Middle District of Florida

Tampa, Florida – United States Attorney A. Lee Bentley, III announces that a federal jury yesterday found Joshua Anthony Rivera (28, Orlando) guilty of interfering with interstate commerce by robbery, brandishing a short-barreled shotgun in the course of committing those robberies, and possessing a firearm as a convicted felon. He faces a mandatory minimum term of 35 years, up to life, in federal prison. A sentencing hearing is scheduled for June 1, 2016. Rivera was indicted on August 26, 2015.

According to evidence presented at trial, between June 7 and June 17, 2015, Rivera robbed three convenience stores and a grocery store using a short-barreled shotgun. During the trial, victims of those robberies testified about their terrifying experiences, including one father whose young daughter had been with him during the robbery. In addition, surveillance videos revealed that the robber had worn some of the same articles of clothing during multiple robberies, particularly the same pair of athletic shoes. Trial evidence also showed that Rivera had used the same short-barreled shotgun during each robbery, and also had used the same Ford Expedition during at least two of the robberies.

When law enforcement officers arrested Rivera at his hotel, shortly after the last robbery, they found articles of clothing, the short-barreled shotgun, the Ford Expedition, and several other items matching those used during the robberies.

The case was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office, the Plant City Police Department, the Manatee County Sheriff’s Office, and the Pasco County Sheriff’s Office. It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Shauna S. Hale and Taylor G. Stout.

Tampa, Florida – U.S. District Judge Richard A. Lazzara today sentenced Desrick Gordon (23, St. Vincent and the Grenadines) to 10 years in federal prison for conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute 5 kilograms or more of cocaine. The Court also ordered him to forfeit $53,369, which is traceable to proceeds of the offense.  A jury found Gordon guilty on December 16, 2015.

According to evidence presented at trial, Gordon was part of a drug distribution ring that imported cocaine from Roatan, Honduras using cruise ship employees at several ports of call in the United States. Gordon, along with five other crewmen from Norwegian Cruise Line, received packages of cocaine from a source of supply in Honduras while the cruise ship was docked there. The packages ranged from 750 grams to a full kilogram of cocaine.

Once the ship had docked in Tampa, the crewmen gathered at a restaurant near the port to remove their secreted cocaine packages. They then met with two local drug traffickers, who had ties to the Honduran source of supply, to provide them with the packages of cocaine. The two local traffickers were stopped by law enforcement after leaving the Channelside District. Agents seized 10 packages of cocaine with a total weight of more than 7.5 kilograms. In addition, agents seized $53,369 from the crewmen. 

“The strong sentencing in this case is the culmination of great investigative casework conducted by Homeland Security Investigations special agents and highlights our joint efforts with our many law enforcement partners to keep our communities safe by preventing criminals from transporting dangerous narcotics into our country,” said Susan L. McCormick, special agent in charge of HSI Tampa.

This case was investigated by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations. It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Shauna S. Hale and Gregory Nolan.

Jacksonville, Florida – United States Attorney A. Lee Bentley, III announced today that a federal grand jury has returned a superseding indictment against Kyle Adam Kirby (35, Live Oak) charging him with production, attempted production, and possession of child pornography. If convicted, he faces a mandatory minimum penalty of 15 years, up to 30 years, in federal prison on each of the production and attempted production charges, and up to 30 years’ imprisonment on each of the possession charges. Kirby was arrested on October 27, 2015, and is being detained pending his trial. His arraignment on the superseding indictment is scheduled for March 24, 2016.

According to court documents, FBI agents and other law enforcement officers executed a federal search warrant at Kirby’s residence as the result of an online child pornography investigation. That same morning, the Live Oak police chief authorized the agents to inspect and search the computer located inside Kirby’s patrol car.  A forensic examination of the patrol car computer used by Kirby revealed that it contained images depicting minor children engaged in sexually explicit conduct. 

A superseding indictment is merely a formal charge that a defendant has violated one or more of the federal criminal laws, and every defendant is presumed innocent until, and unless, proven guilty.  

This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Columbia County Sheriff’s Office, and the Florida Department of Law Enforcement. It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney D. Rodney Brown.

This is another case brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by United States Attorneys' Offices and the Criminal Division's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims.  For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.justice.gov/psc.  

Jacksonville, FL – Senior United States District Judge Harvey E. Schlesinger has sentenced Jeremy Chris Cartrette (39, Yulee) to five years and six months in federal prison for receiving child pornography over the Internet. He also was ordered to forfeit his computer media and, upon his release from prison, to serve a 15-year term of supervision and register as a sex offender. 

According to court documents, during an undercover FBI task force investigation, an officer connected to a host computer and downloaded several images of child pornography.  Further investigation traced the host computer to Cartrette’s residence.

On June 19, 2015, law enforcement officers executed a federal search warrant at Cartrette’s home and seized a laptop computer and an external hard drive.  During an interview, Cartrette stated that he began downloading child pornography “a couple of years ago,” and that he had tried to quit before but that he “always comes back to it.” Forensic analyses of Cartrette’s computer media revealed at least 7 videos and 19 images of child pornography.

This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Columbia County Sheriff’s Office, and the Nassau County Sheriff’s Office. It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney D. Rodney Brown.

It is another case brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by United States Attorneys' Offices and the Criminal Division's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims.  For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.justice.gov/psc.

Jacksonville, Florida – United States District Judge Timothy J. Corrigan has sentenced Travis Ware (24, Jacksonville) to two years in federal prison for his role in an identity theft and counterfeit check scheme.  He pleaded guilty on November 12, 2015.

According to court documents, on November 23, 2014, troopers with the Florida Highway Patrol pulled over a vehicle occupied by Ware and co-defendants David Lee Mitchell and Hezekiah Williams. During the traffic stop, the troopers observed marijuana inside the SUV. A search of the vehicle revealed 25 counterfeit business checks made out to various individuals and 15 forms of identification from 7 different people. Many of the names on the identification documents matched those printed on the counterfeit checks. Further investigation determined that Ware, Mitchell, and Williams had been driving around three days earlier attempting to fraudulently cash the counterfeit checks and recruiting others to use the ids to cash the checks. 

On October 2, 2015, Mitchell and Williams pleaded guilty to attempted bank fraud, possession of counterfeit business checks, and aggravated identity theft. They remain in federal custody pending a sentencing date. 

This case was investigated by the Florida Highway Patrol and the United States Secret Service, Jacksonville Field Office. It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Kevin C. Frein.

Orlando, Florida – U.S. District Judge Paul G. Byron has sentenced Gregory A. Vaughn (59, Seminole County) to 27 years in federal prison for enticement of a minor and production of child pornography.  He received a concurrent sentence of 20 years' imprisonment for receiving child pornography. Vaughn must serve a life term of supervision following his release and register as a sex offender.  The Court also ordered Vaughn to pay $7,500 in restitution. 

According to court records, during a span of two years, Vaughn groomed and persuaded a minor to produce and send him explicit images.  He informed the girl that he wanted to pay for the pictures, and he structured a pay chart for the types of photos she should take and send to him.  Vaughn mailed the girl money, books, candy, clothes, underwear, and makeup in exchange for the pictures she had sent to him.   

Vaughn’s cellphone and computer were searched pursuant to a state search warrant and agents were able to recover images of the victim and other children from his computer.  Agents also interviewed another victim, who also had been groomed and enticed into producing child pornography by Vaughn.

This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation.  It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Ilianys Rivera Miranda.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse.  Led by the United States Attorneys' Offices and the Criminal Division's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS), Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims.  For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.justice.gov/psc.

Fort Myers, Florida – U.S. District Judge Sheri Polster Chappell has sentenced Joseph Alan Milkey (38, North Fort Myers) to 3 years and 10 months in federal prison for possessing a firearm and ammunition as a convicted felon. The Court also ordered him to forfeit the .40 caliber pistol and 8 rounds of ammunition that were involved in the commission of the offense. Milkey pleaded guilty in November 2015.

According to court documents, on August 28, 2015, a sergeant from the Fort Myers Police Department responded to a call concerning a male and female engaged in an argument in the parking lot of the Sports Authority store located at 2317 Colonial Boulevard. Upon arrival, the sergeant approached the vehicle and made contact with Milkey and the female, and asked if they were both okay. The sergeant then asked Milkey to exit the vehicle; instead, he attempted to flee. Soon thereafter, he was apprehended by officers. Milkey then pulled his arm free from the officers’ grasp, and reached into the waistband of his pants, where the sergeant observed a handgun. The firearm was secured by the officers and later identified as a Smith and Wesson .40 caliber pistol, loaded with eight rounds of ammunition.   

At time of the incident, Milkey had multiple prior felony convictions and therefore was prohibited from possessing a firearm or ammunition under federal law.

This case was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives and the Fort Myers Police Department. It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Yolande G. Viacava.

This is another case prosecuted as a part of the Department of Justice’s “Project Safe Neighborhoods” Program - a nationwide, gun-violence reduction strategy.  United States Attorney A. Lee Bentley, III, along with Regina Lombardo, Special Agent in Charge, ATF, is coordinating the Project Safe Neighborhoods effort here in the Middle District of Florida in cooperation with federal, state, and local law enforcement officials.

United States Attorney A. Lee Bentley, III announces that the government has formally settled a lawsuit brought by a whistle-blower alleging that one of the nation’s largest radiation oncology providers, 21st Century Oncology, has agreed to settle allegations that they performed and billed for procedures that were not medically necessary. Pursuant to the settlement agreement, 21st Century shall pay the United States $34,695,243 to resolve these allegations. Headquartered in Fort Myers, 21st Century has offices in 16 states.

The settlement relates to the defendants use of a medical procedure – called the Gamma function – used to measure the exit dose radiating from a patient after the patient receives radiation treatment. The United States alleged that defendants knowingly and improperly billed for this procedure under circumstances where the procedure served no medically appropriate purpose. For example, the government alleged that the procedure was performed by physicians and physicists at 21st Century Oncology locations who were not properly trained to interpret and utilize the Gamma function results.

The government also alleged that defendants billed for this procedure when no physician reviewed the Gamma function results until seven or more days after the last day patients received radiation treatment therapy. Finally, the government alleged that defendants billed for the procedure when no Gamma result was available due to technical failures in the imaging equipment. 

“The United States Attorney’s Office is committed to taking the steps necessary to protect Medicare, TRICARE, and other federal health care programs from fraud,” said U.S. Attorney A. Lee Bentley, III. “Healthcare providers may bill for new technologies only when they have been proven to be useful and when individual physicians and staff have been trained to use them properly.”

“Today’s settlement demonstrates our unwavering commitment to protect the Medicare trust fund against unscrupulous providers,” said Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Benjamin C. Mizer, head of the Justice Department’s Civil Division. “Providers who waste taxpayer dollars by billing for unnecessary services, including services that are not used or improperly performed, will face serious consequences.”

This lawsuit was originally filed under the qui tam or whistleblower provisions of the False Claims Act by Joseph Ting, a former physicist at South Florida Radiation Oncology.  Under those provisions, a private party, known as a relator, can file an action on behalf of the United States and receive a portion of the recovery.  Ting will receive more than $7 million. 

“The waste of health care program dollars will not be tolerated,” said Shimon R. Richmond, Special Agent in Charge for the HHS Office of the Inspector General. “Providers at 21st Century Oncology have agreed to settle claims that in some instances they performed tests that were not only medically unnecessary, but that no one had been trained to properly interpret, thereby allegedly causing the taxpayers to pay for useless tests.”

"This settlement highlights the commitment of the Defense Criminal Investigative Service (DCIS) and its law enforcement partners to protect the integrity of TRICARE, the Department of Defense health care program that serves our Warfighters, their family members, and military retirees," said Special Agent in Charge John F. Khin, Southeast Field Office.  "With DoD's limited resources and budgets, DCIS must continue to aggressively investigate fraud, waste, and abuse to preserve and recover precious taxpayer dollars for our most vulnerable programs."

This past December, 21st Century paid $19.75 million to settle allegations that it violated the False Claims Act by billing for medically unnecessary laboratory urine tests, and for encouraging physicians to order these tests by offering bonuses based in part on the number of tests the physicians referred to its laboratory. 

This settlement illustrates the government’s emphasis on combating health care fraud and marks another achievement for the Health Care Fraud Prevention and Enforcement Action Team (HEAT) initiative, which was announced in May 2009 by the Attorney General and the Secretary of Health and Human Services. The partnership between the two departments has focused efforts to reduce and prevent Medicare and Medicaid financial fraud through enhanced cooperation.  One of the most powerful tools in this effort is the False Claims Act.  Since January 2009, the Justice Department has recovered a total of more than $27.4 billion through False Claims Act cases, with more than $17.4 billion of that amount recovered in cases involving fraud against federal health care programs.

This matter was handled by Assistant United States Attorney Jason Mehta from the Middle District of Florida, with assistance from the Department of Justice’s Civil Division, the Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General (HHS/OIG) and the Defense Criminal Investigative Service (DCIS). 

The claims resolved by this settlement are allegations only, and there has been no determination of liability.  The lawsuit against the defendants was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida and is captioned United States ex rel. Ting v. 21st Century Oncology and South Florida Radiation Oncology.

A Land O’ Lakes, Florida, businessman was sentenced by a judge in federal court in Tampa today to 174 months in prison for his role in a multimillion-dollar health care fraud and money laundering scheme. 

Assistant Attorney General Leslie R. Caldwell of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, U.S. Attorney A. Lee Bentley III of the Middle District of Florida, Special Agent in Charge Shimon R. Richmond of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services-Office of Inspector General (HHS-OIG) Miami Regional Office and Special Agent in Charge Paul Wysopal of the FBI’s Tampa Field Office made the announcement.

In December 2015, a jury in Tampa found David Brock Lovelace, 45, guilty of conspiracy to commit health care fraud and wire fraud, health care fraud, conspiracy to commit money laundering, money laundering and aggravated identity theft.  Judge Steven D. Merryday of the Middle District of Florida imposed today’s sentence and also ordered Lovelace to pay $2,512,460 in restitution.

According to evidence presented at trial, from approximately June 2010 through approximately May 2014, Lovelace and co-conspirators used Cornerstone Health Specialists, Summit Health Specialists and Coastal Health Specialists, three purported medical clinics in Florida, to submit approximately $12,351,046 in false and fraudulent claims to Medicare seeking reimbursement for radiology, audiology, cardiology and neurology services.  Medicare paid approximately $2,848,424 in reimbursement on the fraudulent claims.  Trial evidence also showed that Lovelace and his co-conspirators paid illegal kickbacks in exchange for access to Medicare patients and Medicare patient information used in the fraud scheme, used forged and falsified documents in the Medicare enrollment process for the medical clinics, and billed Medicare for services that had not been rendered by physicians.  The conspirators transferred and disbursed proceeds of the fraudulent Medicare claims among themselves, through shell companies and via numerous cash withdrawals in an effort to conceal the fraud, according to evidence at trial. 

HHS-OIG and the FBI investigated the case, which was brought as part of the Medicare Fraud Strike Force, under the supervision of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section and U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Florida.  Senior Trial Attorney Christopher J. Hunter of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section is prosecuting the case.

Since its inception in March 2007, the Medicare Fraud Strike Force, now operating in nine cities across the country, has charged nearly 2,000 defendants who have collectively billed the Medicare program for more than $6 billion.  In addition, the HHS Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, working in conjunction with the HHS-OIG, are taking steps to increase accountability and decrease the presence of fraudulent providers.

To learn more about the Health Care Fraud Prevention and Enforcement Team (HEAT), go to www.stopmedicarefraud.gov.

Tampa, FL  – A Land O’ Lakes businessman was sentenced by a judge in federal court today to 174 months in prison for his role in a multimillion-dollar health care fraud and money laundering scheme. 

U.S. Attorney A. Lee Bentley, III, Assistant Attorney General Leslie R. Caldwell of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, Special Agent in Charge Shimon R. Richmond of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services-Office of Inspector General (HHS-OIG) Miami Regional Office and Special Agent in Charge Paul Wysopal of the FBI’s Tampa Field Office made the announcement.

In December 2015, a federal jury found David Brock Lovelace, 45, guilty of conspiracy to commit health care fraud and wire fraud, health care fraud, conspiracy to commit money laundering, money laundering and aggravated identity theft.  Judge Steven D. Merryday imposed today’s sentence and also ordered Lovelace to pay $2,512,460 in restitution.

According to evidence presented at trial, from approximately June 2010 through approximately May 2014, Lovelace and co-conspirators used Cornerstone Health Specialists, Summit Health Specialists and Coastal Health Specialists, three purported medical clinics in Florida, to submit approximately $12,351,046 in false and fraudulent claims to Medicare seeking reimbursement for radiology, audiology, cardiology and neurology services.  Medicare paid approximately $2,848,424 in reimbursement on the fraudulent claims.  Trial evidence also showed that Lovelace and his co-conspirators paid illegal kickbacks in exchange for access to Medicare patients and Medicare patient information used in the fraud scheme, used forged and falsified documents in the Medicare enrollment process for the medical clinics, and billed Medicare for services that had not been rendered by physicians.  The conspirators transferred and disbursed proceeds of the fraudulent Medicare claims among themselves, through shell companies and via numerous cash withdrawals in an effort to conceal the fraud, according to evidence at trial. 

HHS-OIG and the FBI investigated the case, which was brought as part of the Medicare Fraud Strike Force, under the supervision of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section and U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Florida.  Senior Trial Attorney Christopher J. Hunter of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section is prosecuting the case.

Since its inception in March 2007, the Medicare Fraud Strike Force, now operating in nine cities across the country, has charged nearly 2,000 defendants who have collectively billed the Medicare program for more than $6 billion.  In addition, the HHS Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, working in conjunction with the HHS-OIG, are taking steps to increase accountability and decrease the presence of fraudulent providers.

To learn more about the Health Care Fraud Prevention and Enforcement Team (HEAT), go to http://www.stopmedicarefraud.gov/.

Tampa, Florida – U.S. District Judge Susan C. Bucklew today sentenced Latellis Everette (41, St. Petersburg) to 15 years in federal prison for possessing a firearm as a convicted felon. He pleaded guilty on November 12, 2015. 

According to court documents, Everette stole a loaded pistol from behind the counter of a local convenience store. He was later identified after being recognized on the store’s surveillance system. Everette has at least 12 prior felony convictions, including the sale of cocaine, armed robbery, and aggravated battery. As such, he is prohibited from possessing a firearm or ammunition under federal law.

This case was investigated by the St. Petersburg Police Department and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Michael V. Leeman.

This is another case prosecuted as a part of the Department of Justice’s “Project Safe Neighborhoods” Program - a nationwide, gun-violence reduction strategy.  United States Attorney A. Lee Bentley, III, along with Regina Lombardo, Special Agent in Charge, ATF, is coordinating the Project Safe Neighborhoods effort here in the Middle District of Florida in cooperation with federal, state, and local law enforcement officials.

Orlando, Florida – United States Attorney A. Lee Bentley, III announces that a federal jury today found Barrington Richards (36, Lauderhill) guilty of possession with intent to distribute 500 grams or more of cocaine, and failure to appear after being released on bond. He faces a maximum penalty of 40 years in federal prison on the drug charge and up to 10 years’ imprisonment for the failure to appear violation. A sentencing date has not yet been set.

According to the evidence presented at trial, on January 30, 2004, troopers with the Florida Highway Patrol stopped Richards on the Florida Turnpike in Osceola County for a traffic violation.  During the traffic stop, a narcotics dog detected drugs in the vehicle. The troopers then searched the vehicle and located approximately one and a half kilograms of cocaine hidden in the trunk. 

An indictment was returned in the Middle District of Florida in March 2004. Richards was arrested in the Southern District of Florida and made his initial appearance in federal court in Miami. He posted bond but then then failed to appear for further hearings in federal court in Orlando.  He remained at large until being arrested in Jefferson Davis Parish, Louisiana, on November 19, 2015.  

This case was investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration and the Florida Highway Patrol. It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Vincent S. Chiu.

Tampa, FL – Mark T. Conklin, the former owner, operator and sole shareholder of Recovery Home Care Inc. and Recovery Home Care Services Inc. (collectively RHC) has agreed to pay $1.75 million to resolve a lawsuit alleging that he violated the False Claims Act by causing RHC to pay illegal kickbacks to doctors who agreed to refer Medicare patients to RHC for home health care services, the Department of Justice announced today.  Conklin sold the RHC companies to National Home Care Holdings LLC, on Oct. 9, 2012. 

“Inducements of the type at issue in this case are designed to improperly influence a physician’s independent medical judgment,” said U.S. Attorney A. Lee Bentley, III for the Middle District of Florida.  “This lawsuit and today’s settlement evidence our office’s ongoing efforts to safeguard federal health care program beneficiaries from the effects of such illegal conduct.”

From 2009 through 2012, Conklin spearheaded a scheme whereby RHC, headquartered in West Palm Beach, allegedly paid dozens of physicians thousands of dollars per month to serve as sham medical directors who supposedly conducted quality reviews of RHC patient charts.  According to the government’s lawsuit, the physicians in many instances performed little or no work, but nevertheless received thousands of dollars from RHC.  The government’s complaint contended that these payments were, in fact, kickbacks intended to induce the physicians to refer their patients to RHC, in violation of the Anti-Kickback Statute and the Stark Law.

These laws are intended to ensure that a physician’s medical judgment is not compromised by improper financial incentives.  The Anti-Kickback Statute prohibits offering, paying, soliciting or receiving remuneration to induce referrals of items or services covered by federal health care programs, including Medicare.  The Stark Law forbids a home health care provider from billing Medicare for certain services referred by physicians who have a financial relationship with the entity.   A person who knowingly submits, or causes the submission, to Medicare of claims that violate either the Anti-Kickback Statute or the Stark Law is also liable for treble damages and penalties under the False Claims Act.

“Individuals who seek to increase their profits by providing physicians with illegal inducements will be held personally accountable,” said Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Benjamin C. Mizer, head of the Justice Department’s Civil Division.  “We will continue to identify, investigate and, where appropriate, sue individuals and corporations that misuse funds meant to provide critical medical services for beneficiaries of federal health care programs.”

“Home health agency owners who seek to boost profits by paying kickbacks to physicians in exchange for patient referrals will instead pay for their improper conduct at the settlement table,” said Special Agent in Charge Shimon R. Richmond of U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General (HHS-OIG).  “We will continue to crack down on such illegal, wasteful kickback schemes, which can undermine impartial medical judgment and corrode the public’s trust in the health care system.”

The United States previously reached a settlement with RHC’s purchaser, National Home Care Holdings, on March 9, 2015, for $1.1 million.      

The settlement with Conklin, which is subject to approval by the Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Florida, concludes a lawsuit originally filed by Gregory Simony, a former RHC employee, under the qui tam, or whistleblower, provisions of the False Claims Act, which permit private individuals to sue on behalf of the government for false claims and to share in any recovery.  The act also allows the government to intervene and take over the action, as it did in part in this case.  Simony will receive up to $315,000 of the proceeds of the Conklin settlement.   

This settlement illustrates the government’s emphasis on combating health care fraud and marks another achievement for the Health Care Fraud Prevention and Enforcement Action Team (HEAT) initiative, which was announced in May 2009 by the Attorney General and the Secretary of Health and Human Services.  The partnership between the two departments has focused efforts to reduce and prevent Medicare and Medicaid financial fraud through enhanced cooperation.  One of the most powerful tools in this effort is the False Claims Act.  Since January 2009, the Justice Department has recovered a total of more than $27.4 billion through False Claims Act cases, with more than $17.4 billion of that amount recovered in cases involving fraud against federal health care programs.

The settlement was the result of a coordinated effort by the Civil Division’s Commercial Litigation Branch, the U.S. Attorneys’ Offices for the Middle District of Florida and the Southern District of Florida and the HHS-OIG. 

The case is captioned United States ex rel. Simony v. Recovery Home Care, et al., Case No. 8-12-cv-2495-T-36TBM (M.D. Fla.).  The claims resolved by the settlement are allegations only and there has been no determination of liability.

Fort Myers, Florida – United States Attorney A. Lee Bentley, III announces that a federal jury today found Leslie Chin (Punta Gorda, 35) guilty of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute, and to distribute, five or more kilograms of cocaine and a substance containing a detectable amount of marijuana. He faces a mandatory minimum penalty of 10 years, up to life, in federal prison.  A sentencing hearing is scheduled for June 6, 2016. 

Chin was indicted on December 3, 2014,

According to evidence presented at trial, Chin was involved in a conspiracy with at least 10 persons to distribute crack cocaine in Florida, Georgia, and South Carolina. Two co-conspirators, Andrew Chin and Jerome Antonio Vaughn, have pleaded guilty to their roles in the conspiracy. They are currently awaiting sentencing.

This case was investigated by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, the Florida Highway Patrol, and the Sarasota County Sheriff’s Office. It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Robert P. Barclift.

Orlando, Florida – Senior U.S. District Judge Gregory A. Presnell has sentenced Thomas S. Jackson to four years in federal prison for conspiracy and bribery of an agent of a local government receiving federal funds.  A federal jury found him guilty on October 27, 2015. 

According to the evidence presented at trial, Jackson was the Chief of Police of the Longwood Police Department (LPD) from 1997 until his retirement on May 28, 2010.  Between October 2007 and the date of his retirement, Samer Majzoub, a convicted felon, paid Jackson more than $30,000 in bribes.  In return, Jackson appointed Majzoub as an officer with the LPD. Jackson gave Majzoub the supervisory titles of commander, lieutenant, and sergeant, and provided him with badges and credentials that represented Majzoub as an officer of LPD. Jackson also assisted Majzoub in possessing firearms and ammunition. As a previously convicted felon, Majzoub was prohibited from possessing firearms and ammunition under federal law.

Majzoub has been charged by indictment with one count of conspiracy and three counts of bribery of an agent of a local government receiving federal funds.  He has not been arrested and is a fugitive.     

This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Internal Revenue Service – Criminal Investigation.  It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Roger B. Handberg and James D. Mandolfo.

A Cuban national who fled the United States and had been wanted since 2013 on federal criminal charges relating to a multimillion-dollar health care fraud scheme in the greater Tampa Bay, Florida, area pleaded guilty today for his role in the scheme.    

Assistant Attorney General Leslie R. Caldwell of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division; U.S. Attorney A. Lee Bentley III of the Middle District of Florida; Special Agent in Charge Paul Wysopal of the FBI’s Tampa, Florida, Field Office, Special Agent in Charge George Piro of the FBI’s Miami Field Office; and Special Agent in Charge Shimon Richmond of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services-Office of Inspector General (HHS-OIG) Miami Regional Office made the announcement.

Ubert Guillermo Rodriguez, aka Ubert Guillermo Rodriguez Sigler, 47, pleaded guilty in federal court in Tampa today to conspiracy to commit health care fraud.  Rodriguez was arrested on the health care fraud charges when he arrived at Miami International Airport on a flight from Cuba in October 2015.

According to documents filed in the case, Rodriguez was the president and owner of G.R. Services Equipment & Supplies Inc., a Largo, Florida, company that purported to provide durable medical equipment to Medicare beneficiaries.  From May 2013 through July 2013, Rodriguez’s company submitted approximately $2,579,695 in false and fraudulent claims to Medicare seeking reimbursement for durable medical equipment, such as wound care supplies, that was not legitimately prescribed by doctors and was not provided to beneficiaries.  For example, Rodriguez’s company sought reimbursement for thousands of dollars of negative pressure wound therapy electrical pumps and sterile collagen dressings purportedly provided in May and June 2013 to Medicare beneficiaries.  Federal law enforcement agents previously executed a seizure warrant on Rodriguez’s company’s bank account, resulting in the seizure of approximately $243,339 in proceeds of the health care fraud scheme. 

HHS-OIG and the FBI are investigating the case, which and was brought as part of the Medicare Fraud Strike Force, under the supervision of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section and U.S. Attorney’s Office of the Middle District of Florida.  Senior Trial Attorney Christopher J. Hunter of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section is prosecuting the case.

Since its inception in March 2007, the Medicare Fraud Strike Force, now operating in nine cities across the country, has charged nearly 2,000 defendants who have collectively billed the Medicare program for more than $6 billion.  In addition, the HHS Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, working in conjunction with the HHS-OIG, are taking steps to increase accountability and decrease the presence of fraudulent providers.

To learn more about the Health Care Fraud Prevention and Enforcement Team (HEAT), go to www.stopmedicarefraud.gov.

Tampa, FL – A Cuban national who fled the United States and had been wanted since 2013 on federal criminal charges relating to a multimillion-dollar health care fraud scheme in the greater Tampa Bay area pleaded guilty today for his role in the scheme.    

U.S. Attorney A. Lee Bentley III of the Middle District of Florida; Assistant Attorney General Leslie R. Caldwell of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division; Special Agent in Charge Paul Wysopal of the FBI’s Tampa Field Office, Special Agent in Charge George Piro of the FBI’s Miami Field Office; and Special Agent in Charge Shimon Richmond of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services-Office of Inspector General (HHS-OIG) Miami Regional Office made the announcement.

Ubert Guillermo Rodriguez, aka Ubert Guillermo Rodriguez Sigler, 47, pleaded guilty in federal court in Tampa today to conspiracy to commit health care fraud.  Rodriguez was arrested on the health care fraud charges when he arrived at Miami International Airport on a flight from Cuba in October 2015.

According to documents filed in the case, Rodriguez was the president and owner of G.R. Services Equipment & Supplies Inc., a Largo company that purported to provide durable medical equipment to Medicare beneficiaries.  From May 2013 through July 2013, Rodriguez’s company submitted approximately $2,579,695 in false and fraudulent claims to Medicare seeking reimbursement for durable medical equipment, such as wound care supplies, that was not legitimately prescribed by doctors and was not provided to beneficiaries.  For example, Rodriguez’s company sought reimbursement for thousands of dollars of negative pressure wound therapy electrical pumps and sterile collagen dressings purportedly provided in May and June 2013 to Medicare beneficiaries.  Federal law enforcement agents previously executed a seizure warrant on Rodriguez’s company’s bank account, resulting in the seizure of approximately $243,339 in proceeds of the health care fraud scheme. 

HHS-OIG and the FBI are investigating the case, which and was brought as part of the Medicare Fraud Strike Force, under the supervision of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section and the U.S. Attorney’s Office of the Middle District of Florida.  Senior Trial Attorney Christopher J. Hunter of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section is prosecuting the case.

Since its inception in March 2007, the Medicare Fraud Strike Force, now operating in nine cities across the country, has charged nearly 2,000 defendants who have collectively billed the Medicare program for more than $6 billion.  In addition, the HHS Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, working in conjunction with the HHS-OIG, are taking steps to increase accountability and decrease the presence of fraudulent providers.

To learn more about the Health Care Fraud Prevention and Enforcement Team (HEAT), go to www.stopmedicarefraud.gov.

Orlando, Florida – U.S. District Judge Paul G. Byron has sentenced Jeremy L. Addison (24, DeLand) to seven years in federal prison for mailing a letter threatening to kill the President and assaulting the U.S. Secret Service agent who was investigating the threat.  He pleaded guilty on October 13, 2015.

According to court documents, on September 17, 2014, while awaiting trial for an unrelated state charge in the Volusia County Jail, Addison wrote a letter to President Obama.  In that letter he stated, “you’re a dead man…boy I hate swine.  I’m the general me…and anthrax, so yes I intend to kill you.”  A short time later, a U.S. Secret Service agent attempted to interview Addison about the letter.  At the conclusion of the interview, Addison spit in the agent’s face and stated, “…I am going to kill you too.” 

After pleading guilty in this case, but prior to sentencing, Addison wrote another letter, this time threatening to kill the Assistant U.S. Attorney handling the case.  Four days later, Addison wrote a second letter apologizing for the threatening letter. 

Based on Addison’s criminal history and the threat to kill the prosecutor, the Court enhanced Addison’s sentence by finding that he had not accepted responsibility for his criminal behavior and that he had obstructed justice by writing a letter threatening to kill the assigned Assistant U.S. Attorney. 

This case was investigated by the United States Secret Service.  It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Shawn P. Napier.

Ocala, Florida – United States Attorney A. Lee Bentley, III announces that Larry Garfield Letterman (63, Wildwood) yesterday pleaded guilty to one count of possession of firearms and ammunition affecting commerce by a convicted felon. He faces a maximum penalty of 10 years in federal prison. A sentencing date has not yet been set.

According to the plea agreement, Letterman met with a confidential informant in a series of video-recorded transactions during October and November 2015. Each transaction took place at Letterman’s residence, where he sold the informant three firearms and ammunition, including an AR-15 rifle. Based on the transactions, federal agents executed a search warrant at the residence on December 15, 2015. They recovered an AK-47 rifle, a shotgun, a handgun, packaging from another handgun, and more than 260 rounds of assorted ammunition.

Letterman confessed to possessing all of the firearms and ammunition, and that he had multiple prior felony convictions, including possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, burglary, and sodomy of a male less than 14 years old. As a previously convicted felon, Letterman is prohibited from possessing firearms and ammunition under federal law.   

This case was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF). It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Robert E. Bodnar, Jr.

This is another case prosecuted as a part of the Department of Justice’s “Project Safe Neighborhoods” Program - a nationwide, gun-violence reduction strategy.  United States Attorney A. Lee Bentley, III, along with Regina Lombardo, Special Agent in Charge, ATF, is coordinating the Project Safe Neighborhoods effort here in the Middle District of Florida in cooperation with federal, state, and local law enforcement officials.

The Justice Department announced today that Thomas Mere, the owner and operator of Mere’s Mobile Home and Recreational Vehicle Park in North Fort Myers, Florida, has agreed to pay $40,000 to resolve allegations that he discriminated against African Americans in violation of the Fair Housing Act.  The settlement, which is in the form of a consent order, must still be approved by the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida.

The government’s complaint, also filed today, alleges that the defendant falsely told African Americans that no mobile homes, recreational vehicles or recreational vehicle lots were immediately available for rent, but told similarly-situated white persons that they were, in fact, available for rent.  According to the complaint, the defendant encouraged prospective white renters to consider residing at Mere’s Park and discouraged African Americans from residing there by, for example, referring African Americans to another mobile home and RV park, making discouraging comments about units that were available for rent and failing to provide African Americans complete and accurate information about available units and lots.  The lawsuit is based on the results of testing conducted by the department’s Fair Housing Testing Program, in which individuals pose as renters to gather information about possible discriminatory practices. 

“Owners of rental properties cannot pick and choose residents based on race or color,” said Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Vanita Gupta, head of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division.  “The Justice Department will continue to hold owners who violate the law accountable for their discriminatory conduct.”

“All citizens and their families should be free to choose where they want to live without fear of discrimination,” said U.S. Attorney A. Lee Bentley III of the Middle District of Florida.  “Our office is committed to eradicating all forms of housing discrimination in the Middle District of Florida.”

Under the settlement, the defendant will establish a settlement fund of $30,000 to compensate victims of his discriminatory practices and pay a civil penalty of $10,000 to the United States.  The agreement also requires that the defendant implement nondiscriminatory application and rental procedures at the park, undergo fair-housing training and provide periodic reports to the department. 

Individuals who have information about, or who believe they may have been discriminated against at Mere’s Park, located at 1555 North Tamiami Trail, 1051 North Tamiami Trail and 1699 Ixora Drive in North Fort Myers, should contact the Justice Department toll-free at 1-800-896-7743, option 96, or by email at fairhousing@usdoj.gov.  The federal Fair Housing Act prohibits discrimination in housing on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, familial status, national origin and disability.  More information about the Civil Rights Division and the laws it enforces is available at www.usdoj.gov/crt.

Mere Complaint and Consent Order

Tampa, FL – The Justice Department announced today that Thomas Mere, the owner and operator of Mere’s Mobile Home and Recreational Vehicle Park in North Fort Myers, Florida, has agreed to pay $40,000 to resolve allegations that he discriminated against African Americans in violation of the Fair Housing Act.  The settlement, which is in the form of a consent order, must still be approved by the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida.

The government’s complaint, also filed today, alleges that the defendant falsely told African Americans that no mobile homes, recreational vehicles or recreational vehicle lots were immediately available for rent, but told similarly-situated white persons that they were, in fact, available for rent.  According to the complaint, the defendant encouraged prospective white renters to consider residing at Mere’s Park and discouraged African Americans from residing there by, for example, referring African Americans to another mobile home and RV park, making discouraging comments about units that were available for rent and failing to provide African Americans complete and accurate information about available units and lots.  The lawsuit is based on the results of testing conducted by the department’s Fair Housing Testing Program, in which individuals pose as renters to gather information about possible discriminatory practices. 

“All citizens and their families should be free to choose where they want to live without fear of discrimination,” said U.S. Attorney A. Lee Bentley III of the Middle District of Florida.  “Our office is committed to eradicating all forms of housing discrimination in the Middle District of Florida.”

“Owners of rental properties cannot pick and choose residents based on race or color,” said Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Vanita Gupta, head of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division.  “The Justice Department will continue to hold owners who violate the law accountable for their discriminatory conduct.”

Under the settlement, the defendant will establish a settlement fund of $30,000 to compensate victims of his discriminatory practices and pay a civil penalty of $10,000 to the United States.  The agreement also requires that the defendant implement nondiscriminatory application and rental procedures at the park, undergo fair-housing training and provide periodic reports to the department. 

Individuals who have information about, or who believe they may have been discriminated against at Mere’s Park, located at 1555 North Tamiami Trail, 1051 North Tamiami Trail and 1699 Ixora Drive in North Fort Myers, should contact the Justice Department toll-free at 1-800-896-7743, option 96, or by email at fairhousing@usdoj.gov.  The federal Fair Housing Act prohibits discrimination in housing on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, familial status, national origin and disability.  More information about the Civil Rights Division and the laws it enforces is available at www.usdoj.gov/crt.

Tampa, Florida – U.S. Senior District Judge Richard A. Lazzara has sentenced Jetmir Qose (23, St. Petersburg) to 8 years in federal prison for transportation and possession of child pornography. The Court also ordered him to forfeit certain items used in the commission of the offenses, including a laptop computer and two external hard drives.

Qose was found guilty after a bench trial held on November 5, 2015.

According to court documents, in September 2014, during an undercover operation, law enforcement discovered that Qose was sharing files of child pornography using a publicly available sharing program. As a result of this initial investigation, a search warrant was executed at Qose’s residence and several of his electronic devices were seized. An examination of the devices revealed a large collection of child pornography, including numerous videos and images featuring the exploitation of minors under the age of 12.

This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Rachel Jones and Jennifer Peresie.

It is another case brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by United States Attorneys' Offices and the Criminal Division's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.justice.gov/psc.

Tampa, Florida – United States Attorney A. Lee Bentley, III announces that a federal jury found Edward N. Feldman, M.D., guilty of conspiring to dispense controlled substances for no legitimate medical purpose and outside the usual course of professional practice, dispensing controlled substances that resulted in death, and money laundering. His wife, Kim Xuan Feldman, was also convicted of conspiring to dispense controlled substances for no legitimate medical purpose and outside the usual course of professional practice and money laundering. Dr. Feldman faces a maximum penalty of life in federal prison, and Mrs. Feldman faces a maximum sentence of 30 years’ imprisonment. Their sentencing hearing is scheduled for May 23, 2016.

The Feldmans were indicted on December 10, 2014.

According to testimony and evidence presented at trial, from October 2009 through December 2014, the Feldmans operated Feldman Orthopedic and Wellness Center (FOWC) in Pinellas Park, Florida. FOWC saw between 80-100 patients a day, with new patients paying $300 in cash for visits, and follow-up patients paying $150-$225 for visits. Insurance was not accepted at FOWC.

During the trial, an expert in pain management opined that Dr. Feldman’s prescriptions to patients had not been for a legitimate medical purpose and had been outside the usual course of professional practice. The expert further opined that Dr. Feldman had been so far outside the usual course of professional practice that he had not been practicing medicine when he had prescribed large doses of controlled substances to his patients.

Additionally, Pinellas-Pasco Medical Examiners opined that J.M., R.G., and S.W. had died as a result of multi-drug toxicity related to the large amounts of Methadone, Oxycodone, Alprazolam, and Diazepam found in their systems. J.M. and S.W. only visited Dr. Feldman once before their respective deaths.  

Evidence also showed that the couple had deposited more than $5,000,000 in cash in dozens of bank accounts during the period of the charged crimes. The couple used proceeds from FOWC to purchase their home and property for their business, and to fund investments accounts. More than $500,000 in cash and gold were recovered from various bank accounts and safety deposit boxes in the name of the Feldmans and other family members. Also, a 2011 Porsche, 2006 Infinity, and 2009 Mercedes Benz were seized. The issue of forfeiture will be determined at a later date.  

This case was investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration and the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF), a partnership between federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies. The principal mission of the OCDETF program is to identify, disrupt, and dismantle the most serious drug trafficking, weapons trafficking, and money laundering organizations, and those primarily responsible for the nation’s illegal drug supply. It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Shauna S. Hale and Kaitlin O’Donnell.

Orlando, Florida – U.S. District Judge Paul G. Byron has sentenced David Ryan Alberts (43, Orlando) to 10 years in federal prison for receiving and possessing child pornography.  The Court also ordered him to pay restitution to the victims of his offense.  Alberts pleaded guilty in September 2015.

According to court documents, Alberts downloaded and possessed scores of images of prepubescent children, including infants, engaged in sexual acts with adults and with other children.  Several of the images depicted sadistic and masochistic conduct, and included images of children engaged in bestiality.  He also searched for and possessed dozens of sexually explicit stories involving incest.  Based on his prior conduct, Alberts received an enhanced sentence for engaging in a pattern of activity involving the sexual abuse or exploitation of minors.

This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Embry J. Kidd.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse.  Led by the United States Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS), Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims.  For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.justice.gov/psc.

Tampa, Florida – U.S. District Judge Charlene E. Honeywell yesterday sentenced Bryan Shane Sneed (42, Lutz) to 20 years in prison for the attempted enticement of a minor for sex, and for possession of a firearm during and in relation to a crime of violence. The Court also ordered him to serve a 20-year term of supervision and to register as a sex offender upon his release from prison. Sneed was found guilty by a federal jury on August 7, 2015.

A superseding indictment was returned against Sneed on March 18, 2015.

According to testimony and evidence presented at trial, on January 24, 2014, an undercover agent posing as a 14-year-old child responded to an online personal ad posted by Sneed. Sneed, who traveled frequently, communicated with the undercover agent through emails and text messaging for almost a year. During the communications, Sneed repeatedly sent the “child” multiple graphic images of adult pornography and a video of adult pornography. Sneed made firm plans to meet the “child” in Tampa on January 21, 2015, and when he arrived at the agreed upon location, he was arrested. A search of Sneed’s vehicle by law enforcement revealed a loaded 9 millimeter and .45 caliber handgun and several condoms.

“This criminal intended to have sex with a 14-year-old child,” said Susan L. McCormick, special agent in charge of HSI Tampa. “Our HSI undercover special agents made sure that instead of forever harming a child, he is going to spend the next 20 years behind bars.”

This case was investigated by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations. It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Amanda C. Kaiser.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse.  Led by United States Attorneys' Offices and the Criminal Division's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS), Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims.  For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.justice.gov/psc.

Tampa, FL – The U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida entered a consent decree of permanent injunction against James R. Hill, of Ocala, Florida, to prevent the distribution of unapproved drugs masquerading as a cure for the herpes virus, the Department of Justice announced today.

The department filed a complaint in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida alleging that Hill sold a product, Viruxo Immune Support (Viruxo), that he marketed as a “natural herpes medicine” that can “Stop Herpes Outbreaks.”  Although labeled as a dietary supplement, Viruxo qualifies as an unapproved and misbranded drug, according to the complaint, because of Hill’s claims that it could treat the herpes virus despite the absence of approval from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) that it was safe and effective for such a use. 

The complaint further alleged that Hill defrauded consumers by promoting Viruxo to cure, mitigate, treat, or prevent a disease despite the absence of well-controlled clinical studies or other credible scientific substantiation to support those claims.  Hill made his misleading claims about Viruxo despite having received a warning letter from FDA and the Federal Trade Commission advising him that his product is an unapproved drug and was misbranded. 

“Consumers should exercise extreme caution when purchasing supplements online,” warned U.S. Attorney A. Lee Bentley, III for the Middle District of Florida. “Viruxo was marketed to consumers as a ‘medicine’ for herpes, even though this product was not approved by the FDA and there were no well-controlled clinical studies to support the therapeutic claims.”

“Unfortunately, many dietary supplements cannot do what their sellers claim they can do,” said Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Benjamin C. Mizer, head of the Justice Department’s Civil Division.  “In some instances, consumers might be choosing supplements over other proven therapies for serious conditions under the mistaken belief that these products can help.  The Department of Justice will continue to work aggressively with FDA to prevent the distribution of unapproved drugs.”

Hill agreed to settle the case and be bound by a consent decree of permanent injunction.  Although he has ceased selling Viruxo, the consent decree requires him to notify FDA and receive its permission before resuming sale of Viruxo or distribution of any food, including a dietary supplement, or drug.  To obtain permission from FDA, FDA must first determine that Hill’s practices comply with the Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act.

The government is represented by Trial Attorney Daniel E. Zytnick of the Civil Division’s Consumer Protection Branch and Lacy R. Harwell Jr. of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Florida, with the assistance of Senior Counsel Claudia J. Zuckerman of the Department of Health and Human Services’ Office of General Counsel – Food and Drug Division.

For more information about the Consumer Protection Branch, visit its website at http://www.justice.gov/civil/consumer-protection-branch.  For more information about the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Florida, visit its website at http://www.justice.gov/usao-mdfl.

Orlando, Florida – U.S. District Judge Paul G. Byron has sentenced Ross Edward Paulson (60, Wittenberg, WI) to 20 years in federal prison for attempted sexual enticement of a minor.  The Court also ordered him to forfeit the cellphone and laptop he had used to facilitate the offense.  Paulson pleaded guilty on November 30, 2015.

According to court documents, while visiting Florida in July 2015, Paulson responded to a Craigslist ad.  The ad had been placed by an undercover officer posing as the father of a 13-year-old girl who was looking for other men to have sex with his daughter.  During a series of online communications, Paulson graphically discussed the sexual activities that he wanted to engage in with the “child.”  On July 23, 2015, Paulson agreed to meet the “father” and “child” in a parking lot in Brevard County so that he could have sex with the “child.”  When Paulson arrived at the meeting place, he was arrested.    

This case was investigated by the Brevard County Sheriff’s Office and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations.  It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Kara M. Wick.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse.  Led by the United States Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS), Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims.  For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.justice.gov/psc.

Orlando, Florida – United States Attorney A. Lee Bentley, III announces that 12 members of a drug trafficking organization have been charged with distributing street-level quantities of heroin in the Orlando area. A criminal complaint has been unsealed charging Steven Joseph Malham (55, Orlando), Angel Manuel Fontanez (31, Clermont), Pedro Juan Rivera-Aviles (63, Orlando), Jason Paul Manore (36, Orlando), Aref Hamdan (39, Orlando), Wilbert Joel Alequin-Pagan (21, Orlando), Robert Bryan Sautner (28, Winter Garden), Emmanuel Verges (26, Orlando), Constantine Kotsianidis (37, Orlando), Zuleyka Jeanette Colon-Rivera (24, Orlando), Ernesto Cabanas-Torres, (41, Orlando), and Domingo Perez-Lamboy (42, Orlando) with conspiracy to distribute and to possess with intent to distribute heroin.  If convicted, each faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in federal prison. 

According to the complaint, a drug trafficking organization whose members referred to themselves as “La Compania” or “the Company” acquired heroin from out of state. They then used a telephone number that changed frequently (the heroin line) to sell heroin to customers in Orlando, primarily in the tourist district, near International Drive.  Using information provided by informants, the Drug Enforcement Administration identified the organization’s heroin line and had informants and undercover agents call to set up controlled purchases of heroin.   Between November 2013 and October 2015, controlled purchases of heroin were made from each of the individuals charged in the criminal complaint.  These drug sales ranged from 5 baggies of heroin for $100 to 200 bags for $2,000.  More than 100 grams of heroin was sold to law enforcement officers during this investigation.      

A criminal complaint is merely a formal charge that a defendant has committed one or more violations of federal criminal law, and every defendant is presumed This case is the result of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) investigation entitled “La Compania.” The investigation was conducted by the Drug Enforcement Administration, with assistance from the Orange County Sheriff’s Office, the Metropolitan Bureau of Investigation, the United States Marshals Service, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and the Orlando Police Department.  It will be prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Andrew C. Searle and Embry J. Kidd.

Tampa, Florida – United States Attorney A. Lee Bentley, III announces that Richard Lee Anderson (37, Tampa) today pleaded guilty to receiving stolen government property.  He faces a maximum penalty of 10 years in federal prison.  Anderson also faces drug and firearms charges in a separate federal case (8:15-CR-473-T-35AEP).

According to the plea agreement, between May and October 2012, Anderson received stolen Social Security benefit checks, totaling at least $2,275,000, from a United States Postal Service mail handler who worked at the Processing and Distribution Center (PDC) facility in St. Petersburg.  The checks were all addressed to beneficiaries living in Pinellas County.  Anderson then sold the checks to various individuals for a percentage of their face value and those individuals, in turn, cashed the checks or employed others to do so for them.  Anderson paid the mail handler a percentage of the checks’ face value.

This case was investigated by the Social Security Administration Office of the Inspector General, the United States Postal Service Office of Inspector General, the United States Postal Inspection Service, and the Tampa Police Department.  It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Patrick Scruggs.

Tampa, Florida – United States Attorney A. Lee Bentley, III announces that Edgar Yanez-Gutierrez (31, Nayarit, Mexico) today pleaded guilty to conspiring to commit money laundering offenses and conspiring to distribute cocaine, methamphetamine, and marijuana. Yanez-Gutierrez faces a maximum term of 20 years’ imprisonment on the money laundering conspiracy charge, and a mandatory minimum term of 10 years’ imprisonment, up to life, on the drug trafficking conspiracy charge. A sentencing date has not yet been set.

According to the court documents, Yanez-Gutierrez’s plea is the latest in an investigation that has netted 28 convictions in the Middle District of Florida, for drug trafficking, money laundering, and firearms offenses, with sentences ranging from 4, up to 35 years’, imprisonment. The defendants were part of a large-scale drug trafficking organization that shipped cocaine, methamphetamine, and marijuana from California to drug distribution and money laundering cells throughout the United States, including Florida, Ohio, North Carolina, Nevada, New Jersey, New York, Alabama, and Arkansas. Yanez-Gutierrez fled from California to Mexico in 2011, but was later arrested and extradited to the United States in December 2015.

The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Christopher F. Murray. It was investigated by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations, with assistance from other federal, state, and local agencies as part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) investigation. The principal mission of the OCDETF program is to identify, disrupt, and dismantle the most serious drug trafficking and money laundering organizations, and those primarily responsible for the nation’s drug supply The Office of International Affairs, Department of Justice, assisted with Yanez-Gutierrez’s extradition to the United States. 

WHO:           A. Lee Bentley, III, United States Attorney for the Middle District of Florida

Jeffrey T. Walsh, Assistant Special Agent in Charge, Drug Enforcement Administration, Orlando District Office, Central Region of Florida

Sheriff Jerry L. Demings, Orange County Sheriff's Office

WHAT:      Press Conference

Federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies to announce charges involving several individuals in a multi-state drug trafficking conspiracy.

WHEN:     THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 25, 2016, at 1:00 P.M. EST

WHERE:   United States Attorney’s Office

400 W. Washington Street, Suite 3100

Orlando, FL 32801

OPEN PRESS

NOTE:  All media must present government-issued photo I.D. (such as a driver’s license).  Media may begin arriving at 12:30 P.M. EST.

Tampa, Florida – U.S. District Judge Charlene Edwards Honeywell has sentenced Jorge Valencia (43, St. Petersburg) to 12 years and 11 months in federal prison for receiving child pornography and attempting to entice a minor. The Court also ordered Valencia to forfeit items that he had used while committing the offenses, including a laptop and an iPhone. Valencia pleaded guilty on September 24, 2015.

According to court documents, in January 2015, an undercover FBI task force officer discovered that Valencia was using an online file-sharing program to share files depicting child pornography. Subsequently, a search warrant was executed at Valencia’s residence and several of his electronic devices were seized for evaluation.

The forensic analyses of the devices revealed that since at least 2012, Valencia had been using a phone messaging app to chat with individuals, he believed to be under the age of 18, for the purpose of soliciting sexually explicit pictures from them. A large collection of child pornography, including numerous videos and images depicting children under the age of 12, were also found on his devices.

This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Rachel Jones.

It is another case brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by the United States Attorneys' Offices and the Criminal Division's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.justice.gov/psc.

Tampa, Florida – United States District Judge Elizabeth Kovachevich has sentenced Tom Kelly (St. Petersburg, 32) to 15 years in federal prison for possessing a firearm as a convicted felon and for conspiring to possess with the intent to distribute crack cocaine. He pleaded guilty in October 2015.

According to court documents, Kelly operated a drug house in St. Petersburg. During the execution of a search warrant at his home in October 2014, law enforcement officers found Kelly in possession of two loaded firearms, crack cocaine, powder cocaine, and prescription pills. Kelly has multiple prior felony convictions for drug and firearm offenses, and is therefore prohibited from possessing a firearm or ammunition under federal law. The officers also seized more than $100,000 of jewelry and cash from the residence and other locations as proceeds of the drug distribution scheme.

This case was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives and the St. Petersburg Police Department. It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Rachel K. Jones.

This is another case prosecuted as part of the Department of Justice’s “Project Safe Neighborhoods” Program - a nationwide, gun-violence reduction strategy.  United States Attorney A. Lee Bentley, III, along with Regina Lombardo, Special Agent in Charge, ATF, are coordinating the Project Safe Neighborhoods effort here in the Middle District of Florida in cooperation with federal, state, and local law enforcement officials.  It is also a part of ATF’s Frontline Strategy on reducing violent crime in communities.

Orlando, Florida – United States District Judge Gregory A. Presnell today sentenced Thiago Correa (22, Windermere) to 10 years in federal prison for drug importation, conspiracy, and trafficking violations, and for using a firearm in furtherance of his drug trafficking activities.

Correa is the fourth individual to be sentenced in Orlando for drug trafficking and related charges concerning the importation and distribution of methylone and ethylone, also called “Molly” or “Mol,” from China into Brevard and Orange Counties. These prosecutions are part “Project Synergy,” an international investigation headed by the Department of Justice’s Special Operations Division. 

According to court documents, from approximately January 2014, through their arrests on March 18, 2015, Thiago Correa, Camila Correa (25, Windermere), Travis Simmons (25, Deland), and others conspired to import no less than 25 kilograms of ethylone and methylone from China into Orlando, Melbourne, Titusville, and Windermere.  Thiago Correa was a leader and organizer in the conspiracy: he ordered the drugs from China; paid for and directed others to pay for the drugs; coordinated shipments; and recruited and directed others to distribute the drugs. During this conspiracy, Correa used a variety of firearms, including handguns and an assault rifle.

“HSI special agents and our law enforcement partners will continue to work together toward keeping dangerous and deadly substances from harming our citizens,” said Susan L. McCormick special agent in charge of HSI Tampa. “Our communities are safer today because we dismantled this drug trafficking organization.”      

Camila Correa and Travis Simmons previously pleaded guilty for their roles in this case. On September 8, 2015, Simmons was sentenced to seven years in federal prison. Correa’s sentencing hearing is scheduled for March 14, 2016.

This case was investigated by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations and the Brevard County Sheriff’s Office.  It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney J. Bishop Ravenel.

Tampa, FL – U.S. District Judge Richard A. Lazzara today sentenced Cedric Monroe (35, Tampa) to 15 years in federal prison for possessing a firearm as a convicted felon. Monroe pleaded guilty to this offense on December 4, 2015. 

According to court documents, Monroe sold crack cocaine and a firearm to a confidential informant in the bathroom of a local restaurant. At the time of the incident, Monroe had been previously convicted of multiple drug offenses. As a convicted felon, he was prohibited from possessing a firearm or ammunition under federal law.

This case was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, and the Tampa Police Department. It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Stacie B. Harris.

This is another case prosecuted as a part of the Department of Justice’s “Project Safe Neighborhoods” Program - a nationwide, gun-violence reduction strategy.  United States Attorney A. Lee Bentley, III, along with Regina Lombardo, Special Agent in Charge, ATF, is coordinating the Project Safe Neighborhoods effort here in the Middle District of Florida in cooperation with federal, state, and local law enforcement officials. It is also a part of ATF’s Frontline strategy to reduce violence in our communities.

Tampa, FL – United States Attorney A. Lee Bentley, III announces that Adventist Health System Sunbelt Healthcare Corporation (Adventist) has agreed to pay the government $2.09 million to resolve allegations that patients were administered portions of single-dose vials of chemotherapy drugs that were left over from administrations to prior patients.

Subject to a very few strict exceptions not applicable here, these single-dose vials of chemotherapy drugs can only be accessed once and their contents (whether some or all) can only be administered to one patient.  That is because these single-dose vials lack any anti-microbial ingredients or other preservatives, and accessing them can introduce harmful agents that can be passed on to subseqent patients.

This settlement also resolves allegations that some platinum based drugs were administered inappropriately; that certain infusion services were upcoded; and that some patients had to be admitted for treatment as a result of the foregoing acts and omissions.

These events occurred between late 2007 and mid-2011, at an Adventist location in Central Florida, and resulted in the submission of improper claims to federal government health care programs, including Medicare, TRICARE, and the Federal Employees Health Benefits Program. In January 2012, Adventist voluntarily self-disclosed certain of the above-described conduct to the United States and repaid $819,828.82 to the United States. The company will receive a credit of that amount toward the $2.09 million obligation.

“Beneficiaries of federal health care plans, particularly those undergoing chemotherapy treatment for cancer, should not be treated with drugs that present unnecessary and avoidable risks,” stated U.S. Attorney Bentley. “When a lack of proper oversight permits circumstances like this to occur, resulting in the submission of false healthcare claims, responsible providers will be held accountable.”

"These actions put patients at needless risk in an attempt to boost profits at taxpayer expense," said Shimon R. Richmond, Special Agent in Charge for the Office of Inspector General of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.  "This settlement demonstrates that such practices have consequences."

The settlement resolves allegations in a lawsuit filed by relator Heather Huddleston in February 2013.  Huddleston’s suit was filed under the whistleblower provisions of the False Claims Act, which authorizes private parties to sue for false claims on behalf of the United States and to share in any recovery. Huddleston was formerly employed by Adventist and had disclosed certain of the conduct internally to Adventist in 2011. The relator will be receiving $376,452 from the proceeds of the settlement.

This case was investigated jointly by Assistant U.S. Attorney Charles Harden of the United States Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Florida; Trial Attorney Tom Morris of the Commercial Litigation Branch of the Justice Department’s Civil Division; the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services - Office of Inspector General; and the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

The lawsuit was filed in the Middle District of Florida, and is captioned United States ex rel. Huddleston v. Adventist Health System Sunbelt Healthcare Corporation, Case No. 8:13-cv-710-T-27-EAJ (M.D. Fla.).

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

Orlando, Florida – United States Attorney A. Lee Bentley, III announces that Ilian David Gomez Mathews (25, Orlando) today pleaded guilty to conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute a controlled substance. He faces a maximum penalty of 40 years in federal prison. A sentencing date has not yet been set.

According to the plea agreement, between November 2012 and November 2015, Mathews conspired with others to ship at least 15 kilograms of cocaine through the U.S. mail from Puerto Rico to Orange and Osceola counties for distribution. Mathews admitted to distributing the majority of the cocaine, which was typically between 500 grams and two kilograms per month. As part of the scheme, tens of thousands of dollars were transported as bulk cash back to Puerto Rico, to the cocaine supply source. 

In November 2015, federal and local law enforcement arrested five individuals, including Mathews, for drug trafficking, as part of Organized Crime and Drug Trafficking Task Force Operation “Smokin’ Bones.” Those individuals were indicted in December  2015. Mathews is the first defendant to plead guilty. The remaining individuals, Jose Javier Nieves Torres (45, Kissimmee); Dennis Rodriguez De Jesus (38, Kissimmee); Ramon Alberto Castro Ortega (26, St. Cloud); and Hector Manual Sanchez Garay (55, Orlando) are awaiting trial. 

An indictment is merely a formal charge that a defendant has committed one or more violations of federal criminal law, and every defendant is presumed innocent unless,  and until, proven guilty.

This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, and the Orlando Police Department. It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney J. Bishop Ravenel.

Jacksonville, Florida – United States Attorney A. Lee Bentley, III announced today that Clement Ashford Reeves, Jr. (73, Yulee) has been charged by indictment with receiving child pornography over the Internet. If convicted, he faces a mandatory minimum penalty of 5 years, up to 20 years, in federal prison and a potential life term of supervision. Reeves was arrested at his residence on February 16, 2016.        

This case was investigated by the U.S. Department of Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations. It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney D. Rodney Brown.

An indictment is merely a formal charge that a defendant has committed one or more violations of federal criminal law, and every defendant is presumed innocent until, and unless, proven guilty.

It is another case brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by United States Attorneys' Offices and the Criminal Division's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims.  For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.justice.gov/psc.

Tampa, Florida – United States Attorney A. Lee Bentley, III announces the arrest of eight defendants on federal firearms and drug charges (see chart below). Penalties for the various offenses range from 5 to 40 years’ imprisonment. The arrests are the result of a violent crime initiative being jointly undertaken by the United States Attorney’s Office, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, and the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office (HCSO). 

“Fighting violent crime is a top priority of my Office,” said U.S. Attorney Bentley. “We’re doing that by prosecuting felons possessing firearms and drug traffickers in the areas most victimized by violent crime. We’re very grateful for the hard work and dedication of ATF and our tremendous local partners, the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office and the Hillsborough County State Attorney’s Office.”

“ATF will continue to work with our law enforcement partners and commit personnel and specialized resources in order to remove from our community individuals that use a gun to commit acts of violence,” said Special Agent in Charge Regina Lombardo, ATF-Tampa.

"Due to the increase in violent crimes involving firearms around the country, it is critical that we address these issues immediately through a variety of enforcement efforts. One effective measure are joint operations such as this, where we can optimize our manpower and strategically focus on offenders who put the citizens in our county in danger," stated Colonel Donna Lusczynski of the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office.

An indictment is merely a formal charge that a defendant has committed violations of one or more federal criminal laws, and every defendant is presumed innocent unless, and until, proven guilty.

These cases were investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives and the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office.  They will be prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Natalie Hirt Adams, Michael Leeman, Shauna Hale, Taylor Stout, and Carlton C. Gammons.

These cases are prosecuted as a part of the Department of Justice’s “Project Safe Neighborhoods” Program - a nationwide, gun-violence reduction strategy.  United States Attorney A. Lee Bentley, III, along with Regina Lombardo, Special Agent in Charge, ATF, is coordinating the Project Safe Neighborhoods effort here in the Middle District of Florida in cooperation with federal, state, and local law enforcement officials. It is also a part of ATF’s Frontline strategy to combat violent crime in our communities.

Tampa, Florida – U.S. District Judge Susan C. Bucklew yesterday sentenced Seguiel Medrano (31, Dade City) to 17 years in federal prison for drug distribution and firearm charges. Medrano pleaded guilty on October 15, 2015.

According to court documents, Medrano, a member of a Dade City street gang, sold methamphetamine to undercover law enforcement officers, and was armed during the drug transactions. During a search of Medrano’s residence, law enforcement seized multiple firearms, ammunition, narcotics, and cash.  

This case was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the Pasco County Sheriff’s Office. It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Stacie B. Harris.

This is another case prosecuted as a part of the Department of Justice’s “Project Safe Neighborhoods” Program - a nationwide, gun-violence reduction strategy.  United States Attorney A. Lee Bentley, III, along with Regina Lombardo, Special Agent in Charge, ATF, is coordinating the Project Safe Neighborhoods effort here in the Middle District of Florida in cooperation with federal, state, and local law enforcement officials. It is also a part of ATF’s Frontline strategy to reduce violent crime in our communities.

Jacksonville, Florida – United States Attorney A. Lee Bentley, III announced today that Sunshine Marie McEwen (41, Atlantic Beach) has been indicted by a federal grand jury and charged with failing to register as a sex offender after traveling from Florida to California. If convicted, she faces up to 10 years in federal prison. McEwen was arrested in Palm Springs, California on November 28, 2015, and is currently in state custody in Jacksonville.      

According to the indictment, on or about August 20, 1998, McEwen was convicted of two counts of lewd and lascivious act (sexual battery) in Jacksonville, Florida. Subsequent to her conviction, and between May 15, 2015, and November 28, 2015, she traveled from Florida to California and failed to register as a sex offender, as required by the Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act.

The Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act is part of the Adam Walsh Child Protection and Safety Act of 2006. The Adam Walsh Act provides for the use of federal law enforcement resources, including the United States Marshals Service, to assist state and local authorities in locating and apprehending non-compliant sex offenders. This case was investigated by the United States Marshals Service, the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office, the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, and the Palm Springs (California) Police Department. It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney D. Rodney Brown.

An indictment is merely a formal charge that a defendant has committed one or more violations of federal criminal law, and every defendant is presumed innocent until, and unless, proven guilty.

This another case brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by United States Attorneys' Offices and the Criminal Division's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims.  For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.justice.gov/psc.

Fort Myers, Florida – U.S. District Judge Sheri Polster Chappell today sentenced Roger Eugene Hagood (44, Fort Myers) to four years in federal prison for bank fraud. As part of the sentence, the Court also entered a money judgment in the amount of $677,722, the proceeds of the fraud. Hagood pleaded guilty on November 17, 2015.

According to court documents, Hagood operated Coral Palm Auto Sales, a used car dealership. Coral Palm Auto Sales received financing through a third-party lender to purchase automobiles. Vehicle titles were provided as security to procure the loans, and loan payments were made using proceeds from the vehicle sales. Once each loan was paid in full, the third-party lender would release the vehicle titles used to secure the loan back to Coral Palm Auto Sales.   

In November and December 2011, Hagood engaged in a check-kiting scheme by writing 13 checks, totaling $1,592,121, on his business checking account, made payable to the third-party lender, knowing that the account lacked sufficient funds to cover the checks. As a result, the third-party lender wrote new loan checks on its account made payable to Coral Palm Auto Sales. Hagood’s scheme caused two federally insured banks to suffer a total loss of $1,037,770.01.

On March 29, 2015, Hagood attempted to surreptitiously dispose of 20 banker’s boxes containing records and documents pertaining to Coral Palm Auto Sales by throwing them in a dumpster located more than a mile from his residence. A video surveillance camera partially captured Hagood attempting to dispose of the boxes. The boxes were retrieved by the Lee County Sheriff’s Office and turned over to the FBI. A portion of the records and documents that Hagood tried to destroy were responsive to a federal subpoena previously served on him earlier that month.

This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Florida Department of Law Enforcement. It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Jeffrey F. Michelland.

Orlando, Florida – U.S. District Judge Carlos E. Mendoza has sentenced John A. White (40, Windermere) to four years and nine months in federal prison for wire fraud and filing a false tax-related document. A federal jury found him guilty on September 2, 2015.  The Court will decide at a later date the amount of restitution White owes and the proceeds he must forfeit.

According to evidence presented at trial, from 2006 through 2012, White was employed as the personal assistant to NBA basketball player Gilbert J. Arenas, who has since retired from professional basketball. During calendar years 2008 through 2011, White stole approximately $2,188,170 from Arenas by making unauthorized online banking money transfers from one of Arenas’s bank accounts, into three different bank accounts that White controlled. White spent these funds on his own personal expenses, including mortgage payments for his home in Windermere, and the purchase of a Ferrari and a Range Rover. White also filed false joint income tax returns with the IRS for each of these years. In these tax returns, he and his wife never reported more than $60,000 in gross income, when in fact their joint income was significantly greater, due to the money White had stolen from Arenas. 

White’s false tax returns caused a tax loss of approximately $621,144 to the IRS.    

This case was investigated by the Internal Revenue Service - Criminal Investigation, with assistance from the United States Secret Service. It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Andrew C. Searle.

Tampa, Florida – U.S. District Judge Susan Bucklew has sentenced James Dale Little (43, Jacksonville) to 20 years in federal prison for transporting and possessing child pornography. The Court also ordered him to serve a life term of supervision and to register as a sex offender upon his release. A federal jury found him guilty on October 21, 2015.

According to evidence presented during the three-day trial, law enforcement officers identified Little while investigating another individual with whom Little had been trading child pornography via email. The agents discovered that Little had received and sent images of prepubescent minors engaging in sexually explicit conduct and materials portraying children engaged in sadistic conduct and violence.

Little had a prior conviction in 1996 for injury to a child in Galveston, Texas. Evidence at sentencing showed that this prior conviction involved Little’s molestation and sexual abuse of a 4-year-old child.

"Protecting our children from these heinous crimes is one of the top priorities of Homeland Security Investigations," said Susan L. McCormick, special agent in charge of HSI Tampa. “This sentencing is one more step in making our communities safer.”

The case was investigated by the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's Homeland Security Investigations. It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Kelly S. Karase and Gregory Nolan.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse.  Led by United States Attorneys' Offices and the Criminal Division's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS), Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.justice.gov/psc.   

The Justice Department announced today that Martin Alan Schnitzler, 43, pleaded guilty to a hate crime in the Middle District of Florida for calling two mosques located in Pinellas County, Florida, and threatening to firebomb the mosques and shoot their congregants.

Schnitzler pleaded guilty to obstructing persons in the free exercise of religious beliefs for making the violent threats.  As part of his plea, he admitted that on Nov. 13, 2015, he intentionally obstructed members of the Islamic Society of St. Petersburg, Florida, and the Islamic Society of Pinellas County from practicing their religion when he left voicemail messages threatening the safety of the mosques’ congregants.  Schnitzler admitted that his threats were prompted by the terrorist attacks in Paris.  Among other things, Schnitzler also admitted that in one of the voicemails he threatened to “personally have a militia” report to one of the mosques and “firebomb you, shoot whoever is there on sight in the head.  I don’t care if they’re [expletive] two years old or a hundred.”  

As a result of the above threats, both mosques requested increased law-enforcement presence at their locations and took extra safety precautions for congregants.

“Our Constitution and laws guarantee all people – regardless of where they worship – the right to live free from violence and discrimination,” said Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Vanita Gupta, head of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division.  “Criminal threats of violence against people or places of worship have no place in our society, and as proven today, the Department of Justice will continue to vigorously prosecute those who commit religion-based hate crimes.”

“The right to worship as one chooses, free from threats and intimidation, is one of the core principles upon which our great nation was founded,” said U.S. Attorney A. Lee Bentley III of the Middle District of Florida.  “The U.S. Attorney’s Office is committed to taking whatever action is necessary to vindicate this important First Amendment right.”

Sentencing for the defendant will be scheduled at a later date.  Schnitzler faces a maximum sentence of 20 years in federal prison. 

The FBI is investigating the case with the assistance of the St. Petersburg Police Department.  Assistant U.S. Attorneys Daniel George and Daniel Irick of the Middle District of Florida and Trial Attorney Gabriel Davis of the Civil Rights Division’s Criminal Section are prosecuting the case.

Schnitzler Plea Agreement

Tampa, FL – United States Attorney A. Lee Bentley, III announced today that Martin Alan Schnitzler, 43, pleaded guilty to a hate crime in the Middle District of Florida for calling two mosques located in Pinellas County, Florida, and threatening to firebomb the mosques and shoot their congregants.

Schnitzler pleaded guilty to obstructing persons in the free exercise of religious beliefs for making the violent threats.  As part of his plea, he admitted that on Nov. 13, 2015, he intentionally obstructed members of the Islamic Society of St. Petersburg, Florida, and the Islamic Society of Pinellas County from practicing their religion when he left voicemail messages threatening the safety of the mosques’ congregants.  Schnitzler admitted that his threats were prompted by the terrorist attacks in Paris.  Among other things, Schnitzler also admitted that in one of the voicemails he threatened to “personally have a militia” report to one of the mosques and “firebomb you, shoot whoever is there on sight in the head.  I don’t care if they’re [expletive] two years old or a hundred.”  

As a result of the above threats, both mosques requested increased law-enforcement presence at their locations and took extra safety precautions for congregants.

“Our Constitution and laws guarantee all people – regardless of where they worship – the right to live free from violence and discrimination,” said Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Vanita Gupta, head of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division.  “Criminal threats of violence against people or places of worship have no place in our society, and as proven today, the Department of Justice will continue to vigorously prosecute those who commit religion-based hate crimes.”

“The right to worship as one chooses, free from threats and intimidation, is one of the core principles upon which our great nation was founded,” said U.S. Attorney A. Lee Bentley III of the Middle District of Florida.  “The U.S. Attorney’s Office is committed to taking whatever action is necessary to vindicate this important First Amendment right.”

Sentencing for the defendant will be scheduled at a later date.  Schnitzler faces a maximum sentence of 20 years in federal prison. 

The FBI is investigating the case with the assistance of the St. Petersburg Police Department.  Assistant U.S. Attorneys Daniel George and Daniel Irick of the Middle District of Florida and Trial Attorney Gabriel Davis of the Civil Rights Division’s Criminal Section are prosecuting the case.

Jacksonville, FL – United States Attorney A. Lee Bentley, III announces that two compounding pharmacies - WELLHealth and Topical Specialists, as well as four physicians - Manish Bansal, Mehul Parekh, Marisol Arcila, and Syed Asad, have agreed to pay the government a total of approximately $10 million to resolve allegations involving TRICARE, the military’s healthcare program.

The United States contends that Topical Specialists was created by the pharmacist for WELLHealth and four physicians - Bansal, Parekh, Arcila, and Asad.  It was meant to be a standalone pharmacy, but was unable to obtain separate contracts with the government healthcare programs. Instead, Topical Specialists simply sent all of its prescriptions to WELLHealth, which in turn submitted these prescriptions to the federal government. 

The United States alleges that Bansal, Parekh, Arcila, and Asad had an incentive to refer prescriptions to their pharmacy, as steering costly prescriptions to Topical Specialists resulted in lucrative revenue streams for the doctors. The United States contends that these four physicians wrote hundreds of prescriptions for pain and scar creams.  After speaking with patients, the government contends that these prescriptions were often not used by patients, despite the tremendous cost to the government.  While the pharmacies billed the federal government tens of thousands of dollars for these creams, the cost to actually compound them was often 4-5% of the submitted cost.  Records reviewed by the government showed that the pharmacy was making up to 90% profit for each cream submitted to the TRICARE program.  This profit was then disbursed to the doctors who wrote the prescriptions.  In some cases, the four physicians recruited other doctors to write prescriptions – promising to share revenue with them.  The government alleges that in some cases, the doctors who wrote prescriptions to Topical Specialists and WELLHealth received up to 40% of the reimbursement.

At one point, certain defendants suggested that payments to physicians for these prescriptions were legitimate because these physicians were engaged in a “research study” to monitor the clinical effectiveness of these creams.  No patient contacted by the government knew that they were enrolled in a research study, and no research findings were ever published.

Roughly 40% of the prescriptions submitted by WELLHealth and Topical Specialists were written by these four physicians.  Bansal is a cardiologist at Baptist Hospital.  Arcila is a pain management physician at Premier Spine & Pain Center. Asad is a neurologist at Universal Neurological Care.  Parekh is a general practice physician at Baptist Hospital. All four received hundreds of thousands of dollars in reimbursements. 

“The United States Attorney’s Office is committed to fighting healthcare fraud wherever it may occur,” said U.S. Attorney Bentley. “Those who defraud the TRICARE program are stealing funds that should be used to provide quality healthcare to military families. We will continue to use every weapon at our disposal to stamp out this fraud and recover misappropriated funds.”

Today’s settlement involved false claims submitted to the TRICARE program.  This case was developed as part of a broader effort to identify and target unscrupulous compounding pharmacies.  The United States Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Florida has been focusing efforts on pharmacies that abuse the TRICARE program and defraud the government. Since March 2015, the district has collected more than $50 million in recoveries related to compounding pharmacies.

"The Defense Criminal Investigative Service is committed to protecting the integrity of TRICARE, the U.S. military health care program, so that it continues to provide quality medical care to America's Warfighters and their families, while ensuring that health care facilities and providers comply with Federal laws and regulations," said John F. Khin, Special Agent in Charge, Defense Criminal Investigative Service - Southeast Field Office.  "Through joint investigations with our law enforcement partners, DCIS will fully pursue both civil remedies to recover taxpayer dollars and criminal prosecutions to bring violators to justice."

"I applaud the Department of Justice and the U.S. Attorney for the Middle District of Florida for holding these pharmacies and physicians accountable for their actions," said Vice Admiral Raquel Bono, director of the Defense Health Agency. "Their egregious actions targeted American service members, veterans and their families, and in many cases offered them products with little or no substantiated evidence that they would improve health outcomes. The Defense Health Agency will continue working closely with the Justice Department and other state and federal agencies to investigate all those who participated in these nefarious, fraudulent practices."

This settlement illustrates the government’s emphasis on combating health care fraud and marks another achievement for the Health Care Fraud Prevention and Enforcement Action Team (HEAT) initiative, which was announced in May 2009 by the Attorney General and the Secretary of Health and Human Services.  The partnership between the two departments has focused efforts to reduce and prevent Medicare and Medicaid financial fraud through enhanced cooperation.  One of the most powerful tools in this effort is the False Claims Act.  Since January 2009, the Justice Department has recovered more than $27.1 billion through False Claims Act cases, with more than $17.1 billion of that amount recovered in cases involving fraud against federal health care programs.

Tips and complaints from all sources about potential fraud, waste, abuse, and mismanagement, including the conduct described in this case, can be reported to the Department of Health and Human Services, at 800-HHS-TIPS (800-447-8477).

These cases were investigated by Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General (HHS/OIG), Office of Personnel Management (OPM), the Department of Veterans Affairs Office of Inspector General (VA/OIG), Defense Criminal Investigative Services (DCIS), and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and were prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Jason Mehta. 

The claims resolved by this settlement are allegations only, and there has been no determination of liability. 

Jacksonville, Florida – United States Attorney A. Lee Bentley, III announces the return of an indictment charging David Anthony Moody (26, Fernandina Beach) with six counts of making hoax bomb threats. If convicted, he faces a maximum penalty of five years in federal prison on each count.  

According to the indictment, Moody left notes at various public places in Fernandina Beach between January 30 and February 2, 2016. Each of the six notes stated, in substance, that a bomb was going to explode in the downtown Fernandina Beach area.  

An indictment is merely a formal charge that a defendant has committed a violation of one or more federal criminal laws, and every defendant is presumed innocent unless, and until, proven guilty.

This case was investigated by the Fernandina Beach Police Department, the Nassau County Sheriff’s Office, the U.S. Coast Guard Investigative Service, the U.S. Coast Guard Explosives Detection Team, the Federal Bureau of Investigation Joint Terrorism Task Force, and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations – Jacksonville Office. It will be prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Kevin C. Frein.

Fort Myers, Florida – U.S. District Judge Sheri Polster Chappell has sentenced Kurtis Johnson (26, Punta Gorda) to eight years in federal prison for distributing child pornography. The Court also ordered him to forfeit his laptop and three external hard drives that had been used to commit the offense.  Johnson pleaded guilty on November 5, 2015.

According to court documents, in October 2014, an FBI task force agent was able to download numerous images of child pornography from Johnson’s computer using a file sharing program. On October 30, 2014, a search warrant was executed at Johnson’s residence. During an interview with agents, Johnson admitted to downloading and possessing child pornography on his computer. Subsequent forensic analyses of the computer media seized from the home revealed more than 3,500 images, and over 800 videos depicting child pornography. 

This case was investigated by the FBI Child Exploitation Task Force, which includes the Lee County Sheriff’s Office and the Charlotte County Sheriff’s Office. It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Yolande G. Viacava.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse.  Led by United States Attorneys' Offices and the Criminal Division's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS), Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims.  For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.justice.gov/psc.

Orlando, Florida – United States Attorney A. Lee Bentley, III announces the return of an indictment charging William Bruce O’Donoghue (61, Winter Park) with failure to pay over federal employee payroll taxes. If convicted, he faces a maximum penalty of 30 years in federal prison.           

According to the indictment, O’Donoghue was the President and majority owner of Control Specialists, a traffic engineering company in Central Florida. As president and majority owner, O’Donoghue exercised control over the company’s business affairs, including approving all payments by the company and controlling all of the company’s bank accounts.

Throughout 2009 and 2010, O’Donoghue caused Control Specialists to withhold payroll taxes from its employees, but failed to pay over those withheld payroll taxes to the IRS. During that same time period, O’Donoghue caused Control Specialists to make thousands of dollars in expenditures for his personal benefit, including approximately $125,000 in cash payments to fund his campaign for Congress. The amount of payroll taxes withheld by Control Specialists and not paid over to the Internal Revenue Service during this period is approximately $219,962.95.         

An indictment is merely a formal charge that a defendant has committed one or more violations of federal criminal law, and every defendant is presumed innocent unless,  and until, proven guilty.

This case was investigated by the Internal Revenue Service – Criminal Investigation. It will be prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Vincent S. Chiu.