South Florida Criminal Attorneys Blog

Former West Palm Beach Doctor Faces Capital Murder Charge

July 13, 2013 | Michael B. Cohen, P.A.

In an exceptionally uncommon action, authorities arrested a West Palm Beach former doctor for first-degree murder. His medical license had been revoked two years ago.

According to the Florida’s sun-sentinel.com, Palm Beach County State Attorney Dave Aronberg said “it’s rare for a doctor to face first-degree murder or manslaughter charges for overprescribing drugs, but it’s becoming more common”. This doctor is being charged for the overdose deaths of two of his patients.

John Christensen, 61, was originally a chiropractor when he received his medical degree in 1995 from Universidad Federico Henriquez y Carvajal School of medicine in the Dominican Republic. The school was shut down in 1998 by officials of the D.R., who established that they uncovered “grave academic deficiencies.” A report filed in the U.S. connected it closely to another school that has also since been closed for being nothing more than a diploma mill.

Christensen claimed to have no knowledge and had heard nothing about the controversy that surrounded his old school; He said he passed all the requisite exams to get his license to practice medicine. “We took the same examinations that the United States medical students took,” he said during a deposition in civil suit that was filed against him in 2010.

That law suit was filed by George and Jacque Lauzerique, the parents of a 21-year-old Royal Palm Beach High School baseball sensation that died while he was sleeping at their Wellington home. Their son, Anthony Lauzerique died from a drug overdose.

Through testimony of the civil suit it was alleged that Christensen blatantly over-prescribed oxycodone, roxycodon, methadone and Xanax tablets to their son which led to his death..

Dr. Christensen settled that lawsuit. State records show his insurance company paid approximately $250,000, but the total amount of the settlement has remained undisclosed.

Although losing the civil suit, Christensen’s pain management clinics continued to thrive. Records show that in the first half of 2011, Medicaid in Florida paid for over 5,000 oxycodone pills per month that Christensen approved for his patients.

But in August 2011 Christensen’s clinics were raided. The Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE) along with other law enforcement agents took boxes of patient data and computer records from his clinic in West Palm Beach. A Daytona Beach chiropractic clinic of which he was a partner was also searched.

The Department of Health suspended Christensen’s license after documents found in the raids showed abuse of over-prescribing certain controlled drugs. Authorities searched Christensen’s home in addition to his offices. Florida’s then-Surgeon General, Dr. Frank Farmer, said in a statement: “Clearly, this practitioner flagrantly disregarded his duties and responsibilities as a practicing physician in Florida, jeopardizing the health and welfare of his patients.” A complaint which was filed with the health department stated that he prescribed drugs for cash without even examining his patients.

The current two first-degree murder counts against Christensen were filed because of the overdose death of two of his patients. The drugs that were prescribed were oxycodone, methadone and anti-anxiety drugs. He’s additionally facing charges of conspiracy to traffic oxycodone, unlawful delivery of methadone and unlawful prescription of a controlled substance.

Although the charges against Christensen are in reference to two other patients that died, purportedly due to Christensen’s actions, Jacque Lauzerique said she was relieved to hear about the former doctor’s arrest even though the action was not specifically related to her son’s death. She said that she felt the charges are warranted. “I’ve been waiting for this for a long time,” said Lauzerique. She went on to comment: “It would make your heart sink to think that somebody was doing that to anyone that you loved. You know, they just didn’t care. They were in it for the money. And it was sad.”

Last Friday a judge denied bail but his attorney suggested that his client should be presumed innocent. He is presently being held in the Palm Beach County Jail.

Similarly charged in the case is another defendant, Dr. Stewart Fox, 62, of Boynton Beach. Authorities say that he worked at Christensen’s West Palm Beach office. He faces allegations of conspiracy to traffic in oxycodone, unlawful delivery of methadone and unlawful prescription of a controlled substance. No murder charges of any variety have been associated with the second doctor.

The investigation of the two doctors has been ongoing since January 2011. The Florida Department of Law Enforcement has commented that they have 35 overdose deaths under review linked to Christensen’s offices located in West Palm Beach, Daytona Beach and Port St. Lucie.

Just two days before the first-degree murder counts were charged against Christensen, former Delray Beach doctor, Barry Schultz, was detained on a manslaughter charge for the death of a 50-year old patient who overdosed on methadone.

In a related case, Joseph Wagner, a chiropractor that operated the Wagner Chiropractic & Acupuncture Clinic located in Volusia County was jailed last year after his conviction of health care fraud, conspiracy to illegally distribute prescription drugs, and money laundering. He was partners in the venture with the then Dr. Christensen who was not charged in the case. Wagner was sentenced to 15 years and eight months in federal prison.

Although law enforcement has been tightening the noose on these abusers the problem needs to be further examined. Once known as the “pain clinic capital of the world”, according to Aronberg, Florida is currently attacking these crimes with stricter laws, better enforcement and a new database that monitors the prescriptions of many of the suspected drugs of choice.

Miami Woman Accepts Guilty Plea as Coconspirator in Colossal Medicare Fraud

July 11, 2013 | Michael B. Cohen, P.A.

Her boss accepted a guilty plea and was sentenced for his crimes.
Last week, Wondera Eason, 51, of Miami came to the realization that she will suffer the same fate.

Armando Gonzalez the owner of health provider Health Care Solutions Network Inc. (HCSN) was doing so well in Florida that he expanded his operations to a third facility in Hendersonville, North Carolina.

The only problem was that his method of collecting most of his company’s revenues from Medicare and Florida Medicaid programs was performed illegally. He also followed the same practices in his North Carolina facility.

In an April plea agreement, in front of U.S. District Judge Cecilia M. Altonaga, Gonzalez agreed to accept guilty charges of conspiracy to commit health care fraud and conspiracy to commit money laundering. His sentence for his guilty plea was to serve 14 years in prison. He was also ordered to pay over $28 million in restitution for monies collected through the fraud. The government’s attempt to recover as much money as possible forced Gonzalez to sell his property valued at several million dollars as well as several high-end automobiles that were registered to him. His savings account of slightly less than 1 million dollars was also seized by the feds. Upon completion of his prison term Gonzalez will also have to submit to three years of supervised liberty.

On Monday, Ms. Eason, was sentenced to 10 years in prison in what has been labeled her central role in the more than $63 million of fraudulent claims that were submitted and consequently paid from Medicare and Florida’s Medicaid Department. Upon completion of her prison term, she was also sentenced to serve three years of supervised release. The amount she was ordered to pay in restitution was just less than 15 million. U.S. District Judge Cecilia M. Altonaga also sentenced Eason.

The sentence was announced on July 8 in collaboration with the U.S. Attorney’s Office of the Southern District of Florida; the Justice Department’s Criminal Division; the FBI’s Miami Field Office; and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General (HHS-OIG), Office of Investigations Miami Office.

Health Care Solutions Network Inc.’s Website was taken down in early May and the company is no longer operating. But when they were, Eason’s title was “director of medical records at HCSN’s PHP” (partial hospitalization program).

A PHP is a type of arduous treatment for persons that suffer from severe mental illness and substance abuse. The patient, in most cases resides at home, but travels to the treatment center as often as daily, during a seven day week. Partial hospitalization concentrates on the total treatment of the individual, and its intent is to avert or lessen the amount of time the patient needs to spend their actual time hospitalized.

Evidence at trial showed that Eason, a certified medical records technician, oversaw the fraudulent billing practices for supposed PHP treatment. Her oversight included the forgery, alteration, and fabrication of a vast amount of documents that supported the fraudulent claims
A statement from the Justice Department cited that the therapy given to the patients at HCSN was basically bogus. It regularly consisted of no more than the patients playing bingo, watching Disney movies, or participating in barbecues.

Eason is not the final collaborator who has been or will be facing penalties attributed to this fraud. Just today, the Department of Justice released a statement naming Roger Rousseau, 71, another Miami resident with two counts of health care fraud and a separate charge of conspiracy to commit health care fraud.

Additionally, six therapists have been charged in the same indictment with the latter charge. Ruben Busquets, 49, Doris Crabtree, 61, Angela Salafia, 65, Alina Fonts, 47, Liliana Marks, 46, and Blanca Ruiz, 59, all Miami residents.

Busquets, Marks, Salafia and Crabtree were all charged with two counts of making false statements related to the scheme, and Fonts was charged with two counts of health care fraud.

Additionally, many other South Floridians are facing charges stemming from similar cases.

In one example, Odalys Fernandez, Yumidia Naranjo, Kelvin Soto, Servando Raya, Jose Guerra, and Yanuris Lima have been charged with conspiracy to commit health care fraud. In this particular analogous case the two registered nurses and four recruiters have been charged for supposedly providing services, such as skilled nursing and physical therapy, to homebound beneficiaries. In fact, it is charged, the services were either medically unnecessary or weren’t provided at all. The allegations go on to state that they falsified medical paperwork to make it seem that they had provided theses services. The four recruiters are alleged to have compensated Medicare recipients in the effort that they would attend as patients at Ideal Home Health. Overall, the six health care workers are charged with submitting to Medicare in excess of $40 million in false billing for that company.

The list goes on and on.

In cases such as these, the swindled monetary quantities are staggering. According to a FBI press release, made available last year shows that a total of 59 persons from South Florida alone have been charged in various schemes defrauding Medicare for more than $137 million. The press release also goes on to demonstrate that 107 more individuals in seven other cities were charged involving over $450 million in bogus billing.

To read the latest Department of Justice press release, in regard to the case against Ms. Eason, click here.

Project Safe Childhood Produces Two Convictions

July 8, 2013 | Michael B. Cohen, P.A.

Project Safe Childhood is a nationwide law enforcement effort that was initiated to battle the increasing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. It was introduced by the Department of Justice (DOJ) in 2006.

In an investigation appropriate to these misconducts, the FBI assisted by local law enforcement was able to make arrests of two Florida residents in early 2012. The details of this case that was concluded with their arrests and their ensuing guilty pleas are as follows:

A Website advertising escort services led to the arrests of Palm Beach residents Rashad Emon Clark, 33, and Mandi L. Bowman, 22. In the course of the investigation, an undercover police officer, pretending to be an interested potential client, made contact with a female subject through a classified ad on the Website. He then organized a meeting with her with the fictional intent of participating in a sex act. Subsequently, the officer met the female subject at a West Palm Beach motel. The girl was later identified as a 14-year-old runaway. When the meeting took place, the officer immediately told the girl that he was a member of law enforcement and not the client, as he’d led her to believe.

When questioned, the girl admitted to the officer that she was working as a prostitute. She further implied that Clark had sponsored her actions and helped her set up the online classified ad. She also told the officer that Bowman, who was another prostitute working for Clark explained to her how to plan appointments with potential clients as well as how to negotiate the charges for her services.

According to the youth, Clark first approached her in early 2012 at a convenience store. He basically asked her if she’d like to make some money working for him as a prostitute. After agreeing to his proposal, the girl had sex with him on multiple occasions followed by him setting up encounters with two other men who engaged in sex with her for money.

Mercifully, her professional career ended quickly after those incidents occurred when the West Palm Beach Police swiftly acted on a call by the girl’s stepfather; alerting them that she was missing. The report also stated that he believed she might be working as a prostitute. The underage girl is the same as mentioned above who the undercover officer met with at the West Palm Beach motel, according to court records. The police were able to quickly connect the online ad on the Website which led them to the subject of the stepfather’s report.

Ms. Bowman pleaded guilty earlier this year to a single count of conspiring to entice a minor to engage in a commercial sex act. She was sentenced to four years in prison earlier last week. She could have faced a much harsher sentence, if it weren’t for federal prosecutors who held that her cooperation was instrumental in tracking down her co-defendant Clark after he fled to Texas. She also assisted Federal agents in their investigation of three other people who were blamable for the sale of sex regarding other young girls.

Bowman cried tears of joy when the lesser sentence was declared by the judge. She had previously written to him, apologizing for her actions and stating in that correspondence that she was glad she was arrested as it would give her the chance to turn her life around.
Bowman’s federal public defender told the judge that she was easy prey for a man like Clark. She was raped by her babysitter when she was 12-years old as well as being gang raped when she was 16. She became a prostitute at that same age and suffers from bipolar mental illness as well as post-traumatic stress disorder. The attorney went on to say that her client had attempted suicide three times going back to 2006.

The judge acknowledged that Bowman was also “partially a victim of” Clark’s behavior and that a lesser sentence was appropriate due to her age and her agreement of cooperation with investigators and authorities.

Clark who went by the street name “Shagg Dog” was apprehended in North Houston, Texas, by members of the Human Trafficking Task Force and the FBI. After his extradition back to South Florida he pleaded guilty to four federal charges, including conspiracy to recruit a minor for a commercial sex act and enticing a minor to engage in sexual activity. He was sentenced to a little more than 11 years in prison.

According to prosecutors the 14-year-old victim is presently living in a halfway house and receiving the help she needs.

Project Safe Childhood is headed by the Department of Justice, United States Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS) along with other federal, state, and local agencies.

Their Website can be found at: www.projectsafechildhood.gov

South Florida Resident Pleads Guilty to $90 Million Interstate Shipment Theft

July 5, 2013 | Michael B. Cohen, P.A.

DNA evidence and power tools assisted federal authorities in linking Amed Villa who was charged with his participation in a theft that has been termed the biggest in the State of Connecticut’s history. Mr. Villa is a Cuban National who presently lives in Miami, Florida
Villa was arrested in Florida last May; charged with theft and conspiracy for his role in a related heist.

An indictment states that on January 24, 2010, Mr. Villa seized more than 3,500 cases of cigarettes, from a warehouse which was estimated to be worth more than $8 million. The warehouse was operated by Federal Warehouse in Tazewell County, Illinois. But apparently, Mr. Villa’s cravings were not satisfied with a meager $8 million heist.

The March 2010 robbery of an Eli Lilly warehouse located in Enfield, Connecticut, in close proximity to a residential shopping mall yielded a bounty of approximately $90 million in stolen pharmaceuticals to Mr. Villa along with his brother Amaury and their affiliated cohorts in crime. The prescription drugs that were stolen included antidepressants, including Prozac and Cymbalta, the antipsychotic drug Zyprexa, as well as Gemzar, a chemotherapy drug used in the treatment of lung cancer, according to this latest indictment. The drugs were recovered from a Doral, Florida storage facility in October 2011.

The targeted building in Connecticut, which is normally closed on weekends, had no security staff or even a protective perimeter fence to guard the substantial inventory of pharmaceuticals that were held there pending shipment. However, there was a surveillance camera that picked up the ill-defined image of two men who drove up to the loading dock in a tractor-trailer, then got out of the vehicle and made their way to the exterior of the main office where they seemingly glanced through the windows, apparently checking if there was anyone on premises.

“It appears as a very sophisticated, well-planned criminal action,” said Ed Sagebiel, a spokesman for Eli Lilly. He said the monetary figure represented the wholesale value of the stolen pills.

The actual robbery played out like an elaborate scene from the movie “Mission Impossible”.

After months of reconnaissance of the warehouse, on the evening of March 13, 2010, using a ladder, the brothers scaled the walls of the facility and then using power tools, cut a hole in the inadequately reinforced roof to gain access. Using ropes to descend into the building they were able to rappel down and disable the alarm system. Once inside the building, using available forklifts, they loaded pallets containing the drugs into waiting semi-trucks stationed outside the building at the loading docks, over the next five hours. This is where their co-conspirators were waiting, primed to drive down to Florida where the stolen product was planned to be stored and then sold.

But as shrewd as the two brothers and their co-conspirators seemed to be, law enforcement documents demonstrate that they left an ample trail of evidence behind.

When the Enfield, Connecticut Police arrived at the crime scene they came across DNA evidence that traced back to a previous warehouse robbery that took place in Illinois. That warehouse job fit the same modus operandi as the Eli Lilly break-in. In both cases, a hole was cut through the roof and the security system was disabled. Analysis of a water bottle that was recovered from the floor inside the warehouse of the Illinois theft matched the DNA profile which was consistent with the sample which was found in Enfield; both of Amed Villa.

The same DNA also matched that of an individual’s that was found on a coffee cup from a GlaxoSmithKline warehouse break-in in Chesterfield, Virginia, the scene of an earlier $6 million pharmaceutical heist.

Similarly lying in plain view was an assortment of several hand tools and a variety of power tools. In the Connecticut robbery the tools were “Husky” brand which are sold solely at Home Depot outlets, leading investigators to speculate if everything may have possibly been purchased in the same sale in regard to the Lily theft. Law enforcement then began a search of Home Depot’s computer records to see if they could connect the assortment of eight implements to the ones recovered in the Lily break-in, and see if the tools in question had ever been sold together at one of their stores.

The results quickly hit pay dirt.

In the past year that particular combination had only occurred one time, at a store located in Flushing, N.Y at 1:13 p.m. just one day before the Lily theft took place.

Store surveillance cameras showed two men appearing to be the Villa brothers on the checkout line and then paying at the register for the $757 purchase in cash. They were again viewed on video in the parking lot as they placed the purchased articles into the back of a rented SUV. The SUV was identified as an Infiniti QX56 which was found to have been rented by Amaury Villa.

On May 03, 2012 Amaury Villa was charged in an 18-count indictment along with eleven other South Florida men for their connection in the Connecticut burglary. He pleaded not guilty to this particular charge after pleading guilty the previous year to possessing drugs stolen from the warehouse in Florida. He has been sentenced to more than 11 years in prison.

On July 1, his brother Amed pleaded guilty to the $8 million cigarette robbery as well as the Connecticut Warehouse break-in; to the charges of two counts of theft from an interstate shipment and one count of conspiracy to commit theft from an interstate shipment. When sentenced, Amed Villa faces a penalty of not more than 25 years in federal prison.

“Today’s guilty plea is the result of a most exhaustive and far-reaching investigation, highlighted by exemplary teamwork among our federal, state and local partners,” commented Kimberly K. Mertz, the FBI Special Agent in Charge of the investigation. “Complex investigations involving multiple agencies and jurisdictions are often difficult because they require an especially organized and coordinated effort in order to bring those responsible for crimes to justice. The tremendous investigative and prosecutive effort in this matter is evident by Villa’s guilty plea.”

Acting United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, Deirdre M. Daly and Ms. Mertz made the announcement.

Yonkers, NY Gang Leader Found Guilty of Murder

July 2, 2013 | Michael B. Cohen, P.A.

The leader of the notorious Yonkers Elm Street Wolves street gang was found guilty yesterday in White Plains Federal Court of the murder of a rival gang member as well as numerous federal crimes specifically racketeering, firearms offenses, and drug charges. The gang operated in the Nodine Hill section of Yonkers.

In 2011, Steven Knowles was arrested on a 21 count indictment along with 47 other Elm Street Wolves gang members on charges dealing with firearms offenses as well as the distribution of large amounts of crack cocaine. At the time, he and fellow gang members Michael Andrews and Dexter Granger were also charged with the murder of Christopher Cokley, a member of a rival gang.

Since their arrests, many of the 47 gang members have accepted plea bargains or have been found guilty of similar charges.

In early 2011, Davon Young, aka “Burners”; Thomas Chambliss, aka “TC”; and Gregory Fuller, aka “Murder”, all members of the gang were found guilty of narcotics conspiracy, robbery, robbery conspiracy, firearms possession witness tampering offenses, and murder. They all suffered stiff sentences. Chambliss was sentenced to 45 years, Young to 65 years and Fuller to 100 years in prison.

After that conviction a statement was released by U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara, detailed as follows: “Today justice has been served. These defendants will serve substantial prison sentences as a result of their participation in a brutal murder and other serious crimes. These sentences send a clear message that drug dealing and gang violence will not be tolerated in Yonkers or in any other community this office serves.”

Yesterday’s conviction now holds Knowles accountable not only for Cokley’s murder but also for nearly a decade of dealing drugs in the community and the commission of unimaginable acts of violence in the Nodine Hill area.

Based on the evidence disclosed at the trial:

For more than a decade, from 2000 until his arrest, Knowles was a member of a street gang that was known as the Elm Street Wolves. As time passed, he became the leader of said criminal racketeering enterprise. During the time of his authority, he conspired to kill Christopher Cokley, a member of a rival gang that went by the name Strip Boyz. The murder was carried out on July 4, 2009. Previously, in October, 2007, he shared a role in the attempted murder of another member of the Strip Boyz; Tremaine Garrison, also known as “Triggermain”. Additionally, Mr. Knowles was a lead player in the more than decade-long conspiracy to distribute large amounts of crack cocaine on an ongoing basis in the Nodine Hill area of Southwest Yonkers, New York; specifically within the circumference of thoroughfares between Elm and Oak Streets. Other evidence presented at trial demonstrated that Knowles and his cohorts were in possession of a substantial arsenal of weapons such as hand guns, which they flaunted, and discharged in association with their racketeering and drug trafficking enterprise.

The jury’s decision was that Knowles was guilty of murder in aid of racketeering, racketeering, conspiracy to murder in aid of racketeering, racketeering conspiracy, conspiracy to distribute or possess with intent to distribute more than 280 grams of crack cocaine as well as discharging firearms in continuance of a drug trafficking crime or a crime of violence.

He was found not guilty on one of the counts of attempted murder and one of the counts of possession. He was also acquitted on one count of conspiracy to commit murder, and one of the counts of carrying a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence.

In his latest statement United States Attorney Preet Bharara commented “This conviction is a continuation of the long-standing commitment by federal, state, and local law enforcement authorities to rid Yonkers and other communities in the Southern District of New York of violent drug gangs. Law enforcement has pledged itself to this cause for several years now and has not stood down.”

Knowles sentencing will be held before U.S. District Judge Kenneth M Karas on May 29 of next year. He will face a compulsory sentence of life in prison.

Crackdown on Insurance Fraud; Operation Sledgehammer Yields Guilty Pleas

July 2, 2013 | Michael B. Cohen, P.A.

A three-year investigation initiated by multiple law enforcement agencies has been paying off with the arrests of groups of individuals who have been accused of their involvement in insurance fraud schemes.

These frauds were devised by the staging of automobile accidents. The investigation acquired its name in part because one of the methods of causing the apparent damage was achieved by smashing target vehicles with actual sledgehammers. The fraud was perpetrated in part by chiropractic clinics and massage therapists that worked there.

Late last month, in federal court four people pleaded guilty to the staging of some of these accidents and subsequently making fabricated insurance reimbursement requests through claims instituted by their clinics.

Maria Testa Baceiro, 29, and Luis Ivan Hernandez, 40 owned and operated the chiropractic clinics and Olinda Rodriguez, 39, and Iris Roca, 41, were the licensed massage therapists who worked there.

According to prosecutors, between October 2006 and December 2012 Baceiro and Hernandez billed insurance companies and were paid for the prepared claims that were either non-necessary or not rendered at all. They recruited people with chiropractic licenses or other types of medical licenses to pose as what were termed “nominee owners” of numerous clinics that partook in the illicit arrangement. A total of twenty-one clinics were involved in the scheme.

They also recruited people to initiate automobile accidents as well as those that would pose as the victims of the accidents. These parties were referred to as the Perro and the Perra. The Perro was known as the person who triggered the accident and the Perra was the person or persons who were the casualties’ resultant of the accident. Or in other words the victim whose car was smashed into.

It was charged that participants of these accidents were directed by their recruiters to go to chiropractic clinics that were controlled by co-defendants, according to court documents. The participants involved in the staged accidents then deceitfully finalized paperwork, proclaiming injuries that were sustained during the accidents. It was also alleged that the so called injured individuals involved were coached how to fill out the documentation and what answers to give to insurance investigators if they were questioned about the nature of their injuries or asked about any treatments they received.

Court documents also demonstrated that the staged accident participants were also advised to sign blank treatment forms that would be submitted at a later time, which specified that they had visited the clinic on frequent occasions for treatment, in spite of the detail that at the time they may have only physically have gone to the clinic once or twice.

Summing up and exemplifying these circumstances, under the Florida personal injury protection (PIP) law which was adopted in 1972 a driver’s insurance company is mandated to pay up to $10,000 to cover the costs of medical bills and lost wages after an accident, no matter who is at fault. This law was passed to make sure that anyone injured in a car accident would swiftly receive money to address their medical expenses.

As an example of the law, if a person who has 3 others in his car runs into another automobile holding 3 other persons, the insurance company could be responsible to pay out up to $80,000 based on the total of 8 persons being involved in the crash.

At the plea hearing in federal court both Baceiro and Hernandez pled guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit mail fraud, twenty-seven counts of mail fraud and one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering. Hernandez also pled guilty to twenty-one counts of money laundering and Baceiro pled guilty to twenty counts of the same charge.

Rodriguez and Roca, both licensed massage therapists both pled guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit mail fraud. They were charged in separate accusations for their involvement in the deceptively staged car accidents.

Maximum statutory sentences of twenty years for each of the following charges apply: Each count of conspiracy to commit money laundering, conspiracy to commit mail fraud, substantive mail fraud, and substantive money laundering.

Reimbursements to the victimized insurance companies are mandatory, for all deceptively acquired funds.

Florida Man Sentenced in Drug Cartel Money Laundering Arrangement

June 30, 2013 | Michael B. Cohen, P.A.

JM2 Auto sales, in Apopka, Florida are known for their customer service and “lovely people”. If you visit their Website you’ll find rave reviews written in both English and Spanish saying so. One satisfied customer wrote: “Do not hesitate going to this place. They have the best customer service and nice people in the area. The cars inventory is excellent for used cars”
However, that superlative “customer service” has also been linked to a money laundering scheme, resulting in the convictions of both the president and vice president of the car dealership.

Joel Torres, 40, the president of the dealership and his second in command, Eladio Marroquin-Medina, 30, were indicted in August of 2012, accused of violations relating to the laundering of marijuana sales proceeds. They were both charged with one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering; 11 counts of evading reporting requirements and 11 counts of engaging in a monetary transaction of criminally derived property valued at more than $10,000. Additionally, the vice president was also charged with one count of conspiracy to possess with the intent to distribute over 1,000 kilograms of marijuana.

The two car salesman’s involvement with one of Mexico’s most infamous drug cartels became apparent to law enforcement officials according to court documents. The Gulf Cartel has made the headlines on numerous occasions and in 2009, the U.S. government offered a reward of up to $50 million for the arrest of leaders of the criminal organization. In May, 2011, Mexican police did in fact arrest Gilberto Barragan Balderas, who was one of the leaders of the dynamic drug dealing organization. Barragan Balderas was also wanted in the U.S. and at the time the State Department was offering a separate $5 million reward for his capture.

For their part in the scheme Medina and Torres received money that originated from sales of narcotics as compensation for vehicles provided. These vehicles originating from their automobile showroom in Apopka were sent to associates of the Gulf cartel functioning in Texas and were similarly used by local members of the cartel operating in Florida. In one episode, during the activity of the conspiracy, one cartel associate conveyed more than $115,000 in cash to the JM2 dealership for the procurement of vehicles. This incidence transpired sometime between the dates of late October and mid-November 2010.

Medina, pleaded guilty, admitting that Torres came up with the plan to send cars to associates of the Cartel. He was sentenced to six years in February of last year following his conviction on charges of conspiracy to possess with the intent to distribute 1,000 kilograms or more of marijuana, and conspiracy to engage in money laundering.

Torrez was found guilty by a federal jury on December 3 and was sentenced by U. S. District Judge Roy B. Dalton, Jr. to 40 months of incarceration in a federal prison early last month. He was convicted of three counts of money laundering and 11 counts of failure to file the IRS Form 8300, which is a document required to be submitted for any cash purchases that exceed $10,000.

The investigation was spearheaded by the Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigation with assistance from the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI); the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA); U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations (ICE); the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF) in conjunction with the Apopka Police Department; Orange County Sheriff’s Office; and the Osceola County Sheriff’s Office. Both defendants were prosecuted by AUSA’s Christopher LaForgia and Shawn Napier.

To read the latest FBI press release on the story, click here
The press release relating to the Torrez conviction can be found by clicking here posted on the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Website.

WellCare Health Care Fraud Trial Delivers Mixed Verdicts

June 27, 2013 | Michael B. Cohen, P.A.

Federal health care fraud charges that have been making headlines for almost six years have reached a resolution against four defendants indicted with various charges. Early last week, a federal jury delivered “mixed verdicts” regarding four former executives of WellCare Health Plans.

WellCare Health Plans, Inc. is a publicly owned health care company that offers Medicaid and Medicare managed health care plans for more than its 2 million participants. The company began operations in 1985 as a Medicaid provider for Florida with its main headquarters located in Tampa. They have affiliations with more than 90,000 doctors and works with over 3,500 associates. The company is also a holding company for numerous affiliates, including Staywell, HealthEase, Harmony, and ‘ Ohana Health Plans. WellCare maintains local offices in Miami, Florida; Chicago, Illinois New York City; Baton Rouge, Louisiana: North Haven, Connecticut; Marietta, Georgia; and Houston, Texas.

In October 2007, more than 200 Special Agents accompanied by the FBI, the Department of Health and Human Services as well as the Florida Attorney General’s Medicaid Fraud Control Unit raided WellCare’s Tampa based headquarters and executed a search warrant of the company’s offices.

It was alleged that the company overstated expenses by handing in bogus documents to the state. Under selected mental health care agreements, WellCare was paid a flat fee for each patient and was expected to disburse at least eighty percent of the received funds on the care of each individual patient. Surplus amounts of more than 20 percent were to be refunded to the state. However, the company’s invented bogus outlays permitted them to keep the remaining monies.

Prosecutors went forward with the charges and with the testimony of a former employee had the allegations corroborated opening up a can of worms that came to at least a semi-conclusion last week.

In a plea agreement that has since been unsealed WellCare agreed in to repay $35 million of the ill-gotten gains, which was the company’s best approximation of the total amount that was deceptively retained by the company between the years of 2002-2006. The company was forced to restate its quarterly and annual profits after the raid occurred.

This action drove net income down by $32 million, and triggered resignation of the company’s top three officials. There were no criminal charges filed at the time but investigations were announced by both the States of Florida and Connecticut. The SEC also began an informal investigation. Several shareholder lawsuits and sealed whistleblower complaints were also filed. WellCare’s publicly traded stock (NTSE: WCG) was halted on the news. Once it reopened for trading it quickly fell to a low of eighty percent below that year’s (2007) annual high price per share.

In May of 2009 charges were filed and a Deferred Prosecution Agreement (DPA) was initiated in part of which the company agreed to pay $40 Million in restitution to the Florida Medicaid and Healthy Kids programs in repayment of proceeds from those platforms that WellCare was not entitled to, and additionally consented to another civil forfeiture of $40 Million. The company also had to accept all responsibility for the behavior that led to the investigation by the government as well as accepting its knowledge of the unlawful events that took place.

Among other terms of the DPA, the company was required to continue its cooperation in the ongoing federal and state criminal investigation of its former executives.

In March 2011 U.S. Attorney Robert E. O’Neill announced the return by a grand jury of an indictment charging five former officials of WellCare with conspiracy to commit Medicaid fraud, false statements, and further associated charges. Explicitly, the indictment charges that Todd S. Farha, 42, the former chief executive officer; Thaddeus M.S. Bereday, 45 former general counsel; Paul L. Behrens, 49 former chief financial officer; William L. Kale, 61, a former vice president of Harmony Behavioral Health, Inc., a exclusively-owned subsidiary of WellCare; and Peter E. Clay, 54, former vice president of Medical Economics were the focus of the indictment.

In 2012, WellCare paid $137.5 million to the nine states and the federal government to decide four lawsuits that had alleged abuses of the False Claims Act.

On June 10, 2013 after weeks of deliberation a jury of 10-women and two men provided an assortment of verdicts finding four of the executives guilty of at least some of the criminal charges against them but acquitting them of other allegations.

Farha, Behrens, and Kale were each found guilty of two counts of health care fraud but Farha was acquitted of six other charges including giving false statements. Behrens was found guilty of two counts of making false statements, but was acquitted of two other false statement charges. Clay was the lone defendant not convicted of health care fraud but was found guilty of two counts of making false statements.

Federal charges are still pending against former WellCare general counsel Thaddeus M.S. Bereday
The four men swindled the government out of more than $30 million. The money they appropriated to their company should have been used for people who were in need of their health care services, not to increase the earnings of a company that was already profitable, prosecutors said.

Each health care fraud count is punishable by up to 10 years’ imprisonment. The maximum penalty of incarceration for each of the other convictions has a maximum of five years.

To read the latest FBI press release relating to this article click here

25 Years on Death Row the Final Chapter of William Van Poyck

June 24, 2013 | Michael B. Cohen, P.A.

As reported in our previous blog post, the 25-plus year saga of convicted murderer William Van Poyck came to an end when his life was terminated last week by lethal injection enforced by a death warrant signed by Florida Governor Rick Scott in early May.

As of the end of May Scott had signed five death warrants this current year, including three in a recent period of less than four weeks. One of the three was Van Poyck’s.

When interviewed by CBS news, Scott stated that “I go through them and when people have exhausted their appeals and when they’re finished with their clemency process, then I continue to move the process along.” CBS also reported that this practice displays that Scott has been signing death warrants at a “stepped up pace” and mentions that he’s signing death warrants at a speed that’s been “rarely seen in Florida since the death penalty was reinstated in 1976.” He is also considering a bill that would “speed up death penalty executions by creating tighter timeframes for appeals and post-conviction motions,” according to cbslocal.com.

Van Poyck was convicted in the murder of prison guard Fred Griffis in 1987. He fervently declared that he was not the one that fired the gun that killed the prison guard until the very end. His final words before lethal injection ended his life were “Set me free”.

Van Poyck’s case gained notoriety outside the state of Florida mainly because he wrote books and authored several blogs by writing letters to his sister which she posted on the Internet on his behalf. Two of his books won awards, one of them “A Checkered Past” won first-place in the memoir category of the 2004 Writer’s Digest Self-Published Book Awards. His first book, The Third Pillar of Wisdom, was an award-winning autobiography. He also published short stories that won honors, including the PEN American Center’s “Fielding Dawson Special Citation for Outstanding Achievement” in 2004 for his literary achievements.

Once an execution takes place there are usually two sides that are affected by the finality of the act; the victim’s friends and family and the convicted killer’s connections as well.

Van Poyck’s sister Lisa, 59, who lives in Richmond, Virginia, was his strongest supporter. She said her brother didn’t kill the Glades Correctional Institution prison guard. She admits that her brother masterminded the plot to attack the two guards who were in the van in an effort to free his best friend, but sustains that he had no part in the actual shooting. She maintained that “Billy didn’t want anyone to get hurt or anyone to get shot,”
A day after the Governor signed the death warrant for her brother’s first-degree murder conviction; she initiated an appeal to spare her Brother William’s life. In petitions displayed on Facebook as well as her brother’s Death Row Diary Website, she pressed anyone that could get involved to assist her in staying the execution which was at the time slated for June 12. She said she became “hysterical” once she was advised that Governor Scott had signed her brother’s death warrant. However she implied that she was still optimistic that lawyers that were still operating to stop his execution would be successful in winning him a new trial where different jurors would be able to be convinced that he didn’t fire the shot and go along with a life sentence rather than execution.

“I’ve always had a vision of my brother walking out of there a free man. I believe miracles can happen.” she said.

She attributed her brother’s quandary on incompetent attorneys that handled her Brother’s defense as well as heartless, blood-thirsty jurors as well as the Florida law that holds each person involved in the crime responsible for the murder whether they actually were the killer or not.

Recently during an interview, his sister said “He didn’t kill anyone. He deserves to be released. He’s served enough time in prison for trying to break someone out of a prison transport van.” She went on to submit that “He is deeply remorseful for the ending of Fred Griffis’ life”.

Her Brother however is taking the news of his imminent death calmly, his sister said. He has been placed on death watch and now is allowed to make phone calls to family and friends. When she spoke with him last week, she said he encouraged her to be strong and not dwell on the inevitable.

“Lisa, I’ve been preparing for this for a long time,” she said that he told her. “I’m totally at peace with God.”

Among a mass of protesters’, outside the building where her brother was just executed she was quoted as saying “He’s finally free from those prison walls”.

To view his blog posted and updated by his sister Lisa, click here

On the other side of the issue, members of Griffis’ family were planning a get-together for quiet reflection about their loved one’s life.

The family has said in interviews that they were exasperated that news stories fixated on Van Poyck who is the convicted killer. News stories concentrated on issues dealing with his appeals, the 25-year old crime, as well as his writings and blog posts, but not much had been reported in the news about Griffis who was a highly decorated Vietnam War veteran.

The victim’s cousin, Norman Traylor said “It’s been a very traumatic experience”.

His brother Roland said “When he was murdered, it basically ripped a hole in the family’s heart that’s never really healed”. He further stated that Fred was always looking out for others after he was released on a medical discharge when his first tour in Vietnam was completed, but he re-enlisted for two more tours because he thought he could help his country further.

In the final seconds of his life he was resolute not to permit a killer to escape custody.

In conclusion, Ronald said: “I knew that even at the end, he was still my brother; he was still Freddy, that’s who he was. He protected others.”

Steve Turner, one of the corrections officers involved in the attack on that fateful day along with Griffis, spoke of his feeling after the execution concluded.

“Justice has prevailed,” he said. “They can close the book.”

To read our previous blog posts detailing with Van Poyck’s story, click the below links:
Jun 20th, 2013: Florida Man Executed After 25 Years on Death Row
May 8th, 2013: Judge Appoints Three Lawyers in Last Minute Death Penalty Appeal

Florida Man Executed After 25 Years on Death Row

June 20, 2013 | Michael B. Cohen, P.A.

After spending more than 25 years on Florida’s death row, the story of William Van Poyck who was convicted in the death of prison guard Fred Griffis has come to an end. With the exhaustion of his final appeal and consequential execution this week, Van Poyck was pronounced dead at 7:24 p.m. Wednesday June 12 by lethal injection in a Florida prison.

A portion of the story of the Van Poyck case was previously mentioned in one of our blog articles (Judge Appoints Three Lawyers in Last Minute Death Penalty Appeal) under the category of murder, posted earlier last month. At the time our article was presented, Florida Supreme Court’s Judge Charles Burton appointed lawyers to the case who had any previous connections to Van Poyck’s original case or any of the appeals related to his petitions over the past 26 years. One of those lawyers, Gerald Bettman was one of the three appointed lawyers to handle Van Poyck’s final attempt at staying his execution. He was marginally involved in a “one of many” Van Poyck’s appeals that in this 2007 case was primarily handled by out-of-state lawyers. The attorney who handled the original case was arrested for cocaine possession in 1993 and is no longer permitted to practice law in the State of Florida
Van Poyck was convicted of first-degree murder after Frank Valdes; an accomplice to the crime attacked a prison van outside a doctor’s office located in West Palm Beach. Their objective was to free James O’Brien, who was an inmate that both Valdes and Van Poyck served time with previously. Van Poyck always maintained that he did not fire the lethal shot that killed the prison guard. Valdes was killed in prison in 1999. Van Poyck spent time in a Virginia prison before he was brought back to await execution on Florida’s death row.

In comparable cases, a volunteer lawyer such as Bettman, were allowed to withdraw from the proceedings after a death warrant was signed by the Governor. State-financed death penalty attorneys were then appointed to take over ongoing appeals
Martin McClain, a prominent death penalty attorney stated after the ruling by the Court that “They are trying to create an obligation that should offend every defense lawyer in the state. It flies in the face of public policy to encourage pro bono work. What lawyer, would volunteer to help out the state by representing a Death Row inmate for free if they are faced with the prospect of handling the flurry of appeals after a death warrant is signed?” He went on to say that “This underscores the chaos in the governor’s office. They didn’t know this (the ambiguity in reference to Van Poyck’s legal representation) was a problem. Nobody is keeping track.”

Bettman failed to persuade Burton to relieve him of his duties at a hearing back in May. The high court’s decision was in answer to Bettman’s appeal of that decision.

“It all worked out,” Bettman said. “If you’re going to kill someone, you better be sure you’re doing things right.”

It all became a moot point last week when Van Poyck was executed. However, the ruling stands and its precedent can affect future cases unless reversed.

To read more about Van Poyck’s years on death row awaiting execution, read our next blog posting titled: 25 Years on Death Row, the Final Chapter of William Van Poyck.