Archive for January, 2012
Smart Phone, Geo-Tagging & Keeping Your Children Safe
Remember how much data can be found from postings made to Facebook and other picture site. The bad guys can find your home, see where your children hang out, and pose a threat you didn’t even know existed. Watch this video clip from ABC News:
Remember to adjust your phones features! Watch your privacy settings! Turn off functions like GPS, unless you are using your map or other features, at the time.
Cyber Fraud Protection Tips from the FBI
Here are some tips you can use to avoid becoming a victim of cyber fraud:
Do not respond to unsolicited (spam) e-mail.
Do not click on links contained within an unsolicited e-mail.
Be cautious of e-mail claiming to contain pictures in attached files, as the files may contain viruses. Only open attachments from known senders. Scan the attachments for viruses if possible.
Avoid filling out forms contained in e-mail messages that ask for personal information.
Always compare the link in the e-mail with the link to which you are directed and determine if they match and will lead you to a legitimate site.
Log directly onto the official website for the business identified in the e-mail, instead of “linking” to it from an unsolicited e-mail. If the e-mail appears to be from your bank, credit card issuer, or other company you deal with frequently, your statements or official correspondence from the business will provide the proper contact information.
Contact the actual business that supposedly sent the e-mail to verify if the e-mail is genuine.
If you are asked to act quickly, or there is an emergency, it may be a scam. Fraudsters create a sense of urgency to get you to act quickly.
Verify any requests for personal information from any business or financial institution by contacting them using the main contact information.
Remember if it looks too good to be true, it probably is.
To receive the latest information about cyber scams, sign up for e-mail alerts on this website. If you have received a scam e-mail, please notify the IC3 by filing a complaint at www.ic3.gov.
Medical Identity Theft on ABC News Good Morning America
This is a great clip about Medical Identity Theft and real people talking about their real case!
Remember, protect your valuable information, consider Entrust America when reviewing option of protection; the only product The Identity Advocate endorses. Entrust America
Medicare Fraud of $5.5 Million in False Claims billed for Unlicensed Massage Therapists billing as Physical Therapy FBI Press release
Owner of Doraville Medical Clinic Indicted for Health Care Fraud
Atlanta Hope Medical Group Billed Medicare for Doctor Services Never Performed
U.S. Attorney’s Office January 18, 2012
Northern District of Georgia (404) 581-6000
ATLANTA—DAVID SONG SEN CUI, 43, of Duluth, Georgia, has been indicted by a federal grand jury on charges of health care fraud.
United States Attorney Sally Quillian Yates said of the case, “Medicare dollars provide critical medical services for elderly and disabled persons. This defendant is charged with defrauding Medicare by repeatedly billing for ‘physical therapy’ that in truth was only massages given by unlicensed massage therapists. Medicare and our taxpayers cannot afford such criminal abuse of health care dollars.”
Brian D. Lamkin, Special Agent in Charge, FBI Atlanta Field Office, said, “The FBI, in conjunction with its various law enforcement partners, is committed to the protection of such federally funded programs. Individuals engaged in such fraudulent acts, as is alleged in this indictment, demonstrate a lack of compassion and greed that simply cannot and will not be tolerated. The FBI urges anyone with information regarding healthcare fraud activity to contact its nearest FBI field office.”
According to United States Attorney Yates, the charges, and other information presented in court: From November 2008 through August 2011, CUI operated the Atlanta Hope Medical Group, Inc., a clinic located in Doraville, Georgia. The clinic purported to provide physical therapy services for elderly patients. However, the clinic actually offered massage services, which were performed by unlicensed massage therapists. CUI allegedly billed the massages fraudulently to Medicare as “physical therapy” under a doctor’s name who did not render the services and was not even present at the clinic. As part of the scheme, Atlanta Hope employed a doctor who was present at the clinic only two days a week. The indictment alleges that, during the operation of the clinic, CUI fraudulently billed over $5.5 million in false claims to Medicare.
The indictment charges 11 counts of health care fraud. Each count carries a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000. In determining the actual sentence, the court will consider the United States Sentencing Guidelines, which are not binding but provide appropriate sentencing ranges for most offenders.
Members of the public are reminded that the indictment contains only allegations. A defendant is presumed innocent of the charges and it will be the government’s burden to prove a defendant’s guilt beyond a reasonable doubt at trial.
This case is being investigated by special agents of the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
Assistant United States Attorney Shanya J. Dingle is prosecuting the case.
For further information, please contact Sally Q. Yates, United States Attorney, or Charysse L. Alexander, Executive Assistant United States Attorney, through Patrick Crosby, Public Affairs Officer, U.S. Attorney’s Office, at (404) 581-6016. The Internet address for the HomePage for the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Georgia is www.justice.gov/usao/gan.
Arrests made in Unapproved Stem Cell Treatments
FBI Press Release
This is not only scary but potential lethal. Having an incurable disease, seeing these people with great hope, more health care spend…what a dishonor.
Federal Indictments Lead to Arrests in Stem Cell Case
U.S. Attorney’s Office December 28, 2011
Southern District of Texas (713) 567-9000
Three men have been arrested for their participation in a scheme to manufacture, distribute and sell to the public stem cells and stem cell procedures that were not approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), United States Attorney Kenneth Magidson announced today along with Assistant Attorney General Tony West of the Department of Justice’s Civil Division, Special Agent in Charge Patrick J. Holland of the FDA-Office of Criminal Investigations (OCI) and Special Agent in Charge Cory B. Nelson of the FBI.
Francisco Morales, 52, of Brownsville, Texas, was arrested by Customs and Border Protection agents pursuant to a arrest warrant late Dec. 22, 2011. He made his initial appearance the following morning at which time he was ordered held without bond. Alberto Ramon, 48, of Del Rio, Texas, and Vincent Dammai, 40, of Mount Pleasant, S.C., were arrested yesterday. Ramon was arrested as he was about to enter his clinic and has already made his initial appearance in Del Rio, while Dammai was arrested in Florence, S.C., and is expected to make his initial appearance in Charleston, S.C., this morning. Lawrence Stowe, 58, of Dallas, Texas, also charged in relation to this case, is considered a fugitive and a warrant remains outstanding for his arrest. The two indictments in this matter, returned Nov. 9 and 10, 2011, have been unsealed by order of the court.
“Protecting the public from unproven and potentially dangerous drug and medical procedures is very important,” said Magidson. “This office will continue to prosecute violations involving threats to the public health.”
“This investigation identified a scheme whereby the suffering and hopes of victims in extreme medical need were used and manipulated for personal profit,” said Nelson. “The predatory and opportunistic nature of the crimes alleged in this indictment mirrors images from science fiction.”
The defendants allegedly conspired to commit mail fraud and unlawfully distributed stem cells derived from umbilical cord blood. According to the indictment, Morales and the others manufactured, distributed and used stems cells produced from umbilical cord blood to perform procedures not approved by the FDA to treat persons suffering from cancer, amytrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), multiple sclerosis (MS) and other autoimmune diseases. FDA approval is required before stem cells can be marketed to the public and used to treat incurable diseases and the FDA has not determined that stem cells are safe and effective in treating these diseases.
“This indictment demonstrates the commitment of the FDA to protect the American public from the harms inherent in being exposed to unapproved new drugs,” said Holland. “The FDA will continue to aggressively pursue perpetrators of such acts and ensure that they are punished to the full extent of the law.”
Beginning in March 2007 and continuing through 2010, the indictment alleges Morales falsely represented to the public that he was a physician licensed to practice medicine in the United States and provided medical advice to individuals regarding the benefits of stem cell treatments. Morales also allegedly falsely represented that he operated a medical clinic named Rio Valley Medical Clinic in Brownsville, Texas, in order to convince the public that he specialized in using stem cells to treat incurable diseases. After meeting patients in the United States, Morales would allegedly travel to Mexico to perform the stem cell procedures. The indictment further alleges that Stowe marketed, promoted and sold stem cells along with other drug and biological products for the treatment of cancer, ALS, MS and Parkinson’s Disease that had not been reviewed or approved by the FDA. Stowe operated several entities, including The Stowe Foundation and Stowe Biotherapy Inc., through which he allegedly marketed and sold these products.
The stem cells referenced in the indictment were created and manufactured from umbilical cord blood obtained from birth mothers who were patients of Ramon—a licensed midwife who operated The Maternity Care Clinic in Del Rio, Texas. Ramon allegedly sold the cord blood to a company called Global Laboratories located in Scottsdale, Ariz. After obtaining the cord blood from Ramon, the indictment alleges Global Laboratories would send the tissue to Dammai—a professor of pathology and laboratory medicine in Charleston, S.C. Dammai, without obtaining approval from FDA or University authorities, allegedly used university facilities to create stem cells that were later sold by Global Laboratories. As a result of this fraudulent scheme, the public was mislead into believing that stem cells and other drug and biological products sold by defendants had been approved by the FDA to treat cancer, ALS, MS and Parkinson’s Disease, The defendants allegedly received more than $1.5 million from patients suffering from incurable diseases.
The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Samuel Louis and Cedric Joubert with the assistance of Carol Wallack with the Consumer Protection Branch in the Department of Justice’s Civil Division. The case was investigated by the FDA-OCI, FBI and Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigations.
An indictment is a formal accusation of criminal conduct, not evidence.
A defendant is presumed innocent unless convicted through due process of law.
