Miami Criminal Lawyer

              Daniel Lenghea not only represents defendants in all Florida State Courts and in the United States District Court for the Southern, Middle, and Northern District of Florida but with respect to federal criminal cases his practice extends...

[miamicriminalawyer]

Miami-Area Pharmacy Owner Pleads Guilty To Role In $1.8 Million Medicare Fraud Scheme

Republished by Daniel Lenghea, Esq.,a private Federal Criminal Defense Attorney in Miami from the news feed of The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida. www.lenghea.com

A Miami-area pharmacy owner pleaded guilty today for his role in the submission of more than $1.8 million in fraudulent claims to Medicare.

U.S. Attorney Wifredo A. Ferrer of the Southern District of Florida, Assistant Attorney General Leslie R. Caldwell of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, Special Agent in Charge George L. Piro of the FBI’s Miami Field Office and Special Agent in Charge Shimon R. Richmond of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General’s (HHS-OIG) Miami Regional Office made the announcement.

Evelio Fernandez Penaranda, 47, of Miami, Florida, pleaded guilty before U.S. Magistrate Judge Chris M. McAliley of the Southern District of Florida to one count of health care fraud.  Sentencing has been scheduled for Oct. 8, 2015.

Penaranda owned Naranja Pharmacy Inc.  In connection with his guilty plea, Penaranda admitted that, between May 2013 and March 2014, Naranja Pharmacy submitted fraudulent claims to Medicare for prescription drugs that were not prescribed by physicians, not medically necessary and not provided to Medicare beneficiaries.  According to admissions made in connection with Penaranda’s guilty plea, Naranja Pharmacy submitted these false claims by obtaining and using the unique identifying information of Medicare beneficiaries and doctors without their consent.

Penaranda admitted that he controlled Naranja Pharmacy’s bank accounts, and that he transferred the payments received from Medicare to himself and his accomplices.  According to admissions made in connection with Penaranda’s plea, during the course of the scheme, Naranja Pharmacy submitted to Medicare over $1.8 million in false claims for prescription drugs, and Medicare paid 100 percent of the claims.

The case is being investigated by the FBI and HHS-OIG, and was brought as part of the Medicare Fraud Strike Force, under the supervision of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section and the U.S. Attorney’s Office of the Southern District of Florida.  The case is being prosecuted by Trial Attorney Nicholas E. Surmacz of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section.

Since its inception in March 2007, the Medicare Fraud Strike Force, now operating in nine cities across the country, has charged over 2,300 defendants who collectively have billed the Medicare program for over $7 billion.  In addition, the HHS Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, working in conjunction with the HHS-OIG, are taking steps to increase accountability and decrease the presence of fraudulent providers.

To learn more about the Health Care Fraud Prevention and Enforcement Team, go to:www.stopmedicarefraud.gov.

[miamicriminalawyer]

Government Settles False Claims Act Allegations Against American Access Care Holdings, LLC

Republished by Daniel Lenghea, Esq.,a private Federal Criminal Defense Attorney in Miami from the news feed of The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida. www.lenghea.com

American Access Care Holdings, LLC, which operated a vascular access center in Miami, has agreed to pay $1.2 million to resolve allegations that it violated the False Claims Act by billing Medicare for medically unnecessary percutaneous transluminal angioplasties (PTAs) and thrombectomies and by billing for more PTAs per patient encounter than permitted.  Former American Access Care (AAC) facilities, including the one in Miami, are now operated by Fresenius Vascular Care, Inc.  The conduct addressed by the settlement agreement took place prior to the merger between the two entities.

Wifredo A. Ferrer, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, and Shimon R. Richmond, Special Agent in Charge, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Inspector General (HHS-OIG), Miami Region, made the announcement.

“Health care providers that bill for medically unnecessary procedures put their own financial self-interest over their duty to their patients’ well-being,” said Wifredo A. Ferrer, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida.  “We will hold providers accountable for this type of fraud and abuse that plagues the Medicare program and increases the cost of health care for all.”

“Jeopardizing patient care in order to steal taxpayer dollars is deeply troubling,” said Shimon R. Richmond, Special Agent in Charge, Office of Inspector General of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.  “Actions like these only strengthen our resolve to protect the American public and hold accountable those who would compromise our health care system.”

The United States alleged that a substantial percentage of the PTAs and thrombectomies billed by the AAC facility in Miami were unnecessary, based on a medical review of patient records.  Patients at the facility were routinely brought back for follow-up visits that were not justified by the patients’ condition and that simply provided more opportunities to bill for procedures the patients did not need.  The United States also alleged that AAC billed for multiple PTAs performed during one patient encounter, even though it knew that such procedures were not reimbursable.

The settlement announced today resolves allegations originally brought by Dennis Souza, a registered nurse who worked at American Access Care of Miami, under the qui tam or whistleblower provisions of the False Claims Act, which permit private parties to sue on behalf of the United States for the submission of false claims and to receive a share of any recovery.  The False Claims Act authorizes the United States to intervene in such lawsuits and take over primary responsibility for litigating them, as the United States did here.  Souza’s share of the settlement has not yet been determined.

The investigation of this matter reflects a coordinated effort between the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida and HHS-OIG.  The case was handled by Assistant U.S. Attorney Susan Torres.

The case is captioned United States ex rel. Souza v. American Access Care of Miami, LLC, No. 11-22686-Civ-Lenard (S.D. Fla.).  The claims settled by the lawsuit are allegations only, and there has been no determination of liability.      

A copy of this press release may be found on the website of the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida at www.usdoj.gov/usao/fls. Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Southern District of Florida at www.flsd.uscourts.gov or on http://pacer.flsd.uscourts.gov.

[miamicriminalawyer]

Four Miami Area Residents Sentenced for Mann Act and Money Laundering Offenses

Republished by Daniel Lenghea, Esq.,a private Federal Criminal Defense Attorney in Miami from the news feed of The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida. www.lenghea.com

Wifredo A. Ferrer, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, and Alysa D. Erichs, Special Agent in Charge, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations (ICE-HSI), announce that on July 1, 2015, United States District Judge Cecilia M. Altonaga sentenced Istvan Kaszab, 38, and Andrea Avram, 25, of Aventura, Florida, to 27 months’ and 11 months’ imprisonment, respectively, for Mann Act and money laundering offenses, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Sections 2421 and 1956.  Judge Altonaga sentenced defendant Szabina Balazs, 21, of Hallandale, Florida to time served (approximately five months’ imprisonment) for violating the Mann Act.  As part of the same case, on July 2, 2015, Judge Altonaga sentenced Christian Fiorenza, 51, of Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, to 37 months’ imprisonment for Mann Act and money laundering violations.  Judge Altonaga said that the sentence imposed was necessary to promote respect for the law and deter the defendant and others from engaging in this type of criminal activity.  All defendants pled guilty to the charges at issue.

Between May 2012 and September 2014, the defendants participated in the operation of an escort agency, that is, the Fort Lauderdale Escort Services (“FLES”).  FLES recruited adult women from Eastern Europe, predominantly Hungary, to engage in prostitution in the United States.  The women were recruited through various advertisements and other means.  FLES would assist the women in petitioning for travel to the United States through the Electronic System for Travel Authorization (“ESTA”) program.  ESTA is an automated system that determines the eligibility of visitors to travel to the United States under the Visa Waiver Program (“VWP”).

Once the women were admitted into in the United States, they would immediately begin working as prostitutes for FLES, both locally in South Florida, as well as nationally.FLES would advertise each prostitute’s “services” on FLES’ website.

FLES would arrange the prostitutes’ travel and housing needs in the United States.Each prostitute stayed in the United States, on average, between three months to a year.However, many overstayed their visas.

Each of the defendants played a different role in the conspiracy.Fiorenza was listed as the President of FLES, according to publicly available information on the Florida Division of Corporation’s website sunbiz.org.He also maintained FLES’ website.Kaszab recruited most of the prostitutes from Hungary.

Avram and Balazs began their affiliation with FLES as prostitutes.Avram then began assisting Kaszab in recruiting women from Hungary, arranging client meetings and travel, and facilitating money transfers from her bank account to Hungary, knowing the money came from prostitution earnings.Balazs began assisting Fiorenza with FLES’ operations.Specifically, she would assist in the maintenance of the website, book client meetings and travel, and facilitate money transfers to and from her bank accounts, knowing that the money came from prostitution earnings.

The defendants received a portion, or “cut,” of the monies earned by the prostitutes.Fiorenza received the largest cut, followed by KaszabAvram and Balazs would receive their cut from their male codefendants’ share.

Kaszab and Avram wired funds from the United States to Hungary on a regular basis and purchased several luxurious items from proceeds earned from prostitution, such as Mercedes Benz vehicles and a Breitling timepiece.

Mr. Ferrer commends the investigative efforts of ICE-HSI for their work on this case.  The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Vanessa S. Johannes and Elina A. Rubin-Smith.

A copy of this press release may be found on the website of the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida at www.usdoj.gov/usao/fls. Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Southern District of Florida at www.flsd.uscourts.gov or on http://pacer.flsd.uscourts.gov.

[miamicriminalawyer]

Three South Florida Defendants Charged in $10 Million Government Fraud Involving Six Miami Low-Income Housing Developments

Republished by Daniel Lenghea, Esq.,a private Federal Criminal Defense Attorney in Miami from the news feed of The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida. www.lenghea.com

A Miami Gardens resident pled guilty today in a stolen identity tax refund fraud scheme involving personal identification information taken from the State of Florida Department of Children and Families database.

Wifredo A. Ferrer, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, Kelly R. Jackson, Special Agent in Charge, Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI), and Neil Melofchik, Acting Special Agent in Charge, U.S. Secret Service (USSS), Miami Field Office, made the announcement.

Kyron Jonathan Nedd, 22, of Miami Gardens, pled guilty to one count of possession of fifteen or more unauthorized access devices, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 1029(a)(3), and one count of aggravated identity theft, in violation of Title l8, United States Codes Section 1028A(a)(1).

According to court documents, between February 1, 2014, and July 18, 2014, a total of 379 fraudulent federal income tax returns, for tax year 2013, were filed with the IRS from Nedd’s residence in Miami Gardens.  The returns claimed $843,295 in tax refunds.  The IRS refunded approximately $64,557 for those fraudulently filed tax returns.

Court documents state that on February 12, 2015, a federal search warrant was executed at Nedd’s residence, where agents discovered items containing personal identification information (PII) - names, dates of birth and social security numbers - of hundreds of individuals.  Inside Nedd’s bedroom, law enforcement found a safe with numerous debit cards and computer-generated printouts from the State of Florida Department of Children and Families (DCF) database.  IRS-CI agents have since determined that there were numerous instances in which the PII contained on the DCF printouts were used in fraudulent returns filed from Nedd’s residence.

According to court documents, federal law enforcement agents interviewed Nedd after serving the federal search warrant.  Nedd admitted to law enforcement that he electronically filed the income tax returns from his house and that the returns were false and prepared without the taxpayers’ permission.

Nedd is scheduled to be sentenced on September 2, 2015 at 8:30 a.m., before the Honorable Robert N. Scola, Jr., United States District Judge.  At sentencing, the defendant faces a maximum of ten years of imprisonment for the access devices charge, and a mandatory term of two years’ imprisonment, consecutive to any other prison term, for the aggravated identity theft charge.

Mr. Ferrer commended the investigative efforts of IRS-CI and USSS.  This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Daya Nathan.

A copy of this press release may be found on the website of the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida at www.usdoj.gov/usao/fls. Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Southern District of Florida at www.flsd.uscourts.gov or on http://pacer.flsd.uscourts.gov

[miamicriminalawyer]

Former CEO Pleads Guilty to Bribery and Fraud Scheme Involving Red Light Camera Contracts

Republished by Daniel Lenghea, Esq.,a private Federal Criminal Defense Attorney in Miami from the news feed of The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida. daniel-lenghea www.lenghea.com

A former chief executive officer of a red light camera vendor pleaded guilty today to participating in an eight-year bribery and fraud scheme, announced Assistant Attorney General Leslie R. Caldwell of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, U.S. Attorney Carter M. Stewart of the Southern District of Ohio and Special Agent in Charge Angela L. Byers of the FBI’s Cincinnati Field Office.

Karen L. Finley, 55, of Cave Creek, Arizona, pleaded guilty before U.S. Magistrate Judge Terence P. Kemp of the Southern District of Ohio to a one-count information charging her with conspiracy to commit federal programs bribery and honest services wire and mail fraud.  Finley’s sentencing hearing will be scheduled at a later date.

From December 2005 to February 2013, Finley served as CEO of a red light camera enforcement company.  As part of her plea agreement, Finley admitted that, between 2005 and 2013, she participated in a scheme in which the company made campaign contributions to elected public officials in the cities of Columbus and Cincinnati through a consultant retained by the company.  According to admissions made in connection with her plea, Finley and others, including another executive of the company, agreed to provide the conduit campaign contributions with the understanding that the elected public officials would assist the company in obtaining or retaining municipal contracts, including a photo red light enforcement contract with the City of Columbus.  Finley also admitted she and her co-conspirators concealed the true nature and source of the payments by the consultant’s submission and the company’s payment of false invoices for “consulting services,” which funds the consultant then provided to the campaigns of the elected public officials.

The case was investigated by the FBI’s Cincinnati Field Office, Columbus Resident Agency, with the assistance of IRS-Criminal Investigations and the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation.  The case is being prosecuted by Trial Attorney Edward P. Sullivan of the Criminal Division’s Public Integrity Section and Assistant U.S. Attorney J. Michael Marous of the Southern District of Ohio.

[miamicriminalawyer]

Miami Springs Police Department Sergeant Arrested on Corruption Charge

Republished by Daniel Lenghea, Esq. from U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Florida. daniel-lenghea www.lenghea.com

Miami Springs Police Department (MSPD) Sergeant Andres Quintanilla arrested today on a corruption charge.

Wifredo A. Ferrer, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, and George L. Piro, Special Agent in Charge, FBI, Miami Field Office, made the announcement.

Andres Quintanilla, 33, of Miami Springs Police Department, was charged by complaint with attempting to affect commerce by extortion under color of official right, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 1951(a), punishable by up to twenty years in prison.

According to the allegations contained in the complaint, in September 2014, an FBI confidential source (CS) informed Quintanilla that he (the CS) was a drug trafficker.  Rather than arrest the CS, or open an investigation, Quintanilla offered to help the CS’s drug trafficking business.  During a series of recorded meetings, Quintanilla allegedly offered advice on how the CS should run his drug trafficking business, provided the location of an unmarked Miami Dade Police Department narcotics office, provided the names of three Miami Dade Police Department officers, and promised to provide photographs of officers in the future. In addition, Quintanilla ran the name of a purported drug dealer in a law enforcement database when asked to do so by CS.

By December 2014, Quintanilla had agreed to act as an escort during a purported 10 kilogram cocaine deal.  Under FBI direction, the CS told Quintanilla that the CS needed a safe location in Miami Springs where the CS could exchange 10 kilograms of cocaine for $250,000.  Quintanilla chose a location for the transaction to take place and, on the date of the transaction, the FBI filmed and recorded Quintanilla meeting with the CS and viewing the cocaine.   After the purported deal took place with a second undercover CS acting as a drug dealer, Quintanilla then followed the CS’s vehicle to an express package service center, where Quintanilla believed that the CS would ship the $250,000 of drug proceeds to New York.  Quintanilla participated in the transaction in uniform, while driving his MSPD marked vehicle.  In exchange for his assistance, Quintanilla accepted $3,500 in bribe payments.

The complaint further alleges that in April 2015, FBI agents approached Quintanilla at his residence to discuss his involvement in the trafficking of narcotics.  During the interview, Quintanilla admitted receiving bribes in return for assisting the CHS’s drug trafficking business.

Mr. Ferrer commended the investigative efforts of the FBI Miami Area Corruption Task Force and the Miami Springs Police Department.  This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Anthony Lacosta.

A criminal complaint is only an accusation and a defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.