CONARTIST WHO IMPERSONATED VARIOUS GOVERNMENT OFFICIALS SENTENCED TO 33 MONTHS IN FEDERAL PRISON

Department of Justice

U.S. Attorney’s Office

District of Virgin Islands

---

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Tuesday, March 22, 2022

 

CONARTIST WHO IMPERSONATED VARIOUS GOVERNMENT OFFICIALS SENTENCED TO 33 MONTHS IN FEDERAL PRISON

St. Thomas, USVI - United States Attorney Gretchen C.F. Shappert announced today that Yamini Potter, age 36, was sentenced to 33 months in prison for his convictions of Obtaining Money by False Pretenses and Obstruction of Justice.

According to court documents, from about May 2019 through October 23, 2020, the Defendant, acting as himself and others including federal Magistrate Judge Ruth Miller, former Virgin Islands Lieutenant Governor Osbert Potter, Virgin Islands Attorney General Denise George, and retired federal Judge Curtis Gomez, contacted elderly victims requesting that they pay him large sums of money, which ultimately totaled over $100,000, to purportedly pay for lawyers and legal fees associated with various fictitious lawsuits. After the Defendant was arrested for his criminal conduct, he continued to use the Virgin Islands Bureau of Corrections telephone to contact victims of his fraudulent schemes on a recorded line. He also told the victims not to cooperate with the federal authorities in their investigation of the matter. He instructed the victims to delete text messages between himself and the victims.

The Defendant was sentenced to 33 months in prison, followed by 3 years supervised release. He was also ordered to pay restitution in the amount of $ 120,650 to the victims and a special assessment of $ 200.

This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

Source:

CONARTIST WHO IMPERSONATED VARIOUS GOVERNMENT OFFICIALS SENTENCED TO 33 MONTHS IN FEDERAL PRISON

After lying about thousands of patients’ life expectancy, hospice care owner sentenced to prison, $120M fine

by Kate Winkle

AUSTIN (KXAN) — A hospice care owner told thousands of people they had less than six months to live, enrolled them in hospice programs and even sent chaplains to some of them to receive last rites. He lied, a federal jury in McAllen determined in November 2019. He was sentenced to 20 years in prison and ordered to pay $120 million in restitution on Wednesday.

The people Rodney Mesquias, 48, of San Antonio, defrauded included patients with Alzheimer’s and dementia, according to a release from the Department of Justice. Mesquias was CEO of the Merida Group, a health care company that had dozens of locations throughout Texas.

“Mesquias funded his lavish lifestyle by exploiting patients with long-term, incurable diseases by enrolling them in expensive but unnecessary hospice services,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General Brian C. Rabbitt of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division. According to a DOJ release, he used the money to buy a Porsche, expensive jewelry and luxury clothing, real estate and tickets for sporting events. It said he held “lavish parties” at Las Vegas night clubs and invited doctors who later gave him “medically unnecessary patient referrals.”

Mesquias was convicted of one count of conspiracy to commit health care fraud, conspiracy to commit money laundering, conspiracy to obstruct justice, six counts of health care fraud and one count of conspiracy to pay and receive kickbacks. A man officials describe as a “co-conspirator,” Henry McInnis, 48, was convicted on all but the kickbacks charges.

According to Special Agent in Charge Miranda L. Bennett, Mesquias paid kickbacks to physicians, falsified medical records and enrolled patients in “hospice care that prevented them from accessing curative care.” Bennett works for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General’s Dallas Region.

Officials say the scheme involved $150 million in false claims between 2009 and 2018.

“Hospice services require patients to be suffering from a terminal illness expected to result in death within six months. Not only were patients not in such circumstances, they were walking, driving, working and even coaching athletic sporting events in some instances,” a DOJ release said. “However, Mesquias and others kept patients on services for multiple years in order to increase revenue.”

The DOJ says his case was one of the first criminal hospice fraud prosecutions it had brought to a federal jury. McInnis will be sentenced at a later date, according to a release, and two other co-conspirators have pleaded guilty and are waiting to be sentenced. Francisco Peña, 82, of Laredo, acted as a medical director for Merida Group and was mayor of Rio Bravo when he also pleaded guilty to charges, according to KXAN sister station KVEO. He died in November 2019.

Full Article & Source:

After lying about thousands of patients’ life expectancy, hospice care owner sentenced to prison, $120M fine

Indicted Nashville Judge To Receive $4,500 Monthly Pension: Report

NASHVILLE, TN — Former Davidson County General Sessions Judge Casey Moreland is in line to receive a $4,588 monthly pension, plus insurance benefits, despite being under federal indictment, The Tennessean reports.

Even though he faces trial on three counts of obstruction of justice and witness tampering related to allegations he paid a woman $6,000 in an effort to get her to recant public allegations against him, Moreland could still receive taxpayer-funded benefits. Moreland resigned as one of the county's 11 General Sessions judges as part of a pre-trial release agreement.

Moreland — who can also receive medical insurance coverage and a $10,000 life insurance policy in addition to the pension — would, under state law, forfeit his retirement benefits upon conviction of "a felony arising out of that person's employment or official capacity, constituting malfeasance in office." Metro Law Director Jon Cooper told The Tennessean that Metro's employment benefits board could revoke those benefits even without a conviction.

Full Article & Source:
Indicted Nashville Judge To Receive $4,500 Monthly Pension: Report

Illinois Lawyer Falsifies Hundreds Of Mortgage Loans, Now Owes Feds $10 Million

An Illinois attorney is liable for more than $10 million for filing falsified documents with the government concerning 237 defaulted mortgage loans.

Robert S. Luce signed Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) documents stating that no one at his mortgage company – MDR Mortgage Corp – faced criminal conviction, debarment, or a monetary penalty, despite the fact he was indicted in 2005, Chicago Daily Law Bulletin reported Monday.

Luce “knowingly made a false claim by certifying that none of the principals of MDR were involved in a proceeding that could result in a criminal conviction,” U.S. District Judge John J. Tharp ruled.

HUD regulations prohibit loan correspondents such as MDR from originating loans if they face such punishments. Luce was able to originate loans through HUD for three additional years by falsifying the documents.

Tharp ruled that Luce owed nearly $3.5 million, but those damages triple under the False Claims Act, bringing the total after tacking on $16,500 in fines, to nearly $10.4 million. Luce plans to appeal the ruling.

He was indicted on charges of wire fraud, mail fraud, obstruction of justice and false statements unrelated to MDR in 2005. Regardless, he annually submitted a form to HUD that stated that no one at MDR faced criminal conviction, debarment, or a monetary penalty from 2006 to 2008.

Luce was ultimately issued a $30,000 fine after admitting to obstructing justice in 2008 and had his law license suspended for five months in 2010 for committing a criminal act.

Full Article & Source:
Illinois Lawyer Falsifies Hundreds Of Mortgage Loans, Now Owes Feds $10 Million

Liberty lawyer indicted for obstruction of justice

A Liberty lawyer is facing federal indictment for allegedly keeping money meant to reimburse crime victims.

Robert J. Young II, 47, appeared Thursday in U.S. District Court in Kansas City where he was indicted by a grand jury on a charge of obstruction of justice.

Federal prosecutors said that the family of a criminal defendant gave Young more than $62,000 for the purpose of making restitution in the defendant’s case.

Prosecutors say Young instead used the money to buy a motorcycle and make rent payments and retail purchases.

The money was later paid, according to prosecutors.

Full Article & Source:
Liberty lawyer indicted for obstruction of justice