TUSCALOOSA, AL This week, Chief U.S. District Judge L. Scott Coogler sentenced two dozen defendants who were part of a major conspiracy to commit health care fraud, announced U.S. Attorney Prim F. Escalona, Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation Special Agent in Charge James E. Dorsey, Federal Bureau of Investigation Special Agent in Charge Johnnie Sharp, Jr., U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Inspector General, Special Agent in Charge Derrick L. Jackson, Defense Criminal Investigative Service Special Agent in Charge Cynthia Bruce, and United States Postal Inspector in Charge, Houston Division, Adrian Gonzalez.
The defendants sentenced included an array of company executives and managers, a prescriber, billers, and sales representatives. Among those sentenced this week were:
April 29, 2021 Earlier today, in federal court in Brooklyn, Abed Ahmad and his brother Alaa Ahmad, pleaded guilty before United States District Judge Eric N. Vitaliano to bank fraud conspiracy and conspiracy to commit aggravated identity theft relating to a scheme to defraud JPMorgan Chase & Co. and its customers. Abed Ahmad also pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit money laundering and one count of aggravated identity theft.
UCLA RESEARCH BRIEF
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Under the Affordable Care Act, the secretary of health and human services is authorized to prohibit payment for services given a “D” rating by the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force, the researchers say. Enrique Rivero |
FINDINGS
A UCLA-led study shows that physicians frequently order preventive medical services for adult Medicare beneficiaries that are considered unnecessary and of “low value” by the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force at a cost of $478 million per year.
The researchers analyzed national survey data over a 10-year period, looking specifically at seven preventive services given a “D” rating by the task force, and discovered that these services were ordered more than 31 million times annually.
Air Force veteran pleads guilty in scams to fleece other veterans
This article was updated to include additional information about Copeland’s Air Force service. An Air Force veteran in Portsmouth, Va., has pleaded guilty in federal court to charges of wire fraud and aggravated identity theft in connection with various schemes to scam veterans, according to Department of Justice officials. Rita Copeland, 59, operated an organization called “Veteran Services of the Commonwealth,” claiming to provide caregiving, contracting, and rental assistance services to veterans from 2016 through 2020, according to a court document filed with the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia. She also at times operated a contracting business.
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A New Jersey woman considered a pioneer of commercial diving instruction admitted Wednesday that she submitted bogus documents to receive federal funds that her school wasn’t entitled to, federal authorities said.
Tamara Brown, 57, of Haddon Heights, began submitting false information to keep her Divers Academy International just outside of Philadelphia accredited beginning in 2012, Acting U.S. Attorney Rachael A. Honig said.
As a for-profit institution, the diving school required accreditation to be eligible to receive tuition funds from the U.S. Department of Education and the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Honig said.
The process also helps evaluate the eligibility of veteran students to receive the aid, she said.