Investigative Press Releases
Wednesday, September 22, 2021
A federal grand jury in the Middle District of Florida has returned a six-count indictment against three defendants for their alleged roles in a federal racketeering conspiracy that victimized Mexican H-2A workers who, between 2015 and 2017, had worked in the United States harvesting fruits, vegetables and other agricultural products.
Tuesday, September 21, 2021
LOS ANGELES – A deportation officer with the Department of Homeland Security was found guilty today by a jury of “structuring” charges for making cash withdrawals and deposits totaling nearly $100,000, which were designed to circumvent federal reporting requirements and to conceal assets from his then-wife and the state court during divorce proceedings.
Vardan Keshishyan, 49, of Glendale, was found guilty of two counts of structuring of currency transactions to evade reporting requirements.
Tuesday, September 21, 2021
ALBANY, NEW YORK – Tramaine Pope, age 33, of the Bronx, New York, pled guilty today to federal program theft, and admitted to abusing her position as a New York State Department of Labor (NYSDOL) employee to obtain $314,168 by submitting and approving 20 false unemployment insurance applications. The funds stolen by Pope included benefits from federal programs intended to help out-of-work New Yorkers during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Tuesday, September 21, 2021
Acting United States Attorney G. Norman Acker, III, and AmeriCorps today announced settlements with the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (“UNC-CH”), East Carolina University (“ECU”), and the North Carolina Commission on Volunteerism and Community Service (“NCCV”) requiring the total payment of $842,500 to the United States for alleged false claims for AmeriCorps grant funds.
Tuesday, September 21, 2021
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – The United States Attorney’s Office announced today that Align Health and Holistic Medical Center, Inc. and Align Health Management, Inc., (collectively “Align”), Eric Anderson, P.A. d/b/a Anderson Chiropractic Clinic (“Anderson Chiropractic”), their owners and a former employee have agreed to pay $163,400 to resolve allegations that they knowingly and improperly billed Medicare for electro-acupuncture using peri-auricular stimulation devices in violation of the False Claims Act (“FCA”).
Tuesday, September 21, 2021
BOSTON – A Worcester woman pleaded guilty today to her participation in a scheme to defraud the Massachusetts Medicaid program, commonly known as MassHealth.
Robin Cronin, 58, of Worcester, pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit health care fraud and one count of health care fraud. U.S. District Court Judge Timothy S. Hillman scheduled sentencing for Jan. 21, 2022.
Tuesday, September 21, 2021
BOSTON – Jasiel F. Correia II, the former Mayor of Fall River, Mass., was sentenced today in connection with a scheme to defraud investors and extorting and conspiring to extort marijuana vendors for hundreds of thousands of dollars.
Correia, 29, was sentenced by U.S. District Court Senior Judge Douglas P. Woodlock to six years in prison and three years of supervised release. The government recommended 11 years in prison. The judge reserved judgement on restitution and forfeiture for a later date.
Tuesday, September 21, 2021
BOSTON – A Worcester woman pleaded guilty today to her participation in a scheme to defraud the Massachusetts Medicaid program, commonly known as MassHealth.
Robin Cronin, 58, of Worcester, pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit health care fraud and one count of health care fraud. U.S. District Court Judge Timothy S. Hillman scheduled sentencing for Jan. 21, 2022.
Monday, September 20, 2021
BENTON, Ill. – A Carterville man was sentenced on Thursday, September 16 to four years of probation
for drug diversion and health care fraud charges. Joseph M. Mattingly, 42, was also ordered to pay
a $500 fine along with a $200 special assessment.
According to court documents, Mattingly diverted Schedule II controlled substance (Hydrocodone)
pills from a patient and defrauded the Medicare program of the cost of the pills.
Monday, September 20, 2021