NewzIntel.com

Category: Security

  • MIL-OSI NGOs: If the EU won’t stop Israel’s genocide in Gaza, member states must go it alone

    Source: Amnesty International –

    Ursula von der Leyen knows that the EU’s reputation as a credible actor for human rights and international law is in tatters over the horrors in Gaza.

    EU leaders and officials have gone from privately condemning the EU’s double standards behind closed doors to publicly lamenting them. Instead of tackling these double standards however, the European Commission President rebranded them as “anti-EU narratives” and tasked the new Commissioner for the Mediterranean and foreign policy chief to elaborate a communications strategy to highlight the EU’s contribution to the region. But there are issues that even the canniest communications strategy cannot bury.

    After the atrocities committed by Hamas and other armed groups on 7 October 2023, Israel’s military campaign has killed over 45,000 Palestinians, 60% of whom are children, women and older people. The Israeli offensive has left the occupied Gaza Strip a wasteland, inflicting shocking and unprecedented levels of death, suffering and destruction. Amnesty International investigated Israel’s offensive on Gaza, examining a variety of unlawful acts constituting a pattern of conduct, the harmful and destructive impact of its policies and actions, and Israeli government and military officials’ racist, dehumanizing and genocidal rhetoric.

    The conclusion is clear: Israel is committing these acts with the intent to destroy the Palestinians in Gaza. Israel is committing genocide. We also found that not only is the genocide in Gaza the most documented in history, but the EU and many of its member states are failing to prevent it. Moreover, some member states risk becoming complicit in Israel’s genocide by continuing to transfer arms to the country.

    ‘All signs of genocide are flashing red’

    Amnesty International’s report ‘You Feel Like You Are Subhuman’: Israel’s Genocide Against Palestinians in Gaza is the culmination of nine months of meticulous research and spans 296 pages. During our investigation, we interviewed 212 people, conducted extensive fieldwork and analyzed a wide range of visual and digital evidence, including satellite imagery. Crucially, we also analyzed evidence of Israel’s intent, before concluding that Israel has committed — and is continuing to commit — genocide in Gaza.

    In 15 airstrikes we found that Israel killed 334 civilians, including 141 children, and wounded hundreds of others in direct attacks against civilians and without effective warnings. These airstrikes represent a subset of a wider pattern of deliberately indiscriminate attacks. We also documented how Israel has deliberately imposed conditions of life on Palestinians in Gaza calculated to bring about their physical destruction. Within the context of Israel’s long-standing apartheid and unlawful occupation, the inescapable conclusion is that Israel committed these acts with the intent of destroying the Palestinians in Gaza.

    Unsurprisingly, the world has been reluctant to recognize the situation in Gaza as genocide. After all, if what we have been witnessing every day for 14 months was indeed genocide, what would that say about the international community?

    The International Court of Justice (ICJ) recognized that a risk exists that genocide could be committed against Palestinians in Gaza, ordering multiple binding measures to prevent it. The International Criminal Court (ICC) further issued arrest warrants for Israel’s prime minister and former minister of defense for war crimes and crimes against humanity.

    As ICJ judge Abdulqawi Yousef put it: “All signs of genocide are flashing red.”

    Not everyone agreed with our findings. Yet  many states have reached the same conclusion before us. While others may refuse to acknowledge the reality, the EU and its member states are faced with two primary responsibilities under international law: the obligation not to aid or assist genocide and the obligation to prevent it.

    In the absence of unity, EU member states must go it alone

    As European leaders gather in Brussels for the European Council, the new HR/VP Kaja Kallas faces the daunting challenge of convincing all 27 member states to uphold these two fundamental obligations under international law.

    However, in the absence of united action at EU level, individual member states have a duty to act on their own to uphold their obligations to prevent genocide and avoid being complicit in it. In practical terms, this entails five concrete actions.

    The remaining EU member states that continue to export or allow the transfer of arms to Israel must follow the lead of those who have rightly suspended arms exports and transshipments to Israel.

    States must exert diplomatic pressure on Israel, including by publicly recognizing that Israel is committing war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide, among other violations of international law.

    States must support justice mechanisms, including by safeguarding the ICC from reprisals, supporting the court financially and politically, and publicly committing to enforcing arrest warrants issued by the ICC. Additionally, states have a responsibility to investigate and prosecute international crimes committed in Gaza under universal jurisdiction, or when suspected perpetrators or victims are dual nationals.

    For its part, the EU must not allow Israel to decimate the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) for Palestine Refugees, which remains the only lifeline for millions of Palestinians. This requires both financial and political support for the UNRWA, as well as supporting Norway’s efforts at the UN General Assembly to challenge Israel’s attempt to dismantle it.

    Finally, regardless of EU leaders’ discourse on the ‘day after’ and long-term prospects for peace, as long as Israeli settlement expansion and unlawful occupation and apartheid persist, this will remain empty rhetoric. The EU must start by implementing their legal obligations, as clarified by the ICJ, to ban trade and investments that contribute to maintaining Israel’s illegal occupation.

    In the pages of history, two groups of politicians will be remembered: those who remained silent in the face of Gaza’s genocide — and those who rose up to stop it.

    *This article was originally published on 19 December in EUobserver.

    MIL OSI NGO –

  • MIL-OSI Canada: Provincial Court Judges Appointed in Regina and Prince Albert

    Source: Government of Canada regional news

    Released on December 20, 2024

    The Government of Saskatchewan is announcing today the appointment of three new judges to the Provincial Court of Saskatchewan.

    Cynthia Alexander is appointed to the Provincial Court in Regina. Lori O’Connor and Buffy Rodgers are appointed to the Provincial Court in Prince Albert.

    “It is a privilege to announce the appointment of these three new judges to the Provincial Court of Saskatchewan,” Justice Minister and Attorney General Tim McLeod said. “Saskatchewan prides itself on its record of appointing highly skilled legal professionals to our judiciary, and I am confident these new appointees to the Provincial Court will carry on this tradition in their communities.” 

    Judge Alexander received her Bachelor of Laws from the University of Saskatchewan College of Law in 1996 and was called to the Bar in 1997. She completed her articles with Woloshyn & Company (now W Law) in Regina, where she remained as an Associate Lawyer until 2000. Judge Alexander then took a position as a Crown Prosecutor with Public Prosecutions in Prince Albert, and became a Senior Crown Prosecutor there in 2008. In 2022, she moved to the Head Office of Public Prosecutions in Regina as the Director of Professional Development.

    Judge Alexander has spent the majority of her career prosecuting criminal matters in Provincial Court and the Court of King’s Bench. She has developed expertise in criminal procedure, trial advocacy and rules of evidence. She has mentored prosecutors, articling students, and summer students within the Ministry of Justice and Attorney General and has also lectured at the University of Regina, the Saskatchewan Police College and Saskatchewan Polytechnic. 

    Outside of work, Judge Alexander and her husband have raised two sons. She enjoys music and travelling, and has volunteered with the Prince Albert Music Festival and the Saskatchewan Jazz Festival. 

    Judge O’Connor received her Bachelor of Laws from Dalhousie University in 2008 and was called to the Bar in 2009. She completed her articles with Legal Aid in Thompson, Manitoba, where she continued as a Staff Lawyer until 2010. In 2010, Judge O’Connor joined Saskatchewan Public Prosecutions as a Crown Prosecutor. She became a Regional Crown Prosecutor in Melfort in 2019. 

    Judge O’Connor has extensive experience in criminal law gained from her career as a Crown Prosecutor. She has taken an active role in mentoring law students through Dalhousie Law School’s Weldon Mentor Matching Program, and has provided court and testimony training to nurse examiners, victims services volunteers and peace officers. She also regularly contributes book reviews to the Canadian Law Library Review that appear on CanLii.

    Outside of her professional life, Judge O’Connor bakes banana bread for the Melfort Food Bank and enjoys walking her dog.   

    Judge Rodgers received her Bachelor of Laws from the University of Saskatchewan College of Law in 1998 and was called to the Bar in 1999. She completed her articles with Wardell Worme & Missens in 1999, and remained there as a Junior Lawyer until 2001. Judge Rodgers held a variety of roles from 2001 to 2006, including acting as legal counsel at Legal Aid Saskatchewan and Partner at Wardell Driedger Cotton & Rodgers, later Wardell Gillis Tangjerd Rodgers & Cotton. She joined the Saskatchewan Ministry of Justice and Attorney General as Crown Counsel in 2006 and became a Senior Crown Prosecutor with Saskatchewan Public Prosecutions in 2007. She has held the position of Senior Crown Prosecutor – OH&S since 2015.

    Over her legal career, Judge Rodgers has developed expertise in a wide variety of legal areas including criminal defense, child protection, civil law, small claims and legal aid. As a Crown Prosecutor she has spent a significant portion of her career in docket and trial court, and in the Court of King’s Bench practicing both criminal and regulatory law, with a specialty in OH&S files. 

    Judge Rodgers is a past Secretary of the Saskatchewan Crown Attorneys Association, and is a recipient of the Premier’s Award for Excellence in the Public Service for her work on the Serious Violent Offender Response Team. 

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    For more information, contact:

    MIL OSI Canada News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Florida Woman Convicted of Civil Rights Conspiracy Targeting Pregnancy Resource Centers

    Source: US State of North Dakota

    Gabriella Oropesa, of Cooper City, Florida, was convicted yesterday for her role in a conspiracy to injure, oppress, threaten or intimidate employees of pro-life pregnancy help centers in the free exercise of the right to provide and seek to provide reproductive health services. The defendant and her co-conspirators selected reproductive health facilities that provided and counseled alternatives to abortion and vandalized those facilities with threatening messages. Caleb Freestone, Amber Stewart-Smith and Annarella Rivera previously pleaded guilty for their participation in the conspiracy.

    According to court documents and evidence presented at trial, between May 2022 and July 2022, Oropesa, Freestone, Smith-Stewart and Rivera engaged in a series of targeted attacks on pro-life pregnancy help centers in Florida. The defendants, in the dark of night and while wearing masks and dark clothing to obscure their identities, spray painted the facilities with threatening messages, including “If abortions aren’t safe than niether [sic] are you,” “YOUR TIME IS UP!!,” “WE’RE COMING for U” and “We are everywhere.”

    “The Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances Act is clear: no one should have to face threats and intimidation just for doing their job,” said Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division. “The Justice Department will continue to ensure access to the full spectrum of reproductive health services afforded to the public, whether those services include abortion or counseling on alternatives to abortion.”

    “Federal law protects providers who render reproductive health care and those who seek their services,” said U.S. Attorney Roger Handberg for the Middle District of Florida. “Threats of violence against pregnancy resource centers or those exercising their rights to care will not be tolerated.”

    A sentencing hearing is scheduled for March 19, 2025. Oropesa faces a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison for the conspiracy charge. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

    The FBI Tampa Field Office investigated the case, with assistance from the Polk County Sheriff’s Office and Winter Haven, Hialeah and Hollywood Police Departments.

    Assistant U.S. Attorney Courtney Derry for the Middle District of Florida and Trial Attorney Laura-Kate Bernstein of the Civil Rights Division’s Criminal Section are prosecuting the case.

    Anyone who has information about incidents of violence, threats and obstruction that target a patient or provider of reproductive health services, or damage and destruction of reproductive health care facilities, should report that information to the FBI at www.tips.fbi.gov. For more information about clinic violence, and the Justice Department’s efforts to enforce Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances Act violations, please visit www.justice.gov/crt/national-task-force-violence-against-reproductive-health-care-providers.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Two California Men Charged in Largest NFT Scheme Prosecuted to Date

    Source: US State of North Dakota

    Note: View the indictment here. 

    A six-count indictment was unsealed today in Los Angeles charging two California men with defrauding investors of more than $22 million in cryptocurrency through a series of digital asset project “rug pulls,” a type of fraud scheme in which the creator of a nonfungible token (NFT) or other digital asset project solicits funds from investors for the project and then abruptly abandons the project and fraudulently retains investors’ funds. Both men were arrested yesterday by Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) in Los Angeles.

    According to court documents, from May 2021 to May 2024, Gabriel Hay, 23, of Beverly Hills, and Gavin Mayo, 23, of Thousand Oaks, sponsored several NFT and other digital asset projects and undertook promotional activities in support of those projects. Hay and Mayo allegedly made or caused others to make materially false and misleading statements regarding the digital asset projects being launched and provided false and misleading project “roadmaps” detailing plans for the NFTs or other digital asset projects after their launch that the sponsors never intended to fulfill. For example, the indictment alleges that in promoting the Vault of Gems NFT project, Hay and Mayo falsely claimed that the project would be the “first NFT project to be pegged to a hard asset.” However, instead of pursuing the Vault of Gems project or others as they had represented they would, Hay and Mayo allegedly abandoned the projects after collecting millions in funds from investors.

    “Gabriel Hay and Gavin Mayo allegedly defrauded investors in digital asset projects of tens of millions of dollars and threatened an individual who attempted to expose their roles in these fraudulent schemes,” said Principal Deputy Attorney General Nicole M. Argentieri, head of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division. “Fraudsters take advantage of new technologies and financial products to steal investors’ hard-earned money. The department is committed to protecting investors and will continue to work with our law enforcement partners to root out fraud involving cryptocurrency and other digital assets and bring offenders to justice.”

    “For three years, Hay and Mayo apparently lied to their investors in order to defraud them out of millions of dollars,” said HSI Executive Associate Director Katrina W. Berger. “Such technological fraud schemes cost investors millions of dollars every year. Just because such crimes aren’t violent does not mean they are victimless. HSI will continue to investigate, disrupt, and dismantle such cryptocurrency fraud networks.”

    “Whenever a new investment trend occurs, scammers are sure to follow,” said U.S. Attorney Martin Estrada for the Central District of California. “My office and our law enforcement partners will continue our efforts to protect consumers and punish wrongdoers involved in crypto fraud.”

    Hay, Mayo, and others allegedly used these tactics with a variety of digital asset projects, including Vault of Gems, Faceless, Sinful Souls, Clout Coin, Dirty Dogs, Uncovered, MoonPortal, Squiggles, and Roost Coin. Hay and Mayo also allegedly used a variety of means to conceal their involvement in the fraudulent projects by falsely identifying other individuals or causing other individuals to be falsely identified as owners of the projects. When one project manager on the Faceless NFT project exposed Hay and Mayo as being behind that project, Hay and Mayo allegedly embarked on a harassment campaign against the project manager, sending or causing the sending of messages to the project manager and his parents for the purpose of intimidating him and his family and causing them great emotional distress.

    Hay and Mayo are each charged with one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, two counts of wire fraud, and one count of stalking. If convicted, they each face a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison on each of the conspiracy and wire fraud counts and a maximum penalty of five years on the stalking count. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

    HSI Baltimore is investigating the case.

    Trial Attorneys Tian Huang and Tamara Livshiz of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section, both members of the National Cryptocurrency Enforcement Team (NCET), and Assistant U.S. Attorney Maxwell Coll for the Central District of California are prosecuting the case.

    The NCET was established to combat the growing illicit use of cryptocurrencies and digital assets. Within the Criminal Division’s Computer Crime and Intellectual Property Section, the NCET conducts and supports investigations into individuals and entities that are enabling the use of digital assets to commit and facilitate a variety of crimes, with a particular focus on virtual currency exchanges, mixing and tumbling services, and infrastructure providers. The NCET also works to set strategic priorities regarding digital asset technologies, identify areas for increased investigative and prosecutorial focus, and lead the department’s efforts to collaborate with domestic and foreign government agencies as well as the private sector to aggressively investigate and prosecute crimes involving cryptocurrency and digital assets.

    If you believe that you are a victim of any of the scams listed above or other scams involving the defendants, please email rugpullvictims@hsi.dhs.gov.

    An indictment is merely an allegation. All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI Security: Former Doctor and Her Wife Sentenced for Fraud and Other Crimes

    Source: Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) State Crime News

    HUNTSVILLE, Ala. – A former family practice doctor in Huntsville was sentenced today for drug crimes, health care fraud, and COVID-19 disaster relief fraud, announced U.S. Attorney Prim F. Escalona, FBI Special Agent in Charge Carlton Peeples, Drug Enforcement Administration Special Agent in Charge Steven L. Hofer, and Special Agent in Charge Tamela Miles of the Department of Health and Human Service Office of the Inspector General Atlanta Region. The doctor’s wife, who owned the medical practice, was also sentenced.

    Judge Liles C. Burke sentenced Francene Aretha Gayle, 50, to 87 months in prison on four opioid prescribing charges, one count of health care fraud, and one count of wire fraud. Judge Burke sentenced Schara Monique Davis, 48, to 42 months in prison for one count of health care fraud and one count of wire fraud. Each defendant was also ordered to pay $2.2 million in restitution, forfeit $226,815, and pay a fine.

    According to the defendants’ plea agreements, between about 2014 and early 2020, Gayle was a doctor who operated a multi-clinic practice in Huntsville, Athens, and Killen. Davis owned the practice and served as business manager. In 2019, the Killen clinic shut down. In March 2020, the Alabama Medical Licensure Commission revoked Gayle’s license, and the other two clinics closed shortly after that.

    Gayle admitted that she had unlawfully distributed drugs, including oxycodone, hydrocodone, and methadone.

    Gayle and Davis both admitted to having conspired to commit health care fraud for several years by billing insurers for office visits under Gayle’s name even when she did not see the patients, was not in the same building, and sometimes was not in the same town. The defendants knew that the billing scheme was fraudulent. In 2015, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Alabama audited the practice and discovered that Gayle was absent, other staff were seeing patients, and yet all office visits were being billed under Gayle’s name. Blue Cross flagged the issue, and Gayle promised it would stop. Instead, the practice continued fraudulently billing insurers for office visits for the next four years. In total, between 2015 and 2020, Medicare, Medicaid, and Blue Cross paid more than $2.3 million for office visits billed under Gayle’s name.

    Gayle and Davis both also admitted to having conspired to commit wire fraud. In March 2020, based on concerns about her prescribing and billing practices, Gayle’s Alabama medical license was revoked.  Months later, Gayle and Davis applied for and obtained more than $450,000 in COVID-19 disaster relief funds through the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) and Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) program. Those funds were designed to stabilize businesses struggling because of the pandemic. In their funding applications, Gayle and Davis certified that their medical practice needed the money because of economic uncertainty or injury caused by the pandemic. In reality, Gayle and Davis’s practice had closed, and they used COVID-19 funds they received on other things. 

    The FBI, DEA, and HHS-OIG investigated the case. The Medicaid Fraud Control Unit of the Alabama Attorney General’s Office provided exceptional investigative assistance after the Alabama Medicaid Agency’s Program Integrity Division initiated the case and referred it. Assistant U.S. Attorneys J.B. Ward and Ryan Rummage prosecuted the case. 

    MIL Security OSI –

  • MIL-OSI USA: It’s Been a Week: Statement on Amendments to Exchange Act Rule 15c3-3

    Source: Securities and Exchange Commission

    Rule 15c3-3 plays a key role in advancing the Commission’s investor protection mandate. It requires broker-dealers to safeguard customer assets, which helps to ensure that, should a broker-dealer fail, it can self-liquidate in an orderly manner that protects its customers’ ability to access her assets.[1] A successful self-liquidation permits customers to gain access to their funds much more quickly than possible if they are required to pursue their claims in a liquidation administered by the Securities Investor Protection Corporation.

    The rule the Commission is adopting today increases, for the largest broker-dealers, the frequency at which they must perform the reserve calculations to determine how much cash and qualified securities they must deposit into their special reserve bank accounts. These calculations are used to ensure that a broker-dealer has set aside the net cash that it owes its customers and other broker-dealers, which could be used to facilitate an orderly self-liquidation. Instead of performing these calculations weekly, the amended rule will require that broker-dealers with average total credits over the past twelve months of $500 million or more perform these calculations daily. The increased frequency should reduce potential mismatches that could increase the risk that investors will experience a delay in recovering their assets—or suffer loss—in the event of a broker-dealer failure.

    The final amendments to Rule 15c3-3 are not perfect. It will increase costs and operational challenges for 40 of the estimated 49 carrying broker-dealers that will be subject to this daily computation requirement, and the rule could have done more to address the treatment of funds that will be placed in sweep accounts on the next business day. On the other hand, the final amendments do incorporate an increased threshold for triggering the requirement that mitigates some of the costs. In addition, it allows carrying broker-dealers that use the alternative method for net capital and perform a daily customer reserve computation to reduce their aggregate debit items by 2% (instead of the 3% that is currently required). On balance, I believe the amendments are net beneficial to investors.

    I hope that broker-dealers will take the Commission up on its invitation to engage with the staff on potential issues in dealing with what one commenter called “cash in motion.”[2] I also look forward to receiving feedback on any operational challenges that arise as broker-dealers implement these requirements, particularly with respect to exigent circumstances and potential challenges with resources around holidays and days when the markets close early.

    I would like to thank the staff in the Division of Trading and Markets, the Division of Economic and Risk Analysis, and in the Office of General Counsel for their hard work on this rule. I hope that you all are able to get some rest over the holidays.

    [1] See Exchange Act Rule 15c3-3; Michael P. Jamroz, The Customer Protection Rule, 57 The Business Lawyer 1069, 1069-1070.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: With New Tobacco Enforcement Law Set to Go into Effect January 1st, Attorney General Bonta Releases Guidance to Businesses

    Source: US State of California Department of Justice

    Friday, December 20, 2024

    Contact: (916) 210-6000, agpressoffice@doj.ca.gov

    SACRAMENTO — California Attorney General Rob Bonta today released guidance to help businesses across the state comply with the new law regarding implementation of the flavored tobacco ban. Effective January 1, 2025, Assembly Bill (AB) 3218, builds on the implementation of the flavored tobacco ban (SB 793, 2019) by enacting new enforcement efforts from the Attorney General’s office and the establishment of a list of all tobacco products that are permissibly unflavored and allowed to be sold in California.
     
    “Young children across our state are still being lured into harmful addiction through flavored tobacco products. It’ll take a collective effort, including state and local enforcers, to address illicit access to these products,” said Attorney General Bonta. “This new law will provide my office with the tools and support needed to hold those who are responsible for illegal sales accountable and help sellers looking to meet their obligations come into full compliance with the law.”
     
    Tobacco companies make and market flavored tobacco products, which come with high nicotine content in a myriad of kid-friendly flavors, and that are widely available for purchase in stores and on the Internet. Usage of these products among youth has remained a persistent problem, specifically among middle school students. 

    AB 3218 will help ensure full compliance of the flavored tobacco ban by:

    • Establishing a publicly available list of all tobacco products that are permissibly unflavored under the state’s flavored tobacco restrictions. 
    • Authorizing the Attorney General to seek civil penalties against sellers for selling products not appearing on the Unflavored List.
    • Rendering products not appearing on the Unflavored List subject to seizure, aiding in enforcement efforts by state or local law enforcement agencies.
    • Revising the definition of a prohibited “characterizing flavor” to specifically include products that impart menthol-like cooling sensations, as well as other flavors that are “distinguishable by an ordinary consumer.”

    Copies of the bulletins can be found here and here. 

    # # #

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI Security: Habitant — Valley Integrated Street Crime Enforcement Unit seizes loaded firearms

    Source: Royal Canadian Mounted Police

    Valley Integrated Street Crime Enforcement Unit (VISCEU) seized loaded firearms and illicit drugs from a residence in Habitant.

    On December 19, VISCEU safely arrested a man at a residence on Hwy. 221 in Habitant then searched the home as part of an ongoing investigation.

    During the search, officers seized two loaded firearms; one in the vehicle and one inside the residence. Officers also seized an unloaded rifle, brass knuckles, pre-packaged cocaine, methamphetamine, and a quantity of cash.

    Dawson Andrew Elliott, 25, of Habitant, has been charged with offences including:

    • Possession for the Purpose of Trafficking (cocaine and methamphetamine)
    • Possession of a Weapon for Dangerous Purpose (4counts)
    • Unauthorized Possession of a Firearm (3counts)
    • Careless Use of a Firearm (3 counts)
    • Possession of Property Obtained by Crime

    Anyone with information about illicit drugs or firearms in their community are encouraged to contact their nearest RCMP detachment or local police to report a crime. Anonymous tips can be made by calling Nova Scotia Crime Stoppers, toll-free, at 1-800-222-TIPS (8477), submitting a secure web tip at www.crimestoppers.ns.ca, or using the P3 Tips app.

    MIL Security OSI –

  • MIL-OSI USA: United States Joins Lawsuit Against Former Executives of Kabbage Inc. Alleging False Claims Act Violations in Connection with Paycheck Protection Program Lending

    Source: US State of California

    The United States has intervened and filed a complaint against Robert Frohwein, Kathryn Petralia and Spencer Robinson, three former executives of Kabbage Inc., a now-bankrupt financial technology company. The United States alleges that they violated the False Claims Act by submitting and causing the submission of false claims for loan forgiveness, loan guarantees and processing fees to the Small Business Administration (SBA) in connection with Kabbage’s participation in the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP).

    “The PPP was intended to provide critical assistance to eligible businesses during the economic uncertainty caused by the pandemic,” said Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Brian M. Boynton, head of the Justice Department’s Civil Division. “The department is committed to ensuring that PPP lenders — including their executives — are held accountable for contributing to the misuse of PPP funds by knowingly failing to comply with applicable program requirements, including approving PPP loans in inflated amounts and to ineligible borrowers.”

    Congress created the PPP in March 2020, as part of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act, to provide federally guaranteed loans to small businesses suffering economic hardship due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The SBA administered the PPP. The CARES Act authorized private lenders to approve PPP loans for eligible borrowers who could later seek forgiveness of the loans so long as they used loan funds on employee payroll and other eligible expenses. Among other things, participating PPP lenders were required to confirm borrowers’ average monthly payroll costs by reviewing the payroll documentation submitted with the borrower’s application. Lenders were also required to follow applicable Bank Secrecy Act/Anti-Money Laundering requirements to help combat fraud. Any unforgiven or defaulted PPP loans made by lenders were guaranteed by the SBA, so long as the lenders adhered to PPP requirements. Lenders who originated PPP loans were paid a fixed fee calculated as a percentage of the loan amount by the SBA.

    According to the government’s complaint, Frohwein and Petralia co-founded Kabbage in 2008 and served as the company’s chief executive officer and president, respectively, while Robinson formerly served as the company’s head of strategy. Kabbage was approved as a PPP lender in 2020 and approved more than $7 billion in PPP loans that year for which the company was paid more than $217 million in processing fees after certifying that it had complied with all applicable lending requirements.

    The complaint alleges that, between April and October 2020, the defendants knowingly submitted or caused the submission of false claims for loan guarantees, loan forgiveness and processing fees relating to tens of thousands of PPP loans that were systemically inflated due to calculation errors by Kabbage. These errors allegedly included Kabbage’s double-counting of state and local taxes paid by employees and the failure to exclude annual compensation in excess of $100,000 per employee from its calculation of payroll costs. Additionally, the lawsuit alleges that the defendants knowingly submitted or caused the submission of false claims for processing fees related to tens of thousands of PPP loans where Kabbage failed to implement appropriate fraud controls. The government’s complaint alleges that the defendants ignored these violations to maximize PPP processing fees before selling off the majority of Kabbage’s assets in October 2020.

    Kabbage Inc., which is now winding down its operations as KServicing Wind Down Corp. after filing for bankruptcy in the wake of the 2020 asset sale, previously agreed to resolve allegations relating to its role in the submission of false claims to the SBA. As part of that settlement, the United States received a general unsecured claim in the bankruptcy proceeding of up to $120 million, and the company received a credit for $12.5 million that Kabbage returned to SBA during the department’s investigation.

    “The PPP was a light providing hope to businesses in the midst of the shadow of a global pandemic,” said U.S. Attorney Damien M. Diggs for the Eastern District of Texas. “Unfortunately, some unscrupulous lenders and executives took advantage of that situation by lining their pockets with ill-gotten incentive payments from processing PPP loans despite not performing even the most cursory fraud checks or reviews of borrower documentation. Individuals who shirked their responsibilities at the expense of the public fisc must be held accountable. This lawsuit against Kabbage’s former executives demonstrates our firm commitment to holding all parties responsible for their part in causing the submission of false claims to the PPP.”

    “SBA’s lending partners have a responsibility to ensure only eligible borrowers gain access to SBA’s programs,” said Special Agent in Charge Brady Ipock of the SBA Office of Inspector General (SBA OIG)’s Central Region. “SBA OIG stands ready to support the Justice Department in rooting out greed and wrongful actions. I want to thank the U.S. Attorney’s Office and our law enforcement partners for their support and dedication to pursuing justice in this case.”

    The lawsuit was originally filed under the qui tam or whistleblower provisions of the False Claims Act by Paul Pietschner, a former analyst in Kabbage’s collections department. The FCA permits private parties to file suit on behalf of the United States for false claims and to share in any recovery. The FCA also permits the United States to intervene in such an action, as it has done in this case. A defendant who violates the act is subject to liability for three times the government’s losses, plus applicable penalties. 

    On May 17, 2021, Attorney General Merrick B. Garland established the COVID-19 Fraud Enforcement Task Force to marshal the resources of the Justice Department in partnership with agencies across the federal government to enhance efforts to combat and prevent pandemic-related fraud. The Task Force bolsters efforts to investigate and prosecute the most culpable domestic and international actors committing civil and criminal fraud and assists agencies tasked with administering relief programs to prevent fraud by, among other methods, augmenting and incorporating existing coordination mechanisms, identifying resources and techniques to uncover fraudulent actors and their schemes and sharing and harnessing information and insights gained from prior enforcement efforts. For more information on the department’s response to the pandemic, please visit www.justice.gov/coronavirus.

    Tips and complaints from all sources about potential fraud affecting COVID-19 government relief programs can be reported by visiting the webpage of the Civil Division’s Fraud Section, which can be found here. Anyone with information about allegations of attempted fraud involving COVID-19 can also report it by calling the Justice Department’s National Center for Disaster Fraud (NCDF) Hotline at 866-720-5721 or via the NCDF Web Complaint Form at www.justice.gov/disaster-fraud/ncdf-disaster-complaint-form.

    Trial Attorney Sarah E. Loucks of the Civil Division’s Commercial Litigation Branch, Fraud Section and Assistant U.S. Attorney Betty Young for the Eastern District of Texas are handling the matter, with assistance provided by the SBA’s Office of General Counsel and Office of the Inspector General.

    The case is captioned United States ex rel. Pietschner v. Kabbage, Inc., et al., No. 4:21-cv-110-SDJ (EDTX).

    The claims asserted by the United States are allegations only. There has been no determination of liability.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Medicare Advantage Provider Independent Health to Pay Up To $98M to Settle False Claims Act Suit

    Source: US State of California

    Independent Health Association and its affiliate, Independent Health Corporation (collectively, Independent Health) have agreed to pay up to $98 million to resolve allegations that they violated the False Claims Act by knowingly submitting or causing the submission of invalid diagnosis codes to Medicare for Medicare Advantage Plan enrollees to increase payments that Independent Health received from Medicare. Independent Health is headquartered in Buffalo, New York.

    Under Medicare Advantage, also known as the Medicare Part C program, Medicare beneficiaries have the option of enrolling in managed care insurance plans called Medicare Advantage Plans (MA Plans). MA Plans are paid a per-person amount to provide Medicare-covered benefits to beneficiaries who enroll in one of their plans. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), which oversees the Medicare program, adjusts the payments to MA Plans based on demographic information and the diagnoses of each plan beneficiary. The adjustments are commonly referred to as “risk scores.” In general, a beneficiary with diagnoses more expensive to treat will have a higher risk score, and CMS will make a larger risk-adjusted payment to the MA Plan for that beneficiary.

    Independent Health operates MA plans for beneficiaries living in western New York. As alleged by the United States, Independent Health created a wholly owned subsidiary, DxID LLC, to retrospectively search medical records and query physicians for information that would support additional diagnoses that could be used to generate higher risk scores, and DxID provided these services to Independent Health and other MA Plans. The United States filed a complaint alleging that, from 2011 through at least 2017, Independent Health, with the assistance of DxID and its founder and chief executive, Betsy Gaffney, knowingly submitted diagnoses to CMS that were not supported by the beneficiaries’ medical records in order to inflate Medicare’s payments to Independent Health.

    “The government expects those who participate in Medicare Advantage to provide accurate information to ensure that proper payments are made for the care received by enrolled beneficiaries,” said Deputy Assistant Attorney General Michael Granston of the Justice Department’s Civil Division. “Today’s result sends a clear message to the Medicare Advantage community that the United States will take appropriate action against those who knowingly submit inflated claims for reimbursement.”

    “To protect the integrity of Medicare and other federal health care programs, my office is committed to ensuring that each and every dollar meant for Medicare beneficiaries is spent appropriately and in accordance with the law,” said U.S. Attorney Trini E. Ross for the Western District of New York. “As this settlement makes clear, we will diligently pursue those who defraud government programs.”

    “Medicare Advantage Plans that attempt to game federal programs for profit must be held accountable through rigorous oversight and enforcement,” said Deputy Inspector General Christian J. Schrank of the Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General (HHS-OIG). “HHS-OIG will continue to work with our law enforcement partners to root out fraud, waste and abuse in federal health care programs.”

    Under the terms of the settlement, Independent Health will make guaranteed payments of $34,500,000 and contingent payments of up to $63,500,000 on behalf it itself and DxID, which ceased operations in 2021. The settlement is based on Independent Health’s ability to pay. Gaffney will separately pay $2,000,000.

    In connection with the settlement, Independent Health entered into a five-year corporate integrity agreement (CIA) with HHS-OIG. The CIA requires, among other things, that Independent Health hire an Independent Review Organization to annually review a sample of Independent Health’s Medicare Advantage patients’ medical records and associated internal controls to help ensure appropriate risk adjustment payments.

    The civil settlement includes the resolution of claims brought under the qui tam or whistleblower provisions of the False Claims Act by Teresa Ross, a former employee of Group Health Cooperative, now Kaiser Foundation Health Plan of Washington (Kaiser). Under the qui tam provisions, a private party can file an action on behalf of the United States and receive a portion of any recovery. The Act permits the government to intervene in such lawsuits as it has done in this case. Ms. Ross will receive at least $8,212,500 of the settlement announced today. Ms. Ross also alleged that Kaiser employed DxID to identify additional diagnoses to be submitted to Medicare for risk adjustment, and the United States previously settled those claims with Kaiser.

    The United States’ intervention in this matter illustrates the government’s emphasis on combating health care fraud. One of the most powerful tools in this effort is the False Claims Act. Tips and complaints from all sources about potential fraud, waste, abuse, and mismanagement, can be reported to HHS, at 800-HHS-TIPS (800-447-8477).

    Attorneys Samson Asiyanbi and David Wiseman of the Civil Division’s Fraud Section and Assistant U.S. Attorney David Coriell and investigator Peggy McFarland for the Western District of New York handled the matter, with assistance from the HHS-OIG Buffalo Regional Office.

    The case is captioned United States ex rel. Ross v. Independent Health Association et al., No. 12-CV-0299(S) (WDNY).

    The claims resolved by the settlement are allegations only. There has been no determination of liability.

    View the settlement here.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: United States and Arizona File to Effect Transfer of Land to Be Held in Trust for the Hopi Tribe

    Source: US State of California

    The Justice Department, the Department of the Interior (DOI), the State of Arizona and the Hopi Tribe today announced the filing of a “friendly condemnation” to effect the historic transfer of more than 20,000 acres of land from Arizona to the United States to be held in trust for the Hopi Tribe. Upon the deposit by the Hopi Tribe of $3.9 million, which serves as an estimate of just compensation for the benefit of the State of Arizona, into the Registry of the U.S. District Court for the District of Arizona, these lands will be owned by the United States and then immediately placed into trust for the Hopi Tribe. The lands being transferred are interspersed with Hopi-owned lands and have long been leased to the Hopi Tribe for ranching purposes.

    This is the first of an anticipated series of condemnation actions to ultimately transfer approximately 110,000 acres from Arizona to the United States in trust for the Hopi Tribe. As with subsequent actions, today’s condemnation is filed with the concurrence of Arizona and authorized by the Navajo-Hopi Land Dispute Settlement Act of 1996, which ratified a 1995 resolution to a long-running land dispute in northeastern Arizona between the Hopi Tribe, the Navajo Tribe and the United States. When the title is transferred to the United States, DOI will take the lands into trust for the Hopi Tribe.

    “Today’s filing starts the process of eliminating the interspersed ownership that characterizes much of the lands the Hopi Tribe uses for ranching in northeast Arizona, as was envisioned by the Settlement Act of 1996,” said Assistant Attorney General Todd Kim of the Justice Department’s Environment and Natural Resources Division (ENRD). “Arizona will receive just compensation for the land, and the Hopi Tribe will no longer have to deal with checkerboarded ownership, which will help improve its use for ranching and other agriculture activities.”

    “Today’s filing could initiate historic transfer of more than 20,000 acres back into Hopi Tribe ownership, a first step in the process to transfer an overall 110,000 acres into trust for the Tribes,” said Solicitor Bob Anderson of the Department of the Interior. “All parties stand to benefit, as the State of Arizona will receive just compensation and the Hopi Tribe will take on cohesive ownership across lands that hold sacred and economic significance and will support ranching and agricultural activities of their communities.”

    “After nearly three decades of the Hopi fighting for their rights, I’m proud to enter into this historic agreement,” said Arizona Governor Katie Hobbs. “Every Arizonan should have an opportunity to thrive and a space to call home, and this agreement takes us one step closer to making those Arizona values a reality. While politicians of the past refused to hear the voices of tribal communities in our state, I’m so glad to work side-by-side with them as we build a state that gives every family opportunity. I look forward to continued partnership with Chairman Nuvangyaoma and the 22 tribal governments across our state.”

    “Today is not only a historic day, it is also a day of celebration for the Hopi Tribe. The 1996 Hopi-Navajo Land Settlement Act is being fulfilled; the Hopi Tribe signed the settlement with the United States 30 years ago,” said Chairman Timothy L. Nuvangyaoma of the Hopi Tribe. “I am grateful to everyone who worked on making this a reality; I want to acknowledge the hard-working staff at the Governor’s office, the Arizona State Land Commission, the Department of the Interior and the Department of Justice. A special thank you to Governor Hobbs, Secretary Haaland and Commissioner Sahid for their leadership, collaboration and dedication to this effort. Within Hopi, it is our time of the Soyal’ang ceremony — the start of the New Year and the revitalization of life. It is fitting that this historic moment coincides with such an important time.”

    The acquisition includes all appurtenant water and mineral rights owned by Arizona. However, it is subject to, and will not affect, existing easements and rights of way for public highways and utilities and similar encumbrances.

    Attorneys from ENRD’s Land Acquisition Section are handling the matter.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Jordanian National Pleads Guilty to Explosives Threats and Attack on Energy Facility

    Source: US State of California

    Hashem Younis Hashem Hnaihen, 44, of Orlando, pleaded guilty today to four counts of threatening to use explosives and one count of destruction of an energy facility.

    “With this plea, we are holding this defendant accountable for his threats to carry out hate-fueled mass violence in our country, motivated in part by his desire to ‘warn’ businesses because of their perceived support of Israel,” said Attorney General Merrick B. Garland. “The Justice Department will fiercely protect the right of every person to peacefully express their opinions, beliefs, and ideas, but we have no tolerance for acts and threats of hate-fueled violence that create lasting fear.”

    “Today, the defendant is admitting he attacked a solar power facility, damaged a number of Florida businesses, and left a series of threatening messages about perceived support for Israel,” said Director Christopher Wray of the FBI. “Violence, destruction of property, and threats are simply unacceptable. The FBI will work with our partners to pursue and hold accountable those who commit illegal and destructive acts and cause our citizens to fear for their safety and livelihoods.”

    According to court documents, beginning around June, Hnaihen targeted and attacked businesses in the Orlando area for their perceived support for Israel. Wearing a mask, under the cover of night, Hnaihen smashed the glass front doors of businesses and left behind “Warning Letters.”

    In his letters, which were addressed to the U.S. government, Hnaihen laid out a series of political demands, culminating in a threat to “destroy or explode everything here in whole America. Especially the companies and factories that support the racist state of Israel.”

    Hnaihen’s attacks escalated. At the end of June, as law enforcement worked to identify the masked attacker, Hnaihen broke into a solar power generation facility in Wedgefield, Florida, and spent hours systematically destroying solar panel arrays. He smashed panels, cut wires, and targeted critical electronic equipment. Hnaihen left behind two more copies of his threatening demand letter. Hnaihen’s attacks caused nearly $500,000 in damage.

    Following a multiagency effort, law enforcement identified Hnaihen and arrested him on July 11, shortly after another “warning letter” threatening to “destroy or explode everything” was discovered at an industrial propane gas distribution depot in Orlando.

    Hnaihen faces a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison for each threat offense and a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison for the destruction of an energy facility offense. Hnaihen has also agreed to make full restitution to the victims of the offenses. A sentencing date has not yet been set. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

    The FBI is investigating the case.

    Assistant U.S. Attorney Richard Varadan for the Middle District of Florida and Trial Attorneys Ryan White and George Kraehe of the National Security Division’s Counterterrorism Section are prosecuting the case.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI Security: United States and Arizona File to Effect Transfer of Land to Be Held in Trust for the Hopi Tribe

    Source: United States Attorneys General

    The Justice Department, the Department of the Interior (DOI), the State of Arizona and the Hopi Tribe today announced the filing of a “friendly condemnation” to effect the historic transfer of more than 20,000 acres of land from Arizona to the United States to be held in trust for the Hopi Tribe. Upon the deposit by the Hopi Tribe of $3.9 million, which serves as an estimate of just compensation for the benefit of the State of Arizona, into the Registry of the U.S. District Court for the District of Arizona, these lands will be owned by the United States and then immediately placed into trust for the Hopi Tribe. The lands being transferred are interspersed with Hopi-owned lands and have long been leased to the Hopi Tribe for ranching purposes.

    This is the first of an anticipated series of condemnation actions to ultimately transfer approximately 110,000 acres from Arizona to the United States in trust for the Hopi Tribe. As with subsequent actions, today’s condemnation is filed with the concurrence of Arizona and authorized by the Navajo-Hopi Land Dispute Settlement Act of 1996, which ratified a 1995 resolution to a long-running land dispute in northeastern Arizona between the Hopi Tribe, the Navajo Tribe and the United States. When the title is transferred to the United States, DOI will take the lands into trust for the Hopi Tribe.

    “Today’s filing starts the process of eliminating the interspersed ownership that characterizes much of the lands the Hopi Tribe uses for ranching in northeast Arizona, as was envisioned by the Settlement Act of 1996,” said Assistant Attorney General Todd Kim of the Justice Department’s Environment and Natural Resources Division (ENRD). “Arizona will receive just compensation for the land, and the Hopi Tribe will no longer have to deal with checkerboarded ownership, which will help improve its use for ranching and other agriculture activities.”

    “Today’s filing could initiate historic transfer of more than 20,000 acres back into Hopi Tribe ownership, a first step in the process to transfer an overall 110,000 acres into trust for the Tribes,” said Solicitor Bob Anderson of the Department of the Interior. “All parties stand to benefit, as the State of Arizona will receive just compensation and the Hopi Tribe will take on cohesive ownership across lands that hold sacred and economic significance and will support ranching and agricultural activities of their communities.”

    “After nearly three decades of the Hopi fighting for their rights, I’m proud to enter into this historic agreement,” said Arizona Governor Katie Hobbs. “Every Arizonan should have an opportunity to thrive and a space to call home, and this agreement takes us one step closer to making those Arizona values a reality. While politicians of the past refused to hear the voices of tribal communities in our state, I’m so glad to work side-by-side with them as we build a state that gives every family opportunity. I look forward to continued partnership with Chairman Nuvangyaoma and the 22 tribal governments across our state.”

    “Today is not only a historic day, it is also a day of celebration for the Hopi Tribe. The 1996 Hopi-Navajo Land Settlement Act is being fulfilled; the Hopi Tribe signed the settlement with the United States 30 years ago,” said Chairman Timothy L. Nuvangyaoma of the Hopi Tribe. “I am grateful to everyone who worked on making this a reality; I want to acknowledge the hard-working staff at the Governor’s office, the Arizona State Land Commission, the Department of the Interior and the Department of Justice. A special thank you to Governor Hobbs, Secretary Haaland and Commissioner Sahid for their leadership, collaboration and dedication to this effort. Within Hopi, it is our time of the Soyal’ang ceremony — the start of the New Year and the revitalization of life. It is fitting that this historic moment coincides with such an important time.”

    The acquisition includes all appurtenant water and mineral rights owned by Arizona. However, it is subject to, and will not affect, existing easements and rights of way for public highways and utilities and similar encumbrances.

    Attorneys from ENRD’s Land Acquisition Section are handling the matter.

    MIL Security OSI –

  • MIL-OSI Security: Jordanian National Pleads Guilty to Explosives Threats and Attack on Energy Facility

    Source: United States Attorneys General

    Hashem Younis Hashem Hnaihen, 44, of Orlando, pleaded guilty today to four counts of threatening to use explosives and one count of destruction of an energy facility.

    “With this plea, we are holding this defendant accountable for his threats to carry out hate-fueled mass violence in our country, motivated in part by his desire to ‘warn’ businesses because of their perceived support of Israel,” said Attorney General Merrick B. Garland. “The Justice Department will fiercely protect the right of every person to peacefully express their opinions, beliefs, and ideas, but we have no tolerance for acts and threats of hate-fueled violence that create lasting fear.”

    “Today, the defendant is admitting he attacked a solar power facility, damaged a number of Florida businesses, and left a series of threatening messages about perceived support for Israel,” said Director Christopher Wray of the FBI. “Violence, destruction of property, and threats are simply unacceptable. The FBI will work with our partners to pursue and hold accountable those who commit illegal and destructive acts and cause our citizens to fear for their safety and livelihoods.”

    According to court documents, beginning around June, Hnaihen targeted and attacked businesses in the Orlando area for their perceived support for Israel. Wearing a mask, under the cover of night, Hnaihen smashed the glass front doors of businesses and left behind “Warning Letters.”

    In his letters, which were addressed to the U.S. government, Hnaihen laid out a series of political demands, culminating in a threat to “destroy or explode everything here in whole America. Especially the companies and factories that support the racist state of Israel.”

    Hnaihen’s attacks escalated. At the end of June, as law enforcement worked to identify the masked attacker, Hnaihen broke into a solar power generation facility in Wedgefield, Florida, and spent hours systematically destroying solar panel arrays. He smashed panels, cut wires, and targeted critical electronic equipment. Hnaihen left behind two more copies of his threatening demand letter. Hnaihen’s attacks caused nearly $500,000 in damage.

    Following a multiagency effort, law enforcement identified Hnaihen and arrested him on July 11, shortly after another “warning letter” threatening to “destroy or explode everything” was discovered at an industrial propane gas distribution depot in Orlando.

    Hnaihen faces a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison for each threat offense and a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison for the destruction of an energy facility offense. Hnaihen has also agreed to make full restitution to the victims of the offenses. A sentencing date has not yet been set. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

    The FBI is investigating the case.

    Assistant U.S. Attorney Richard Varadan for the Middle District of Florida and Trial Attorneys Ryan White and George Kraehe of the National Security Division’s Counterterrorism Section are prosecuting the case.

    MIL Security OSI –

  • MIL-OSI Security: United States Joins Lawsuit Against Former Executives of Kabbage Inc. Alleging False Claims Act Violations in Connection with Paycheck Protection Program Lending

    Source: United States Attorneys General 7

    The United States has intervened and filed a complaint against Robert Frohwein, Kathryn Petralia and Spencer Robinson, three former executives of Kabbage Inc., a now-bankrupt financial technology company. The United States alleges that they violated the False Claims Act by submitting and causing the submission of false claims for loan forgiveness, loan guarantees and processing fees to the Small Business Administration (SBA) in connection with Kabbage’s participation in the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP).

    “The PPP was intended to provide critical assistance to eligible businesses during the economic uncertainty caused by the pandemic,” said Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Brian M. Boynton, head of the Justice Department’s Civil Division. “The department is committed to ensuring that PPP lenders — including their executives — are held accountable for contributing to the misuse of PPP funds by knowingly failing to comply with applicable program requirements, including approving PPP loans in inflated amounts and to ineligible borrowers.”

    Congress created the PPP in March 2020, as part of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act, to provide federally guaranteed loans to small businesses suffering economic hardship due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The SBA administered the PPP. The CARES Act authorized private lenders to approve PPP loans for eligible borrowers who could later seek forgiveness of the loans so long as they used loan funds on employee payroll and other eligible expenses. Among other things, participating PPP lenders were required to confirm borrowers’ average monthly payroll costs by reviewing the payroll documentation submitted with the borrower’s application. Lenders were also required to follow applicable Bank Secrecy Act/Anti-Money Laundering requirements to help combat fraud. Any unforgiven or defaulted PPP loans made by lenders were guaranteed by the SBA, so long as the lenders adhered to PPP requirements. Lenders who originated PPP loans were paid a fixed fee calculated as a percentage of the loan amount by the SBA.

    According to the government’s complaint, Frohwein and Petralia co-founded Kabbage in 2008 and served as the company’s chief executive officer and president, respectively, while Robinson formerly served as the company’s head of strategy. Kabbage was approved as a PPP lender in 2020 and approved more than $7 billion in PPP loans that year for which the company was paid more than $217 million in processing fees after certifying that it had complied with all applicable lending requirements.

    The complaint alleges that, between April and October 2020, the defendants knowingly submitted or caused the submission of false claims for loan guarantees, loan forgiveness and processing fees relating to tens of thousands of PPP loans that were systemically inflated due to calculation errors by Kabbage. These errors allegedly included Kabbage’s double-counting of state and local taxes paid by employees and the failure to exclude annual compensation in excess of $100,000 per employee from its calculation of payroll costs. Additionally, the lawsuit alleges that the defendants knowingly submitted or caused the submission of false claims for processing fees related to tens of thousands of PPP loans where Kabbage failed to implement appropriate fraud controls. The government’s complaint alleges that the defendants ignored these violations to maximize PPP processing fees before selling off the majority of Kabbage’s assets in October 2020.

    Kabbage Inc., which is now winding down its operations as KServicing Wind Down Corp. after filing for bankruptcy in the wake of the 2020 asset sale, previously agreed to resolve allegations relating to its role in the submission of false claims to the SBA. As part of that settlement, the United States received a general unsecured claim in the bankruptcy proceeding of up to $120 million, and the company received a credit for $12.5 million that Kabbage returned to SBA during the department’s investigation.

    “The PPP was a light providing hope to businesses in the midst of the shadow of a global pandemic,” said U.S. Attorney Damien M. Diggs for the Eastern District of Texas. “Unfortunately, some unscrupulous lenders and executives took advantage of that situation by lining their pockets with ill-gotten incentive payments from processing PPP loans despite not performing even the most cursory fraud checks or reviews of borrower documentation. Individuals who shirked their responsibilities at the expense of the public fisc must be held accountable. This lawsuit against Kabbage’s former executives demonstrates our firm commitment to holding all parties responsible for their part in causing the submission of false claims to the PPP.”

    “SBA’s lending partners have a responsibility to ensure only eligible borrowers gain access to SBA’s programs,” said Special Agent in Charge Brady Ipock of the SBA Office of Inspector General (SBA OIG)’s Central Region. “SBA OIG stands ready to support the Justice Department in rooting out greed and wrongful actions. I want to thank the U.S. Attorney’s Office and our law enforcement partners for their support and dedication to pursuing justice in this case.”

    The lawsuit was originally filed under the qui tam or whistleblower provisions of the False Claims Act by Paul Pietschner, a former analyst in Kabbage’s collections department. The FCA permits private parties to file suit on behalf of the United States for false claims and to share in any recovery. The FCA also permits the United States to intervene in such an action, as it has done in this case. A defendant who violates the act is subject to liability for three times the government’s losses, plus applicable penalties. 

    On May 17, 2021, Attorney General Merrick B. Garland established the COVID-19 Fraud Enforcement Task Force to marshal the resources of the Justice Department in partnership with agencies across the federal government to enhance efforts to combat and prevent pandemic-related fraud. The Task Force bolsters efforts to investigate and prosecute the most culpable domestic and international actors committing civil and criminal fraud and assists agencies tasked with administering relief programs to prevent fraud by, among other methods, augmenting and incorporating existing coordination mechanisms, identifying resources and techniques to uncover fraudulent actors and their schemes and sharing and harnessing information and insights gained from prior enforcement efforts. For more information on the department’s response to the pandemic, please visit www.justice.gov/coronavirus.

    Tips and complaints from all sources about potential fraud affecting COVID-19 government relief programs can be reported by visiting the webpage of the Civil Division’s Fraud Section, which can be found here. Anyone with information about allegations of attempted fraud involving COVID-19 can also report it by calling the Justice Department’s National Center for Disaster Fraud (NCDF) Hotline at 866-720-5721 or via the NCDF Web Complaint Form at www.justice.gov/disaster-fraud/ncdf-disaster-complaint-form.

    Trial Attorney Sarah E. Loucks of the Civil Division’s Commercial Litigation Branch, Fraud Section and Assistant U.S. Attorney Betty Young for the Eastern District of Texas are handling the matter, with assistance provided by the SBA’s Office of General Counsel and Office of the Inspector General.

    The case is captioned United States ex rel. Pietschner v. Kabbage, Inc., et al., No. 4:21-cv-110-SDJ (EDTX).

    The claims asserted by the United States are allegations only. There has been no determination of liability.

    MIL Security OSI –

  • MIL-OSI Security: Medicare Advantage Provider Independent Health to Pay Up To $98M to Settle False Claims Act Suit

    Source: United States Attorneys General 7

    Independent Health Association and its affiliate, Independent Health Corporation (collectively, Independent Health) have agreed to pay up to $98 million to resolve allegations that they violated the False Claims Act by knowingly submitting or causing the submission of invalid diagnosis codes to Medicare for Medicare Advantage Plan enrollees to increase payments that Independent Health received from Medicare. Independent Health is headquartered in Buffalo, New York.

    Under Medicare Advantage, also known as the Medicare Part C program, Medicare beneficiaries have the option of enrolling in managed care insurance plans called Medicare Advantage Plans (MA Plans). MA Plans are paid a per-person amount to provide Medicare-covered benefits to beneficiaries who enroll in one of their plans. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), which oversees the Medicare program, adjusts the payments to MA Plans based on demographic information and the diagnoses of each plan beneficiary. The adjustments are commonly referred to as “risk scores.” In general, a beneficiary with diagnoses more expensive to treat will have a higher risk score, and CMS will make a larger risk-adjusted payment to the MA Plan for that beneficiary.

    Independent Health operates MA plans for beneficiaries living in western New York. As alleged by the United States, Independent Health created a wholly owned subsidiary, DxID LLC, to retrospectively search medical records and query physicians for information that would support additional diagnoses that could be used to generate higher risk scores, and DxID provided these services to Independent Health and other MA Plans. The United States filed a complaint alleging that, from 2011 through at least 2017, Independent Health, with the assistance of DxID and its founder and chief executive, Betsy Gaffney, knowingly submitted diagnoses to CMS that were not supported by the beneficiaries’ medical records in order to inflate Medicare’s payments to Independent Health.

    “The government expects those who participate in Medicare Advantage to provide accurate information to ensure that proper payments are made for the care received by enrolled beneficiaries,” said Deputy Assistant Attorney General Michael Granston of the Justice Department’s Civil Division. “Today’s result sends a clear message to the Medicare Advantage community that the United States will take appropriate action against those who knowingly submit inflated claims for reimbursement.”

    “To protect the integrity of Medicare and other federal health care programs, my office is committed to ensuring that each and every dollar meant for Medicare beneficiaries is spent appropriately and in accordance with the law,” said U.S. Attorney Trini E. Ross for the Western District of New York. “As this settlement makes clear, we will diligently pursue those who defraud government programs.”

    “Medicare Advantage Plans that attempt to game federal programs for profit must be held accountable through rigorous oversight and enforcement,” said Deputy Inspector General Christian J. Schrank of the Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General (HHS-OIG). “HHS-OIG will continue to work with our law enforcement partners to root out fraud, waste and abuse in federal health care programs.”

    Under the terms of the settlement, Independent Health will make guaranteed payments of $34,500,000 and contingent payments of up to $63,500,000 on behalf it itself and DxID, which ceased operations in 2021. The settlement is based on Independent Health’s ability to pay. Gaffney will separately pay $2,000,000.

    In connection with the settlement, Independent Health entered into a five-year corporate integrity agreement (CIA) with HHS-OIG. The CIA requires, among other things, that Independent Health hire an Independent Review Organization to annually review a sample of Independent Health’s Medicare Advantage patients’ medical records and associated internal controls to help ensure appropriate risk adjustment payments.

    The civil settlement includes the resolution of claims brought under the qui tam or whistleblower provisions of the False Claims Act by Teresa Ross, a former employee of Group Health Cooperative, now Kaiser Foundation Health Plan of Washington (Kaiser). Under the qui tam provisions, a private party can file an action on behalf of the United States and receive a portion of any recovery. The Act permits the government to intervene in such lawsuits as it has done in this case. Ms. Ross will receive at least $8,212,500 of the settlement announced today. Ms. Ross also alleged that Kaiser employed DxID to identify additional diagnoses to be submitted to Medicare for risk adjustment, and the United States previously settled those claims with Kaiser.

    The United States’ intervention in this matter illustrates the government’s emphasis on combating health care fraud. One of the most powerful tools in this effort is the False Claims Act. Tips and complaints from all sources about potential fraud, waste, abuse, and mismanagement, can be reported to HHS, at 800-HHS-TIPS (800-447-8477).

    Attorneys Samson Asiyanbi and David Wiseman of the Civil Division’s Fraud Section and Assistant U.S. Attorney David Coriell and investigator Peggy McFarland for the Western District of New York handled the matter, with assistance from the HHS-OIG Buffalo Regional Office.

    The case is captioned United States ex rel. Ross v. Independent Health Association et al., No. 12-CV-0299(S) (WDNY).

    The claims resolved by the settlement are allegations only. There has been no determination of liability.

    View the settlement here.

    MIL Security OSI –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Proclamation to Implement the United  States-Israel Agreement on Trade in Agricultural Products and for Other  Purposes

    US Senate News:

    Source: The White House
         1.  On April 22, 1985, the United States and Israel entered into the Agreement on the Establishment of a Free Trade Area between the Government of the United States of America and the Government of Israel (USIFTA), which the Congress approved in section 3 of the United States–Israel Free Trade Area Implementation Act of 1985 (the “USIFTA Implementation Act”) (Public Law 99-47, 99 Stat. 82 (19 U.S.C. 2112 note)).  Section 4(b) of the USIFTA Implementation Act provides that, whenever the President determines that it is necessary to maintain the general level of reciprocal and mutually advantageous concessions with respect to Israel provided for by the USIFTA, the President may proclaim such withdrawal, suspension, modification, or continuance of any duty, or such continuance of existing duty-free or excise treatment, or such additional duties, as the President determines to be required or appropriate to carry out the USIFTA.  In order to maintain the general level of reciprocal and mutually advantageous concessions with respect to agricultural trade with Israel, on July 27, 2004, the United States entered into an agreement with Israel concerning certain aspects of trade in agricultural products during the period January 1, 2004, through December 31, 2008 (United States-Israel Agreement Concerning Certain Aspects of Trade in Agricultural Products (the “2004 Agreement”)).     2.  In Proclamation 7826 of October 4, 2004, the President determined, pursuant to section 4(b) of the USIFTA Implementation Act and consistent with the 2004 Agreement, that, in order to maintain the general level of reciprocal and mutually advantageous concessions with respect to Israel provided for by the USIFTA, it was necessary to provide duty-free access into the United States through December 31, 2008, for specified quantities of certain agricultural products of Israel.  Each year from 2008 through 2023, the United States and Israel entered into agreements to extend the period that the 2004 Agreement was in force for 1-year periods to allow additional time for the two governments to conclude an agreement to replace the 2004 Agreement.  To carry out the extension agreements, the President in Proclamations 8334 of December 31, 2008; 8467 of December 23, 2009; 8618 of December 21, 2010; 8770 of December 29, 2011; 8921 of December 20, 2012; 9072 of December 23, 2013; 9223 of December 23, 2014; 9383 of December 21, 2015; 9555 of December 15, 2016; 9687 of December 22, 2017; 9834 of December 21, 2018; 9974 of December 26, 2019; 10128 of December 22, 2020; 10326 of December 23, 2021; 10509 of December 23, 2022; and 10692 of December 29, 2023, modified the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTS) to provide duty-free access into the United States for specified quantities of certain agricultural products of Israel, each time for an additional 1-year period.  On October 31, 2024, the United States entered into an agreement with Israel to extend the period that the 2004 Agreement is in force through December 31, 2025, and to allow for further negotiations on an agreement to replace the 2004 Agreement.  Pursuant to section 4(b) of the USIFTA Implementation Act, I have determined that it is necessary, in order to maintain the general level of reciprocal and mutually advantageous concessions with respect to Israel provided for by the USIFTA, to provide duty-free access into the United States through the close of December 31, 2025, for specified quantities of certain agricultural products of Israel, as provided in Annex I of this proclamation.    3.  Proclamation 10053 of June 29, 2020, implemented the Agreement between the United States of America, the United Mexican States, and Canada (USMCA) with respect to the United States and, pursuant to section 103 of the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement Implementation Act (the “USMCA Implementation Act”) (Public Law 116-113, 134 Stat. 11, 15-17 (19 U.S.C. 4513)), incorporated in the HTS the tariff modifications and rules of origin necessary or appropriate to carry out the USMCA.    4.  In order to provide generally for the preferential tariff treatment being accorded under the USMCA, to set forth rules for determining whether goods imported into the customs territory of the United States are eligible for preferential tariff treatment under the USMCA, to provide tariff-rate quotas with respect to certain originating goods of Canada, and to provide certain other treatment to originating goods for purposes of the USMCA, Proclamation 10053 modified the HTS as set forth in Annex I of Publication 5060 of the United States International Trade Commission (the “Commission”), entitled “Modifications to the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States to Implement the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement” (Publication 5060), including by adding general note 11.  Proclamation 10053 further modified the HTS to reflect the termination of tariff treatment under the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), as set forth in Annex III of Publication 5060, including by deleting general note 12.     5.  In order to implement the initial stage of duty reduction provided for in the USMCA, to provide for future staged reductions in duties for originating goods provided for in the USMCA, and to provide tariff-rate quotas with respect to certain goods provided for in the USMCA, Proclamation 10053 modified the HTS as set forth in Annex II of Publication 5060.      6.  A technical error was made in the modifications to U.S. note 3(d) to subchapter II of chapter 98 of the HTS, and certain references to general note 12 were inadvertently not modified.  I have determined that additional modifications to the HTS are necessary or appropriate to provide for the intended tariff treatment under the USMCA, including certain technical or conforming changes within the tariff schedule.      7.  Proclamation 7987 of February 28, 2006, implemented the Dominican Republic-Central America-United States Free Trade Agreement (DR-CAFTA) with respect to the United States and, pursuant to section 201 of the Dominican Republic-Central America-United States Free Trade Agreement Implementation Act (the “DR-CAFTA Act”) (Public Law 109-53, 119 Stat. 462, 467 (19 U.S.C. 4001 note)), incorporated in the HTS the tariff modifications and rules of origin necessary or appropriate to carry out certain provisions of the DR-CAFTA.      8.  A rule of origin under the DR-CAFTA, found in general note 29 to the HTS, contains a reference to general note 12.  Proclamation 10053 deleted general note 12 but omitted a conforming change to the reference in general note 29.  I have determined that an additional modification to the HTS is necessary or appropriate to reflect this conforming change.     9.  Section 602 of the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021 (Public Law 116-260, 134 Stat. 1182, 2152-54), made technical corrections to other laws, including replacing certain references to the NAFTA with references to the USMCA in sections 112 and 113(b) of the African Growth and Opportunity Act (the “AGOA”) (title I of Public Law 106-200, 114 Stat. 251, 258-265 (19 U.S.C. 3721, 3722(b))), as amended by the Africa Investment Incentive Act of 2006 (title VI of Public Law 109-432, 120 Stat. 2922, 3190-94), and in sections 212(a), 213(b), and 213A(b) of the Caribbean Basin Economic Recovery Act (the “CBERA”) (title II of Public Law 98-67, 97 Stat. 369, 384-85, 388 (19 U.S.C. 2702(a)(1), 2703(b), 2703a(b))), as amended by the United States-Caribbean Basin Trade Partnership Act (title II of Public Law 106-200, 114 Stat. 251, 275-288), the Haitian Hemispheric Opportunity through Partnership Encouragement Act of 2006 (title V of Public Law 109-432, 109 Stat. 2922, 3181-87), and the Haitian Hemispheric Opportunity through Partnership Encouragement Act of 2008 (subtitle D of Public Law 110-234, 122 Stat. 923, 1527-47).    10.  I have determined that additional modifications to the HTS are necessary or appropriate to provide for the intended tariff treatment under the AGOA and the CBERA, including certain technical or conforming changes within the tariff schedule.    11.  Section 104(c) of the Trade Preferences Extension Act of 2015 (the “TPEA”) (Public Law 114–27, 129 Stat. 362, 365 (19 U.S.C. 2466a note)) authorizes the President to proclaim modifications that may be necessary to add the special tariff treatment symbol “D” in the “Special” subcolumn of the HTS for each article classified under a heading or subheading with the special tariff treatment symbol “A” or “A” in the “Special” subcolumn of the HTS.  Pursuant to section 104(c) of the TPEA, Proclamation 9466 of June 30, 2016, modified the HTS to add the special tariff treatment symbol “D” in the HTS as set forth in Annex III of that proclamation.     12.  The modifications to the HTS authorized in Proclamation 9466 included certain technical errors.  I have determined that additional modifications to the HTS are necessary or appropriate to provide for the intended tariff treatment under the AGOA, as authorized by section 104(c) of the TPEA, including certain technical or conforming changes within the tariff schedule.     13.  Proclamation 6763 of December 23, 1994, implemented, with respect to the United States, the trade agreements resulting from the Uruguay Round of multilateral trade negotiations, including Schedule XX-United States of America, annexed to the Marrakesh Protocol to the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade 1994 (Schedule XX), that were entered into pursuant to sections 1102(a) and (e) of the Omnibus Trade and Competitiveness Act of 1988 (the “1988 Act”) (Public Law 100-418, 102 Stat. 1107, 1126 (19 U.S.C. 2902(a) and (e))), as amended by Public Law 103-49, 107 Stat. 239, and approved in section 101(a) of the Uruguay Round Agreements Act (the “URAA”) (Public Law 103-465, 108 Stat. 4809, 4814–15 (19 U.S.C. 3511(a))).      14.  Pursuant to the authority provided in section 111 of the URAA (19 U.S.C. 3521) and sections 1102(a) and (e) of the 1988 Act (19 U.S.C. 2902(a) and (e)), Proclamation 6763 included the staged reductions in rates of duty that the President determined to be necessary or appropriate to carry out the terms of Schedule XX.     15.  Section 1205(a) of the 1988 Act (102 Stat. 1150 (19 U.S.C. 3005(a))) directs the Commission to keep the HTS under continuous review and to periodically recommend to the President such modifications to the HTS as the Commission considers necessary or appropriate to accomplish the purposes set forth in that subsection.     16.  Pursuant to sections 1205(c) and (d) of the 1988 Act (102 Stat. 1150-51 (19 U.S.C. 3005(c) and (d))), in 2010, 2015, and 2021, the Commission recommended modifications to the HTS to conform the HTS to amendments made to the International Convention on the Harmonized Commodity Description and Coding System and the Protocol thereto (the “Convention”).     17.  Section 1206(a) of the 1988 Act (102 Stat. 1151 (19 U.S.C. 3006(a))) authorizes the President to proclaim modifications to the HTS based on the recommendations of the Commission under section 1205 of the 1988 Act if the President determines that the modifications are in conformity with United States obligations under the Convention and do not run counter to the national economic interest of the United States.     18.  Proclamation 8771 of December 29, 2011, Proclamation 9549 of December 1, 2016, and Proclamation 10326 of December 23, 2021, modified the HTS pursuant to section 1206 of the 1988 Act to conform the HTS to the amendments to the Convention.  However, the HTS modifications authorized in Proclamation 8771, Proclamation 9549, and Proclamation 10326 each included certain technical errors.     19.  Proclamation 8771 incorrectly modified the column 2 rate of duty for subheadings 0401.40.25 and 0401.50.25, and the “General” subcolumn rate of duty for column 1 and the column 2 rate of duty for subheading 6505.00.01.  I have determined that additional modifications to the HTS are necessary or appropriate to provide for the intended tariff treatment.     20.  Proclamation 9549 and Proclamation 10326 each created certain new subheadings with the special tariff treatment symbol “A” or “A” in the “Special” subcolumn of the HTS, but omitted the special tariff treatment symbol “D”.  I have determined that additional modifications to the HTS are necessary or appropriate to provide for the intended tariff treatment under the AGOA, including certain technical or conforming changes within the tariff schedule.    21.  Proclamation 10326 also included technical errors with respect to other subheadings.  I have determined that additional modifications to the HTS are necessary or appropriate to provide for the intended tariff treatment, including the tariff treatment previously proclaimed in Proclamation 6763.    22.  In Proclamation 9705 of March 8, 2018, pursuant to section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act of 1962, as amended (the “Trade Expansion Act”) (Public Law 87-794, 76 Stat. 872, 877 (19 U.S.C. 1862)), the President concurred with the finding of the Secretary of Commerce that steel articles, as defined in clause 1 of Proclamation 9705 (as amended by clause 8 of Proclamation 9711 of March 22, 2018), are being imported into the United States in such quantities and under such circumstances as to threaten to impair the national security of the United States, and decided to adjust the imports of steel articles by imposing a 25 percent ad valorem tariff on such articles imported from all countries except Canada and Mexico.  Proclamation 9740 of April 30, 2018, and Proclamation 9759 of May 31, 2018, modified the HTS to provide quotas with respect to steel articles imported from certain countries.  Proclamation 10328 of December 27, 2021, Proclamation 10356 of March 31, 2022, Proclamation 10406 of May 31, 2022, and Proclamation 10691 of December 28, 2023, modified the HTS to provide tariff-rate quotas with respect to steel articles imported from certain countries.     23.  On July 1, 2024, the Commission, in cooperation with the interagency Committee for Statistical Annotation of Tariff Schedules, implemented certain changes in 10-digit statistical reporting categories of the HTS under section 484(f) of the Tariff Act of 1930 (ch. 497, 46 Stat. 590, 723 (19 U.S.C. 1484(f))), as amended by section 637 of the North American Free Trade Agreement Implementation Act (Public Law 103-182, 107 Stat. 2057, 2202).  I have determined that certain conforming amendments to the HTS are necessary in order to ensure the maintenance of duty rates, quotas, and tariff-rate quotas for steel articles under tariff categories that were modified.    24.  Section 604 of the Trade Act of 1974, as amended (the “Trade Act”) (Public Law 93-618, 88 Stat. 1978, 2073 (19 U.S.C. 2483)), authorizes the President to embody in the HTS the substance of the relevant provisions of that Act, and of other acts affecting import treatment, and actions taken thereunder, including the removal, modification, continuance, or imposition of any rate of duty or other import restriction.      NOW, THEREFORE, I, JOSEPH R. BIDEN JR., President of the United States of America, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America, including but not limited to section 4(b) of the USIFTA Implementation Act, section 104(c) of the TPEA, section 1206(a) of the 1988 Act, section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act, and section 604 of the Trade Act, do proclaim that:      (1)  In order to implement tariff commitments under the 2004 Agreement through December 31, 2025, the HTS is modified as set forth in Annex I of this proclamation.    (2)  The modifications and technical rectifications to the HTS made by Annex I of this proclamation shall enter into effect on the applicable dates set forth in Annex I of this proclamation.    (3)  In order to make the modifications and technical rectifications to the HTS described in paragraphs 3 through 24 of this proclamation, the HTS is modified as set forth in Annex II of this proclamation.  These modifications and technical rectifications shall enter into effect on the applicable dates set forth in Annex II of this proclamation.    (4)  Any provisions of previous proclamations and Executive Orders that are inconsistent with the actions taken in this proclamation are superseded to the extent of such inconsistency.    IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand thistwentieth day of December, in the year of our Lord two thousand twenty-four, and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and forty-ninth.
                            JOSEPH R. BIDEN JR.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Amendments to Executive Orders Relating to Certain Certificates and  Badges

    US Senate News:

    Source: The White House
         By the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America, and as Commander in Chief of the Armed Forces of the United States, it is hereby ordered as follows:
         Section 1.  Amendments to Executive Order 12793, as Amended.  Executive Order 12793 of March 20, 1992 (Continuing the Presidential Service Certificate and the Presidential Service Badge), as amended by Executive Order 13286 of February 28, 2003 (Amendment of Executive Orders, and Other Actions, in Connection With the Transfer of Certain Functions to the Secretary of Homeland Security), is further amended by:
         (a)  Amending section 1 to read as follows:
         “Section 1.  Presidential Service Certificate.  The Presidential Service Certificate (Certificate) is hereby continued, the design of which accompanies and is hereby made a part of this order.  The Certificate shall be awarded in the name of the President of the United States to members of the United States Uniformed Services who have been assigned to the White House Office; to military units and support facilities under the administration of the White House Military Office; or to other direct support positions within the Executive Office of the President (EOP).  The Certificate shall be awarded by the Secretary of the military department concerned, or, when the Coast Guard is not operating as a service in the Navy, by the Secretary of Homeland Security, and, in the case of members of the Commissioned Corps of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration or the Commissioned Corps of the Public Health Service, by the Secretary of Commerce or the Secretary of Health and Human Services, respectively.  The Certificate shall not be issued to any member who is issued a Vice Presidential Certificate, or similar EOP Certificate, for the same period of service.  Such assignment must be for a period of at least 1 year, subsequent to January 21, 1989.”; and
         (b)  Amending section 2 to read as follows:
         “Sec. 2.  Presidential Service Badge.  The Presidential Service Badge (Badge) is hereby continued, the design of which accompanies and is hereby made a part of this order.  The Badge shall be awarded to those members of the United States Uniformed Services who have been granted the Certificate and shall be awarded in the same manner in which the Certificate has been given.  The Badge shall be worn as a part of the uniform of those individuals under such regulations as their respective Secretaries may severally prescribe.”.
         Sec. 2.  Amendments to Executive Order 11926, as Amended.  Executive Order 11926 of July 19, 1976 (The Vice Presidential Service Badge), as amended by Executive Order 13286 and by Executive Order 13373 of March 10, 2005 (Amendments to Executive Order 11926 Relating to the Vice Presidential Service Badge), is further amended by:
         (a)  Amending section 1 to read as follows:
         “Section 1.  There is established a Vice Presidential Service Badge to be awarded in the name of the Vice President of the United States of America to members of the United States Uniformed Services who have been assigned to duty in the Office of the Vice President for a period of at least 1 year subsequent to December 19, 1974, or who have been assigned to perform duties predominantly for the Vice President for a period of at least 1 year subsequent to January 20, 2001, in the implementation of Public Law 93-346, as amended, or in military units and support facilities to which section 1 of Executive Order 12793 of March 20, 1992, as amended, refers.”;
         (b)  Amending section 2 to read as follows:
         “Sec. 2.  The Vice Presidential Service Badge may be awarded, upon recommendation of the Vice President’s designee (with the concurrence of the Director of the White House Military Office in the case of personnel in military units or support facilities to which section 1 of Executive Order 12793, as amended, refers), by the Secretary of the military department concerned, or, when the Coast Guard is not operating as a service in the Navy, by the Secretary of Homeland Security, to military personnel of their respective services who have been assigned to duty in the Office of the Vice President and, in the case of members of the Commissioned Corps of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration or the Commissioned Corps of the Public Health Service so assigned, by the Secretary of Commerce or the Secretary of Health and Human Services, respectively.”;
         (c)  Amending section 4 to read as follows:
         “Sec. 4.  Upon award, the Vice Presidential Service Badge may be worn as a part of the uniform of an individual both during and after their assignment to duty in the Office of the Vice President.”; and
         (d)  Amending section 6 to read as follows:
         “Sec. 6.  Notwithstanding the provisions of sections 1 and 2 of this order, any member of the United States Uniformed Services, who has been assigned to duty in the Office of the Vice President, or who has been assigned to perform duties predominantly for the Vice President, in the implementation of Public Law 93-346, as amended, or in military units and support facilities to which section 1 of Executive Order 12793, as amended, refers, is authorized, unless otherwise directed by the Director of the White House Military Office in the case of personnel in military units and support facilities to which section 1 of Executive Order 12793, as amended, refers, to wear the Vice Presidential Service Badge on their uniform commencing on the first day of such duty and thereafter while assigned to such duty.”.
         Sec. 3.  General Provisions.  (a)  Nothing in this order shall be construed to impair or otherwise affect:
    (i)   the authority granted by law to an executive department or agency, or the head thereof; or
    (ii)  the functions of the Director of the Office of Management and Budget relating to budgetary, administrative, or legislative proposals.
         (b)  This order shall be implemented consistent with applicable law and subject to the availability of appropriations.
         (c)  This order is not intended to, and does not, create any right or benefit, substantive or procedural, enforceable at law or in equity by any party against the United States, its departments, agencies, or entities, its officers, employees, or agents, or any other person.
                                 JOSEPH R. BIDEN JR.
    THE WHITE HOUSE,
        December 20, 2024.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: 2024 Amendments to the Manual for Courts-Martial, United  States

    US Senate News:

    Source: The White House
         By the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America, including chapter 47 of title 10, United States Code (Uniform Code of Military Justice, 10 U.S.C. 801-946a), and in order to prescribe additions and amendments to the Manual for Courts-Martial, United States, prescribed by Executive Order 12473 of April 13, 1984, as amended, it is hereby ordered as follows:
         Section 1.  Part II, Part III, Part IV, and Part V of the Manual for Courts-Martial, United States, are amended as described in the Annex attached to and made a part of this order.
         Sec. 2.  With this order, I hereby prescribe regulations for the randomized selection of qualified personnel as members of a court-martial to the maximum extent practicable, pursuant to section 543 of the James M. Inhofe National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2023, Public Law 117-263 (10 U.S.C. 825(e)(4)).
         Sec. 3.  Except as provided in sections 4 and 5 of this order, these amendments shall take effect on the date of this order, subject to the following:
         (a)  Nothing in these amendments shall be construed to make punishable any act committed or omitted prior to the date of this order that was not punishable when committed or omitted.
         (b)  Nothing in these amendments shall be construed to invalidate any nonjudicial punishment proceeding, restraint, preliminary hearing, referral of charges, trial in which arraignment occurred, or other action begun prior to the date of this order, and any such nonjudicial punishment proceeding, restraint, preliminary hearing, referral of charges, trial in which arraignment occurred, or other action may proceed in the same manner and with the same effect as if these amendments had not been prescribed.
         Sec. 4.  The amendments to Rule for Courts-Martial (R.C.M.) 908(c)(3), R.C.M. 1205(a), and R.C.M. 1209(a)(1) shall take effect on December 22, 2024, subject to the following:
         (a)  Nothing in these amendments shall be construed to make punishable any act committed or omitted prior to the effective date that was not punishable when committed or omitted.
         (b)  Nothing in these amendments shall be construed to invalidate any nonjudicial punishment proceeding, restraint, preliminary hearing, referral of charges, trial in which arraignment occurred, or other action begun prior to the  effective date, and any such nonjudicial punishment proceeding, restraint, preliminary hearing, referral of charges, trial in which arraignment occurred, or other action may proceed in the same manner and with the same effect as if these amendments had not been prescribed.
         Sec. 5.  The amendment to R.C.M. 503(a)(1) shall take effect on December 23, 2024, subject to the following:
         (a)  Nothing in this amendment shall be construed to make punishable any act committed or omitted prior to the effective date that was not punishable when committed or omitted.
         (b)  Nothing in this amendment shall be construed to invalidate any nonjudicial punishment proceeding, restraint, preliminary hearing, referral of charges, trial in which arraignment occurred, or other action begun prior to the  effective date, and any such nonjudicial punishment proceeding, restraint, preliminary hearing, referral of charges, trial in which arraignment occurred, or other action may proceed in the same manner and with the same effect as if this amendment had not been prescribed.
                                 JOSEPH R. BIDEN JR.
    THE WHITE HOUSE,
        December 20, 2024.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI Security: Two Arizonans Plead Guilty to Fraud Targeting AHCCCS

    Source: Office of United States Attorneys

    PHOENIX, Ariz. – CoEric Riley, 38, of Mesa, pleaded guilty on Tuesday to Healthcare Fraud. His co-defendant, Britney Gooch, 37, of Mesa, also pleaded guilty to Healthcare Fraud on November 21, 2024. Sentencing for Riley and Gooch is scheduled for February 21, 2025, before United States District Judge Krissa M. Lanham.

    Riley and Gooch admitted that they defrauded the Arizona Health Care Cost Containment System (AHCCCS), Arizona’s Medicaid agency, through their company New Horizons Behavioral Health, a behavioral health clinic in Mesa, Arizona. They further admitted that through New Horizons, they exploited AHCCCS’s American Indian Health Program (AIHP) by falsely billing for services that were not provided to AIHP patients. As a result of the fraudulent billing submissions, Riley and Gooch obtained approximately $3.3 million in illegitimate proceeds from AHCCCS.

    A conviction for Healthcare Fraud carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000, or both.

    The Federal Bureau of Investigation – Phoenix Division conducted the investigation in this case. The United States Attorney’s Office, District of Arizona, Phoenix, is handling the prosecution.
     

    CASE NUMBER:           CR-24-01794-PHX-KML
    RELEASE NUMBER:    2024-179_Riley and Gooch

     

    # # #

    For more information on the U.S. Attorney’s Office, District of Arizona, visit http://www.justice.gov/usao/az/
    Follow the U.S. Attorney’s Office, District of Arizona, on X @USAO_AZ for the latest news.

    MIL Security OSI –

  • MIL-OSI Security: Colorado Man Sentenced To 60 Months In Prison For Assaulting Federal Officer

    Source: Office of United States Attorneys

    DURANGO – The United States Attorney’s Office for the District of Colorado announces that Daniel Lehi, 44, of Towaoc, Colorado, was sentenced to 60 months in prison and three years of supervised release after pleading guilty to one count of assaulting a federal officer.

    On April 5, 2024, a Bureau of Indian Affairs Officer responded to the Ute Mountain Ute Casino in Towaoc, Colorado, within the exterior boundaries of the Ute Mountain Ute Reservation, on a report of an intoxicated person, later identified as Lehi. Lehi lunged at the officer and struck him in the face. When additional security personnel responded to the incident, Lehi continued to fight until officers were able to subdue him.

    United States District Court Judge Gordon P. Gallagher sentenced Lehi after considering numerous sentencing factors, including the defendant’s history of assaults on law enforcement officers.

    “Assault on a law enforcement officer is a serious offense, and this defendant received a serious sentence for his actions,” said Acting United States Attorney for the District of Colorado Matt Kirsch. “I want to acknowledge the BIA officer for deftly handling a challenging situation.”

    “This attack on a federal officer simply doing his job is unacceptable. We fully support the officer who is a victim in this case and are steadfast in our commitment to pursuing justice in cases involving assaults on law enforcement officers,” said FBI Denver Special Agent in Charge Mark Michalek. “Such acts will not go unanswered, and we will work tirelessly to ensure accountability.”

    The Federal Bureau of Investigation Durango Field Office and the Bureau of Indian Affairs handled the investigation. Assistant United States Attorney Lisa Franceware handled the prosecution.

    Case Number: 1:24-cr-00182-GPG

    MIL Security OSI –

  • MIL-OSI Security: Syracuse Man Pleads Guilty to Distribution and Possession of Child Pornography

    Source: Office of United States Attorneys

    SYRACUSE, NEW YORK – David Hullihen, age 41, of Syracuse, pled guilty today to ten counts of receipt of child pornography. United States Attorney Carla B. Freedman, and Craig L. Tremaroli, Special Agent in Charge of the Albany Field Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) made the announcement.

    As part of his guilty plea, Hullihen admitted that he sent multiple videos depicting child sexual abuse material to another person over the application Wire. Hullihen also possessed child sexual abuse material on his cell phone. Hullihen is a registered sex offender with two previous convictions for child pornography offenses in New York.

    The offenses to which Hullihen pled guilty carry a mandatory minimum sentence of 15 years, with a maximum of 40 years imprisonment. A defendant’s sentence is imposed by a judge based on the statute the defendant violated, the United States Sentencing Guidelines, and other factors.  However, if Chief United States District Judge Brenda K. Sannes accepts the parties’ agreed-upon disposition at sentencing on April 23, 2025, Hullihen will receive an prison term of 235 months. Hullihen’s sentence must also include a post-imprisonment term of supervised release of between five years and life, a fine of up to $250,000.00, restitution to the children whose images he distributed and possessed, and he will be required to register as a sex offender upon his release from prison. 

    This case was investigated by the FBI’s Albany Division Child Exploitation and Human Trafficking Task Force, the Tiffin, Ohio Police Department, the Syracuse, New York Police Department, and the New York State Police. Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Paul Tuck prosecuted Hullihen as part of Project Safe Childhood. 

    Launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice, Project Safe Childhood is led by United States Attorney’s Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS).  Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit https://www.justice.gov/psc.

    MIL Security OSI –

  • MIL-OSI Security: Chinese National Indicted for Money Laundering Conspiracy Involving Walmart Gift Cards

    Source: Office of United States Attorneys

    SYRACUSE, NEW YORK – Jun Wang, age 62, a Chinese national and lawful permanent resident of the United States who has lived in Florida and Texas for most of the past 26 years, has been charged by indictment with conspiracy to commit money laundering. United States Attorney Carla B. Freedman and Craig L. Tremaroli Special Agent in Charge of the Albany Field Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), made the announcement. 

    The indictment alleges that between June 2019 and June 2021 Wang received gift cards which had been obtained from victims of wire fraud schemes in the Northern District of New York and elsewhere and that he used the fraudulently obtained gift cards – totaling more than $2 million – at Walmart and Sam’s Club stores in Florida and other states to buy other gift cards and thereby disguise the source and nature of the funds obtained from the fraud victims.

    The charge filed against Wang carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in federal prison, a fine of up to twice the value of the allegedly laundered funds, or $4 million in this case, and a term of supervised release of up to 3 years. A defendant’s sentence is imposed by a judge based on the statute the defendant is charged with violating, the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other factors.

    Wang was arrested several weeks ago at Los Angeles International Airport, and arraigned this week in Binghamton, New York, before Magistrate Judge Miroslav Lovric, after being transported to the Northern District of New York. Judge Lovric ordered Wang detained pending trial, which is expected to be held sometime in 2025 before Senior United States District Judge David N. Hurd.

    The charges in the indictment are merely accusations. The defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.

    The FBI is investigating the case, which is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Tamara B. Thomson and Michael F. Perry.

    MIL Security OSI –

  • MIL-OSI Security: Beverly Hills and Ventura County Men Indicted for Allegedly Running NFT Crypto Fraud that Conned Investors Out of More Than $22 Million

    Source: Office of United States Attorneys

    LOS ANGELES – A six-count indictment was unsealed today charging two Southern California men with defrauding investors of more than $22 million in cryptocurrency through a series of digital asset project “rugpulls,” a type of fraud scheme in which the creator of a nonfungible token (NFT) or other digital asset project solicits funds from investors for the project and then abruptly abandons the project and fraudulently retains investors’ funds.

    Gabriel Hay, 23, of Beverly Hills, and Gavin Mayo, 23, of Thousand Oaks, are each charged with one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, two counts of wire fraud, and one count of stalking.

    Their arraignments are scheduled for this afternoon in United States District Court in downtown Los Angeles.

    “Whenever a new investment trend occurs, scammers are sure to follow,” said United States Attorney Martin Estrada. “My office and our law enforcement partners will continue our efforts to protect consumers and punish wrongdoers involved in crypto fraud.”

    “Gabriel Hay and Gavin Mayo allegedly defrauded investors in digital asset projects of tens of millions of dollars and threatened an individual who attempted to expose their roles in these fraudulent schemes,” said Principal Deputy Attorney General Nicole M. Argentieri, head of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division. “Fraudsters take advantage of new technologies and financial products to steal investors’ hard-earned money. The department is committed to protecting investors and will continue to work with our law enforcement partners to root out fraud involving cryptocurrency and other digital assets and bring offenders to justice.”

    “For three years, Hay and Mayo allegedly lied to their investors in order to defraud them out of millions of dollars,” said HSI Executive Associate Director Katrina W. Berger. “Such technological fraud schemes cost investors millions of dollars every year. Just because such crimes aren’t violent does not mean they are victimless. HSI will continue to investigate, disrupt, and dismantle such cryptocurrency fraud networks.”

    According to court documents, from May 2021 to May 2024, Hay and Mayo sponsored several NFT and other digital asset projects and undertook promotional activities in support of those projects. Hay and Mayo allegedly made or caused others to make materially false and misleading statements regarding the digital asset projects being launched and provided false and misleading project “roadmaps” detailing plans for the NFTs or digital asset projects after their launch that the sponsors never intended to fulfill.

    For example, the indictment alleges that in promoting the Vault of Gems NFT project, Hay and Mayo falsely claimed that the project would be the “first NFT project to be pegged to a hard asset.” However, instead of pursuing the Vault of Gems project or others as they had represented they would, Hay and Mayo allegedly abandoned the projects after collecting millions in funds from investors.

    Hay, Mayo, and others allegedly used these tactics with a variety of other digital asset projects, including Vault of Gems, Faceless, Sinful Souls, Clout Coin, Dirty Dogs, Uncovered, MoonPortal, Squiggles, and Roost Coin. Hay and Mayo also allegedly used a variety of means to conceal their involvement in the fraudulent projects by falsely identifying other individuals or causing other individuals to be falsely identified as owners of the projects.

    When one project manager on the Faceless NFT project exposed Hay and Mayo as being behind that project, Hay and Mayo allegedly embarked on a harassment campaign against the project manager, sending or causing the sending of messages to the project manager and his parents for the purpose of intimidating him and his family and causing them great emotional distress.

    “Using NFTs to commit fraud not only exploits emerging technology but also erodes trust in the broader digital ecosystem,” said Special Agent in Charge Michael McCarthy of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI). “The alleged actions of Hay and Mayo, who defrauded investors out of millions over several years, highlight the profound harm these schemes cause. These crimes may not involve violence, but they leave countless victims in their wake. HSI remains dedicated to exposing and dismantling cryptocurrency fraud schemes to protect investors and ensure that technological advancements are used to drive progress, not deception.”

    An indictment is merely an allegation. All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

    If convicted, they each face a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison on each of the conspiracy and wire fraud counts and a maximum penalty of five years on the stalking count.

    The HSI Baltimore Field Office is investigating the case.

    Assistant United States Attorney Maxwell K. Coll of the Cyber and Intellectual Property Crimes Section and Justice Department Trial Attorneys Tian Huang and Tamara Livshiz of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section, both members of the National Cryptocurrency Enforcement Team (NCET), are prosecuting this case.

    The NCET was established to combat the growing illicit use of cryptocurrencies and digital assets. Within the Criminal Division’s Computer Crime and Intellectual Property Section, the NCET conducts and supports investigations into individuals and entities that are enabling the use of digital assets to commit and facilitate a variety of crimes, with a particular focus on virtual currency exchanges, mixing and tumbling services, and infrastructure providers. The NCET also works to set strategic priorities regarding digital asset technologies, identify areas for increased investigative and prosecutorial focus, and lead the department’s efforts to collaborate with domestic and foreign government agencies as well as the private sector to aggressively investigate and prosecute crimes involving cryptocurrency and digital assets. 

    MIL Security OSI –

  • MIL-OSI Security: U.S. Attorney, FBI Announce Federal Charges Against Arizona Man for Sexual Abuse

    Source: Office of United States Attorneys

    ALBUQUERQUE – A Whiteriver man has been charged with two counts of sexual abuse.

    The indictment alleges that between August 1, 2021, and August 31, 2021, Fernando Yatsatie, Jr., 47, a member of the Zuni Pueblo, unlawfully engaged in and attempted to engage in sexual acts using threats and intimidation.

    Yatsatie will remain in custody pending trial, which has not been scheduled. If convicted, Yatsatie faces any term of years up to life in prison.

    U.S. Attorney Alexander M.M. Uballez and Raul Bujanda, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI Albuquerque Field Office, made the announcement today.

    The Gallup Resident Agency of the FBI Albuquerque Field Office investigated this case with assistance from the Zuni Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney Nicholas J. Marshall is prosecuting the case.

    An indictment is merely an allegation. All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

    # # #

    MIL Security OSI –

  • MIL-OSI Security: Bank General Counsel Pleads Guilty to Offenses Stemming from $7.4 Million Embezzlement Scheme

    Source: Office of United States Attorneys

    JAMES BLOSE, 56, of Fairfield, waived his right to be indicted and pleaded guilty today in New Haven federal court to offenses stemming from a decade-long embezzlement scheme at banks where he served as General Counsel and held other high-ranking positions.

    The announcement was made by Vanessa Roberts Avery, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut; Robert Fuller, Special Agent in Charge of the New Haven Division of the Federal Bureau of Investigation; Harry T. Chavis, Jr., Special Agent in Charge of IRS Criminal Investigation in New England; and Brian Tucker, Special Agent in Charge of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System and the Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection’s Office of the Inspector General, Eastern Region.

    According to court documents and statements made in court, from approximately 2013 to January 2022, Blose was an attorney and held high-ranking positions, including General Counsel, at Hudson Valley Bank and Sterling National Bank.  From approximately January 2022, when Webster Bank acquired Sterling National Bank, until February 2023, Blose served as Executive Vice President and General Counsel and Corporate Secretary at Webster Bank.

    From approximately 2013 until Webster Bank discovered his scheme and his employment was terminated in February 2023, Blose defrauded his employers (“The Bank”) in various ways.  In certain commercial loan transactions where The Bank was the lender, Blose fraudulently retained for himself portions of closing costs, including legal fees.  In certain real estate transactions in which The Bank was the seller, Blose retained portions of the sale proceeds for himself.  For some of the real estate transactions, Blose created false documents in order to hide his theft from The Bank.  Blose also stole from The Bank in other ways.

    As part of the scheme, used his attorney trust accounts to make personal expenditures, and to transfer funds to accounts in the names of business entities he created and controlled, and then used those funds for his personal benefit.  Through this scheme, Blose stole approximately $7.4 million from his employers.

    Blose pleaded guilty to one count of bank fraud, which carries a maximum term of imprisonment of 30 years, and one count of engaging in illegal monetary transactions, which carries a maximum term of imprisonment of 10 years.  He is released on a $250,000 bond pending sentencing, which is scheduled for March 13 in Hartford.

    This investigation has been conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Internal Revenue Service – Criminal Investigation, and the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System and the Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection’s Office of the Inspector General.  Financial crimes investigators from Webster Bank assisted the investigation.

    This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Michael S. McGarry and Ross Weingarten.

    MIL Security OSI –

  • MIL-OSI New Zealand: Road Closed, SH1, Horeke

    Source: New Zealand Police (District News)

    State Highway One is closed following a serious crash in Horeke this morning.

    Emergency services were alerted to the single vehicle crash on State Highway One near Rangiahua Road at around 9.20am.

    Initial indications suggest there are serious injuries.

    The Serious Crash Unit has been advised.

    The road is closed, and diversions are in place.

    Motorists are advised to avoid the area and expect delays.

    ENDS

    MIL OSI New Zealand News –

  • MIL-OSI New Zealand: Police respond to family harm incident in Blenheim

    Source: New Zealand Police (National News)

    Attribute to Marlborough Area Commander Inspector Simon Feltham

    Police remain near a residential address in Blenheim this morning following a family harm-related incident.

    Police were called to a house on Park Terrace about 5.10pm yesterday, after a man carrying a firearm arrived at the address, where he is known.

    Two occupants were inside at the time, and one was able to get to safety. The other person remains inside the property with the man.

    The Police Negotiation Team is at the scene and no injuries have been reported. We are focused on the welfare of both people inside the address and are working hard to resolve this peacefully.

    As a precaution, neighbours of the address were asked to stay in temporary accommodation last night, and we are keeping them informed of developments.

    The incident is confined to the address and there is no risk to the wider community. A section of Park Terrace is cordoned off and we ask that people avoid the area.

    Information will be released proactively, when we are in a position to do so.

    ENDS

    Issued by the Police Media Centre

    MIL OSI New Zealand News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Sixteen Cardiology Practices to Pay a Total of $17.7M to Resolve False Claims Act Allegations Concerning Inflated Medicare Reimbursements

    Source: US State Government of Utah

    Sixteen separate cardiology practices and associated physicians, located across 12 states, have agreed to pay amounts totaling $17,761,564 to resolve allegations that they each violated the False Claims Act by overbilling Medicare for diagnostic radiopharmaceuticals.

    Diagnostic radiopharmaceuticals are radioisotopes bound to biological molecules that target specific organs, tissues or cells within the human body and are used to diagnose and, in some cases, treat certain cancers and diseases. In 13 states and the District of Columbia, Medicare Part B reimburses healthcare providers for diagnostic radiopharmaceuticals based on the provider’s acquisition cost. In those jurisdictions, Medicare’s contractors have published guidance explaining the reimbursement methodology and providers’ obligation to accurately report their invoice costs for diagnostic radiopharmaceuticals. The government alleged that the settling cardiology practices regularly reported inflated acquisition costs to Medicare for these drugs. In each of the settlements, the conduct occurred for at least a year, and in some instances, the conduct extended over a period of more than 10 years.

    “The financial stability of federal healthcare programs depends upon providers complying with applicable billing rules,” said Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Brian M. Boynton, head of the Justice Department’s Civil Division. “We are committed to ensuring that Medicare funds are expended appropriately and to pursuing those who knowingly fail to do so.”

    The settling medical practices and associated physicians have agreed to pay the following amounts:

    • Western Kentucky Heart & Lung Associates PSC and Mohammed Kazimuddin ($6,750,000)
    • Heart Clinic of Paris P.A. and Arjumand Hashmi ($2,600,000)
    • Scranton Cardiovascular Physician Services LLC ($2,369,111)
    • Shannon Clinic ($996,856)
    • Edward W. Leahey M.D. Professional Association and Edward Leahey ($894,679)
    • Metropolitan Cardiovascular Consultants LLC and Ayim Djamson ($846,888)
    • Cardiology Center of New Jersey LLC, Mario Criscito, Frank Iacovone, and Sameer Kaul ($740,000)
    • Clovis Cardiology Associates LLC and Mahamadu Fuseini ($600,000)
    • Family Medical Specialty Clinic PLLC, Melecio Abordo, and June Abadilla ($409,594)
    • James R. Higgins M.D. Inc. and James Higgins ($395,537)
    • TrustCare Health LLC ($279,407)
    • Taj Medical Inc. ($240,000)
    • White River Diagnostic Clinic PLC, Margaret Kuykendall, and Seth Barnes ($234,490)
    • Veinguard Heart & Vascular Center P.C. and Fareeha Khan ($195,000)
    • Boulder Medical Center PC ($160,000)
    • Wellspring Cardiac Care P.A. ($50,000).

    “Practices and providers who overcharge the government and fail to return overpayments compromise our healthcare programs,” said U.S. Attorney Matthew M. Graves for the District of Columbia. “When people see the wrong and report it, we have the tool we need to put a stop to this type of irresponsible conduct. So, I applaud the whistleblowers who came forward in this case.”

    “These practitioners overbilled the Medicare program by grossly exaggerating the acquisition costs of drugs used in diagnostic imaging of the heart,” said U.S. Attorney Michael A. Bennett for the Western District of Kentucky. “This office is committed to protecting our federal health care programs, and we will hold accountable anyone who seeks to exploit them.”

    “Medicare providers are required to be honest and accurate in the costs they report for reimbursement,” said Special Agent in Charge Maureen Dixon of the Department of Health and Human Services Office of the Inspector General (HHS-OIG). “HHS-OIG will continue to work with our law enforcement partners to investigate alleged false claims act violations and ensure the integrity of the Medicare program. ”

    The civil settlement includes the resolution of claims brought under the qui tam or whistleblower provisions of the False Claims Act by relators Jasjit Walia and Preet Randhawa in the District of Columbia and the Western District of Kentucky. Under those provisions, a private party can file an action on behalf of the United States and receive a portion of any recovery. The whistleblowers will receive a total of more than $2.7 million from the settlements announced today.

    The resolution obtained in this matter was the result of a coordinated effort between the Justice Department’s Civil Division, Commercial Litigation Branch, Fraud Section and the U.S. Attorneys’ Offices for the District of Columbia and Western District of Kentucky, with assistance from the HHS Office of Counsel to the Inspector General and Office of Investigations.

    The investigation and resolution of this matter illustrates the government’s emphasis on combating healthcare fraud. One of the most powerful tools in this effort is the False Claims Act. Tips and complaints from all sources about potential fraud, waste, abuse and mismanagement, can be reported to HHS at 800-HHS-TIPS (800-447-8477).

    Trial Attorney James Nealon of the Justice Department’s Civil Division and Assistant U.S. Attorneys Ben Schecter, Matt Weyand, John Truong and Stephen DeGenaro for the District of Columbia handled the matter.

    The claims resolved by the settlements are allegations only. There has been no determination of liability.

    View the Heart Clinic of Paris settlement agreement here.

    View the Leahey settlement agreement here.

    View the Scranton settlement agreement here.

    View the Metropolitan settlement agreement here.

    View the Shannon Clinic settlement agreement here.

    View the Family Medical Specialty Clinic settlement agreement here.

    View the Taj Medical settlement agreement here.

    View the TrustCare settlement agreement here.

    View the Veinguard settlement agreement here.

    View the Wellspring settlement agreement here.

    View the White River settlement agreement here.

    View the WKHL settlement agreement here.

    View the Boulder Medical Center settlement agreement here.

    View the CCNJ settlement agreement here.

    View the Clovis settlement agreement here.

    View the Higgins settlement agreement here.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI Security: FBI and Cincinnati Police Announce $15,000 Reward in Death of 5-Year-Old Arty Stanford

    Source: Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) State Crime News

    The FBI and the Cincinnati Police Department today announced a reward of up to $15,000 for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the individual(s) responsible for the death of Artagist “Arty” Stanford III.

    “Arty’s family has suffered greatly since this shooting and anyone responsible for his death should be held accountable,” stated FBI Cincinnati Special Agent in Charge Elena Iatarola. “Someone in our community knows what happened that night and who was involved. We need anyone with information to do the right thing and contact law enforcement.”

    “Silence protects the wrong people,” said Cincinnati Police Chief Teresa Theetge. “Someone knows what happened. Someone holds the key to bringing closure to Arty’s family. Please speak up and help us bring justice for Arty.”

    On October 24, 2024, at approximately 5:48 a.m., the Cincinnati Emergency Communications Center received a report of a drive-by shooting at a house on Holland Drive. Initially, residents believed there were no injuries and the house only received damage from the gunfire. When police arrived, family members found five-year-old Artagist “Arty” Stanford III suffering from a gunshot wound to the head in an upstairs bedroom. There were at least seven bullet impact marks or bullet holes in the front of the house. One of the bullets passed through the front exterior wall into a second-floor bedroom and struck Arty in the head.

    Arty was taken to the hospital for treatment which included multiple surgeries. On October 26, 2024, Arty succumbed to his injuries and his death was ruled a homicide.

    Anyone with information regarding this incident is asked to call the FBI at 1-800-Call-FBI or Crime Stoppers at 513-352-3040.

    MIL Security OSI –