Category: Scams & Your Rights
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Drivers who paid Suffolk County’s $30 red-light camera fee since 2013 can claim from an up-to-$45 million settlement by Dec. 8
Suffolk County, New York, and the county’s Traffic and Parking Violations Agency have agreed to pay up to $45 million to drivers who were charged a $30 fee on top of their red-light camera fines. The deal ends a lawsuit that has run since 2016, and claims are open now. Anyone who paid the fee…
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About 110,550 swing seats sold on Amazon were recalled for full refunds
Anyone who bought a PACEARTH swing seat on Amazon may have a recalled product hanging from a tree or a playset. The Consumer Product Safety Commission announced on Oct. 8 that about 110,550 of the seats are being recalled because parts can break while someone is on them. The maker, Pacearth Direct, is offering a…
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The Justice Department’s new fraud division told prosecutors to freeze scammers’ money before indictment
The Justice Department’s National Fraud Enforcement Division has told federal prosecutors to move on suspected fraud money early, seizing assets before anyone is indicted. The instruction came in a directive, numbered 26-13, issued on Oct. 8 by Assistant Attorney General Colin M. McDonald. It also calls for digital takedowns, so that money tied to a…
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A self-styled Godfather who dodged $13.3 million in taxes got 78 months in prison
Adam Iza, a 26-year-old who calls himself “The Godfather,” was sentenced on Oct. 5 to 78 months in federal prison, a little over six years. Prosecutors say he made about $37 million selling access to hijacked Meta business ad accounts, then hid enough of it that the IRS lost $13,286,152 in taxes. He was also…
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A fake Norwegian widower got a 77-year-old woman to send over $162,000 in checks
A woman in western New York was 77 when a stranger on Facebook introduced himself as a widower living in Norway. Over about 18 months she sent him roughly 30 gift cards and mailed eight checks totaling over $162,000. A federal judge has now sentenced the Georgia man who received some of that money in…
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A Boston doctor got three years for Medicare orders on patients she never treated
Dr. Le Thu, 71, of Boston, was sentenced on Oct. 6 to 36 months in prison, three years, for signing Medicare orders for patients she had never treated. She was also ordered to pay over $27 million in restitution. Medicare paid more than $27 million on claims that came from her orders. Orders signed without…
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A Queens pharmacy owner accused of taking $31 million from Medicaid was caught at LaGuardia
Miguel Baron, 62, was walking onto a one-way flight to Toronto at LaGuardia Airport when New York state authorities arrested him. Prosecutors say the Queens pharmacy owner took more than $31 million from Medicaid and a related state drug program for HIV medicine. Attorney General Letitia James announced the arrest and indictment on Oct. 7,…
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An Arizona doctor who billed Medicaid for more than 1,700 X-rays on one patient in six months must repay $36.5 million
A Yuma, Arizona doctor was sentenced on Oct. 2 to 7.5 years in prison and ordered to repay $36,542,901.45 to Arizona’s Medicaid program, about $36.5 million. The case centers on clinics that billed for far more medical work than any patient could have received. One patient’s account alone was billed for more than 1,700 X-rays…
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A ring leader who stole 2,600-plus checks from Postal Service mailboxes got eight years
Michael Edwards, 31, of Bridgeport, Connecticut, was sentenced on Oct. 7, 2026, to eight years in prison for leading a check fraud ring that stole more than 2,600 checks from U.S. Postal Service collection boxes. The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York said in its sentencing announcement that Judge John G.…
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Amtrak’s health plan paid over $11 million in fraudulent claims for care never given or not needed after workers sold their insurance details for cash kickbacks, and 19 people have pleaded guilty
Federal prosecutors in New Jersey say the Amtrak health care plan paid more than $11 million in fraudulent claims after health care providers paid dozens of Amtrak employees cash for their personal and insurance information. Nineteen people have pleaded guilty, and three more were sentenced this week. The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of…