DOJ Enforcement

October 16, 2018

Nomura Holding America Inc. and its affiliates have agreed to pay a civil penalty of $480 million to settle claims that it knowingly misled investors of its residential mortgage-backed securities (RMBS) in the years leading up to the financial crisis of 2008. From 2006 to 2007, Nomura allegedly marketed falsely to investors that its due diligence process was "industry leading," despite knowing that many of the loans it sold did not comply with regulations, or had not even gone through their due diligence process. Among the investors defrauded were Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, retirement funds, and university endowments. USAO EDNY

October 16, 2018

Sudhakar Reddy Bonthu, a former manager at Equifax, was sentenced to 8 months of home confinement and fined $50,000 for insider trading related to Equifax's massive data breach in 2017. As a member of a team tasked with quickly developing an online user interface for 100 million possible victims of a data breach at an unnamed company, Bonthu quickly guessed that the company in question was the one he worked for. In violation of company policy as well as federal law, Bonthu then allegedly bought a large quantity of Equifax stock, specifically put options, which allowed him to profit if the value plummeted within a two week period. Six days later, Equifax announced the breach and its stock value plummeted, netting Bonthu more than $75,000 in fraudulently gained profits. USAO NDGA

October 15, 2018

The CEO of Tri-County Wellness Group, Mashiyat Rashid, has plead guilty and agreed to forfeit millions of dollars worth of ill-gotten funds and property in connection with a $150 million healthcare fraud. Over the course of almost 10 years, Rashid and physicians working in his pain clinics allegedly prescribed millions of units of medically unnecessary painkillers to Medicare beneficiaries, whom they also subjected to medically unnecessary but expensive injections. A similar fraud was repeated at laboratories owned by Rashid, with medically unnecessary but expensive urine tests for drugs. When Medicare realized that none of the claims were reimbursable, Rashid and others created fake companies to perpetuate the fraud. DOJ

October 15, 2018

The heir of a family skincare business has been sentenced to almost 3 years in prison for multiple counts of tax fraud. James Wright of B&P Company, Inc.—which has been selling a wrinkle reduction product called Frownies since 1889—allegedly diverted money from the company to a series of entities that he then used to fund personal expenses. Through a company he called The Remnant, Inc., Wright paid rent and utilities for himself and other immediate family members. Through a private foundation he called Fore Fathers Foundation, he paid high school and college tuition for his five children. According to the DOJ press release, Wright had previously pleaded guilty to concealing income through trusts. In addition to the new prison sentence, he is ordered to pay almost restitution of $150,000. DOJ

October 15, 2018

Indal Technologies Inc. has agreed to pay $3.5 million to settle claims that it violated the False Claims Act by knowingly selling the U.S. Navy helicopter landing systems that used substandard steel. The alleged fraud by Indal Technologies involved the substitution of a stronger steel for a weaker, less inexpensive steel in a component that helps secure a landing helicopter onto certain Navy destroyers. Due to the possibility of rough winds and seas during landing, it is crucial for this component to be made of high strength steel. DOJ; USAO NJ

October 15, 2018

Alpha Research & Technology, Inc. (ART) has agreed to pay $1 million to settle False Claims Act-based allegations of defense contract fraud. From 2006 to 2011, the command and control systems provider allegedly submitted inflated subcontractor pricing proposals to contractors who then unknowingly included the false claims in proposals submitted to the Department of Defense. Among the expenses claimed by ART were the personal expenses of co-owners Donne and DeAnne Smith for designing and constructing a luxury home, luxury cars, and luxury getaways. USAO EDCA

October 12, 2018

A father and son duo has plead guilty to causing over $27 million in losses from Affordable Care Act (ACA) programs in twelve states, including Arizona, California, Connecticut, Delaware, Indiana, Kentucky, New Jersey, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, and Texas. Jeffrey and Nicholas White of California allegedly made a living from drug rehabilitation centers through patient referral bonuses and cuts of money paid out by ACA programs. To maximize their profits, they enrolled participants in ACA programs in high paying states, regardless of whether the participants even lived in that state. The Whites also went to great lengths to further the fraud, including creating fictitious contact information, paying patients' insurance premiums, and paying for their transport to out-of-state rehabilitation centers. They each face a maximum of 10 years in prison. USAO CT

October 12, 2018

Former commodity traders Yuchun "Bruce" Mao, Kamaldeep Gandhi, and Krishna Mohan have been charged with commodities fraud and spoofing in a scheme that cost investors on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) and Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) over $60 million in losses. Over the course of two years, the three allegedly placed thousands of orders and canceled them before execution in order to drive up demand. When defendant Gandhi moved onto another firm, he allegedly continued placing spoof orders. Along with defendant Mohan, Gandhi has agreed to plead guilty to the charges; no word yet on how Mao will plead. CFTC; DOJ; USAO SDTX

October 12, 2018

The owner of a small chain of hospices has plead guilty to healthcare fraud in one of the largest hospice fraud cases ever to come out of Mississippi. Charline Brandon is alleged to have submitted fraudulent claims worth $11 million to Medicare and $2 million to Medicaid for services not rendered or needed, as well as illegally soliciting patients who were not eligible for hospice services. USAO NDMS

October 11, 2018

A Washington couple will serve time in federal prison for defrauding investors of $12.7 million over the course of 7 years. Delving into their ties to various religious organization, Laurence Hong and Grace Hong convinced more than 55 clients to invest their life savings in a hedge fund that they called Pishon Holdings, by claiming that Laurence had experience investing vast sums of money on behalf of wealthy families and Grace had experience working for an investment firm. In fact, Laurence, also known as Sung Hong, had just completed a nearly 3 year sentence for investment fraud when he began the new scheme. With the funds they stole from investors, the couple paid for rent on a house, bought a yacht and multiple luxury vehicles (including an Aston Martin, BMW, Lamborghini, and Maserati), and went on extravagant family vacations to the Bahamas and Beverly Hills. Laurence will now serve another 15 years in prison, and Grace, also known as Hyun Joo Hong, will serve 6 years. They have also been ordered to pay restitution of more than $12.7 million. USAO WDWA