FORMER RIO GRANDE MAYOR PLEADS GUILTY TO SOLICITING BRIBES

FROM:  U.S. JUSTICE DEPARTMENT 

Friday, October 24, 2014

Former Mayor of Río Grande, Puerto Rico, Pleads Guilty to Soliciting and Accepting Bribes from Contractor

The former mayor of the municipality of Río Grande, Puerto Rico, pleaded guilty today to soliciting and receiving approximately $39,000 in cash bribes from a contractor who sought to be awarded three construction inspection contracts with the municipality of Río Grande.

Assistant Attorney General Leslie R. Caldwell of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, U.S. Attorney Rosa Emilia Rodríguez-Vélez of the District of Puerto Rico and Special Agent in Charge Carlos Cases of the FBI’s San Juan Division made the announcement.

According to his plea agreement, Eduard Rivera-Correa, 61, while mayor of Río Grande in early 2010, requested that a contractor make regular kickback payments in exchange for the award of three construction inspection contracts worth a total of $329,000.  After the contracts were awarded and while payments were being disbursed by the municipality, the contractor delivered envelopes containing approximately $39,000 in cash to Rivera-Correa’s office and placed them in his drawer.

Rivera-Correa pleaded guilty before U.S. Magistrate Judge Marcos E. López to one count of bribery.  Rivera-Correa was arrested on July 10, 2014, after being indicted by a federal grand jury.  His sentencing will be scheduled at a later date.

In his plea agreement, Rivera-Correa admitted to obstructing justice by threatening the contractor who paid him bribes.  On or about April 16, 2012, in a recorded conversation, Rivera-Correa threatened the contractor in an effort to intimidate him and dissuade him from cooperating with law enforcement.

This case was investigated by the FBI and is being prosecuted by Trial Attorney Charles R. Walsh of the Criminal Division’s Public Integrity Section and Criminal Chief Jose Ruíz of the District of Puerto Rico.  The Puerto Rico Office of Government Ethics provided assistance in the investigation.

OFFICE WORKER PLEADS GUILTY TO PAYMENT OF HEALTH CARE KICKBACKS IN $7 MILLION FRAUD

FROM:  U.S. JUSTICE DEPARTMENT

Wednesday, June 18, 2014

Office Worker Pleads Guilty in Miami for Role in $7 Million Health Care Fraud Scheme

An office worker pleaded guilty today in connection with a health care fraud scheme involving Anna Nursing Services Corp. (Anna Nursing), a defunct home health care company.

Assistant Attorney General Leslie R. Caldwell of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, U.S. Attorney Wifredo A. Ferrer of the Southern District of Florida, Special Agent in Charge George L. Piro of the FBI’s Miami Field Office, and Acting Special Agent in Charge Brian Martens of the Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General (HHS-OIG), Office of Investigations Miami office made the announcement.

Lizette Garcia, 37, of Miami, Florida, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Joan A. Lenard in the Southern District of Florida to one count of payment of health care kickbacks.   Sentencing is scheduled for Aug. 27, 2014.

Garcia was an office worker at Anna Nursing, a Miami home health care agency that purported to provide home health and therapy services to Medicare beneficiaries.   According to court documents, Anna Nursing was operated for the purpose of billing the Medicare Program for, among other things, expensive physical therapy and home health care services that were medically unnecessary and/or were not provided.

On behalf of the owners and operators of Anna Nursing, Garcia paid kickbacks and bribes to patient recruiters in return for the recruiters providing patients to Anna Nursing for home health care and therapy services that were medically unnecessary and/or were not provided.   Anna Nursing then billed the Medicare program on behalf of the recruited patients, which Garcia knew was in violation of federal criminal laws.

From approximately October 2010 through approximately April 2013, Anna Nursing was paid by Medicare approximately $7 million for fraudulent claims for home health care services that were medically unnecessary and/or were not provided.

The case was investigated by the FBI and HHS-OIG and was brought as part of the Medicare Fraud Strike Force, under the supervision of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida.   This case is being prosecuted by Trial Attorneys A. Brendan Stewart and Anne McNamara of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section.

Since its inception in March 2007, the Medicare Fraud Strike Force, now operating in nine cities across the country, has charged more than 1,900 defendants who have collectively billed the Medicare program for more than $6 billion.   In addition, HHS’s Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, working in conjunction with HHS-OIG, has removed over 17,000 providers from the Medicare program since 2011.

FORMER AIRLINE FUEL SUPPLY COMPANY OWNER CHARGED IN FRAUD CASE

FROM:  U.S. DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE

WASHINGTON — A former owner and operator of two Florida-based airline fuel supply service companies made his initial appearance today in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida in West Palm Beach on charges of participating in a scheme to defraud Illinois-based Ryan International Airlines, the Department of Justice announced.

Sean E. Wagner was arrested on July 19, 2013, in Weston, Fla., on a one-count criminal complaint to commit wire fraud and honest services fraud relating to a scheme to defraud Ryan, a charter airline company based in Rockford, Ill.  At today’s hearing, the department said that Wagner was arrested after there were indications that he was a flight risk.

The criminal complaint alleges that Wagner participated in a conspiracy to defraud Ryan by making kickback payments to Wayne Kepple, the former vice president of ground operations for Ryan in charge of contracting with providers of goods and services on behalf of the company.  In exchange, Kepple awarded business to Wagner’s fuel supply service companies. According to the criminal complaint, from at least as early as December 2005 through at least August 2009, Wagner, his companies, and others made kickback payments totaling more than $200,000, in the form of checks, wire transfers, gift cards and cash, to Kepple while working at Ryan.

Ryan provided air passenger and cargo services for corporations, private individuals, and the U.S. government, including the U.S. Department of Defense, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and the U.S. Marshals Service.

“The Antitrust Division will take enforcement action against those who subvert the competitive process by trading contracts for kickbacks, especially where the U.S. government is being victimized,” said Bill Baer, Assistant Attorney General in charge of the Department of Justice’s Antitrust Division. “The Antitrust Division will hold accountable those who seek to defraud the government and U.S. taxpayers.”

Wagner is charged with one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and honest services fraud, which carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison and a $250,000 criminal fine for individuals. The maximum fine may be increased to twice the gain derived from the crime or twice the loss suffered by the victims of the crime, if either amount is greater than the statutory maximum fine.

As a result of this ongoing investigation, four individuals have pleaded guilty to date. Three of the individuals have been ordered to serve sentences ranging from 16 to 24 months in prison and to pay more than $220,000 in restitution. The fourth individual, Wayne Kepple, pleaded guilty and is awaiting sentencing.

This charge is the result of an investigation being conducted by the Antitrust Division’s National Criminal Enforcement Section and the U.S. Department of Defense’s Office of Inspector General, with assistance from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida.