Fraud Division Announces Massive Crackdown for Second Straight Week — Over $1 BILLION in Nationwide Fraud Enforcement Actions
1778846400 · Press release
Crypto
<p>The Justice Department’s National Fraud Enforcement Division announced numerous enforcement actions in the past week, as prosecutors across the country pursued the criminals stealing American taxpayer dollars. Notably, a jury in the Southern District of Florida found the founder and owner of HealthSplash <a href="https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/owner-health-care-software-company-convicted-1-billion-dollar-medicare-fraud-conspiracy">guilty</a> for his role in operating a platform that generated false doctors’ orders and prescriptions to defraud Medicare and other federal health care benefit programs, billing more than $1 billion for unnecessary equipment.</p><p>"In the past week, prosecutors throughout the Department secured trial convictions of multiple defendants who ran fraud schemes totaling over a billion dollars,” said Assistant Attorney General Colin M. McDonald of the National Fraud Enforcement Division. “I am proud of the fearless men and women of the Fraud Division who are fighting to protect the American people and hold fraudsters accountable.”</p><p>Other top highlights from the fight against fraud this week include the following enforcement actions.</p><p><em>Benefits Program Fraud</em></p><p>A federal jury found a tax preparer <a href="https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/illinois-tax-preparer-convicted-trial-after-stealing-more-11-million-taxpayers-covid-19">guilty</a> for operating an unemployment insurance fraud scheme to defraud the Pandemic Unemployment Assistance Program out of over $11 million in fraudulent unemployment benefits.</p><p>A former employee of the U.S. Department of Labor <a href="https://www.justice.gov/usao-ma/pr/former-department-labor-employee-pleads-guilty-fraudulently-obtaining-over-40000">pleaded guilty</a> in Boston to fraudulently obtaining over $40,000 in pandemic unemployment assistance benefits.</p><p>In Massachusetts, a woman <a href="https://www.justice.gov/usao-ma/pr/gardner-woman-pleads-guilty-social-security-fraud-0">pleaded guilty</a> to fraudulently receiving Social Security disability benefits after failing to notify Social Security that her husband, whose income exceeded the program’s limits, became part of the household.</p><p>A judge in the Middle District of Florida <a href="https://www.justice.gov/usao-mdfl/pr/apopka-man-sentenced-federal-prison-covid-19-fraud">sentenced</a> a defendant to 63 months in federal prison for submitting a fraudulent Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loan application. The court ordered forfeiture in the amount of $739,582.</p><p>A grand jury returned an<a href="https://www.justice.gov/usao-mdfl/pr/tampa-woman-charged-fraud-scheme-obtain-social-security-and-pension-benefits-disposing"> indictment</a> charging a defendant with wire fraud and theft of government money for concealing the death of her aunt in order to obtain Social Security benefits and City of New York pension benefits that did not belong to her. The indictment seeks forfeiture of more than $75,000.</p><p><em>Health Care Fraud</em></p><p>A federal grand jury returned an <a href="https://www.justice.gov/usao-ut/pr/utah-doctor-and-two-nurses-charged-health-care-fraud-after-submitting-false-claims">indictment</a> charging a podiatrist and two nurses for allegedly submitting fraudulent claims to Mediare for skin substitute services, resulting in Medicare paying $29 million in claims.</p><p><em>Government Fraud</em></p><p>A Danish researcher—and HHS-OIG top ten most wanted fugitive—was <a href="https://www.justice.gov/usao-ndga/pr/autism-researcher-extradited-germany-face-federal-charges-stealing-cdc-grant-money">arraigned</a> on wire fraud and money laundering charges. The defendant allegedly stole more than $1 million of CDC grant money by submitting fraudulent documents to the Danish government and a Danish hospital where scientists performed research under the CDC grant.</p><p><em>Tax Fraud</em></p><p>A founder and CEO of a Hong Kong financial services firm <a href="https://www.justice.gov/usao-sdny/pr/uk-executive-pleads-guilty-tax-fraud-conspiracy">pleaded guilty</a> to conspiring to defraud the United States by helping high-value U.S. taxpayer-clients conceal more than $60 million in income and assets held in offshore bank accounts and evade U.S. taxes.</p><p>In the Middle District of Tennessee, a licensed attorney <a href="http://justice.gov/usao-mdtn/pr/brentwood-attorney-pleads-guilty-tax-fraud">pleaded guilty</a> to filing false tax returns that failed to report millions of dollars in income from cryptocurrency sales and from his consulting business. In total, the defendant caused a tax loss of more than $550,000.</p><p class="text-align-center">* * * *</p><p>On April 7, the Department of Justice announced the creation of the National Fraud Enforcement Division (“Fraud Division”). The Fraud Division is laser-focused on investigating and prosecuting those who commit fraud against the American people. The Department’s work to combat fraud supports President Trump’s Task Force to Eliminate Fraud, a whole-of-government effort chaired by Vice President J.D. Vance to eliminate fraud, waste, and abuse within Federal benefit programs.<br><br> </p>
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