COEUR D’ALENE, ID—Jason Paul Patrick, 33, of Federal Way, Washington, was sentenced today to 140 months in prison followed by 10 years of supervised release for conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine in the District of Idaho, U.S. Attorney Wendy J. Olson announced. Patrick was sentenced at the federal courthouse in Coeur d’Alene by U.S. District Judge Howard D. McKibben from the District of Nevada. He pleaded guilty to the charge on October 19, 2011. According to the plea agreement, between August 2010 and June of 20 11, Patrick conspired with other individuals to provide methamphetamine to persons living in Idaho.

According to the plea agreement, Patrick’s customers, on average, traveled twice a week from Idaho to western Washington to pick up the methamphetamine, which was then transported back to Idaho. Patrick admitted that the amount of methamphetamine involved was between one-and-a-half and five kilograms.

“Methamphetamine trafficking is a threat to the health and safety of Idaho’s communities,” said Olson. “With our law enforcement partners, we are committed to addressing this threat through aggressive investigations, strong prosecutions, and stiff sentences. Mr. Patrick’s conduct was well deserving of his lengthy prison sentence.”

The case was investigated by the North Idaho Violent Crime Task Force (NIVCTF), whose members include the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Idaho State Police, Kootenai County Sheriff’s Office, Shoshone County Sheriff’s Office, Bonner County Sheriff’s Office, Coeur d’Alene Police Department, Post Falls Police Department, and the Coeur d’Alene Tribal Police Department. The NIVCTF investigates a myriad of violent crimes, including armed robbery, kidnapping, felonious assault, and drug trafficking.

Washington Man Sentenced for Trafficking Meth in Idaho | Chicago Press Release Services - Chicago's leading press release newswire service; professional press release services, press release distribution and newswire services.

CHICAGO—A former software engineer for Motorola, Inc., now Motorola Solutions, Inc., a telecommunications company based in Schaumburg, was found guilty today of stealing Motorola trade secrets. The defendant, Hanjuan Jin, a naturalized U.S. citizen born in China, possessed more than 1,000 electronic and paper Motorola proprietary documents when she was stopped by U.S. customs officials as she attempted to travel on a one-way ticket to China in February 2007. The documents were later seized by U.S. customs officials at O’Hare International Airport.

Jin, 41, of Aurora and formerly of Schaumburg, was found guilty by U.S. District Judge Ruben Castillo following a five-day bench trial from Nov. 7 to 15, 2011. Jin “criminally betrayed Motorola by stealing its trade secrets,” Judge Castillo said in finding her guilty of three counts of theft of trade secrets. In a 77-page opinion, Judge Castillo found her not guilty of three counts of economic espionage for the benefit of the People’s Republic of China and its military. She faces a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison on each count of stealing trade secrets.

Jin was ordered to remain in home confinement with electronic monitoring pending sentencing, which was scheduled for April 18 in federal court. The government is seeking forfeiture of assorted computer hardware and equipment that Jin possessed in February 2007, which contained a variety of Motorola’s proprietary information.

“The verdict establishes that Jin stole valuable trade secrets from an American company, and we will do everything we can to guard our economic and national security from the theft of American trade secrets. This case is a successful example of how we can work with victim corporations to prosecute these cases while protecting the trade secrets involved,” said Patrick J. Fitzgerald, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois, who announced the verdict with Robert D. Grant, Special Agent in Charge of the Chicago Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

According to the evidence at trial, Jin began working for Motorola in 1998, and she took a medical leave of absence in February 2006. Between June and November 2006, while still on sick leave, Jin pursued employment in China with Sun Kaisens, a Chinese telecommunications company that developed products for the Chinese military. Between November 2006 and February 2007, Jin returned to China and did work for Sun Kaisens on projects for the Chinese military. During this same period of time, Jin was given classified Chinese military documents by a Sun Kaisens employee to review in order to better assist with the Chinese military projects. After receiving these documents, Jin agreed to review the documents and provide assistance.

On Feb. 15, 2007, Jin returned to the United States from China. On Feb. 22, 2007, Jin reserved a one-way ticket to China for a flight scheduled to depart on Feb. 28, 2007. The following day, on Feb. 23, 2007, Jin advised Motorola that she was ready to end her medical leave and return to work at Motorola, without advising that she planned to return to China to work for Sun Kaisens.

On Feb. 26, 2007, Jin returned to Motorola, purportedly to resume full-time work, and was given no assignments by her supervisor. Between 9 a.m. and 2 p.m., Jin accessed more than 200 technical documents belonging to Motorola on its secure internal computer network. At about 9 p.m. that night, Jin returned to Motorola and downloaded additional documents. At approximately 12:15 a.m. on Feb. 27, 2007, Jin was recorded twice leaving a Motorola building with hard copy documents and other materials.

During the day on Feb. 27, 2007, Jin sent an e-mail to her manager in which she appeared to volunteer for a layoff at Motorola. At about 10 p.m. that night, she returned to Motorola’s offices and downloaded numerous additional technical documents. Jin was later recorded leaving a Motorola building with what appeared to be a laptop computer bag.

As she attempted to depart on Feb. 28, 2007, from O’Hare bound for China, authorities seized numerous materials, some of which were marked confidential and proprietary belonging to Motorola. Some of the documents provided a detailed description of how Motorola provides a specific communication feature that Motorola incorporates into its telecommunications products sold throughout the world. At the same time, authorities recovered multiple classified Chinese military documents written in the Chinese language that described certain telecommunication projects for the Chinese military. Many of these documents were marked “secret” by the Chinese military. Authorities also recovered approximately $30,000 in U.S. currency that was in six different envelopes, each containing $5,000, all in hundred dollar bills.

The government is being represented by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Steven Dollear, Sharon Fairley, and Christopher Stetler.

Suburban Chicago Woman Convicted of Stealing Trade Secrets from Motorola Before Attempting to Travel to China | Chicago Press Release Services - Chicago's leading press release newswire service; professional press release services, press release distribution and newswire services.

ST. LOUIS—The United States Attorney’s Office announced today that Brian David Monday was indicted for allegedly pointing a green laser beam into the cockpit of an airplane and a helicopter while they were in flight on November 4, 2011. The alleged incidents took place in St. Charles County.

Monday, 30, St. Charles, MO, was indicted by a federal grand jury on one felony count of interfering with an airplane and a helicopter.

If convicted, this charge carries a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison and/or fines up to $250,000. In determining the actual sentences, a Judge is required to consider the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines, which provide recommended sentencing ranges.

“It is important to understand that the laser is no longer a pinpoint but a bright spotlight by the time it hits an aircraft, said Thomas R. Metz, Acting Special Agent in Charge of the FBI St. Louis Division. “It interferes with the operation of an aircraft because pilots are temporarily blinded.”

This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

As is always the case, charges set forth in an indictment are merely accusations and do not constitute proof of guilt. Every defendant is presumed to be innocent unless and until proven guilty.

St. Charles Man Indicted on Federal Charges of Pointing a Laser at In-Flight Aircraft | Chicago Press Release Services - Chicago's leading press release newswire service; professional press release services, press release distribution and newswire services.

NEWARK, NJ—Ronald J. O’Malley, former chairman and commissioner of the Bergen County Improvement Authority (“BCIA”) and principal in a Ridgewood, N.J., mortgage brokerage firm, was sentenced today to 24 months in prison in connection with a mortgage fraud scheme that falsely claimed BCIA employment for numerous mortgage borrowers, U.S. Attorney Paul J. Fishman announced.

O’Malley, 48, of Upper Saddle River, N.J., was a founder and co-owner of Diversified Financial Group, d/b/a Residential Mortgage Corporation (“Residential Mortgage”). Former Residential Mortgage employee Laura-Jean Arvelo, 52, of River Vale, N.J., also was sentenced today, to a two-year term of probation.

Both defendants previously pleaded guilty to a count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud. The defendants admitted that they conspired with each other; Residential Mortgage co-owner Edward Olimpio, 48, of Boonton, N.J.; two other Residential Mortgage employees, Daniel Gilmore, 31, of Hackensack, N.J., and Rachell Fischbein, 30, of River Edge, N.J.; and others to commit wire fraud in connection with fraudulent mortgage and home equity loans brokered by Residential Mortgage between 2006 and 2009. Both entered guilty pleas before U.S. District Judge Dennis M. Cavanaugh, who also imposed the sentences today in Newark federal court.

According to the indictment, other documents filed in this case, and statements made in court:

The participants in the mortgage fraud scheme falsely represented on mortgage loan applications and other documents that certain borrowers were employed by the BCIA when they were not. In support of the false representations, O’Malley and his coconspirators arranged for the BCIA staff to falsely confirm the borrowers’ employment to banks and other mortgage lenders calling to verify the information. O’Malley and his co-conspirators also created and arranged for the creation of false and fraudulent BCIA paystubs and W-2 forms, which were also submitted to lenders.

O’Malley and his coconspirators also made false representations regarding borrowers’ employment at places other than the BCIA, and created similar false documentation in support of such claims. The coconspirators also created false asset information for borrowers, including by taking O’Malley’s own bank and brokerage account statements and “cut-and-pasting” a borrower’s name and address over his own. They also prepared phony leases showing fake rental income for borrowers.

In addition to the prison term, Judge Cavanaugh sentenced O’Malley to three years of supervised release and ordered him to pay a $25,000 fine.

Olimpio, Fischbein, and Gilmore previously entered guilty pleas before U.S. District Judge Susan D. Wigenton, admitting to conspiring with O’Malley, Arvelo, each other, and others to commit wire fraud in connection with the scheme. They await sentencing.

U.S. Attorney Fishman credited special agents of the FBI, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Michael Ward, and IRS-Criminal Investigation, under the direction of Acting Special Agent in Charge JoAnn S. Zuniga, with the investigation.

The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Rachael A. Honig, Deputy Chief of the Criminal Division, and Assistant U.S. Attorney Christine I. Magdo in Newark.

Defense counsel:
O’Malley: Justin P. Walder Esq., Roseland, N.J.
Arvelo: Joseph Rem, Esq. Hackensack, N.J.

Former BCIA Chairman and Principal in New Jersey Mortgage Brokerage Firm Sentenced to Prison in Mortgage Fraud Scheme | Chicago Press Release Services - Chicago's leading press release newswire service; professional press release services, press release distribution and newswire services.

Chicago Fed Announces 2012 Detroit Board of Directors | Chicago Press Release Services - Chicago's leading press release newswire service; professional press release services, press release distribution and newswire services.

Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago Announces 2012 Money Smart Kid Essay Contest | Chicago Press Release Services - Chicago's leading press release newswire service; professional press release services, press release distribution and newswire services.

TAMPA, FL—United States Attorney Robert E. O’Neill announces the indictment and arrest of Belinda Brooks (46, Tampa) for tax fraud related activities. Brooks has been charged in a 17-count indictment. The charges include one count of filing a false tax return, six counts of theft of government property in the form of tax refunds, six counts of aggravated identity theft, three counts of making false claims in the form of fraudulent tax returns, and three counts of identity theft. The maximum federal prison sentence for each of the counts is as follows: 10 years for theft of government property, two years consecutive to any other sentence for aggravated identity theft, five years for making a false claim, and 15 years for identity theft. The indictment also notifies Brooks that the United States intends to forfeit any assets, including money, which are alleged to be traceable to proceeds of the offenses.

The indictment alleges that in addition to filing her own false tax return, Brooks stole the names and Social Security numbers of other individuals in order to file fraudulent tax returns in their names and obtain tax refunds for the tax years 2008 and 2009.

An indictment is merely a formal charge that a defendant has committed a violation of the federal criminal laws, and every defendant is presumed innocent unless, and until, proven guilty.

This case was investigated by the Internal Revenue Service. It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Mandy Riedel.

This case is part of Operation Rainmaker, a coordinated effort among the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Florida and various federal and local law enforcement agencies, including the U.S. Secret Service, IRS, United States Postal Inspection Service, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Tampa Police Department, and the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Department to combat the filing of false tax returns in the Tampa Bay region.

Tampa Woman Arrested for Tax Fraud and Identity Theft | Chicago Press Release Services - Chicago's leading press release newswire service; professional press release services, press release distribution and newswire services.

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University of Chicago Medicine, CeaseFire partner to address violence | Chicago Press Release Services - Chicago's leading press release newswire service; professional press release services, press release distribution and newswire services.

McALLEN, TX—Felicitas Velez Alanis, 51, and her daughter-in-law, Erika Ortega Alanis, 27, both of Brownsville, Texas, have entered pleas of guilty to conspiracy to commit health care fraud, United States Attorney Kenneth Magidson announced today along with Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott.

Felicitas Alanis owned and operated Vel-Ala Inc.—a Texas corporation which did business as Nisi Medical Equipment and Supplies in and around Brownsville, Harlingen and elsewhere in South Texas. Her daughter-in-law, Erika Alanis, assisted in the day-to-day operation of the company. Nisi Medical Equipment and Supplies was enrolled with the Texas Medicaid program to provide durable medical equipment (DME) to Texas Medicaid beneficiaries. The term DME means medical equipment and supplies used in the home and includes blood-testing strips, blood glucose monitors, alcohol wipes, diabetic supplies, and other medically necessary items.

The government alleged that the two women submitted more than $646,000 in false and fraudulent bills to the Texas Medicaid program for diabetic supplies which Nisi Medical Equipment and Supplies never purchased or supplied to Medicaid beneficiaries. The delivery records and billing records of Nisi show that the Texas Medicaid program was routinely billed for more items than were actually delivered and the purchase records revealed that the Texas Medicaid program was billed for medical supplies and items that Nisi had never purchased. Medicaid paid more than $554,000 on the false and fraudulent claims submitted.

Felicitas and Ericka Alanis admitted in court today that they conspired to send false and fraudulent bills to the Texas Medicaid program in the name of Nisi Medical Equipment and Supplies between on or about Jan. 1, 2005, through on or about Oct. 12, 2006, and that they routinely billed the Medicaid program for allegedly providing 200 boxes of alcohol prepartion pads to Medicaid beneficiaries when in fact only one box of alcohol preparation pads was ever delivered.

The women have been allowed to remain on bond pending their sentencing hearing, which is set for April 16, 2012, at which time they face a maximum punishment of 10 years in prison and up to a $250,000 fine plus up to three years of post-prison supervised release. Restitution may also be ordered.

The investigation leading to the charges in this case was conducted by the FBI and the Texas Attorney General’s Medicaid Fraud Control Unit. Assistant United States Attorney Casey N. MacDonald and Special Assistant United States Attorney Rex G. Beasley are prosecuting the case.

Brownsville Mother and Daughter-in-Law Guilty in Health Care Fraud Scheme | Chicago Press Release Services - Chicago's leading press release newswire service; professional press release services, press release distribution and newswire services.

More than 42-percent of the poll respondents visiting the website indicate spending money on their homes as a top priority this coming year.  A desire to “get away” polled high, with 23-percent stating they plan to take a major vacation in 2012. Purchasing a new car was on many respondents’ minds with 15-percent saying this was a top priority this year.

“These buying plans bode well for builders, contractors and home appliance retailers,” said Steve J. Bernas, president and CEO of the Better Business serving Chicago and northern Illinois. “Consumers looking to spend their money wisely for home improvements can obtain a free quote on a variety of services from the Better Business Bureau at www.bbb.org”

The survey also noted 19-percent of respondents are holding off major purchases or home improvements until the economy improves. 

Bernas continues, “Whether consumers are looking to spend money on their homes or a vacation, the BBB suggests they check out our free Business Reviews before putting money down.”

For more consumer tips you can trust, visit www.bbb.org 

###

As a private, non-profit organization, the purpose of the Better Business Bureau is to promote an ethical marketplace. BBBs help resolve buyer/seller complaints by means of conciliation, mediation and arbitration. BBBs also review advertising claims, online business practices and charitable organizations. BBBs develop and issue reports on businesses and nonprofit organizations and encourage people to check out a company or charity before making a purchase or donation.

Home Is Where the Money Goes Shows Better Business Bureau Consumer Survey | Chicago Press Release Services - Chicago's leading press release newswire service; professional press release services, press release distribution and newswire services.

Originally reported by Illinois Statehouse News. Read the original article here.

Quinn okays speed cameras for Illinois | Chicago Press Release Services - Chicago's leading press release newswire service; professional press release services, press release distribution and newswire services.

AHMED ALABADI, A —year-old citizen of Iraq and former resident of Dearborn, was arrested at Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport on the evening of Friday February 3, 2012, announced United States Attorney Barbara McQuade. Alabadi was arrested on an indictment for bank fraud, attempted bank fraud, and money laundering. McQuade was joined in the announcement by Special Agent Andrew G. Arena, Federal Bureau of Investigation and Brian Moskowitz, Special Agent in Charge, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Office of Homeland Security Investigations in Detroit.

The indictment alleges that Alabadi solicited investments from individuals, many of Iraqi descent, by promising that the funds would be used in various rebuilding projects in Iraq. Alabadi promised large returns for the investments. In reality, however, Alabadi did not use the investors’ money for such projects. Instead, he operated a Ponzi scheme by using money from subsequent investors to pay earlier investors. Alabadi fled to the Middle East as investors began discovering the fraud.

An indictment is only a charge and is not evidence of guilt. It will be the government’s burden to prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.

The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Louis P. Gabel.

If any individual believes that he or she was a victim of Alabadi’s fraud they should contact Special Agent Philip Reed of the FBI at (313) 965-2323.

Defendant Charged with Investor Fraud Who Fled to Middle East is Arrested | Chicago Press Release Services - Chicago's leading press release newswire service; professional press release services, press release distribution and newswire services.

Wifredo A. Ferrer, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida; John V. Gillies, Special Agent in Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Miami Field Office; and James K. Loftus, Director, Miami-Dade Police Department (MDPD); along with members of the Federal-State Mortgage Fraud Strike Force (Mortgage Fraud Strike Force), announce the indictment of six South Florida residents on charges stemming from their participation in a mortgage fraud scheme that resulted in approximately $2 million in fraudulent loans.

This case is the result of the cooperative law enforcement efforts of the members of the Mortgage Fraud Strike Force. Created in June 2008 and led by the U.S. Attorney’s Office, the Mortgage Fraud Strike Force brings together federal, state, and local law enforcement to combat the mortgage fraud epidemic in South Florida. Members of the Mortgage Fraud Strike Force include experienced prosecutors, federal agents, and state and local officers dedicated exclusively to investigating and prosecuting mortgage fraud cases. The Mortgage Fraud Strike Force has yielded substantial results. Since September 2007, following the creation of the District’s first Mortgage Fraud Initiative, more than 500 individuals have been charged for their involvement in mortgage fraud schemes that have resulted or were intended to result in more than $620 million in mortgage loans.

On February 2, 2012, a 10-count indictment was unsealed charging six defendants for their alleged participation in a mortgage fraud scheme that resulted in approximately $2 million in fraudulent loans. Charged in the indictment are defendants Ivania Filgueiras, 40, of Miami; Jose Armando Alvarado, 62, of Miami; Maria C. Alvarado, 62, of Miami; Reyna Josefina Orts, 57, of Miami; Alberto Morejon, 25, of Miami; and Carlos Serrano, 56, of Hialeah. Five of the six defendants are close family members.

According to the indictment, from 2005 through 2009, defendants Filgueiras, Jose Armando Alvarado, and Maria C. Alvarado identified residential properties in Miami-Dade County to defraud lenders. Defendant Jose Armando Alvarado then recruited and paid individuals to act as straw buyers of the properties. Defendant Serrano acted as a straw borrower for three different properties alleged in the indictment. Defendants Jose Armando Alvarado and Orts created and caused the borrowers’ fraudulent loan applications and other documents to be submitted to the lenders, in one instance without a borrower’s knowledge or consent. The fraudulent loan applications contained bogus bank account records and false statements about employment, income, assets, and intent to occupy the property. American Mortgage Lending (AML), a mortgage brokerage firm owned by defendant Jose Armando Alvarado, prepared and submitted the fraudulent loan documents to the lenders. South Florida Realty, a real estate company owned by defendant Maria C. Alvarado, was utilized to create sales contracts submitted to the lenders for the charged transactions.

Thereafter, defendants Filgueiras and Morejon utilized a Miami title company to conduct fraudulent closings. Once the mortgage applications were approved, the lenders wired the loan proceeds to the title company’s escrow account, operated by Filgueiras, for closing. At closing, Filgueiras and her father, defendant Jose Armando Alvarado, caused fraudulent payments and disbursements to be made from the loan proceeds. Additionally, defendant Filgueiras disbursed loan proceeds to the sellers without receiving cash-to-close payments from the borrowers, contrary to representations on the HUD-1 statements.

To perpetuate the scheme and avoid detection, the defendants also failed to record, and falsely recorded, mortgage deeds and other mortgage documentation with the State of Florida authorities. Defendants Filgueiras and Morejon also fraudulently executed quit-claim deeds with State of Florida authorities, on behalf of defendants Jose Armando Alvarado and Maria C. Alvarado, in order to sell the properties to other straw buyers, obtain home equity line of credit (HELCO) loans, and conceal the fraud. The defendants would also make payments on the loans until the properties could be resold, often to another straw borrower, repeating the cycle of fraud. Eventually, the defendants stopped making payment on the loans and the properties entered foreclosure proceedings, often resulting in substantial losses to the lending institutions.

The indictment charges the defendants with conspiracy to commit bank and wire fraud, and substantive wire fraud and bank fraud. If convicted, the defendants face a statutory maximum term of imprisonment of 30 years’ on the conspiracy to commit bank and wire fraud and substantive bank fraud charge, and 20 years’ imprisonment on the wire fraud charges.

Mr. Ferrer commended the investigative efforts of the Federal-State Mortgage Fraud Strike Force, with special commendation to the Federal Bureau of Investigation and Miami-Dade Police Department. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Sean T. McLaughlin.

The case announced today is also part of the Department of Justice’s Financial Fraud Enforcement Task Force. This national task force was established in November 2009 to wage an aggressive, coordinated and proactive effort to investigate and prosecute financial crimes. Mortgage fraud is a key focus of the Financial Fraud Enforcement Task Force’s efforts. The task force is working to improve efforts across the federal executive branch, and with state and local partners, to investigate and prosecute significant financial crimes, ensure just and effective punishment for those who perpetrate financial crimes, combat discrimination in the lending and financial markets, and recover proceeds for victims of financial crimes.

An indictment is only an accusation and a defendant is presumed innocent until proven guilty.

A copy of this press release may be found on the website of the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida at www.usdoj.gov/usao/fls. Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Southern District of Florida at www.flsd.uscourts.gov or on http://pacer.flsd.uscourts.gov.

Miami Family Charged with Multi-Faceted Mortgage Fraud Scheme | Chicago Press Release Services - Chicago's leading press release newswire service; professional press release services, press release distribution and newswire services.

BALTIMORE—U.S. District Judge Catherine C. Blake sentenced Ralph Edward Thomas, Jr., age 53, of Reisterstown, Maryland, today to four years in prison followed by three years of supervised release for mail fraud in connection with defrauding his clients. Judge Blake also ordered Thomas to pay $838,350.34 in restitution, the amount of loss suffered by his clients, and to forfeit property in order to pay such amount, including funds held in investment accounts owned by Thomas, his home in Reisterstown and luxury automobiles.

The sentence was announced by United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Rod J. Rosenstein; Special Agent in Charge Richard A. McFeely of the Federal Bureau of Investigation; and Chief James W. Johnson of the Baltimore County Police Department.

According to Thomas’ plea agreement, a trust account was established in 1994 to benefit a child suffering from cerebral palsy. The child’s mother was appointed as the trustee. The trust account was funded by the proceeds of a $3 million medical malpractice settlement, which were used to buy an annuity. The annuity was supposed to pay the child a minimum of $3,990 a month.

Thomas was a vice president of Harbor Financial Services, a subsidiary of Harbor Bank. After meeting the child’s mother at Harbor Bank in December 2001, Thomas established complete control over the child’s trust account, which was moved to the Harbor Bank. From December 17, 2001 through June 30, 2010, the annuity payments were deposited directly into the trust account. Although the annuity payments averaged $6,287.53 per month, Thomas disbursed only $1,000 to $1,500 a month from the trust account to the mother for the care of the child. He withdrew the remaining monthly balance by obtaining the mother’s signature on blank withdrawal slips, and deposited the funds into his personal bank accounts. Thomas withdrew a total of $756,963.98 from the trust account which he used for his personal benefit. Thomas purchased a home in Reisterstown, Maryland on July 30, 2009 using $100,000 of the stolen funds.

Furthermore, from June 2006 to May 2009, Thomas obtained three mortgages totaling $205,000 on the mother’s home in her name without her permission. As a result, the mother incurred $26,886.36 in closing costs and losses. Thomas also stole $12,500 from the mother’s personal account held at Harbor Bank.

Finally, from February 2004 through July 2010, Thomas was employed as a financial adviser by Wells Fargo Advisors, LLC. Thomas admits that $75,000 was fraudulently withdrawn from an account held by an elderly Wells Fargo customer. Of the $75,000 withdrawn, $42,000 was used to pay Thomas’ personal credit card accounts or other personal benefits.

United States Attorney Rod J. Rosenstein praised the FBI and Baltimore County Police Department for their work in the investigation. Mr. Rosenstein thanked Assistant United States Attorney Gregory R. Bockin, who prosecuted the case.

Baltimore Financial Adviser Sentenced in Scheme to Defraud Vulnerable Clients of $838,350 | Chicago Press Release Services - Chicago's leading press release newswire service; professional press release services, press release distribution and newswire services.

The FBI Bank Robbery Task Force needs your help in identifying the man who’s being called the “Tall, Dark, and Handsome Bandit.” He was captured in bank surveillance photos robbing the Comerica Bank located at 3135 Southwest Freeway in Houston, Texas, on Thursday, February 2, 2012. He also appears in photos from a Beaumont bank robbery on Monday, January 30, 2012.

In the more recent Houston robbery, the man entered the bank around 11:55 a.m. and handed a teller a threatening note which demanded money. The teller provided him with some cash, and he left the bank. No weapon was observed by witnesses. No one was physically hurt during the robbery.

On Monday, the same robber is suspected in the robbery of the Bank of America, located at 2625 Calder in Beaumont, Texas, at approximately 11:06 a.m. During that robbery, the man also passed a threatening note to the tellers, but never spoke.

The bank robber is described as a white male, mid- to late-30s, 6’0”-6’1” tall, handsome, with a medium build and very short brown hair. During Thursday’s robbery, he wore a white button-down pressed dress shirt, dress jeans, and brown sunglasses which he wore on top of his head during the robbery.

Crime Stoppers of Houston is offering up to $5,000 for information leading to the charging and arrest of this robber, or any felony suspect. If you have information about this crime, please call the Crime Stoppers Tip Line at 713-222-TIPS (8477), or the Houston office of the FBI at 713-693-5000.

“Tall, Dark, and Handsome Bandit” Linked to Robberies in Houston and Beaumont | Chicago Press Release Services - Chicago's leading press release newswire service; professional press release services, press release distribution and newswire services.

WASHINGTON—The owner of a rehabilitation agency in Dearborn, Mich., was convicted today by a federal jury in Detroit for his leading role in a fraudulent Medicare therapy scheme, announced the Department of Justice, FBI and the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).

Detroit-area resident Tariq Mahmud, 55, was convicted of one count of conspiracy to commit health care fraud and six counts of health care fraud. At sentencing, Mahmud faces a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison on the conspiracy count and each count of health care fraud, as well as a $250,000 fine per count. A sentencing date has not yet been set by the court.

According to evidence presented during the four-day trial, Mahmud was the owner of Comprehensive Rehabilitation Services Inc (CRS), a fraudulent rehabilitation agency located in Dearborn. Between January 2003 and February 2007, CRS purchased pre-packaged, falsified physical and occupational therapy files from more than 30 therapy and rehabilitation companies and used them to fraudulently bill Medicare for more than $2 million.

As part of the scheme, Medicare beneficiaries were paid cash kickbacks and given prescription drugs to sign forms and visit sheets that were later falsified to indicate that they received therapy service that they had never received. Physical and occupational therapists created false evaluations, progress notes and discharge papers indicating that the therapy services were given, when in fact they never were. Evidence at trial showed that the therapists never met the beneficiaries and Mahmud never provided or supervised the therapy billed to Medicare.

In addition to submitting more than $2 million in false therapy claims, Mahmud made additional false statements to Medicare regarding services that were never rendered. For instance, when Medicare inquired regarding a beneficiary who complained that he had not received the services for which CRS billed Medicare, Mahmud returned the payment and told Medicare that he consulted with his professional staff and the beneficiary had not been satisfied with services. In fact, CRS had no professional staff; the therapists who signed the beneficiary’s file never rendered any services; and the beneficiary never received services. Evidence at trial established that the beneficiary’s identity was stolen and used by CRS and a fraudulent file-making company to bill Medicare.

Today’s conviction was announced by Assistant Attorney General Lanny A. Breuer of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division; U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Michigan Barbara L. McQuade; Special Agent in Charge Andrew G. Arena of the FBI’s Detroit Field Office; and Special Agent in Charge Lamont Pugh III of the HHS Office of Inspector General’s (OIG) Chicago Regional Office.

This case was prosecuted by Assistant Chief Benjamin S. Singer and Trial Attorney Catherine K. Dick of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section. It was investigated by the FBI and HHS-OIG, and was brought as part of the Medicare Fraud Strike Force, supervised by the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Michigan.

Since their inception in March 2007, the strike force operations in nine districts have charged more than 1,160 individuals who collectively have falsely billed the Medicare program for more than $2.9 billion. In addition, HHS’s Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, working in conjunction with the HHS-OIG, is taking steps to increase accountability and decrease the presence of fraudulent providers.

To learn more about the Health Care Fraud Prevention and Enforcement Action Team (HEAT), go to www.stopmedicarefraud.gov.

Rehabilitation Agency Owner in Detroit Found Guilty for Role in $2 Million Therapy Fraud Scheme | Chicago Press Release Services - Chicago's leading press release newswire service; professional press release services, press release distribution and newswire services.

CHICAGO, IL – February 2, 2012 – Distressed consumers, worried about paying bills or buying food for their families, are turning to payday loans for fast cash. While many borrowers believe they can pay off the loans quickly, the Better Business Bureau serving Chicago and northern Illinois (BBB) warns payday loans may have long-lasting and devastating effects.

“Consumers should be extremely cautious when considering loans either from an online business or a neighborhood loan office,” said Steve J. Bernas, President & CEO of the Better Business Bureau serving Chicago and northern Illinois. “Payday loans can trap borrowers in a revolving door of debt that can be difficult to escape. When borrowers discover their loan repayments leave them unable to meet their bills, they are forced to take out additional payday loans.”

The BBB offers these tips for consumers considering taking out a payday loan:

• See if your bank or credit union offers short term loans.
• Contact your creditors or loan Service Company as quickly as possible if you are having trouble with payments. Ask if you can have more time.
• Use a credit card for emergencies. Shop for the credit offer with the lowest cost. Compare the APR and the finance charge, which includes loan fees, interest and other credit costs. Find out if you can delay paying a bill which has no interest charges, and make payment arrangements with the company. 
• If you do take out a payday loan, read the agreement thoroughly and make sure you understand it. Know exactly when the loan payment is due, how the money will be collected and how much your payments will total.

For more consumer tips you can trust from your BBB, visit www.bbb.org  

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As a private, non-profit organization, the purpose of the Better Business Bureau is to promote an ethical marketplace. BBBs help resolve buyer/seller complaints by means of conciliation, mediation and arbitration. BBBs also review advertising claims, online business practices and charitable organizations. BBBs develop and issue reports on businesses and nonprofit organizations and encourage people to check out a company or charity before making a purchase or donation.

Better Business Bureau Advice: Avoid Payday Loans | Chicago Press Release Services - Chicago's leading press release newswire service; professional press release services, press release distribution and newswire services.

PITTSBURGH, PA—A resident of Youngwood, Pa., has been indicted by a federal grand jury in Pittsburgh on a charge of violating a federal law involving threats against a federal agent, United States Attorney David J. Hickton announced today.

The one-count indictment, returned on Jan. 31, 2012, named Anthony David Dinozzi, 44, as the sole defendant.

According to the indictment, on or about Jan. 5, 2012, Dinozzi threatened to assault and murder a special agent of the Federal Bureau of Investigation due to the performance of the agent’s official duties.

The law provides for a maximum total sentence of 10 years in prison, a fine of $250,000, or both. Under the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, the actual sentence imposed would be based upon the seriousness of the offense and the prior criminal history, if any, of the defendant.

Assistant United States Attorney Margaret E. Picking is prosecuting this case on behalf of the government.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation conducted the investigation leading to the indictment in this case.

An indictment is an accusation. A defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.

Westmoreland County Man Charged with Threatening FBI Agent | Chicago Press Release Services - Chicago's leading press release newswire service; professional press release services, press release distribution and newswire services.

By Benjamin Yount | Illinois Statehouse News

address.

In 35 minutes, Quinn outlined his agenda for the spring legislative session, referring to investments in higher education and tax breaks designed to employ more veterans for his 2012 jobs agenda.

However, he only briefly referenced Illinois’ crushing pension and Medicaid debt.

Higher education

Quinn challenged lawmakers to increase the amount of money available to students from low-income families as part of the Monetary Awards Program, or MAP, Grant program. 

In fiscal 2012, the current state budget, Illinois is on pace to spend $420 million. Last year, Illinois spent $390 million. 

But the state will need to balance more spending in the MAP program next year with the hundreds of millions of dollars in state aid payments the state owes to colleges and universities.

But Poshard is quick to say he’d rather see students get more in MAP grants.

Kelly Kraft, Quinn’s budget spokeswoman, said the governor will deliver more specifics on his plans for the MAP program during his budget speech on Feb. 22. 

Job creation credits

The governor touted his job creation history: more jobs at Chicago’s Ford automobile manufacturing plant and Belvidere’s Chrysler automobile manufacturing plant, and of course large increases in the number of soybeans shipped overseas. 

Ford is spending about $117 million and adding 400 jobs, while Chrysler is adding 400 to 500 workers to build newly designed cars.

But Quinn said more needs to be done when he presented his Jobs Agenda for 2012, which he said will “grow our economy by helping our employers, our working families and our veterans.”

The jobs agenda includes investments in high-tech infrastructure to build what he calls “gigabyte” communities, investments in education to have a better trained workforce. 

The governor also wants a tax credit, worth between $5 million and $10 million annually, to help veterans of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars find work. 

Whitley said he doesn’t know why the credit is not more popular, but Quinn’s push to hire veterans may popularize that tax credit. 

“We have 100,000 veterans coming home … and Gov. Quinn is reminding employers that they need to be sensitized to the needs of hiring veterans,” Whitley said. “I think it was a positive element” in the speech.

Medicaid and pensions

“No reform is easy,” Quinn said at the end of his speech. “And reforming our Medicaid and public pension systems will require real political courage.”

Lawmakers blasted the governor for not offering more details. 

Kraft said those details will come in three weeks when the governor delivers his budget address.

Wednesday’s “focus was the vision for our state,” Kraft said.

“It would have been a little more intellectually honest to acknowledge what an overwhelming fiscal crisis the state is facing,” said Redfield. “Even if we really cut down to the core services and increase revenue, we’re still going to have a hard time keeping it together.”

Redfield said that Medicaid spending may be the biggest problem for Illinois this year, adding that Medicaid is “almost insolvable.”

Originally reported by Illinois Statehouse News. Read the original article here.

ISN fact checks Quinn’s State of the State | Chicago Press Release Services - Chicago's leading press release newswire service; professional press release services, press release distribution and newswire services.

January 31, 2012

The current system for allocating donated lungs based on proximity and not on need appears to decrease the potential benefits of lung transplantation and increase the number of patients who die waiting, researchers said at an annual meeting of thoracic surgeons in Fort Lauderdale, Fla.

Using data provided by the United Network for Organ Sharing (UNOS), study author Mark J. Russo, MD, MS, and colleagues at the University of Chicago and Columbia University found that donor lungs were routinely allocated to less urgent, local candidates even when there were patients within the region but outside the local donor service who were in much greater need.

Among the 580 locally allocated double-lung transplants performed in 2009, 480 less needy candidates, or 83 percent of all double-lung transplants, received the organs even though a well-matched candidate in greater need existed in the region.

Twenty-four percent of such cases involved skipping over regional candidates with lung allocation scores — which range from 1 to 100, based on need and likely benefit — more than 10 points higher than the local recipient. More than 7 percent of the events involved a regional candidate with a lung allocation score (LAS) more than 25 points higher than the local recipient. Overall, 185 of the bypassed regional candidates ultimately died on the waitlist.

More than a decade ago, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services issued the “Final Rule,” intended to ensure that organs were allocated “based on medical criteria, not accidents of geography.” The new data, however, show that where a transplant candidate lives continues to influence access to donated lungs.

“We found that too often, and to many patients’ detriment, organs are allocated according to geography rather than urgency,” said Russo, assistant professor of surgery at the University of Chicago Medicine. When lungs go to less needy candidates within the local Donor Service Area and never become available to sicker candidates at the regional or national level, “this decreases the overall benefits of a transplant,” he said.

One unfortunate but not unusual example was a 27-year-old man with cystic fibrosis who was in an intensive care unit awaiting a lung transplant. He had a lung allocation score of 91 out of 100, one of the highest of such scores in the U.S. at the time. He was expected to die within a week without a transplant.

An appropriately matched lung donor did became available less than 20 miles from the hospital where this man was waiting, but because the candidate was just outside of the donor’s local service area, two candidates from within the service area, each with an LAS in the 40s, took priority. One of these candidates received the organs. Five days later the 27-year-old patient died.

Such circumstances are not uncommon, Russo said.

“Ideally, a suitable donor organ would be available for every person who could benefit from transplantation,” he said. “Unfortunately, there remains a critical scarcity of donor organs. More efficient allocation of this scarce and precious resource could dramatically increase the overall benefit from lung transplantation.”

Russo and colleagues previously demonstrated that 82 percent of lung transplants went to patients with an LAS of less than 50. For patients in this low-priority group, five-year life expectancy even without transplant is good — better than 50 percent.

For these patients, early transplantation brings limited survival benefit, he said.

“At the same time,” Russo said, “candidates most in need and who could receive the greatest benefit are dying at high rates without the benefit of transplantation.” Most patients with high LAS are still alive after five years if they get transplanted quickly, but very few of those who do not get an organ survive more than a few months.

This study considered only double-lung candidates. It did not factor in the possibility of national matching or allow for blood groups to be crossed. As a result, “it likely underestimates the frequency of these events and lives lost,” Russo said. “Despite recent improvements in lung allocation, significant inefficiencies remain, resulting in diminished net benefit from transplantation and lost lives.”

The paper, “Local Allocation of Donor Lungs Results in Transplanting Lower Priority Lung Transplant Candidates,” by M. J. Russo, D. Meltzer, R. Gibbons, W. T. Vigneswaran of the University of Chicago and A. Iribarne and J. R. Sonett of Columbia University, is being presented at the annual meeting of the Society of Thoracic Surgeons on Tuesday, Jan. 31, 2012.

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Lung transplant system often skips over those most in need | Chicago Press Release Services - Chicago's leading press release newswire service; professional press release services, press release distribution and newswire services.