Politics DRAINING THE SWAMP

Discussion in 'Blazers OT Forum' started by MARIS61, Aug 21, 2018.

  1. MARIS61

    MARIS61 Real American

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    I see you underestimate the complex global reach of the swamp and it's many different inhabitants.
     
  2. Lanny

    Lanny Original Season Ticket Holder "Mr. Big Shot"

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    I never realized it's extent until guys like Trump and Acosta came on the scene.
     
  3. MARIS61

    MARIS61 Real American

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    Another swamprat bites the dust.

    AOC aide faces Fed investigation amid resignation: report

    By Ronn Blitzer | Fox News

    The controversial chief of staff for Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., who resigned on Friday is currently being investigated by federal officials, a new report says.

    Saikat Chakrabarti faced a complaint filed with the Federal Election Commission in March for alleged violations having to do with illegal fundraising. An investigation is currently underway, sources told the New York Post. According to the FEC, complaints only lead to investigations if there is enough evidence for them to believe there may have been a violation.

    “Upon finding reason to believe that a violation has occurred or is about to occur, the Commission may authorize an investigation,” an FEC enforcement guidebook says.

    The investigation is reportedly related to Brand New Congress and Justice Democrats, two PACs Chakrabarti started to back progressive candidates. The March complaint alleged that the groups funneled more than $885,000 to the similarly named Brand New Campaign LLC and the Brand New Congress LLC -- companies controlled by Chakrabarti that, unlike PACs, are exempt from reporting all of their significant expenditures. The PACs claimed the payments were for "strategic consulting."

    Chakrabarti and Ocasio-Cortez were hit with another complaint in April over accusations that they used Brand New Congress LLC to illegally provide in-kind political contributions by offering consulting services for cheap rates, operating at a loss by only charging candidates a portion of the costs.

    Ocasio-Cortez has denied any wrongdoing, telling reporters in April: "It's conservative interest groups just filing bogus proposals."

    Federal officials are also looking into Chakrabarti’s salary from Ocasio-Cortez, the Post reported. The independently wealthy aide earned $80,000, as opposed to the average of $146,830. This not only allowed junior staff members to get a pay bump, it let Chakrabarti avoid requirements to reveal outside income, which only kick in for those earning at least $126,000.

    The FEC did not immediately respond to Fox News’ request for comment, and Chakrabarti could not be reached. A statement from Ocasio-Cortez's office announcing Chakrabarti's departure said he was leaving in order to take a new role at the non-profit group New Consensus to help with work on a Green New Deal.

    Earlier this summer, Chakrabarti put himself at the center of a rift in the Democratic Party, with Ocasio-Cortez and Reps. Ilhan Omar, Ayanna Pressley, and Rashida Tlaib on one side, and the party’s establishment led by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi on the other.

    In June, he criticized Rep. Sharice Davids, D-Kansas, for her votes on issues to do with the migrant crisis at the border.

    “I don't think people have to be personally racist to enable a racist system. And the same could even be said of the Southern Democrats. I don't believe Sharice is a racist person, but her votes are showing her to enable a racist system,” he tweeted.

    The caucus Twitter account reacted by saying, "Who is this guy and why is he explicitly singling out a Native American woman of color?” an apparent reference to how Ocasio-Cortez accused Pelosi of singling out women of color by making comments about her and the other progressive freshman congresswomen.
     
  4. SlyPokerDog

    SlyPokerDog Woof! Staff Member Administrator

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    First Trump, now her. What's with these New Yokers and their illegal campaign shit?
     
  5. Lanny

    Lanny Original Season Ticket Holder "Mr. Big Shot"

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    You always do this and there are never any indictments. Would you please wait until there are convictions before you gloat?
     
  6. Lanny

    Lanny Original Season Ticket Holder "Mr. Big Shot"

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    No conviction yet, not even an indictment.
    Doesn't it seem a little premature for someone to be gloating about it?
     
  7. CupWizier

    CupWizier Well-Known Member

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    You mean like Moscow Mitch and don the con? Russian money in their souls and you have no problem with that.
     
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  8. MARIS61

    MARIS61 Real American

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    Why your children have ZERO CHANCE of getting into Harvard, Yale, or any other top college.
     
  9. MARIS61

    MARIS61 Real American

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    Why your children have ZERO CHANCE of getting into Harvard, Yale, or any other top college.

     
  10. julius

    julius Global Moderator Staff Member Global Moderator

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    Well, my children won't get into Harvard, Yale or any other top college because they're not smart enough nor am I rich enough. Mostly, I'm not rich enough.
     
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  11. Lanny

    Lanny Original Season Ticket Holder "Mr. Big Shot"

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    I have a great niece who could have gotten into Harvard but chose Emory because of it's ties to the Center for Disease Control and the scholarship they offered her. She's 75% Caucasian and 25% Korean. She received straight 'A's during her first year in college in pre med. She's just starting her second year. She received an 'A' average during her years at the best technical high school in Oregon, Oregon Episcopal School (OES). She began a tutoring program for students at her school to tutor less advantaged kids at a neighboring school.
    How good is OES? They took first place in a national science competition. The president of Samsung in Korea sends his son there and is a personal friend of my great nephew. The chapel was once a family church of ours and I've been there many times although I grew up in the Oswego Episcopal church, Christ Episcopal Church, where I now attend.
     
  12. Lanny

    Lanny Original Season Ticket Holder "Mr. Big Shot"

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    No, I didn't hit the like button because your children aren't smart enough nor because you're not rich.
     
  13. MARIS61

    MARIS61 Real American

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    mar hit with FEC complaint, accused of paying alleged paramour's travel expenses with campaign funds

    By Gregg Re | Fox News

    Report says Rep. Ilhan Omar had affair with a married man

    The conservative, Virginia-based National Legal and Policy Center filed a complaint against Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., with the Federal Election Commission (FEC) on Wednesday, alleging that the lawmaker used campaign funds to illegally reimburse her purported paramour for personal travel expenses.

    The complaint also charges that Omar failed to itemize travel reimbursements as required by the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 -- and that the travel expenses increased during the same month that Omar's alleged affair with married Washington, D.C. political consultant Tim Mynett, 38, heated up.

    The complaint was filed one day after Beth Mynett, 55, submitted divorce papers in Washington, D.C., Superior Court, claiming her husband suddenly informed her earlier this year that he was having an affair with Omar.

    Omar has denied that she had an affair with Mynett. When asked on Tuesday by WCCO if she was separated from her own husband and if she was dating anyone, Omar replied: "“No, I am not. As I said yesterday, I have no interest in really allowing the conversation about my personal life to continue and so I have no desire to discuss it."

    DC CONSULTANT'S ALLEGED AFFAIR WITH ILHAN OMAR IS FRONT AND CENTER IN DIVORCE PAPERS

    Omar’s campaign has paid Mynett’s E. Street Group, LLC around $230,000 for fundraising consulting, digital communications, Internet advertising and travel expenses since 2018, federal election records indicate. Most of those payments occurred after Election Day last year.

    Eight disbursements from Ilhan's campaign to the E Street Group for "travel expenses," totaling $21,546.94, were not itemized. FEC rules require that such travel expenses list the individual benefitting from the arrangement, as well as the date and purpose of the payment.


    NLPC said that Omar's team instead only listed E Street as the payee, and contained no details on the trips.

    "Although Mynett's formal relationship with Rep. Omar's campaign began in July 2018, with the payment of $7,000 directly to Mynett, the reimbursements for Mynett's travel did not commence until April 2019, the same month that Dr. Mynett alleges in her filing that her husband told her of the affair, and made a 'shocking declaration of love' for Rep. Omar," the complaint stated.

    "It appears that ... Mynett's travel as reported by Ilhan for Congress may have been unrelated, or only partially related, to Omar's campaign," the complaint continued, noting that "romantic companionship" is not a legitimate reason to spend campaign funds on travel.

    There were no indications that Mynett, or anyone acting on his behalf, later reimbursed Omar's campaign, NLPC said.

    In her divorce filing, Beth Mynett said she was seeking primary custody of the couple’s son because of her estranged husband’s “extensive travel” and concerns about his judgment.

    The court papers said Mynett “put his son in harm’s way by taking him out in public with Representative Omar, who at that time had garnered a plethora of media attention along with death threats -- one rising to the level of arresting the known would-be assassin that same week.”

    The 37-year-old congresswoman was spotted with Mynett at a California restaurant this past March.

    “Defendant’s more recent travel and long work hours now appear to be more related to his affair with Representative Omar than with his actual work commitments,” Beth Mynett's court filing read.

    Omar is not the first member of the so-called progressive Democratic "Squad" to come under FEC scrutiny. In April, NLPC alleged that New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Saikat Chakrabarti, her then-chief of staff, apparently violated campaign finance law by funneling nearly $1 million in contributions from political action committees Chakrabarti established to private companies that he also controlled.

    Fox News' Andrew O'Reilly and Ronn Blitzer contributed to this report.
    https://www.foxnews.com/politics/om...ng-lovers-travel-expenses-with-campaign-funds
     
  14. MARIS61

    MARIS61 Real American

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    Department of Justice
    Office of Public Affairs
    FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
    Wednesday, August 28, 2019
    Drug Enforcement Administration Special Agent Convicted of Perjury, Obstruction of Justice and Falsification of Government Records
    A U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) special agent was convicted yesterday by a federal jury in New Orleans, Louisiana of perjury, obstruction of justice and falsifying government records.

    After a seven-day trial, Chad A. Scott, 51, of Covington, Louisiana, was found guilty of two counts of perjury, three counts of obstruction of justice and two counts of falsifying government records. U.S. District Judge Jane Triche Milazzo of the Eastern District of Louisiana, who presided over the trial, has scheduled sentencing for Dec. 4, 2019.

    According to the evidence presented during the seven-day trial, Scott, while a DEA special agent in New Orleans, committed these crimes in and around the New Orleans, Louisiana, and Houston, Texas, areas. Specifically, the evidence showed that Scott directed a Houston-based drug trafficker to buy a Ford F-150 truck worth approximately $43,000 and forfeit the truck to Scott as part of the drug trafficker’s cooperation. Scott then falsified the seizure paperwork for the truck in various aspects, including falsely claiming that he had seized the truck in New Orleans instead of Houston, in order to facilitate the vehicle being forfeited and given to Scott as his official government vehicle.

    “Chad Scott violated his sworn commitment to serve the public and uphold justice, dishonoring the special trust that we place in each of our federal law enforcement agents,” said Assistant Attorney General Brian A. Benczkowski of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division. “Today’s conviction sends a clear message to the public that malfeasance by federal law enforcement officers will not be tolerated.”

    “The conviction of Chad Scott reinforces the message that no one is above law,” said FBI Acting Special Agent in Charge Anthony T. Riedlinger. “Scott’s actions were selfish and placed an unnecessary stain on an otherwise stellar agency. We commend our partners at the DEA for their unprecedented level of cooperation throughout this investigation.”

    “The criminal justice system relies on law enforcement agents to act with integrity and honesty. By soliciting bribes and compromising cases, Scott undermined the values he swore to uphold as a federal agent,” said Special Agent in Charge Robert A. Bourbon of the Justice Department’s Office of the Inspector General (DOJ-OIG). “The Office of the Inspector General will continue to be vigilant that corrupt law enforcement agents are held accountable.”

    “At its core, DEA is a law enforcement agency committed to faithful and effective service to our country and its citizens, as well as uncompromising personal and institutional integrity,” said DEA Chief Inspector Brian McKnight. “Throughout the course of this investigation and its ultimate trial, DEA was appreciative of the professionalism and support that we received from our law enforcement partners.”

    Additionally, the evidence showed that Scott convinced the same Houston-based drug trafficker, as well as another drug trafficker in Houston, to testify falsely at a federal trial in New Orleans as to the identification of a major cocaine and heroin supplier in the Houston area. Along with obstructing justice by inducing this false testimony, Scott then himself committed perjury during a motion session as well as during the federal trial, the evidence showed. After a trial including this false testimony, the alleged supplier was found guilty. Once Scott’s actions and the false testimony came to light, the case against the alleged supplier was dismissed by the court at the request of the United States.

    Scott has been indefinitely suspended as a DEA special agent.

    Two other former Tangipahoa Parish, Louisiana Sheriff’s Office deputies who were serving as DEA task force officers in New Orleans have pleaded guilty in this investigation. Karl Emmett Newman, 52, of Kentwood, Louisiana, pleaded guilty to unlawfully carrying a firearm in furtherance of an August 2015 robbery, which was disguised as the execution of a search warrant, as well as misappropriating money confiscated by the DEA during another search. Johnny Domingue, 30, of Maurepas, Louisiana, pleaded guilty to possession of cocaine and misappropriating money confiscated by the DEA.

    Scott is additionally charged, along with Rodney Gemar, 43, of Ponchatoula, Louisiana, a former Hammond, Louisiana police officer and DEA task force officer, with various counts, including unlawful conversion of property by a government officer or employee and removing property to prevent seizure. Trial on those charges is set for October 2019. Those charges are only allegations and the defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

    This case was initially investigated by the Louisiana State Police and later investigated by the FBI’s New Orleans Field Division, DEA-OPR and DOJ-OIG. Acting Deputy Chief Charles Miracle of the Criminal Division’s Narcotic and Dangerous Drug Section and Trial Attorney Timothy Duree of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section are prosecuting the case.
    https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/drug...ent-convicted-perjury-obstruction-justice-and
     
  15. Lanny

    Lanny Original Season Ticket Holder "Mr. Big Shot"

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    Any convictions? How about indictments?
     
  16. Lanny

    Lanny Original Season Ticket Holder "Mr. Big Shot"

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    Add one to the list of convicted federal employees. Considering there are about 2 Million federal civilian employees, not counting postal workers, there's plenty of swamp to clean up. A good start has been made on high level Trump appointees so the program is working to some extent.
     
  17. MARIS61

    MARIS61 Real American

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    September 03, 2019 | Judicial Watch
    Rep. Omar Declares Support for Terrorist Financier’s Company in Her Native Somalia
    [​IMG]
    A controversial Minnesota congresswoman known for racially inflammatory anti-Semitic views has publicly declared her support for a terrorist organization in her native Somalia. Democrat Ilhan Omar is demanding that a telecommunications company founded and operated by a renowned terrorist financier, receive protection from that country’s government and peacekeeping forces. An Israeli-based newspaper broke the story a few days ago, but the American mainstream media has been notably silent on the matter.

    The company, Hormuud Telecommunications, was created and is operated by Ahmed Nur Ali Jim’ale, a chief financier of alShabaab, an east African-based jihadist group that serves as Al Qaeda’s affiliate in Somalia. In her social media account, Omar writes that Somalia’s government and peacekeeping forces need to protect Hormuud and the Somali telecom industry as they make enormous contributions to the economy and provide vital services. “During my visit to Somalia in 2011, I was surprised by the quick evolution of technology in Somalia,” Omar posts, indirectly praising the telecom firm with terrorist ties. The Israeli article includes the links to a pair of United Nations Security Council reports documenting Hormuud’s direct support for al-Shabaab.

    According to the first U.N. report: Ali Ahmed Nur Jim’ale (Jim’ale) has served in leadership roles with the former Somali Council of Islamic Courts, also known as the Somali Islamic Courts Union, which was a radical-Islamist element. The most radical elements of the Somali Islamic Courts Union eventually formed the group known as alShabaab.The document also identifies Jim’ale, a prominent businessman who controls Hormuud, as one of al-Shabab’s chief financiers. “Hormuud Telecommunications is a company identified as being one of the single largest financiers of al-Shabaab, which includes large lump sum payments toal-Shabaabin the hundreds of thousands of dollars and these payments toal-Shabaabwere facilitated byJim’ale,” the U.N. report says, adding that “Hormuud Telecommunications has provided key material and logistical support to al-Shabaab to include weapons, private fighters, and ammunition.”

    The second U.N. Security Council report, published last year, links a terror attack that killed hundreds in 2017 to Hormuud. The event is described as the deadliest terror attack in Somalia’s history, carried out with a large vehicle-borne improvised explosive device.Two employees of the principal Somali telecommunications provider, Hormuud Telecom Somalia Inc., were also prosecuted in connection with the attack, for facilitating the entry of the large vehicle-borne improvised explosive device through the Sinka Dheere checkpoint on the outskirts of Mogadishu,” according to the U.N. report.

    Considering this documented history of terrorist activity, it’s outrageous that Hormuud is endorsed by a member of the United States Congress. Omar has been plagued by controversy since becoming one of the first—along with Michigan Democrat Rashida Tlaib—Muslim women elected to Congress. The mainstream media has praised the legislators for being part of a “historic freshmen class with more women and minorities than ever.” The reality is that there is more than enough credible information for the Department of Justice (DOJ), Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and Internal Revenue Service (IRS) to open criminal investigations into Omar. Back in July Judicial Watch filed an ethics complaint with the U.S. House of Representatives Office of Congressional Ethics calling for a full investigation into potential crimes tied to allegations that Omar may have married her biological brother.

    In the complaint Judicial Watch documents substantial, compelling and unrefuted evidence that Omar may have committed the following crimes in violation of both federal law and Minnesota state law: perjury, immigration fraud, marriage fraud, state and federal tax fraud and federal student loan fraud. At the very least, such violations constitute a breach of the Code of Ethics for Government Service which subject officeholders to a higher standard.
     
  18. Lanny

    Lanny Original Season Ticket Holder "Mr. Big Shot"

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    Judicial Watch is notorious. Do you have a credible source?
     
  19. Chris Craig

    Chris Craig (Blazersland) I'm Your Huckleberry Staff Member Global Moderator Moderator

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  20. MARIS61

    MARIS61 Real American

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    Department of Justice
    Office of Public Affairs
    FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
    Friday, September 6, 2019
    Owner and Chief Executive Officer of Telemedicine Company Pleads Guilty to $424 Million Conspiracy to Defraud Medicare and Receive Illegal Kickbacks in Exchange for Orders of Durable Medical Equipment
    The owner and chief executive officer (CEO) of a telemedicine company pleaded guilty today for his role in one of the largest health care fraud schemes ever investigated by the FBI and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of the Inspector General (HHS-OIG) and prosecuted by the Department of Justice, which resulted in charges in April 2019 against 24 defendants.

    Lester Stockett, 52, of Medellin, Colombia, pleaded guilty today to one count of conspiracy to defraud the United States and pay and receive health care kickbacks, and one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering. Stockett was the owner of Video Doctor USA (Video Doctor) and Telemed Health Group LLC (AffordADoc) (collectively, the Video Doctor Network), and was the CEO of AffordADoc. In connection with his plea agreement, Stockett agreed to pay $200 million in restitution to the United States, as well as forfeit assets and property traceable to proceeds of the conspiracy to defraud the United States and conspiracy to commit money laundering. Stockett’s sentencing is set for Dec. 16 before U.S. District Judge Madeline Cox Arleo of the District of New Jersey, who accepted his plea today.

    “This CEO and his co-conspirators lined their own pockets with hundreds of millions of dollars by exploiting telemedicine technology meant to help elderly and disabled patients in need of health care,” said Assistant Attorney General Brian A. Benczkowski of the Justice Department’s Criminal Divison. “Today’s plea shows that the Department of Justice remains laser-focused on uprooting corporate health care fraud schemes, especially those built on the backs of the most vulnerable members of our community.”

    “Health care fraud results in billions of dollars in losses and affects a multitude of people across American communities,” said FBI Assistant Director Robert Johnson. “We take violations of these laws extremely seriously. The FBI will use our full investigative resources and continue to collaborate with HHS-OIG, IRS-CI, and other partners to stop this type of illegal activity.”

    “The extent of Mr. Stockett's fraud and money laundering, literally, knew no bounds,” said Special Agent in Charge Gregory W. Ehrie of the FBI’s Newark Field Office. “From the U.S. to Latin America, the Philippines, and the Dominican Republic, the FBI followed the trail of ill-gotten gains back to Stockett and his conspirators. They stole precious federal funds earmarked to assist the elderly. His admission today should resonate with anyone who is committing fraud against the U.S. government – the FBI will find you and your criminal efforts will not pay off.”

    “This global scheme that took advantage of hundreds of thousands of vulnerable individuals was fueled by unbounded greed without regard for the rules of law,” said Deputy Inspector General for Investigations Gary L. Cantrell of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General. “We will continue to work with our law enforcement partners to bring to justice those that prey on unsuspecting beneficiaries and steal from taxpayer-funded health care programs.”

    “Bribes and illegal kickbacks will not be tolerated as part of our nation’s healthcare system,” said Special Agent in Charge John R. Tafur of IRS Criminal Investigation, Newark Field Office. “Medical equipment should only be ordered when medically necessarily, not when criminals wish to line their own pockets. Today’s guilty plea should let the American public know that IRS Criminal Investigation and our law enforcement partners will continue to root out individuals like Mr. Stockett who look to illegally profit off of our health care system.”

    In connection with his guilty plea, Stockett admitted that he and others agreed to solicit and receive illegal kickbacks and bribes from patient recruiters, pharmacies, brace suppliers and others in exchange for arranging for doctors to order medically unnecessary orthotic braces (braces) for beneficiaries of Medicare and other insurance carriers. The beneficiaries were contacted through an international telemarketing network that lured hundreds of thousands of elderly and/or disabled patients into a criminal scheme that crossed borders, involving call centers in the Philippines and throughout Latin America.

    Stockett admitted that, in order to obtain the orders that were transmitted in exchange for kickbacks and bribes, he and other executives and employees of the Video Doctor Network paid illegal kickbacks and bribes to health care providers to order medically unnecessary braces for Medicare beneficiaries. Many of these orders were written after only a short telephone call between the health care provider and the beneficiary, with whom the health care provider had no prior doctor-patient relationship.

    Stockett and others transferred the brace orders to co-conspirator brace suppliers to support more than $424 million in false and fraudulent claims to Medicare that were submitted by brace suppliers, he admitted. Medicare paid these brace suppliers in excess of $200 million for these claims.

    Stockett admitted that he and other executives and employees of the Video Doctor Network were aware that it was a violation of the Anti-Kickback Statute for the Video Doctor Network or its owners or investors to receive money, directly or indirectly, from patient recruiters, purported marketers or marketing organizations, brace suppliers or pharmacies. Stockett and his co-conspirators concealed the illegal kickbacks and bribes by causing them to be paid indirectly through nominee companies and bank accounts, opened by Stockett and others in nominee names both in the United States and in foreign countries, including in the Dominican Republic, Stockett admitted. Stockett further admitted that he and others hid the existence of the foreign companies and bank accounts by making, or causing to be made, false statements to financial institutions and falsely reporting to the IRS and others that they and others had no influence over foreign bank accounts.

    In addition, Stockett admitted that he and other owners and executives of the Video Doctor Network schemed to defraud investors and others by making false and fraudulent representations that the Video Doctor Network was a legitimate telemedicine enterprise that made revenue of “$10 million per year” and “20% profit” from payments by beneficiaries who enrolled in a membership program and paid for the telemedicine consultations. These statements were false because revenue was obtained by the Video Doctor Network through the receipt of illegal kickbacks and bribes, Stockett admitted.

    With regard to money laundering, Stockett admitted that beginning about March 2016 and continuing to about April 2019, he and other owners and executives of the Video Doctor Network conspired to engage in domestic and international money laundering. Specifically, Stockett and his coconspirators transferred in excess of approximately $10 million in illegal kickback payments that they received, from a bank account of PCS CC LLC, a corporation located in the United States, to the bank account of Droneza Consulting, a corporation located in the Dominican Republic. Stockett and others then transferred more than $9.8 million from a bank account of Droneza Consulting to bank accounts of AffordADoc in the United States, in order to conceal that the Video Doctor Network was receiving kickbacks from brace suppliers in exchange for arranging for doctors to write orders that the Video Doctor Network provided to the brace suppliers, Stockett admitted.

    Stockett was charged along with Creaghan Harry, 51, of Highland Beach, Florida, and Elliot Loewenstern, 56, of Boca Raton, Florida, in an indictment charging one count of conspiracy to defraud the United States and pay and receive health care kickbacks and four counts of health care kickbacks. Stockett and Harry were separately charged with one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering. The case against Harry and Loewenstern is pending before Judge Arleo. Trial has not been set.

    An indictment is merely an allegation and all defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

    This case was investigated by the FBI, HHS-OIG and IRS-CI. Acting Assistant Chief Jacob Foster and Trial Attorney Darren Halverson of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section are prosecuting the case.

    The Fraud Section leads the Medicare Fraud Strike Force. Since its inception in March 2007, the Medicare Fraud Strike Force, which maintains 14 strike forces operating in 23 districts, has charged nearly 4,000 defendants who have collectively billed the Medicare program for more than $14 billion. In addition, the HHS Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, working in conjunction with the HHS-OIG, are taking steps to increase accountability and decrease the presence of fraudulent providers.

    Any doctors or medical professionals who have been involved with alleged fraudulent telemedicine and DME marketing schemes – including Video Doctor USA and AffordADoc – should call to report this conduct to the FBI hotline at 1-800-CALL-FBI.

    Additional documents related to the investigation and prior indictments are available here: https://www.justice.gov/opa/documents-and-resources-april-9-2019-press-release-health-care-fraud.
    https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/owne...-company-pleads-guilty-424-million-conspiracy
     

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