Florida Criminal Attorney Blog

Barry Nash, 69, plead guilty today to one count of conspiracy to commit health care fraud in Miami, Florida. Nash is the owner/operator of a Broward County half-way house called Starter House. Like bank fraud, health care fraud is a Federal offense. Because health care fraud is a Federal offense, Nash's case was prosecuted in U.S. District Court by the U.S. Attorney's Office.

Hopefully, Nash is represented by a criminal defense lawyer in Fort Lauderdale who is familiar with Medicare fraud cases and how to deal with sentencing under the Federal Sentencing Guidelines. Given his age, Nash is not exactly the best candidate for a prison sentence.

According to the US Attorney's Office, American Therapeutic Corporation and the American Sleep Institute paid the owners/operators of assisted living facilities and halfway houses for referring patients.

In plain English, this is referred to as a kickback.

The U.S. Attorney's Office claims that not only did Nash accept kickbacks, but he did so knowing that American Therapeutic Corporation and the American Sleep Institute would be filing fraudulent bills with Medicare.

Over time, millions of dollars were paid to owners/operators like Nash, while the two companies fraudulently billed Medicare for more than $200 million.
In some instances patients were also paid a kickback.

Continue reading "Barry Nash Pleads Guilty to Conspiracy in Broward County Medicare Kickback Scheme" »

The following employees of Time Share Mega Media and Marketing Group ("TMMMG), located in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, have been charged in regards to a telemarketing scheme that targeted time-share unit owners throughout the country:

Scott Faraguna, 41, Charles Blomquist, 52, Peter Borkowicz, 31, Raymond Harcar, 39, James Taylor, 23, Ryan Greene, 23, Jason Hampton, 28, Chris Faccone, 43, Steven Sokoloff, 47, Marco Sguera, 30, Joseph Giancola, 38, Ryan Soltow, 27, and Donna Ackermann Brown, 50.

So far, all 13 have been charged with a one-count criminal indictment for conspiracy to commit mail fraud and wire fraud, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 371.

In a recent press release by the U.S. Attorney's Office, Federal prosecutors announced that they are only pursuing a one count indictment for conspiracy to commit mail fraud/wire fraud.

This is a VERY good thing, although I am sure it is subject to change.

First of all, it says a lot about the prosecution's intentions in this case. Unlike a possession of child pornography case, which is a law enforcement priority and a much more offensive crime, prosecutors did not begin this case with a multi-count indictment.

That means they are not looking for a very lengthy prison sentence.

Given my past experience as a criminal defense lawyer, I would suspect that the worst offenders in this telemarketing scheme would get 2-3 years in prison where as the lesser offenders would either get probation or up to 1.5 years in prison.

Of course, this is just a guess based on my professional experience, not on anything specific about this case. Before any real conclusions can be drawn, a full case analysis that considers the particular facts of this case is needed.

Continue reading "Feds Charge 13 in Fort Lauderdale Telemarketing Scheme" »