Cab Company Owner Pleads Guilty to Stealing from Medicaid, Other New Americans Made Him Do it!

02/25/201909/21/2019 ~ Ann Corcoran ~ 3 Comments

According to the US Department of Justice:

Arshad Nazir, age 54, of Ticonderoga, New York, pled guilty to conspiring to defraud Medicaid, and conspiring to pay bribes and kickbacks to Medicaid beneficiaries who used his medical transportation service. He admitted to causing at least $550,000 in losses, and to paying at least $95,000 in bribes and kickbacks.

medicaid fraud Nazir’s lawyers say other cab companies run by other ‘new Americans’ made him do it in order to stay competitive (I kid you not!).
Here is a recitation of the charges against him from the local The Post-Star, including a mention of the defense that he previously was a good guy before he was a bad guy!

Cab Company Owner Pleads Guilty in Ticonderoga Case

He admitted to causing at least $550,000 in Medicaid program losses through false filings, and to paying at least $95,000 in bribes and kickbacks. In all, his company received $2.45 million in Medicaid payments between 2014 and 2018, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.

Nazir, whose company was known as Avalanche Taxi Co., faces up to 10 years in federal prison when sentenced June 18 by U.S. District Judge Thomas McAvoy. He also will be required to make $550,000 restitution.
[….]
According to prosecutors, Nazir admitted that he committed a variety of fraudulent acts involving Medicaid and the state Department of Health, including:

Billing Medicaid and receiving payment for trips where beneficiaries drove themselves to their own medical appointments

Falsifying the identities of the drivers for those trips.

Billing Medicaid and receiving payment for round trips to and from medical appointments when the beneficiaries took only one-way trips with Avalanche Taxi.

Falsifying pick-up and drop-off locations in order to increase the purported distances traveled and therefore be able to claim and receive higher Medicaid payments.

Nazir also admitted that he agreed to pay kickbacks and bribes to Medicaid beneficiaries in order to get the beneficiaries to schedule and keep scheduling medical transportation appointments with Avalanche Taxi. Those kickbacks included cash, cigarettes and tobacco, and free goods at Nazir’s convenience store in Ticonderoga.
His lawyer, Kevin O’Brien, said Nazir ran a legitimate taxi business for years, but when others moved into town and used fraudulent practices to take his business, he followed.

Now have a look at the names of some of the other cab company owners who apparently “moved into town” to compete with Nazir in the Medicaid transport business!

Charges are still pending against others who were involved in the scheme, including four other Ticonderoga cab company owners, Qaiser “Kaz” Gondal, 46; Khalid M. Chadder, 49; Waqas Nauman, 37; and Khurram Gondal, 39.

More here.
And, don’t miss this!
An earlier US Dept. of Justice press release lists more names of ‘new American’ entrepreneurs investigated in Ticonderoga and neighboring towns in welcoming New York!
No time for the ‘Secret Decoder Ring’ investigation today, but if anyone knows where Mr. Nazir is from and what his immigration status is, let me know!

Florida: The Patriot's Owner and Sex Slaves

02/25/201909/21/2019 ~ Ann Corcoran ~ 8 Comments

I read a bunch of news stories this morning all pretty much agreeing that when Robert Kraft allegedly used the services of a Florida massage parlor, he was interacting with modern day sex slavery.
Most of the ‘workers’ were young Asian girls (Chinese and South Koreans) who cannot speak English and lived at the establishment.

But, what I didn’t find was any report or opinion piece throwing any blame at our LEGAL immigration system that is allowing such large numbers of young women into the US on visas of some sort. Does no one at the US State Department or in USCIS see any red flags with visas from China?

Sex slavery in Florida
Here is just one article (by Eric MacLeish at the Boston Globe) about what Robert Kraft has alleged to have participated in.
Sounds like the same type of operation we heard about in rural New Hampshire, here, where they weren’t catching big fish like Kraft, but did arrest some of the Chinese ring-leaders.

Why the allegations against Robert Kraft are a big deal

In the wake of the disclosures involving Patriots’ owner Robert Kraft allegedly soliciting two prostitutes at the Orchids of Asia Spa in Juniper, Fla., some commentators have suggested that the charges may get dismissed at the arraignment and that they only involve two alleged misdemeanors for which Kraft cannot be extradited from Massachusetts to Florida. So, no big deal and according to some, Kraft’s place in the Pro Football Hall of Fame looks pretty secure.

Maybe the Kraft bust will do us a great service by educating a lot of people about our flawed immigration system!

Kraft has issued a carefully worded statement denying that he did anything against the law. He’s entitled to a trial. The police say that they have video evidence of him engaging in a sex act with two prostitutes that he allegedly paid. Unless it’s another person on that video, a trial seems unlikely. So should all of this go away for Kraft in a neat plea deal?
It should not. Investigators in Florida report that the women working at the spa are victims of a human trafficking operation where they were coerced into performing as many as 15 sex acts a day.
Apparently, many live and sleep at the spa and are undoubtedly working without pay based on some fictitious debt that they incurred for being smuggled into the United States. Some were discovered squatting at the back of the spa, cooking on a hot plate. We don’t know all of the details yet, but let’s be clear. If the allegations are true, Robert Kraft has in effect aided and abetted an organization involving human slavery.
[….]
In cases involving statutory rape (when a child is below the age of consent), it is typically not a defense when a victim misidentifies his or her age. It’s the responsibility of the defendant to find out how old he or she is. There are no charges of underage victims here, but a similar rule should apply. A 2018 Polaris report estimates that there were 9,000 storefront operations similar to Orchids of Asia employing exploited women in the sale of sex, with revenues totaling $2.5 billion.
Most of the women are from China or South Korea and most do not have a high school education. It was up to Kraft to understand the type of operation he was entering on those two visits.
There are more than 400,000 human beings held as slaves in the United States.

More here.

What do you do? Educate your friends and family members to this horrific practice, and if one of the 9,000 storefront operations is near you, keep an eye on them and look for signs that the Asian girls are not free to leave the establishment and then let the authorities know.

Be Aware of the Top Ten Scams that Steal from Granny

02/24/201909/21/2019 ~ Ann Corcoran ~ 4 Comments

CNBC recently published a list of the Top Ten Scams that are perpetrated against seniors in the US.

Scams cheat older Americans out of almost $3 billion a year. Here’s what to watch for

Seniors lose an estimated $2.9 billion annually from financial exploitation, according to the Senate Special Committee on Aging.

Impersonating the IRS was the No. 1 scam targeting seniors in 2018.
More than 1,500 seniors across the country contacted the committee’s fraud hotline in 2018; however, Kansas Attorney General Derek Schmidt said in recent testimony that only 1 in every 24 cases of elder exploitation gets reported.
“Despite that under-reporting, statistically one in every 10 Americans age 65 or older who lives at home will become a victim of abuse,” he wrote.
Here are the top 10 scams targeting seniors last year, according to the Senate aging committee’s 2019 Fraud Book:

For a description of each of the ten, go back to CNBC or the Fraud Book mentioned above.

1. IRS impersonators
2. Robocalls
3. Sweepstakes scam/Jamaican lottery scam
4. Computer tech support fraud
5. Elder financial abuse
6. Grandparent scams
7. Romance frauds
8. Fake Social Security calls
9. Lawsuit or arrest threats
10. Identity theft

Identity thieves not only drain bank accounts and charge credit cards, but they also defraud the government and taxpayers by using stolen personal information to submit fraudulent billings to Medicare and Medicaid.
The Senate aging committee recommends that victims place a fraud alert, report identity theft or file a police report if a scam is suspected.

Sit down with elderly relatives and explain the kinds of frauds that they might experience and then take time and report fraud or suspected fraud.
Almost a day doesn’t go by that I don’t get some call about “free” knee braces and such! How about you?

Massachusetts: Just Another 'New American' Doctor Caught Cheating Medicare/Medicaid

02/24/201909/21/2019 ~ Ann Corcoran ~ 5 Comments

This is a story like so many and wouldn’t have been worth mentioning except that it was fun to find out a little bit about the perpetrator.
medicaid fraud
The joke of course is that a story like this never mentions anything about the background of the alleged crook and as Ann Coulter said one needs a “secret decoder ring” to learn more about someone with a name like this one—-Dr. Hooshang Poor.
(I searched for a photo of Dr. Poor, but gave up.)
Below is the news of Dr. Poor’s settlement with the government over his Medicare/Medicaid fraud.
From Patch.com,

Newton Doctor Accused Of Fraud To Pay $680K In Settlement

NEWTON, MA – A Newton doctor has agreed to pay $680,000 to resolve allegations that he violated the False Claims Act by submitting inflated claims to Medicare and the Massachusetts Medicaid program (MassHealth) for care to nursing home patients, the US Attorney’s Office and the Attorney General announced Thursday.

“This doctor stole hundreds of thousands of dollars from MassHealth – taking away health care resources for those who are most in need,” said Attorney General Maura Healey in a statement. “We will continue to take action to defend the integrity of MassHealth and protect Massachusetts residents.”
Hooshang Poor, who has been treating patients in long-term care facilities since 1987, was audited by MassHealth and the state in 2017. The government contends that, between June 1, 2011 and May 31, 2017, Poor submitted inflated claims for nursing home care by assigning false procedural codes that overstated the length, extent, and scope of services he and his employees furnished to nursing home residents, according to the government in the settlement agreement.
“Dr. Poor enriched himself at taxpayer expense by improperly billing Medicare and Medicaid,” said United States Attorney Andrew E. Lelling in a statement.

The US Justice Department statement is here.
Then get this next charge.
He billed for services even while he was out of the country on ten trips! My first thought was: Did he take our taxpayer dollars abroad?

The audit also found that Poor billed MassHealth for more than $15,000 in services that took place while he was traveling abroad on 10 different occasions.

Dangerous drugs improperly administered!

The government said Poor did not establish proper guidelines for his staff to follow when prescribing medications to their patients and yet during the audit period, Poor’s nurse practitioner and physician’s assistant wrote 657 prescriptions, including 211 for narcotics such as fentanyl, oxycodone, and methadone.

More details here, but there is no mention of any jail time for Dr. Poor!

Who is this guy I wanted to know!

US News has a little bio for Dr. Poor and we learn he has been practicing medicine here for 20 years and received his medical training at Shiraz University of Medical Science.
That University is in Iran. Is Dr. Poor a US citizen? That is unclear.
We learn a few more nuggets of information at MyLife. We learn that he has used several aliases and that he is a Muslim.

Hooshang Poor is 68 years old today because Hooshang’s birthday is on 03/05/1950. Hooshang’s Reputation Score is 3.42. Before moving to Hooshang’s current city of Newton Center, MA, Hooshang lived in Sunny Isles Beach FL. Hooshang Dadkhahipoor, Hooshang Dadkhahi Poor, Hooshang Dadkhani-poor, Hoo Dadhahipoo and Hoshang D Poor are some of the alias or nicknames that Hooshang has used. Background details that you might want to know about Hooshang include: ethnicity is Caucasian, whose political affiliation is unknown; and religious views are listed as Muslim.

So, LOL! maybe the headline to the story should read, Muslim Doctor from Iran Rips off American Taxpayers.
Of course, that will never happen! But, I can dream can’t I?
I’m increasingly seeing stories about nursing home frauds that usually involve some issues of dangerous drugs being handled improperly, so are you keeping a close eye on loved ones in long term care facilities?

And one more thing, if you are looking for something to do, contact the reporter or editor of the paper when you see stories of obvious ‘new Americans’ committing crimes and ask why they aren’t telling us any background on the perp?

Minnesota: Somali, New American, Arrested in Kidnapping of Journalist

02/23/201909/21/2019 ~ Ann Corcoran ~ 6 Comments

AbdiYusufHassan225
But, the Somali “community” of Minneapolis doesn’t believe that Abdi Yusuf Hassan is guilty of the charges and they gathered at a Twin Cities Courthouse with their long-established mouthpiece Omar Jamal to proclaim his innocence.
Hassan is most likely one of tens of thousands of Somalis welcomed by the federal government and US State Department resettlement contractors and placed in Minnesota—a ‘new American’ indeed!
First see the AP story about Hassan’s arrest,

US citizen charged in kidnapping of journalist in Somalia

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — A U.S. citizen has been charged with kidnapping and other counts for his alleged role in the abduction of a freelance journalist who was held hostage in Somalia for nearly three years, according to federal charging documents unsealed Thursday in New York.
According to a criminal complaint, Abdi Yusuf Hassan was part of a conspiracy to kidnap the journalist in January 2012 in Galkayo, Somalia, and demand $20 million in ransom. The journalist was released Sept. 23, 2014.
While the journalist is not named in the complaint or in a superseding indictment, the dates of his capture and release, and several details outlined in the court documents, match the experiences of author Michael Scott Moore, a German-American who was abducted by pirates in Somalia while he was there writing a book about piracy.

Journalist Moore. His family ultimately paid $1.6 million for his release

Moore’s publicist said he was unreachable for an interview Thursday. In November, Moore confirmed to the New York Times that another man indicted in the case, Mohamed Tahlil Mohamed, was one of his captors. Mohamed and Hassan are listed as co-defendants.
According to court documents, Hassan, 51, was born in Mogadishu and is a naturalized U.S. citizen. He faces six counts, including kidnapping conspiracy, hostage-taking conspiracy and unlawful use of firearms.
He was arrested in Minneapolis on Friday and will be returned to New York to face charges. It was not immediately clear if he had an attorney in New York to comment on his behalf.
[….]
The complaint says Hassan spoke English and was a translator for the hostage takers; the journalist, who identified Hassan from a lineup, said he also appeared to hold a leadership position over the other guards.

Much more here about the details of the kidnapping.
Now this, from CBS-Minnesota…
The Somali community led by none-other than the Somali Jesse Jackson, Omar Jamal, came out to the courthouse to say the feds have it all wrong. He, Hassan, was just there to help free kidnap victims.

Minneapolis Man Accused Of Holding American Journalist Hostage In Somalia

MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) – A Twin Cities man has been indicted for allegedly helping co-conspirators hold a journalist captive for more than two years.
Abdi Yusuf Hassan, who moved to Minnesota in 1998, is accused of holding three people hostage on the coast of Somalia.
[….]
On a crisp winter day, dozens from one of Minnesota’s strongest immigrant communities stood together to stand behind Abdi Yusuf Hassan, filing into the Minneapolis courthouse.
A loved one told WCCO-TV, “He’s innocent, completely innocent.”

Omar Jamal is back!

I haven’t seen him mentioned for a long time. I’ve followed his ‘career’ (going back more than ten years!) as he was the mouthpiece for any Somali in trouble in Minnesota (and elsewhere!) for anything at anytime! Jamal was not a refugee, but had actually gotten into the US illegally from Canada and was never removed. For at least a dozen posts on Jamal go here.
Don’t miss one of my favorite stories about Jamal, here in 2008, when I coined his nickname—Somali Jesse Jackson!
CBS continues….

Federal papers show the captured journalist identified Hassan as one of the leaders of the operation. According to the indictment, Hassan speaks English and served as a translator for the hostage-takers and regularly communicated with the journalist.

Omar Jamal: the community activist go-to guy for the media!

Community activist Omar Jamal testified in court Thursday on behalf of his friend.
“He was in no way, shape or form that he was involved. Having known him for 20 years, the kind of guy he is, I don’t think so,” Jamal said.
He says Hassan has been working in Somalia the past few years to help rebuild the government, and that Hassan was simply helping translate negotiations with the journalist’s kidnappers, trying to help.

More here.

Since the community is so close-knit, I wonder if the alleged kidnapper Hassan is a friend of Ilhan Omar? Does anyone know? Maybe a contributor to her political campaign?