Nov. 3, 2023

Texas Resident Sentenced For Federal Firearms Crime

The United States Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of Oklahoma announced that Shawn Lee Karr, age 37, of Howe, Texas, was sentenced for possession of stolen firearms. Karr was sentenced to twelve months and one day in prison for one count of Possession of Stolen Firearms, in violation of 18 U.S.C.§ 9220). The charges arose from investigations by the Defense Criminal Investigative Service (DCIS), the General Services Administration - Office of Inspector General, and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, with assistance from the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigations and the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

Nov. 3, 2023

Three Individuals Sentenced for Bribery Scheme at Ft. Gregg-Adams

A Hopewell couple and Missouri man were sentenced yesterday for conspiring to bribe a public official. Susan May Keim, 54, was sentenced to 30 months in prison; Russell John Keim Sr., 60, was sentenced to 18 months in prison; and Rodney Gale Wilson, 67, of Imperial, Missouri, was sentenced to 45 months in prison. All three defendants previously pleaded guilty to conspiracy to offer bribes to a public official and to accept bribes as a public official.

Nov. 2, 2023

Owner of Indian Marketing Company Admits Role in $11.5 Million Health Care Fraud and Kickback Scheme

The owner of a marketing company located in India admitted his role in conspiracies to commit health care fraud and to pay and receive illegal kickbacks, Attorney for the United States Vikas Khanna announced today. Chintan Anjaria, of India, pleaded guilty on Oct. 31, 2023, before U.S. District Judge Michael E. Farbiarz in Newark federal court to an information charging him with conspiracy to violate the Federal Anti-Kickback statute and conspiracy to commit health care fraud.

Oct. 27, 2023

Poway Man Sentenced to Prison after Concealing Mother’s Death for 32 years, Stealing Over $800,000 in Government Benefits

Donald Felix Zampach, who concealed his mother’s death in 1990 then stole more than $800,000 in government benefits intended for her, was sentenced in federal court today to 24 months in prison. Zampach pleaded guilty to money laundering and Social Security fraud in June 2023. According to his plea agreement, Zampach’s mother died in Japan in 1990. At the time of her death, she was receiving a widow’s pension from the Social Security Administration and an annuity from the Department of Defense (DoD). Zampach maintained his mother’s bank accounts for over three decades after her death, forged her signature on certificates of eligibility to keep her government benefits in pay, and fi led forged federal income taxes.

Oct. 27, 2023

Tampa Pain Management Physician Edward Lubin Agrees To Pay $1.5 Million To Settle False Claims Act Liability For Receiving Bribes And Writing Unnecessary Fentanyl Prescriptions

United States Attorney Roger B. Handberg announces that pain management physician Edward Lubin has agreed to pay the United States $1.5 million to resolve allegations that he violated the False Claims Act (FCA) by causing the submission of claims for fentanyl prescriptions that were written in exchange for kickback payments and that were medically unnecessary. The agreement resolves the United States' claims against Dr. Lubin under the FCA. The claims resolved by the settlement are allegations only, and there has been no admission or determination of liability.

Oct. 26, 2023

Man Convicted of $55M Fraud Scheme

A federal jury in the Northern District of Texas convicted a medical marketer today for his role in a $55 million fraud conspiracy involving TRICARE, a federal program that provides health insurance benefits to active duty and retired service members and their families, and several other federal health care programs. According to court documents and evidence presented at trial, Quintan Cockerell, 42, of Palos Verdes Estates, California, worked with others to create and market expensive compounded medications, which are medications intended to be custom-tailored to individual patient needs. However, instead of custom-tailoring these medications, a local pharmacy designed formulations to maximize TRICARE and other federal health care program reimbursements regardless of patient need or medical efficacy. Pharmacy owners and others paid illegal kickbacks to individuals like Cockerell, who recruited area doctors to write prescriptions for these expensive compounded medications, including by creating so-called investment opportunities so that doctors who wrote prescriptions to the pharmacy could profit from the pharmacy operations. Cockerell then spent the proceeds of the scheme on expensive vacations, trips on private jets, and a yacht charter.

Oct. 26, 2023

Former Navy Civilian Employee Pleads Guilty to Conspiracy to Commit Bribery

Dawnell Parker of Athens, Alabama, pleaded guilty in federal court today to bribery charges, admitting that while she was a public official at Naval Information Warfare Center in San Diego, she accepted thousands of dollars in free meals from defense contractors in exchange for helping them win and maintain millions of dollars in government contracts. As part of the conspiracy, Parker received the free dinners at various restaurants, including Ruth’s Chris, De Medici Cucina and the University Club. In return, she took official action to aid her benefactors, like allowing defense contractors to draft government documents and submitting those documents as part of the procurement process and advocating for their selection as defense contractors.

Oct. 26, 2023

Putnam Community Medical Center Of North Florida Agrees To Pay One Million Dollars To Settle False Claims Liability Related To Its Former Sleep Center

United States Attorney Roger B. Handberg announces today that Putnam Community Medical Center of North Florida, who owns and operated Putnam Community Medical Center, LLC, a 99-bed hospital located in Palatka, Florida, has agreed to pay the United States $1million to resolve allegations that they violated the False Claims Act by submitting claims to Medicare and TRICARE in connection with a now-closed sleep center that were alleged to have operated with inadequate physician supervision. According to the settlement agreement, Putnam Community Medical Center provided diagnostic sleep testing services at its nowclosed sleep center, which the United States and the State of Florida allege were not provided with adequate physician supervision as required under certain Medicare coverage determinations and regulations during the period from December 2013 through February 2019.

Oct. 26, 2023

Sex Offender Sentenced to 5 Years in Federal Prison for Possessing Hundreds of Thousands of Child Sex Abuse Images and Stealing Thousands of Rounds of Ammunition from U.S. Military

Timothy Guy, 76, of Martin County, Indiana, has been sentenced to 5 years in federal prison after pleading guilty to possession of a firearm and ammunition by a felon, receiving stolen U.S. government property, and possession of child sexual abuse material. According to court documents, from 1966 through 2004, Timothy Guy was employed as an explosive's handler at the Crane Army Ammunition Activity. While working at Crane, he falsified documents to make it appear that ammunition had been destroyed, when in reality, he stole the ammunition and smuggled it out of the facility. In 2018, Guy was found guilty of possessing child sexual abuse material after he was caught viewing the material at a Wendy's restaurant-where he went to utilize the free Wi-Fi.

Oct. 19, 2023

Preliminary Injunction Entered in Justice Department Suit to Stop Fraudulent Debt Collection Scheme that Harmed Veterans

The U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Oklahoma has issued a preliminary injunction enjoining three individuals and two companies from continuing their fraudulent debt collection scheme. The order was issued after the department fi led a civil complaint against Assured Collections LLC, Assured Financial LLC, Christopher Parks, Christopher Noah Parks and Stephen Miller. According to the complaint, Christopher Parks, 62, who is currently incarcerated in Cushing, Oklahoma, his son, Christopher Noah Parks, 29, of Bro ken Arrow, Oklahoma, and Stephen Miller, 39, also of Broken Arrow, operate Assured Collections LLC and Assured Financial LLC. The defendants, according to the complaint, used those companies to distribute thousands of fraudulent debt collection notices to consumers across the country. These notices falsely stated that consumers owed money, often thousands of dollars, for durable medical equipment. In fact, defendants had no authority to contact consumers to attempt to collect any debt. Many of the notices were sent to older adults and veterans.