Mario and Gladys Fuertes Arrested for Operating Clinic to Defraud Medicare #HealthCareFraud

United States Attorney A. Lee Bentley, III announces the unsealing of an indictment charging Miami residents Gladys Fuertes (40) and her husband Mario Fuertes (38) with conspiracy, health care fraud, aggravated identity theft, and obstructing a healthcare investigation. The Fuerteses were arrested on in Miami. If convicted, each faces a maximum penalty of 10 years in federal prison on each of the conspiracy and health care fraud counts and five years on each of the obstruction counts, as well as mandatory sentences of two years in prison for each of the aggravated identity theft counts. The indictment also notifies the couple that the United States is seeking a money judgment in the amount of $266,423.20, which is traceable to the proceeds of the alleged criminal conduct.

According to the indictment, Gladys and Mario Fuertes established and operated a sham clinic in Coral Gables, Florida, for the purpose of committing health care fraud. The clinic was called Gables Medical and Therapy Center. The Fuerteses allegedly employed unlicensed medical professionals and misused the Medicare billing numbers of other medical professionals, without their knowledge, in order to claim that they rendered medical treatment to Gables patients. Gladys and Mario Fuertes also paid a co-conspirator to recruit Medicare beneficiaries for Gables and to drive patients to the clinic for basic and sham medical services.

Once recruited, Gladys and Mario Fuertes urged the Gables patients to enroll in Universal’s Medicare Part C and Part D plans. They believed Universal paid a relatively high percentage of its claims. Gladys and Mario Fuertes fraudulently billed Universal and caused Universal’s Medicare Part C plan to be billed for Gables patients’ supposed treatments. The treatments included expensive HIV-related treatments that patients never actually received. Gladys and Mario Fuertes also billed Universal and caused Universal to be billed for services that required a physician’s presence when no licensed physician was present or rendered the service.

The defendants and their co-conspirators paid the Medicare beneficiaries, who were recruited to come to Gables for their Medicare identification numbers, to allow Gables to bill Universal for services that were never rendered. In addition, Gladys and Mario Fuertes facilitated the provision of fraudulent prescriptions for controlled substances, including oxycodone, to Gables patients. In some cases, the signatures on the prescriptions were forged. The patients who received these oxycodone prescriptions were assisted in filling them by a co-conspirator. The co-conspirator also purchased the pills from some of the patients and sold them on the street.

Once they learned of the federal health care fraud investigation into their actions, Gladys and Mario Fuertes instructed Gables patients to lie to law enforcement agents and otherwise obstruct a federal investigation into health care fraud at Gables. The Fuerteses also provided altered Medicare billing documentation to federal agents investigating their activities.

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Richard Zanco Pleads Guilty to Illegally Laundering More Than $343,000

Richard Zanco, age 44, of Slidell, Louisiana, plead guilty as charged before United States District Judge Susie Morgan to money laundering, announced United States Attorney Kenneth Allen Polite, Jr.

According to court documents, in about May 2012, Zanco learned that someone had opened a brokerage account in his name and used that account to acquire collateralized mortgage obligations (CMOs), a type of bond that bore value from interest generated upon its sale by fraudulent means. Even though he knew that the CMOs did not belong to him, Zanco gained control of the accounts and arranged for the interest proceeds of the CMOs to be diverted to other financial accounts under his control. Between about March 11, 2013 and September 19, 2013, Zanco used the funds, totaling approximately $343,998.82, to engage in a variety of financial transactions for his personal use, including purchasing multiple automobiles and at least one boat.

Zanco faces a maximum penalty of 10 years, followed by up to three years of supervised release, and a $250,000 fine. Sentencing has been scheduled before Judge Morgan for July 2, 2014.

This case is being investigated by agents from the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Internal Revenue Service. The prosecution of this case is being handled by Assistant United States Attorneys Jordan Ginsberg and Dan Friel.

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John Silvia, Disbarred Attorney, Indicted on Fraud Charges

A disbarred Somerset attorney was indicted on fraud charges arising out of his promotion of various fraudulent investments.

John Silvia, 55, purportedly the “managing member” of Richardson Consulting LLC, was charged with securities, mail, and wire fraud. He was arrested on February 7, 2014.

Silvia, who was licensed to practice law in Massachusetts in 1975, has been disbarred since 2003. He was charged based on his promotion of various fraudulent investments, including investments in real estate and Advance Space Monitor LLC (ASM), a technology company with which he was affiliated. According to the indictment, Silvia obtained money from various individuals based on false representations regarding certain real estate transactions and his purported ability to transfer interests in ASM. Specifically, Silvia issued promissory notes based on the false representation that he was investing the money in real estate transactions that would yield profits within a short amount of time, thereby allowing him to re-pay the notes. In fact, Silvia was not engaged in such transactions. Silvia also falsely represented that he was entitled to receive shares in ASM in exchange for investment money. In fact, Silvia was not entitled to receive shares of ASM, as he had represented, and was not permitted to assign any interests in ASM.

If convicted, Silvia faces the statutory maximum penalties for the securities fraud charges are 20 years in prison, five years of supervised release, and a $5 million fine. The statutory maximum penalties for the mail and wire fraud charges are 20 years in prison, three years of supervised release, and a fine of $250,000 or twice the gain to the defendant or loss to the victim.

United States Attorney Carmen M. Ortiz and Vincent B. Lisi, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Boston Field Division, made the announcement. The Massachusetts Securities Division, which filed an administrative complaint charging Silvia with violation of Massachusetts securities laws, referred this case to the U.S. Attorney’s Office and cooperated with the criminal investigation. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Sarah E. Walters of Ortiz’s Economic Crimes Unit.

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Investigative Journalist Mel Ayton Pens #JusticeDenied about Intrigue, Assassinations and Black Power in Bermuda

Justice Denied - Bermuda’s Black Militants, the “Third Man,” and the Assassinations of a Police Chief and Governor is the first full account of the 1972/1973 assassinations of Bermuda’s governor, Richard Sharples, and police chief, George Duckett. The book includes a Foreword by Dr. Carol Shuman, a former journalist with the Bermuda Sun and Mid Ocean News.

During the 1970s, a black power organization in Bermuda, which modeled itself on the American Black Panthers, conspired to bring about social change “by any means necessary,” including assassination. The struggle for equal rights in Bermuda during this period both imitated events in the United States and was heavily influenced by them. This is especially true for the role American black militants played in encouraging Bermuda’s youth to challenge the white power structure on the island. Bermuda became the first nation to suffer the violent effects of the importation of 1960s-style American Black Power militancy. As a result, Governor Sharples, Police Chief George Duckett and others were murdered.

Justice Denied points the finger of guilt at a faction of the black militant group led by the ‘Third Man’, who controlled the convicted assassins. The author names the Bermuda businessman, a convicted drug dealer who assisted the assassins in financing their political aims through drug deals and bank robberies. Ayton also concludes that the real story about the assassinations was ‘whitewashed’ by consecutive Bermudian governments in the interests of racial harmony.

This investigative book is based on interviews with police officers involved in the investigation into the assassinations and murders, as well as interviews with prison officers familiar with two members of the assassination team. Additional material for the book was gleaned from the previously secret Scotland Yard murder files, British Foreign Office files, court records, newspaper archives and interviews with the Bermudian governor’s widow.

Paul Donnelley, author of 501 Most Notorious Crimes, says of Justice Denied, "Murders in paradise... Mel Ayton has proved in previous books that he has a consummate skill for unraveling the facts behind conspiracies or debunking them where they don't exist (JFK, RFK, MLK to name but three). His latest book is no exception. It reads like a thriller, but every word is true and his telling of racism, riots, murders, and cover-ups on Bermuda makes this an unputdownable page-turner."

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Attorney General Eric Holder Issues Statement on Same-Sex Marriages in Michigan

Attorney General Eric Holder issued the following statement today on the status of same-sex marriages performed in the state of Michigan:

“I have determined that the same-sex marriages performed last Saturday in Michigan will be recognized by the federal government.  These families will be eligible for all relevant federal benefits on the same terms as other same-sex marriages. The Governor of Michigan has made clear that the marriages that took place on Saturday were lawful and valid when entered into, although Michigan will not extend state rights and benefits tied to these marriages pending further legal proceedings.  For purposes of federal law, as I announced in January with respect to similarly situated same-sex couples in Utah, these Michigan couples will not be asked to wait for further resolution in the courts before they may seek federal benefits to which they are entitled.

“Last June’s decision by the Supreme Court in United States v. Windsor was a victory for equal protection under the law and a historic step toward equality for all American families.  The Department of Justice continues to work with its federal partners to implement this decision across the government.  And we will remain steadfast in our commitment to realizing our country’s founding ideals of equality, opportunity, and justice for all.”

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