Archives : Criminal Defense Attorney
Pennsylvania Child Sex Abuse Laws and Penn State Sex Abuse Scandal
Sex crimes of all nature, especially child sex abuse crimes, are considered very serious crimes in Pennsylvania. Under Pennsylvania Statutes Sections 3121-3130, you could be charged with the most serious felony crimes of rape, involuntary deviate sexual intercourse, sexual assault, institutional sexual assault, aggravated indecent assault, or misdemeanor charges for indecent assault, indecent exposure, sexual intercourse with an animal or conduct relating to sex offenders. Prosecutors vigorously try these cases and courts are harsh on sentencing convicted sex offenders involving sex crimes against children. Prison sentences for the most serious sex felony crime convictions are lengthy ranging from maximum minimum 10 year sentences to 40 years for crimes involving rape and multiple deviate sexual intercourse charges involving minors, especially minors under 13 years of age and fines up to $100,000. Convicted sex offenders must register on the state sex offender registry after serving their sentences, which could affect where you can live and may affect other aspects of your life such as employment. Even if you are not accused of these offenses, you can still be charged with failing to report serious sex crimes to law enforcement and also be subject to perjury charges if you lie under oath about not having knowledge of such crimes.
Case Example
Former Penn State football defensive coordinator and assistant football coach Gerald “Jerry” Sandusky was arrested on November 5, 2011, accused of child sex abuse crimes involving eight boys over a time span of approximately 10 years. He was released on a $100,000 bond after the arraignment on 40 criminal counts according to the Pennsylvania Office of the Attorney General. Charges include seven felony counts of involuntary deviate sexual intercourse, corruption of minors, endangering the welfare of a child, indecent assault, unlawful contact with a minor, single counts of aggravated indecent assault and attempted indecent assault. Sandusky is facing up to 20 years in prison for the seven felony counts of involuntary deviate sexual intercourse alone besides additional sentences for other charges if he is convicted. Mr. Sandusky denies the charges. Penn State athletic director Tim Curley, 57, and the University’s vice president for finance and business as well as having responsibility for overseeing the University Police Department, Gary Schultz, 62, have been charged with perjury and failing to report information they had regarding the sex abuse allegations.
At one time, Mr. Sandusky was considered to be a likely replacement for the legendary Joe Paterno, Penn State’s head coach position, prior to his retirement in 1999. After retiring from Penn State, Mr. Sandusky continued his work with at-risk-children through his non-profit organization Second Mile, which he founded in 1977. All of the victims in the case are alleged to have initially come into contact with Mr. Sandusky through his Second Mile organization. In 1999, Mr. Sandusky was banned from the Clinton County school district after the mother of an approximate 11 or 12 year old boy at the time reported to the high school that her son received expensive gifts and trips to sporting events and reported to her that he had been sexually assaulted by Mr. Sandusky during an overnight stay at his house. These charges triggered the State’s investigation into Mr. Sandusky’s current alleged sexual abuse charges.
Other allegations by a graduate assistant, Mr. Kelly, took place in 2002 when he reported that he saw Mr. Sandusky sexually assaulting a naked boy approximately 10 years old in a locker room of the Lasch Football Building located on the campus. He and his father reported the incident to Mr. Paterno, who then reported it to Mr. Curley, but it was not reported to any law enforcement agencies or Child Protective Service Agencies as required under Pennsylvania Law. Mr. Paterno has not been charged with any wrongdoing in the case according to prosecutors. Mr. Curley testified that he banned Mr. Sandusky from bringing any children onto the campus and that he reported the matter to Penn State President Graham Spanier. Mr. Sandusky was no longer coaching at Penn State during this time.
On November 9, 2011, Joe Paterno announced he was retiring at the end of the season, but the University made the decision to ask Paterno and President Spanier to leave effectively immediately, naming defensive coordinator Tom Bradley as the interim coach and provost Rodney Erickson as interim University President. With such a major scandal for a school that has maintained one of the most pristine images in college sports and one of four major schools that have never been found guilty of any major violations by the NCAA, this is a devastating blow. With the school’s reputation at stake, the University has hired their own investigator, former FBI director Louis Freeh, to conduct an independent investigation regarding the Sandusky child sex abuse allegations.
Hire an Attorney
If you are accused or charged with Pennsylvania sex crimes involving minors or other related sex offenses, these are very serious charges and require the assistance of a Pennsylvania Criminal Sexual Offense Attorney to defend you. The attorney understands the Pennsylvania laws and can aggressively defend you by interviewing witnesses and may be able to convince authorities and prosecutors to drop or dismiss charges against you, or in some cases, avoid charges from being filed against you if were falsely accused. The attorney may also be able to get charges filed against you reduced to a lesser crime such as indecent exposure or get you community service or probation.
Sources
http://www.csmonitor.com/USA/Latest-News-Wires/2011/1121/Penn-State-appoints-ex-FBI-director-to-lead-child-sex-abuse-investigation
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970203716204577020001842475304.html
http://www.usatoday.com/sports/college/football/story/2011-11-05/penn-state-abuse-case/51083628/1
http://espn.go.com/college-football/story/_/id/7212054/key-dates-penn-state-nittany-lions-sex-abuse-case
http://deadspin.com/5859426/pa-criminal-attorney-on-sandusky-judge-i-have-never-had-a-client-who-was-charged-with-those-counts-released-on-unsecured-bail
http://www.daytondailynews.com/news/nation-world-news/pa-sex-crime-laws-under-focus-with-abuse-case-1290464.html
http://www.legis.state.pa.us/cfdocs/legis/Search/statuteSearchAction.cfm?maxfiles=10&autoStopLimit=1000&index=cons&request=rape
Imhoff & Associates Secures Release of Wrongfully Convicted Client Luis Galicia and Dismissal of Child Molestation Case
San Diego (California) – Defense Attorney Shannon Dorvall of the Imhoff & Associates Law Firm, one of the largest multi-jurisdictional criminal defense firms, escorted her client Luis Galicia into the arms of his loving family upon his release after successfully getting her client’s case dismissed by the First District Court of Appeals on November 23, 2011. Luis served four years after a trial court convicted him for sexual molestation of his sister Araceli Galicia. At the original trial, the state’s doctor testified that she believed that Araceli had been forcibly raped, despite the testimony of the doctor for the defense, who stated he disagreed with the state’s evidence. Even though Araceli recanted her testimony and said that the charges were not true, the trial jury convicted Luis Galicia, and the sentence handed down was two 15 to life sentences.
The family hired the Imhoff firm to file an appeal on Luis’ behalf. While awaiting the Judge’s response in the appeal case, the family took Araceli to two doctors who examined her and disagreed with the state’s doctor, both stating that Araceli’s hymen was intact and that she had never had sex. The Imhoff firm also filed a Writ of Habeas Corpus on Luis Galicia’s behalf with the First District Court of Appeals, who agreed to order a hearing, and the Imhoff firm was also successful in obtaining the cooperation of the San Diego District Attorney’s Office to review the new medical evidence. The District Attorney agreed to have the Children’s Hospital also review the trial photos and examine the girl, and they agreed also that she had never had sex. The District Attorney testified at the hearing that the trial evidence was nonsense. The Judge ordered the case dismissed and the release of Mr. Galicia.
The Imhoff firm believes that no family should have to endure the ordeal that the Galicia family has gone through. Unfortunately, innocent people can be accused of all sorts of crimes they have not committed. If a person is arrested or charged with a sex crime, these are serious charges and can ruin a person’s reputation and life as well as destroy their family’s lives. Imhoff & Associates believes in justice and that all persons are innocent until proved otherwise. That is why the Imhoff legal defense team vigorously defends their clients by specializing in the most innovative legal services defense strategies and treats their clients with the utmost dignity and respect. The firm’s outstanding and skilled defense attorneys work diligently and creatively to offer the highest level of service to our clients and uphold the principles and standards upon which this firm was founded by providing service to clients with members of the firm available 24/7.
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Nuclear Smuggler or Kidnapped Iranian Businessman?
WASHINGTON (AP) — Amir Sairafi was an Iranian trader doing business in Dubai, the free-wheeling Middle East commerce hub. When he flew to Germany to take his oral exams for his master’s degree, he ran into the U.S. crackdown on illicit trade with Iran.
The unusual U.S. criminal case against Sairafi has put a face on the international campaign to stop Iran from trying to build a nuclear bomb.
Sairafi was arrested and deported to the U.S., where he pleaded guilty to one count each of conspiracy, money laundering and violating the 1995 Iran trade embargo. He is now serving more than three years in a prison unit in Indiana where many of the other inmates have been convicted on terror-related charges.
U.S. officials hailed his arrest in January 2010 as a blow to Iran’s nuclear smuggling networks, which the West says has supplied critical equipment to that country’s nuclear programs. Just this week, a U.N. watchdog agency released a report that accused Iran of conducting research specific to the development of nuclear weapons.
The Washington-based Institute for Science and International Security, which tracks Iran’s nuclear programs, describes Sairafi as a core member of the smuggling networks and the kind of big fish rarely caught in the U.S. net.
Sairafi told The Associated Press in emails from prison that he has no connection to the Iran’s government or its military. Despite U.S. claims outside the courtroom, he said he was never accused of trading in nuclear-related technology.
He pleaded guilty in November 2010. In March, he was sentenced to 41 months in federal prison.
Sairafi contended that the U.S. has used his case to intimidate merchants in the Middle East from trading with Iran.
“I believe (the) U.S. wanted to test a new strategy to arrest a non-American citizen outside U.S. borders and bring him in their soil and impose their jurisdiction on him. The U.S. tried to … show that doing business with Iran has high suffering and is costly,” Sairafi wrote the AP.
His case offers a glimpse into how the Obama administration has cracked down on Iran’s nuclear efforts, using the embargo and sanctions in lieu of military action. It also shows the difficulty in piercing the elaborate veil of secrecy that the U.S. says Tehran weaves around its nuclear efforts.
Investigators must trace transactions through unwitting legitimate businesses, complicit middlemen and front companies that Iran’s Revolutionary Guard uses to evade the U.S. embargo and U.N. penalties, said Matthew Levitt, former deputy assistant secretary for intelligence and analysis at the Treasury Department.
It’s even harder to build a criminal case, Levitt said. Despite a sharp rise in the number of prosecutions and a “whole bunch” of cases under investigation, he said, “the number of cases is still relatively small in regards to the size of the problem.”
U.S. officials declined to explain why, in public statements, they accused Sairafi of helping supply Iran’s nuclear programs, but did not do so in court.
It can be difficult to show that exports were intended for weapons without cooperation from Iran.
The AP asked the FBI for evidence of claims on its website that Sairafi’s case involved “the procurement of U.S. export-controlled equipment intended for Iran’s nuclear weapons program.” Days later, the FBI deleted the material from its site and said older case summaries are sometimes removed to make room for new ones.
“These cases don’t come around that often,” said David Albright, president of the Institute for Science and International Security. “They don’t get a lot of them, they don’t rush into them, and when they get a guy they’re going to come down like a ton of bricks.”
German authorities detained Sairafi, 42, in January 2010 at the Frankfurt airport on his way to the University of Wurzburg, where he was enrolled for a master’s degree in business course.
After being held in Germany for just over eight months, Sairafi said, he was told he was returning to Iran. Instead, he was handed over to U.S. marshals, who flew him to Los Angeles to face trial. It was his first visit to the United States.
“I was kidnapped, and I feel I am a victim of political disputes between two countries,” Sairafi said. The indictment accused Sairafi of working for nearly five years with businessmen Jirair Avanessian in Los Angeles and Farhad Masoumian in Tehran, forwarding more than a dozen shipments worth tens of thousands of dollars’ from the U.S. to Iran. All were charged with falsifying shipping documents in order to hide the ultimate destination of the devices. Avanessian was sentenced to 18 months in federal prison in July. Masoumian remains at large.
Sairafi is one of 40 prisoners in the Communications Management Unit at the prison in Terre Haute, Indiana, where inmates are under 24-hour video and audio surveillance and their communications with the outside world are strictly limited so they can be monitored.
Others inmates include John Walker Lindh, who was captured on a battlefield in Afghanistan in 2001 and is serving 20 years, and Shukri Abu Baker, co-founder of the Holy Land Foundation, serving 65 years for providing millions in aid to schools and welfare programs run by the Palestinian militant group Hamas.
Sairafi denied any knowledge that the vacuum pumps and parts he shipped to Tehran were intended for Iran’s nuclear program. “Vacuum parts have a wide range of applications and I do not know what they were intended for.” He added: “It is not in me to do anything that will contribute to the disruption of world peace.”
Sairafi’s lawyer, Matthew David Kohn, said his client has been questioned in prison by the FBI about “nuclear matters,” which he said Sairafi knows nothing about. Kohn noted that a prosecutor admitted at sentencing she had no evidence he had knowingly shipped nuclear components.
“Is there evidence or even an argument that these vacuum pumps were related to nuclear, biological and chemical weapons or materials?” the judge asked, according to the hearing transcript. The prosecutor shook her head.
A retired International Atomic Energy Agency inspector, Olli Heinonen, said some of the equipment listed in the indictment would have been useful in research on advanced centrifuge design as well as laser uranium enrichment technology — a much faster and cheaper way to produce reactor or bomb-grade fuel than gas centrifuges.
Myrtle Beach Felony Crimes -Bomb Threats and Making False Statements
Myrtle Beach South Carolina takes bomb threats and making false statements about explosive devices seriously. Under South Carolina Code Statute 16-23-750, you could be charged with a Class D or E felony when such threat constitutes threatening to kill, injure or intimidate individuals or damage and destroy property by using or threatening to use an explosive device or incendiary device. In South Carolina, there is no statute of limitations for any felony offenses. You can be arrested and tried and convicted at any time during or after the incident has occurred. Terrorist threat charges and convictions can result in fines; jail time of not less than 1 year or more than 15 years as well as courts may order anger management and violence prevention classes for individuals convicted of such crimes.
Case Example:
Saturday night, November 12, 2011, police shut down and evacuated Wal-Mart’s in Horry County, including the Wal-Mart in Myrtle Beach when Horry County Police said a caller using a phone booth along 544, told a 911 operator that they had left a bomb in a Wal-Mart store that might go off at 9 p.m., but did not disclose the exact location. Since the threat involved all of the super centers located on the Grand Strand and neighboring Myrtle Beach area police evacuated both the Wal-Mart in Carolina Forest off highway 501 and the Wal-Mart on Seaboard St. in Myrtle Beach. Police reported that they did not find a bomb in either location. It is not the first time that Wal-Mart has had bomb threats made against it. Police are continuing their investigation to find out who made such a prank call. Police consider this type of threat a high felony offense with serious consequences.
Attorney Assistance
If you are charged with making a bomb threat or giving false information about an explosive device, you are facing serious felony charges in South Carolina and require the assistance of an experienced criminal defense attorney. A South Carolina criminal defense attorney can help in presenting all the facts of your case. The attorney will also investigate whether your rights were violated during police interrogation, whether you were given your Miranda Rights, and whether the police conducted any illegal search and seizure during your arrest. The attorney may also be able to help get your charges reduced, dismissed, or obtain probation, community service or attending of anger management or violence prevention classes.
Sources:
http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/9145703/bomb_scare_temporarily_closes_area.html?cat=8
http://www.thetandd.com/news/opinion/article_aaee4316-f8ff-11e0-8baa-001cc4c03286.html#ixzz1dmevlsAp
http://www.judicial.state.sc.us/summaryCourtBenchBook/HTML/OffensesF.htm
http://www.carolinalive.com/news/story.aspx?id=685986
http://statutes.laws.com/south-carolina/title-1
Dodgers Fan Sues Owner for $50 Million
California Penal Code Sections 240 and 241 define an assault as “an unlawful attempt, coupled with a present ability, to commit a violent injury on the person of another.” You can be charged with assault even if there are no injuries to the victim. A simple assault under California Penal Code Sections 240-241 is considered a misdemeanor and carries a fine up to $1,000 and jail time up to six months. A simple battery is defined under California Penal Code Sections 242-243 as “any willful and unlawful use of force or violence upon another person.” It can be charged as either a misdemeanor or a felony with a jail sentence of up to 6 months and a fine up to $2,000.
A more serious crime of assault with a deadly weapon (not a firearm) under Penal Code Section 245 is considered a felony. You can be charged with this crime if the police believe you assaulted someone with the intent to commit bodily harm with a deadly weapon other than a firearm. If convicted, you can face up to four years in state prison and a fine up to $10,000. If you possess a firearm even if you did not use it to cause bodily harm, you can be charged with an assault with a firearm, which is also a felony. This also carries up to a four year state prison sentence and a fine up to $10,000 under California Penal Code Section 244. If the crime took place on a school ground, or the victim was a public transportation driver, or the crime was gang related, the sentencing can be elevated. If you are convicted of a felony assault, you also face a strike under the California three strikes law.
Case Example:
Documents filed on Friday September 9, 2011, by attorneys for the Los Angeles Dodger Stadium beating victim Bryan Stow in Los Angeles Superior Court estimating their client’s medical costs to be more than $50 million as a result of the beating of Stow at the Dodger Stadium parking lot after the home game victory against the San Francisco Giants on March 31, 2011. The lawsuit was filed by plaintiff Stow and his children against Dodger’s owner Frank McCourt and 13 team entities on May 24, 2011 alleging assault, battery, negligence, premises liability, negligent hiring, and intentional and negligent infliction of emotional distress. Police say that Stow was beaten because he was a Giant’s fan that had on Giant’s gear at the game. Two suspects who have been arrested and are in custody. Stow remains in a coma in a San Francisco hospital. The trial is estimated to take a week.
Defense attorneys have filed papers challenging some of the claims and requesting that the punitive damages be dismissed because the complaint does not state which 14 named defendants actions account for punitive damages. Other issues defense attorneys are challenging are the sale of alcohol at the stadium, cancellation of the half-off bear promotion after the beating, financial mismanagement by McCourt and alleged gang presence at the stadium. A hearing on the Dodger Team’s motions are set for September 30, 2011, before Judge Khan, who replaced Judge Recana as a result of the attorneys for the Dodgers request.
If you are charged with an assault and/or battery in California, you should not attempt to deal with the police directly. It is recommended that you hire a California criminal defense attorney to defend you immediately. The attorney can use defenses such as your charge does not fall within the three strikes law if you are charged with a felony assault, also argue self-defense or defense of others to get your charges reduced, obtain probation, community service or attendance of a drug or alcohol treatment program or get your case dismissed.
The need for a criminal defense attorney; Dominique Strauss-Kahn
Dominique Strauss-Kahn, the former head of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), was arrested in May 2011, for allegedly sexually assaulting a hotel housekeeper in his New York Sofitel hotel room. Strauss-Kahn pled not guilty to seven charges, including attempted rape, a conviction of which carries a 10 year prison sentence in New York. He was released from house arrest on Friday July 1, 2011, on his own recognizance. Although prosecutors made no attempt to oppose the release, they have retained his passport.
The Manhattan prosecutors acknowledge that they do have evidence to support the rape accusations made by the housekeeper that Strauss-Kahn forced her to perform oral sex. They are getting ready to make a decision whether or not they are going to drop the case against Strauss-Kahn. The housekeeper admitted to prosecutors that she lied about what the details after the alleged rape incident. She initially said she waited in the hall after the attack until after Mr. Strauss-Kahn left his room. She then admitted that she cleaned a room nearby and then returned to clean Mr. Strauss-Kahn’s room. After that, she said she reported the incident to her supervisor.
Prosecutors informed Mr. Strauss-Kahn’s attorney’s by letter that the housekeeper made up the charges with the help of a male who gave her a cassette recording that she memorized. She also admitted that she had never been a victim of gang rape in Guinea. In addition, she admitted to falsifying her income in order to qualify for housing and declaring a friend’s child and her own child as dependents on tax returns to get an increased amount on her tax refund. Prosecutors have informed the Judge that the credibility of the housekeeper has been compromised as a result of her history of lying, and that it will be difficult to get a jury to believe her even if she is telling the truth about the rape.
Mr. Thompson, the attorney for the housekeeper, admits that she lied, but he insists that she was attacked and her testimony of the incident has not changed. He explained the fact that she cleaned a room after the incident occurred because she was confused and upset about what happened to her. Mr. Strauss-Kahn has maintained he is innocent of any wrongdoing. Prior to this incident, Strauss-Kahn was viewed as the top contender for the French Presidential race next year. Strauss-Kahn recently said: “media speculation that he might run is simply absurd.” Meanwhile, the only two people who really know what happened in that hotel room are Mr. Strauss-Kahn and the housekeeper.
If you have been arrested for attempted rape, this is a very serious offense. You should hire a criminal defense attorney immediately to represent you. Depending on the evidence the prosecutor has and the circumstances of the case, your attorney can argue that the sex was consensual, or that there was insufficient evidence or mistaken identity to get the charges dismissed against you.
Know Your Money
Under California Penal Code Sections 470 through 483.5, forgery is the act of knowingly and intentionally creating false documents and using them as genuine documents. Forgery involves signing someone else’s name or using a non-existent name, forging another person’s handwriting, altering, falsifying or counterfeiting documents or writing a bad check. Documents that are usually forged are checks and financial documents, wills, court judgments, medical records, driver’s licenses and lottery tickets. Forgery can be either a misdemeanor or felony in California depending on the amount that was stolen and prior convictions. Counterfeiting (other than money) is a felony and carries a two to four year California state prison sentence.
The crime of counterfeiting money including gold and silver coins and bill and passing them as genuine or making or owning counterfeiting equipment is treated as a separate federal felony offense under Title 18, Section 471 of the U.S. Code. The Secret Service or the FBI would be in charge of investigating the crime.
Penalties
If you are convicted of a misdemeanor forgery, you face a one year county jail sentence and a fine up to $1,000. For a felony forgery conviction, you face a California state prison sentence of 16 months to three years. For prior felony convictions and either one or two prior strikes, your sentence will be much stiffer under the California Three Strikes Law. You may also face fines up to $10,000 for a felony forgery conviction and have to pay restitution to the victims as well as participate in a community service or labor program. Counterfeiting (other than money) is a California felony and carries a two to four year California state prison sentence. If you are arrested for writing bad checks, you may be eligible to participate in the California bad check diversion program and be required to make restitution to the victim in lieu of charges being filed against you.
Counterfeiting money under Title 18, Section 471 of the U.S. code is a felony and is punishable by a fine or imprisonment up to 15 years, or both. Forging, altering, or trafficking in U.S. government checks or bonds or other obligations is a crime under Title 18, Section 510 of the U.S. Code. You may face fines or imprisonment of up to 10 years or both.
Case Example
Michelle Patton 34 and Timothy Briggs 31 were arrested on Thursday June 9, 2011, by Auburn Police. Ms. Patton was charged with suspicion of forgery, identity theft, being under the influence of narcotics and possession of narcotics paraphernalia. Briggs was arrested on suspicion of being under the influence and possession of a controlled substance. At the time of the arrest, Auburn police and the California state parole officers were conducting a parole search regarding Ms. Patton at an Auburn residence on Easy Way. California state parole offers entered the residence and detained both Ms. Patton and her friend Mr. Brigs. Parole officers and Auburn police found narcotics paraphernalia, items of identification that did not belong to Ms. Patton and forged money orders. One of the detectives recognized the forged money orders from an earlier case that had been investigated this year. The detective also noticed that Ms. Patton was showing symptoms of being under the influence of methamphetamine. Patton and Briggs are being held at the Placer County Jail.
If you are arrested for forgery or counterfeiting in California, you should hire a criminal defense attorney to defend you. The attorney can argue defenses such as lack of intent and that the alleged counterfeit or forged documents would not defraud anyone out of their rights even if they were accepted as genuine documents to get the case dismissed. The attorney may also be able to get your charges reduced to a lesser crime, or you may also be able to participate in the California bad check writing program in lieu of charges being filed against you or obtain community service or probation.
LA Women Pleads Guilty to $6,268,899 in Medicare Fraud
Medicare fraud is a serious federal crime. Medicare fraud crimes occurring in California are investigated by the Medicare Fraud Strike Task Force, part of the Health Care Fraud Prevention & Enforcement Action Team (HEAT), which is a joint Department of Justice-HHS effort consisting of federal, state and local investigators.You can stiff face fines, jail time, restitution to victims and insurance companies and loss of your professional healthcare license for committing Medicare fraud.
Acts of Medicare fraud include submitting bills for services that were never performed or submitting other fraudulent cost reports, billing more than once for the same services, falsely certifying or giving false information, ordering unnecessary tests (42 U.S.C. §1347, Social Security Act: 42 U.S.C. § 1320a-7b(a), 42. U.S.C. § 1320a-7a(a)(1)(A) and (B)), kickbacks or self referrals (42 U.S.C. § 1320a-7b(b), 42 U.S.C. § 1320a-7a(a)(7), 42 U.S.C. § 1395nn or the physician self-referral/”Stark” law under 42 U.S.C. § 1395nn(g)(3)). Medicare fraud can be committed by healthcare professionals such as doctors, dentists, chiropractors, physical and occupational therapists, psychologists, psychiatrists, hospitals, clinics, nursing homes, assisted living facilities, HMO’s, medical equipment companies and home health care providers.
Penalties:
Under the Health Insurance Portability Act Health, 42 U.S.C. §1347, anyone who knowingly or willingly defrauds any healthcare benefit program faces a fine or imprisonment for not more than 10 years or both. If bodily injury results because of the fraud, imprisonment may be up to 20 years. If death results because of the fraud, the imprisonment may be any term of years or for life. For making false statements under the Social Security Act, 42 U.S.C. §1320a-7b(a) through (h), you face a fine of not more than $25,000 or imprisonment of not more than 5 years or both per offense.
Sample Case
Carolyn Ann Vasquez, age 46, of Los Angeles plead guilty on March 28, 2011, before U.S. District Judge Terry J. Hatter Jr. in the Central District of California to using fraudulent medical clinics and stolen physician identities to defraud Medicare of approximately $6,268,899 from 2007 to 2008. Ms. Vasquez instructed her co-conspirators to submit false claims to Medicare for reimbursement for services that were never performed by physicians and for power wheelchairs, medical equipment and diagnostic tests that the physicians did not order or prescribe. Vasquez admitted that she had instructed a physician assistant working at one of the fraudulent medical clinics to use clinic/physician prescription pads to write fraudulent prescriptions and order medical services for diagnostic tests, power wheelchairs and other medical equipment in a physician’s name who Vasquez knew did not work at the clinic. A sentencing hearing is scheduled for July 11, 2011. Vasquez could face a maximum 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine.
The case was brought by the Medicare Fraud Strike Task Force, part of the Health Care Fraud Prevention & Enforcement Action Team (HEAT), which is a joint effort between the Department of Justice and HHS. The case is also being investigated by the FBI.
If you are arrested or accused of Medicare fraud, you should hire a California Medicare fraud attorney to defend you. The attorney may be able to raise the defenses of mistake, misunderstanding, that you are a victim and you may be able to testify against those who committed the fraud, or argue illegal evidence or violation of civil rights to get your case dismissed or charges reduced to a lesser offense and/or penalties.
Lindsay Lohan Charged With Felony Grand Theft
Under California Penal Code Section 487, grand theft is defined as “the unlawful taking of another’s property” valued above $950. Property valued under $950.00 is considered a petty theft under Penal Code 484. California grand theft can be carried out by larceny (taking of another’s property) which occurs most often in shoplifting cases, embezzlement (unlawful taking of something entrusted to you), which occurs most often in an employment situation, tricking or deceiving someone to turn over their property without ownership rights or making false representations to defraud someone out of either the possession of their property or their ownership of the property. A California grand conviction theft carries up to three years in a California state prison. A petty theft conviction carries a fine up to $1,000 or up to six month’s jail time in a county jail or both.
Case Example:
Actress Lindsay Lohan was charged with felony grand theft on Wednesday February 9, 2011 for allegedly stealing a $2,500 necklace from a Venice jewelry store on January 22, 2011. Surveillance video at the jewelry store showed her wearing the necklace while at the store, and photos taken a week later show her wearing a similar necklace. The necklace was returned to a police station before investigators arrived to search her home in Venice, CA. If found guilty, should could face up to three years in state prison and in violation of her current probation terms. She was recently released from three months of mandatory rehab treatment because she had failed a drug test while on probation for her 2007 drug and alcohol DUI conviction.
Lohan plead not guilty to felony grand theft charges through her attorney Shawn Chapman Holley. Lohan claims the necklace was on loan to her. Judge Schwartz set bail at $40,000. He told Lohan that it appeared she had violated her 2007 DUI probation, and warned her that if she violated the law while out on bail, he would have her arrested and held. Judge Schwartz also ordered Lohan not to have any contact with the jewelry store that reported the missing necklace after someone had sent flowers to the store on behalf of Lohan. On March 10, 2011, Lohan turned down a plea agreement offered by Los Angeles prosecutors that would have meant a guaranteed jail sentence. She will return to court in April 2011 for a preliminary hearing.
If you have been arrested for a felony grand theft/shop lifting or petty theft in California, you should hire a California criminal defense attorney. A conviction is generally based upon the store’s video camera evidence. The attorney may be able to get the charges reduced to a misdemeanor petty theft, trespass, an infraction or get the case dismissed for lack of evidence or witnesses, or get you probation or community service.
Was Mel Gibson a Victim of Extortion?
Under California Penal Code Sections 518 to 527, the crime of extortion involves “obtaining of property from another, with his consent, or the obtaining of an official act of a public officer, induced by a wrongful use of force or fear, or under color of official right”. Threats do not need to be physical. Extortion is both a California criminal offense and a federal offense of blackmail under 18 U.S.C. Section 873 when it involves interstate commerce, the use of a computer, telephone or if threats occur on federal property. Extortion is generally charged as a felony. You may face fines not exceeding $10,000 and imprisonment up to four years for an extortion conviction.
Case Example
The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s department detectives have been investigating whether actor Mel Gibson was a victim of extortion and have presented their results to the Los Angeles District Attorney’s office on February 16, 2011. Officials have been investigating Gibson’s claims that his ex-girlfriend, Oksana Grigorieva, allegedly extorted $10 million from Gibson in exchange for not releasing some embarrassing voicemails of Gibson terrorizing her. There was also a report that Ms. Grigorieva may have texted Gibson about her intentions. Gibson and Grigorieva had been in a bitter child custody battle over their two-year-old daughter, which was settled in May 2010. Gibson and Grigorieva signed a child custody settlement agreement whereby Gibson gave her child support, a house and joint custody of their daughter Lucia in exchange for her not releasing the tapes. He claims she reneged on the deal when the tapes appeared on the Internet. After the tapes were released, he claimed she was involved in extortion against him. She has consistently denied any wrongdoing. The case is separate from the allegations she has claimed against Gibson for domestic violence. The District Attorney’s office has been reviewing the extortion case since August 2010, and no formal charges have been filed against Grigorieva.
If you are under suspicion for extortion or have been arrested for extortion in California, you should hire a California criminal defense attorney immediately to defend you. You cannot be convicted of extortion if property or money was given to you, and there were no threats or force or fear. The attorney can argue lack of sufficient evidence or misunderstanding to get the charges dismissed. The prosecutor would not be able to prove that you committed the crime beyond reasonable doubt without proof of fear and threats.
