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Top-10 Financial Fraud Prison Sentences For 2016

Posted  January 4, 2017

By the C|C Whistleblower Lawyer Team

Here is our look-back at the top-10 prison sentences in 2016 for violating the False Claims Act or engaging in other financial frauds.

  1. Philip Joseph Rivkin (aka Felipe Poitan Arriaga) — He was sentenced to 121 months in prison (and to pay more than $87 million in restitution and forfeit $51 million) for generating and selling fraudulent biodiesel credits in the federal renewable fuel program through his companies Green Diesel LLC, Fuel Streamers Inc. and Petro Constructors LLC.  DOJ 

  1. Gilbert G. Lundstrom — The former CEO of TierOne Bank was sentenced to 132 months in prison (and to pay a $1.2 million fine) for orchestrating a scheme to defraud TierOne’s shareholders and to mislead regulators by concealing more than $100 million in losses on loans and declining real estate.  DOJ
  1. Milton Russ Barnhill — He was sentenced to 132 months in prison for conspiring with others to defraud the Federal Crop Insurance Corporation and the Farm Service Agency in connection with federal crop insurance claims and other federal taxpayer subsidies.  DOJ (EDNC)
  1. Nery Cowan — The former health care clinic consultant and Medicare biller for partial hospitalization program Greater Miami Behavioral Healthcare Center Inc. was sentenced to 135 months in prison for her role in laundering money in connection with a $63 million health care fraud and kickback scheme.  DOJ
  1. Sharon Iglehart — The former attending psychiatrist at Riverside General Hospital in Houston was sentenced to 144 months in prison (and to pay roughly $6.4 million, and forfeit the same amount) for her role in a $158 million Medicare fraud scheme involving false claims for mental health treatment.  DOJ
  1. John Bertrand Beliveau II — The former Naval Criminal Investigative Service supervisory special agent was sentenced to 144 months in prison (and to pay $20 million in restitution to the Navy) for disclosing sensitive law enforcement reports to a defense contractor who was the target of a criminal fraud investigation in exchange for cash, luxury travel and the services of prostitutes. DOJ
  1. David Brock Lovelace — The Florida businessman was sentenced to 174 months in prison (and to pay $2,512,460 in restitution) for his role in a multimillion-dollar health care fraud and money laundering scheme involving the submission to Medicare of fraudulent claims for radiology, audiology, cardiology and neurology services not rendered by physicians, secured by kickbacks or the subject of forged or falsified documents. DOJ
  1. Arthur Budovsky — The Liberty Reserve founder was sentenced to 240 months in prison (and to pay a $500,000 fine) for running a massive money laundering enterprise through his company’s virtual currency once used by cybercriminals around the world to launder the proceeds of their illegal activity.  DOJ
  1. Joseph Furando — He was sentenced to 240 months in prison (and to pay more than $56 million in restitution) for his role in a scheme to fraudulently sell biodiesel incentives.  DOJ
  1. Zafar Mehmood — The owner of several Detroit home health care companies was sentenced to 360 months in prison (and to pay roughly $40.5 million) for his role in a Medicare fraud scheme in which he obtained patients by paying cash kickbacks to recruiters, who in turn paid cash to patients to induce them to sign up for home health care with Mehmood’s companies. DOJ

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