Blog Posts in 2019

What Is the False Claims Act?

Congress enacted the False Claims Act (FCA) in 1863 to encourage private citizens to report people or entities who make fraudulent claims for payments to the federal government. In accordance with the FCA, the Department of Justice takes the case to court and rewards a substantial portion of the settlement to the private citizen who disclosed the fraud. While the FCA has been amended several ...

Wire Fraud & Tax Fraud

The Department of Justice Tax Division announced a joint IRS-FBI investigation that resulted in a prosecution and 36-month sentence for wire fraud and tax fraud . The defendant, a California resident, was involved in a scheme to defraud involving false letters of credit that were provided to banks to secure loans. The wire fraud statute, 18 U.S.C. §1343, makes it illegal to devise a scheme to ...

A Close Look at Wire Fraud and Tax Fraud

The Department of Justice Tax Division announced a joint IRS-FBI investigation resulting in a prosecution and 36-month sentence for wire fraud and tax fraud. The defendant, a California resident, was involved in a scheme to defraud, involving false letters of credit sent to banks to secure loans. The wire fraud statute, 18 U.S.C. §1343 , prohibits devising a scheme to defraud by means of false and ...

New York Pain Clinic Doctor Pleads Guilty & is Expected to Give Testimony

Dr. Dante Cubangbang operated a pain clinic in New York, which, over a period of 6 years, dispensed over 6 million opioid pills. The doctor was taken into custody after pleading guilty to healthcare fraud and money laundering, and now faces decades in prison. Dr. Cubangbang Cooperates with the Government Dr. Cubangbang is expected to cooperate with the government by testifying against others who ...

DOJ Announces Criminal Charges Against Healthcare Professionals in Multiple States

On September 27, 2019, the U.S. Department of Justice issued a press release summarizing multiple healthcare fraud cases recently filed nationwide. The targets of the government's cases involve telemedicine companies, cancer genetic testing laboratories, and over 170 medical professionals, including doctors. The federal indictments were filed in U.S. District Courts in Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, ...

Can the Government Sue Me Through E-Mail?

If “You’ve Got Mail” from Government Agencies, “You’ve Been Served” Can I Be Sued Through E-Mail? Federal agencies with civil enforcement authority, like the Securities Exchange Commission, Internal Revenue Service, and others, can bring civil lawsuits against individuals and entities who may have violated the laws those agencies are charged with enforcing. Like any civil action, the government ...

U.S. Department of Justice Cracks Open Another Swiss Bank

LLB Verwaltung (Switzerland) AG, formerly known as Liechtensteinishe Landesbank AG (LLB-Switzerland), a Swiss-based private bank, settled with the U.S. Department of Justice and agreed to pay a penalty of $10,689,554.64. In turn, the Department of Justice agreed not to prosecute the bank for tax-related crimes. The Justice Department’s agreement with Verwaltung AG is part of the Government’s ...

Cryptocurrency Holders: Beware Receiving IRS Letters

We have previously discussed the IRS using John Doe warrants to obtain information about U.S. taxpayers, as well as data analytics to target those with potential tax and criminal liabilities. In addition to targeting traditional tax cheats, the IRS is also looking at those holding cryptocurrencies in their financial portfolios. The IRS treats cryptocurrencies, also known as virtual currencies, as ...

Federal Civil Enforcements, Equity Receivers, and Parallel Criminal Investigations Ensnare Innocents

Recently, the public has learned a great deal about rampant abuses in federal and state civil forfeiture programs, particularly how they run afoul of liberties guaranteed by the Constitution. This has forced Congress to look into the programs to determine what changes are warranted. But a similar legal scheme resulting in far more egregious Constitutional violations has escaped Congressional ...

Trump, 'the Squad,' and the Government Regularly Taking Statements Out of Context

The dominant news story is about whether elected Congressional members or the President took statements out of context for political gamesmanship. Americans are not shocked at this spat between branches of government, but most are shocked to learn that the government uses this political tool against citizens in criminal courtrooms. When citizens speak to law enforcement, the government decides ...