Your hard earned Tax Money at Illegals Hands.

R. Alexander Acosta, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, Jonathan I. Solomon, Special Agent in Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation, Miami Field Office, Christopher B. Dennis, Special Agent in Charge, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Inspector General, and Bill McCollum, Attorney General of the State of Florida, announced today that Miguel Almanza, formerly of Hialeah, FL, pled guilty in connection with a $56.7 million Medicare fraud scheme.

According to the government’s factual proffer, defendant Miguel Almanza operated and controlled thirteen durable medical equipment ("DME") companies, and three medical clinics located in Miami-Dade and Hillsborough Counties. Using these thirteen companies, Almanza and his co-conspirators submitted nearly $57 million of false claims to Medicare for medical equipment, prescription medications, and outpatient medical services.

Almanza and his partners concealed their control of these DME companies and medical clinics by recruiting "nominee" or "straw owners," who were typically paid a percentage of the fraud proceeds to sign the necessary corporate records and Medicare applications. Notably, Almanza often recruited family members from his hometown of Moron, Cuba, to serve as the nominee owners of his DME companies.

To execute the scheme, Almanza purchased the identities of various Medicare beneficiaries in Miami-Dade County, including their driver's licenses, Medicare cards, and other identification documents. Almanza would then use the patients' Medicare numbers to submit fraudulent claims to Medicare for a wide variety of high-priced medical equipment, including nebulizers, oxygen concentrators, powered air mattresses, and wheelchairs. During the early years of the conspiracy, Almanza and his partners paid monthly cash kickbacks to these "professional patients." The kickbacks were paid so that the patients would not report the false claims to Medicare. Over time, the scheme changed because Almanza and his partners found it cumbersome to pay kickbacks to dozens of patients. Consequently, Almanza and his partners began to purchase stolen patient identities from patient recruiters and billing companies.

Once Medicare paid the false claims, Almanza and his partners implemented complex schemes to launder the fraud proceeds and conceal their ultimate destination. In one version of the scheme, Almanza and his partners would distribute pre-signed corporate checks, often for amounts just under $10,000, to a broad network of so-called "check cashers." The "check cashers" would cash the checks at local banks throughout Miami-Dade County, often visiting numerous bank branches within one day so as to avoid raising red flags. The "check cashers" would keep a commission, typically about 10%, and give the remaining proceeds to Almanza and his co-conspirators.

Under a second laundering method, Almanza and his partners recruited nominee owners to open various sham corporations, including construction companies and investment firms. The Medicare fraud proceeds were deposited into the bank accounts of the sham corporations, and then later distributed to Almanza and his partners. Almanza used the fraud proceeds to purchase a home, luxury cars, and to finance other lavish personal expenditures. Almanza also used the funds for gambling at various South Florida casinos, where he often spent more than $10,000 per night.

Almanza faces a maximum term of ten years’ imprisonment for the Medicare conspiracy, and five years’ imprisonment for making false claims upon the United States .

Mr. Acosta commended the investigative efforts of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Inspector General, and the Office of the Attorney General of Florida, Medicaid Fraud Control Unit. This case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Ryan Stumphauzer

For those who's blaming the undocumented Immigrants that they are not paying taxes and using social services ending in burning taxpayers pockets. You should be ashamed.
Corrupt government employees can cause tremendous harm when they abuse their authority and line their pockets with taxpayer dollars

FEDERAL AND LOCAL LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICIALS ANNOUNCE ARRESTS AND RAIDS IN MULTIMILLION-DOLLAR D.C. PROPERTY TAX REFUND FRAUD SCHEME.

WASHINGTON - Beginning early today, approximately 100 federal and local law enforcement agents executed seven search warrants in the District of Columbia and Maryland and arrested five persons, including two District of Columbia employees, in connection with a massive property tax refund fraud scheme that was designed to steal tens of millions of dollars from the District of Columbia by approving and issuing fraudulent property tax refunds from the District of Columbia’s Office of Tax and Revenue (“OTR”), U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia Jeffrey A. Taylor, U.S. Attorney for the District of Maryland Rod J. Rosenstein, Joseph Persichini, Jr., Assistant Director in Charge of the FBI’s Washington Field Office, Charles J. Willoughby, Inspector General for the District of Columbia, and District of Columbia Chief Financial Officer Natwar M. Gandhi jointly announced today.

Arrested this morning were 51-year-old Harriette Walters, Manager of the D.C. Real Property Tax Administration Adjustments Unit, of Washington, D.C., and 54-year-old Diane Gustus, a Real Property Program Specialist with OTR, of Clinton, MD, and three of their alleged co-conspirators, Jayrece E. Turnbull, 33, Richard J. Walters, 48, and Connie L. Alexander, 52, all of Bowie, Maryland, for their roles in a scheme to defraud the District of Columbia out of millions of dollars in real estate property tax refunds. The arrest warrants and felony complaints charge the participants in the scheme with several felony offenses, including mail fraud, bank fraud, money laundering, interstate transportation of stolen property, and conspiracy. If convicted of bank fraud alone, the defendants face a maximum sentence of 30 years in prison.

The District of Columbia tax code imposes property taxes on real estate in the District and provides a mechanism for property tax refunds when, for example, an individual or company overpays real estate taxes. According to the affidavits filed in support of the arrest and search warrants, from 2004 through the present,

Harriette Walters, Diane Gustus, and other D.C. government employees were involved in preparing or approving fraudulent property tax refund requests to generate over 40 separate fraudulent refund checks averaging over $388,000 each. Those fraudulent tax refund checks were deposited primarily into sham corporate accounts controlled by Harriette Walters’s relatives, including Turnbull’s “Chappa Home Services” and “Legna Home Services” accounts, and Richard Walters’s “Helmet Plumbing and Heating” account.

The fraudulently obtained funds then allegedly were distributed through cash, cashier’s checks, and wire transfers to the co-conspirators and family members, who used the funds to purchase homes, vehicles, jewelry, luxury clothing and houseware items, and other real and personal property, among other things. For example, it is alleged that between September 2000 and the present, Harriette Walters spent more than $1.4 million at Neiman Marcus. Additionally, the affidavits allege, some of the money stolen from the District of Columbia has been sent to a money exchange institution in the Dominican Republic that has no bank branches in the United States.

To date, approximately 42 fraudulent refund checks have been identified that resulted in a loss of over $16 million to the District.

“Public officials serve the public, and those who abuse the public’s trust by treating the District’s tax coffer as a private cash trough will be rooted out and held accountable for their actions,” stated U.S. Attorney Taylor. “Today we have taken a significant step toward eliminating this fraud and recovering funds looted from the District’s treasury.”

“Corrupt government employees can cause tremendous harm when they abuse their authority and line their pockets with taxpayer dollars. This expeditious, effective, and coordinated investigation demonstrates our commitment to ensure that any government employee who betrays the public trust and steals from the taxpayers is held accountable,” said U.S. Attorney Rosenstein.

“Today’s arrests and searches were a success due to a seamless joint investigation between the FBI’s Washington and Baltimore Field Offices and our federal and local law enforcement partners. Solid teamwork leads to solid, productive investigations,” stated FBI Assistant Director in Charge Persichini.

“This joint effort demonstrates how the federal and D.C. governments can work together for the benefit of the District and its residents,” stated D.C. Inspector General Willoughby.

“This behavior, on the part of those entrusted to safeguard the government’s resources, is reprehensible and will not be tolerated. Those involved will be identified and prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law. We will coordinate with the Office of the Inspector General, to conduct a comprehensive review of the Office of Tax and Revenue to immediately address deficiencies in management and internal controls. I want to emphasize that although any dollar lost to fraud is a dollar too much, this incident in no way compromises the financial stability and viability of the District,” said Chief Financial Officer Gandhi.

As a result of today’s search warrants and arrests, special agents from the Washington Field Office and Baltimore Field Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, in conjunction with agents from the Internal Revenue Service and District of Columbia Office of Inspector General, and criminal investigators from the District of Columbia Office of the Chief Financial Officer seized fur coats, jewelry, and designer bags worth thousands of dollars, bank accounts controlled by the conspirators, and several of their automobiles, including a 2005 Bentley.

Defendants Harriette Walters and Diane Gustus were charged in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. Their three alleged co-conspirators were charged in the U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland. The defendants’ initial appearances in the respective courts began this afternoon.

This investigation is continuing. The extent of the scheme and magnitude of the fraud are still being assessed.

In announcing today’s arrests and seizures, U.S. Attorneys Taylor and Rosenstein, FBI Assistant Director in Charge Persichini, Inspector General Willoughby and Chief Financial Officer Gandhi commended the team of investigators and prosecutors from their respective offices.

The cases will be jointly prosecuted by the U.S. Attorneys’ Offices for the Districts of Columbia and Maryland.

A felony complaint is merely a formal charge that a defendant has committed a violation of criminal law. All defendants are presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty.

ANOTHER MILLIONARIE SCHEME FRAUD TO MEDICARE AND TRICARE AFFECTING TAXPAYERS POCKETS.
WHEN THE XENOPHOBICS, EXTREMIST WILL BE TAKING OFF THE MASK OF IGNORANCE AND SEE'S WHO'S REALLY DRAINING THE SOCIAL SERVICES SYSTEM.

DIANON SYSTEMS AGREES TO PAY U.S. $1.5 MILLION TO RESOLVE CLAIMS OF MISCHARGING MEDICARE

WASHINGTON -- Dianon Systems Inc. has agreed to pay the United States $1.5 million to resolve claims under the False Claims Act that the company mischarged Medicare and TRICARE for certain tests it performed, the Justice Department announced today.

Dianon, a reference lab located in Stratford, Conn., specializes in conducting tests to detect and stage various types of cancer. Doctors obtain tissue or liquid specimens from patients and refer the specimens to Dianon to determine whether they contain cancer cells, and if so, the stage of the disease.

The original suit against Dianon was filed by Dr. James Tiesinga, a pathologist formerly employed by the company. He filed the complaint against the company on behalf of the United States under the qui tam or whistleblower provisions of the False Claims Act. Dr. Tiesinga will receive $300,000 as his share of the proceeds of the settlement.

The complaint alleged that Dianon billed for medically unnecessary tests in that it performed 26 flow cytometry tests on every sample sent to the company for diagnosis regardless of whether all 26 were medically necessary for a particular patient. Flow cytometry tests can be used to measure the amount of DNA in cells.

The investigation and settlement were jointly handled by the Office of the United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut and the Justice Department's Civil Division, with the assistance of the Office of Inspector General for the Department of Health and Human Services, the U.S. Defense Criminal Investigative Service, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation.