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COVID-19

This archive displays posts tagged as relevant to the COVID-19/Coronavirus pandemic. You may also be interested in the following pages:

Page 3 of 10

July 13, 2021

Joel Jerome Tucker, the principal in payday loan business eData Solutions, LLC and related entities, was ordered to pay $8.1 million in restitution to the IRS and sentenced to 12.5 years in prison following his conviction on charges related to his fraudulent sale of non-existent payday loan portfolios and the failure by him and his companies to file federal income tax returns or pay taxes.  Tucker used nominee bank accounts to conceal income and assets and owed taxes, penalties, and interest of more than $12 million.  In addition, in 2020, Tucker fraudulently obtained a $20,000 Paycheck Protection Program loan.  USAO WD MO

Tagged in: COVID-19, Criminal Proceedings, Financial and Investment Fraud, Tax Fraud,

June 16, 2021

Bedrock Group LLC agreed to pay $3.5 million to Massachusetts to resolve allegations that the company violated the Massachusetts False Claims Act by failing to fully and timely refund the state following the company's failure to deliver one million N95 masks ordered by the state.  Massachusetts placed an emergency purchase order with the company, agreeing to pay $3.6 million for the one million masks, which were to be delivered by April, 2020.  The company delivered fewer than 100,000 masks and, after the state cancelled the purchase order, failed to refund the state's payment. Bedrock also agreed to a voluntary debarment from contracting with the state or any political subdivision for five years.   MA

Tagged in: Contract Non-Compliance, COVID-19, FCA State, Government Procurement Fraud,

June 3, 2021

The CFTC obtained a default judgment against Florida resident James Frederick Walsh, who was ordered to pay a penalty of more than $500,000.  Walsh, who was not registered with the CFTC, marketed himself through social media as an experienced foreign exchange trader who could conduct retail forex trades for customers.  Walsh advertised that the COVID-19 pandemic created an opportunity for increased forex trading profits,  guaranteed returns, and claimed to have inside information about forex markets.   CFTC

Tagged in: COVID-19, Foreign Exchange, Fraud in CFTC-Regulated Markets, Misrepresentations,

DOJ Lowers The Boom On COVID-19 Healthcare Scams, Again

Posted  05/28/21
COVID Virus Zoomed In
Hey, fraudsters, did you hear?  There was a global pandemic, so the government pumped trillions of dollars into the economy.  Probably a good time to get a piece of the cut, you ask?  They’ll never find out, right?  So many ways to grift! Well, not so much.  From the start, the cops on the beat, led by the United States Department of Justice, have screamed from the rooftops:  “Don’t do it.  We WILL...

Tagged in: COVID-19, Criminal Proceedings, FCA Federal, Financial and Investment Fraud, Government Programs Fraud, Healthcare Fraud, Importance of Whistleblowers, Laboratory and IDTF, Lack of Medical Necessity, Market Manipulation and Trading Violations, Medical Billing Fraud, Misrepresentations, Pharma Fraud, Securities Fraud,

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Private-Equity Red Flags Signal Potential False Claims Act Liability

Posted  05/21/21
person following a trail of money
Private equity (PE) firms that manage healthcare entities have further reason to take note of the growing record of exposure for False Claims Act (FCA) liability.

Martino-Fleming Case

In the latest shot across the bow, the PE firm, a majority shareholder of a for-profit mental-health provider, knew about the false claims and played a sufficiently active role in operations potentially to have caused them. Evidence...

Tagged in: COVID-19, Defendants, FCA Federal, Financial and Investment Fraud, Healthcare Fraud, Importance of Whistleblowers, Provider Fraud, SNF,

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May 10, 2021

Iowa skilled nursing facility Dubuque Specialty Care, owned by Care Initiatives, will pay $214,200 to resolve claims that they received federal Medicaid funds during a COVID-19 outbreak at the facility while failing to adhere to requirements for infection control, including procedures for screening symptomatic employees for COVID-19.  USAO ND Iowa

Tagged in: COVID-19, Healthcare Fraud, Medicaid, SNF,

As COVID-19 Stimulus Funds Flow, DOJ Puts Fraudsters on Notice and Calls Whistleblowers “Essential”

Posted  04/2/21
On March 11th, President Biden signed The American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (ARPA), a sweeping economic stimulus plan that will pump $1.9 trillion into the US economy. In addition to direct relief to Americans, ARPA includes record-setting government spending in numerous areas to speed recovery from the economic and health effects of the COVID-19 pandemic and the ongoing recession. As we have previously written,...

Tagged in: COVID-19, FCA Federal, FIRREA, Government Loan Programs, Government Procurement Fraud, Government Programs Fraud, Importance of Whistleblowers,

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March Madness: AstraZeneca Fudges the Clinical Trial Results for Its COVID-19 Vaccine

Posted  03/26/21
basketball hoop in basketball court
In case you haven’t been following the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament (or even if you have), you might be surprised to learn that the University of Hartford is poised to win it all this year—except for the fact that it lost in the first round of the tournament to Baylor University, 79-55, and has been eliminated from the competition. Likewise, in case you haven’t been following the results of COVID-19...

Tagged in: COVID-19, FDA Fraud, Financial and Investment Fraud, Government Programs Fraud, Grant and Research Fraud, Healthcare Fraud, Pharma Fraud,

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COVID Frauds of the Week: DOJ Continues to Crack Down on PPP Fraudsters

Posted  03/19/21
ponzi scheme vs pyramid scheme
As of this week, the Small Business Administration has disbursed over $700 billion in Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans to small businesses and non-profits. There are over $100 billion in remaining appropriations, with additional appropriations likely to follow thereafter. With numbers like these, the program has become a magnet for fraudsters seeking to profit from the pandemic. The DOJ has been actively going...

Tagged in: Catch of the Week, COVID-19, Financial and Investment Fraud, Financial Institution Fraud, Government Programs Fraud, Money Laundering,

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DOJ Previews False Claims Act Enforcement Priorities for 2021

Posted  03/5/21
Department of Justice Seal on the United States Flag
The False Claims Act is the federal government's primary enforcement tool to combat fraud against the public.  Every year the government recovers billions of dollars under the statute, primarily with the help of whistleblowers.  Under the so-called qui tam provisions of the act, whistleblowers are authorized to act as private attorneys general and bring lawsuits on behalf of the government and recover a portion of...

Tagged in: COVID-19, Cybersecurity and Data Breaches, Electronic Health Records, FCA Federal, Government Procurement Fraud, Government Programs Fraud, Healthcare Fraud, Home Health and Hospice, Importance of Whistleblowers, Pharma Fraud, SNF,

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