MIL Security Engine-1

Source: US FBI

LOS ANGELES – The president of an entertainment production company, who pleaded guilty earlier this year to embezzling more than $200,000 from a television production, has agreed to plead guilty to new criminal conduct – this time, misappropriating more than $182,000 from investors in various television productions, the Justice Department announced today.

David Ozer, 59, of Roslyn Heights, New York, has agreed to plead guilty to one count of wire fraud, which carries a statutory maximum penalty of 20 years in federal prison. Ozer previously entered a guilty plea to a separate wire fraud charge on October 22.

Ozer is expected to make his initial appearance in United States District Court in downtown Los Angeles on January 24, 2025.

As he previously admitted as part of his guilty plea, Ozer is a producer and the president of Strong Studios Inc., a production company based in Charlotte, North Carolina. According to his plea agreement, Ozer swindled Ravenwood-Productions LLC, the principal financial backer of “Safehaven,” a supernatural thriller television series, by misappropriating approximately $214,486 in production funds from bank accounts for the production. Ozer also created fraudulent accounting records, including falsified invoices, and forged a letter purportedly from his accountant.

After news of Ozer’s first plea agreement was announced, additional victims came forward. As Ozer has admitted in his new plea agreement filed today, he enticed two victims to loan him money in connection with a television series titled “Endangered.” In return, Ozer’s victims were promised executive producer credits. He also solicited funds from another victim in connection with drafting a script. Despite Ozer’s claims that the script development was in progress, the victim learned from the screenwriter that the script neither had been written nor was the screenwriter paid by Ozer. Instead, Ozer misappropriated the three victims’ funds, which totaled approximately $182,500.

To create the false appearance that the misappropriated funds had been used for their intended purpose, Ozer created fraudulent documents, including falsified bank records, as well as forged correspondence from another producer.

Ozer is scheduled to be sentenced by United States District Judge Stanley Blumenfeld Jr. in his first fraud case on January 28, 2025.

The FBI is investigating this matter.

Assistant United States Attorneys Alexander B. Schwab of the Corporate and Securities Fraud Strike Force and Matt Coe-Odess of the General Crimes Section are prosecuting this case.

Source: US FBI

LOS ANGELES – A Long Beach man was sentenced today to 80 months in federal prison for participating in the March 2022 daylight smash-and-grab robbery of a Beverly Hills jewelry store in which nearly $2.7 million worth of merchandise was stolen.

Jimmy Lee Vernon III, 33, was sentenced by United States District Judge George H. Wu, who also ordered Vernon to pay $2,674,600 in restitution.

Vernon pleaded guilty on August 1 to one count of interference with commerce by robbery (Hobbs Act). He has been in federal custody since September 2022.

“This defendant took part in a blatant assault on a store operating in daylight hours, believing he could rob and intimidate others with impunity,” said United States Attorney Martin Estrada. “Now, he will serve a lengthy sentence in federal prison. Our office and our law enforcement partners will not tolerate these sorts of brazen attacks on our community.”

On March 22, 2022, Vernon committed a robbery of the Luxury Jewels of Beverly Hills store. Vernon used heavy tools to smash the store’s display case while employees were present, causing fear of injury to people inside the store.

Vernon then removed jewelry and other items from the store display cases valued at approximately $2,674,600. The merchandise consisted of approximately 19 bracelets, seven pairs of earrings, four necklaces, a pair of obelisks, eight rings, and 20 watches.

After the robbery, Vernon and his accomplices ran out of the store, leaving behind their Kia vehicle – which had been reported stolen out of Long Beach four days before the robbery. During the robbery, Vernon’s cellphone fell out of his sweatpants pocket while he smashed the jewelry store’s window, was left behind and later recovered by law enforcement, according to an affidavit previously filed in this case.

Two days after the robbery, one of Vernon’s accomplices posted on his Instagram account numerous photographs that included large stacks of money and a message praising his “robbery gang,” according to court documents.

As for Vernon’s co-defendants, Deshon Bell, 22, of Long Beach, pleaded guilty in December 2023 to one count of Hobbs Act robbery and is serving a federal prison sentence of one year and one day. Ladell Tharpe, 39, of Long Beach, pleaded guilty on September 30 to one count of Hobbs Act robbery and awaits a January 6, 2025, sentencing hearing.

The FBI and the Beverly Hills Police Department investigated this matter.

Assistant United States Attorneys Kevin J. Butler of the Violent and Organized Crime Section and Kevin B. Reidy of the Major Frauds Section prosecuted this case.

Source: US FBI

TEXARKANA – A Texarkana, Arkansas, man was sentenced today to 30 years in prison, followed by lifetime supervised release, on one count of Sexual Exploitation of a Minor via Production of Child Pornography.  There is no parole in the federal system.  The Honorable Chief Judge Susan O. Hickey presided over the sentencing hearing in the U.S. District Court in Texarkana.

According to court documents, Michael Ray Beam, age 32, used the social media service Snapchat to induce a 13-year-old Texarkana, Arkansas, girl to send him nude images and videos of herself, amounting to child pornography under federal law.  The victim told authorities that Beam had left a “vape” device in her home mailbox in exchange for her sending him images and videos of herself engaging in specific sexual acts.  Using the Snapchat service, Beam had been able view the victim’s real-time physical location, at her Texarkana, Arkansas, residence.  Following Beam’s arrest on state charges, investigators obtained a warrant to search a smart phone found in his possession.  In Beam’s phone, investigators found multiple ‘screen capture’ video recordings of the child pornography he had received via Snapchat from the young victim.   

Beam was indicted by a Grand Jury sitting in the Western District of Arkansas in September 2021, and entered a plea of guilty in March 2022.   

U.S. Attorney David Clay Fowlkes of the Western District of Arkansas made the announcement.

The Miller County Sheriff’s Department, the Wake Village, Texas, Police Department, and the FBI investigated the case.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Graham Jones prosecuted the case.

This case was prosecuted as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. Led by U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and 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 www.justice.gov/psc.

Source: US FBI

      LITTLE ROCK—A Bigelow man was sentenced to serve 25 years in federal prison for producing child pornography. Jakob Brown, 26, was sentenced today by United States District Court Judge Brian S. Miller.

      In April 2020, Conway Police Department received a report about a male harassing and extorting a female victim on Facebook and SnapChat.  The user of those social media accounts was determined to be Brown, who is a registered sex offender.  Brown was arrested for sexual extortion, and his phone was seized.  A search of Brown’s cell phone revealed 18 videos and 87 images of child sexual abuse material.  Several of the videos were of prepubescent females approximately four-to-five years old performing sex acts.  The FBI then obtained search warrants for Brown’s SnapChat accounts and discovered conversations Brown had with a minor female victim, beginning in February 2020.

      During Brown’s conversations with the minor female victim on SnapChat, Brown offered to pay the minor for sexually-explicit videos, stating “everything has to show face and send the pictures and videos to chat.”  After some discussion, the minor sent a 35-second video of herself engaged in explicit sexual conduct to Brown, as directed.      

      Brown was indicted in December 2020 and pleaded guilty in June 2022. In addition to the 25-year prison term, Brown was sentenced to 20 years of supervised release following his imprisonment. The case was investigated by the FBI and the Conway Police Department and prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Kristin Bryant.

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This news release, as well as additional information about the office of the

United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Arkansas, is available online at

https://www.justice.gov/edar

Twitter:

@EDARNEWS

Source: US FBI

      LITTLE ROCK—A Palestine man was sentenced to life in prison for conspiracy to commit sex trafficking of a six-year-old child. Mario Waters, 34, was sentenced today by United States District Judge Brian S. Miller.

      In February 2018, a six-year-old child was taken to Arkansas Children’s Hospital due to symptoms that were later determined to be caused by several sexually transmitted diseases. The child was interviewed by an FBI forensic interviewer and disclosed that a man, later determined to be DeMarcus George, had raped her. The child also disclosed that another man, later determined to be Mario Waters, had also raped her. The child told interviewers that the rape occurred in a hotel room with a curtain in the middle of the room, and she described a picture hanging on the wall in the hotel room.  According to the child, on at least one occasion, Waters came to the hotel room where she was with George; Waters raped her; and Waters gave George money.

      Law enforcement was able to locate a hotel in Little Rock that matched the description provided by the minor, including the picture on the wall and the curtain in the room. Financial records from the hotel showed that the minor’s mother had rented a room at the hotel in March 2018 and paid with a credit card. The child has since been removed from the mother’s custody.

      Doctors at Arkansas Children’s Hospital determined that it was unlikely the child had obtained each sexually transmitted disease from the same offender and that there were likely multiple offenders. Officers obtained search warrants for George and Waters’ blood and urine. Results indicated that George and Waters tested positive for sexually transmitted diseases that the minor had contracted.

      Both George and Waters were indicted in September 2019, and both pleaded guilty in November 2021. Both defendants admitted in court that they had sexual contact with the minor and were involved in trafficking her with others.  George was sentenced to life in prison on October 25, 2022. There is no parole in the federal system.

      The case was investigated by the FBI and the Little Rock Police Department. Assistant United States Attorney Kristin Bryant prosecuted the case.

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This news release, as well as additional information about the office of the

United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Arkansas, is available online at

https://www.justice.gov/edar

Twitter:

@EDARNEWS

Source: US FBI

            WASHINGTON – An Arkansas man pleaded guilty today to the felony charge of assaulting a Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) Officer during the Jan. 6, 2021 Capitol Breach. His actions and the actions of others disrupted a joint session of the U.S. Congress convened to ascertain and count the electoral votes related to the presidential election.

            Peter Francis Stager, 43, of Conway, Arkansas, pleaded guilty to assaulting, resisting, or impeding certain officers using a deadly or dangerous weapon. A sentencing hearing is scheduled for July 24, 2023.

            According to court documents, on Jan. 6, 2021, Stager was part of a large, armed mob on the Lower West Terrace of the U.S. Capitol building. After other members of the crowd pulled MPD Officer B.M. off of the police line and down a set of steps, Stager repeatedly struck Officer B.M. with a flagpole while the officer was prone on the steps. On January 6, 2021, Stager was recorded pointing to the U.S. Capitol building and stating, “Everybody in there is a disgrace. That entire building is filled with treasonous traitors. Death is the only remedy for what’s in that building.”  He also stated, “every single one of those Capitol law enforcement officers, death is the remedy, that is the only remedy they get.”

            Stager was arrested on January 14, 2021.

            This case is being prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia and the Counterterrorism Section of the U.S. Department of Justice’s National Security Division, with assistance from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Arkansas.

            The case is being investigated by the FBI’s Little Rock Field Office and Washington Field Office, which listed Stager as #80 on its seeking information photos. Valuable assistance was provided by the Metropolitan Police Department and the U.S. Capitol Police.

            In the 25 months since Jan. 6, 2021, more than 985 individuals have been arrested in nearly all 50 states for crimes related to the breach of the U.S. Capitol, including approximately 319 individuals charged with assaulting or impeding law enforcement. The investigation remains ongoing. 

            Anyone with tips can call 1-800-CALL-FBI (800-225-5324) or visit tips.fbi.gov.

Source: US FBI

TEXARKANA – An Ashdown man was sentenced today to 360 months in prison without the possibility of parole, followed by 20 years supervised release, on one count of Production of Child Pornography.  The Honorable Chief Judge Susan O. Hickey presided over the sentencing hearing in the U.S. District Court in Texarkana.

According to court documents, in November of 2018 the Federal Bureau of Investigation in Texarkana, Arkansas received information from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children that an individual had uploaded to the internet multiple images depicting the sexual abuse of a five-year old female. The subsequent investigation identified the defendant, Aaron Llyod Mitchell, age 25, as the individual who posted the images to the internet. On November 21, 2018, FBI agents conducted a search of Mitchell’s residence. During a post-Miranda interview, Mitchell admitted to producing the images of the five-year-old and uploading them to the internet. On December 13, 2018, Mitchell was indicted on multiple charges involving the sexual exploitation of a minor.  On June 20, 2019, Mitchell pleaded guilty to production of child pornography. 

U.S. Attorney David Clay Fowlkes of the Western District of Arkansas made the announcement.

The FBI investigated the case.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Dustin Roberts prosecuted the case.

This case was prosecuted as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. Led by U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and 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 www.justice.gov/psc.

Source: US FBI

PHOENIX, Ariz. – Morris Gary Hibbitt, 51, of Avondale, pleaded guilty on June 17, 2024, before United States Magistrate Judge John Z. Boyle to the felony charge of sexual abuse of an inmate.

On September 9, 2024, Chief United States District Judge G. Murray Snow will sentence Hibbitt.

At the time of the offense, Hibbitt worked as a Security Supervisor for Behavioral Systems Southwest (BSS), a residential reentry center in Phoenix. The Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) contracts with BSS to help inmates reenter the community when they complete their prison terms. Inmate wards at BSS remain in official detention and under the custodial authority of the BOP.

On May 21, 2023, while on duty as the Security Supervisor at BSS, Hibbitt sexually abused a female inmate under his supervision.

The investigation in this case was conducted by the Department of Justice Office of the Inspector General and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. The prosecution was handled by Kristen Brook, Assistant U.S. Attorney, District of Arizona, Phoenix.
 

CASE NUMBER:           CR-24-00993-PHX-GMS
RELEASE NUMBER:    2024-085_Hibbitt

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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.

Source: US FBI

PHOENIX, Ariz. – Today, United States Attorney Gary M. Restaino announced criminal charges against seven defendants in connection with alleged schemes to defraud Medicare and Medicaid (specifically AHCCCS, the Arizona Health Care Cost Containment System). The charges filed in federal court are part of the Department of Justice’s 2024 National Health Care Fraud Enforcement Action.

The charges in these cases stem from schemes to obtain, in the aggregate, hundreds of millions of dollars in fraudulent billings.  For example, Rita Anagho, acting primarily though her company, Tusa Integrated Clinic LLC (“TUSA”), was charged for fraudulently billing AHCCCS approximately $69.7 million for behavioral healthcare services.  ANAGHO primarily targeted AHCCCS’s American Indian Health Program (“AIHP”) and billed for services that were never provided or not provided as represented.  AHCCCS provides health care services to Native Americans through AIHP, and there has been widespread fraud reported in which residential and outpatient treatment centers recruited Native Americans and other individuals to exploit the AIHP under AHCCCS.  Many of the patients recruited for TUSA were Native Americans or other individuals who were enrolled in AIHP, and in some cases, patients were switched from their existing AHCCCS insurance plan to AIHP, regardless of whether the patient was Native American.

In another matter, Daud Koleosho and Adam Mutwol, acting primarily though their company, Community Hope Wellness Center LLC (“CHWC”), fraudulently billed AHCCCS approximately $57.7 million for behavioral health care services.  They too primarily targeted the AIHP, billed AHCCCS for services that were never provided, and overbilled for services that were provided, all to the detriment of the AIHP.

In another case, Alexandra Gehrke and Jeffrey King were charged for targeting elderly Medicare patients, many of whom were terminally ill in hospice care, for medically unnecessary wound grafts.  Medicare and other health care benefit programs paid over $600 million based on the false and fraudulent claims they submitted for these vulnerable beneficiaries.  Gehrke and King were arrested on June 17, 2024, at Sky Harbor International Airport as they were attempting to board a flight out of the country.

“It does not matter if you are a trafficker in a drug cartel or a corporate executive or medical professional employed by a health care company, if you profit from the unlawful distribution of controlled substances, you will be held accountable,” said Attorney General Merrick B. Garland. “The Justice Department will bring to justice criminals who defraud Americans, steal from taxpayer-funded programs, and put people in danger for the sake of profits.”

“These cases involve not just massive fraud to steal public funds, but also exploitation of vulnerable victims and the misappropriation of resources earmarked for Native American communities,” said U.S. Attorney Restaino.  “The U.S. Attorney’s Office and our investigative partners will pursue justice against those who perpetrate these sorts of schemes with the utmost vigor.”

The charges announced today by U.S. Attorney Restaino are part of a strategically coordinated, two-week nationwide law enforcement action that resulted in criminal charges against 193 defendants for their alleged participation in health care fraud and opioid abuse schemes that resulted in the submission of over $2.75 billion in alleged false billings. The defendants allegedly defrauded programs entrusted for the care of the elderly and disabled to line their own pockets, and the Government, in connection with the enforcement action, seized over $231 million in cash, luxury vehicles, gold, and other assets.

The Health Care Fraud Unit’s National Rapid Response, Florida, Gulf Coast, Los Angeles, Midwest, Northeast, and Texas Strike Forces; U.S. Attorneys’ Offices for the Southern District of Alabama, District of Arizona, Central District of California, Northern District of California, Southern District of California, District of Connecticut, Middle District of Florida, Southern District of Florida, Northern District of Illinois, Eastern District of Kentucky, Western District to Kentucky, Eastern District of Louisiana, Middle District of Louisiana, Western District of Louisiana, Eastern District of Michigan, Western District of Michigan, Southern District of Mississippi, District of Montana, District of New Jersey, Eastern District of New York, Eastern District of North Carolina, Western District of Oklahoma, District of Rhode Island, Eastern District of Tennessee, Middle District of Tennessee, Eastern District of Texas, Northern District of Texas, Southern District of Texas, Eastern District of Virginia, Western District of Virginia, Southern District of West Virginia, and Eastern District of Wisconsin; and State Attorney Generals’ Offices for Arizona, California, Illinois, Indiana, Louisiana, New York, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Puerto Rico, Rhode Island, and South Dakota are prosecuting the cases in the National Enforcement Action, with assistance from the Health Care Fraud Unit’s Data Analytics Team. Descriptions of each case involved in today’s enforcement action are available on the Department’s website here.

“We will not tolerate fraud that preys on patients who need and deserve high quality health care,” said the Honorable Christi A. Grimm, the Department of Health and Human Services Inspector General (HHS-OIG). “The hard work of the HHS-OIG team and our outstanding law enforcement partners makes today’s action possible. We must protect taxpayer dollars and keep Americans safe from harms to their health, privacy, and financial well-being.”

“Fraud against government funded health care systems not only costs taxpayers billions each year, but as we’ve seen in Arizona, deprives critical care and benefits for our most vulnerable populations,” said Brian Driscoll, acting special agent in charge of the FBI’s Phoenix Field Office.  “People who participate in this type of fraud will continue to catch the eye of the FBI.”

The following individuals have been charged in the District of Arizona as part of this National Enforcement Action: 
•           Alexandra Gehrke, charged by indictment on June 18, 2024; CR-24-01040-PHX-ROS
•           Jeffery King, charged by indictment on June 18, 2024; CR-24-01040-PHX-ROS
•           Bethany Jameson, charged by information June 24, 2024; CR-24-01068-PHX-DWL
•           Carlos Ching, charged by information June 24, 2024; CR-24-01075-PHX-MTL
•           Rita Anagho, charged by indictment on June 18, 2024; CR-24-01044-PHX-MTL
•           Adam Mutwol, charged by information June 25, 2024; CR-24-01097-PHX-SPL
•           Daud Koleosho, charged by information June 25, 2024; CR-24-01098-PHX-MTL

Alexandra Gehrke, 38, and Jeffrey King, 49, of Scottsdale, were charged by indictment with conspiracy, health care fraud, receiving kickbacks, and money laundering in connection with an alleged scheme to fraudulently bill Medicare $900 million for highly expensive amniotic allografts. The defendants targeted elderly Medicare patients, many of whom were terminally ill in hospice care, through their companies—Apex Mobile Medical LLC, Apex Medical LLC, Viking Medical Consultants LLC, and APX Mobile Medical LLC. The defendants caused unnecessary and extremely expensive amniotic grafts to be applied to these vulnerable patients’ wounds indiscriminately, without coordination with the patients’ treating physicians, without proper treatment for infection, to superficial wounds that did not need this treatment, and in sizes excessively larger than the wound. In just sixteen months, Medicare paid the defendants more than $600 million as a result of their fraud scheme, paying on average more than a million dollars per patient for these unnecessary grafts. The defendants received more than $330 million in illegal kickbacks from the graft distributor in exchange for purchasing and ordering the grafts billed to Medicare. Significant assets were seized upon the defendants’ arrests, including luxury vehicles, gold, and bank accounts totaling more than $70 million. The case is being prosecuted by Trial Attorney Shane Butland of the National Rapid Response Strike Force and Assistant U.S. Attorney Matthew Williams of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Arizona.

Bethany Jameson, 53, of Gilbert, is charged by information with conspiracy to commit wire fraud in connection with the APX scheme. As alleged in the information, Jameson was paid by Apex Mobile Medical and APX to apply medically unnecessary allografts to Medicare beneficiaries that were procured through kickbacks and bribes. Between November 2022 and August 2023, Apex Mobile Medical and APX billed Medicare over $71 million for allografts applied by Jameson. Medicare paid over $49 million based on those false and fraudulent claims. The case is being prosecuted by Trial Attorney Shane Butland of the National Rapid Response Strike Force and Assistant U.S. Attorney Matthew Williams of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Arizona.

Carlos Ching, 55, of Phoenix, is charged by information with conspiracy to commit health care fraud in connection with the APX scheme. As alleged in the information, Ching was paid by APX to apply medically unnecessary allografts to Medicare patients that were procured through kickbacks and bribes. Between June 2023 and January 2024, APX fraudulently billed Medicare over $87 million for allografts applied by Ching. Medicare paid APX over $65 million based on those false and fraudulent claims. And from January 2024 through March 2024, Ching, through his company H3 Medical Clinic LLC, billed Medicare over $5 million for allografts that he procured through kickbacks and bribes and applied to Medicare beneficiaries without medical necessity. Medicare paid over $4 million based on those false and fraudulent claims. The case is being prosecuted by Trial Attorney Shane Butland of the National Rapid Response Strike Force and Assistant U.S. Attorney Matthew Williams of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Arizona.

Rita Anagho, 52, of San Tan Valley, was charged by indictment with conspiracy to commit health care fraud, health care fraud, money laundering, and obstruction of justice in connection with an alleged $69 million scheme involving a substance abuse treatment clinic in Arizona. As alleged in the indictment, Anagho owned Tusa Integrated Clinic LLC (“Tusa”), an outpatient treatment center, which was purportedly in the business of providing addiction treatment services for persons suffering from alcohol and drug addiction. Tusa enrolled as a provider with Arizona’s Medicaid agency, Arizona Health Care Cost Containment System, and submitted false and fraudulent claims for services that were not provided, were not provided as billed, were so substandard that they failed to serve a treatment purpose, were not used as part of any treatment plan, and were medically unnecessary. Anagho also instructed former Tusa employees to create false therapy notes for sessions they did not conduct in 2023 after she was served with a subpoena for Tusa’s records as part of the government’s investigation of this fraud. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant Chief James Hayes and Trial Attorney Sarah Edwards of the National Rapid Response Strike Force and Assistant U.S. Attorney Matthew Williams of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Arizona.

Adam Mutwol, 45, of Tempe, and Daud Koleosho, 44, of Gilbert, were charged by separate informations with conspiracy to commit health care fraud in connection with an alleged $57 million substance abuse treatment fraud scheme. As alleged in the informations, Mutwol and Koleosho owned Community Hope Wellness Center LLC (“CHWC”), an outpatient treatment center, which was purportedly in the business of providing addiction treatment services for persons suffering from alcohol and drug addiction. CHWC enrolled as a provider with Arizona Medicaid. To obtain and retain patients for CHWC whose insurance could be billed for substance abuse treatment services, Mutwol and Koleosho offered and paid kickbacks and bribes to owners of residences that housed substance abuse treatment patients, in exchange for these residence owners referring patients for treatment to CHWC. Mutwol and Koleosho submitted $57 million of false and fraudulent claims to Arizona Medicaid for treatment services that were not provided, were not provided as billed, were not provided by qualified personnel, were so substandard that they failed to serve a treatment purpose, were not part of any treatment plan, and were medically unnecessary. The case is being prosecuted by Trial Attorney S. Babu Kaza of the Midwest Strike Force, Assistant Chief James Hayes of the National Rapid Response Strike Force, and Assistant U.S. Attorney Matthew Williams of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Arizona.

A complaint, information, or indictment is merely an allegation.  All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

The investigations in Arizona were conducted by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General (HHS-OIG); the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI); the Department of Veterans Affairs, Office of Inspector General (VA-OIG); and the Defense Criminal Investigative Service (DCIS).  The United States Attorney’s Office, District of Arizona, Phoenix, and the Department of Justice’s Criminal Division, Fraud Section, are handling these prosecutions.
 

CASE NUMBERS:                 CR-24-01040-PHX-ROS
                                               CR-24-01068-PHX-DWL
                                               CR-24-01075-PHX-MTL
                                               CR-24-01044-PHX-MTL
                                               CR-24-01097-PHX-SPL
                                               CR-24-01098-PHX-MTL
RELEASE NUMBER:    2024-085_ National Health Care Fraud Enforcement Action
 

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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.

Source: US FBI

TUCSON, Ariz. – Jose Castillo Hernandez, 40, of Richmond Hill, Georgia, was sentenced on Tuesday by United States District Judge Raner C. Collins to 27 months in prison, followed by three years of supervised release. On March 6, 2024, Castillo pleaded guilty to Cyberstalking.

Beginning in late 2017 through 2021, Castillo began to harass the victim – a co-worker – and the victim’s family by sending anonymous hateful messages and threats. His campaign of harassment included sending threats along with pictures of the victim to businesses patronized by the victim in multiple states. Castillo also placed a tracker on the victim’s car, and the messages escalated to detailed death threats.

The investigation was conducted by Fort Huachuca’s Criminal Investigations Division and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Assistant United States Attorney Carin C. Duryee, District of Arizona, Tucson, handled the prosecution.
 

CASE NUMBER:            CR 23-CR-01636-RCC
RELEASE NUMBER:    2024-084_Castillo

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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.