Financial Asset Managers Charged in $1.2 Billion International Money Laundering Scheme

Financial Asset Managers Charged in $1.2 Billion International Money Laundering Scheme

On July 12, 2022, two financial asset managers from Switzerland and Argentina were charged in the Southern District of Florida in an alleged $1.2 billion scheme to launder money obtained from a Venezuela-owned energy company.
 
According to court documents, beginning around December 2014 and continuing until around August 2018, the asset managers conspired with other individuals to launder the proceeds of an illegal bribery scheme using the US financial system in addition to various international bank accounts. The asset managers allegedly laundered the illegal proceeds in connection with a corrupt foreign currency exchange scheme involving bribery of Venezuelan officials.
 
The asset managers allegedly agreed to create the complex financial relationships required to launder over $200 million in relation to the conspiracy, in addition to opening accounts for or on behalf of two or more Venezuelan public officials so they could receive bribe payments.
 
The two asset managers were each charged with one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering and face up to 20 years in prison, if convicted.
 
The DOJ press release can be found here

Chicago Doctor Charged With Submitting Fraudulent Claims to Medicare and Private Insurer

On July 12, 2022, an Illinois-based doctor was charged in federal court with one count of health care fraud for allegedly submitting false claims to Medicare and a private insurer.
 
The doctor owned and operated a skin cancer facility in Lombard, Illinois, a suburb of Chicago. According to the DOJ, from 2015 to 2021, the doctor fraudulently obtained approximately $4.1 million from Medicare and a private insurer by submitting fraudulent claims representing that certain health care services, including mole removal procedures, had been provided to patients, when the doctor knew that such services were not provided as represented on the claims. The DOJ also alleges that the doctor removed more moles from patients than were medically necessary, and provided notes and paperwork to employees to submit fraudulent claims for reimbursement for the medically unnecessary procedures.
 
If convicted, the doctor could face a maximum sentence of 10 years in federal prison.

The DOJ press release can be found here

Former City Employee’s Wife Pleads Guilty to Conspiracy to Steal COVID Relief Funds

On July 12, 2022, the wife of a former West Haven City employee pleaded guilty in the US District Court for the District of Connecticut to a conspiracy charge related to her role in a scheme to steal COVID relief funds from the City of West Haven.
 
According to statements made in court and court documents, the wife, together with her husband, who at the time of the conspiracy was an employee of the City of West Haven, conspired to misappropriate COVID relief funds that had been provided to the City. The US Attorney’s Office for the District of Connecticut alleged that between approximately July 2020 and October 2021, the husband submitted fraudulent invoices to the City for services related to a Youth Violence Prevention Program and for Youth Violence COVID-19 Associated Expenses, which listed charges for cleaning supplies, counseling services, meals, and youth clinic support groups, among other things. The payment vouchers associated with these invoices requested that the checks be made directly to the wife rather than the City of West Haven.
 
In total, the City made 16 payments to the wife, amounting to approximately $147,776, who never provided any of the identified services to the City. The couple allegedly used the proceeds for their own personal benefit. The wife was arrested on February 18, 2022, and pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud. Her husband was charged with related offenses.
 
The DOJ press release can be found here.