Find Corporate Waste

Tag: DOJ

  • North Carolina Woman Charged in Immigration and VA Disability Fraud Case

    North Carolina Woman Charged in Immigration and VA Disability Fraud Case

    The DOJ announced that Britney Sherene Curry, 26, of Charlotte, North Carolina, was indicted in the Western District of Missouri for conspiracy to commit immigration fraud, false statements under oath on immigration documents, unlawfully procuring citizenship, mail fraud, and wire fraud.

    According to the DOJ, Curry is a Jamaican national who entered the United States on a six-month B-2 visa in 2015 and allegedly never left. Prosecutors claim she paid a third party to arrange a fraudulent marriage with a U.S. citizen to obtain immigration benefits. The DOJ alleges Curry and her husband first met on the day of the marriage and never lived together.

    The alleged scheme later reached federal benefit payments. After becoming a lawful permanent resident, Curry joined the U.S. Army, applied for naturalization, and later received VA disability compensation. Prosecutors allege she claimed her husband as a dependent for VA disability purposes, increasing her monthly benefit, despite allegedly never living with him and not seeing him after she enlisted.

    The case was investigated by DHS-OIG, ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations, USCIS, VA-OIG, and Army CID. The DOJ noted that VA disability payments passed through Treasury Payment Operations in Kansas City, Missouri.

    The indictment is only an accusation, and Curry is presumed innocent unless proven guilty.

    For Find Corporate Waste, the case is another reminder that federal benefit programs depend on truthful eligibility claims. Whether the program is immigration, veterans benefits, PPP, PRF, or federal contracting, the core issue is the same: public money moves when applicants certify facts that agencies rely on. When those facts are allegedly false, taxpayer funds become recoverable exposure.

  • Circle Medical to Pay $3.325M Over Alleged False Healthcare Claims

    Circle Medical to Pay $3.325M Over Alleged False Healthcare Claims

    San Francisco-based Circle Medical Care of California, Circle Medical Technologies, Inc., and Chief Medical Officer Dr. Nicole Tsang, D.O., agreed to pay $3,325,000 to resolve allegations that they submitted false claims to federal healthcare programs and California commercial insurers.

    According to the DOJ⁠, Circle operates an online telehealth platform offering mental health and primary care services through contract providers, including nurse practitioners and physician assistants. The government alleged that from January 1, 2018 through May 31, 2025, Circle submitted claims using the names and NPI numbers of rendering providers who did not actually provide or supervise the services billed. The claims allegedly involved programs including Medicare, Medicaid, and TRICARE.  

    The settlement allocates $475,000 to the United States and $2.85 million to California. The matter began as a qui tam whistleblower case filed by Jason Vellen, who will receive $80,750 from the federal recovery and $997,500 from California.  

    This case fits the broader Find Corporate Waste focus on healthcare payment integrity: claims data, provider identifiers, supervision rules, and federal program billing requirements can expose recoverable taxpayer losses. 

  • Ahold Delhaize USA to Pay $40M Over Allegedly Inflated Pharmacy Prices

    Ahold Delhaize USA to Pay $40M Over Allegedly Inflated Pharmacy Prices

    Ahold Delhaize USA Inc.⁠, the parent company behind supermarket pharmacy brands including Giant, Hannaford, Stop & Shop, Food Lion, and others, has agreed to pay $40 million to resolve False Claims Act allegations involving prescription drug pricing.

    According to the DOJ⁠, Ahold Delhaize allegedly reported inflated “usual and customary” prices on claims submitted to Medicare Part D, Medicaid, and TRICARE. Prosecutors said the company operated prescription savings programs that offered discounted prices to enrolled customers, but allegedly failed to report those discounted prices as the pharmacies’ usual and customary prices.

    That distinction matters because usual and customary prices can operate as ceiling prices in federal health care reimbursement formulas. The government alleged that by reporting higher prices, Ahold Delhaize caused federal health care programs to pay more than they should have paid on pharmacy claims.

    Of the $40 million settlement, $32.9 million represents the federal share, with the remainder going to participating states.

    The case began as a whistleblower action filed by Lawrence LaBenne, a Pennsylvania pharmacist at an Ahold Delhaize supermarket.

    He will receive $6,083,587 from the federal recovery.

    The settlement is another example of how pricing representations, claim-level billing data, and insider knowledge drive many False Claims Act recoveries.

    For Find Corporate Waste⁠, the case fits the broader enforcement pattern: federal programs rely on accurate certifications and truthful claim data, and public money can be recovered when those representations are allegedly false.

  • Maryland Man Gets 9 Years for EIDL Money Laundering Scheme

    Maryland Man Gets 9 Years for EIDL Money Laundering Scheme

    A Maryland man was sentenced to nine years in federal prison for helping launder fraud proceeds tied to Economic Injury Disaster Loans and other schemes, according to the DOJ.

    Bright Boateng, 45, of Bladensburg, was also ordered to pay $1,247,950 in restitution and forfeit $431,750. Prosecutors said Boateng admitted that nearly $1.5 million in laundering occurred through his direct role in the conspiracy.

    The DOJ said the scheme ran from 2020 through November 2023 and involved shell companies, bank accounts opened in those entities’ names, stolen identity information, and transactions designed to conceal fraud proceeds. Boateng allegedly received money from at least seven EIDL loans and used a fake Maryland driver’s license bearing his photo with another person’s information.

    The broader case charged 14 defendants, 13 of whom have pleaded guilty. The prosecution involved HSI, IRS-CI, EPA-OIG, and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Maryland.

    For Find Corporate Waste, the case shows how pandemic-relief fraud often continued after funds were approved, with shell entities and false identity documents used to move and hide taxpayer money.

    Anyone with inside knowledge of EIDL fraud, shell-company laundering, stolen-identity bank accounts, or pandemic-relief funds routed through false entities may have information relevant to public-fraud enforcement.

  • Brooklyn Clinic Manager Convicted in $8M Medicare Fraud Scheme

    Brooklyn Clinic Manager Convicted in $8M Medicare Fraud Scheme

    A federal jury convicted Olga Popovych, a New York clinic manager, for her role in an $8 million Medicare fraud scheme, according to the DOJ.  

    Prosecutors said Popovych managed several physical therapy clinics that paid cash kickbacks to ambulette drivers who brought Medicare patients to the clinics. The DOJ said she was personally involved in paying the kickbacks and falsifying medical records to claim that physical therapists treated patients when they were not actually present.  

    Between 2018 and 2020, Medicare paid the clinics more than $8 million. Trial witnesses also testified that Popovych used coded text messages to discuss kickbacks and took steps to conceal the scheme after suspecting law enforcement was watching the clinics.  

    The jury convicted Popovych of conspiracy to commit health care fraud, conspiracy to make false statements relating to health care matters, four counts of health care fraud, and three counts of making false statements relating to health care matters.

    She faces up to 10 years for each health care fraud conviction and up to 5 years for each false-statement conviction. A federal judge will determine the sentence under the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.  

    The case was investigated by HHS-OIG and the FBI.

    Anyone with inside knowledge of kickback arrangements, false billing, fabricated medical records, or patient-recruitment schemes involving federal health care programs may have information relevant to public-fraud enforcement.

    Find Corporate Waste protects confidential sources and helps preserve the right to report fraud.

  • $56.5M Settlement Targets Medicare Diagnosis Codes Scheme

    $56.5M Settlement Targets Medicare Diagnosis Codes Scheme

    Community Care Health Network LLC, doing business as Matrix Medical Network, DPN USA, doing business as HealthFair, and Shahriah “James” Ekbatani agreed to pay $56.5 million to resolve False Claims Act allegations over unsupported Medicare Advantage diagnosis codes, the DOJ announced.

    Matrix will pay $36.5 million, HealthFair will pay $5 million, and Ekbatani will pay $15 million.

    The DOJ alleged the defendants caused Medicare Advantage Organizations to submit false or invalid diagnosis codes to CMS, increasing risk-adjusted taxpayer payments.

    Matrix allegedly used in-home assessments to report unsupported conditions. HealthFair allegedly used mobile assessment buses to report unsupported diagnoses under Ekbatani’s direction.

    The whistleblowers will receive major awards. Former Matrix employee Nancy Cahill will receive $7.3 million. Former HealthFair chief medical officer Dr. Robert Oristaglio Jr. will receive $3.6 million.

    Insiders with knowledge of unsupported diagnosis coding, chart-review pressure, mobile assessments, or Medicare Advantage billing failures may have information relevant to public-fraud enforcement.

    Find Corporate Waste helps protect insiders while exposing fraud, waste, and abuse in taxpayer-funded programs.

  • Contractors to Pay $3.6M Over False Veteran-Owned Small Business Certification

    Contractors to Pay $3.6M Over False Veteran-Owned Small Business Certification

    Two government contractors agreed to pay more than $3.6 million to resolve allegations involving False Claims Act and Contract Disputes Act liability tied to federal set-aside contracts, according to the DOJ.

    The settlement involves Officium Global LLC and Loyal Source Government Services LLC. Prosecutors said Officium Global allegedly submitted false or fraudulent claims for payment on seven service-disabled veteran-owned small business set-aside contracts awarded between May 2017 and June 2018.

    According to the settlement agreement, Officium Global was allegedly not entitled to those contracts because its management and daily business operations were not controlled by a service-disabled veteran. The DOJ said the company submitted, or caused to be submitted, false certifications and statements representing that it met all requirements to be a service-disabled veteran-owned small business when it did not.

    Officium Global will pay more than $1.8 million to resolve the False Claims Act allegations. Loyal Source Government Services will separately pay more than $1.8 million to resolve Contract Disputes Act allegations tied to alleged breaches of the same seven contracts.

    The case began as a qui tam lawsuit filed by relator Jeremy Lavin in the Middle District of Florida. Under the False Claims Act, private citizens may sue on behalf of the United States and share in the recovery.

    The DOJ said Lavin will receive more than $680,000 from the settlement proceeds.

    The case is United States ex rel. Lavin v. Loyal Source Government Services, LLC et al., No. 6:19-cv-958, in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida. 

    Find Corporate Waste tracks False Claims Act recoveries involving government contracting fraud, small-business set-asides, and eligibility certifications. Anyone with inside knowledge of set-aside control failures, pass-through contracting arrangements, or false small-business certifications may have information relevant to public-fraud enforcement.

  • Louisiana Woman Pleads Guilty in PPP Kickback Scheme

    Louisiana Woman Pleads Guilty in PPP Kickback Scheme

    A Louisiana woman pleaded guilty for her role in a multi-state Paycheck Protection Program fraud scheme that allegedly used ineligible borrowers, fake tax forms, and kickbacks to obtain pandemic-relief funds.

    According to the DOJ, Lisa Lemoine, 38, of Bossier City, Louisiana, pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud.

    Federal prosecutors said Lemoine worked with alleged co-conspirators Sniders Jean-Jacques, Lorne Johnson, Tanya Pierre, Ashley Spike, and others to submit fraudulent PPP applications for borrowers and collect up to 30% of the loan proceeds as a fee.

    Beginning in March 2021, Lemoine allegedly recruited borrowers who were not eligible for PPP loans, claimed they operated qualifying businesses, and created fake tax forms to support the applications.

    Prosecutors said she received kickbacks from borrowers who obtained PPP funds and shared those payments with co-conspirators.

    Jean-Jacques, Johnson, Pierre, and Spike were charged separately in connection with the same alleged scheme.

    The charge carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison, three years of supervised release, and a fine of $250,000 or twice the gross gain or loss from the scheme.

    This case underscores why Find Corporate Waste tracks PPP cases. Anyone with inside knowledge of PPP application brokers, fake tax forms, borrower-recruitment networks, or lender-side approval failures may have information relevant to public-fraud enforcement.

    Contact Find Corporate Waste if you know how taxpayer funds were obtained, approved, or forgiven despite false statements.

  • Colombian Woman Sentenced After Stolen Identity Scheme Tied to Voter Fraud and $404K in Benefits

    Colombian Woman Sentenced After Stolen Identity Scheme Tied to Voter Fraud and $404K in Benefits

    A Colombian woman who lived in Boston under a stolen identity for more than two decades was sentenced to 33 months in federal prison, according to the DOJ.

    Prosecutors said Lina Maria Orovio-Hernandez, 60, used the name, date of birth, and Social Security number of a U.S. citizen born in Puerto Rico to obtain Massachusetts IDs, a REAL ID, federal benefits, and to vote in the 2024 presidential election.

    The DOJ said the scheme included approximately $43,348 in SNAP benefits, $101,257 in SSI disability benefits, and $259,589 in Section 8 rental assistance. She was ordered to pay $404,194 in restitution and is subject to deportation after her sentence.

    This is not just a voter-fraud case. It is a cross-system identity-fraud case involving public benefits, housing assistance, state identification, passport screening, and election records.

    For Find Corporate Waste, the key oversight question is simple: how did one stolen identity survive repeated checks across taxpayer-funded systems for more than 20 years?

    Anyone with inside knowledge of identity-verification failures, benefit-screening gaps, or recurring document-fraud patterns in federally funded programs may hold information relevant to public-fraud enforcement.

    If you know how a similar scheme was missed, approved, repeated, or concealed, contact Find Corporate Waste. We protect confidential sources while preserving the right of eligible whistleblowers to seek compensation for reporting fraud against taxpayer-funded programs.

  • Hawaii Housing Official Sentenced In $11M Affordable Housing Bribery Scheme

    Hawaii Housing Official Sentenced In $11M Affordable Housing Bribery Scheme

    Find Corporate Waste will continue to investigate similar fraud theories.

    A former Hawaii County housing official was sentenced to 46 months in prison for his role in a public corruption scheme involving affordable housing agreements worth more than $11 million, according to the DOJ.

    Alan Scott Rudo, a former Housing Specialist at the Hawaii County Office of Housing and Community Development, admitted that he accepted bribes in exchange for using his official position to help secure county approval of three affordable housing agreements.

    The agreements benefited development companies tied to Paul Sulla, Gary Zamber, and Rajesh Budhabhatti: Luna Loa Developments LLC, West View Developments LLC, and Plumeria at Waikoloa LLC.

    The DOJ said the companies promised to build affordable housing for Hawaii County residents but never built a single unit. Instead, the defendants obtained more than $11 million worth of land and excess affordable housing credits.

    From that amount, Sulla, Zamber, and Budhabhatti paid or attempted to pay Rudo approximately $1.93 million in bribes and kickbacks.

    Rudo pleaded guilty and testified at trial. His co-conspirators were convicted by a federal jury in June 2025. Zamber was sentenced to 70 months, Budhabhatti to 90 months, and Sulla to 60 months in prison.

    This case shows how affordable housing programs can be converted into private enrichment when public officials, developers, and professionals coordinate around government-controlled benefits.

    Anyone with inside knowledge of similar housing-credit, land-transfer, or public-benefit abuse should report the conduct to Find Corporate Waste to see if your case qualifies as a False Claims Act referral pathway.