Emperor Pence Rallies The Christian Military For The Parental Rights Crusade To Preserve The Residuals Of The Peculiar Institution

Oh, my!

Emperor Pence really wants that U.S. crown.

His majesty has declared that the Second Amendment is only to mean to keep and bear arms, as in guns.

That is the call of the privatized, juridic, corporate parental rights of life, because it is no longer fashionable to say you own slaves.

The salvific mission of the chosen ones continues to build the christian kingdom of god, even though its banks were just raided.

Onward christian soldiers, for Bethany Christian got that contract.

The Anointed One has declared socialism to be slavery, and the U.S. will no longer be a socialist nation.

Socialism is democratic.

Democrats started slavery.

Ergo, socialism is slavery.

Praise the lord and vote republican.

I need a personal moment to work through this line of logic...and a cocktail to go along with it.

Ok, I am back.

Rumor has Mafia Mittens Romney has his army in the Senate ready to vote.

Voting is beautiful, be beautiful ~ vote.©

DOJ: Federal Law Enforcement Action Involving Fraudulent Genetic Testing Results in Charges Against 35 Individuals Responsible for Over $2.1 Billion in Losses in One of the Largest Health Care Fraud Schemes Ever Charged

T'is but a drop in the bucket.

Wait for Medicaid Fraud in Child Welfare.

Much love to my #Superfans, for there exists an entire industry of human asset management databases, where they like to do incredibly crafty revenue maximization schemes, like SACWIS.

This is modern day human trafficking and the battle of parental rights.

Elderly Patients Nationwide Lured into Criminal Scheme; Centers for Program Integrity & Medicare Services Takes Administrative Action against Providers that Submitted Over $1.7 Billion in Claims

A federal law enforcement action involving fraudulent genetic cancer testing has resulted  in charges in five federal districts against 35 defendants associated with dozens of telemedicine companies and cancer genetic testing laboratories (CGx) for their alleged participation in one of the largest health care fraud schemes ever charged. According to the charges, these defendants fraudulently billed Medicare more than $2.1 billion for these CGx tests.  Among those charged today are 10 medical professionals, including nine doctors.

The Department of Justice, Criminal Division, together with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of the Inspector General (HHS-OIG) and FBI spearheaded today’s landmark investigation  and prosecution that resulted in charges against CEOs, CFOs and others.

In addition, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, Center for Program Integrity (CMS/CPI), announced today that it took adverse administrative action against cancer genetic  testing companies and medical professionals who submitted more than $1.7 billion in claims to the Medicare program.

Today’s announcement is a culmination of coordinated law enforcement activities over the past month that were led by the Criminal Division’s Health Care Fraud Unit, resulting in charges against over 380 individuals who allegedly billed federal health care programs for more than $3 billion and allegedly prescribed/dispensed approximately 50 million controlled substance pills in Houston, across Texas, the West Coast, the Gulf Coast, the Northeast, Florida and Georgia, and the Midwest.  These include charges against 105 defendants for opioid-related offenses, and charges against 178 medical professionals. 

Today’s enforcement actions were led and coordinated by the Health Care Fraud Unit of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section in conjunction with its Medicare Fraud Strike Force (MFSF), as well as the U.S. Attorney’s Offices for the Southern District of Florida, Middle District of Florida, Southern District of Georgia, Eastern District of Louisiana, and Middle District of Louisiana.  The MFSF is a partnership among the Criminal Division, U.S. Attorney’s Offices, the FBI, DEA and HHS-OIG.  In addition, the operation included the participation of various other federal, state and local law enforcement agencies, including the Louisiana Medicaid Fraud Control Unit.

The coordinated federal investigation targeted an alleged scheme involving the payment of illegal kickbacks and bribes by CGx laboratories in exchange for the referral of Medicare beneficiaries by medical professionals working with fraudulent telemedicine companies for expensive cancer genetic tests that were medically unnecessary.

Often, the test results were not provided to the beneficiaries or were worthless to their actual doctors.  Some of the defendants allegedly controlled a telemarketing network that lured hundreds of thousands of elderly and/or disabled patients into a criminal scheme that affected victims nationwide.  The defendants allegedly paid doctors to prescribe CGx testing, either without any patient interaction or with only a brief telephonic conversation with patients they had never met or seen. 

“These defendants allegedly duped Medicare beneficiaries into signing up for unnecessary genetic tests, costing Medicare billions of dollars,” Assistant Attorney General Brian A. Benczkowski of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division.  “Together with our law enforcement partners, the Department will continue to protect the public fisc and prosecute those who steal our taxpayer dollars.”

“The scope and sophistication of the health care fraud detected in Operation Double Helix and the related Operation Brace Yourself is nearly unprecedented.  But the citizens of the Southern District of Georgia should know that we put together an unprecedented response,” said U.S. Attorney Bobby L. Christine of the Southern District of Georgia.  “Our office charged more defendants, responsible for more health care fraud losses, than ever before in this office’s history. While these charges might be some of the first, they won’t be the last.” 

“The defendants allegedly targeted elderly, disabled and other vulnerable consumers, luring them into this fraudulent scheme that affected victims nationwide and generated losses in excess of one billion dollars which spanned multiple jurisdictions,”  said U.S. Attorney Peter G. Strasser for the Eastern District of Louisiana.  “Schemes such as these have a profound effect on our nation, not only by the monies lost in the scheme, but also by stoking public distrust in some medical institutions.  It is imperative to preserve taxpayer confidence whenever and wherever possible.  Our office, along with our investigative partners, reminds seniors and their caregivers to be vigilant for fraudulent schemes.  If you are aware of or believe you are the victim of a health care fraud scheme, please contact law enforcement.”

“The defendants are alleged to have capitalized on the fears of elderly Americans in order to induce them to sign up for unnecessary or non-existent cancer screening tests,” said U.S. Attorney Ariana Fajardo Orshan of the Southern District of Florida.   “The genetic testing fraud schemes put personal greed above the preservation of the American health care system.  The U.S. Attorney’s Office in South Florida, alongside our law enforcement and USAO partners, remains committed to protecting taxpayer dollars and the Medicare program from abuse.”

“We are honored to work every day alongside our law enforcement partners to stop the exploitation of vulnerable patients and misuse of taxpayer dollars,” said CMS Administrator Seema Verma. “In order to prevent additional financial losses, CMS has taken swift action to protect the Medicare Trust Funds from the providers who allegedly have fraudulently billed over $1.7 billion. CMS continues to use a comprehensive and aggressive program integrity approach that includes fraud prevention, claims review, beneficiary education, and targeting high-risk areas of the federal healthcare programs with new tools and innovative demonstrations.”   

“Healthcare fraud and related illegal kickbacks and bribes impact the entire nation," said Assistant Director Terry Wade of the FBI’s Criminal Investigative Division.  “Fraudulently using genetic testing laboratories for unnecessary tests erodes the confidence of patients and costs taxpayers millions of dollars.  These investigations revealed some medical professionals placing their greed before the needs of the patients and communities they serve.  Today's law enforcement actions reinforce that the FBI, along with its partners, will continue to pursue and stop this type of illegal activity.”

“Unfortunately, audacious schemes such as those alleged in the indictments are pervasive and exploit the promise of new medical technologies such as genetic testing and telemedicine for financial gain, not patient care,” said Deputy Inspector General for Investigations Gary L. Cantrell of HHS-OIG.  “Instead of receiving quality care, Medicare beneficiaries may be victimized in the form of scare tactics, identity theft, and in some cases, left to pay out of pocket.  We will continue working with our law enforcement partners to investigate those who steal from federal healthcare programs and protect the millions of Americans who rely on them.”

*********

In the Southern District of Florida, the following defendants were charged: 

Richard Garipoli, 42, of Loxahatchee, Florida, the owner of a telemedicine company Lotus Health LLC (Lotus Health), located in Loxahatchee, is charged with conspiracy to commit health care fraud, conspiracy to pay and receive kickbacks, and substantive counts of health care fraud and receiving kickbacks.  The indictment charges that from January 2017 through September 2019, Garipoli, and unnamed co-conspirators, billed Medicare and Medicare Advantage plans over $326 million, for which Medicare paid over $84 million, for false and fraudulent Cancer Genomic tests (CGx Tests) that were not medically necessary, and not eligible for Medicare reimbursement.  Doctors contracted with Lotus Health allegedly authorized bogus doctors’ orders that the CGx Tests were medically necessary when the doctors did not engage in treatment of the beneficiaries, had no physician-patient relationship with them, and often did not even speak with the beneficiaries for whom they ordered tests.  The Indictment alleges that various companies paid kickbacks to Lotus Health in exchange for ordering and arranging for the ordering of CGx tests for Medicare beneficiaries, without regard to whether the CGx tests were medically necessary or eligible for Medicare reimbursement, and without regard for the fact that the tests were prescribed without any physician-patient relationship.  Various laboratories including Clio Laboratories in Lawrenceville, Georgia and LabSolutions in Atlanta, Georgia and Easton, Pennsylvania then allegedly submitted false and fraudulent claims to Medicare and Medicare Advantage plans for the false and fraudulent CGx tests that were not medically necessary and not eligible for Medicare reimbursement.  Garipoli and others allegedly concealed the submission of these false and fraudulent claims to Medicare and Medicare Advantage plans; and diverted fraud proceeds for their personal use and benefit, the use and benefit of others and to further the fraud.  The case is being prosecuted by Trial Attorneys James Hayes and Tim Loper of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section

Jamie Simmons, 62, a resident of South Carolina, and the owner of telemedicine companies MedSymphony LLC (MedSymphony) and Meetmydocc LLC (Meetmydoc) in Ft. Lauderdale Florida, is charged with conspiracy to commit health care fraud, conspiracy to pay and receive kickbacks, and substantive counts of health care fraud and receiving kickbacks.  The indictment alleges that from January 2018 through September 2019, Simmons, and unnamed co-conspirators, billed Medicare and Medicare Advantage plans over $56 million, for which Medicare paid over $17 million, for false and fraudulent Cancer Genomic tests (CGx Tests) that were not medically necessary, and not eligible for Medicare reimbursement.  Doctors contracted with MedSymphony authorized bogus doctors’ orders that the CGx Tests were medically necessary when the doctors did not engage in treatment of the beneficiaries, had no physician-patient relationship with them, and often did not even speak with the beneficiaries for whom they ordered tests.  The Indictment alleges that various companies paid kickbacks to MedSymphony through Meetmydoc in exchange for ordering and arranging for the ordering of CGx tests for Medicare beneficiaries, without regard to whether the CGx tests were medically necessary or eligible for Medicare reimbursement, and without regard for the fact that the tests were prescribed without any physician-patient relationship.  Various laboratories then submitted false and fraudulent claims to Medicare and Medicare Advantage plans for the false and fraudulent CGx tests that were not medically necessary and not eligible for Medicare reimbursement.  Simmons and others allegedly concealed the submission of these false and fraudulent claims to Medicare and Medicare Advantage plans; and diverted fraud proceeds for their personal use and benefit, the use and benefit of others and to further the fraud.  The case is being prosecuted by Trial Attorneys James Hayes and Tim Loper.

Minal Patel, 40, of Atlanta, Georgia was charged based on his role in an alleged scheme to solicit medically unnecessary CGx tests from Medicare beneficiaries through telemarketing and “health fairs.”  The tests were then approved by telemedicine doctors who allegedly did not engage in treatment of the beneficiaries, and often did not even speak with the beneficiaries for whom they ordered tests.  Patel, the owner of LabSolutions in Georgia and Pennsylvania, then paid the telemarketers illegal kickbacks and bribes in exchange for the doctor’s orders and medically unnecessary tests.  LabSolutions billed Medicare for more than $494 million.  In addition, the government seized approximately $30 million in bank accounts from Patel, as well as luxury vehicles, including a Ferrari and a Range Rover.  The case is being prosecuted by Trial Attorneys Tim Loper and James Hayes.

In the Eastern District of Louisiana, the following defendant was charged:

Khalid Satary, 47, of Suwanee, Georgia was charged based on his role in an alleged scheme to solicit medically unnecessary cancer genetic (CGx) tests from Medicare beneficiaries through telemarketing and “health fairs.”  The tests were then approved by telemedicine doctors who did not engage in treatment of the beneficiaries, and often did not even speak with the beneficiaries for whom they ordered tests.  Satary, the owner of several labs in Georgia, Oklahoma and Louisiana, and his co-conspirators, through companies they controlled, then paid the telemarketers illegal kickbacks and bribes in exchange for the doctor’s orders and medically unnecessary tests.  The labs included Performance Laboratories in Oklahoma, Lazarus Services in Louisiana, and Clio Labs in Georgia, where Elmore was CEO.  Performance Labs, Clio Labs and Lazarus Services collectively billed Medicare for more than $547 million.  In addition, the government  seized 16 bank accounts and restrained real estate from Satary.  The case is being prosecuted by Trial Attorneys Timothy Loper and Jared Hasten.

In the Southern District of Georgia, 19 defendants were charged:

Anthony T. Securo, 56, of Columbus, Georgia, was indicted by a federal grand jury in Savannah, Georgia, for his role in a scheme to bill Medicare and other health benefit programs for medically unnecessary durable medical equipment. According to the indictment, Securo, a medical doctor, signed thousands of orders for durable medical equipment for Medicare beneficiaries he claimed to be “treating,” but in fact never even met. These thousands of items were billed to Medicare for more than $23 million. According to the indictment, Securo ordered these medically unnecessary items after having short telephone conversations with the patients, but then signed medical records stating that Securo had performed examinations or physical tests of the patients that were never actually performed.

In addition, 18 other defendants were charged in the Southern District of Georgia by way of criminal information.  The 18 other defendants include two “telemedicine” physician recruiters, seven physicians, two nurse practitioners, two individuals who brokered the sale of physician orders, one company that brokered the sale of physician orders, and four durable medical equipment companies.  In total, the 19 defendants charged in the Southern District of Georgia were responsible for over $400 million in genetic testing, durable medical equipment, and pain cream billing to Medicare, according to court documents. The cases are being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys J. Thomas Clarkson Jonathan A. Porter of the Southern District of Georgia

In the Northern District of Texas, the following defendant was charged:  

Daniel R. Canchola, M.D., 49, Flower Mound Texas, a physician, was charged for his alleged referral of Medicare beneficiaries for medically unnecessary “cancer screening,” or “CGx,” genetic tests.  Canchola received illegal kickbacks and bribes for the CGx orders he signed, and he did so without examining or speaking to patients and in the absence of any physician-patient relationship.  Oftentimes the beneficiaries for whom Canchola ordered CGx tests never received their test results.  From in or about January 2018 through in or about March 2019, Canchola caused the submission of over $69 million in false and fraudulent claims to Medicare.  The case is being prosecuted by Trial Attorney Brynn Schiess of the Fraud Section.

Sekhar Rao, M.D., 48 of Austin, Texas, and Vinay Parameswara, M.D., 46, of Austin, Texas, were charged for their role in alleged referrals of TRICARE beneficiaries for medically unnecessary “cancer screening” genetic tests and toxicology tests.  Rao and Parameswara did not examine or speak with the beneficiaries they signed testing orders for and there was no physician-patient relationship between the physicians and these beneficiaries.  Tests were repeated many times and beneficiaries often did not receive the results of their tests. From in or about May 2014 and until in or about June 2016, Rao, Parameswara and others caused the submission of over $36 million in false and fraudulent claims to TRICARE. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant Chief Adrienne Frazior of the Fraud Section.

In the Middle District of Florida, the following defendant was charged:

Ivan Andre Scott, 34, Kissimmee, Florida, a marketer, was charged for his role in an alleged $2.8 million scheme to provide Medicare beneficiary information to doctors and telemedicine companies, that could then be billed for medically unnecessary genetic testing.  The case is being prosecuted by Trial Attorney Alejandro J. Salicrup of the Fraud Section.

In the Middle District of Louisiana, the following defendants were charged:

Mark Allen, 51, of Greer, South Carolina, and Kevin Hanley, 42, of Prairieville, Louisiana, were charged for their roles in an alleged scheme to solicit medically unnecessary cancer genetic (CGx) tests from Medicare beneficiaries, have the tests approved by telemedicine doctors who did not engage in treatment of the beneficiaries, and submit claims through clinical testing laboratories that paid kickbacks in exchange for the referrals.  Allen and his co-conspirators, through companies they controlled, solicited the tests and arranged for approvals by telemedicine providers.  They then transmitted the test samples and orders to labs in Louisiana, including Acadian Diagnostic Laboratories LLC, where Hanley was the CFO, and elsewhere.  Acadian, through Hanley and others, paid kickbacks to companies controlled by Allen and others to obtain the referrals, and submitted claims to Medicare for the tests.  Acadian and other labs billed Medicare for more than $240 million.  The case is being prosecuted by Trial Attorneys Tim Loper, Justin Woodard and Gary Winters of the Fraud Section and Assistant U.S. Attorney Kristen Craig of the Middle District of Louisiana.

In addition, as part of the Northeast Regional Takedown announced on Sept. 26, the District of New Jersey announced charges against the following:

Matthew S. Ellis, MD, 53, of Gainesville, Florida; Edward B. Kostishion, 59, of Lakeland, Florida; Kyle D. Mclean, 36, of Arlington Heights, Illinois; Kacey C. Plaisance, 38, of Altamonte Springs, Florida; Jeremy Richey, 39, of Mars, Pennsylvania; and Jeffrey Tamulski, 46, of Tampa, Florida. Kostishion, Plaisance, and Richey operated Ark Laboratory Network LLC (Ark), a company that purported to operate a network of laboratories that facilitated genetic testing.  Ark partnered with Privy Health, Inc., a company that McLean operated, and another company to acquire DNA samples and Medicare information from hundreds of patients through various methods, including offering $75 gift cards to patients, all without the involvement of a treating health care professional.  Ellis, a physician based in Gainesville, served as the ordering physician who authorized genetic testing for hundreds of patients across the country that he never saw, examined, or treated.  These included patients from New Jersey and various other states where Ellis was not licensed to practice medicine.  Through this process, Ellis, Kostishion, Plaisance, and McLean submitted and caused to be submitted fraudulent orders for genetic tests to numerous clinical laboratories.  These orders falsely certified that Ellis was the patients’ treating physician and, in many cases, contained false information indicating that a patient had a personal or family history of cancer, when, in fact, the patient had no cancer history whatsoever.  In 2018 alone, Medicare paid clinical laboratories at least approximately $4.6 million for genetic tests that Ellis ordered in this manner.  In addition, Kostishion, Plaisance, Richey, and Tamulski entered into kickback agreements with certain clinical laboratories under which the laboratories would pay Ark a bribe in exchange for delivering DNA samples and orders for genetic tests.  The bribe payments were based on the percentage of Medicare revenue that the laboratories received in connection with the tests.  Among other things, Kostishion, Plaisance, Richey, and Tamulski concealed these kickback arrangements through issuing sham invoices to laboratories that purportedly reflected services provided at an hourly rate even though the parties had already agreed upon the bribe amount, which was based on the revenue the laboratories received.  In 2018, the clinical laboratories paid Ark at least approximately $1.8 million in bribes.  The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Bernard Cooney of the District of New Jersey.

A complaint, information or indictment is merely an allegation, and all defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

The Fraud Section leads the Medicare Fraud Strike Force.  Since its inception in March 2007, the Medicare Fraud Strike Force, which maintains 15 strike forces operating in 24 districts, has charged nearly 4,000 defendants who have collectively billed the Medicare program for more than $16 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.

Voting is beautiful, be beautiful ~ vote.©

DOJ: Attorney General William P. Barr Delivers Remarks at the Grand Lodge Fraternal Order of Police's 64th National Biennial Conference - " Epstein's co-conspirators should not rest easy"

New Orleans, LA

 ~

Monday, August 12, 2019

Remarks as prepared for delivery

Good morning!  Thank you, Chuck [Canterbury], for your kind introduction.  Jim [Pasco], it’s great to see you and thanks for all that you have done for the FOP over the years. 

Congressman Scalise, it is good to see you this morning.  Thank you for your support for law enforcement.  We will never forget the heroism of the Capitol Police Officers that day and how their swift action prevented a mass tragedy.

Before I begin, I would like to briefly address the news from the Manhattan Correctional Center over the weekend regarding Jeffrey Epstein.  This case was very important to the Department.  It was important to the dedicated prosecutors and agents who investigated the case and were preparing it for trial.  Most importantly, this case was important to the victims who had the courage to come forward and deserved the opportunity to confront the accused in court.

I was appalled – indeed, the entire Department was – and frankly angry, to learn of the MCC’s failure to adequately secure this prisoner.  We are now learning of serious irregularities at this facility that are deeply concerning and that demand a thorough investigation.  The FBI and the Office of Inspector General are already doing just that.  We will get to the bottom of what happened at the MCC and we will hold people accountable for this failure.

Let me assure you that this case will continue on against anyone who was complicit with Epstein.  Any co-conspirators should not rest easy.  The victims deserve justice, and we will ensure they get it.

And now, let me turn to the reason I am here, to renew a relationship with old friends.  

It is a real privilege for me to join the Fraternal Order of Police this morning.  I enjoyed a close relationship with the FOP my first time around in this job, and I am looking forward to an even closer one this time.

Let me say I am proud to serve in an Administration and under President Trump who so strongly support law enforcement.

To my mind, there is no more noble profession than serving as a police officer. You put your own life and well-being on the line to protect your communities.

Your families spend anxious nights, so we can sleep in peace.  You never know what your day may bring — what uncertainty, danger, or threat you might face.  But you still get up, put on your uniform and badge, kiss your loved ones, and head out to face whatever risks might come your way. 

This calls for a special kind of bravery.  I remember that when our troops went off to war in the First Gulf War, they were cheered along the highways as they went. And when they returned in victory, they were cheered and given ticker tape parades – and rightly so.

But when police officers leave their precincts every morning, there are no crowds on the highway cheering you.  And when you come home at the end of the day after a job well done, there are no ticker tape parades.

One reason for this is that law enforcement is fighting a different type of war.  We are fighting an unrelenting, never-ending fight against criminal predators in our society.  While there are battles won and lost each day, there is never a final resolution – a final victory is never in sight.

It takes a very special kind of courage to wage this kind of fight – a special kind of commitment; a special kind of self-sacrifice.

So it is an honor for me to have been invited here, to be among you, and to have the opportunity, as Attorney General, to support you and salute you.

The horrors of El Paso and Dayton last week still weigh heavily on all of us.  We still mourn the victims of these evil acts.  We are also proud of the police who responded to the scenes and prevented further bloodshed.

It is particularly stirring to watch the footage from Dayton.  As the shooting started and civilians fled, you can see the police charging headlong towards the shooter, whom they quickly and skillfully neutralized.  Every American should thank God that we still have men and women like them – like you – who stand ready to run toward the mortal danger.

Let me assure you that the President will not let acts of mass shootings and domestic terrorism go unanswered.  He has been consulting widely and has directed me and Director Wray to work with our state and local partners, as well as the private sector, to develop strategies and measures to address these threats, including developing tools that can assist us in detecting potential mass shooters before they strike.  I anticipate that we will be sharing range of proposals – legislative as well as operational – in the near future.  I can assure you that our proposals will involve collaboration, with you – our colleagues at the state and local levels.

The recent atrocities also remind us of a basic truth.  Human beings are capable of great good, but also of the basest evil.  Even in a healthy society, violence, lawlessness, and predation lie just below the surface.  In the final analysis, what stands between chaos and carnage on the one hand, and the civilized and tranquil society we all yearn for, is the thin blue line of law enforcement.  You are the ones manning the ramparts – day in, and day out.

Even in the best of times, there is no tougher calling than serving as a police officer.  Today, it is much tougher than it has ever been.

The Framers believed that a free society can only exist if the people have the personal virtue and self-restraint to control their own worst passions and appetites.

If people lose the values and moral discipline to control themselves, then government would increasingly have to use external force to keep order, and the community would gradually lose its freedom.  This is what James Madison was talking about when he said, “We have staked our future on the ability of each of us to govern ourselves.”

We live in an age now when the institutions we have relied on to inculcate values and self-restraint have been under constant assault for over 50 years.  As a result, we see about us increased social pathology:  boys growing up without fathers; alienated and angry young men; gangs engaged in the most brutal violence; mass shootings; increasing mental illness and suicide among young people; a drug epidemic inflicting casualties beyond what we would sustain in a major war; growing domestic violence; an increase in sexual assaults and child exploitation.

You name it.  And who is expected to deal with this?  As other institutions fail and abdicate, who is expected to stand their ground?  Who is expected to pick up the pieces?  You are.  The police.  The thin blue line.

That is why I say that the job you are asked to do has never been more challenging.  The risks you are called on to take have never been greater.

Despite the fact that the majority of the American people do support the police, unfortunately, over the past few years, there has been an increasingly vocal minority that regularly attacks the police and advances a narrative that it is the police that are the bad guys rather than the criminals.  Whenever there is a confrontation involving the use of force by police, they automatically start screaming for the officers’ scalps, regardless of the facts.

I am not suggesting there are never abuses.  As with all human institutions there are sometimes bad apples; and we will deal with that.  But these are very much the exceptions, not the rule.  If anything, I continue to be amazed at the professionalism of our police officers in the most extreme circumstances.

The anti-police narrative is fanning disrespect for the law.  In recent years, we have witnessed increasing toleration of the notion that it is somehow okay to resist the police.  

Previously, it was well understood that, regardless of the circumstances, physical resistance is unacceptable because it necessarily leads to a spiral of escalating violence that endangers the safety of the officer, the suspect, and all in the vicinity.  For that reason, virtually all jurisdictions have made resistance a serious crime.

Not too long ago influential public voices — whether in the media or among community and civic leaders — stressed the need to comply with police commands, even if one thinks they are unjust.  “Comply first” and, if you think you have been wronged, “complain later.”

But we don’t hear this much anymore.  Instead, when an incident escalates due to a suspect’s violent resistance to police, that fact is usually ignored by the commentary.  The officer’s every action is dissected, but the suspect’s resistance, and the danger it posed, frequently goes without mention.

We need to get back to basics.  We need public voices, in the media and elsewhere, to underscore the need to “Comply first, and, if warranted, complain later.”  This will make everyone safe – the police, suspects, and the community at large.  And those who resist must be prosecuted for that crime.  We must have zero tolerance for resisting police.  This will save lives.

We are seeing disrespect for law enforcement in other ways.  We were all nauseated by the spectacle of prancing punks pelting New York police officers with water and plastic buckets.  Unfortunately, these were not isolated events.  From 2014 through 2017, there has been a 20 percent increase in assaults against police, up to about 60,000 per year.

This Administration will not tolerate violence against police, and we will do all we can to protect the safety of law enforcement officers.  I will share with you one proposal that we will be advancing after Labor Day.  We will be proposing legislation providing that in cases of mass murder, or in cases of murder of a law enforcement officer, there will be a timetable for judicial proceedings that will allow imposition of any death sentence without undue delay.  Punishment must be swift and certain.

There is another development that is demoralizing to law enforcement and dangerous to public safety.  That is the emergence in some of our large cities of District Attorneys that style themselves as “social justice” reformers, who spend their time undercutting the police, letting criminals off the hook, and refusing to enforce the law.

These anti-law enforcement DAs have tended to emerge in jurisdictions where the election is largely determined by the primary.  Frequently, these candidates ambush an incumbent DA in the primary with misleading campaigns and large infusions of money from outside groups.

Once in office, they have been announcing their refusal to enforce broad swathes of the criminal law.  Most disturbing is that some are refusing to prosecute cases of resisting police.  Some are refusing to prosecute various theft cases or drug cases, even where the suspect is involved in distribution.  And when they do deign to charge a criminal suspect, they are frequently seeking sentences that are pathetically lenient.  So these cities are headed back to the days of revolving door justice.  The results will be predictable. More crime; more victims.

One of my messages today is that the American people need to pay close attention to issues of public safety in their communities.  As a society we should not take our police officers for granted.

I would like to see the American people gain a renewed appreciation of the noble work done by our police officers in protecting our communities.  I would like to see increased recognition that being a police officer is the toughest job in the country, and it is getting tougher.  I would like to see a greater commitment to supporting the police.

The “thin blue line” is getting thinner.  The number of sworn officers per capita has been dropping.  We are now in a full employment economy.  With lucrative and safer jobs now available in other sectors, police departments must compete hard to attract the best candidates.

Many cities are already unable to fill their ranks, and vacancy rates are mounting. The harder we make the police officer’s job – the less they are supported – the harder it will be to attract qualified candidates.  And I think we can anticipate that those who come forward to serve will be increasingly attracted to jurisdictions where the community supports the police.

It is imperative that state and local jurisdictions not scrimp on investing in law enforcement.  At time when governments are trying to be all things to all people, it is important not to forget the basics.  The very reason we have government is to protect the public safety.  The very first duty of government is to provide the police.  If we are to maintain the professional police forces we currently have, we must ensure ample budgets to fund good compensation, full force levels, sufficient equipment and adequate training.

I would like to turn for a moment to my priorities and the importance of our partnership.

Two of my highest priorities are continuing the fight against violent crime and combating the opioid epidemic and the scourge of other dangerous drugs, like resurging methamphetimine.

When I last served as Attorney General in the early 90’s, violent crime was at all-time high levels in the country.  Starting in the 1960’s, we had gone through three decades of “reform” that turned our criminal justice system into a laughable revolving door.  Incarceration rates dropped precipitously; and crime rates tripled, reaching a high in 1991-92.

Starting with the Reagan Administration, and running though the Bush, Clinton, and Bush years, we strengthened our criminal justice systems at both the Federal and state level.  We focused on getting chronic violent offenders off the streets and into prisons to serve meaningful sentences that protected the community.  We worked closely with our State and local partners on programs like Weed & Seed and Triggerlock.

The result?  A steady and sharp drop in violent crime starting in 1992.  Today, violent crime has been cut in half. 

Unfortunately, in the last few years of the Obama Administration, the violent crime rate started rising again.  Days after his inauguration, President Trump issued an Executive Order with two clear directives.  First, he declared that this Administration would reduce crime in America.  Second, he directed the Department of Justice to take the lead on Federal actions to support law enforcement efforts nationwide and to collaborate with State, tribal, and local jurisdictions to restore public safety to all of our communities.

We take this responsibility seriously and, working closely with our State and local partners, we have succeeded once again in driving crime rates back down.  I am proud of our work together on Project Safe Neighborhood, and a variety of joint anti-gang and anti-gun crime efforts.

We have made a difference, but we cannot rest on our laurels.  Crime levels are still too high and we must keep up a full court press.  In the weeks ahead, we will be doubling down on our attack on violent crime.  We will be expanding our efforts against gun violence and violent gangs.  Once again, we plan on doing this shoulder-to-shoulder with our State and local partners.

On the drug front, we are facing a monumental challenge.  To be frank, the Obama Administration showed little interest in prosecuting the fight against dangerous drugs.  A tsunami built up and has been crashing over the country, bringing death and destruction.

The death toll from opioids alone is higher than we would sustain in a major war.  Indeed, in a single year, we lose more people to opioids than we lost during the entire Vietnam War.

Fortunately, this Administration has thrown down the gauntlet.  It declared a national emergency, marshalled the Nation’s resources, and is fighting back.

We have a robust program to attack the problem of over-prescription and diversion of legal opioids, and we are definitely having an impact.  Prescription rates are markedly down.  I am confident these successes will accelerate.

I think our attack on illicit opioids is building momentum.  It is going to be a long difficult road, but we are gaining real traction.

As you know, this Administration has sharply increased drug trafficking prosecutions, especially as to opioids.  In 2018 we prosecuted 36 percent more opioid-related offenses than we did in the previous year.  Fentanyl prosecutions were up 200 percent.

Fentanyl and other synthetics are especially deadly.  Unless we make progress on fentanyl, the gains we are making elsewhere can be overwhelmed.  A year ago, the Department launched Operation SOS, targeting synthetics in 10 high-impact districts.  The first year’s results are promising, and I plan to ratchet up this initiative.

Obviously, the head of the snake is outside the United States.  Most of the illegal drugs coming into the country – opioids, cocaine, and meth – are trafficked from Mexico by transnational organized crime, particularly the Mexican cartels.

We must destroy these cartels.  This is a uniquely Federal responsibility.  We have destroyed cartels in the past, but we let up so that other groups were able to take their place.  We cannot do that again.  I don’t underestimate how hard this work is, and how long it will take.

The successful prosecution of El Chapo was a big step forward.  We have to capitalize on that.  I have asked our agencies to use every tool at our Nation’s disposal to step up the attack on the cartels.  I am hoping that President Trump’s breakthrough agreement with Mexico on cooperating on the immigration crisis will give us an opportunity to work more closely in attacking the cartels.

In closing, I want to thank you again for all that you do.  Thank you for keeping us safe where we live and work.  Ever since the settlers in Boston established the night watch in 1635, America has had a proud tradition of professionals who stand guard against those who would do us harm.  You are the latest in that noble line.

Please continue to do what you do.  This Administration has your back.  May God bless you and keep you safe.  And may God bless the United States of America.

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Notre Dame Fire Gets $600M To Rebuild, Louisiana Landry Parrish Three Churches Gets Nothing, Michelle Obama Has A Best Selling Book

It seems Michelle Obama was serendipitously in Paris for the controlled burning of Notre Dame Cathedral, during her miraculous book tour, where I have yet to find one person who has purchased her book that has generated millions and millions of dollars, in venues with extreme rates of poverty, like Detroit.

It must be a pretty good book.

Perhaps, she can awe us, again, with her soothsaying skills to reassure everyone that the churches in Louisiana Landry Parish will soon awe us again.

The majesty of Notre Dame—the history, artistry, and spirituality—took our breath away, lifting us to a higher understanding of who we are and who we can be. Being here in Paris tonight, my heart aches with the people of France. Yet I know that Notre Dame will soon awe us again. https://t.co/p1mIDMbwe1

— Michelle Obama (@MichelleObama) April 15, 2019

Perhaps, she can ask Bernard Arnault for a few pointers on rebuilding historic churches, archiving the history, since the Vatican seems to have omitted the history of black churches in the United States, but hey, what do I know.

I know she will never do it.


Suspected arsonist facing hate crime charges over Louisiana black church fires

Suspected arsonist facing hate crime charges over Louisiana black church fires originally appeared on abcnews.go.com

The man who was arrested after a string of fires left historically black churches gravely burned is now facing hate crime charges.

Holden Matthews was arrested Wednesday after investigators tied him to three church fires that spanned a 10-day period in Louisiana's St. Landry Parrish.

Matthews, the 21-year-old son of a sheriff's deputy, appeared in court in Opelousas on Monday. He entered a not guilty plea via his court-appointed lawyer.

The Associated Press reports Matthews did not speak during the hearing, which came after prosecutors filed papers to add three charges accusing Matthews of violating the state's hate crime law. Those three charges come in addition to three charges of arson of a religious building that Matthews already faced.

Holden Matthews

Matthews was denied bond on Monday, which law enforcement officials pushed for because they view him as a continued threat.

"We felt that he was an immediate risk to public safety," said Louisiana Fire Marshal Butch Browning, according to the AP.

(MORE: 'Evil acts': Deputy's son Holden Matthews arrested for 3 Louisiana church fires)

"In my mind, I felt another fire was imminent," Browning said in court Monday.

Browning made similar sentiments shortly after apprehending Matthews. During a news conference on Thursday, Browning said officials were still working to determine his motives, but added they found that Matthews had ties to "black metal and its association and history with church burnings in other parts of the world."

Black metal, a distant genre of devil-worshipping death metal music, has roots in the Norwegian heavy metal scene that reportedly was the inspiration for several church burnings in the country in the early 1990s.

(MORE: Authorities investigating fires at historically black Louisiana churches)

Matthews' father, who works for the local sheriff's department, was present at Monday's hearing. The AP said the suspect's parents watched from a video conference of the courtroom, and at one point his father was seen leaving the room in tears.

The three fires investigators tied Matthews to were all near the town of Opelousas, and no one was hurt as no one was inside any of the structures at the time of the blazes.

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Another Chief Of Staff & Human Trafficking In Congressional Campaigns

I am just going to leave this right here.

District Director for U.S. Rep. Clay Higgins at the Center of Alleged Human Trafficking Ring

Jerod Prunty and his “roommate” were arrested after a 17-month investigation uncovered evidence that they may be involved in a sprawling human trafficking ring in Lafayette Parish.

lay Higgins (R- LA-03) reintroduced himself to the nation last week, swapping out his “Cajun John Wayne” costume with an oversized vest and tie and using his perch on the House Oversight Committee to ask former Trump fixer and personal lawyer Michael Cohen a series of baffling questions that made it abundantly clear the congressman had not done his homework.

“Clay Higgins questioning Cohen and attending his senior prom in the same day,” joked Aaron Eisenberg on Twitter.

In fact, Higgins claimed he never really even knew of Cohen until that very morning, which may seem utterly impossible to believe about any sentient American adult, let alone any member of Congress.

But for those who have followed Higgins’s career and ascendance to elected office, his sartorial choices are unsurprising, and his claim of ignorance is plausible.

Higgins capped off the day with an appearance on CNN, carrying with him a six-pack of Yuengling that he pledged to split with anchor Chris Cuomo. (Last year, in an interview with LaPolitics, Higgins consumed multiple beers while on camera).

During the Cohen hearing, Higgins, a former sheriff’s deputy who first rose to fame after a series of Crime Stoppers videos he recorded went viral online, said, among other things, that he had arrested “thousands of men” during his stints with the tiny Opelousas Police Department and St. Landry Sheriff’s Department. The claim was so manifestly absurd that it was impossible not to take the bait: Almost immediately, the Louisiana Democratic Party pounced and filed a series of public records requests with his former employers.

It was also particularly ironic.

Only a week before, one of the congressman’s top aides, District Director Jerod Prunty, tendered his resignation after being charged and arrested with two counts of “pandering,” which, as it is apparently being applied in this situation, is a euphemism for human trafficking. The state’s most recent iteration of the statutory definition of pandering dates back to 1978; it provides for significant civil penalties and mandatory jail time. The statutes on human trafficking were only codified in 2005 and are effectively a way to heighten penalties in certain circumstances, particularly when a victim is under the age of 21. La. Rev. Stat. § 14:84(A) defines pandering as “any of the following intentional acts”: 

(1) Enticing, placing, persuading, encouraging, or causing the entrance of any person into the practice of prostitution, either by force, threats, promises, or by any other device or scheme.

(2) Maintaining a place where prostitution is habitually practiced.

(3) Detaining any person in any place of prostitution by force, threats, promises, or by any other device or scheme.

(4) Receiving or accepting by a person as a substantial part of support or maintenance anything of value which is known to be from the earnings of any person engaged in prostitution.

(5) Consenting, on the part of any parent or tutor of any person, to the person’s entrance or detention in the practice of prostitution.

(6) Transporting any person from one place to another for the purpose of promoting the practice of prostitution.

Prunty’s arrest was the result of an expansive, 17-month long investigation undertaken by the Lafayette Sheriff’s Department. “Deputies served warrants at five massage parlors and three residences in a coordinated sting on Feb. 12, (Sheriff Mark) Garber said,” according to The Daily Advertiser. “The raid was the result of the first phase of the investigation, he said, and it’s not over.”

Prunty was one of nine people charged and arrested as a part of the investigation, which also resulted in the seizure of $50,000 in cash and multiple vehicles, and he appears to have been closely involved in the alleged operation. He shares a home on the 200 block of Chimney Rock Boulevard in Lafayette with another one of the alleged co-conspirators, Pingjuan Xia, who was booked on charges of “pandering, prostitution by massage and massage parlor prohibited sexual conduct,” according to The Advocate.

Late Saturday, an anonymous Twitter account, @PutLouisiana1st, posted a photograph the user claimed to be of Xia and Prunty together at D.C. Mardi Gras.

The Bayou Brief independently confirmed the photograph’s authenticity but has, thus far, been unable to ascertain whether it was taken in 2018 or 2019. We have no knowledge of the identity of the person or persons behind @PutLouisiana1st, which, curiously, only follows one account on Twitter, Louisiana state Rep. Chad Brown, a Republican from Plaquemine. (Update: They have since unfollowed state Rep. Brown).

Regardless of whether it was taken this year or last year, the photograph suggests that Xia and Prunty were more than roommates and that Prunty used his contacts and his position as a congressional staffer to introduce Xia to some of the most politically powerful officials and most influential lobbyists in Louisiana, while they were both under investigation for their involvement in a human trafficking ring.

Rep. Higgins may have only learned about Michael Cohen last week, but he must have known who Pingjuan Xia was for months, if not years, prior to her arrest. And of course, he hired Jerod Prunty, who, like Higgins, is a former sheriff’s deputy.

We also reached out to attorney Josh Guillory, who is referenced in the tweet and who ran against Higgins, a fellow Republican, last year. Guillory had been completely unfamiliar with the details of the allegations, but he expressed his total confidence in the men and women conducting the investigation. “I trust in the judicial system,” he said. “This will work itself out.”

There are reasons to believe that Higgins’s office is currently in full-on panic mode, though the cause for concern has little to do with Higgins’s cameo performance during the Cohen hearing. The worry, instead, is about how, exactly, “this will work itself out.”

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Another Spokestoken, Another Privatization Scheme, Another Attempt To Highjack Conyers' Legacy Of Reparations

You must understand, I do not hail from the 1950's era of social politeness, so I will say whatever I want because I am an original source and I do not appreciate when people and institutions are mean to my Sweetie, whether it be intentional or not.

I get extremely exasperated with all these so-called political spokestokens jumping up to be the new poster child for reparations, because I see this particular movement as another complex, financial fraud scheme of privatization; the activity of political carrion.

You would think someone would, in the least, properly reference the work of John Conyers, Jr., H.R. 40 Reparations Study Bill, but, alas, Bart probably never read it, which means someone recruited him to be the fraud scheme's spokestoken.

It seems the internet power that be attempted to scrub his legacy from the internet, opening the door to highjack the narrative to promulgate more privatization schemes on the local levels, like the Detroit Land Bank Authority.

Since Bart could not even execute a basic keyword internet search, or even hit me up, as demonstrated by his lack of reference to Conyers' original videos, speeches, white papers, I have so presciently preserved, it seems that certain powers "bleachbitted" federal records from the National Archives.

Bart did not even mention the work of the U.S. House Judiciary Chairman Emeritus on the exogenous issue variables that have led to the perpetual promulgation of H.R. 40.

I have decided to provide Bart with the opportunity to click the link, below, to learn more about the history of H.R. 40 Reparations Study and John Conyers, Jr.

The Tale Of Reparations Propaganda: How They Are Attempting To Wipe Out Conyers Legacy

Because Bart failed to even mention the Congressional Black Caucus, where John Conyers, Jr. was the Dean, I thought it only proper that I would assist in the education of Bart.

Congressional Black Caucus Foundation Legislative Promulgation Of The Privatization In Trafficking Tiny Humans - 2017

I truly hope the FBI will take possession of the Congressional Black Caucus servers, soon, but something tells me we already have everything. (snikcer).

I wonder if Bart ever spoke with Sheila Jackson Lee?

He really should interview Sheila and ask about the CBC servers, or the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, to just suggest a few subjects, you know.

H.R. 40 is a study, not a check.  That is why my stealin' spidey senses started to tingle.

Besides, the peculiar institution of slavery was just renamed as child welfare.

Hey, Bart, Google me, or, you could just ask him because he is waiting in the wings.

You know what he says, about reparations, right Bart?

"Jobs, Justice, Peace", says Conyers.

Bart Everson: Toward a local platform for reparations

Bart Everson

The anniversary of the New Orleans Massacre of 1866 is coming up later this month, on July 30th. We should not forget this event, essentially a race riot, in which 238 people were killed, the vast majority of whom were Black war veterans who had fought for the Union — but the war had ended a year earlier.

The massacre was a crucial factor which led to the passage of the Reconstruction Acts. For a brief moment, a century and a half ago, it seemed as if our nation was poised to begin the long and difficult process of healing from the wounds which slavery inflicted on the body politic. Instead, that process was sabotaged and repressed in relatively short order. Call it the Deconstruction of Reconstruction.

Is there a city in the United States where we know this better? The legacy of slavery looms large here, though official acknowledgements of this history are scanty. The Crescent City was also home to one of the largest populations of free people of color. It stands to reason that people in New Orleans should be at the forefront of the newly re-invigorated movement toward making reparations for slavery.

And so we are.

On July 9th, there was a meeting on the prospect of a local platform for such reparations. It was sponsored by the Green Party of New Orleans. (Note: I serve as chair of this group.) All our meetings at the Mid-City Library are free and open to the public.

Local artist, activist and entrepreneur Anika Ofori drew on her experience working with the Green Party of the United States to give an informal presentation which informed and framed our discussion.

Anika began with a brief historical overview, outlining the establishment of the Freedmen’s Bureau and the Reconstruction Acts, as well as the sabotage of Reconstruction through acts of violence.

Current efforts on to establish reparations for slavery stem from the middle of the 20th century, picking up momentum in the 1990s, slowed temporarily by the political shifts after the terrorist attacks of 2001.

Anika recounted the work of the National Coalition of Blacks for Reparations in America (N’COBRA) and National African American Reparations Commission (NAARC) including their preliminary 10-Point Plan which is modeled after a similar plan endorsed by the Caribbean Community (CARICOM). It’s a holistic program that would finally set our nation on the road to healing. A wealth of detailed information can be found via the Reparations Resources Center, maintained by the Institute of the Black World 21st Century, at https://ibw21.org/reparations-resource-center/

House Resolution 40, officially titled the “Commission to Study and Develop Reparation Proposals for African-Americans Act,” was introduced to Congress in January of 2017 by John Conyers, Jr. He introduced the bill repeatedly over almost three decades. Since he resigned in December, the future of the bill is unclear.

The Bill is a political distraction to launch more privatization schemes.  I speak as an original source

Nevertheless, the Green Party of the United States has endorsed the idea of reparations, both in general principle as part of the Green Party platform, as well as more specifically endorsing H.R. 40.

We concluded our meeting with a discussion of how we might promote the reparations issue locally, here in New Orleans, which after all was once the preeminent hub of the slave trade on this continent.

Our conversation brought to light a series of questions. For example: How do we incorporate support for reparations in our local platform, currently under development? We anticipate some points from the NAARC ten-point plan will be included in other parts of our platform. Do we highlight these connections or address reparations separately? How do we advocate for reparations to a greater public that might not be educated on the issue and resistant to it? Are there particular policies and demands in the call for reparations that our chapter is in the best position to pursue locally?

The discussion of reparations also raised questions about the priorities and identity of the Green Party. Despite the official support for reparations in the Green Party platform, there were concerns that the Green Party as a whole isn’t racially inclusive and sufficiently aware of race issues. There were also concerns that prioritizing reparations and racial justice might alienate members of the party who are most interested in economic and/or climate matters. Others at the meeting suggested that the pursuit of economic, racial, and climate justice were not mutually exclusive and had to be pursued simultaneously because they are all related and interconnected.

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Did DOJ Say "Medicaid Fraud In Child Welfare"?

Nah, not yet.

It will.

See, the States Medicaid Fraud Control Unit are statutorialy constrained when it comes to going after Medicaid fraud in child welfare.

In this particular case, we see another one of the collaborative conjugations, or rather designer investigations, where Florida, Georgia, Lousiana Attorneys General are getting into the mix with the U.S. Attorneys Office.

This is how you circumvent arcane legislation in a world where fraud has become the norm, at the expense of humans.

On a mission...

Four charged in multi-state health care fraud conspiracy

ATLANTA – Matthew Harrell, Nikki Richardson, Tomeka Howard and Andrea Barrett have been indicted on multiple counts of conspiracy to commit healthcare fraud and aggravated identify theft related to fraudulent claims filed with the Georgia, Florida and Louisiana Medicaid programs.

“Through their scheme, the defendants are alleged to have fraudulently billed over $3 million to Medicaid,” said U.S. Attorney Byung J. “BJay” Pak. “Their greed knew no bounds of decency, as they left a number of victims in their wake.”

“The FBI continues to play a key and critical role in protecting federally funded health care based programs, to include Medicaid and Medicare, from those individuals who would, through fraud, attempt to divert those funds to their own accounts and away from those who desperately need the services that they provide.  The federal investigation and resulting federal indictments of these four defendants illustrates not only the problems of healthcare fraud but the aggressive efforts underway by law enforcement to combat it,” said David J. LeValley, Special Agent in Charge, FBI Atlanta Field Office.

“The defendants allegedly ripped off programs meant to provide critical mental health services for children and adults.  This type of criminal behavior will not be tolerated,” said Derrick L. Jackson, Special Agent in Charge for HHS OIG. “We will continue to work with our law enforcement partners to uncover these fraudulent schemes and bring criminals to justice.”

“The Medicaid Program is not an endless source of money, and those who victimize the program take valuable resources away from the people that need them,” said Attorney General Chris Carr.  “The Georgia Attorney General's Office will continue to collaborate with our federal and state partners to investigate these kinds of egregious cases.”

“This multi-millon dollar Medicaid scheme spanned several states and involved the stolen identities of medical professionals and children—but through coordinated investigative efforts with our federal partners and Medicaid Fraud Control Units in Georgia and Tennessee this scheme was thwarted and arrests have been made,” said Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi. “Medicaid fraud essentially steals from our taxpayers and we will not tolerate anyone manipulating the program to get rich.”

“Medicaid welfare fraud steals money from the taxpayers and jeopardizes care for the needy,” said Louisiana Attorney General Jeff Landry. “We are grateful to have law enforcement partners throughout the country who are committed to investigating, arresting, and prosecuting criminals who defraud our State and its people.”

According to U.S. Attorney Pak, the charges, and other information presented in court: The defendants owned or worked with companies that purportedly provided mental health counseling and treatment to children and adults. These companies included, Revive Athletics, Inc., R.A. Florida, Inc., Jode Counseling Treatment and Training Services, LLC, 118 Management and Consulting, Inc., A Brighter Day, LLC, and Lillie Cares Health Services, LLC. These companies billed over $3.7 million in Medicaid claims, and received approximately $2.5 million based on the fraud.  

According to the indictment, the defendants stole the identities of mental health service providers, including a psychologist and licensed clinical social workers, in Georgia and Florida. The defendants’ companies then used the stolen identities to submit fraudulent Medicaid claims seeking payment for mental health services that were never provided. The defendants attempted to conceal the fraud scheme by directing employees and contractors to create fraudulent documentation and forge provider signatures to support the fraudulent billing.

Matthew Harrell, 42, of Atlanta, Georgia, Nikki Richardson, 42, of Fairburn, Ga., Tomeka Howard, 42, of Decatur, Georgia, and Andrea Barrett, 42, of Virginia Beach, Virginia were indicted on November 7, 2017.

Members of the public are reminded that an indictment contains only allegations.  The defendants are presumed innocent of the charges and it will be the government’s burden to prove the defendant’s guilt beyond a reasonable doubt at trial.

The case is being investigated by the Georgia State Attorney General’s Medicaid Fraud Control Unit, U.S. Department of Health & Human Services, Office of the Inspector General, Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Medicaid Fraud Control Units for Florida and Louisiana. Assistant United States Attorney Jeffrey Brown and Georgia Assistant Attorney General Robin Daitch are prosecuting the case.

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Reps. Richmond, Conyers, Nadler, and Scott Lead Letter Calling for Investigation into Several Louisiana Prison Facilities

(WASHINGTON) – Today, Congressman John Conyers, Jr. (D-Mich.), ranking member of the full U.S. House Judiciary Committee, Congressman Jerrold Nadler (D-N.Y.), ranking member of the Subcommittee on the Constitution and Civil Justice, Congressman Robert C. “Bobby” Scott (D-Va.), ranking member of the Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism, Homeland Security, and Investigations, and Congressman Cedric Richmond (D-La.) sent a letter to the Department of Justice’s Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights Thomas Perez calling for investigations into the alarming conditions in several Louisiana state prison facilities.  Specifically, the members expressed deep concern that the Louisiana Department of Corrections has, “engaged in a pattern or practice of violations of the United States Constitution and federal law in its use of such confinement and detention practices.”  In the letter the representatives urge the attorney general to begin an investigation into the use of solitary confinement, and other troubling detention practices, in numerous Louisiana prison facilities, especially in the Louisiana State Penitentiary at Angola, Louisiana.

Letter from U.S. House Judiciary Members Cedric Richmond, John Conyers, Jr., Jerrold Nadler and Bobby Scot...

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Louisiana Medicaid Fraud Control Unit Federal Review

It seems the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services has embarked on an evaluative mission to review, up close, the functioning of States' Medicaid Fraud Control Unit.

When going through this report, notice that you will never find anything dealing with child welfare fraud.  This is why no one will ever be convicted of Medicaid Fraud in Child Welfare.

I hope Michigan is next.
Louisiana Medicaid Fraud Control Unit Onsite Federal Review 2012 Voting is beautiful, be beautiful ~ vote.©

Louisiana Child Welfare Agency Sloppy Records Cost $2 Million

This is one of those audits you do not know how to receive.

In one breath you are stunned at the absolute boldness regarding the dismissive culture of the Child  Development Council of Acadiana, Inc, (CDCAI) for not maintaining basic communication regarding the use of federal funds.  In the next breath you are taken aback with the coldness of the OIG response and decision.

CDCAI claimed $1,155,646 to build a new central office after Hurricane Katrina then used the new building as collateral to take out loans without consulting or even reporting to the feds for more than two years.

These funds were never allocated for buildings.  It was for child welfare.

There were other funding sources in existence.  All CDCAI had to do was ask but they chose to do what they do, keep sloppy records.
HHS OIG Audit of Acadiana Child Development Council Voting is beautiful, be beautiful ~ vote.©

I guess the Jindals have taken "Kids for Cash" to a 'ho nutha level'.

Wife’s Charity Offers Corporate Tie to a Governor

By ERIC LIPTON

Published: March 2, 2011

WASHINGTON — Louisiana’s biggest corporate players, many with long agendas before the state government, are restricted in making campaign contributions to Gov. Bobby Jindal. But they can give whatever they like to the foundation set up by his wife months after he took office.

Enlarge This Image

Jamie Anfenson-Comeau/Louisiana State Newspapers

Supriya Jindal working with students at an elementary school in Basile, La., with the kind of equipment her foundation donates.

AT&T, which needed Mr. Jindal, a Republican, to sign off on legislation allowing the company to sell cable television services without having to negotiate with individual parishes, has pledged at least $250,000 to theSupriya Jindal Foundation for Louisiana’s Children.

Marathon Oil, which last year won approval from the Jindal administration to increase the amount of oil it can refine at its Louisiana plant, also committed to a $250,000 donation. And the military contractor Northrop Grumman, which got state officials to help set up an airplane maintenance facility at a former Air Force base, promised $10,000 to the charity.

The foundation has collected nearly $1 million in previously unreported pledges from major oil companies, insurers and other corporations in Louisiana with high-stakes regulatory issues, according to a review by The New York Times.

It is among the newest of charities set up by elected officials, including members of Congress, or their families that are mutually beneficial: companies seeking to influence politicians or curry favor can donate unrestricted amounts of money, while the officials benefit from the good will associated with charitable work financed by businesses.

Mr. Jindal has made tightening Louisiana’s ethics rules a centerpiece of his administration and has promised to crack down on the influence of special interests. But Anne Rolfes, founding director of an environmental group called the Louisiana Bucket Brigade, said the donations to Mrs. Jindal’s charity compromise the governor’s pledge.

“It may be a good cause, but it creates the appearance he is being bribed,” Ms. Rolfes said. “And if you are truly committed to ethical behavior, you just need to stay away from it all together.”

Mrs. Jindal has won praise — and frequent positive newspaper coverage — as she travels Louisiana passing out free equipment to schools, many in lower-income areas. Her foundation spends almost all of the money it takes in to buy high-tech whiteboards installed so far in 50 schools.

While the charity is named and led by Mrs. Jindal, the governor has not entirely distanced himself: a photo of him alongside his wife is on a corporate solicitation page on the foundation Web site, and his chief fund-raiser is listed as the charity’s treasurer on its most recent tax return. A state employee from the governor’s office who is an aide to Mrs. Jindal is listed as the contact for the foundation’s books.

A spokesman for the governor said he had not personally intervened to help any of the charity’s corporate donors advance their agendas before the state government. Any suggestion that the foundation is a way to lobby the governor or thank him for a past action is ridiculous, Mr. Jindal’s press secretary said.

“It is a completely nonpolitical, nonpartisan organization created by the first lady, who as an engineer and the mother of three children, has a passion for helping our young people learn science and math,” said Kyle Plotkin, the press secretary. “Anything other than this reality has plainly been dreamed up by partisan hacks living in a fantasy land.”

A review of the donors shows the broad range of regulatory power that the governor and his administration holds over these companies, which otherwise are limited in making a maximum contribution of $5,000 per election to Mr. Jindal, or $10,000 for certain political action committees.

Dow Chemical, which has pledged $100,000 to the foundation, is the largest petrochemical company in Louisiana and has had numerous interactions with state officials during the Jindal administration, including an investigation into a July 2009 spill at its St. Charles Parish plant that forced the evacuation of area homes. The state in December 2009 proposed fining the company and its Union Carbide subsidiary for allowing the release of a toxic pollutant and failing to quickly notify state authorities of the leak, but so far no fine has been assessed.

Alon USA, an Israeli oil company that has pledged $250,000 to the Jindal Foundation, last year sought permit changes that would allow it to discharge more pollutants at its Krotz Springs refinery. In 2009, state environmental officials also eased requirements for the company to check for spills of oil, ammonia or other contaminants in waterways to twice a month, instead of twice a week, records show.

Jeff Morris, Alon USA’s president, said his company expected no special favors in return for its contributions to the Jindal Foundation or other charities. “I can understand how people might be concerned, when you have a congressman or others who have their own charities,” he said. “But that is not the case here. It is apparent that the children of Louisiana have been blessed by Supriya’s involvement.”

Paul Weeditz, a spokesman for Marathon Oil, said the company had long supported schools near its Louisiana refinery and found Mrs. Jindal’s charity a good fit with its philanthropy. The pledge is “absolutely not” related to the company’s regulatory agenda, he said.

Several of the charity’s major donors are large state contractors, like Acadian Ambulance, or D&J Construction, which alone has received $67.6 million in contracts since 2009, mostly for highways, said a separate report on the foundation being issued this week byCitizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington. Both companies have pledged at least $10,000 to the foundation.

Ethics watchdog groups say the contributions are no accident.

“The motives might be good,” said Melanie Sloan, director of Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics, which has also examined public records detailing the operations of Mrs. Jindal’s charity. “But the donations that come in to charities like this are almost always from folks who want something from a politician. It is a troubling phenomenon.”

The Jindal Foundation, started in July 2008, has spent about $1 million and installed about 170 interactive whiteboards that Mrs. Jindal, trained as a chemical engineer, calls “revolutionized chalkboards for the 21st century,” at a cost of around $6,000 per classroom, including training, about 30 handheld devices for students and a teacher’s laptop.

The devices, which allow teachers to download multimedia lesson plans to help teach math or science, are made by a British company, Promethean, and installed by its Louisiana distributor, AXI Education. Other state and federal funds — and donations — have paid for installation of about 13,000 of the whiteboards at schools across the state, said Dale Viola, AXI’s president.

“This is not a publicity stunt,” Mr. Viola said of Mrs. Jindal’s efforts to install more of the devices. “I have never seen someone so dedicated to a cause.”

Alexandra Bautsch, the governor’s top political fund-raiser, is listed as the charity’s treasurer. Ms. Bautsch has continued to be paid by Mr. Jindal’s campaign — $112,500 last year. But none of the officers, including Mrs. Jindal, were paid for their work.

In recent years, foundations linked to more than a dozen members of Congress have routinely accepted donations from businesses seeking to influence them. In some instances, the lawmakers have intervened with federal agencies or taken up legislation on donors’ behalf.

Ms. Sloan argues that elected officials like Mr. Jindal should be prohibited from having close ties with a charity that uses their name or image to help collect donations while they are in office, particularly if the donors have business before the state. At a minimum, all contributions should be disclosed, she said.

“Foundations tied to politicians see their donations dry up when the politician is no longer in power,” Ms. Sloan said. “That demonstrates the real reason the charities get the donations is their political position, not because of the good works they do.”