‘This case represents one of the most brazen and egregious cases of home health Medicaid fraud ever seen in this district [N Carolina].’
(US Attorney Robert J. Higdon Jr)
The UK Daily Mail, masters of such news, has the disgusting story replete with photos to make your head explode and a juicy title published hereon Wednesday.
Thanks to Judy for spotting it as I am just home from a happy family duty and am farther behind than usual with reading and writing.
‘Gluttonous’ Vegas couple ‘stole identities of dead people to defraud Medicaid of $13m’ which they blew on a private jet, luxury cars, designer clothes and vacations which they bragged about in tacky online videos
A Las Vegas couple have been accused of stealing $13million from Medicaid to fund a lavish lifestyle that included a private jet, luxury cars, jewelry and clothes.
Latisha and Timothy Harron bought expensive cars, real estate, a private jet and pricey vacations. They also bought gym equipment which clearly did not benefit Latisha, by ripping off US taxpayers!
Latisha and Timothy Mark Harron worked together to carry out a ‘massive fraud’ on the North Carolina Medicaid program, according to a press release from the Department of Justice issued on Wednesday.
The couple, who were arrested on Wednesday, allegedly did this by billing the government for what the Department described as ‘fictitious home services’.
They are accused of spending Medicaid money on a British Aerospace Bae 125-800Acosting private jet that cost $900,000, ‘thousands of dollars of gym equipment’ and properties in North Carolina.
‘Stealing taxpayer money from a health care program designed to care for the poor and disabled just to bankroll a private jet and other luxury products – as alleged in this case – is reprehensible,’ said Special Agent in Charge Derrick L. Jackson of the HHS Office of Inspector General.
Here is how they did it!
In 2012, Harron – who also goes by Latisha Reese Holt – moved to Maryland from North Carolina. There, she is said to have continued to bill NC Medicaid as though she was providing services to real North Carolina recipients.
The indictment then alleges that Latisha moved to Las Vegas in May 2017 to live with Timothy Harron. The two got married in 2018.
Timothy had a prior conviction which he concealed on NC Medicaid enrollment documents.
The couple then worked together to fraudulently bill the Medicaid program for more than $10 million between 2017 and 2019, according to the press release.
The DOJ said the couple searched through obituaries to find people in North Carolina who had recently died.
They then allegedly found out whether those people had a Medicaid ID number using an eligibility tool accessible only to Medicaid providers.
They then used it to bill Medicaid for ‘fictitious services’ it claimed to have provided before their deaths, the DOJ said.
Go hereto see the many photos and sickening details of their alleged theft.
It’s a good thing that the couple was so dumb to post photos of their largesse on line giving the Daily Mail such a titillating story.
If found guilty they could spend decades behind bars with surely lots and lots of gym time provided!
As I have said before, the Trump team should be broadcasting these successful busts far and wide as the 2020 election approaches.
Remember thestory a few weeks agoabout the FBI arresting over a dozen Nigerians (aka ‘new Americans’) operating out of the US to steal from unsuspecting Americans and others.
Here is a brief storyfrom Nigerian media about a new bust in the case. It interested me to see that our FBI is working in Africa to find the frauds and crooks who rip-off mostly vulnerable American women.
FBI List: We’ve Arrested Emmanuel Adedeji Oluwatosin, Uncovered N1 Billion In His Account – EFCC
The Economic and Financial Crime Commission (EFCC) in collaboration with the United States’ Federal Bureau of Investigation has Emmanuel Adedeji Oluwatosin, one of the 77 Nigerians indicted by the US government over a large-scale scam.
Two cars – Mercedes Benz E550 and Mercedes Benz C450 -, an iPhone, laptops, a modem and SIM cards were seized from his residence.
He was paraded in Sokoto State on Thursday, following his arrest in Kaduna State.
According to the Zonal Head, Abdullahi Lawal, Oluwatosin and his accomplices acquired retirement account information (RAI) and personally identifiable information (PII) of multiple persons which they used to wire funds into newly-created business bank accounts.
The proceeds were then converted to cryptocurrency.
Preliminary investigations, EFCC noted, showed that about N1,437,889,157.15 passed through the suspect’s accounts. [If I did the conversion correctly that should be about $4 million in USD.—ed]
Seventy million naira from that money had been traced, said Lawal as he said efforts were on to recover the money.
Do the math, I think you will see the vast majority of the money will never be recovered.
They really aren’t Maryland men, but likely Nigerians based on their names and the fact that one of the men involved in the scheme purchased cars and shipped them to Nigeria (on your dime)! (Secret decoder ring at work!)
I searched for photos of the accused, but as usual their pictures are no where to be found. (If you find the alleged scammers’ mugshots, please send my way!). Here is the storythat appeared in the Washington Post, but was picked up all over the country. The Nigerian tip-off comes near the end. (Hat tip: TwoLaine)
Prosecutors: Group swindled $8M designated for hurricane and wildfire victims
In Maryland – far from where the California wildfires and Hurricanes Harvey, Irma and Maria struck – a group of residents managed to scam the federal government out of $8 million in relief funds designated for those who needed it most, according to prosecutors. Money meant for California wildfire victims ended up in the hands of African scammers! The money was supposed to be for those who needed to rebuild their lives.
In the wake of massive hurricanes and wildfires that pummeled the United States in recent years, the federal government made relief funds available for those who found themselves uprooted amid the rubble of charred or washed-out homes. But in Maryland – far from where the California wildfires and Hurricanes Harvey, Irma and Maria struck – a group of residents managed to scam the federal government out of $8 million in relief funds designated for those who needed it most, according to prosecutors. Members of the group, prosecutors allege, were part of a scheme that stole the identity of disaster victims and applied for victim benefits – to pay their own rents, buy cars or make personal purchases.
[….] John Irogho, 38, of Upper Marlboro, Maryland, has been charged with conspiracy to commit wire fraud and conspiracy to commit money laundering, according to federal prosecutors. Odinaka Ekeocha, 33, of Laurel, Maryland, has been charged with conspiracy to commit money laundering. Their arrests come a few weeks after another Maryland man, Tare Stanley Okirika, 30, of Laurel, pleaded guilty to wire fraud conspiracy, admitting that he fraudulently obtained government benefits to pay his rent and for other expenses, according to court documents. To better understand how the scam worked. See the Justice Department Press Release here: https://www.justice.gov/usao-md/pr/two-maryland-men-facing-federal-indictment-their-roles-scheme-allegedly-stole-government
[….]
The scheme relied heavily on “Green Dot” prepaid cards, according to prosecutors and court records. Those eligible for emergency benefits from the Federal Emergency Management Agency could opt to claim the funding through the cards that can be purchased at local grocery or convenience stores and registered to receive cash, court documents state.
Between 2016 and 2018, the group filed false claims for disaster relief and purchased hundreds of Green Dot cards to claim the money using the stolen identities of victims impacted by various disasters around the country, the government said. The documents do not detail how the stolen identities were obtained.
At least 16 victims from California, Georgia, Florida and Texas were listed in Okirika’s case, according to his indictment. Investigators with the U.S. Secret Service said he used some of the fraudulently obtained money to buy cars and ship them to Nigeria.
More here.
Of course none of these media accounts (or the Justice Department press release!) identify the alleged fraudsters as Nigerians or mention their immigration status.
How did these creeps get in here in the first place?
And, is this what the New American Economy claims is the entrepreneurial spirit migrants bring to America?
