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COVID Frauds of the Week: More Price Gouging and PPP Fraud

Posted  08/21/20
money in a spiral form with a bankroll of cash on top
As the COVID-19 pandemic remains omnipresent in our daily lives, so too do the fraudsters who seek to capitalize on the crisis and line their own pockets.  Fortunately, government regulators have remained vigilant in rooting out fraud and protecting the public.   Just in the past week, federal prosecutors have busted two large schemes seeking to profit off other's pain. First, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for...

Colorado Law Offers Rewards for Whistleblowers Reporting Workplace Health and Safety Violations

Posted  08/14/20
As lock-downs and business shutdowns continue in the U.S., essential workers continue to report to work, providing healthcare, putting food on our tables, delivering goods and service, ensuring public safety, and more. These essential workers may face serious risks as they perform their jobs, often as a result of workplace health and safety violations by employers. Responding to the unique challenges of the...

COVID Frauds of the Week: Price Gouging, Unapproved Treatments, and a Dead CEO

Posted  08/7/20
N95 Masks
COVID-19 fraudsters really delivered this week, wherein we saw price gouging on masks, peddling of unproven “treatments” for COVID-19, and fraudulently-obtained PPP money spent on real estate, luxury goods, and personal—sometimes very personal—entertainment. Starting in Pennsylvania, the Attorney General announced this week that two medical supply companies—American Surgical Supply and Keystone Medical...

COVID Frauds of the Week: Fraud on Stimulus Programs and Consumers

Posted  07/31/20
handcuffs on a gavel with money scattered around
Like the virus itself, fraud that exploits the COVID-19 pandemic just will not go away, so we are back with another installment of our continuing series highlighting related government enforcement actions.  This week, we saw a continued enforcement focus in two areas: fraud on stimulus programs and consumers.

Stimulus Fraud

Three charges this week highlighted the government’s ongoing efforts to expose and bring...

COVID Fraud of the Week: Washington State Man Charged with Attempting to Launder COVID-19 Relief Money

Posted  07/24/20
Flashing lights on top of police car
On July 23rd, the Department of Justice announced that Mukund Mohan, a Washington state tech company executive, was taken into custody for allegedly laundering money he fraudulently received through the COVID-19 related Paycheck Protection Program (“PPP”). After receiving funds through the program, Mohan allegedly transferred over $230,000 to his personal brokerage account. These charges mark another instance of...

Whistleblowers Are Critical to Exposing Fraud in the Murky World of For-Profit and Private-Equity Nursing Home Operations

Posted  07/17/20
person following a trail of money
The settlement of a fraud case against 27 skilled nursing facilities controlled by private owners demonstrates “the power of whistleblowers to shine a light on improper business practices and obtain significant recoveries on behalf of United States taxpayers.”  (U.S. Attorney Nick Hanna, C.D. California.)  The government’s recognition of the contributions of whistleblowers in the False Claims Act case against...

COVID-19 Frauds of the Week: Fake Employees and Fake Treatments

Posted  07/17/20
handcuffs on a gavel with money scattered around
Taxpayers, rightfully upset about large companies such as Shake Shack and Ruth’s Chris Steakhouse claiming large sums of Paycheck Protection Program money from the Small Business Administration, should consider shifting some of their ire to applicants posing as the original intended recipients—small businesses—who are getting in on the grift. And for fraudsters who prefer to market unproven products rather than...

COVID Frauds of the Week: Fraud on the PPP

Posted  06/26/20
hundared dollar bill zoomed in to president's face
This week’s COVID-19 frauds centered on (temporarily) successful attempts to receive Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) funds for nonexistent companies and fabricated or inflated employee headcounts. First up is the owner of a wedding planning company that sought personal enrichment via more than $3 million in forgivable PPP loans for his 120 nonexistent employees. Fahad Shah, 44, of Murphy, Texas, was arrested...

Under Cover of Pandemic, Nursing Home Residents Illegally Evicted

Posted  06/26/20
wheelchair in the hospital lobby
“It felt opportunistic, where some homes were basically seizing the moment when everyone is looking the other way to move people out.”  (Laurie Facciarossa Brewer, long-term care ombudsman in New Jersey).  With nursing homes involved in more than 40% of coronavirus deaths, in depth reporting by Jessica Silver-Greenberg and Amy Julia Harris at the New York Times reveals a new threat to residents’ care and...

Taxpayers Against Fraud Education Fund Launches COVID-19 Anti-Fraud Task Force

Posted  06/25/20
coronavirus-map
Earlier this month, Taxpayers Against Fraud Education Fund (TAFEF)—an anti-fraud public interest organization founded in 1986—launched a task force comprised of former government officials, subject matter experts, and experienced False Claims Act attorneys to help federal and state law enforcement prevent and punish COVID-related fraud.  TAFEF, which has a network of more than 400 attorneys across the country who...