Tag: Florida

New Americans Sent to Slammer over Massive Health Care Fraud Scheme

~ Ann Corcoran ~ 3 Comments

“[A]fter arriving in the United States from Cuba on a raft seeking refuge and a better life…they proceeded to build a vast empire of fraud.”

I could not find a photo of the Cuban crooks.

 

Here is the news directly from the US Justice Department, and I must say this is one of the better press releases I’ve seen from the feds especially for its mention of the fact that the Cuban crooks were refugees who then took advantage of us. (Immigration history is rarely mentioned.)

(Thanks to one of my many readers who share tips with me.)

We gave them an opportunity for a good life, they ripped us off and now we must pay for their incarceration!

Husband and Wife Sentenced to Prison for Roles in $38 Million Health Care Fraud and Wire Fraud Scheme

Rodolfo Pichardo, 71, of Hialeah, Florida was sentenced to more than 15 years in prison for masterminding a $38 million health care fraud and wire fraud scheme. His wife Marta Pichardo, 66, was sentenced to 8 years in prison for her role in the scheme.

[….]

Rodolfo Pichardo and Marta Pichardo previously pled guilty to conspiracy to commit health care fraud and wire fraud. On December 4, 2019, Rodolfo Pichardo, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Rodolfo A. Ruiz to 188 months in prison, to be followed by 3 years of supervised release. He was ordered to pay $33,841,576 in restitution. Today, Marta Pichardo was sentenced by Judge Ruiz to 96 months in prison, to be followed by 3 years of supervised release. She was ordered to pay $10,482,178 in restitution.

According to court documents, after arriving in the United States from Cuba on a raft seeking refuge and a better life, the Rodolfo Pichardo and his wife Marta Pichardo settled in Miami-Dade County, Florida where they proceeded to build a vast empire of fraud, consisting of at least six fraudulent home health agencies, three fraudulent therapy staffing companies, and two fraudulent pharmacies. Each of these entities purportedly provided home health services, therapy services, and prescription drugs, respectively, to qualified Medicare beneficiaries, though in fact and as both Rodolfo and Marta Pichardo knew, they did not.

From May 2010 through September 2016, the Pichardos and their co-conspirators used this empire to submit more than $38 million in false and fraudulent claims to Medicare, for which the trust-based program then paid out more than $33 million.

Fueled their lavish lifestyle with your money!

The Pichardos then used this money to purchase multiple properties, high-end vehicles, expensive jewelry, plane tickets, vacations, cosmetic procedures, and more, both for themselves and their family members.

As part of the scheme, Rodolfo Pichardo offered and paid kickbacks, both by cash and by check, to numerous patient recruiters, in exchange for the referral of Medicare beneficiaries to home health agencies that he owned. The conspirators also offered and paid cash kickbacks to owners and operators of multiple Miami-Dade medical clinics, in return for acquiring medically unnecessary home health prescriptions for the recruited Medicare beneficiaries. These prescriptions were then used by the Pichardos’ various home health agencies and pharmacies to bill Medicare for purported services and pharmaceutical drugs that were provided to allegedly qualified Medicare beneficiaries

During the long-running scheme, the Pichardos took several calculated steps to conceal the fraud and avoid detection, including using nominee owners, changing names and locations of their fraudulent entities, and creating shell companies to conceal the receipt of the fraud proceeds, hide assets and transactions, and divert proceeds for both personal use and to further the fraud.

There is a bit more here.

So much for Michael Bloomberg’s New American Economy built on immigrant entrepreneurs.

As I have said before, the President should work some of the fantastic fraud busts his Justice Department is exposing into each rally he attends.  He could direct his staff to find one or two relevant to whatever state he is visiting.

I think Florida fraudsters might outnumber Michigan schemers here at ‘Frauds and Crooks’, but I’ll check my archives tomorrow on this blogs first anniversary!

Don’t forget to check in at Refugee Resettlement Watch which has been taking most of my attention in recent weeks!

Happy New Year!

Diversity is Beautiful Alert! Man from Micronesia Grabs Girl at Her Florida Home

~ Ann Corcoran ~ 1 Comment

Lucky for the 11-year-old, her Dad was home and quickly chased the intruder away from their patio door.

Steven M. Hasugulgum, 21, was arrested a short time later.

Steven M. Hasugulgum, 21, a citizen of the Federated States of Micronesia.

Of course the big question for me and others of my readers is what the heck was a creepy man from Micronesia doing wandering around Daytona Beach?

We don’t take refugees from Micronesia, well except for those rejected asylum seekers who had been placed in detention by Australia on the island of Nauru.  Surely he couldn’t have been one of those we foolishly took to America as refugees when Australia didn’t want them. Could he?

We will likely never know unless some enterprising local reporter can pull his immigration status out of the local police.

There are many articles, mostly in Florida media, about the Christmas Eve attempted kidnapping.  Thanks to reader Janet for bringing it to my attention.

Here is Fox News:

Man chased from Florida home after grabbing girl, 11, in Christmas Eve break-in attempt

A man was arrested after forcing his way into a Florida home on Christmas Eve, nearly snatching an 11-year-old girl before he was chased off by her father, authorities said.

Steven M. Hasugulgum, 21, was standing outside an Ormond Beach-area home around 6 p.m. Tuesday when the girl opened a sliding door and walked outside, the Volusia Sheriff’s Office said. Hasugulgum advanced, putting his fingers to his lips and telling her to “shh” as he forced her back inside.

The family’s security camera caught the intrusion.

 

Hasugulgum followed her and grabbed her hand, trying to pull her toward him, but the girl’s father, Derek Kloepfer, was able to chase the intruder away, deputies said.

“If I would have grabbed him, I’m sure there would have been some consequences,” Kloepfer told FOX35 Orlando.

See the Fox35 video here.

The incident was caught on home surveillance video, and deputies immediately began tracking the suspect.

But just 40 minutes after fleeing, Hasugulgum tried to break into another home in the area, deputies said.

A woman told authorities he tried to turn the knob on her front door, which was locked. She said she opened the door and saw Hasugulgum “acting erratic and holding a hammer.” He then tried to break into her SUV but was scared off after the woman hit the vehicle’s panic alarm, according to the sheriff’s office.

Deputies eventually arrested the 21-year-old when he reappeared near the first house less than an hour later.

Hasugulgum lives in Daytona Beach, but is a citizen of the Federated States of Micronesia, a country comprising more than 600 islands in the western Pacific Ocean, the sheriff’s office said.

If any of you learn more about this man from Micronesia and how he came to be in America in the first place, please let me know!

They Wanted Brazilian Butt Tucks, but Ended up Dead or Deformed

~ Ann Corcoran ~ 4 Comments

Editor:  As you know I have been deep in the weeds of the President’s offer to local elected officials and state governors to determine if they want to receive refugees later in 2020.   It is frankly a bureaucratic morass and I needed a break from it so I had a look at some ‘frauds and crooks’ news this morning.

Please visit Refugee Resettlement Watch because there are new posts there every day like this one: Appomattox County, Virginia says no thanks to refugees, likely first in the nation county to say NO!

 

For a change, this is really disturbing news for a whole host of reasons.

Before getting to the story that you may have seen because it was fairly widely reported, learn what a Brazilian butt lift entails. See here.

I sure hope our tax dollars in no way support this foolish (deadly!) medical procedure.

From the UK Daily Mail (where photos are always the best):

Botched cut-rate operations at plastic surgery clinics operated by FELONS in Florida cost 13 women their lives – but state law can do nothing to close down the lethal businesses

At least 13 women have died after undergoing plastic surgery at Florida clinics founded by felons, a new investigation reveals.

They came for discounted butt lifts and tummy tucks from surgeons in world-renowned South Beach, Florida.

But these women were left with complications that cost them their lives, after operations that were performed by surgeons hired by for felons, USA Today’s investigation revealed.

Dr Osakatukei Omulepu had failed his board exams multiple times, and had never been board certified in plastic surgery, says the Daily Mail.

It dug into the sordid histories of four clinics founded by people had been convicted of crimes – mostly financial ones – but were allowed to run cosmetic surgery shops that crowded patients in and cut corners to make more money more quickly.

The clinics, where women died of fat embolisms, deadly mixtures of sedatives and puncture wounds to organs, were cited for these deaths and for dirty operating rooms.

Yet they were never shut down. Blindspots in regulatory oversight and hamstrung lawmakers allowed these facilities to continue operating despite the littany of problems – in one case, even while the owner was waiting for his prison sentence to start.

[….]

Juan Hernandes was convicted in a $1.2 million Medicare billing fraud case while running Spectrum Aesthetics

Juan Hernandes co-founded Spectrum Aesthetics in 2012. He and his business partner, Evelyn Parrado were charged with fraudulently billing $1.2 million to Medicare for drugs from the pharmacy they ran together.

Under the impression that Spectrum was staffed and run by board certified surgeons, the court allowed Hernandes to continue to operate the clinic.

He employed and oversaw the physicians there, including Dr Osakatukei Omulepu, who had failed his board exams multiple times, and never been board certified in plastic surgery.

Yet the unqualified surgeon performed Brazilian butt lifts, the most dangerous cosmetic operation.

During two such operations, he punctured or stabbed organs including the liver and small intestine.

A surgical sponge was left inside Porche Campbell, 40, when she had a procedure there.

Nicola Mason, 46, came to Spectrum from Maryland for a Brazilian butt lift.

But, a complaint she filed against Dr Omulepu claims he performed a tummy tuck – the wrong surgery – on her, instead.

And the unwanted tummy tuck she got left Mason with large scars on the side of her abdomen.

Dr Omulepu’s records claim that he determined that Mason wasn’t a good candidate for butt lift, according to USA TODAY, and that the two instead agreed upon her tummy tuck.

Last year, Adianet Galvan visited New Life Plastic Surgery for the same risky procedure: a Brazilian butt lift.

She suffered the same fate countless others have under the knife. Galvan died of a fat embolism, according to USA Today’s analysis of her autopsy records.

‘I never thought my daughter would come to this country and die at the age of 30,’ her mother, Arelys Gonzalez told USA Today.  [Were these women in the country legally?—ed]

Continue reading here.

You will notice that most of those involved with the fraudulent surgical centers appear to be ‘new Americans.’

Jihad? Saudi National Goes on Murder Spree at Florida Naval Base

~ Ann Corcoran ~ 9 Comments

Surely you’ve seen the news, but what interested me most this morning is that the usual major news sources, even Fox News, have very few details.  So, why is it that we have to go to the UK Daily Mail (again!) to get more.

And, I want to know who the victims are!  Some of our finest young men and women?

Six Saudis are arrested over Pensacola naval base shooting including three who FILMED the attack by countryman who killed three and wounded eight before being shot dead – as FBI probes terror link

The Daily Mail generally includes a very handy list of bullet points like these!

~Shooting took place on base early Friday morning, sparking a lockdown

~Sources identified the suspected gunman as Saudi Air Force aviation student Mohammed Saeed Alshamrani

~As of Friday evening, six Saudi nationals have been detained for questioning
It’s reported that three of them filmed the shooting as it happened

~Rep Matt Gaetz, a Republican representing Pensacola, called the shooting ‘an act of terrorism’

~President Trump tweeted that King Salman told him ‘the Saudi people are greatly angered by the barbaric actions of the shooter…’

~Three other people were shot and killed during incident inside classroom building on base

Read the whole story, but here are a few additional snips, plus a photo the Daily Mail says is the shooter.

In recent weeks, 18 naval aviators and two aircrew members from the Royal Saudi Naval Forces were training with the US Navy, including at Pensacola, according to a November 15 press release from the Navy. It was not clear if the suspected shooter was part of that delegation.

The delegation came under a Navy program that offers training to US allies, known as the Naval Education and Training Security Assistance Field Activity.

A person familiar with the program said that Saudi Air Force officers selected for military training in the United States are intensely vetted by both countries.  [We are so stupid, they are skilled liars!—ed]

Amazing how we didn’t learn anything from 911.  We don’t need to invite any Saudis to America, let alone to train them to fly.

And, for goodness sake, this attack happened on a Navy base, but it required local police to take out the shooter.  Why aren’t there armed Navy men and women protecting the base? (While dreadful people like Mohammed obviously carry guns on base!)

Miami: Dozens Busted in Medicare Drug Fraud Scheme

~ Ann Corcoran

According to one article on the latest fraud bust involving Medicare, Florida is number one in the nation for such schemes.

And, every time I see a story like this I imagine the massive fraud we would have if Elizabeth Warren got her dream program—Medicare for all!

Some of the names of those ‘new Americans’ arrested include: Ingrid Perdomo, Stirlitz Pio Diaz, Luiba Rodriguez Leyva, Diana Cabrera, Katia Ramirez, Daymis Sanchez, and Yanelys Lozano.  Cubans I’m guessing.

New American Economy?

When you hear from groups like Michael Bloomberg’s New American Economy about the entrepreneurial spirit and economic benefits ‘new Americans’ contribute to our country think about this bunch!  And, don’t forget, Bloomberg is a leading advocate for more immigration!

 

There are actually two separate busts…

Here is the first story from Tuesday that explains how the scam works from NBC Miami:

Nearly 20 Suspects Charged in Multi-Million Dollar Medicare Fraud Across 2 Miami Pharmacies

Nearly two dozen people have been charged by Florida’s Office of Statewide Prosecution for their involvement in a multi-million dollar Medicare fraud scheme that took place at two Miami pharmacies over the course of several years.

A total of 19 suspects are facing charges including organized fraud, racketeering, grand theft and money laundering, according to arrest warrants released Tuesday.

The scheme made use of professional beneficiaries, which are people who allow their Medicare benefits to be exploited by fraudsters in exchange for monetary compensation, the warrants said.

In this case, the professional beneficiaries involved were receiving up to 30 percent of the profits from each medication that was fraudulently billed by either Santander Pharmacy or Wynwood Family Pharmacy Corporation, the warrants said.

The beneficiaries would visit doctors in order to acquire prescriptions for medications they did not need. The prescriptions would be taken to Santander or Wynwood pharmacies, where the drugs would be charged to Medicare even though the drugs would never actually be dispensed or received.

The drugs that were fraudulently billed tended to be highly expensive, such as anti-psychotic drugs, according to the arrest warrants.

Since the operation began in Santander Pharmacy in 2015, more than $4 million in federal funds has been stolen using this method.

According to the arrest warrants, South Florida leads the country in this kind of Medicare fraud, particularly Miami-Dade and Broward counties.

Individuals establish a pharmacy by submitting corporate documents and obtaining a pharmacy license from the Florida Department of Health, and then commit fraud by submitting claims to Medicare for services that are never actually rendered or needed.

More here.

From the Miami Herald yesterday:

At least 30 people have been charged in connection with a string of South Florida pharmacies state authorities say fraudulently billed Medicare — a scam that continues to be one of Miami’s most lucrative illegal industries.

Police officers on Tuesday began arresting dozens associated with Tata Pharmacy Discount, Lozano Health Care, and in a separate case, Wynwood Family Pharmacy and Santander Pharmacy.

Those arrested in the sprawling case are facing charges of racketeering, organized scheme to defraud and money laundering.

The investigation was spearheaded by the Statewide Prosecutor’s Office, Miami-Dade police and U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

Medicare fraud has long been rampant in South Florida, costing taxpayers billions. Over the past decade, pharmacies have become particular cash cows, with owners and middlemen scouring nursing homes, paying kickbacks to elderly patients in exchange for allowing them to bill for unnecessary medicines in their names.

Continue reading here.

I have more Medicare/Medicaid/Food Stamp fraud cases in my queue to post which I hope to get to in the coming days.