83, which is equal to the value of the bribes he received. The sentence was announced by Erek L. Barron U.S. Attorney for the District of Maryland, Special Agent in Charge William J. DelBagno of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Baltimore Field Office, Special Agent in Charge Christopher Dillard of the Department of Defense Office of Inspector General, Defense Criminal Investigative Service, Mid-Atlantic Field Office, and Special Agent in Charge L. Scott Moreland of the Army Criminal Investigation Division.

Nov. 1, 2024

Optometrist Settles Allegations That His Optometry Practices Submitted False Claims Using Incorrect National Provider Identifiers

Dr. Tony Jacob, an optometrist who operated a network of optometry practices in Central Texas, has agreed to pay the United States and the State of Texas $1,055,379.96 to resolve allegations under the Federal False Claims Act and the Texas Health Care Program Fraud Prevention Act. Under the terms of the settlement, the United States will receive $922,071.59 and the State of Texas will receive $133,308.37.

Nov. 1, 2024

Compound Ingredient Supplier Medisca Inc., to Pay $21.75M to Resolve Allegations of False and Inflated Average Wholesale Prices for Ingredients Used in Compounded Prescriptions

The Justice Department announced today that Medisca Inc. (Medisca), has agreed to pay $21.75 million to resolve allegations concerning the establishment of false and inflated Average Wholesale Prices (AWPs) for two ingredients used in compound prescriptions. Medisca’s pricing scheme allegedly caused pharmacies that purchased those ingredients to submit false prescription claims to the Defense Health Agency, which administers the TRICARE Program for the Department of Defense and the Department of Labor’s Office of Workers’ Compensation Programs (federal health care programs).

Oct. 31, 2024

Jury Finds Non-Fungible Token Developer Guilty Of Defrauding Investors And Laundering Proceeds Through Solana And Ethereum Blockchains

United States Attorney Roger B. Handberg announces that a federal jury has found Berman Jerry Nowlin, Jr. (21, Huntsville, Alabama), a/k/a “Repulse” and “Zayous,” guilty of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and money laundering. Nowlin faces a maximum penalty of five years in federal prison. Sentencing has been set for January 23, 2025.