Author: Elizabeth Blessing
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A man who hid businesses and income collected more than $270,000 in disability benefits
A Maryland man received more than $270,000 in Social Security disability and auxiliary benefits while concealing two cleaning businesses, work and income from the agency, federal prosecutors say. A judge has sentenced Andrew Langford to eight months in prison and three years of supervised release for wire fraud. The benefits ran from 2014 through 2021…
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A pulmonary practice will pay $419,410 over allegedly unnecessary or inflated Medicare visits
A Florida pulmonary practice has agreed to pay $419,410 to resolve federal allegations that it billed Medicare for office visits that were medically unnecessary or coded at a higher level than the services supported. The settlement covers claims from January 2017 through March 2020 and does not represent a court finding that every allegation was…
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USA Clinics text recipients can claim up to $150 by October 5
Some people who received marketing texts from USA Clinics Group can file for as much as $150 under a proposed class settlement, but a valid claim must be submitted by October 5, 2026. The maximum is based on up to $50 for each qualifying message, capped at three messages, and actual payments can fall if…
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Counterfeit Social Security cards allegedly sold for $750 while carrying real people’s numbers
Federal prosecutors allege that counterfeit Social Security cards sold for $750 apiece contained names and numbers belonging to real people. A grand jury indictment in Georgia charges Derly Alvarez-Rodriguez with document trafficking and identity theft, but the charges remain allegations and no conviction has been entered. Three undercover purchases form the core account According to…
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Hurricane Sandy homeowners lost more than $1.5 million after paying a contractor about $2.5 million
At least 20 Hurricane Sandy homeowners paid a Long Island contractor about $2.5 million for elevation and foundation work, but prosecutors say unfinished projects left the households and a state recovery program with more than $1.5 million in losses. The contractor, Alexander Almaraz, has been sentenced to 48 months in federal prison after pleading guilty…
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A stolen identity drew more than $304,000 in disability, food and health benefits
A man who used another person’s identity for more than two decades obtained Social Security disability, food and health benefits totaling more than $304,000. A federal judge has now imposed a prison sentence and ordered $304,932 in restitution, turning a long-running identity theft into a fixed financial judgment. Three benefit systems carried the loss Juan…
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A Medicare testing case forfeited $7,051,089 plus a Range Rover, BMW and Ford F-150
A federal Medicare fraud case has ended with a final forfeiture order covering $7,051,089.08 in two financial accounts and three vehicles: a Land Rover Range Rover, a BMW and a Ford F-150. The order followed the conviction of laboratory operator Jamie P. McNamara, whose companies billed Medicare for genetic tests generated through telemarketing and kickbacks…
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California identified $113.3 million in Medicaid overpayments but failed to return the full federal share
California’s Medicaid fraud-control work identified large provider overpayments, but a federal audit says the accounting did not reliably send Washington its share. Fourteen cases included $113.3 million that California failed to report and return through the required federal form. The inspector general also found tens of millions returned late, turning successful enforcement into a separate…
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Mostly older equipment buyers allegedly lost more than $600,000 on machinery that never arrived
More than a dozen prospective buyers, many of them older adults, allegedly sent over $600,000 for used farm and construction equipment that never arrived. Federal prosecutors say the sellers built a convincing commercial front around machinery they did not own. One defendant has been convicted; a second, who fled after indictment, was arrested near Seattle…
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Businesses controlled by a COVID-loan fraud defendant received $337,915 before her 30-month sentence
Nonoperational businesses controlled by a Florida defendant received $337,915 from pandemic loan programs, according to federal court records summarized by prosecutors. The owner also helped at least 35 other borrowers obtain more than $4.47 million. A federal judge has now imposed a 30-month sentence, ordered multimillion-dollar forfeiture and addressed two years of unfiled tax returns.…