Federal Reports

Ryan Taylor Minter, of Calumet City, Illinois, pleaded guilty in the Central District of Illinois to charges of wire fraud on December 20, 2019.Our investigation found that Minter participated in a scheme to defraud Amtrak and others by using stolen credit card information from at least 216 different credit or debit cards to purchase Amtrak tickets online valued at over $29,000. Minter used Amtrak’s mobile application and website to purchase the tickets and then advertised them at a discounted price on social media sites frequented by college students. As part of the plea agreement, Minter has agreed to pay restitution if so ordered by the court.Minter was previously indicted on 5 counts of wire fraud and was arrested on July 1, 2019. Minter will be sentenced at a future date.

Phát triển hướng dẫn của EPA để thu thập và truyền đạt dữ liệu về chất lượng không khí để có thể cải thiện niềm tin của công chúng vào cơ quan trong thời gian đối phó với thảm họa trong tương lai.

We have performed audits in several States in response to a congressional request concerning deaths and abuse of people with developmental disabilities living in group homes. Federal waivers permit States to furnish an array of home and community-based services to Medicaid beneficiaries with developmental disabilities so that they may live in the community and avoid institutionalization. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) requires States to implement an incident reporting system to protect the health and welfare of the Medicaid beneficiaries receiving waiver services.

The VA Office of Inspector General (OIG) conducted this audit to evaluate the merits of a 2018 hotline complaint alleging the executive director of the Cincinnati Education and Research for Veterans Foundation (CERV), a VA-affiliated nonprofit corporation, used the CERV credit card inappropriately for personal expenses. In addition, the OIG broadly examined whether CERV had adequate controls in place for ensuring proper expenditures and whether the CERV board of directors provided adequate oversight of CERV expenditures. The audit team did not substantiate the allegation that the CERV executive director used the CERV credit card inappropriately. The team noted that some CERV financial controls appeared effective, but identified other controls that were inadequate or absent. The audit team also found the invoice review procedures of the Cincinnati VAMC Research and Development (R&D) Budget Office did not comply with VA internal controls to confirm services were performed in accordance with the agreement before approving invoices for payment. The OIG recommended the Cincinnati VAMC director ensure CERV’s board of directors establishes policies that require responsible officials to verify adequate supporting documentation before approving expenditures. The OIG also recommended the Cincinnati VAMC director make certain that CERV’s board of directors, or responsible officials, approve reimbursements to the executive director. In addition, the OIG recommended the Cincinnati VAMC director establish procedures so the R&D Budget Office staff review VA-affiliated nonprofit corporation invoices and confirm services were performed or the goods were received in accordance with Intergovernmental Personnel Act agreements prior to payment. Finally, the OIG recommended the Cincinnati VAMC director establish procedures that require the R&D Budget Office supervisor to conduct periodic reviews of VA-affiliated nonprofit corporation invoices authorized for payment by staff, as required by VA policy.

Three Chicago-based employees were terminated from employment on December 20 and December 23, 2019, and two more resigned on December 18, 2019 and January 2, 2020, in lieu of termination prior to their administrative hearings. The five former employees participated in a medical fraud scheme in violation of company policies.Our investigation found that the former employees provided a chiropractor, based in Dolton, Illinois, with their medical and personally identifiable information, typically their names and dates of birth or those of their dependents, in exchange for cash kickbacks. The chiropractor used the information to fraudulently bill Amtrak’s health insurance plan for services that were not provided. In addition, all five employees lied to our agents during their interviews.

The OIG conducted this audit to determine whether facilities in Veterans Integrated Service Network (VISN) 8 were appropriately staffed and structured to manage the community care needs of veterans. VISN 8 serves more than 1.6 million patients across Florida, south Georgia, Puerto Rico, and the Caribbean. The audit team found that between during fiscal year 2018, patients experienced community care appointment delays in VISN 8 due to the facilities’ insufficient staffing and consult-processing structure at community care departments. These departments review, authorize, and schedule community care consults, or requests from a VA facility service for a patient to receive care from a non-VA provider. The team noted that the departments were not sufficiently staffed for administrative functions, such as contacting patients and coordinating appointments. The team also noted that merging the consult authorization and scheduling tasks within community care departments would allow scheduling to begin promptly. The OIG made five recommendations to the VISN 8 director to improve the timeliness of community care consults and to address staffing deficiencies. The recommendations included implementing a mechanism for VA facility services and community care departments to identify and routinely exchange wait time data. This exchange would ensure that patients understand potential wait times and would help staff routinely monitor the timeliness of each community care processing stage. The OIG also recommended that VISN 8 routinely monitor the VA Office of Community Care (OCC) staffing tool, ensure community care administrative staff are effectively cross trained to carry out applicable administrative consult processing duties, and monitor whether community care departments are processing consults in accordance with OCC’s guidance and recommendations. In addition, VISN 8 should implement specific facility plans to address the backlog of open consults and the growing number of new consults.