Audrey Strauss, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, announced that Dr. EMMANUEL LAMBRAKIS, a former state-licensed doctor, was sentenced this afternoon to 188 months in prison for conspiring to distribute medically unnecessary oxycodone unlawfully.  LAMBRAKIS pled guilty on November 26, 2019, before U.S. District Judge William H. Pauley III, and was sentenced today before U.S. District Judge Katherine Polk Failla.

U.S. Attorney Audrey Strauss said: “Dr. Emmanuel Lambrakis wrote medically unnecessary prescriptions for thousands of oxycodone pills – an addictive and potentially fatal opiate.  Instead of abiding by his oath to ‘do no harm,’ Lambrakis pumped deadly drugs into the community.  Lambrakis put his own greed before his duties as a medical professional, and for that he will now spend a lengthy term in federal prison.”

According to the Complaint, the Indictment, and other court documents, as well as statements made in public court proceedings:

Oxycodone is a highly addictive, narcotic opioid that is used to treat severe and chronic pain conditions.  Oxycodone prescriptions are in high demand and can be resold on the street for thousands of dollars.  A single prescription for 120 30-milligram tablets of oxycodone can net an illicit distributor $2,400 in cash or more.

From at least approximately January 2011 until December 2016, LAMBRAKIS operated two medical clinics in Queens, New York, where LAMBRAKIS wrote numerous medically unnecessary prescriptions for large quantities of oxycodone in exchange for cash payments.  LAMBRAKIS typically charged approximately $150 in cash for “patient visits,” and these visits often involved numerous “patients” being seen by LAMBRAKIS at the same time in the same examination room.  During these “patient visits,” LAMBRAKIS would perform simple, perfunctory body manipulations (such as rotating the patient’s arm or leg) and engage in little or no conversation with the purported “patient.”  Nonetheless, LAMBRAKIS would then issue to the patient a prescription for a large quantity of oxycodone, most often 120 30-milligram tablets or more.

Between January 2011 and December 2016, LAMBRAKIS wrote hundreds of oxycodone prescriptions, resulting in the illicit distribution of thousands of oxycodone tablets.  On numerous occasions, LAMBRAKIS wrote 100 or more prescriptions for 30-milligram oxycodone pills in a single day.  As a result of LAMBRAKIS’s actions, LAMBRAKIS collected approximately more than $3 million in fees from his “patients.”

* * *

LAMBRAKIS, 74, of New York, New York, pled guilty to one count of conspiring to unlawfully distribute and possess with intent to distribute oxycodone.

In addition to the prison term, LAMBRAKIS was sentenced to three years of supervised release, and ordered to forfeit $3,093,000, representing the amount he gained from issuing medically unnecessary oxycodone prescriptions.

Ms. Strauss praised the outstanding investigative work of the DEA’s Tactical Diversion Squad, which comprises agents and officers from the DEA, the NYPD, the New York State Police, Town of Orangetown Police Department, Rockland County Drug Task Force, Westchester County Police Department, and New York City Department of Investigation.  She also acknowledged the assistance of the Department of Health & Human Services, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations, the New York City Human Resources Administration, and the National Insurance Crime Bureau.

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Today, the Department of Defense (DOD) announced a new board of appeals for Service members with separation dates on or after December 20, 2019. The Discharge Appeal Review Board (DARB) will provide final review of discharge or dismissal characterization upgrade requests when petitioners have exhausted all available administrative remedies.

Any DOD Service member separated on or after December 20, 2019, who has exhausted all available appeals with the appropriate Service Discharge Review Board (DRB) and Board for Correction of Military/Naval Records (BCM/NR), may apply to the DARB. If a current or former Service member is deceased or incapacitated, the surviving spouse, next of kin, or legal representative may apply on their behalf. The DARB is a document review board with no provision for personal appearances. Only records from the Service BCM/NR case file will be reviewed. Any petitioner wishing to present new evidence must first submit a reconsideration request to, and receive a decision from, their Service BCM/NR before that new evidence may be considered. If the DARB recommends that the petitioner’s service characterization be upgraded, this recommendation will be transmitted to the Secretary of the Military Department concerned for final action.

The DARB was created by Congress in the Fiscal Year 2020 National Defense Authorization Act, and is the final level of administrative review provided by the Department. There are no provisions for further administrative appeal or reconsideration of recommendations by the DARB, or of the Secretaries’ final action. The DOD has designated the Air Force as lead agent to execute and operate the DARB process.

The DOD has sent information about the DARB, including guidance for members who wish to apply for reconsideration, to Veterans Service Organizations and Military Service Organizations in order to reach as many potential applicants as possible. Individuals who believe their discharge or dismissal was unjust, erroneous, or warrants an upgrade, are encouraged to apply for review. To learn more about the DARB and how to apply for review, visit the Air Force Review Board Agency Portal located at https://afrba-portal.cce.af.mil.

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The Defense Department recently announced expanded commissary, military service exchange and MWR access Jan. 1 and established a standard for physical access to military installations. Below are the top 10 questions Veterans have asked the Defense Department about the expanded access. For more information on expanded access, call Military One Source at 1-800-342-9647.

Q1. How do I get access if I have a 0 percent service-connected condition, but my income is too high to get a Veteran Health Identification Card?

A1. Veterans who have received a Health Eligibility Center Form H623A that states they have been placed in VA health care priority group 8E may bring this form paired with an acceptable credential like aREAL ID-compliant driver’s license or aU.S. passport for installation and privilege access.

Q2. If I’ve got a DoD-issued identification card because I’m retired, a Medal of Honor recipient, or have a 100 percent VA-documented disability or unemployability rating, do I also need to have a Veteran Health Identification Card (VHIC) to get access to DoD privileges?

A2. No.  If you are eligible for a DoD-issued retiree, Medal of Honor, or 100 percent disabled identification card, you should obtain and use the DoD-issued card to access DoD installations and privileges.  While you could use a VHIC if you had one, you would be subject to the commissary credit/debit card user fee if you paid for your commissary purchases with a commercial credit or debit card.  The commissary credit/debit card user fee is not charged to DoD-issued identification card holders.  Your DoD-issued identification card will also allow you broader morale, welfare, and recreation activity access.

Q3. How does the installation access process work for me and my guests; and if I have old felony activity on my record, will I be denied access to the installation?

A3. All newly eligible Veterans and caregivers and any guests traveling with them who are age 18 or older must stop at the visitor control center before entering an installation for the first time to verify identify, establish purpose for the visit, and undergo a basic on-the-spot background check.

• Newly eligible Veterans must show a Veteran Health Identification Card that displays “PURPLE HEART,” “FORMER POW,” or “SERVICE CONNECTED” below the photo on the front of the card; or a Health Eligibility Center Form H623A that states the Veteran has been placed in VA health care priority group 8E, paired with an acceptable credential like a REAL ID-compliant driver’s license or a U.S. passport. (DoD installations cannot accept a driver’s license that is not REAL ID-compliant as proof of identity.)
• Newly eligible caregivers must show an eligibility letter from the VA’s Office of Community Care that lists them as the Primary Family Caregiver for an eligible Veteran under the Program of Comprehensive Assistance for Family Caregivers, paired with an acceptable credential like a REAL ID-compliant driver’s license or a U.S. passport. (DoD installations cannot accept a driver’s license that is not REAL ID-compliant as proof of identity.)
• Guests of newly eligible Veterans or caregivers who are age 18 or older must show an acceptable credential like a REAL ID-compliant driver’s license or a U.S. passport. (DoD installations cannot accept a driver’s license that is not REAL (ID-compliant as proof of identity.)

If the installation has credential enrollment capability and the acceptable credential(s) used are enrollable, they can be enrolled for recurring access so that the individual(s) don’t have to stop at visitor control every time they want to visit the installation.  Even a guest’s acceptable credential can be enrolled.  It will not allow them to enter the installation without someone who is eligible to enter the installation, but it will allow them to have their credential scanned from the car when entering with an authorized individual.  This is the same process used for anyone who desires entry to an installation.

An individual may be denied access if derogatory information shows up on the background check that reflects on the integrity or character of an individual that indicates that such an individual may pose a risk to the good order, discipline, morale, or safety of a DoD installation or the resources or personnel on that installation. Examples include, but are not limited to, aspects of an individual’s criminal history or current status as wanted or as a known or appropriately suspected terrorist. There is a process for an individual with accurately identified derogatory information that prevents individuals from establishing either historic or current fitness to seek an exception due to their specific circumstances, allowing them to be granted unescorted access. DoD Components may grant unescorted access to a convicted felon, in accordance with applicable Federal, State, and local laws, after considering appropriate mitigating factors such as the nature and seriousness of the offense, the circumstances surrounding the offense, recency and frequency of the offense, the individual’s age and maturity at the time of the offense, the individual’s effort toward rehabilitation, and other factors. Under these conditions, an individual should apply directly to the installation commander requesting an exception to all allow access to the installation.

Q4. Are dependents of newly eligible Veterans and caregivers also eligible for DoD privileges?

A4. No. The Purple Heart and Disabled Veterans Equal Access Act of 2018, only gave these privileges to specific Veterans and caregivers, not to their dependents.  Dependents may accompany eligible Veterans and caregivers as their guests, but they may not make purchases.

Q5. Why can’t all Veterans have these DoD privileges?

A5. The scope of operations on military installations is sized to take care of the needs of military members and their families.  Military operations are not funded or sized to accommodate all Veterans. Expanding access to the 4.1 million Veterans and caregivers directed by the Purple Heart and Disabled Veterans Equal Access Act of 2018 (and that number continues to grow daily), will already be a test of DoD’s capacity. Inserting another 15 million Veterans into the mix would overwhelm the system and our military members and their families would suffer for it.

Q6. Will Veterans who choose to live overseas be able to access military installations and privileges in overseas foreign countries?

A6. It depends.U.S. law doesn’t apply outside of theUnited States and outside of theU.S. territories and possessions. Access in overseas foreign countries is subject to applicable host-nation laws and applicable international agreements, like status of forces agreements. The function of the installation also sometimes restricts access. It is best to check with the installation you desire to visit to find out if, as a Veteran or caregiver in one of the new Veteran or caregiver categories, you will be authorized access. Chances are that if you are a retired military member living abroad and didn’t already have access as a retiree, you will not get access under any of the new categories.

Q7. Can newly eligible Veterans and caregivers bring guests to the installations and facilities?

A7. Yes. Guests will be subject to installation access procedures described in #8 above and must remain with the eligible Veteran or caregiver at all times when they are on the installation. Also, guests cannot make any purchases in commissary or exchange stores.

Q8. Which of the following MWR activities can be used?  (This is not an exhaustive list, only the most frequently asked about activities.)

A8.

AmericanForcesTravel.com: Yes.

Bowling: Yes.

Camping: Yes. Tent sites and RV parks.

Child Care: No.

Clubs: Yes.

Fishing: It depends. If lakes are operated as part of the installation park and picnic areas, no. If lakes are operated as part of the installation outdoor recreation activity, then it is at the discretion of the Military Department, subject to capacity and funding conditions.

Golf: Yes.

Gyms: No.

Libraries: No.

Lodging: Yes.   Cabins, cottages, recreation centers, resorts, and official temporary duty and permanent change of station lodging (on a space-available basis).

Movies: Yes, if there is an admission fee.  (No, if the movies are shown at no charge.)

Pools: At the discretion of the Military Department, subject to capacity and funding conditions.

Rentals: Yes.

Tickets: At the discretion of the Military Department, subject to capacity and funding conditions.

MAC flights: This is NOT an MWR, exchange, or commissary activity and access is NOT authorized.

Pharmacy: This is NOT an MWR, exchange, or commissary activity and access is NOT authorized.

USO: This is NOT a military organization.  USO is a non-Federal entity.

Q9. What conditions are required to get access to the DoD privileges?

A9. Newly eligible Veterans must meet at least one of the following conditions:

• Purple Heart recipient
• Former prisoner of war
• Service-connected disability rating (between 0-90 percent)

Veterans with a 100 percent disability or unemployability rating and Veterans who are Medal of Honor recipients already have DoD privileges, so they are not newly eligible.

Veterans include former members of any of the uniformed services (Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps,Coast Guard,U.S. Public Health Service, and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration).

Newly eligible caregivers must be the individual assessed, approved, and designated as the Primary Family Caregiver for an eligible Veteran under the Program of Comprehensive Assistance for Family Caregivers.

In addition to meeting one of the above conditions, newly eligible Veterans and caregivers must possess the specific documentation that DoD will accept as proof of identity and eligibility for access:

• Veterans must possess a Veteran Health Identification Card (VHIC) that displays “PURPLE HEART,” “FORMER POW,” or “SERVICE CONNECTED” below the photo on the front of the card. If an eligible Veteran is not eligible to obtain a VHIC, the VA Health Eligibility Center Form H623A indicating placement in VA health care priority group 8E, paired with an acceptable credential, like a REAL ID-compliant driver’s license or U.S. passport, will be accepted. For information on enrolling in VA health care, visit www.va.gov/healthbenefits/enroll or call 1-877-222-VETS (8387) Monday through Friday 8 a.m. until 8 p.m. Eastern time.
• Caregivers must possess an eligibility letter from the VA Office of Community Care that lists them as the Primary Family Caregiver for an eligible Veteran under the Program of Comprehensive Assistance for Family Caregivers, paired with an acceptable credential like a REAL ID-compliant driver’s license or a U.S. passport.

Q10. Can anyone with a Veteran Health Identification Card (VHIC) get these privileges?

A10. No. Only Veterans with a VHIC that displays “PURPLE HEART,” “FORMER POW,” or “SERVICE CONNECTED” will be authorized the new privileges. Veterans may be able to use a VHIC that doesn’t contain one of these markings to access an installation with a medical facility if they have an appointment there, but if the VHIC does not display “PURPLE HEART,” “FORMER POW,” or “SERVICE CONNECTED,” they will not have access to commissaries, exchanges, or morale, welfare, and recreation facilities.

Learn more about the VHIC requirement and how you can get one here.

Download the Expanded Access at Commissaries, Exchanges and Recreation Facilities fact sheet here.

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The Pentagon is downsizing or closing 50 medical clinics, including 12 on Air Force bases, in a move the department says will “increase the readiness of our operational and medical forces.” But the change will also force families and retirees away from some USAF facilities and into TRICARE civilian providers.

The Fiscal 2017 National Defense Authorization Act called on the Pentagon to analyze its hospital and clinic footprint, and the department screened 343 facilities inside the United States. Of those, 77 were selected for additional assessments and 50 ultimately chosen for “restructuring.”

The majority of those facilities will transition from serving all beneficiaries to only seeing Active-duty military personnel. Family members, retirees, and their families would have to seek care through the TRICARE civilian provider network.

Matt Donovan, the former acting Air Force secretary who is performing the duties of the under secretary of defense for personnel and readiness, outlined the changes in a Feb. 19 report to congressional leaders.

The report is a “strategic framework” for the changes, and no detailed implementation plan, timeline, projected costs, or expected savings are available yet. Local networks’ ability to take on additional patients will drive the transition time, and switching people over could take several years.

If TRICARE networks cannot provide access to quality care, “DOD will revise implementation plans,” according to a Military Health System release.

MacDill Air Force Base, Fla.’s Sabal Park Clinic will close once all patients are transferred. The clinic opened in May 2019.

Joint Base Langley-Eustis Air Force Base, Va.’s 633rd Medical Group’s inpatient facility will become an ambulatory surgical center.

The following facilities will switch to Active-duty, occupational health-only clinics:

• MacDill’s 6th MDG outpatient facility
• Dyess AFB, Texas’s 7th MDG outpatient facility
• Robins AFB, Ga.’s 78th MDG outpatient facility
• Barksdale AFB, La.’s 2nd MDG outpatient facility
• Dover AFB, Del.’s 436th MDG outpatient facility
• Goodfellow AFB, Texas’s 17th MDG outpatient facility
• Hanscom AFB, Mass.’s 66th Medical Squadron outpatient facility
• Maxwell AFB, Ala.’s 42nd MDG outpatient facility
• Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst, N.J.’s 87th MDG outpatient facility
• Patrick AFB, Fla.’s 45th MDG outpatient facility

The Pentagon expects about 200,000 beneficiaries to move to provider networks, the majority of which are retirees. They will need to pay out of pocket for health care provided through TRICARE. A family of four filling a dozen prescriptions per year could end up spending from $157 to $720 more per year on prescription medications alone. For medical care, copays and deductibles could add hundreds or thousands more dollars.

By only providing medical services to Active-duty forces, the Pentagon wants to make sure affected facilities can help service members be “medically ready to train and deploy,” said Tom McCaffery, the assistant secretary of defense for health affairs, in a release. “It also means MTFs are effectively utilized as platforms that enable our military medical personnel to acquire and maintain the clinical skills and experience that prepares them for deployment in support of combat operations around the world.”

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As with any major initiative rollout across five military services across hundreds of installations, granting access to millions of new eligible users is challenging. This is especially true for the thousands of front-line access control and service providers who are getting acquainted with the new access guidelines and authorized credentials. Do it over a holiday when manning and procedures differ from daily operations, and it invites some opportunities for inconsistency. Throw in a global military situation that puts all U.S. military installations on heightened alert, to further affect access guidelines and procedures?

Welcome to the first few weeks of implementation of Section 1065 of Title 10, United States Code.

The military services appreciate your patience and understanding as they work through the challenges they have encountered so far.

DoD and the military services are working out the bugs and refining communications to continue to welcome newly eligible categories of Veterans and caregivers to commissary, exchange, and authorized MWR facilities.

DoD has provided basic information regarding expanded access through the recently updated fact sheet at http://www.militaryonesource.mil/expanding-access. This fact sheet is not DoD policy, but it does attempt to provide the most accurate known information based on DoD policy. As implementation continues and snags are identified, DoD continues to update and refine the fact sheet content, so check back frequently (and make sure you refresh your browser to access the most current version).

The following are what you have said are the issues you’ve experienced. We’ve provided information to help you manage expectations:

Installation Access

• Firearms. Leave your firearms and any other weapons at home. Firearms are not permitted on military service installations. If you travel with them, you will need to find somewhere secure to store them in accordance with applicable laws and regulations before you get to the installation. Introducing a firearm onto a federal reservation is a serious offense.
• Vehicle operation. Some installations have local traffic enforcement regulations that require visitors to provide proof of vehicle registration and insurance, along with a valid motor vehicle operator license if they are driving onboard the installation. Newly eligible Veterans and caregivers who do not have access to installations through another authorized affiliation, such as DoD civilian or contractor employment, should be prepared to provide the required traffic enforcement documentation at the visitor control center when you initially stop for access Vetting. The documents you may be asked to produce may include a state-issued driver’s license, vehicle registration, and proof of insurance.
• Varying access procedures between installations. While all installations must comply with overarching DoD installation access policy, each military department has the authority to apply additional or unique policies depending on the security factors related to the service or the installation. If you are denied access, or if access control personnel tell you something other than what is contained in the most current version of the expanded access fact sheet, please comply with their direction. As disappointing as it may be for you, these personnel are doing as they have been trained and must act to protect the assets and mission of the installation. They are following orders and procedure, so an individual outside of their chain of command telling them to change what they’ve been trained or directed to do is not an option. Note that threat conditions may affect access by otherwise authorized individuals.
• Scanner won’t read Veteran Health Identification Card (VHIC). DoD has learned that some of the eligible VHICs issued by VA (displays PURPLE HEART, FORMER POW, or SERVICE CONNECTED) cannot be read by DoD scanners because the barcode is missing some required data. If you’ve got one of these VHICs, expect installation access personnel to deny your access; please accept that this is an unfortunate circumstance. If the installation allows presentation of another credential to prove identity and will still accept the VHIC as proof of purpose for that visit, you may be authorized access if you have another acceptable credential to present, like a REAL ID-compliant driver’s license or a U.S. passport. Not every installation is guaranteed to offer this single access exception. A VHIC that does not scan is not enrollable for recurring access, so Veterans who possess them will have to stop at the visitor control center each time they visit an installation and may not be permitted installation access every time. Installation access personnel cannot bend the rules for you, they are following procedure and their job is to protect installation assets and the mission. If you’ve got one of these VHICs that DoD is not able to scan, please take your card to a VA medical center to correct the issue by requesting a new one from the Enrollment and Eligibility Office.       A new card will be mailed to you in about two weeks.
• VHIC versions. There seems to be some confusion about the different versions of VHICs and which are acceptable. The oldest version of the VHIC has a vertical barcode along the short right side of the card and is not acceptable for installation access. There are two versions of the current VHIC that feature the barcode horizontally along the bottom of the card, both of which are acceptable for installation access as long as the card also displays PURPLE HEART, FORMER POW, or SERVICE CONNECTED below the photo. The barcode on the current versions of the VHIC must be readable by installation access scanners in order to validate identity and purpose for the Veteran’s visit to the installation. If the card cannot be read by installation access scanners, there is no way to validate that the card is not fraudulent, so if you’ve got an unscannable card, it’s best to get it corrected through a VA medical center. You’d be surprised how many people try to fraudulently access installations, so installation access personnel are always on high alert for things that seem out of the ordinary. You may request a new VHIC from the Enrollment and Eligibility Office. A new card will be mailed to you in about two weeks.

Accompanying visitors (because “guest” means something specific in military security-speak)

It’s probably best to call ahead to find out the local policy for visitors accompanying Veterans or caregivers who are eligible for access under Section 1065.

• Installations. The information DoD published about accompanying visitors was the general DoD-level policy, but it only applied to authorized VHIC holders. DoD apologizes for not making that clear from the beginning. In general, newly eligible Veterans with an eligible VHIC cannot escort or vouch for accompanying visitors that cannot establish their own identity and fitness for installation access. Once the accompanying visitor completes the required checks at the visitor control center, they can accompany the eligible Veteran onto the installation and they can enroll their credential, just as the eligible Veteran, to facilitate future visits with the eligible Veteran. Please understand that while this is the DoD-level policy, conditions vary from installation to installation and visitor access may be restricted as a result. It is best to contact the installation ahead of your visit to find out if accompanying visitors will be authorized. Unfortunately, DoD policy does not currently authorize other individuals authorized to access DoD installations with other-than DoD-issued credentials to bring accompanying visitors. DoD is actively pursuing a policy change that will allow newly-eligible Veterans with a VA Health Eligibility Center Form H623A or Primary Family Caregivers with an eligibility letter from the VA Office of Community Care to also bring visitors who can establish identity and fitness to enter the installation.
• Retail Facilities. The information DoD published about guests is the DoD-level policy. The military departments and installation commanders have the authority to apply more restrictive policy than the DoD-level policy. If a retail organization’s guest policy restricts guest access, then the restricted access policy applies. For example, only authorized shoppers are allowed into the commissary store at Fort Buchanan, Puerto Rico. Not allowing guests into the store here is the same for all authorized shoppers. Newly eligible Veterans and Primary Family Caregivers are not being singled out.

Credentials when individuals have both an authorized VA and DoD affiliation

• Uniformed services retirees, Medal of Honor recipients, Veterans with 100% service-connected disability ratings, or Veterans with 100% unemployability due to a service-connected conditions. If you are a newly eligible Veteran or Primary Family Caregiver and also have eligibility through one of these DoD affiliations, you should obtain and use the DoD identification card for installation and privilege access. This affiliation also makes you eligible for broader DoD benefits that the VA affiliation does not.
• Other individuals with DoD-issued credentials. If you are a newly eligible Veteran or Primary Family Caregiver and also have a DoD-issued credential, you can use the DoD-issued credential for access to whatever you are entitled to access through your DoD affiliation. For example, a DoD civilian employee assigned to an installation on a transportation agreement in a U.S. territory or possession is authorized installation, commissary, exchange, and MWR access with their DoD-issued credential, so they should use the DoD-issued credential for access, even if they have an authorized VA-issued credential through their authorized VA affiliation. However, a DoD civilian employee assigned in the United States may use their DoD-issued credential for installation and MWR access, but they will have to use the authorized VA-issued credential to shop the commissary and exchange because a DoD-issued civilian employee credential is not valid for commissary or exchange access in the United States.

Online Access

Access to the online exchanges was minimally affected by expanded patronage, because newly eligible Veterans already have had access since Nov. 11, 2017, through the Veterans Online Shopping Benefit.

• AmericanForcesTravel.com. Because American Forces Travel was a new privilege as of Jan. 1, 2020, authentication data for all newly eligible users had to be coded and pushed to the authenticating agency. That data transfer did not go as smoothly or as quickly as expected due to hundreds of thousands of records with incomplete coding data. Progress is being made daily to correct these records, but it takes time. Your patience and understanding is appreciated while the records are being corrected. There is no way to contact individual users when their records are corrected, so you’ll just need to continue to access the site. If you are still getting denied access, refresh your browser. If that doesn’t work, give it a few more days and try again.
• Commissaries.com. The same coding and data transfer issues affected the commissary website. Again, please refresh your browser if you are still not able to create an account and if that doesn’t work, please try again in a few days. Accessing commissaries.com will allow you to see the sales flyers with pricing. Of course, online authentication issues does not prevent you from accessing the commissary in person, provided you bring all of the necessary documentation for accessing the installation and facility, so swing on by and check out the deals first hand.
• My.Commissaries.com. If you’re trying to set up an account at My.Commissaries.com to manage your rewards card, download coupons, or order from a Click2Go-enabled store, you’ll have to wait until early spring. This portal requires additional programming to interface with the online authentication and couldn’t begin until the user coding was completed. You’ll know when it is ready for you when they remove the message that explains it is not currently available to you from the login screen.
• Recreation and other lodging reservation systems. While not all of the military service lodging programs have updated their online reservation systems yet, Navy Lodge has. Newly eligible Veterans and Primary Family Caregivers can book at https://www.navy-lodge.com.

Privilege Access

• Clarification of “on the same basis as a member of the armed forces entitled to retired or retainer pay.” Section 1065 provides commissary, exchange, and MWR retail facility access on the same basis as the members of the armed forces who are entitled to retired and retainer pay, but it does not authorize access to installations on the same basis, access for family members on the same basis, or access to any other facilities or services on installations on the same basis. To facilitate access to the authorized facilities on installations, DoD had to prescribe procedures for installation access, to include identifying the acceptable VA-issued credentials for individuals in these new categories of authorized Veterans and caregivers. DoD has also authorized access to temporary duty and permanent change of station lodging facilities on a space available basis, which is in addition to the access prescribed in Section 1065. While family members are not given access in their own right, DoD has clarified that the newly eligible Veterans and Primary Family Caregivers may have visitors accompany them onto installations and into facilities (subject to the limitations mentioned earlier). DoD has also been very clear that this access in overseas foreign countries is subject to applicable host-nation laws and applicable international agreements, like status of forces agreements. Neither the DoD nor the U.S. Government has the authority to unilaterally change these laws or agreements.
• Installation commander authority to restrict access. Installation commanders have the authority to restrict access when they determine it is in the best interest of the installation and the mission. That includes access to specific facilities, certain hours of operation, or limits on quantities of products. They can also revoke access when abuse and unauthorized activity is discovered, such as making purchases for other-than personal use.
• Alcohol and tobacco products. Yes, newly eligible Veterans and Primary Family Caregivers are authorized to purchase alcohol and tobacco products.
• List of recreation lodging and RV/campground locations. DoD is in the process of compiling and updating such consolidated lists and expects them to be available in the spring of 2020. In the meantime, find the current list of Marine Corps recreational lodging locations at https://www.usmc-mccs.org/services/lodging/recreation-lodging/
• Special interest clubs. If operated as revenue-generating MWR activities, then newly eligible Veterans and Primary Family Caregivers should be allowed access to special interest clubs like flying clubs, rod and gun clubs, riding stables, etc. If you try to access a special interest club and are turned away, it’s probably a private club, not an MWR activity.

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The Defense Department is making plans to combat the coronavirus, DOD leaders said during a news conference.

For the past six weeks, defense leaders have been meeting to plan for any possible scenario with the virus that first surfaced in China. "We've issued a variety of [memoranda] and directives advising the force on how to deal with coronavirus," Defense Secretary Dr. Mark T. Esper said.

The DoD civilian and military leadership, including all the service secretaries and combatant command commanders, have worked together to ensure the department is ready for short- and long-term scenarios, as well as domestic and international situations. Esper stressed that commanders at all levels have the authority and guidance they need to operate.

"(U.S. Northern Command) remains the global integrator for all DOD efforts and entities," Esper said. "My number one priority remains to protect our forces and their families; second is to safeguard our mission capabilities and third [is] to support the interagency whole-of-government's approach. We will continue to take all necessary precautions to ensure that our people are safe and able to continue their very important mission."

Army Gen. Mark A. Milley, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said the military has existing plans to combat an infectious disease outbreak. The military is executing those plans.

DoD is communicating regularly with operational commanders to assess how the virus might impact our exercises and ongoing operations around the world, the general said. A command post exercise in South Korea has been postponed, but Exercise Cobra Gold in Thailand is continuing.

Milley also said that military research laboratories are working "feverishly" to try to come up with a vaccine.

Commanders are taking all necessary precautions because the virus is unique to every situation and every location, Esper said. "We're relying on them to make good judgments," he said. As new issues come up, DoD planners will work with all to combat the spread of the virus.

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For any patient who suffers from an opioid overdose, naloxone represents the best shot at reversing the symptoms long enough to receive medical attention. Naloxone provides a temporary antidote for opioid overdose as it gives short-term airway relief. The Food and Drug Administration encourages providers to prescribe naloxone alongside an opioid if patients or their families are at risk for potential overdose. However, naloxone prescriptions carry a stigma due to misconceptions about the drug’s intent.

Last year, representatives from the Defense Health Agency, Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences, and the Defense and Veterans Center for Integrative Pain Management established the Opioid Overdose Education and Naloxone Distribution Program, or OEND. The program was created as a way to reduce the stigma of naloxone as a drug strictly for patients struggling with opioid addiction.

OEND promotes education throughout the Military Health System on naloxone’s life-saving properties. Based on the Department of Veteran Affairs program of the same name, OEND’s goal is to increase co-prescribing of naloxone to reduce opioid-related overdoses and death.

Patients can be at risk for opioid overdose for factors not related to opioid abuse. Conflicts with other medications, underlying medical conditions like lung problems and sleep apnea, and even taking opioids after not taking them for a long time can increase risk of opioid overdose or death. OEND provides information about safe opioid use and naloxone on its website, through social media campaigns, and by train-the-trainer programs for providers. These resources and tools all contribute to what Army Lt. Col. Lori Whitney sees as the program’s top priority: patient safety.

“That is our concern. That is the work we do,” said Whitney, who chairs the Defense Health Agency’s Pain Management Clinical Support Service. “A naloxone prescription along with an opioid is just like having an inhaler for asthma or a fire extinguisher in your kitchen. You’re not planning to have a fire every time you cook, but it could happen. Naloxone is that fire extinguisher for opioid overdose, so you want to have naloxone handy to save a life.”

Whitney expects that use of the OEND Program will increase the number of naloxone prescriptions for at-risk patients and their families when opioids are prescribed. The MHS goal is a 90% prescription rate of naloxone to at-risk patients. The OEND program is one way that the organization will meet this goal and has already been successful at its pilot sites.

OEND was piloted in 2019 at Madigan Army Medical Center at Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Washington, to see how the program affects knowledge and prescription rates of naloxone. The medical staff at Madigan took a multipronged approach, training not only opioid prescribers but also outpatient and clinical pharmacists on best practices for naloxone. Dr. Ji Eun Kim, pharmacist and one of the program leads for OEND at Madigan, emphasized the importance of this approach for opioid safety.

“The first time that a patient is prescribed an opioid is with the medical provider who's prescribing it, so that's our first chance to provide naloxone,” Kim said. “Another opportunity is when the patient goes to the pharmacy and the outpatient pharmacy staff reviews the patient's medication list. The pharmacy staff can also provide naloxone if indicated. That's why we thought it’s important and also necessary to train our outpatient pharmacists. We knew that this would work best as a team effort.”

The team at Madigan measured knowledge and understanding of naloxone both before and after completing the OEND pilot program. Kim said Madigan saw an increase in knowledge and comfort for both providers and pharmacists when it comes to naloxone.

“I think with the current opioid crisis and sometimes negative light around using opioids, patients feel like they have to justify why they’re on the prescription,” Kim said. “We need to be able to have a conversation about it with each other and with our patients. I think OEND is a good program and provides information where the pharmacist and providers feel comfortable about having this discussion.”

Whitney hopes that OEND can help more commands and providers reduce stigma and educate patients on opioid safety so they become more comfortable with accepting a naloxone prescription.

“We want to continue to train the providers to have a conversation with their patients and let them know that the answer to pain management isn’t always opioids,” she said. “But if we're going to give you opioids, we also want to give the lowest effective dose for the shortest amount of effective time and we want to keep you safe while you have them. Naloxone is part of that.”

For more information and resources from the Opioid Overdose Education and Naloxone Distribution Program, visit Health.mil.

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The Department of Defense recommends that adults ages 75 and older should now receive a COVID-19 vaccine as part of its official Vaccination Program across the United States. The DOD and the Military Health System is encouraging all beneficiaries in that age group to access vaccines through their closest military medical treatment facility (MTF).

Each MTF will determine local processes, and whether appointments are required or walk-ins are accepted. Vaccine availability may vary by location, but beneficiaries will be notified when and where the vaccine becomes available to them. There are more than 1.1 million beneficiaries in the

TRICARE For Life

Medicare-wraparound coverage for TRICARE-eligible beneficiaries who have both Medicare Part A and B.TRICARE for Life (TFL) health plan who need to be aware of this critical recommendation.

This age recommendation differs slightly from that of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which recommends vaccinations for those 65 and older.

“All older adults are at greater risk for becoming critically ill if they are infected with SARS-CoV-2, which causes COVID-19. DOD is eager to reach out to this beneficiary population—including those not enrolled at an MTF—and let them know that it’s his or her turn if they so choose,” said Air Force Colonel Tonya Rans, Defense Health Agency’s Chief of the Immunization Healthcare Division. “Offering these safe and effective vaccines through DOD provides another option to those who may not yet have access through their civilian provider or pharmacy.”

There are currently two authorized COVID-19 vaccines in the United States, and each requires two doses to be fully effective. Risk for severe illness with COVID-19 increases with age, with older adults at highest risk, and adults 75 and older are at up to eight times higher risk of hospitalization from COVID-19 infection than younger, healthy adults. Further, all COVID-19 vaccines currently available in the United States have been shown to be highly effective at preventing the disease.

Additionally, second-dose reminders are critical to achieve optimal vaccine effectiveness. Arrangements for scheduling a second dose and setting a reminder can be made while you are getting your first dose. Importantly, vaccines are NOT interchangeable and a vaccine recipient’s second dose must be from the same manufacturer as the first dose.

A reminder to beneficiaries and other personnel: Getting vaccinated yourself may also protect people around you, particularly people at increased risk for severe illness from COVID-19. But even if you have been vaccinated, other COVID-19 safety precautions like masks, social distancing and frequent handwashing should remain in effect until experts better understand the extent of protection that COVID-19 vaccines provide.

Answers to frequently asked questions can be found on this TRICARE page; and at the CDC website. For more COVID-19 information check the Health.mil website. When misleading information circulates, vaccination coverage can fall and increase the risk for outbreaks.

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The Department of Defense announced plans to restructure 50 military hospitals and clinics to better support wartime readiness of military personnel and to improve clinical training for medical forces who deploy in support of combat operations around the world.

Military readiness includes making sure MTFs are operated to ensure service members are medically ready to train and deploy," said Tom McCaffery, assistant secretary of defense for health affairs. "It also means MTFs are effectively utilized as platforms that enable our military medical personnel to acquire and maintain the clinical skills and experience that prepares them for deployment in support of combat operations around the world.”

The restructuring effort focused on strengthening on the prime responsibility of military medical facilities for training medical personnel and “for keeping combat forces healthy and ready to deploy according to readiness and mission requirements – all while ensuring the MHS provides our beneficiaries with access to quality health care,” McCaffery added.

These plans were described and explained in a report sent to Congress earlier today, titled "Restructuring and Realignment of Military Medical Treatment Facilities." This report was required by law under Section 703(d) of the National Defense Authorization Act of 2017, which directed the DoD to analyze its hospital and clinic footprint and submit a plan to Congressional defense committees.

Of the 343 facilities in the United States initially screened for this report, 77 were selected for additional assessment, with 21 identified for no changes.

Of the 50 facilities ultimately designated for restructuring, 37 outpatient clinics now open to all beneficiaries will eventually see primarily only active-duty personnel. Active-duty family members, retirees and their families who currently receive care at those facilities will transition over time to TRICARE's civilian provider network. The report states that seven of these clinics may continue to enroll active duty family members on a space-available basis.

In addition, many active duty-only clinics will continue to provide occupational health services to installation civilian employees related to their employment.

The report acknowledges that transitioning patients from MTFs to the TRICARE network will take time - in some cases several years - and if local TRICARE networks cannot provide access to quality care, DoD will revise implementation plans. "Markets are expected to transition MTF eligibles to the network at different rates and, in certain markets, the transition could take several years," the report states. Detailed implementation plans will be developed through coordination with MTFs, the Defense Health Agency, the Military Departments, and the TRICARE Health Plan.

TRICARE is the health care program for the U.S. armed services. The two most popular plans available to most eligible beneficiaries under 65,

TRICARE Prime

A managed care option available in Prime Service Areas in the United States; you have an assigned primary care manager who provides most of your care.TRICARE Prime and

TRICARE Select

Starting on January 1, 2018, TRICARE Select replaces TRICARE Standard and Extra. TRICARE Select is a self-managed, preferred provider network plan. TRICARE Select is a fee-for-service option in the United States that allows you to get care from any TRICARE-authorized provider. Enrollment is required to participate. TRICARE Select, include morethan 6.7 million enrolled patients. Other plans are targeted for specific beneficiary groups, such as Reservists and those eligible for Medicare.

During his keynote address at the December 2019 annual meeting of the Society of Federal Health Professionals, known as AMSUS, McCaffery offered a broad overview of intentions for changing the scope of operations at certain MTFs in what is known within the MHS as the Direct Care.

Direct care refers to military hospitals and clinics, also known as “military treatment facilities” and “MTFs.”Direct Care System.

"In optimizing the operation of the Direct Care system to most effectively support the MHS readiness mission, we need to identify those areas where we could expand capacity at MTFs that offer potential for sustaining the skills and knowledge of our medical force," McCaffery said during his AMSUS speech. "But we also must examine those areas where facilities do not offer now, and likely will not be able to offer in the future -- a platform for maximizing capabilities to support medical readiness. In those situations, we need to be open to right-sizing MTF services and capabilities so as to ensure that we are using finite resources most efficiently... while not compromising our ability to meet mission."

The final report delivered to Congress contains a summary of all the changes, a description of how each change was made, and supporting data.

For a complete list of military hospital and clinic changes listed in the report, go to http://www.health.mil/MTFrestructuring.

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We all know what dog tags are — those little oval disks on a chain that service members wear to identify themselves in combat. But have you ever wondered how and when that tradition started, and why they're called dog tags?

We did some research to find the answers.

Origins of the "Dog Tag" Nickname

According to the Army Historical Foundation, the term "dog tag" was first coined by newspaper magnate William Randolph Hearst. In 1936, Hearst wanted to undermine support for President Franklin D. Roosevelt's New Deal. He had heard the newly formed Social Security Administration was considering giving out nameplates for personal identification. According to the SSA, Hearst referred to them as "dog tags" similar to those used in the military.

Other rumored origins of the nickname include World War II draftees calling them dog tags because they claimed they were treated like dogs. Another rumor said it was because the tags looked similar to the metal tag on a dog's collar.

Regardless of where the nickname started, the concept of an identification tag originated long before that.

Civil War Concerns

Unofficially, identification tags came about during the Civil War because soldiers were afraid no one would be able to identify them if they died. They were terrified of being buried in unmarked graves, so they found various ways to prevent that. Some marked their clothing with stencils or pinned-on paper tags. Others used old coins or bits of round lead or copper. According to the Marine Corps, some men carved their names into chunks of wood strung around their necks.

Those who could afford it bought engraved metal tags from nongovernment sellers and sutlers — vendors who followed the armies during the war. Historical resources show that in 1862, a New Yorker named John Kennedy offered to make thousands of engraved disks for soldiers, but the War Department declined.

By the end of the Civil War, more than 40% of the Union Army’s dead were unidentified. To bring that into perspective, consider this: Of the more than 17,000 troops buried in Vicksburg National Cemetery, the largest Union cemetery in the U.S., nearly 13,000 of those graves are marked as unknown.

The outcome of the war showed that concerns about identification were valid, and the practice of making identification disks caught on.

Making It Official

The first official request to outfit service members with ID tags came in 1899 at the end of the Spanish-American war. Army Chaplain Charles C. Pierce — who was in charge of the Army Morgue and Office of Identification in the Philippines — recommended the Army outfit all soldiers with the circular disks to identify those who were severely injured or killed in action.

It took a few years, but in December 1906, the Army put out a general order requiring aluminum disc-shaped ID tags be worn by soldiers. The half-dollar size tags were stamped with a soldier's name, rank, company and regiment or corps, and they were attached to a cord or chain that went around the neck. The tags were worn under the field uniform.

The order was modified in July 1916, when a second disc was required to be suspended from the first by a short string or chain. The first tag was to remain with the body, while the second was for burial service record keeping. The tags were given to enlisted men, but officers had to buy them.

The Navy didn't require ID tags until May 1917. By then, all U.S. combat troops were required to wear them. Exact size specifications were put in place, and the tags also included each man's Army-issued serial number. Toward the end of World War I, American Expeditionary Forces in Europe added religious symbols to the tags — C for Catholic, H for Hebrew and P for Protestant — but those markings didn't remain after the war.

Slight Differences

During World War I, Navy tags were a bit different than Army's. Made of monel — a group of nickel alloys — they had the letters "U.S.N." etched on them using a specific process involving printer's ink, heat and nitric acid. If you were enlisted, the etching included your date of birth and enlistment, while officers' included their date of appointment. The biggest difference was the etched print of each sailor's right index finger on the back, which was meant to safeguard against fraud, an accident or misuse.

According to the Naval History and Heritage Command, the ID tags weren't used in between World War I and World War II. They were reinstated in May 1941, but by then, the etching process was replaced with mechanical stamping.

Meanwhile, the Marines had been required to wear ID tags since late 1916. Theirs were a mix of the Army and Navy styles.

World War II

By World War II, military ID tags were considered an official part of the uniform and had evolved into the uniform size and shape they are today — a rounded rectangle made of nickel-copper alloy.

Each was mechanically stamped with your name, rank, service number, blood type and religion, if desired. An emergency notification name and address were initially included on these, but they were removed by the end of the war. They also included a "T" for those who had a tetanus vaccination, but by the 1950s that, too, was eliminated.

During World War II, Navy tags no longer included the fingerprint. By the war's end, they also included the second chain that the Army had implemented decades before.

At this time, all military tags included a notch in one end. Historians say the notch was there due to the type of machine used to stamp the tags. By the 1970s, those machines were replaced, so the tags issued today are now smooth on both sides.

Dog Tags Today

Regulations have gone back and forth regarding whether the two tags should stay together or be separated. In 1959, procedure was changed to keep both dog tags with the service member if they died. But by Vietnam, it was changed back to the original regulation of taking one tag and leaving the other.

For Marines, a person's gas mask size was eventually included on the tags.

By 1969, the Army began to transition from serial numbers to Social Security numbers. That lasted about 45 years until 2015, when the Army began removing Social Security numbers from the tags and replacing them with each soldier's Defense Department identification number. The move safeguarded soldiers' personally identifiable information and helped protect against identity theft.

Considerable technological advances have come along since Vietnam, including the ability to use DNA to identify remains. But despite these advancements, dog tags are still issued to service members today. They're a reminder of America's efforts to honor all those who have served — especially those who made the ultimate sacrifice.

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Fox Chase-area Pharmacy was the Top Retail Purchaser of Oxycodone in Pennsylvania

PHILADELPHIA – United States Attorney Jennifer Arbittier Williams announced that the United States filed an amended civil complaint against pharmacist Todd Goodman and pharmacy employees Eric Pestrack and Lee Kamp for their alleged involvement in years-long practices of illegally dispensing opioids and other controlled substances, and systematic health care fraud, at Philadelphia-based pharmacy Spivack, Inc., which previously operated under the name Verree Pharmacy. These individuals were added as defendants in the previously filed lawsuit against Verree and its former owner, pharmacist Mitchell Spivack, for the same alleged schemes. The amended complaint continues to seek civil penalties and civil damages, which could total in the millions of dollars, as well as injunctive relief.

The lawsuit, in which Goodman, Pestrack, and Kamp were added, was the culmination of a multi-year federal-state investigation. The amended complaint alleges that Verree Pharmacy, Spivack, Goodman, Pestrack, and Kamp had a responsibility to dispense opioids and other controlled substances only when appropriate. Instead, the United States alleges that Verree and these individuals dispensed the drugs, even when faced with numerous red flags suggestive of diversion—such as opioids in extreme doses, dangerous combinations of opioids and other “cocktail” drugs preferred by those struggling with addiction, excessive cash payments for the drugs, blatantly forged prescriptions, and other signs that the pills were being diverted for illegal purposes.

The amended complaint alleges that Verree—which was the top retail pharmacy purchasing oxycodone in Pennsylvania—has been a nationwide and regional outlier in its deviant purchasing, dispensing, and billing of controlled substances. To avoid scrutiny from the drug distributors that sold them the pills, Verree through Spivack allegedly made false statements to maintain the façade of legitimacy and keep the pharmacy stocked with pills critical to its profits. Behind that façade, the amended complaint alleges that Spivack drew millions of dollars from the pharmacy while the public suffered the consequences, including one patient who overdosed and died next to Verree Pharmacy bottles dispensed by Spivack.

The United States’ amended complaint also alleges that Verree, Spivack, Goodman, Pestrack, and Kamp were engaging in an expansive health care fraud scheme involving fraudulent billings for drugs not actually dispensed. The alleged cornerstone of the scheme was a code used by the pharmacy employees in their internal computer system: “BBDF” or “Bill But Don’t Fill.” Verree, Spivack, Goodman, Pestrack, and Kamp allegedly used BBDF as a means to cover their losses on other drugs and further the pharmacy’s illicit profits by falsely claiming to insurers, including Medicare, that they had dispensed a drug to a patient, when in fact they had not. According to the amended complaint, this sophisticated fraud—which one of the employees admitted to investigators—resulted in significant losses to Medicare and other federal programs.

The lawsuit seeks to impose civil penalties and damages on Verree, Spivack, Goodman, Pestrack, and Kamp under the Controlled Substances and False Claims Acts. If Verree, Spivack, Goodman, Pestrack, and Kamp are found liable, they could face civil penalties up to $68,426 for each unlawful prescription dispensed, civil penalties up to $23,607 for each false claim they submitted to federal health care programs, and treble damages for the alleged health care fraud against federal programs. The court may also award injunctive relief to prevent the defendants from committing additional controlled substance violations.

If the public has any information regarding Verree Pharmacy or any other health care fraud allegation, individuals should contact the HHS-OIG hotline at 800-HHS-TIPS.

The case is being investigated by the Philadelphia Field Division of the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Pennsylvania Department of State’s Bureau of Enforcement and Investigation, HHS-OIG, and the Pennsylvania Office of the Attorney General, with additional assistance from the Office of Personnel Management Office of Inspector General, the Defense Health Agency, and the Defense Criminal Investigative Service. The civil investigation and litigation are being handled by Assistant United States Attorney Anthony D. Scicchitano and auditors Dawn Wiggins and George Niedzwicki.

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Doctor submitted bills to state and federal medical programs for tests that were not conducted

Seattle – The U.S. Department of Justice and a Federal Way, Washington general-practice doctor have settled allegations that the doctor billed government health programs for urine drug tests that were never performed or performed too late to be useful, announced U.S. Attorney Nick Brown. Dr. Vuthy Leng is the sole owner and operator of Family Medicine Clinic of Federal Way LLC. Dr. Leng will pay state and federal health programs $228,000 to resolve allegations that Dr. Leng billed government health programs for useless urine drug tests.

According to the settlement agreement, the Federal Way clinic had a certified lab, capable of performing urine drug tests so that patients could be screened for appropriate prescribing of medications including substance use disorder treatment. Between January 1, 2019 and July 30, 2019, Dr. Leng submitted bills to Medicare and Medicaid for urine drug tests. In fact, for long periods during this timeframe, the medical equipment for testing urine was broken, the samples were simply frozen for testing at a later date. Some were never tested at all.

While not admitting the allegations in the settlement, Leng will pay $76,000 in restitution to the government medical programs. Under the False Claims Act, the government can seek treble damages resulting in an additional $152,000 to be paid by Dr. Leng over the next 12 months. The amount will be split between the state and federal programs based on the share each paid of the false bills.

Under the terms of the settlement each party will pay their own legal fees.

The matter was investigated by the Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General (HHS-OIG) and the Washington State Health Care Authority and Washington Attorney General Medicaid Fraud Division.

Assistant United States Attorney Nickolas Bohl negotiated the settlement for the U.S. Department of Justice.

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BOSTON – A Dominican national pleaded guilty yesterday in federal court in Boston to false statement and Social Security fraud charges.

Juan Baez, 57, who previously resided in Roslindale, pleaded guilty to one count of false representation of a Social Security number and one count of making a false statement relating to health care matters. U.S. District Court Judge William G. Young scheduled sentencing for Oct. 4, 2021.

Baez used the identity of a Puerto Rican citizen to obtain Massachusetts driver’s licenses and identification cards. He also used the identity to apply for and receive MassHealth benefits. Between Jan. 1, 2008 and Dec. 31, 2019, Baez fraudulently received approximately $18,977 in federally funded MassHealth benefits he was not entitled to by using the victim’s identity.

The charge of false representation of a Social Security number provides for a sentence of up to five years in prison, three years of supervised release and a fine of $250,000 or twice the gross gain or loss, whichever is greater. The charge of making a false statement relating to health care matters provides for a sentence of up to five years in prison, three years of supervised release and a fine of $250,000 or twice the gross gain or loss, whichever is greater. Sentences are imposed by a federal district court judge based upon the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

Acting United States Attorney Nathaniel R. Mendell; Tonya Perkins, Special Agent in Charge of the Social Security Administration, Office of Inspector General, Boston Field Office; William S. Walker, Acting Special Agent in Charge of Homeland Security Investigations in Boston; Philip M. Coyne, Special Agent in Charge or the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of the Inspector General, Office of Investigations; and Suzanne M. Bump, State Auditor of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts made the announcement today. Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Karen Burzycki of Mendell’s Major Crimes Unit is prosecuting the case.

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BOSTON – A Dominican national previously residing in Taunton pleaded guilty today to false representation of a Social Security number and making a false statement relating to health care matters.

Reynold Pereyra Diaz, 39, pleaded guilty to one count of false representation of a Social Security number and one count of making a false statement relating to a federal health care program. U.S. District Court Judge Allison D. Burroughs deferred acceptance of the plea until sentencing, which is scheduled for Nov.18, 2021. Pereyra Diaz was arrested and charged in December 2019.

Pereyra Diaz used the name and identifiers of a U.S. citizen for at least 18 years, including to obtain a Massachusetts driver’s license and to apply for MassHealth benefits. In addition, during a traffic stop in 2015, Pereyra Diaz provided police with a driver’s license in the victim’s name and was found in possession of 15 baggies containing a substance believe to be cocaine located in a hidden compartment of his vehicle. As a result, Pereyra Diaz was indicted under the victim’s name on drug trafficking charges, which were later dropped. Pereyra Diaz also applied for a $48,000 car loan under the victim’s identity in 2016.

A search of Pereyra Diaz’s residence in December 2018 recovered a marriage license under his true name as well as a driver’s license, birth certificate, Social Security card and bank cards under the victim’s stolen identity.

The investigation was conducted by Homeland Security’s Investigation’s Document and Benefit Fraud Task Force (DBFTF), a specialized field investigative group comprised of personnel from various local, state, and federal agencies with expertise in detecting, deterring, and disrupting organizations and individuals involved in various types of document, identity, and benefit fraud schemes.

The charges of false representation of a Social Security number and making a false statement relating to a federal health care program each provide for a sentence of up to five years in prison, three years of supervised release and a fine of $250,000. Sentences are imposed by a federal district court judge based on the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

Acting United States Attorney Nathaniel R. Mendell; Matthew B. Millhollin, Special Agent in Charge of Homeland Security Investigations in Boston; and Phillip M. Coyne, Special Agent in Charge of the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services, Office of Inspector General, made the announcement today. Valuable assistance was provided by the Social Security Administration, Office of Inspector General, Office of Investigations; U.S. Postal Inspection Service; U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Enforcement and Removal Operations; U.S. Department of State, Diplomatic Security Service; U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Office of Inspector General; U.S. Department of Labor, Office of Inspector General; and the Lynn, Lawrence and Taunton Police Departments. Assistant U.S. Attorney Benjamin A. Saltzman of Mendell’s Major Crimes Unit is prosecuting the case.

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BOSTON – A Dominican national was sentenced today in federal court in Boston for false representation of a Social Security number and making a false statement relating to health care matters.

Ronald Lara Pena, 35, a Dominican national previously residing in Lawrence, was sentenced by U.S. Senior District Court Judge Rya W. Zobel to 13 months in prison and three years of supervised release. Lara Pena will be subject to deportation proceedings upon completion of his sentence. On July 21, 2021, Lara Pena pleaded guilty to one count of false representation of a Social Security number and one count of making a false statement relating to health care matters.

Lara Pena used the identity of a Puerto Rican citizen to obtain Massachusetts driver’s licenses and identification cards and used the victim’s identity to apply for and fraudulently receive over $12,600 in federally funded MassHealth benefits between September 2015 and September 2020.

Acting United States Attorney Nathaniel R. Mendell; Jack Jermaine, Acting Special Agent in Charge of the Social Security Administration, Office of Inspector General, Boston Field Office; Matthew B. Millhollin, Special Agent in Charge of Homeland Security Investigations in Boston; Phillip M. Coyne, Special Agent in Charge of U.S. Department of Health & Human Services, Office of the Inspector General, Office of Investigations, Boston Regional Office; and Suzanne M. Bump, State Auditor of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts made the announcement today. Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Karen Burzycki of Mendell’s Major Crimes Unit prosecuted the case.

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PROVIDENCE – A Dominican national who operated a drug stash house and arranged for the sale of fentanyl on multiple occasions, and who used the stolen identity and Social Security number of another person to gain Rhode Island Medicaid benefits and Rhode Island driver’s licenses and permits, was sentenced today to seven years in federal prison, announced Acting United States Attorney Richard B. Myrus.

Jeurin Celado, 31, was sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge William E. Smith to 96 months of incarceration to be followed by four years of federal supervised release and ordered to pay restitution in the amount of $4,726.50 to the Rhode Island Medicaid Program. Celado pleaded guilty on April 2, 2021, to false representation of a Social Security number, aggravated identity theft, health care fraud, and conspiracy to distribute fentanyl.

At the time of his guilty plea, Celado admitted to the court that from 2010 until August 2019, he used the name, date of birth, and Social Security number of a person he does not know to obtain permits and driver’s licenses from the Rhode Island Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV).

In addition, Celado admitted that beginning in August 2014 and continuing through July 2018, he used the same stolen identity and Social Security number to obtain Rhode Island Medicaid benefits, health insurance that as a non-United States citizen he was ineligible to receive. Celado obtained Medicaid benefits valued at approximately $4,726.50.

Additionally, according to information presented to the court, in August and September 2019, an undercover drug investigation by the Woonsocket Police Department included arranging for four undercover purchases of fentanyl from a person known as “Tony.” On each occasion, “Tony” directed the buyer to a location where that person was met by a “runner” who delivered the drugs in exchange for cash. The investigation determined that “Tony” was, in fact, Jeurin Celado, and that he was using an apartment in Manville as a stash house and a location to cut and prepare drugs for delivery. On October 7, 2019, during a court-authorized search of the apartment, law enforcement discovered between 40 and 400 grams of fentanyl and other items consistent with a drug distribution operation.

The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Dulce Donovan.

The various investigations into Celado’s criminal activities were conducted by the Woonsocket Police Department, Homeland Security Investigations, and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Inspector General.

Acting United States Attorney Myrus acknowledges and thanks the United States Marshals Service for its assistance in locating and assisting in the arrest of the defendant.

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Donald Stratton, one of the last USS Arizona survivors from Pearl Harbor who fought for the recognition of one of his heroic shipmates, died Saturday night in his sleep, his granddaughter told Fox News.

Stratton died of natural causes in Colorado Springs, Colo., his family said. He was 97.

The Navy Veteran said it wasn't until 2001, during a reunion of Pearl Harbor survivors, that he discovered the identity of the U.S. service member who saved his life and the lives of at least five other sailors: Chief Petty Officer Joe George, who died in 1996.

Stratton and Lauren Bruner, another Arizona survivor, lobbied hard for George to be recognized. Both traveled to Washington, D.C., in 2017 to meet President Trump in the White House and then-Defense Secretary Jim Mattis at the Pentagon.

Stratton said he and others trapped aboard the sinking Arizona had struggled mightily to escape the carnage, which killed 1,177 of his shipmates, after Japanese planes struck the Arizona several times on Dec. 7, 1941. "We got hit with the big bomb and that exploded like a million pounds of ammunition. The fireball went about 60, 70 feet in the air."

He said George threw them a lifeline from his own ship, which was moored next to the Arizona.

"We proceeded to go hand over hand across the line about 70 feet" off the burning warship, Stratton said, adding that the toughest part was reaching the middle of the sagging line stretched across two ships, and climbing up to the other ship.

Still, George "kept saying, 'Come on sailor! You can make it,'" Stratton recalled. The attack left Stratton with burns over 60 percent of his body, costing him his fingerprints and leaving permanent scars.

Recollections from George himself ultimately emerged; he spoke to the University of North Texas in 1978 for an oral history documenting the attack. There were "people over on the Arizona that were trying to get off, and there was fire all around," he said. "I threw a line over."

Later in 2017, the Navy finally awarded George a posthumous Bronze Star with valor, an award many of his supporters said was long overdue.

"I was aboard the USS Arizona on the morning of December 7, 1941. The courage I saw in our men was astonishing," Stratton wrote in his 2016 book, "All the Gallant Men." "Acts of individual heroism could be witnessed everywhere you looked. Men being strafed as they brought boxes of ammo up ladders to the antiaircraft guns. Other men carrying their wounded buddies to safety, trying desperately to stanch their bleeding. Still others in small boats, navigating through the fiery sea, pulling oil-soaked sailors from the water. Many putting out fires on board their ships. All the while these men were dodging enemy bullets that were cutting everything around them to shreds, including their fellow sailors."

Stratton's granddaughter, Nikki, told Fox News he died "peacefully" with family by his side, including his wife of nearly 70 years, Velma.

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Doris “Dorie” Miller was an unsung hero of World War II. His bravery during Japan’s surprise attack on Pearl Harbor helped to save countless lives.

Miller was born on October 12, 1919, in Waco, Texas. He worked on the family farm with his three brothers until September 16, 1939, when Miller enlisted in the Navy to earn extra money for his family. Miller completed training at the Naval Training Station in Norfolk, Virginia, where he was promoted to Mess Attendant Third Class. This was one of the only positions available to African-Americans at the time, due to Navy segregation.

Following his promotion, Miller was assigned to the USS Pyro, where he served as a mess attendant before being transferred in 1940 to the USS West Virginia. It was there that Miller became the ship’s heavy-weight boxing champion, earning the respect of his compatriots.

On December 7, 1941, Miller woke up early to begin his workday. As he began collecting the ship’s laundry, an alarm from General Quarters sounded. Miller raced for his battle station, the anti-aircraft battery magazine amidships. But when he got to his position, he found it destroyed by torpedo. Miller returned to deck, and because of his physical prowess, was assigned to help carry his fellow wounded sailors to safety. He carried several men to safe quarters, then retrieved the ship’s injured captain, Mervyn Bennion.

Then, without rest, and before being ordered to abandon ship, Miller fired an unmanned .50-caliber Browning anti-aircraft machine gun until it ran out of ammunition. When asked how he managed to fire with such prowess, Miller said, “It wasn’t hard. I just pulled the trigger and she worked fine. I had watched the others with these guns. I guess I fired her for about fifteen minutes. I think I got one of those Jap planes. They were diving pretty close to us.”

The USS West Virginia sank to the bottom of the harbor. Of the ship’s 1,541 men, 130 were killed and 52 wounded. For his actions, Miller was commended by the Secretary of the Navy Frank Knox on April 1, 1942. On May 27, 1942, he was awarded the Navy Cross by the Pacific Fleet’s Commander in Chief, Fleet Admiral Chester W. Nimitz.

On November 24, 1943, a Japanese torpedo struck the USS Liscome Bay off the coast of Buritaritari Island. Two-thirds of the crew died or went missing—including Miller.

Doris Miller’s legacy paved the way for other African-American service members to serve in combat roles. And his likeness was used in Navy recruitment drives, including an iconic World War II enlistment poster featuring the words, “Above and beyond the call of duty.”

In addition to the Navy Cross, Doris Miller received the Purple Heart, the American Defense Service Medal – Fleet Clasp, Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal, and the World War II Victory Medal. In 1973, the Knox-class frigate USS Miller was named in his honor.

We honor his service.

More about Miller’s service is at https://www.hilbert.edu/social-justice-activists/doris-(dorie)-miller.

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LOS ANGELES –SuperCare Health, Inc., a Downey-based provider of home respiratory services and durable medical equipment, has agreed to pay $3,315,308 to resolve allegations that it defrauded public health care programs by billing for ventilator services that were not medically necessary or reasonable, the Justice Department announced today.

SuperCare entered into a settlement agreement with the United States and two states – California and Nevada – in a federal False Claims Act case that a federal judge unsealed today.

The allegations in this case stem from SuperCare providing non-invasive ventilators, also known as NIVs, for home use by respiratory patients in California and Nevada. Medicare and Medicaid provide a monthly reimbursement for a patient’s rental of an NIV, so long as the NIV is necessary or reasonable for the patient’s treatment.

Between May 2013 and October 2019, according to the lawsuit, SuperCare submitted, or caused others to submit, bogus claims to Medicare and Medicaid. SuperCare allegedly billed public health programs for NIV rentals even when patients no longer needed the NIVs or were no longer using them.

The settlement resolves allegations brought in a 2018 lawsuit filed under the qui tam, or whistleblower, provisions of the False Claims Act by Benjamin Martinez Jr., a respiratory therapist who worked for SuperCare. These provisions permit private parties to sue on behalf of the government for false claims for government funds and to share in any recovery. Mr. Martinez will receive more than $612,000 from the federal government as his share of the settlement amount.

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Inspector General investigated this case.

Assistant United States Attorney Ross M. Cuff of the Civil Division’s Civil Fraud Section negotiated the settlement for the government.

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On Feb. 19, 1945, more than 70,000 U.S. Marines conducted an amphibious assault to take the Island of Iwo Jima from fortified Japanese forces. Over the next 36 days nearly 7,000 Marines would be killed during the battle, which is regarded as one of the bloodiest of World War II, as they faced hidden enemy artillery, machine guns, vast bunker systems and underground tunnels. Of the 82 Marines who earned the Medal of Honor during all of World War II, 22 medals were earned for actions on Iwo Jima.

Now, 75 years later, 28 Marines and Sailors who fought on Iwo Jima gathered to remember the battle at the 75th and final commemoration sunset ceremony Feb. 15, 2020, at the Pacific Views Event Center on Camp Pendleton, California.

"It's very special to be a part of this ceremony," said William "Bill" Wayne, an Iwo Jima Veteran whose fellow Marines of Easy Company, 2nd Battalion, 28th Marines, 5th Marine Division, raised the flag on Mount Suribachi. "I get a real kick out of coming and seeing everyone and talking to the young Marines."

In 1945, the 3rd, 4th and 5th Marine Divisions landed at Iwo Jima as part of V Amphibious Corps, a large type of composited unit which evolved over the decades since into units in today's Marine Corps, such as I Marine Expeditionary Force.

"These Marines and Sailors who fought on Iwo Jima are made of grit, determination and a fighting spirit to succeed. This same eternal spirit is embodied by our Marines and Sailors serving today," said Lt. Gen. Joseph L. Osterman, commanding general, I MEF. "Our force stands just as ready to fight and win in an increasingly contested Indo-Pacific area, largely in part because of the sacrifices and lessons learned from those Marines and Sailors who fought in battles like Iwo Jima 75 years ago."

The Iwo Jima Commemorative Committee, along with Marine Corps Installations – West, hosted the Veterans on Feb. 13 for a tour of tour of Camp Pendleton's facilities, where they had a chance to share their legacy with present day Marines while sharing a meal at a base dining facility. The Iwo Jima Veterans also toured Marine Corps Recruit Depot San Diego on Feb. 14. The sunset commemoration ceremony is the signature event of their three-day visit, and has been hosted by Camp Pendleton for more than 30 years.

According to Jerry Blandford, a retired Marine Corps master sergeant and committee coordinator, the Iwo Jima Veterans do a little bit of everything. They visit the Marine Memorial Garden, eat lunch with young Marines and on Saturday they attend the culminating ceremony.

The two-part ceremony began around sunset, and as the crowd grew still, all eyes were focused on the two uniformed Marines who slowly walked forward carrying a wreath and placed it in front of the Iwo Jima memorial here. The silence was broken by the tolling of the mission bell ringing for those who didn't return from the island's black sand beaches.

"It's on their backs that our reputation as Marines stands," said Blandford. "We owe them a debt of gratitude. The world would be a whole different place had it not been for them."

As the group remembered the nearly 7,000 killed in the battle in rapt silence, a Marine artilleryman standing nearby raised and then sharply lowered his arm. "FIRE!" Instantly, the shaking boom of a ceremonial howitzer cannon fired, and the three cannons fired in time until all seven volleys from the each of the canons sounded the 21-gun salute.

"Normally the 21-gun salute is reserved for presidents and funerals. The Marine Corps has made an exception for the purpose of saying goodbye to their fallen brethren," said Blandford.

As the noise from the guns faded and the smoke cleared, the shrill and somber notes of "Taps" were played by a pair of Marines from the 1st Marine Division Band and the storied faces of the Iwo Jima Veterans could be seen with looks of reflection as many of them stood and saluted. Seventy-five years ago they were young men storming a beach. Today, they are the "Old Breed" being honored by the next generation of Marines who have taken up their mantle.

"If not for them, then who would we ever do it for? I think we because we can't do any less, and I'm happy to be a part of this to pay it forward," said Blandford.

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VA has always been here for Veterans — and we will continue to be here for you during the COVID-19 crisis. Whether you need a prescription, telemedicine or in-person care, you can rely on VA. Here is a recent message from Dr. Richard Stone, executive in charge of the Veterans Health Administration and a former U.S. Army combat physician.

My name is Rich Stone. I have the privilege of being the executive in charge of the Veterans health care system. What that means is I get to lead the health care system that you and I use as Veterans.

I, like you, am a Veteran. I get my care at VA hospitals, and all of these events regarding coronavirus are frankly concerning for the continuity of my own health care as well as yours. I know you’re all concerned, and I want to talk to you today about the types of things that you can do to help us and help your fellow Veterans get through this crisis.

Number one, I want to reassure you that we will be here for you throughout this crisis. There will always be capacity in our system for you as a Veteran to be seen should you choose to do so. In addition, our community care program continues to work hard to make sure that civilian doctors are available if that’s what you choose.

But in times of great pressure on the health care systems with increasing numbers of coronavirus patients, it could be that your civilian provider is not available. I want you to know that we are. I would ask you to call your local VA Medical Center, talk to them. It may take us a few minutes to answer the phone during periods of very high demand, but we will be here.

We’ll help you refill a prescription. We’ll do a telemedicine visit if that’s appropriate, and we’ll see you in person if you need us. We are going to be here just like we have been for the last hundred years. And if you have any questions, talk to your provider. Call us, and we look forward to working with you as we work our way through these unprecedented times. Thank you very much.

For the latest VA updates on COVID-19, visit https://www.va.gov/coronavirus

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VA’s expanded Community Care program highlights recruitment needs in key medical specialties

The success of VA’s new Community Care program is contributing to an increased number of Veterans accessing care and revealing VA career recruitment needs in key medical specialties, according to VHA Executive in Charge Dr. Richard Stone, who testified on Sept. 25 before the House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs Subcommittee on Health.

Launched on June 6 as part of the MISSION Act, the Community Care program aims to provide Veterans with more options for timely, high-quality healthcare by streamlining all aspects of community care provisions, including eligibility, authorization, appointments, and claims and payments.

Revealing hiring needs

The Community Care program has already received more than 1 million consultations, fueled in part by an 80,000 increase in the number of Veteran patients accessing VA care. Although this is a strong tribute to the initial success of the program, Stone recognized a residual need to hire more medical specialists to accommodate VA’s growth.

“We have some very difficult areas in the country where we have trouble recruiting,” he said, specifically citing growing demand for providers in gastroenterology, neurology, neurosurgery and orthopedic surgery.

With 1.6 million more ambulatory appointments this year than in fiscal 2018, Stone said VA may need legislative relief to accomplish its more ambitious recruitment goals. He noted that VHA is already transforming its human resources and workforce management protocols in preparation for even more Veterans choosing VA for their healthcare needs.

Providing greater access to care

“The bottom line is, the MISSION Act is a success,” Stone said. “We have improved how we do all aspects of our business, from scheduling of appointments to referring Veterans to specialists, thus resulting in enhanced services for our enrolled Veterans.”

Committee members of both parties largely agreed that VHA’s implementation of the Community Care program has been instrumental in expanding Veterans’ access to quality care.

“Our priority remains the integration of Veterans’ care, when and where they need it,” Stone said.

Choose VA today

If you’re a physician, surgeon or medical specialist, consider joining a growing team helping more than 9 million Veterans feel better, faster. Take a closer look at the benefits of a VA career and consider choosing VA today.

• WATCH the hearing.
• VISIT the VA Careers booth at the American College of Gastroenterology conference on Oct. 25 in San Antonio or check out other upcoming events.
• SEARCH VA careers at VAcareers.va.gov (enter keywords into the search box to locate VA openings in your occupation).
• EXPLORE the benefits of VA employment.
• CONTACT a recruiter through the Virtual Recruitment Center.

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For many years, researchers have looked for objective measures to help diagnose traumatic brain injury or post-traumatic stress disorders.

Information from the Defense and Veterans Brain Injury Center’s 15-year natural history study is assisting medical researchers in determining whether a protein found in a patient’s blood could be a promising candidate for future diagnostic tools.

A blow to the head is one of the ways a service member can sustain a TBI, and after witnessing psychologically disturbing events, they may also experience PTSD. Diagnosing these can be complex as they have similar symptoms that can be compounded when both are present.

Since 2000, more than 400,000 active-duty service members have been diagnosed with TBI, according to figures from DVBIC, the Department Department’s center of excellence for traumatic brain injury and a division of the Defense Health Agency Research and Development Directorate. However, a statistic revealing those co-presenting with PTSD has not been compiled.

In a 2018 research review on mild TBI (mTBI) and PTSD, the DVBIC noted that “differential diagnosis will likely continue to be a challenge.”

Jessica Gill, a researcher at the National Institutes of Health, and Dr. Kimbra Kenney, an associate professor of neurology at the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences, both located in Bethesda, Maryland, are currently examining patients’ blood to see whether it can help in diagnosing and treating TBI.

“By pairing advances in the laboratory, we are now able to detect very small proteins in the blood that provide key insights into pathology that contribute to long-term symptoms in military personnel and Veterans with TBIs, as well with PTSDs,” said Gill.

At a recent conference, Kenney explained how specific types of blood proteins were significantly elevated among those with concussions, compared to subjects who had been deployed but not sustained TBIs. Blood samples are being collected at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center as part of their research in a study of the natural history of TBI funded by the DoD and Department of Veterans Affairs.

In another project using data from the 15-year natural history study, researchers are examining blood proteins in subjects who had both sustained a TBI and reported PTSD symptoms. Earlier studies had shown that tau and amyloid-beta-42 proteins indicated the presence of TBI; now researchers believe the presence of both proteins could reveal individuals with both TBI and PTSD.

Study participants consisted of 107 service members. Evidence of TBI was obtained from medical records and interviews at Walter Reed Bethesda. Most participants were diagnosed with a mild traumatic brain injury while the remaining subjects experienced an injury unrelated to TBI but did not lose consciousness. Each participant provided a blood sample and completed a detailed questionnaire. Three groups were formed: those with both TBI and PTSD; those with some other injury and no PTSD; and those with TBI but no PTSD.

The researchers found “tau in plasma is significantly elevated in military personnel who have sustained an mTBI and display concurrent PTSD symptomology.” This finding agrees with earlier civilian studies. Following a TBI, tau elevations are associated with poor recoveries and greater neurological problems.

These studies may show relationships between neurological outcomes and changes at the molecular level. “The novel design of the 15-year study provides the first longitudinal data to untangle complex pathological processes that result in lasting neurological and psychological symptoms and impairments,” Gill said. “By better understanding these processes, we can personalize the care we provide to treat military personnel and Veterans to have the biggest impact on their health and well-being.”

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TULSA, Okla. (KTUL) — The Eastern Oklahoma VA vaccinated 800 Veterans at the Eastgate Metroplex in Tulsa on Saturday.

This was the largest clinic hosted by the VA. They have distributed 200 to 300 vaccines a day before this effort.

"We've been planning this for several weeks," said Mark Morgan. CEO and Health Care System Director for Eastern Oklahoma VA Health Care System. "As we get more vaccines we are contacting more Veterans and more Veterans are also contacting us."

Morgan said the winter storm pushed back the event.

More than 50 staff members helped the Veterans at the clinic.

Pharmacists prepared the vaccine at the location and five drive-thru tents were set to administer the doses.

Ed Burnett, a Vietnam Veteran and Oklahoma Purple Heart recipient said the process only took about 10 minutes.

"I don’t think they’re going to steer me wrong, so I took advantage of it as soon as I could," Burnett said.

He received his second dose of the Moderna vaccine at the clinic.

"I have heard guys say they are not sure yet because they haven’t heard enough data but I went ahead and got it," said Burnett.

The Eastern Oklahoma VA plans to host more mass vaccination clinics.

They also received doses of the Johnson and Johnson vaccine that will be distributed in rural parts of Green Country.

"This is going to be a regular event for us," said Morgan. "We will be having events like this in Tulsa, also we will continue with drive-thru clinics in Muskogee, and then we’ll also do different events down in McAlester and up in Vinita as well."

Veterans who are enrolled in VA health care are eligible to book an appointment by calling 888-397-8387.

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The COVID-19 pandemic has brought many changes to how we live daily life. Social distancing, quarantine, and isolation can overwhelm and cause feelings of insecurity, confusion, hopelessness, and, ultimately, depression.

The National Institute for Mental Health within the National Institutes of Health defines depression as a common but serious mood disorder that negatively affects how a person feels, thinks, and handles daily activities such as sleeping, eating, and working. People dealing with depression typically experience one or more of the following symptoms:

• Persistent sad or “empty” mood
• Feelings of hopelessness, or pessimism
• Irritability
• Feelings of guilt, worthlessness, or helplessness
• Loss of interest or pleasure in hobbies and activities
• Decreased energy or fatigue
• Difficulty concentrating, remembering, or making decisions
• Difficulty sleeping, early-morning awakening, or oversleeping
• Appetite and/or weight changes
• Thoughts of death or suicide, or suicide attempts
• Aches or pains, headaches, cramps, or digestive problems without a clear physical cause and/or that do not ease with treatment

We all have days when we feel down, but when the periods of sadness persist and are severe enough to impact daily functioning, it may be time to assess your emotional health by completing a self-assessment. A free, anonymous, and confidential mental health screening can be found at the Department of Veterans Affairs website. Screening results are educational, not diagnostic, but are provided so participants may find out quickly if a consultation with a mental health professional would be helpful.

Learning self-care strategies can help you take charge of your life and improve your mental and physical health. A few guiding principles can help all of us cope effectively during this time is to focus on what we can control.

• Keep routines as much as possible. Maintaining structure and routine is critical because it reinforces order and predictability, and is something over which we have control.
• Stay connected. Identify friends and family that you can check in with regularly. Video teleconferencing, phone calls, and other social media platforms can be a great way to connect family and friends.
• Take breaks from listening to the news. Constant news about COVID-19 from all types of media can heighten fears about the disease. If the news cycle impacts mood and increases stress levels, it may be time to limit exposure.
• Engage in self-care. Participate in regular physical activity to reduce stress and improve mood. Eat healthy, nutritious foods and drink plenty of water. Avoid tobacco, alcohol and drugs. Get at least seven hours of sleep each night.
• Protect personal and family health. Wash hands frequently and thoroughly, wear a mask in public, and practice social distancing from people outside the household.

What’s the difference between a few bad days or weeks and clinical depression that requires help? A consultation with a mental health professional is recommended when feelings or tendencies have lasted for more than two weeks. Don’t be afraid to reach out.

Getting support plays an essential role in coping with depression. Professional counseling services are available for all Department of Defense beneficiaries and their families.

Military members can contact their local mental health clinic for services. Military OneSource is another option for military and their families. For more information, call (800) 342-9647 or visit the Military Onesource website.

Civilian employees may contact the Employee Assistance Program for free, confidential counseling services at (866) 580-9078 or visit the EAP website.

Comprehensive information on mental health can be found at the National Institute of Mental Health website.

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MADISON, WIS. – Timothy M. O’Shea, Acting United States Attorney for the Western District of Wisconsin, announced that Dr. Ravi Murali, 39, formerly of Edgerton, Wisconsin, was sentenced today by Chief U.S. District Judge James D. Peterson to 54 months in federal prison for Dr. Murali’s role in a scheme to defraud Medicare. Dr. Murali pleaded guilty to this charge on March 31, 2021.

Dr. Murali wrote thousands of fraudulent orders for Durable Medical Equipment (DME). Other participants in the scheme used Dr. Murali’s fraudulent orders to bill Medicare $26,000,000 of which Medicare paid $13,000,000.

At sentencing, Chief Judge Peterson emphasized that a severe sentence was necessary to deter other providers who were considering whether to defraud Medicare and other federal programs. Further, Chief Judge Peterson noted that Dr. Murali’s history of dishonesty—he was previously disciplined by the Wisconsin Medical Examining Board for creating a fraudulent diploma to falsely claim that he completed residency—cut in favor of a longer sentence.

The charge against Dr. Murali was the result of an investigation conducted by the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services, Office of Inspector General and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Zachary J. Corey handled the prosecution.

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Two Texas companies have agreed to pay a combined $15.3 million to resolve allegations of kickbacks and other misconduct resulting in the submission of false claims to federal health care programs.

According to the settlement, Alliance Family of Companies LLC (Alliance), a national electroencephalography (EEG) testing company based in Texas, will pay $13.5 million to resolve allegations that it submitted or caused to be submitted false claims to federal health care programs that resulted from kickbacks to referring physicians or that sought payment for work not performed or for which only a lower level of reimbursement was justified. The settlement also resolves allegations against Texas-based private investment company Ancor Holdings LP (Ancor), which will pay over $1.8 million for causing false billings resulting from the kickback scheme through its management agreement with Alliance.

“Kickbacks and inflated billings result in the misuse of critical federal health care program funds,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General Brian M. Boynton of the Department of Justice’s Civil Division. “The Department of Justice will collaborate with our agency partners to protect federal health care programs by pursuing those who knowingly claim public funds to which they are not entitled.”

“This settlement should put health care providers on notice that we will hold accountable those who seek to profit by pursuing kickbacks and other improper billing schemes,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Jennifer B. Lowery for the Southern District of Texas. “This office, in coordination with its law enforcement partners, will use all available resources to pursue those who defraud these federal programs and to protect our nation’s health care system.”

“This settlement is an example of strong federal partnerships working to protect federal health care programs that are relied upon by so many beneficiaries,” said Special Agent in Charge Miranda L. Bennett of the Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General (HHS-OIG), Dallas Region. “We will continue working with our law enforcement partners to investigate kickback schemes that undermine the integrity of the Medicare and Medicaid programs.”

“As the investigative arm of the Department of Defense Inspector General, the Defense Criminal Investigative Service is dedicated to protecting the integrity of Department of Defense programs such as TRICARE, the health care system for our service members, retirees, and their families,” said Acting Special Agent in Charge Gregory P. Shilling of the Defense Criminal Investigative Service (DCIS) Southwest Field Office. “Today’s settlement highlights the teamwork with our federal and state partners in rooting out fraud to protect our critical program and preserve American taxpayer resources.”

“This settlement demonstrates our commitment to safeguarding the Federal health care programs from fraud,” said Norbert E. Vint, Deputy Inspector General Performing the Duties of the Inspector General of the U.S. Office of Personnel Management Office of Inspector General (OPM-OIG). “I would like to thank our staff, law enforcement partners and the Department of Justice for their efforts to protect the Federal Employees Health Benefits Program from those who would seek to defraud the program through improper and illegal billing practices.”

Alliance provides ambulatory EEG testing services for patients referred by physicians and other health care providers to diagnose certain neurological conditions. The United States alleged that Alliance induced physicians to order the company’s EEG testing by providing kickbacks in the form of free EEG test-interpretation reports, thereby enabling primary care physicians who were not neurologists to bill the government as if they had interpreted the tests. The government also alleged that Alliance used an inaccurate billing code for certain EEG testing to generate higher reimbursements and billed for a specialized digital analysis that it did not actually perform. The United States alleged that Ancor learned of the kickbacks based on due diligence it performed prior to investing in Alliance and then caused false claims by allowing that conduct to continue once it entered into an agreement to manage Alliance.

Under the terms of the settlement, Alliance will pay $13,022,356 and Ancor will pay $1,780,349 to the federal government to resolve their liability under the False Claims Act. In addition, Alliance will pay $477,643 and Ancor will pay $64,369 to state Medicaid programs. Alliance is obligated to pay additional amounts if certain financial contingencies occur within the next five years and forego any claim to over $390,000 in suspended payments that it would otherwise be owed by Medicare.

In connection with the settlement, Alliance entered into a five-year Corporate Integrity Agreement with HHS-OIG, setting forth requirements for future compliance.

The settlement resolves claims brought under the qui tam or whistleblower provisions of the False Claims Act in six actions. Under the Act’s qui tam provisions, a private party can file an action on behalf of the United States and receive a portion of the settlement if the government reaches a monetary agreement with the defendant. The qui tam actions subject to the settlement are all pending in the Southern District of Texas and are captioned United States ex rel. Mandalapu, et al. v. Alliance Family of Companies, Inc., et al., No. 4:17-cv-00740; United States ex rel. Fuller v. Respiratory Sleep Solutions, et al., No. 4:17-cv-01197; United States ex rel. Calcanis v. Alliance Family of Companies, Inc., et al., No. 4:19-cv-1497; United States, et al. ex rel. Jane Doe v. Alliance Family of Companies, LLC, et al., No. 4:19-cv-1213; United States, et al. ex rel. McKay v. Alliance Family of Companies, LLC, et al., No. 4:18-cv-1949; and United States, et al. ex rel. Krasnov v. Alliance Family of Companies, LLC, et al., No. 4:19-cv-4886. Relators Mandalapu and Chava will receive $2,962,850 of the federal settlement proceeds as their share of the government’s recovery, plus a share of any additional recoveries should the financial contingencies occur.

The resolutions obtained in this matter were the result of a coordinated effort between the Civil Division’s Commercial Litigation Branch, Fraud Section, and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Texas, with assistance from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Florida; HHS-OIG; FBI; DCIS; OPM-OIG; and the state attorneys general and Medicaid Fraud Control Units.  

Trial Attorneys Michael Hoffman and Sarah Loucks of the Civil Division’s Commercial Litigation Branch (Fraud Section), and Assistant U.S. Attorney Kenneth Shaitelman of the Southern District of Texas are handling this case.

The investigation and resolution of this matter illustrates the government’s emphasis on combating health care fraud. One of the most powerful tools in this effort is the False Claims Act. Tips and complaints from all sources about potential fraud, waste, abuse and mismanagement can be reported to the Department of Health and Human Services at 800-HHS-TIPS (800-447-8477).

The claims resolved by the settlement are allegations only, and there has been no determination of liability.

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EL PASO – An El Paso businesswoman and her nephew were arrested today on criminal charges for their alleged roles in committing health care fraud.

According to court documents, Zenia Chavez, 45, and Raul Alejandro Fuentes, 23, of El Paso, conspired together to commit health care fraud. Chavez is the owner and Fuentes is an employee of Nursemind Home Health, Inc. (Nursemind), which provides hospice care services. The defendants sought out people in boarding homes and senior living facilities for enrollment in a Nursemind hospice program although they did not need hospice care or have a terminal illness. The defendants then created false and fraudulent medical records for the individuals, forged health personnel signatures, and submitted fraudulent claims to Medicare. In addition, Chavez is also charged with offering kickbacks for client referrals to Nursemind.

Chavez and Fuentes are charged with one count of conspiracy to commit health care fraud, and 14 counts of health care fraud. Chavez is also charged with one count of conspiracy for illegal remunerations regarding a federal health care program and 11 counts of illegal remunerations regarding a federal health care program. If convicted, Chavez and Fuentes face a maximum penalty on each of the health care fraud counts of 10 years in prison. Chavez faces an additional five years in prison on the conspiracy for illegal remunerations charge and 10 years in prison on each of the illegal remuneration counts. A federal district judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

U.S. Attorney Ashley C. Hoff of the Western District of Texas; FBI Special Agent in Charge Jeffrey Downey, El Paso Division; and U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General (HHS OIG) Special Agent in Charge Miranda Bennett made the announcement.

The FBI and HHS OIG are investigating the case.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Chris Skillern and Debra Kanof are prosecuting the case.

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KILLEEN — With her mother and father both serving 20 years in the U.S. Army, it was pretty much a sure thing that El Paso native Kametra Marzette would one day wear a military uniform herself.

As she made her way through school, her sights were always set on following in their footsteps, but the road took a slight detour and Kametra wound up wearing Air Force blue instead of Army green.

“Military life was the life that I knew, so for me, that was (always) my path,” the 40-year-old retired technical sergeant who lives in Liberty Hill and commutes to work in Killeen said. “My parents were, like, ‘Don’t you want to go to school?’ but I knew I didn’t want to do that. I wasn’t ready to keep studying and be focused on that. I wanted to travel, and I wanted a job that was going to pay me.

“My plan was to join the Army, but my mom took me to the Air Force recruiter. When she joined, she had the opportunity to join the Air Force but never did. So I kind of feel like since she wasn’t able to, she wanted me to go that direction.”

Born in El Paso, where her parents were stationed at Fort Bliss, Kametra moved around quite a bit as a kid, but wound up back in El Paso for high school and graduated in 2001. She did not mind being uprooted from time to time over the years and says her childhood experiences helped prepare her for serving in the military.

“It kind of became something that I got used to,” she said. “Every three to five years, going to a different place. I was always excited to do something different. So in my military career, whenever it was time to PCS, I was always OK with it. It was just one of those things … OK, it’s time to go.”

After graduation, she immediately enlisted and headed in August 2001 to Lackland Air Force Base in San Antonio for basic training. Her career as a personnelist (personnel specialist) started at Altus Air Force Base in Oklahoma. From there, she went to Shaw Air Force Base in South Carolina, then to Fort Lewis in Washington, over to Korea for a year, out to Hawaii, back to San Antonio, and then to El Paso, where she retired in January 2022.

After six or seven years in personnel, helping with pay, promotions, PCS moves, she moved to education and training management, tracking training events for different units. In 2009, she was deployed to Qatar in the Middle East to work “as an extension of security forces” in support of Operations Enduring Freedom and Iraqi Freedom.

Two years before that, she married a member of the Army National Guard who is now on active duty and stationed at Fort Cavazos.

Now, Kametra works as outreach director for The Steven A. Cohen Military Family Clinic at Endeavors in Killeen, which is celebrating its fifth anniversary in August. Her role with the company is ‘to communicate the Cohen Clinic mission by introducing and educating the community and community partners about our available mental health and case management services. She also helps with developing effective and trusting relationships and coordinates in-person and virtual events that serve to inform and support Veterans, active-duty service members and their families.’

“When I retired, we had what was called Hiring our Heroes program,” she said. “So, in the program, basically, my last six months in the military, I can do like an internship with a business. I chose The Steven A. Cohen Military Family Clinic at Endeavors in El Paso to do my internship. I was getting my master’s in counseling, and I thought maybe I wanted to go the therapy route after I got out. So, I shadowed there for about three months, and then my husband got assigned to Fort Hood (now Fort Cavazos), and that’s what brought me here.

“When I got here, the outreach director in El Paso called me and said the outreach position is open and you should apply for it. Basically, my job is to put the word out about what we offer, as far as services. We do mental health counseling and therapy for active duty, Veterans and their family members. I do table setups; presentations on Fort Cavazos (and) in the community; I establish relationships with community partners. We want to stop the stigma when it comes to mental health.”

Looking back at her decision to join the military, Kametra, a proud mother of two fur babies who enjoys traveling with her husband, finding new restaurants, visiting her parents in El Paso, her grandparents in North Carolina and watching Dallas Cowboys football, says that was “the only plan” she ever had for her life, and she could not be more pleased with the way things have turned out.

“I’m very proud of my military service,” said. “It’s definitely my biggest accomplishment. I feel like it set me up for the job I have now and lets me know I’m in the right place. I still get to work with my military brothers and sisters, but I also get to offer them help if they need it.

“Honestly, I think the best thing about my Air Force career is the different types of people I got to meet along the way. That became family for me. I was able at each duty station to find those people or that person that I could connect with. So if I was very happy, sad, upset, stressed, I always had someone I was friends with that I could lean on. That was big. I think that helped me make it all the way to 20 (years).

“I think my biggest adjustment was the transition out of the military. I had a lot more on my plate than what I thought. I remember driving to work in El Paso, and I was driving past my mom’s job and I thought I should stop and talk to her, because I felt something coming on. But I had to get to work, and so I just went on.

“I was in school for my master’s degree; my husband was away for training (warrant officer’s school); and I was about to retire and had to plan my retirement ceremony. I had a lot on my plate and I wasn’t handling it very well. I think transitioning is bigger than what people think. People think, ‘Oh, I’m getting out (and) everything is going to be OK.’ It really is a stressful time, but it led me to what I’m doing now, to be honest.”

Her job at the clinic is rewarding “every day,” Kametra says. One example is a visit she made to a local VFW, where she spoke to a Veteran who had lost his wife and was having a hard time.

“They asked us to come out because they were trying to start a grief support group,” she said. “So, I go there monthly and they bring in people who have a loss and are grieving (and) one gentleman came in a couple months ago with his son. He sat down at the table and said, ‘I’m here because I’m ready to start grieving.’

“I was asking him about what happened with his wife, and he was telling me the story. I basically just let him talk, and then I said, ‘You know, you said you’re ready to grieve, but I feel like you’re going through the process right now — you just don’t know it.’ When he got up to leave, he said, ‘I feel so much better today. Thanks for being here.’ Things like that are really what drive me. Being able to help others.

“What I usually tell people is that it’s OK to have a bad day and be stressful, but when those bad days start accumulating and you can’t find your way to a good day, that’s what we’re here for.”

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With safety at the forefront, elective surgeries are set to resume at the end of August across the San Antonio Military Health System.

“We have a military population whose non-urgent procedures were delayed in some cases for safety purposes and in order to preserve resources and capacity,” said Army Brig. Gen. Shan Bagby, commanding general for the Brooke Army Medical Center aboard Joint Base San Antonio-Fort Sam Houston. “We are eager to resume these important medical services.”

SAMHS had resumed ambulatory elective surgeries at Wilford Hall Ambulatory Surgical Center earlier this month, already doubling the number of procedures performed in July. Meanwhile, BAMC has focused on providing urgent and emergent inpatient surgical care. Next week, BAMC will increase surgical capacity by 50% for more complex elective surgeries, said Air Force Col. Patrick Osborn, San Antonio Military Health System surgeon-in-chief.

Patients whose procedures were delayed will be contacted by their surgical team or clinic, and new cases will be scheduled based on patient acuity and available capacity, said Osborn, adding that evaluation of patients’ surgical needs has been ongoing, often through virtual technology.

“Elective procedures are an important aspect of a person’s overall health care and, while they may not be urgent in nature, they should not be put off indefinitely,” Osborn said. “After careful assessment, we are confident in our ability to resume these procedures safely.”

SAMHS will monitor the pandemic situation daily and expand or scale back procedures as needed, said Air Force Maj. Gen. John DeGoes, SAMHS market manager and commander, 59th Medical Wing.

“Our highest priority is safeguarding the health and wellness of our patients and staff,” DeGoes said. “We will continue CDC-recommended safety precautions to help prevent the spread of COVID-19 and protect our most valuable asset – our people.”

SAMHS had paused elective procedures July 1 due to the surge in COVID-19 and in line with Texas Governor Greg Abbott’s executive order. The intent was for hospitals to reserve capacity for COVID-19 patients from the community.

Despite a resumption of elective surgical services, everyone should continue to social distance, wear a face covering, and wash hands thoroughly and often, Osborn said.

“We all have a continuing role in stopping the spread of this virus,” he said.

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Montgomery, Ala. – Over the past several weeks, eleven individuals have appeared in federal court and pleaded guilty to charges of conspiring to unlawfully possess oxycodone with intent to distribute and for illegally distributing the prescription drug, announced Acting United States Attorney Sandra J. Stewart. Information about the defendants and the dates on which they pleaded guilty are as follows:

• July 16, 2021- Joseph Anthony Coleman, 37, of Montgomery, Alabama.
• August 3, 2021- Kambria Symone Robinson, 29, of Atlanta, Georgia.
• August 4, 2021- Rubin Sanders, 30, of Atlanta, Georgia.
• August 5, 2021- Towanna Lorrell Chapman, 36, of Montgomery, Alabama.
• August 5, 2021- Jamal Anthony Thomas, 37, of Montgomery, Alabama.
• August 24, 2021- Maurice Daughtry, 38, of Marietta, Georgia.
• August 26, 2021- Melodie Donne Armer Cheatham, 38, of Savannah, Georgia.
• August 30, 2021- Carlos D’Angelo Jones, 34, of Memphis, Tennessee.
• August 30, 2021- Garren Charles Rogers, 35, of Houston, Texas.
• September 1, 2021- Geniece Chadell Maxon, 33, of Lynwood, Illinois.
• September 1, 2021- Robert Lee Thompson, 32, of Madison, Alabama.

According to court documents, these defendants agreed among themselves and with others to obtain illegitimate and unlawful prescriptions for oxycodone, a Schedule II controlled substance, signed by a Montgomery, Alabama physician, Dr. D’Livro Lemat Beauchamp. In many cases, this was facilitated through a third-party without actually going to the physician’s office. The defendants would then fill those prescriptions at pharmacies located in and around Montgomery, give the oxycodone tablets to organizers of the conspiracy, and collect payment. Additionally, the organizers of the conspiracy and Beauchamp agreed that Beauchamp would receive $350.00 per unlawful prescription he signed. Statements made at the various plea hearings, indicated that defendants Daughtry and Rogers were among the organizers of the conspiracy. The scheme operated from 2012 until April of 2020. However, each defendant did not necessarily participate for all or even most of that period.

In total, these eleven defendants unlawfully obtained, possessed with the intent to distribute, and, in most cases, did distribute, approximately 38,780 30-milligram oxycodone tablets, which is equal to 1,163,400 milligrams of the drug.

For his part in the scheme, on October 20, 2020, Dr. Beauchamp pleaded guilty to the same offense. Likewise, on March 30, 2021, another one of the organizers, Deandre Varnel Gross, entered a guilty plea. Finally, two other defendants in the case, Shayla Denise Moorer and Naaman Rashad Jackson, pleaded guilty earlier this summer. As noted in their press release, Moorer and Jackson each unlawfully received payments for filling oxycodone prescriptions and transferring oxycodone tablets.

In the coming months, United States District Judge Myron H. Thompson will conduct a sentencing hearing for each of the defendants discussed above. At his or her sentencing hearing, each defendant will face a maximum sentence of 20 years of imprisonment, a maximum fine of $1,000,000.00, and other monetary penalties.

Cases against other co-conspirators named in the indictment are still pending. Those defendants are presumed innocent until found guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

“It is disturbing how so many are willing to jeopardize the well-being of the community simply to make a few extra dollars,” stated Acting United States Attorney Stewart. “The drugs distributed through the work of this conspiracy were powerful opioids, capable of destroying lives and families. We will never be able to account for the harm caused by the collective action of this group. I am glad that, after many years and many pills pouring into our communities, these defendants are being held to account for their actions.”

"Those who choose to violate laws designed to ensure the safe and legal dispensation of pharmaceutical drugs will not escape the scrutiny of DEA by attempting to hide criminal activity and placing unbridled greed before health and safety,” said DEA Assistant Special Agent in Charge Towanda Thorne-James.

The Drug Enforcement Administration’s Tactical Diversion Squad investigated this case, assisted by the United States Department of Health and Human Services – Office of Inspector General and the Shelby County, Alabama Sheriff’s Office. Assistant United States Attorneys Jonathan S. Ross and Alice S. LaCour are prosecuting the case.

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It’s been more than a year since President Trump ushered in the greatest improvement to Veteran health care since World War II, and the media still refuse to credit him with this accomplishment.

Reporters are playing word games instead of reporting the facts, and are failing to tell the public what millions of Veterans know: the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) has never worked better, in part because President Trump gave Veterans the real, permanent choice of using private health care providers.

Here are the facts.

In the wake of the prior administration’s VA wait-time scandal, a frustrated Congress authorized a temporary program that allowed some Veterans to see doctors outside VA. It was called the Veterans Choice Program.

The program was limited to Veterans who were waiting more than 30 days for an appointment, or those that lived more than 40 miles from a VA facility or faced similar travel burdens.

The program never solved the wait-time problem at VA, and instead, unfortunately created new hurdles for Veterans seeking care in the community. In a 2017 report, VA’s Office of Inspector General found Veterans had to overcome “several barriers” in order to access care outside VA. These included “cumbersome authorization and scheduling procedures and inadequate provider networks.”

In the first 11 months of the Choice Program, VA authorized about 283,500 appointments for Veterans outside VA, and barely half of those appointments took place by the end of those 11 months.

Compare those results to the MISSION Act, which President Trump signed in order to fix these problems. The MISSION Act created the Veterans Community Care program, which is permanent and more comprehensive than the Veterans Choice Program. It allows Veterans to elect to receive care at non-VA facilities when they aren’t close to a VA facility, have to wait too long for VA care, or when it’s in their best medical interest.

That’s a critical difference. The MISSION Act signed by Trump put Veterans at the center of their care for the first time in history, allowing them to elect to receive outside expertise when they need it and improving their health outcomes.

Even better, the MISSION Act actually works. The numbers show there was pent-up demand for community care among Veterans that the MISSION Act unleashed. In the nearly 15 months since the MISSION Act took effect, more than 2.4 million Veterans have benefitted from more than 6.5 million referrals to community care.

While the old Choice Program suffered from not having enough community care partners, under the MISSION Act, VA is working with 725,000 private health care providers to ensure Veterans have this option in the real world, not just on paper.

The MISSION Act also created a new urgent care benefit that gives eligible Veterans access to urgent and walk-in care at participating non-VA clinics in their communities. This is a huge step forward in terms of convenience for our patients, as eligible Veterans do not need to get prior authorization from VA to visit an urgent care provider in our network.

That means Veterans don’t have to find a VA facility if they sprain their ankle or develop a minor infection. They can get care close to home, and so far, more than 360,000 urgent care community appointments have occurred.

As these numbers show, it’s the MISSION Act that delivered real, permanent choice to Veterans, even though some media reporters and so-called fact-checkers have obscured this by focusing on semantics.

Let me be clear: When President Trump says he gave Veterans “choice” he’s not referring to the Obama-era program that fell far short of its promise. He’s referring instead to the MISSION Act, which finally delivered Veterans the real, permanent health care choice they have earned.

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Physician took cash for prescribing fentanyl spray

DENVER – The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Colorado announces that Dr. Jeffrey Kesten, age 61, formerly of Evergreen, Colorado, was sentenced to 24 months in federal prison, to be followed by three years of supervised release, for conspiring to violate the Anti-Kickback Statute, in connection with a scheme to take bribes and kickbacks from a pharmaceutical company in exchange for prescribing a powerful fentanyl spray to his chronic pain patients.

According to the plea agreement, beginning in late 2012 and continuing through November 2015, the defendant conspired with pharmaceutical company employees to take approximately $344,000 in bribes and kickbacks from Insys Therapeutics, Inc., the manufacturer of Subsys, a powerful sublingual fentanyl spray approved by the FDA in 2012 to treat breakthrough pain in cancer patients. The bribes were disguised as payments or honoraria for purportedly delivering educational speaker programs to the defendant’s medical peers. In fact, the defendant often delivered no programs at all—at one point taking payments of over $40,000 from Insys for 17 “programs” he allegedly delivered to his own staff at his medical clinic. As part of the plea agreement, the defendant admitted that he entered into a quid pro quo relationship with Insys, and that the payments affected his prescribing decisions. He abused his position of trust vis-à-vis his patients and the Federal healthcare programs in which he was enrolled, becoming one of Insys’s top revenue-generating prescribers. Prescriptions for Subsys typically cost thousands of dollars each month, and Medicare and Medicaid paid millions of dollars to cover Subsys prescriptions written by Dr. Kesten.

“You have to be able to trust your doctor’s medical judgment,” said U.S. Attorney Cole Finegan. “We’ll hold physicians and medical professionals accountable for taking bribes and kickbacks, especially when they are prescribing powerful drugs to vulnerable patients.”

“As we’ve seen over the past several years fentanyl abuse has become an existential threat across the nation,” said DEA Denver Acting Special Agent in Charge David Olesky. “There is no greater threat to our community than a doctor who violates a patient’s trust with no regard to patient safety and well-being beyond what profits it can bring him. We applaud this sentencing and will continue to work with our counterparts in the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of the Inspector General and the U.S. Attorney’s Office to ensure other doctors who manipulate the system will be held accountable.”

“Accepting kickbacks and bribes in exchange for prescribing medication not only compromises the integrity of Federal health care programs; it can also gravely endanger beneficiaries,” said Curt L. Muller, Special Agent in Charge with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of the Inspector General. “HHS-OIG will continue to work relentlessly alongside our law enforcement partners to ensure the health and safety of beneficiaries and the efficient use of taxpayer dollars."

Fentanyl is at least 50 times more powerful than morphine, and to ensure patient safety, the FDA requires Subsys prescribers, patients, and pharmacies to enroll in and comply with the Transmucosal Immediate Release Fentanyl Risk Evaluation and Mitigation Strategy (TIRF REMS) program. The defendant disregarded the rules imposed by this program, failing to notify his patients of the risks posed by the Schedule II controlled substance prescription.

United States District Court Judge Daniel D. Domenico sentenced Kesten on February 24, 2022.

The Department of Health and Human Services Office of the Inspector General, and the Drug Enforcement Administration conducted the investigation.

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Wright-Patterson Air Force Base isn't the most important base in the Air Force. It also isn't the biggest. But for the Dayton, Ohio, area, it's an important economic factor. And now that U.S. military Veterans have access to military bases, it's getting a lot more important to Vets in the local community.

When the 2019 National Defense Authorization Act allowed Veterans with service-connected disabilities and those enrolled in the Department of Veterans Affairs' caregiver program to access the base, the 88th Security Forces Squadron didn't have a hard time with the influx of Veterans requesting access, said Patrick Poth, chief of plans and programs for the 88th at Wright-Patt. They opened up early registration for Veterans to get base access.

Although entrance rules might vary by base, most operate under the same procedures as Wright-Patterson. To get base access there, eligible Veterans first need to get their Veterans Health Identification Card (VHIC) from the enrollment office of their local VA. Usually, you just need to have a photo taken, and your new ID will show up in the mail within a few weeks.

But If the Veteran doesn’t have a VHIC, they’ll be directed to go get one. Only with a VHIC can the Veteran get access to the base.

All a Veteran has to do is take their VHIC, along with valid state ID, driver's license or passport, to an installation's Pass and ID office. If this office isn't outside the base, call ahead to find out where to go.

After a quick background check -- it takes longer to read this paragraph than it does to do the background check -- everything is all set for access. Just drive to the gate and show the VHIC.

For Veteran caregivers, the process is a little longer, but just as easy. Caregivers should have received an eligibility letter from VA’s Office of Community Care. They just need to take this letter and a REAL ID-compliant identification to the base Pass and ID officer.

Once there, credentials showing your registration in the Defense Biometrics Identification System (DBIDS) will be issued to the caregiver. This is good for one year.

It turns out a lot has changed since many Veterans left the U.S. military. Security Forces have ID card scanners; AAFES exchanges have special home and garden centers; and now airmen don't have to drive a half hour to show up late with Starbucks -- in many cases, including at Wright-Patt, there's one right on base.

Those ID card scanners are the most important thing, however. Base security personnel can scan a VHIC or base-specific DBIDS credential and wave new Vets through.

Veterans will have to submit to the background check process for every new base they want to visit -- and need to be rechecked and re-registered every three years.

If a primary family caregiver loses that eligibility letter, they can call 1-877-733-7927 to request a replacement.

Once on the base, Veterans have access to anything that makes money, be it MWR facilities or retail and revenue centers. Aside from commissary and exchange access, this includes bowling alleys, movie theaters, lodging and Enlisted or Officers' Clubs.

Related: These New Restaurants Are Coming to Army, Air Force Bases

What's off limits are things like fitness centers, libraries and child care centers. Those facilities are still reserved for military members only.

The Veteran can bring up to five others on base at any time as long as their relationship to the VHIC holder is established, such as a spouse or adult children of the Veteran. Each will have to go to the same office, with REAL ID-compliant identification, to have their backgrounds checked. Once confirmed, they are given 24-hour passes.

Each family member will have to go through this process for every visit. They must remain with the VHIC- or VA letter-holder for the entirety of their base visit.

Most importantly, don't forget the rules of the base. Traffic violations still result in citations, so watch your speed on your way to Anthony's Pizza.

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New commissary and exchange customers will be granted on-base access in two phases, based on whether they have a Department of Veterans Affairs health insurance card, according to new information released by the Pentagon.

The VA and Defense Department have fleshed out some of their plans to let 4.1 million new customers enjoy access next year to commissaries, military exchanges and recreation facilities located on secure military installations.

Here's what the latest plans mean for eligible Veterans and their caregivers:

Am I eligible? Where can I shop when it comes into effect?

Purple Heart recipients, former prisoners of war, Veterans with any service-connected disability and caregivers registered with the VA's Comprehensive Assistance for Family Caregivers program will be able to shop beginning Jan. 1. Reserve members who fit this description will also have access.

These Veterans and caregivers will be able to shop at commissaries and exchanges and use some MWR facilities, such as golf courses, bowling alleys and movie theaters. Services that rely on appropriations to operate, including military uniform items and child development programs, will not be available.

The DoD has been working with the VA, Department of Homeland Security and U.S. Treasury to give these new customers access, integrating them into the complex security systems of military installations.

Retired service members, Medal of Honor recipients and Veterans with a service-related disability rating of 100 percent will continue to have access to on-base facilities and can obtain a DoD identification card to get on base.

I'm an eligible Veteran. What do I do to get access?

Veterans with a VA's Veteran Health Identification Card (VHIC) will be able to shop online and get on base to shop in-person at commissaries, exchanges and some MWR facilities.

Veterans who don't have a VHIC will be able to shop only online, with access to MWR online and AmericanForcesTravel.com, until the DoD figures out how to give them secure access to bases, officials said.

"When DoD and VA identify a credentialing solution for all Veterans eligible under the Purple Heart and Disabled Veterans Equal Access Act of 2018," the guidance states, "DoD will roll out a new phase of access to accommodate current Veterans who are not eligible to obtain a VHIC but are eligible for these privileges."

Currently, all honorably discharged Veterans can shop online through the Veterans Online Shopping Benefit. They can set up an account for any of the military exchange websites: Army and Air Force Exchange System, Coast Guard Exchange, Marine Corps Exchange, Navy Exchange Command, and the Veterans Canteen Service.

Veterans with a VHIC can check in with the base visitor control center to gain base access beginning Jan. 1.

Everyone will have to pass a basic, on-the-spot background check with initial access, and have an automated check each subsequent time. Veterans or caregivers with felony convictions, felony arrest warrants or derogatory information related to criminal history or terrorism will be prohibited from entering.

Depending on the type of installation, these VHIC-carrying Veterans will be able to enroll in recurring access, which lets them bypass the visitor control center each time by entering through the gates.

What is a Veteran Health Identification Card and can I use a Veteran Identification Card?

VHIC cards are issued to Veterans enrolled in VA health care. In order to use the VHIC, it must display the Veteran's eligibility status, like Purple Heart, former POW or service-connected disability.

The VIC is issued to any honorably or generally discharged Veteran and is not an accepted identification to provide access to the installations.

More information about the VHIC card can be found at Va.gov/healthbenefits/vhic. The guidance states the VA expects it might see an increase in the number of Veterans requesting consideration for service-connected disability ratings and applying for health care benefits to obtain a VHIC.

What is the process for a caregiver?

The process for caregivers registered in the Program of Comprehensive Assistance for Family Caregivers to access the commissaries, exchanges and MWRs is similar to that of VHIC-holding Veterans. However, caregivers will receive a letter issued by the VA Office of Community Care saying they qualify as a primary family caregiver of an eligible Veteran.

To be admitted on base and to purchase items from the commissary or exchange, they will need to bring the VA letter plus one of the following types of identification. For a full list, refer to the guidance on page 8.

• DoD common access card
• REAL ID-compliant driver's license or other ID issued by a state, territory, possession or the District of Columbia
• U.S. passport or passport card
• Foreign passport bearing an unexpired immigrant or non-immigrant visa or entry stamp
• Federal personal identity verification card
• VHIC
• Transportation Worker Identification Card

Within 30 days of receiving their eligibility letter, caregivers will be able to shop at the exchanges online like non-VHIC holding Veterans, except for the Veterans Canteen Service.

Caregivers who are not a part of the VA's official program do not qualify for shopping privileges. The DoD might expand access to non-registered caregivers in the future, the policy says.

Can my spouse shop on my behalf?

No, at least not right now. Currently, an authorized caregiver will be classified only as someone approved and designated as the primary family caregiver of an eligible Veteran under the Program of Comprehensive Assistance for Family Caregivers.

The DoD said in this new guidance it will consider expanding caregiver privileges to the disabled Veteran's spouse when the VA formalizes approval and designation of general caregivers under the program.

In the meantime, there's nothing to stop a spouse from getting a base visitor pass and going to the store with the Veteran. However, like all base visitors, they will need to pass a background check.

I already have access to shop in commissaries and exchanges. How will this affect me?

The guidance states most locations will "experience little to no impact on current operations," but there might be a "low to moderate impact" to installations in high cost-of-living areas.

"Commissary, exchange and morale, welfare and recreation retail facilities are preparing to welcome home these patrons without disrupting the current service experience for authorized patrons," it states.

What will it cost me?

The commissary sells its grocery items at cost and boasts "an average worldwide savings of 23.7 percent over commercial grocery shopping." While it has no state or local food tax, it imposes a 5 percent surcharge meant to help with store upkeep and construction of new stores.

As required by the Act, these new customers will have to pay an additional charge if they use a commercial credit card or debit card. These credit cards or a Signature debit card will result in an additional 1.9 percent user fee, while other debit card transactions will have a 0.5 percent user fee. This fee will not be refunded when returning a product.

Veterans and caregivers can avoid these fees by using cash, check or the credit card offered by the military resale system, the Military Star card. Customers using electronic benefit transfer cards, like Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits, will also avoid the fee.

There will be no such charge at exchanges or for MWR purchases.

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Not enough research exists to link persistent neurological and psychiatric conditions, like post-traumatic stress disorder, to anti-malaria drugs taken by U.S. troops, an influential scientific panel announced Tuesday.

A year-long National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine investigation has found “insufficient or inadequate evidence” of any association between chronic health problems and malaria preventives, including mefloquine, a medication that can cause neurological or psychiatric side effects for months or years after taking it, according to the Food and Drug Administration.

The panel members noted, however, that the findings do not show “evidence of lack of adverse effects,” and they recommended further research, especially on mefloquine and tafenoquine.

For its review, the 10-member National Academies panel reviewed thousands of abstracts and papers on six medications commonly used to prevent malaria: mefloquine (also known by the brand Lariam), tafenoquine, atovaquone/proguanil (also known as Malarone), doxycycline, primaquine and chloroquine.

The goal was to determine what, if any, permanent side effects may be caused by taking the drugs.

But the panel, led by Dr. David Savitz, associate dean for research at Brown University, was able to identify just 21 studies that met their criteria for documenting lasting harmful symptoms, and only 10 studies they felt were of rigorous scientific quality.

With such a dearth of information, members could only conclude there wasn’t enough evidence to demonstrate associations between most of the drugs, including the two most controversial drugs — mefloquine and tafenoquine — and permanent side effects.

Savitz, however, said the bottom line is that more research is needed to draw any conclusions about the safety of anti-malarial drugs.

“This is important to emphasize, because it’s one thing to say there’s a substantial body of high quality research that has looked and not found anything. But this is a small set of studies with methodological limitations and it really leaves us to determine that the evidence is simply inadequate or insufficient to draw conclusions,” Savitz said during an interview with Military Times.

The Department of Veterans Affairs commissioned the Assessment of Long-Term Health Effects of Antimalarial Drugs When Used for Prophylaxis to determine what, if any, long-term health conditions may be caused by medicines taken regularly by U.S. troops to prevent and treat malaria.

VA requested the research following persistent reports and case studies of active duty and former service members developing neurological damage and psychiatric symptoms after taking antimalarials, namely mefloquine.

Worldwide, former service members have filed a number of lawsuits alleging they have permanent brain damage as the result of taking mefloquine.

In their review of existing scientific literature on the medications, panel members received briefings from government officials responsible for malaria prevention policy as well as Veterans, Peace Corps volunteers and travelers who described how their lives were upended by mefloquine, leaving them with debilitating, chronic health issues.

Those affected pleaded with panel members to review their medical histories and records before issuing their findings, aware that not much research exists on the long-term health consequences of these medications, mainly mefloquine and tafenoquine.

Savitz said the panel members listened to those affected and while their assignment was not to weigh individual cases or anecdotal information, they found the testimony useful to emphasize that more research is needed.

“We heard them and we took them very seriously,” Savitz said. “I think we were very clear in saying that this issue deserves to be taken seriously, that this is a credible or plausible scenario by which these drugs could produce longer term consequences."

The panel recommended that research be conducted in several major areas, including the relationships between: mefloquine and eye conditions as well as neurologic and psychiatric conditions like PTSD; tafenoquine and eye conditions, as well as psychiatric issues; Malarone and eye conditions; and doxycycline and long-term gastrointestinal problems.

The panel did find there was sufficient evidence to link tafenoquine with development of an corneal condition known as vortex keratopathy that may cause hazy vision.

The report’s conclusions are sure to disappoint Veterans of the U.S. military, the State Department and the Peace Corps as well as travelers who attribute debilitating mental and physical health symptoms to mefloquine, the once-a-week malaria pill issued to thousands who have served overseas.

U.S. service members routinely take malaria prophylaxis medications when deploying to countries where malaria is endemic, such as Afghanistan, Djibouti and throughout Africa.

Until 2009, mefloquine, which is taken once a week, was the malaria preventive of choice in many overseas locations. But that year, following growing concerns over the medication’s short-term side effects, which can include hallucinations, anxiety and sleep problems, the Defense Department issued a policy listing it as a last-choice malaria preventive.

In January 2012, the assistant secretary of defense for health ordered a full-scale review of mefloquine prescription policies, and in 2013, the FDA placed its strongest warning on mefloquine, saying the drug can cause ongoing or permanent neurological and psychiatric conditions, including dizziness, loss of balance, tinnitus, anxiety, depression, paranoia and hallucinations, even after discontinuing use.

If the National Academies panel had determined a causal relationship between taking malaria medications and disabling health effects, it would have helped Veterans who are seeking health care and disability benefits from VA for resulting conditions.

VA researchers had previously found no “significant associations” between mefloquine and mental disorders when variables such as combat exposure and deployment were considered.

The National Academies panel also noted that combat exposure, psychological stressors, the deployment environment and exposure to chemical and biological pollutants or agents adds to the complexity of determining any relationship between prophylactic antimalarials and permanent psychological damage.

“Because of the many other factors and stresses associated with deployed environments like combat, specific effects attributable to the use of an antimalarial drug may be difficult to tease out,” they wrote.

Savitz said that in positive news, the panel members did conclude that no further research was needed for more than 20 alleged associations, and they also found that the medications did not cause latent effects – as in, symptoms beginning years later after the medications were stopped.

The panel recommended additional research be undertaken to include observational studies and randomized trials.

Dr. Remington Nevin, a former Army preventive medicine officer, researcher and executive director of The Quinism Foundation, a group dedicated to supporting research on the effects of antimalarial drugs, said he warned that the National Academies investigation was premature, given the weaknesses of the available evidence, and was disappointed the committee did not look at individual medical records or case studies.

“The reason we are here today is because of the concerns raised about mefloquine in a small number of individual case reports which led the FDA and international drug regulators to put boxed warnings on international mefloquine labels, stating quite confidently that mefloquine is associated with permanent neuropsychiatric adverse effects,” Nevin told members of the panel during a briefing Tuesday in Washington.

“The European Medicines Agency... determined there is sufficient causal evidence to conclude an association with mefloquine use and permanent adverse effects,” he said.

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LOS ANGELES – The former president and chief executive officer of a Long Beach substance abuse treatment provider was sentenced today to 84 months in federal prison for participating in a scheme in which more than $18.5 million in fraudulent claims were submitted to California’s Drug Medi-Cal program for alcohol and drug treatment services for high school and middle school students.

Richard Mark Ciampa, 67, of Commerce, was sentenced by United States District Judge Philip S. Gutierrez, who also ordered him to pay $17,640,325 in restitution. Ciampa pleaded guilty on January 6 to one count of health care fraud.

Ciampa founded the non-profit Atlantic Recovery Services (ARS), later called Atlantic Health Services, in 1996 and served as its president and CEO until its closure in April 2013 following a suspension in payments. ARS provided substance use disorder treatment services to students at local high schools and middle schools through Medi-Cal and its Drug Medi-Cal program.

From March 2009 to April 2013, Ciampa participated in a scheme to defraud Medi-Cal in which ARS billed the Drug Medi-Cal program for services to students who did not medically need alcohol or drug treatment. ARS also billed Drug Medi-Cal for group and individual counseling sessions that were not provided or did not meet the requirements for reimbursement as to size, length or setting. ARS employees falsified documents to support the false claims.

In March 2009, Drug Medi-Cal ordered ARS to repay an overpayment assessed to the organization, which caused a significant amount of financial pressure on Ciampa. Ciampa, in turn, passed along this financial pressure to his employees and threatened the employees that they would lose their jobs with ARS or have their hours reduced to part-time if they did not generate significant billings.

Ciampa was aware or willfully blind to the fact that, in response to his threats, ARS employees were generating false and fraudulent claims for submission to Drug Medi-Cal. He also encouraged ARS employees to engage in fraud, telling them they should “find a way” to enroll more students in ARS’ program despite Drug Medi-Cal’s medical necessity requirement.

The scheme was executed in several ways, including ARS counselors and managers maintaining student caseloads by enrolling students in the ARS substance abuse counseling program even if they had used drugs or alcohol only occasionally or even just once.

For example, in December 2011, ARS fraudulently submitted a claim for Medi-Cal reimbursement for an individual counseling session for a student on November 23, 2011 – a school holiday and the day before Thanksgiving – when the student was absent and the counselor listed on the claim did not provide any counseling.

In total, $18,530,927 in fraudulent claims were submitted because of the scheme, resulting in an actual loss to Medi-Cal of $17,640,325.

Prosecutors have obtained a total of 19 guilty pleas in this case and related cases, including former ARS Program Manager Lori Renee Miller, 60, of Lakewood, multiple former ARS managers and counselors, and Dr. Leland Whitson, 81, of Redondo Beach, the former Medical/Clinical Director of ARS who previously pleaded guilty to making a false statement affecting a health care program.

Gregory Hearns, 65, of Long Beach, the billing supervisor for ARS who compiled the monthly billing and arranged for its submission to Medi-Cal, LaLonnie Egans, 63, of Long Beach, a former manager, and Tina Lynn St. Julian, 57, of Inglewood, a former counselor, are expected to go on trial on January 6. They are charged with multiple counts of health care fraud.

An indictment contains allegations that a defendant has committed a crime. Every defendant is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.

The California Department of Justice, Division of Medi-Cal Fraud and Elder Abuse; the United States Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Inspector General; and IRS Criminal Investigation investigated this matter.

Assistant United States Attorneys Cathy J. Ostiller and Karen E. Escalante of the Major Frauds Section, Nisha Chandran of the General Crimes Section and Victor Rodgers of the Asset Forfeiture Section prosecuted this case.

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FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — A former pathologist at an Arkansas Veterans hospital has been sentenced to 20 years in federal prison after pleading guilty last year to involuntary manslaughter in the death of a patient he misdiagnosed.

Robert Morris Levy, 54, of Fayetteville was sentenced Friday in federal court.

Prosecutors said Levy diagnosed a patient with lymphoma when the patient actually had a small-cell carcinoma. Levy falsified the patient’s medical record to state that a second pathologist agreed with his diagnosis, according to the plea agreement. The patient later died.

In a statement to the court, Levy apologized for his actions.

“I’m angry with myself, and it just penetrates the surface of how I became this man. My plan going forward is to continue in the alcohol rehabilitation community to get the best long-term therapeutic strategy,” the statement said.

Levy also pleaded guilty to one count of mail fraud for receiving 2-methyl-2-butanol, a chemical that he used to intoxicate himself but that standard drug and alcohol screenings don’t test for, prosecutors said.

Levy was fired from the Veterans Health Care System of the Ozarks in Fayetteville in April 2018.

VA officials have said that outside pathologists reviewed nearly 34,000 cases handled by Levy and found more than 3,000 errors or missed diagnoses dating back to 2005. Levy has acknowledged that he once showed up to work at the Veterans Health Care System of the Ozarks drunk in 2016, but he denied that he had worked while impaired. He entered an in-patient treatment program following that incident and returned to work in October 2016 after agreeing to remain sober and submitting to random drug testing.

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Excessive masculinity is linked to a significantly increased risk for death by suicide in men, new research suggests.

In the first study to show this association, investigators found that men with high traditional masculinity (HTM) ― a set of norms that includes competitiveness, emotional restriction, and aggression ― were about two and half times more likely to die by suicide than their counterparts without HTM. The finding underscores the "central role" of gender in suicide death.

"We found that high-traditional-masculinity men were 2.4 times more likely to die by suicide than those who were not [of] high traditional masculinity. We feel this is a significant finding, and one that's very rare to have evidence for," study investigator Daniel Coleman, PhD, told Medscape Medical News.

"Our other findings are also important and interesting," added Coleman, associate professor of social service at Fordham University in New York City. "One was that high traditional masculinity was associated with a host of other significant risk factors for suicide death. So not only does high traditional masculinity add to the risk of suicide death, it also may have indirect effects through other variables, such as acting-out behavior."

The study was published online February 12 in JAMA Psychiatry.

First Look

In the United States, death by suicide is 3.5 times more common in men than in women. Several potential drivers may explain this phenomenon; one plausible factor may be high levels of what the investigators describe as "traditional masculinity."

Interestingly, previous studies suggest that HTM men experience suicidal thought to a greater degree than other persons. Nevertheless, the potential influence of HTM and suicide mortality has not been examined before now.

The study is a secondary analysis of the national longitudinal Add Health study, which began in 1995 and followed 20,745 adolescents through young adulthood. Not only did that study show a direct association between measures of HTM and death by suicide, but it also corroborated the connection between HTM and other risk factors for suicide revealed in earlier research.

To tease out this relationship, Coleman and colleagues used data from the nationally representative Add Health study. A previous study concluded that nine Add Health variables were associated with suicide. These included suicide by a family member; being expelled from school; running away from home; using a weapon; being of white race; a past history of smoking; being in a serious fight in the past year; delinquency; and fighting.

In the current study, the researchers hypothesized that HTM would be associated with these nine variables, in addition to suicide, depression, and gun access.

Add Health began in 1995 with 20,745 adolescents who were followed over time. In the current analysis, the researchers matched data from that study with death records from the National Death Index from 2014. Death by suicide was defined using National Death Index procedures.

The investigators then used an established procedure for scoring gender-typed attitudes and behaviors. As part of this, a single latent probability variable for identifying oneself as male was generated from 16 gender-discriminating variables.

Participants who were found to score at least a 73% probability of identifying as male (>1 standard deviation above the mean) were classified as HTM.

"There's been a lot of speculating about masculinity as a risk factor for male suicides," Coleman said. "But it's very difficult to study suicide death and something psychosocial like masculinity. So this was an attempt to fill that gap and test the hypothesis that's being discussed quite a bit."

A Relevant Risk Factor

Twenty-two deaths occurred among the Add Health participants. Of those participants, 21 were men (odds ratio [OR], 21.7; 95% confidence interval [CI], 2.9 – 161; P < .001).

The analysis showed that all nine risks for suicide that were highlighted in previous research were positively associated with HTM, with small to medium effect sizes. Of these, the most pronounced was family member suicide, with an OR of 1.89 (95% CI, 1.3 – 2.7).

Most tellingly, HTM men were 2.4 times more likely to commit suicide than men not defined as such (95% CI, 0.99 – 6.0; χ2 = 3.979; P < .046). Nevertheless, HTM men were also 1.45 times less likely to report suicidal ideation (OR, 0.69; 95% CI, 0.60 – 0.81; χ2 = 23.06; P < .001). There was no association between HTM and nonfatal suicide attempts.

Interestingly, HTM men were slightly more likely to report easy access to guns (OR, 1.1; 95% CI, 1.01 – 1.20; χ2 = 4.27; P < .04), but they had lower levels of depression (Cohen's d, 0.17; P < .001).

HTM not only has a direct association with suicide but also with a web of indirect effects as well, thanks to its association with all the other risks identified in the previous study by another group of investigators.

HTM may be an underlying influence in male suicide that increases the probability of externalizing such behavioral risk factors as anger, violence, gun access, and school problems.

The finding that almost all of the victims of suicide were men underscores the central role that gender plays in these tragedies. As such, the investigators hope that the study prompts more research, as well as intervention efforts aimed at the role of masculinity in suicide.

"There are already things going on around the world to try to address the risk factors of masculinity for suicide death. So even though we haven't had the evidence that it's a risk factor, people have been operating under that assumption anyway," said Coleman.

"Hopefully our research contributes to raising the profile that high traditional masculinity is a relevant risk factor that we can organize prevention and treatment around," he added.

An Important Contribution

Commenting on the findings for Medscape Medical News, Mark S. Kaplan, DrPH, said the study makes an important contribution to suicide research.

"Any study that tries to link a living sample with death data, as they did here, is important," said Kaplan, professor of social welfare at the Luskin School of Public Affairs of the University of California, Los Angeles.

"It's also important because it begins to scratch the surface of more proximal or distal factors that are associated with suicide, and masculinity is one of those factors," Kaplan added.

"In an incremental way, it begins to add to the puzzle of why men have a higher mortality rate than their female counterparts. Because when it comes to suicide, men and women really are apples and oranges."

Kaplan believes HTM is one of several traits that may lead men to take their own lives.

"There are all sorts of other issues. For example, masculinity might be interacting with some of the harsh socioeconomic conditions that many men face. I think all of this points to the real need to understand why men die from suicide," he said.

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For the third consecutive year, the Exchange has been recognized by VETS Indexes as a leading voice on Veteran employment issues and for its dedication to hiring heroes.

The Exchange earned the 4-Star Employer Award for its commitment to recruiting, hiring, retaining and supporting Veterans, military spouses, National Guard members and Reservists.

“Hiring Veterans and military spouses is a priority for the Exchange,” said Dr. Patrick Oldenburgh, executive vice president and chief Human Resources officer.” These heroes are our customers—bringing a unique perspective to our workforce.”

The Exchange has hired 57,000 Veterans and military spouses since 2013 and is committed to hiring 75,000 Veterans and military spouses by 2030.

The VETS Indexes Employer Awards survey analyzes employers’ policies, practices and outcomes related to:

• Veteran job candidate recruiting and hiring
• Veteran employee development and retention
• Veteran-inclusive policies and culture
• Support for members of the National Guard and Reserve
• Military spouse/family support

At the Exchange, Veterans, military spouses, dependents, Guard members and Reservists comprise 47% of the U.S. workforce. The Exchange, the Department of Defense’s largest retailer, offers competitive pay and benefits, including paid vacation and sick leave. When Veterans join the Exchange as full-time associates, their military service time can be used toward their Exchange retirement benefit.

Additionally, the Exchange’s associate transfer program helps military spouses retain employment during PCS’s, allowing them to keep their benefits and build toward retirement.

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CLARKSVILLE, TN (CLARKSVILLE NOW) – As the Montgomery County Veterans Service Organization (MCVSO) works to address ongoing concerns from Veterans and their families, the organization reports there may be new disability benefits available for many of them following recent legislation.

The MCVSO helps Veterans apply for a variety of benefits from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). In Montgomery County, 14% of the population is made up of Veterans, and, according to MCVSO Director Anthony Kester, 55% of those claim disability benefits in Montgomery County. That percentage is double the state average of 27%.

Addressing Veteran concerns

At the City Council meeting on Thursday, council members heard an update on the efforts of the organization.

Kester explained that the top three concerns Veterans are faced with, according to the data, are healthcare, disability benefits and transportation. He said the organization has made progress in tackling those issues, most notably in healthcare.

“They will be opening in January a VA clinic in the actual Blanchfield Hospital. So now we will have a second clinic. We’ll have the Weatherly Clinic and then we’ll have the Fort Campbell VA clinic that we can get our Veterans to before we get a larger facility,” he said.

In addition to a second clinic, Kester reports that disability benefits for Veterans are up over previous years. He noted these funds have a direct impact on the local economy.

“$460 million came in last year in economic impact. So, that’s houses, cars, education (and) entertainment dollars. It benefits us all. We want to keep that money in Montgomery County and grow our Veterans and our businesses.”

He attributed that amount to the number of VSO officers working in Montgomery County.

The economic impact for Montgomery County was $315 million in 2017, and it has grown steadily over the past few years. According to Kester, by 2022, that amount should be over half a billion dollars.

To address transportation issues, the organization continues to offer phone appointments and remote services.

“All during COVID, we did phone appointments, so we did remote services. And we still have Veterans that are still reluctant to come out, whether it be just for health concerns or transportation issues,” Kester said. “We still extend that (remote services) to our Veterans.”

In 2021, the organization filed nearly 9,200 claims for Veterans.

PACT Act 2022

The PACT Act is a new law that expands VA health care and benefits for Veterans exposed to burn pits and other toxic substances. This law helps provide generations of Veterans and their survivors with benefits, according to the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs.

The PACT Act:

• Expands and extends eligibility for VA health care for Veterans with toxic exposures and Veterans of the Vietnam, Gulf War, and post-9/11 eras.
• Adds more than 20 new presumptive conditions for burn pits and other toxic exposures during the wars in Iraq, Afghanistan and other hostile locations.
• Adds more presumptive-exposure locations for Agent Orange and radiation.
• Requires VA to provide a toxic exposure screening to every Veteran enrolled in VA health care.

“It’s America’s promise to address the compensable toxin exposure, and it covers all eras,” Kester said. “We have some additional benefits for Vietnam Veterans for Agent Orange. One of the largest presumptive they’ve added is hypertension.”

He noted that the federal government has also added new areas for Veterans who served in Vietnam, the Gulf War, and other conflicts. In the instance of Vietnam era Veterans, men and women serving in Guam, American Samoa and Thailand, among other areas, are now eligible for certain benefits.

“Whether it be the Veteran or a surviving spouse, there is no statute of limitation. If that Agent Orange Vietnam Veteran died 30 years ago of a heart attack or a stroke, and had hypertension, we can now service connect that. The VA will send them a letter at their last known address saying, ‘We knew that you filed this claim. Please come back and ask for it again.'”

Kester explained that in some instances, families may have moved since that Veteran died, so they are working to reach out to families who may have been impacted by these factors.

To find details on the services offered by the Montgomery County VSO, visit the website or call 931-553-5173.

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U.S. Army Veteran James Folsom thought he was in perfect health. Since he had smoked for 50 years, his provider at the Indianapolis VA Medical Center screened him for lung cancer and diagnosed him with stage 2 lung cancer.

“I did not have any symptoms,” Folsom said. “I would have carried on with my regular day, every day.”

Folsom underwent surgery, and his tumor was genetically sequenced. The results of his sequencing matched him with a cancer clinical trial for treatment. He received treatment for a year, with regular scans throughout the course of the trial. At every scan, the results looked more and more promising.

“If anybody is considering taking a trial, I suggest you go ahead,” Folsom said. “Take it from me, it saved my life. There’s a lot of living to be done.”

The trial James participated in, the Adjuvant Nivolumab in Resected Lung Cancers (ANVIL) study, was run by the National Cancer Institute (NCI). VA is working closely with NCI to expand access to clinical trials across VA, helping more patients like Folsom access life-changing studies.

Interagency partnership expands clinical trial access

Cancer clinical trials are research studies that explore new ways to treat cancer and improve quality of life for patients. An interagency collaboration between VA and NCI is increasing access to cancer clinical trials across VA. Formed in 2018, the NCI and VA Interagency Group to Accelerate Trial Enrollment (NAVIGATE) was developed to address barriers to clinical trial recruitment across the VA health care system. NAVIGATE provides programmatic support to VA Medical Centers (VAMCs) to increase the number and variety of clinical trials available to VA patients.

“NAVIGATE has greatly increased the cancer clinical trials available to Veterans within the VA system,” said Sara Schiller, MPH, national program manager for NAVIGATE.

In addition to increasing Veteran enrollment in cancer clinical trials, NAVIGATE also creates a national network of VA sites that work together to solve common problems sites face when conducting clinical trials and create best practices. With the NAVIGATE program, VA is building the capacity for participating VAMCs to offer more NCI clinical trials in the future.

“For every single study, you have to complete a great deal of paperwork and follow specific procedures. This creates a burden on a small staff,” said Dr. Herta Chao, MD Ph.D., deputy director at the West Haven VA Comprehensive Cancer Center and Principal Investigator (PI) for the NAVIGATE site at VA Connecticut Healthcare System. “Having additional research coordinators really helps, as does the mutual support between NAVIGATE sites.”

Since launching in 2018, NAVIGATE has opened 170 trials with 354 patients enrolled across their 12 sites. Of the patients recruited so far, approximately 25% have come from minority populations. Having Veterans and under-represented minorities volunteer to be part of clinical trials is important because the results of the research will be applicable to more people.

Creating the future of cancer care

Nationally, fewer than 1 in 20 cancer patients enroll in cancer clinical trials. According to the Cancer Action Network, 20% of cancer clinical trials fail due to insufficient patient enrollment. Patient enrollment is, therefore, critical for advancing the development of new treatment options.

“Cancer clinical trials today create standard treatments for tomorrow,” said Dr. Daphne Friedman, an oncologist and expert in blood cancers at the Durham VAMC, and PI for a VA NAVIGATE site.

When diagnosed with cancers, patients are presented with a variety of treatment options. Clinical trials are one important treatment option that patients should consider. Trials can provide access to cutting-edge – and sometimes lifesaving – treatment options.

“One of my patients, with a rare and aggressive salivary gland tumor that spread to his skull base, has been on an immune therapy trial for four years and is now stable. NAVIGATE has enabled more Veterans with cancer to get access to state-of-art clinical trials,” said Chao.

For those hesitant to enroll in clinical trials that explore treatments, there are other options for Veterans to volunteer. Clinical trials explore critical questions that can influence cancer care and patient well-being. One NCI study is collecting information and blood samples from patients who are receiving cancer treatment and contracted COVID-19 infection. This study will help fill current gaps in knowledge regarding cancer patients’ susceptibility to COVID-19 and the severity of the infection.

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Earlier this month, the Military Health System showed how Total Force Fitness keeps the hearts of the armed forces healthy and ready to defend the nation. The MHS sat down with Karen Hawkins, a dietician with Military Community and Family Policy, and Patricia Deuster, Ph.D., director of the Consortium for Health and Military Performance at the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences, to offer the dish on heart health and provide a few helpful hints to improve yours:

Introduce some color to your diet.

Phytochemicals ­ naturally occurring chemicals in plants ­ provide fruits and vegetables with color, smell, and flavor. Different colors provide different nutrients, so eat a range of colors for maximum benefit.

Deuster Dish: “Aim to fill half your plate with colorful vegetables and enjoy fruit for dessert and as part of your snack. Pick one new fruit or vegetable each week to try – this is a great way to introduce your family to new fresh and healthy foods.”

Cook more at home.

Families who cook at home have control over the ingredients, portions, and cooking process. Also, meals at home can be cheaper than dining out. Home cooking is associated with higher-quality diets, better weight management, and improved health.

Deuster Dish: “This is a great way to spend time with family and friends. Many military installations offer cooking classes and programs, so learn new recipes and try them at home with the family.”

Talk to a registered dietitian or nutritionist about an eating plan.

It’s a challenge for health care providers to tell warfighters and their families what the best diet is for heart health because individual preferences and differences in metabolism will determine what diet will last long term.

Hawkins Hint: “Following a plant-based diet, Mediterranean diet, or dietary approaches to stop high blood pressure or ‘DASH’ diet can help with preventing heart disease and reduce risk of heart complications. Talk to a registered dietitian or nutritionist to find out which plan works best for you.”

Eat foods rich in Omega-3.

Omega-3 fats help reduce blood pressure, abnormal heart rhythms, and the risk of stroke and heart failure. The human body does not produce omega-3 fats on its own, so eating foods with that type of fat can help improve heart health.

Deuster Dish: “Although foods like fish, flax, and chia seeds are the best source of omega-3s, some people take dietary supplements which, if chosen correctly, could be helpful.”

Check the ingredients in dietary supplements.

Some dietary supplements contain stimulants that can have adverse effects on the heart, like rapid heart rate and abnormal rhythms that can contribute to heart attack and stroke.

Deuster Dish: “Check your dietary supplements for stimulants or other ingredients that might ‘over activate’ your heart.”

Get a pet, and take it on walks.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, regular walking or playing with pets can decrease blood pressure, cholesterol levels, and triglyceride levels, all which affect the heart. Pets can also help manage loneliness and depression. They provide companionship and opportunities to socialize with others during play activities like dog walks.

Learn more about the benefits of dog walking on the heart and other domains of Total Force Fitness at Health.mil.

Do a “chill drill.”

Mental stress can be seen physically through symptoms like increased blood pressure, and perhaps indirectly through unhealthy behaviors like smoking, excess drinking, and poor food choices.

Hawkins Hint: “Take up meditation or deep breathing to help deal with stress. Military OneSource also offers ‘chill drills’ to help develop meditation habits and breathing exercises.”

Become financially fit.

Financial stress can mess up more than the checkbook. It can damage heart health by adding stress on the heart. Financial fitness also touches more than one domain of Total Force Fitness, affecting both the body and mind.

Hawkins Hint: “Financial counseling, or just evaluating how you stand with financial fitness, can help to reduce the stress associated with financial woes and lead to less strain on the heart. You can find more resources on how to evaluate your financial fitness on Military OneSource.”

Quit smoking.

Seriously. Tobacco use is linked not only to heart disease, but lung disease and numerous other health risks. With the rise in popularity of e-cigarettes, vapes, and smokeless tobacco, it’s important to remain educated about the negative effects of tobacco use.

Visit Health.mil to learn more about how the Total Force Fitness framework is helping to raise awareness about tobacco facts, and to discover some best practices for quitting.

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Most people assume Veterans’ organizations reflect their membership — principled, traditional, and right-of-center. After all, Veterans should put country before party and Veteran welfare before partisan interests. While that once may have been true, it no longer appears to be.

Instead, many prominent Veteran service organizations (VSOs), military service organizations (MSOs) and Veteran advocacy groups, most headquartered in Washington, either have outsourced their higher education agendas to the extreme left or have been infiltrated by Democratic strategists — and may not even know it. Either way, when it comes to the GI Bill and Veterans’ educational choice, the truth is staring us in the face: Many Veteran groups now primarily support a leftist, anti-choice higher education agenda.

Consider this:

America’s largest Veterans’ organization, the American Legion, quietly changed its position from being skeptical of anti-Veteran educational choice policies in higher education to now carrying the partisan banner of the left. I suppose this is not a big surprise. After all, in a recent media profile, one member of the American Legion described it as once having led on issues but now riding the coattails of others.

The flip-flop may be an extension of the Legion’s anti-President Trump staff. Many Veterans’ groups lose credibility because of their lack of balance and ridiculous claim of being nonpartisan. If that were true, they would actively listen to all Veterans, instead of backing partisan views. But they stay in their Washington headquarters and, lately, have been taking their marching orders from Democratic sources.

Carrie Wofford, a self-described Democratic strategist and one of the lead staffers behind a partisan Senate Committee report that violated “a long history of bipartisanship and collaboration,” founded Veterans Education Success (VES) in 2013. Predictably, the report condemned the taxpaying sector involved in career, technical and trade education — labeled as “for-profit colleges” by the left and their friends in the liberal media. Clear-thinking Republicans described the effort as nakedly partisan, one conducted in a way that “undermined the credibility” of its findings. This report, however, became a launching pad for a crusade against the taxpaying education sector that now exists under the banner of VES.

One glance at the VES leadership reveals the group’s leftist ideology. Three out of five board members have previous Democratic affiliations. Another unsuccessfully ran for elected office in California as, you guessed it, a Democrat.

The most disturbing arc in this development is not the creation of a left-leaning front group by a non-Veteran Democrat, but the blind allegiance to this organization by longstanding Veteran groups led by actual Veterans. Too many of these groups are endorsing partisan letters credited to the left-leaning VES.

VES and its coalition of Veteran groups recently criticized Sen. Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.) for his bipartisan efforts to advance higher education legislation and called for the inclusion of a partisan policy endorsed exclusively by Democrats. These same groups, however, remained eerily silent as Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) proposed to eliminate choice for Veterans at private career, technical and vocational schools.

Think about that. Veteran groups criticized a Republican leader for being bipartisan but did not utter a word when a progressive politician, seeking the Democratic nomination for president, put forth a proposal so extreme it is doubtful even her fellow Democrats will get behind it.

Mission creep is something we learn about in the military. Going off mission, or outside of your core competencies, hurts the overall focus of a unit or military campaign. The VSOs and MSOs get away with this kind of mission creep by rubber-stamping left-leaning, anti-Veterans’ choice letters because the general public is not paying attention and the left-leaning mainstream media will never call them out for it.

This leads to a leftist groupthink that now pervades the VSO/MSO community and is incredibly problematic, leading to a partisan approach on higher education policymaking. This approach ignores the needs of Veterans and elevates the special interests of partisans. Veterans want choices. They are smart enough to choose. It is time for Congress to listen to Veterans instead of the D.C.-based groups drunk on the swamp.

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A fake web site pretending to be an organization that offers job opportunities for U.S. Veterans is distributing malware that let's the attackers gain full control over a victim's computer.

Researchers from the Cisco Talos Group have a found a web site that pretends to be the organization called HMH, or Hire Military Heroes, that offers a desktop application that Veterans can use for job opportunities.

Talos Group states that the attackers behind this web site are a threat actor group named Tortoiseshell, who Symantec recently identified as an attacker who targeted IT companies in order to gain access to their customers.

"This is just the latest actions by Tortoiseshell. Previous research showed that the actor was behind an attacker on an IT provider inSaudi Arabia. For this campaign Talos tracked, Tortoiseshell used the same backdoor that it has in the past, showing that they are relying on some of the same tactics, techniques and procedures (TTPs)."

When a user visits the site, they will be prompted to download a program for either Windows 8, 8.1, or Windows 10. For the Windows 10 download, it is a zip file containing a program named win10.exe. This file is currently only detected by 3/69 vendors on Virustotal.

If the program is launched, a small loading screen will appear that states "Hire Military Heroes is a new resource for hiring armed forces." and that it is trying to connect to the database.

While this screen is being displayed, the malware is actually downloading two other malware files and saving them to the computer.

It will then show an alert that states "Sorry. Your security solution is terminating connections to our servers.". This fake error is being displayed to make it appear that it is a legitimate program that did not work on the computer.

In reality, there are now two malware infections running; one that gathers information about the victim and their computer and another that executes commands by the attackers.

Gathers information about the victim

The first program that is downloaded will execute 111 commands that are used to gather information about the computer and its victims.

These commands will gather a list of all files on a computer, drive info, running processes, networking information, user account list, network shares, ARP table entries, firewall info and more.

All of this information is then gathered into a file named %Temp%\si.cab and emailed back to the attackers using embedded Gmail email credentials

Installs Remote Access Trojan

In addition to the information gathering malware, a remote access Trojan will also be installed on the computer. This Trojan will be installed as a Windows service with a service name of "dllhost" and a display name of "Dll host".

This service will be configured to start automatically so that the infection starts every time Windows starts.

Once started, the RAT will connect back to the attackers command & control servers where it will receive commands to execute. These commands could be to terminate the service, upload a file, unzip a file, or execute a command.

This RAT infection essentially gives the attackers full control over the computer and allows them to perform any action they wish.

At this time, it is now known how this malware is distributed. Furthermore, the researchers stated that it is possible multiple teams from the APT group worked on this malware as it contains different levels of sophistication.

"At the time of publication, we do not have a method of distribution used, nor do we have proof of this existing in the wild. The level of sophistication is low as the .NET binary used has poor OPSEC capabilities, such as hard-coded credentials, but then other more advanced techniques by making the malware modular and aware that the victim already ran it. There is a possibility that multiple teams from anAPT worked on multiple elements of this malware, as we can see certain levels of sophistication existing and various levels of victimology."

For anyone who may have been infected by this malware, you should immediately perform scans of your computer and remove any threats that are found.

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The slightly dented bracelet found at the back of a chest of drawers in a Norwegian attic bore testimony to an epic tale of daring secret missions behind Nazi lines to free Europe of Hitler's Germany. Seventy-five years, its return to the family of its owner would be a saga all its own.

The bracelet, inscribed on the facing with the name of its owner, "Lt. Richard A. Bosch 0-783238," was discovered by Jorn Loite, who found it while cleaning out the attic of his grandparents' home in Drangedal, Norway. An inscription on the underside, possibly from a girlfriend, said "Ever with me, Jo." As first reported by NRK TV, Loite immediately knew he had a mission: to find out who Bosch was and find a way to send the bracelet back where it belonged.

Bosch, then 25, had been killed with 11 others in the crash of their specially-rigged B-24 Liberator bomber into the snowy face of Plukktjønnfjell mountain, Norway on the night of April 7, 1945.

The dangerous mission for the B-24 crew on that foggy and bitter cold night was to parachute supplies and four Norwegian-Americans to reinforce the small team of Office of Strategic Services saboteurs led by then-Army Maj. William Colby, who would become CIA director in the 1970s.

Colby would later describe the top-secret task of disrupting and blowing up the Nordland railway as "the first and only combined ski-parachute operation ever mounted by the U.S. Army."

He had previously jumped into occupied France with a unit known as the "Jedburghs," whose motto was "Surprise, Kill and Vanish." Colby would take that elan with him for the sabotage missions in Norway.

In a memoir written after the war, Colby recalled the first jump into Norway:

"This is it," Colby told the pilot as the B-24 neared the drop zone. "I told the men, and they began to buckle on their white equipment. The pilot veered left and angled earthward. Paulsen and Aanonsen pulled up the trap door, and I went through into the awful quiet that closes in when the engines recede.

"Then there was the cold and the wonder if there are friends below -- and above. Dimly, I counted the others slipping into the air -- one, two, three -- formation perfect, five seconds apart. Then my chute opened, now the others."

Loite found all this out from the Carpetbagger Aviation Museum in Harrington, England. The museum was founded in 1993 for the 50th anniversary reunion of the U.S. Army Air Force's 801st/492nd Bomb Group, known as the "Carpetbaggers."

Museum director Roy Tebbutt confirmed that Lt. Bosch was a bombardier with the Carpetbaggers, known for flying all-black B-24 Liberators on low-level night missions to drop supplies and agents from the OSS, the CIA's predecessor, into France and later Norway to bolster the resistance.

According to the museum's website, the Carpetbaggers had 208 aircrew killed in action while dropping 556 agents and 4,511 tons of supplies into enemy territory on a total of more than 3,000 missions, including 21 night bombing runs.

But that was all the museum could offer on Bosch. Enter 94-year-old former Sgt. Bill Becker, who flew with the Carpetbaggers as a top turret gunner out of Harrington.

Becker, treasurer and reunion director for the 801st/492nd Bomb Group, did not know Bosch personally, but was able to put Loite and NRK TV in touch with Linda Bosch Odess, the bombardier's niece, in Dunellen, Florida. That began a long and stilted effort by the Norwegians to get past COVID-19 restrictions and make a formal presentation of the bracelet to Linda.

Trumpet Player at Pearl Harbor

Bosch was the type of guy who somehow found time away from his secret flying missions out of England to shop for a christening dress for the soon-to-be born niece he would never know and mail it home, Odess, 75, told Military.com. She was born a month after Bosch's plane went down, on May 7, 1945 -- the same day Germany surrendered.

Family lore had it that Bosch was a talented musician and "he left home at 16 to play trumpet with a swing band," Odess said. He joined the Army in 1941, and one of Odess's prized possessions was a photo of her uncle with other members of the Army band taken at Pearl Harbor just before the Japanese attack.

Trumpet playing was no longer an option and Bosch wanted to fly, leading to his assignment to the Carpetbaggers in England. "We knew he wanted to be in the air, not slogging with the infantry," Odess said.

Until the discovery of the bracelet, and the story behind it, the family never knew that his plane had crashed into the mountain. "We thought he'd been shot down by the Germans," Odess said. "The only story I heard as a child was that the Germans shot him down, but it was foggy and their plane clipped the mountain."

Odess's memory as a toddler of the return of her uncle's remains for burial at Forest Hills Cemetery in Huntingdon Valley, Pennsylvania, is still vivid.

She recalled running around the cemetery, hearing a trumpet play Taps and being frightened by the gun salute that followed.

"Oh, I hated that," she said. "I was old enough to be running around but not old enough to understand. Everybody was crying."

Linda was vague on who the "Jo" inscribed on the underside of the bracelet might have been, but said Bosch was "what we used to call a 'ladies' man.' There was no doubt about that."

To Linda, the discovery of the bracelet was "beyond anything I would have prayed for, a full-blown miracle. To me, this is unbelievable."

The Norwegians had planned for a formal presentation of the bracelet to Linda by Norwegian-American Veterans in Florida. But those plans fell through because of COVID-19 restrictions. Instead, they mailed the bracelet to Linda. By way of a substitute for the presentation, NRK TV arranged a Skype call for Linda with Jorn Loite.

"This is an answer to my prayers. I thank you from the bottom of my heart," she told Loite. "It was the biggest gift anyone could give me."

Her "Uncle Dick" was a proud soldier who "loved to fly. He loved his country. He loved helping others," Linda told Loite.

Retired Col. Ebbe Deraas, a former commander in the Norwegian Home Guard who helped Loite in the search to find Linda, said he has arranged with Linda to donate the bracelet, the Purple Heart and other belongings of her uncle to a museum on the Norwegian resistance and the American contributions to that effort he was setting up in Snasa, Norway.

Linda said it was now on her "bucket list" to visit the museum when it is scheduled to open this September.

Out the "Joe Hole"

Bill Becker, who still cranks out a periodic newsletter called the "Carpetbagger" for the 801st/492nd Bomb Group, said he never knew the names of the quiet guys who sat in the belly of his B-24 waiting to parachute into Norway. The crews just called them all "Joe."

He also never knew where his plane might be going -- the pilot and navigator kept that to themselves. The belly turret guns of the B-24s had been ripped out and replaced with a lid that would open up to let the soldiers assigned to the OSS make their jumps. The crews called it the "Joe Hole."

"I never knew the agents that we might be dropping," Becker said. All he knew was that, from time to time, a black Chevrolet would pull up next to his plane and several paratroopers would step out, just before takeoff. "They got on at the last minute," he said.

The crews were all sworn to secrecy and for years after the war never spoke of their experiences -- not to their families or anyone else, Becker said.

The "Joes" were mostly Norwegians and Norwegian-Americans specially recruited for the 99th Infantry Battalion (Separate), known as the "Viking Battalion," said Erik Brun, a retired Army National Guard lieutenant colonel whose father, Christian Brun, served in the 99th.

They trained in alpine warfare at Camp Ripley and Fort Snelling in Minnesota, and at Camp Hale in Colorado, with other troops who would later form the Army's 10th Mountain Division.

Troops from the 99th would participate in Operation Rype, the Norwegian word for "Grouse," in the effort to liberate Norway from the Nazis. They'd later form the honor guard for the return of King Haakon VII to Norway in June 1945.

In an official report to the Army on the crash of Bosch's plane into the mountain, Colby, the major who later became CIA director, wrote that members of his unit thought they heard the sound of a crash on April 7, 1945. A patrol was sent to investigate but found nothing and had to turn back in bad weather.

A local reindeer herder later informed the Colby unit of the approximate location of the crash, and on April 22, a second patrol found the site. Colby wrote that the plane appeared to have hit the mountain and then bounced down the craggy slope.

"It is also believed from the conditions and positions of the bodies that all were killed instantly," Colby wrote. The plane itself was shattered in pieces, but all 12 bodies were identifiable from their dog tags.

"The bodies were removed from the wreck and wrapped in parachutes found in the area," and "they were buried in a rock cavern on a slight knoll overlooking the site," Colby wrote. "A brief ceremony was held at the site and an American flag was placed over the grave."

All 12 bodies were recovered after the war and the remains were returned to their families.

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"Overwhelmed." "Disbelief." "Surreal." That is how U.S. army Specialist Andy Jones and his family felt after receiving their brand new mortgage-free home, designed specifically to accommodate Jones' medical needs.

The exclusive holiday Fox Nation special, "A Very Building Homes for Heroes Christmas," profiles one of the many military families who have been given a new start by Building Homes For Heroes, which is a non-profit organization that builds and remodels homes uniquely tailored for wounded Veterans.

Jones' Humvee was struck by a rocket-propelled grenade during a 2007 deployment to Iraq. He sustained serious injuries, including traumatic brain damage, but it was the Post Traumatic Stress Disorder that he developed that made his return home to his wife Leigh and their young son a difficult one, he explained.

"I knew I'd had a long road to go," Jones said of his return home. "What kept driving me was I had a son and a wife. I need to get better, take care of myself. PTSD, the scariest feeling is knowing that you're always in danger. Your mind is constantly running 10,000 miles an hour. You're worried about where your back is facing...is it facing the glass? Is somebody looking at you ready to take a headshot at you? You always wonder about your family, making sure they're protected. It's a daily struggle."

Leigh, a medical assistant in the Air Force, was not familiar with the challenges of PTSD, she explained, but she began to research what would become her new reality.

"I had not dealt with PTSD, so it was a completely new experience," she said. "I had to do some research on it to try and figure things out, and I'm still figuring things out. If he falls asleep on the couch, I can't wake him up by shaking him. I know that there are certain things that he doesn't like to talk about, so I avoid those subjects."

Jones, a Purple Heart recipient, eventually received an honorable discharge from the military but was unable to seek work due to his condition. Instead, he committed to raising his son full time at home while Leah remained active military -- but the life of a military family is often a nomadic one, which comes with its own set of challenges.

"We've moved a lot in the military, never had a place that we could actually call our home...it was just a temporary place to stay," Jones explained.

Despite their various living conditions -- which included an RV outside a military base in Texas -- the Jones family made the best of their situation, they explained.

"We're super thankful for what we had. Whether it was in the camper or in a house or an apartment...we were able to adapt," Jones said.

Celebrating the holidays was a struggle in itself, but the unsettled lifestyle and close quarters would not stifle the family's holiday spirit.

"Me and my son are like little elves on Christmas," Leigh said. "Growing up, my mom wasn't really too big on decorating for Christmas so now that I am the mom, I make sure that it's something that we take the time to do. I think I put up a string of Christmas lights or two and we had a tiny Christmas tree that took the place [of] the coffee maker on the counter."

Building Homes for Heroes founder Andy Pujol got wind of Jones' inspiring story, and together with his team, and granted them a place to finally call home this Christmas as a part of his effort to gift 16 homes in 16 weeks leading up to the holiday.

Remodeling a home that was donated to the organization, Pujol's team pulled out all the stops for the military family, gutting bathrooms and redesigning bedrooms to compliment their needs.

The unrecognizable home included a hot tub for Jones that had been prescribed by his doctor to help with his condition. In a tribute to Leigh, the home was adorned from top to bottom in Christmas decor, featuring two full-size decorated trees and over 200 poinsettias in the yard.

"What we try and do is to make this home as beautiful, as comfortable, as possible, bring them into the community, make sure that the neighbors know them...we wrap our arms around all that," Pujol said.

"Every time we give a home, it's Christmas. It's not always Christmas time, but the homes around Christmas, we always to take that extra care and attention and decorate the homes for Christmas," he added.

In a large ceremony on the day of the reveal, Building Homes for Heroes was joined by the New Bern, NC community, including first responders, Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts, Veterans groups, contractors and elected leaders to present the Jones family with their new home.

"As I was driving down the street, I was looking out the window and I saw just tons and tons of people standing there, smiling and clapping, and it was just overwhelming. Many people came out, all these people, and they're all here for my family," Jones said.

"I'm so excited. I guess I feel like a 10-year-old [waiting] for Christmas the next morning," he added.

" I think I'm feeling a little overwhelmed, disbelief...feels a little surreal for this to actually be happening," Leigh said.

Thanks to Building Homes for Heroes, last year's Christmas on the road would be the last for the Jones family.

"I can't believe that this is actually ours," Leigh said. "I almost pinched Andy just to make sure I wasn't dreaming. I couldn't have decorated it any better myself."

"Andy from Building Homes for Heroes, he's like Santa Claus for sure," Jones added. "We cannot believe that this is happening and happening to us. We're just blown away. This Christmas is by far the best Christmas ever."

Highlighting their story, Pujol appeared on "Fox & Friends" Monday to discuss the success of his organization, which completed its 225th home this year since its launch.

"You guys would all love him," Pujol said, referring to Jones. "If you look into his heart and his soul, you could see him struggle, you could see him suffer, but when he smiles, he lights up the room, and we're watching him heal."

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WASHINGTON — The family of Sgt. Brieux Dash, a Veteran who died by suicide in a Department of Veterans Affairs mental health unit last year, filed a claim against the VA on Friday, arguing that the agency’s “deliberate indifference” and “complete disregard for patient safety” contributed to Dash’s death.

Dash, 33, hung himself March 14, 2019, on a door in the locked mental health unit at the West Palm Beach VA Medical Center. His death prompted an investigation by the VA Office of Inspector General, which found unsafe practices in the unit.

Managers of the unit didn’t pay enough attention to training requirements, the IG’s office wrote in its report. There was also a lack of oversight from regional and national offices, as well as staffing issues, inoperable cameras and too much time between nurses’ safety rounds. In addition, no one had recognized the risk posed by corridor doors.

Dash’s wife, Emma, and their three children, ages 17, 15 and 5, are pursuing wrongful death claims under the Federal Tort Claims Act “because the VA breached its duty to provide Brieux with a place of safety and prevent his suicide,” reads the claim, filed Friday by Bertling Law Group.

Dash was an Army Veteran who had deployed twice to Iraq, once in 2007 and again in 2009. He had a 50% disability rating with the VA for his depression and post-traumatic stress disorder.

“Brieux had a difficult time transitioning to civilian life,” the claim reads. “The realities of war made him a different man.”

He attempted suicide twice before, once in 2016 and again March 11, 2019. After Dash tried to use a belt to hang himself March 11, his wife called emergency responders, who took him to the West Palm Beach VA. Emma Dash worked as a pharmacy technician at the VA hospital and told officers that’s where he should go.

“She now experiences deep remorse and guilt for making that recommendation,” the claim says.

At the unit — a 25-bed, high-intensity, locked mental health area — Dash was red-flagged as being at high risk for suicide. During his multiple days in the unit, Dash was cooperative, social and sleeping and eating well, the IG reported. He agreed to take prescribed antidepressants and was eventually designated as “low risk” for suicide.

However, when Dash’s discharge was delayed on the fourth day of his hospital stay, he became agitated and screamed that he wanted to go home.

“In a fit of rage, Brieux isolated himself behind the closed door of room 235-1, where he wrapped a self-made noose around his neck and hung himself from the corridor door,” Emma Dash’s claim reads.

A fellow patient found Dash, who was later pronounced dead in the hospital’s emergency room.

Following the IG report last year, the hospital initiated a plan that included more frequent and random safety rounds in the unit. The hospital director told the IG that they would install over-the-door-alarm systems and working cameras.

At the time, the IG’s office asserted that hospital leaders deflected responsibility, failed to perform their duties and “lacked awareness of patient safety requirements.”

“Facility leaders and managers only started to respond aggressively to longstanding deficient conditions after” Dash’s suicide, the IG’s report states.

In addition to the unsafe practices at the hospital, Emma Dash’s claim says VA employees didn’t contact her in a timely manner to plan for her husband’s discharge.

“This critically important communication failure resulted in a significant delay of Brieux’s discharge and caused further destabilization of his physical and mental condition,” according to the claim.

Emma and Brieux Dash met at West Potomac High School in Alexandria, Va., at age 14, the claim says. They had their first child in 2002 and were married in 2006, the same year Dash joined the military.

Before his suicide, Dash had recently lost his job and said for several days that he thought his family would be better off if he were dead.

Four days before his hospitalization, he received a notice from the VA, stating that the agency had overpaid him nearly $20,000 in benefits and would be stalling any future payments until the amount was paid. Emma Dash’s claim says the letter “sent Brieux into a downward spiral of depression, anxiety, emotional distress and fragility.”

The family has “sustained an indescribable loss since Brieux died by suicide,” the claim concludes. “The VA should do the right thing by admitting liability and reasonably compensating the estate of Brieux Dash for the damages it has sustained.”

Peter Bertling, the family's attorney, planned to file separate claims for Emma Dash and each of the three children.

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FARGO, N.D. (Valley News Live) - Due to a recent large shipment of COVID-19 vaccine, the Fargo Veterans Affairs (VA) Health Care System (HCS) is expanding COVID-19 vaccine eligibility to all Veterans enrolled in VA healthcare, regardless of age, on Feb. 12, 13, and 15.

Veterans enrolled in VA healthcare are encouraged to call the Fargo VA at (701) 239-3700, select option 2, to schedule a COVID-19 vaccine appointment at the Fargo VA Medical Center on Feb. 12, 13, or 15. This expanded eligibility is currently only available for those who schedule their vaccine appointment on Feb. 12, 13, or 15.

Veterans must be enrolled in VA healthcare to receive the COVID-19 vaccine through the VA. Those interested in enrolling should call the Fargo VA’s Eligibility Office at (701) 239-3700 extension 3428.

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Certain transplant recipients, cancer patients and others can soon get a third dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech or Moderna vaccine

The United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) authorized an additional Covid-19 vaccine dose to boost protection for certain immunocompromised people. The decision comes after mounting evidence that vaccinations may not trigger an adequate immune response in some groups of people. A panel of advisors from Centers for Disease Control and Prevention gave final authorization Friday, and vaccine distributors are now permitted to administer booster doses immediately, report Manas Mishra and Michael Erman for Reuters.

Those eligible for boosters include some organ transplant recipients, those with certain cancers, and others with similarly compromised immune systems, report Laurie McGinley and Lena H. Sun for the Washington Post. Both the Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna vaccines have been given the green light to distribute booster shots. According to the CDC, either mRNA shot may be administered if an individual's original vaccine is not available. Per Reuters, proof of a medical condition will not be required to receive additional dosage.

"The country has entered yet another wave of the Covid-19 pandemic, and the FDA is especially cognizant that immunocompromised people are particularly at risk for severe disease," Acting FDA Commissioner Janet Woodcock wrote in a Tweet late Thursday evening. "After a thorough review of the available data, the FDA determined that this small, vulnerable group may benefit from a third dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech or Moderna vaccines.”

The mRNA-based Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna vaccines work by showing our immune system what a viral invader looks like before it arrives. That way, our body is already trained to spot, neutralize and destroy the virus if we’re infected. For some people with compromised immune systems, two doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech or Moderna vaccination may not have triggered a robust enough anti-virus response to offer long-term protection, reports Jacqueline Howard for CNN.

“As we’ve been saying for weeks, emerging data show that certain people who are immunocompromised, such as people who have had organ transplant and some cancer patients, may not have had an adequate immune response to just two doses of the Covid vaccine,” said CDC director Rochelle Walensky during yesterday’s White House Press Briefing. “To be clear, this is a very small population. We estimate it to be less than 3 percent of adults.”

Organ donor recipients and other immunocompromised people are especially vulnerable to infections, hospitalization, and death from viruses like SARS-CoV-2. For those without compromised immune systems, there is no evidence yet that a booster dose is needed to provide added protection against the virus.

“Others who are fully vaccinated are adequately protected and do not need an additional dose of Covid-19 vaccine at this time,” said Woodcock in a Tweet.

The rampant spread of the Delta variant and rising breakthrough infections in healthy, fully vaccinated people—though extremely rare—has put pressure on wealthy nations to consider widespread booster shots. Meanwhile, many developing countries are struggling to access the first doses necessary to halt the virus’ spread and mutation, report Manas Mishra and Michael Erman for Reuters. In an effort to close the vaccine gap between high- and low-income countries, the World Health Organization has called for a moratorium on booster shots until at least the end of September.

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Were you ineligible to donate blood because of your military service in Europe? You may be eligible now.

In 2020, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) lifted a longstanding ban that prevented some 4.4 million Veterans, service members and civilians stationed in certain parts of Europe between 1980 and 1996 from donating blood. The ban was meant to prevent transmission of a deadly brain disease commonly known as “mad cow disease.”

The fatal disease is believed to be acquired by consuming contaminated beef. U.S. bases at the time sourced potentially tainted beef from the United Kingdom. The disease was first recognized there in 1985.

The FDA made the change after finding that there have been no reported cases of the brain disease associated with time spent on U.S. military bases in Europe.

Served at hospital in Landstuhl

Army Veteran Elizabeth “Liz” Zemba is pictured above. She is among the thousands of former service members who for decades were told they could not give blood because they were stationed in Germany. Zemba is a technical sergeant in the Pennsylvania Air National Guard and served as a pharmacy specialist at the former 2nd General Hospital in Landstuhl from 1986 to 1990.

“I was surprised to learn I and other Veterans who had been banned from giving blood are now welcome to once again participate in this potentially lifesaving act,” Zemba said. Until now, she was last allowed to give blood in the mid-1980s. “I was happy to make my first appointment to donate again.”

Under the new guidelines, persons who had been ineligible because they resided for six months or more on U.S. military bases in Germany, the United Kingdom, Belgium and the Netherlands between 1980 and 1990, or on bases in Greece, Turkey, Spain, Portugal and Italy between 1980 and 1996 may now be eligible.

The deferral, however, is still in place for past or recent residency or travel in some European countries. For instance, FDA guidelines do not permit donation by individuals who have spent three months or more cumulatively in the United Kingdom from 1980 to 1996.

Eligibility details on these websites

Two national blood donation centers list eligibility details on their websites: Vitalant and the American Red Cross. Vitalant also welcomes donors to call their medical help desk to speak to a registered nurse about eligibility at 412-209-7035. Vitalant anticipates the change will help ease blood shortages due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

“There is an urgent need for blood, platelet and convalescent plasma to provide to area hospitals. We hope these new FDA guidelines result in previously ineligible individuals coming to donate,” said Kristen Lane of Vitalant. “COVID-19 continues to significantly impact blood drives and has put a strain on the blood supply.”

Lane said all blood types, especially type O, are needed to help ensure patients continue to have the blood they depend on for surgeries and ongoing medical treatment.

Veteran Robert Johnson: “I need to start back doing that”

Robert Johnson, an Army Veteran now living in Missouri, retired from active duty after serving in multiple locations, including overseas during the late 1990s to early 2000s.

“I always gave blood when I could as a soldier,” said Johnson, who served in Europe from 1995 to 2002 and then was stationed in South Korea before returning stateside. “So when I was a drill sergeant at Fort Leonard Wood in 2005, I was told that if anyone was stationed in these two places there was a hiatus or wait period on blood donations. I need to start back doing that again.”

“Giving blood is another chance to serve”

Zemba, who made an appointment to give blood the day after learning she was eligible again, encouraged her fellow Veterans to roll up their sleeves in service to others.

“Giving blood is another chance to serve,” she said. “If you are eligible, consider donating. You could save a life.”

To check your eligibility:

• Call the American Red Cross at 866-236-3276.
• Call Vitalant at 800-310-9556.

Information on the FDA’s decision to lift the blood-donor deferral.

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MADISON, WIS. – Timothy M. O’Shea, Acting United States Attorney for the Western District of Wisconsin, joins Richard G. Frohling, Acting United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Wisconsin, and Karen Timberlake, Secretary-designee and Anthony Baize, Inspector General of the Wisconsin Department of Health Services (DHS) to advise the public that any act of creating, distributing, selling, or buying of fake COVID-19 vaccination record cards and any act of forging COVID-19 vaccination information is illegal and punishable under federal law.

The unauthorized use of an official government agency’s seal, such as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), is a crime and may be punishable under federal law under Title 18 United States Code, Section 1017, and other applicable laws.

“COVID-19 vaccines provide important protection for all of us when we are at school, attending public events, using mass transit, at the workplace, or attending a place of worship. Those who might claim to be vaccinated when they are not are putting themselves and their loved ones at risk of contracting COVID-19,” said Secretary-designee Karen Timberlake. “Get vaccinated, encourage your friends and family to do the same, and add an extra layer of protection by wearing a mask in public places including for teachers, staff and students in our schools.”

DHS also reminds Wisconsinites to not post vaccine cards on social media as the information could be stolen to commit fraud.

“If you have not been vaccinated, do not make your own cards or buy fake cards,” said Inspector General Anthony Baize. “If you were vaccinated and your card was not filled out correctly, do not fill in the card yourself. Instead, call your vaccine provider.”

“Public and private institutions, including employers, universities, schools, and businesses, need to be able to rely on the legitimacy of COVID-19 vaccine cards. Our office will use all available tools to prosecute individuals who knowingly falsify vaccine cards,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Richard Frohling.

“Legitimate COVID-19 vaccine cards—like the vaccines themselves—are crucial tools to prevent illness and death.   People who are foolish or selfish (or both) enough to supply bogus vaccination cards, allowing others to circumvent COVID-19 curtailment efforts, will be prosecuted to the full extent of the law,” said Timothy M. O’Shea, Acting U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Wisconsin.

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SPRINGFIELD, Ill. – Blessing Hospital in Quincy, Illinois, has agreed to pay approximately $2.82 million to resolve allegations that it violated the False Claims Act by submitting claims for medically unnecessary cardiac catheterization procedures performed by a physician who no longer practices in the Central District of Illinois. Today’s settlement resulted from a voluntary disclosure by Blessing Hospital.

The settlement will be apportioned as follows: the United States will receive nearly $2.59 million, the State of Illinois will receive approximately $225,000, and the States of Iowa and Missouri will receive the remainder. The settlement resolves allegations that Blessing Hospital obtained payments from Medicare and Medicaid for the facility component of cardiac catheterization procedures performed between August 1, 2012, and August 30, 2018, in which the physician implanted medically unnecessary coronary arterial stents.  

“Blessing Hospital made the difficult and correct decision to come forward,” said Acting United States Attorney Douglas J. Quivey for the Central District of Illinois. “The U.S. Attorney’s Office will continue to vigorously investigate healthcare fraud and protect taxpayer dollars, and cooperation from healthcare providers like Blessing Hospital goes a long way in supporting that mission.”

“The physician performing these allegedly needless procedures exploited patients and the Medicare and Medicaid programs,” stated Curt L. Muller, Special Agent in Charge with the Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General. “Blessing Hospital assisted in identifying the harm to the programs by disclosing these facts. Our agency commends providers who defend Federal health care systems."

"The Illinois State Police is dedicated to investigating healthcare fraud and to ensuring that tax dollars are used appropriately for the care of patients," said Illinois State Police Director Brendan F. Kelly. "The cooperation of healthcare providers can aid our healthcare fraud investigations and help us accomplish this effort."

The claims resolved by the settlement are allegations only, and there has been no determination of liability.

The settlement was the result of a coordinated effort by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Central District of Illinois, the Civil Division of the Department of Justice, the Inspector General’s Office of the Department of Health and Human Services, and the Illinois State Police Medicaid Fraud Control Unit. Assistant U.S. Attorney John Hoelzer and Department of Justice Senior Trial Counsel Laurie Oberembt represented the government during the settlement process. To learn more about the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Central District of Illinois, please visit https://www.justice.gov/usao-cdil.

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A federal court has ruled the Department of Veterans Affairs cannot force Veterans to relinquish their Montgomery GI Bill eligibility in order to receive Post-9/11 GI Bill payouts.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims made the ruling last week, upholding a lower court’s decision in BO vs. Wilkie, according to Military Times.

VA officials must now decide if they will contest the ruling, which could provide thousands of Veterans with an extra year of college tuition benefits.

Government officials have previously argued the limitation was designed to prevent Veterans from “doubling up on their government benefits for personal profit,” according to the report.

But the court ruled instead that Veterans eligible for both programs should be able to receive payouts from each, so long as those payouts aren’t simultaneous.

“That means that Veterans who use up their 36 months of Post-9/11 GI Bill education benefits would still have access to 12 months of Montgomery GI Bill benefits if they paid into the program while they were serving,” Military Times reports. “Under existing federal statute, any government higher education payouts are capped at 48 months.”

The Post-9/11 GI Bill provides 36 months of tuition assistance and living stipends to Veterans who meet certain service requirements since Sept. 10, 2001. The Montgomery GI Bill provides 36 months of education payouts for Veterans who paid $1,200 in their first year after enlisting.

VA officials have until March 9 to appeal the decision.

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The Federal Electronic Health Record Modernization (FEHRM) program office announced the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), Department of Defense (DOD) and Department of Homeland Security’s U.S. Coast Guard (USCG) expanded their joint health information exchange (HIE) network with the private sector, Oct. 9, after connecting with the CommonWell Health Alliance.

CommonWell brings a nationwide network of more than 15,000 hospitals and clinics to the 46,000 community partners already part of the joint HIE.

Launched earlier this year, the joint HIE is a modernized health data sharing capability that enhances the ability of VA, DOD and USCG to quickly and securely share electronic health record (EHR) data bidirectionally with participating community health care providers. The result provides more informed care for patients who are navigating between different health care providers.

“The CommonWell connection means VA, DOD, and USCG providers can access more information about their patients to make the best care decisions,” said FEHRM Director William Tinston,. “The FEHRM drives federal capabilities, such as the expanded joint HIE to improve health care delivery, regardless of where patients get care.”

Through the joint HIE, providers may access information on their patients’ prescriptions, allergies, illnesses, lab and radiology results, immunizations, past medical procedures and medical notes.

“As a clinician who is using the joint HIE, the more patient information I have access to, the more I can understand the full picture of my patient’s care and better meet their needs,” saidVA primary care physician and clinical leader with the FEHRM Dr. Neil Evans. “During the COVID-19 pandemic, efficient electronic health information sharing is more important than ever.”

The joint HIE’s integration with the CommonWell network of providers is part of the overarching effort within VA, DOD and USCG to modernize and deploy a single, common federal EHR. By implementing the same EHR —VA, DOD and USCG can better document care from the time individuals enter the military through their care as Veterans, including care they may receive in the private sector — viewable through the joint HIE.

The joint HIE honors patient consent. Health records of patients who opt out of sharing will not be exchanged through the joint HIE.

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PENSACOLA, FLORIDA – United States Attorney Lawrence Keefe, of the Northern District of Florida,

announced today that a federal grand jury has indicted a Pensacola man for the possession of

firearms, including a concealed firearm, at the Department of Veterans Affairs Joint Ambulatory

Care Clinic in Pensacola. The three-count indictment alleges that Pensacola resident Howell E.

Camp, 58, illegally possessed a 5.56 millimeter Del-Ton Incorporated rifle and a 9 millimeter Smith

& Wesson pistol at the federal facility. It is alleged that Camp possessed these firearms with the

intent to commit a crime on May 6, 2020.

“The security of our federal facilities and those who work within them remains a priority of this

office and we, along with our law enforcement partners, are deeply committed to protecting such

facilities,” said Keefe.

Camp is charged with possession of the firearms with the intent to commit a crime, for which he

faces up to five years’ imprisonment. He is also charged with carrying a concealed firearm in

violation of law, for which he faces up to three years’ imprisonment. An arraignment date has been

set for Thursday, May 28, 2020, at 1:00 p.m., in Pensacola, Florida.

Assistant United States Attorney David L. Goldberg is prosecuting the case following a joint

investigation by Veterans Affairs Office of Inspector General - Criminal Investigations Division,

the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and the Florida Department of Law Enforcement.

An indictment is merely an allegation by a grand jury that a defendant has committed a violation of

federal criminal law and is not evidence of guilt. All defendants are presumed innocent and

entitled to a fair trial, during which it will be the government’s burden to prove guilt beyond a

reasonable doubt at trial.

The United States Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Florida is one of 94 offices that

serve as the nation’s principal litigators under the direction of the Attorney General. To access

public court documents online, please visit the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of

Florida website. For more information about the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Northern District of

Florida, visit http://www.justice.gov/usao/fln/index.html.

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Case Marks First Charges Brought in District of South Carolina Related to Fraudulent Vaccine Cards

Columbia, South Carolina --- Acting United States Attorney M. Rhett DeHart announced today that a Federal Grand Jury in Columbia returned a multiple-count indictment in connection with the production of fraudulent COVID-19 Vaccination Record Cards, the first such criminal prosecution in the District of South Carolina.

Tammy McDonald, 53, of Columbia, was charged in a three-count indictment with two counts of producing fraudulent COVID-19 Vaccination Record Cards and one count of lying to federal investigators about her role in producing the cards.

“Although the indictment speaks for itself, creating fraudulent or fake vaccine cards for those who have not been vaccinated poses a direct threat to the health of the people of South Carolina,” said Acting U.S. Attorney DeHart. “I want to thank our federal and state partners for their quick work in acting on this matter. This office will continue to prosecute fraud related to the Coronavirus in all its forms, and this case speaks to those efforts.”

“The indictment alleges McDonald defrauded and endangered the public by creating and distributing fake COVID-19 vaccination cards. Engaging in such illegal activities undermines the ongoing pandemic response efforts,” stated Derrick L. Jackson, Special Agent in Charge with the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Office of Inspector General. “We remain committed to working with our law enforcement partners to investigate individuals who are exploiting the pandemic and people for personal gain.”

“Since the beginning of the pandemic, the FBI and its partners have been at the forefront of investigating crimes involving fraudulent COVID-19 schemes,” said Susan Ferensic, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Columbia Field Office. “Producing fraudulent vaccination cards is a serious matter and is not taken lightly. Anyone leading or participating in this type of activity should know there will be consequences.”

The indictment alleges that McDonald, who worked as the Director of Nursing Services at a skilled nursing and rehabilitation center in Columbia, produced the fraudulent vaccine cards on June 20, 2021, and July 28, 2021. The indictment further alleges that on October 22, 2021, McDonald was questioned by federal agents with HHS and FBI and lied by stating she did not have access to COVID-19 Vaccination Record Cards and that she never produced a false or inaccurate vaccine card. The indictment alleges this was false because she had personally filled out vaccine cards for individuals she knew had not received a COVID-19 vaccine.

McDonald, who has pleaded not guilty on all three charges, was arraigned today by a United States Magistrate Judge in Columbia. She was granted a $10,000 bond. McDonald faces up to 15 years in prison for each count of producing a fraudulent COVID-19 Vaccination Record Card, and five years in prison for lying to federal investigators.

The case was investigated by HHS and FBI, with assistance from the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division (SLED). Assistant U.S. Attorney Derek A. Shoemake, who also serves as the District’s Coronavirus Fraud Coordinator, is prosecuting the case.

Acting U.S. Attorney DeHart stated that all charges in the indictment are merely accusations and that McDonald is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.

On May 17, 2021, the Attorney General established the COVID-19 Fraud Enforcement Task Force to marshal the resources of the Department of Justice in partnership with agencies across government to enhance efforts to combat and prevent pandemic-related fraud. The Task Force bolsters efforts to investigate and prosecute the most culpable domestic and international criminal actors and assists agencies tasked with administering relief programs to prevent fraud by, among other methods, augmenting and incorporating existing coordination mechanisms, identifying resources and techniques to uncover fraudulent actors and their schemes, and sharing and harnessing information and insights gained from prior enforcement efforts. For more information on the Department’s response to the pandemic, please visithttps://www.justice.gov/coronavirus.

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CHICAGO — Two employees of the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs pocketed cash from vendors in exchange for steering them orders for medical equipment, according to indictments returned in federal court in Chicago.

ANDREW LEE and KIMBERLY A. DYSON worked as Prosthetic Clerks in the Veterans Health Administration Prosthetics Service in Chicago. As part of their duties, Lee and Dyson selected vendors from which to order medical equipment for VA patients, and then paid the vendors using government purchase cards. In exchange for their efforts with certain vendors, Lee and Dyson allegedly received cash payments from individuals at the vendor companies.

Lee, 66, of Chicago, is charged with one count of wire fraud. Dyson, 49, of Chicago, is charged with one count of conspiracy to commit bribery and four counts of bribery.

The charges were announced by John R. Lausch, Jr., United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois; and Gavin McClaren, Acting Special Agent-in-Charge of the Department of Veterans Affairs Office of Inspector General’s Central Field Office. The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Heidi Manschreck.

“Schemes to fraudulently corrupt the procurement process cheat the government and deserving bidders,” said U.S. Attorney Lausch. “We will work aggressively with our law enforcement partners to safeguard our nation’s taxpayers.”

“The corruption of VA employees cannot be tolerated,” said Acting SAC McClaren. “These alleged fraudulent activities erode public trust and undermine the value of fair market competition. The VA OIG appreciates the US Attorney’s Office for its commitment in helping hold these defendants accountable.”

Lee and Dyson were charged in separate indictments returned Tuesday in U.S. District Court in Chicago.

United States v. Lee, et al, 21 CR 703

The charges allege that Lee schemed with DARREN A. SMITH, who operated a medical distribution company in Bolingbrook, Ill., to place orders for medical equipment from Smith’s company in exchange for cash kickbacks to Lee. Lee allegedly placed orders with Smith’s company for unnecessary and more costly monthly rentals of certain medical equipment – instead of purchasing the equipment as VA physicians had ordered – so that the VA would pay more money to Smith’s company. The scheme fraudulently caused the VA to overpay Smith’s company by more than $1.38 million from 2016 to 2020. In exchange, Lee pocketed kickbacks from Smith of at least $220,000, the indictment states.

In addition to the wire fraud count against Lee, the indictment charges Smith, 57, of Hazel Crest, Ill., with seven counts of wire fraud.

United States v. Dyson, et al, 21 CR 705

The charges accuse Dyson of conspiring with IRVIN R. LUCAS, IV, who owned a medical supply company in Romeoville, Ill., to place orders for medical equipment from Lucas’s company in exchange for cash payments to Dyson. The indictment describes several instances in which Dyson placed orders with Lucas’s company and then sent text messages to Lucas asking for certain amounts of cash. Lucas allegedly paid Dyson by transferring money into her checking account or providing her with a debit card to withdraw the funds. From 2018 to 2020, Dyson accepted at least $39,850 from Lucas for steering the orders to his company, the indictment states.

In addition to the conspiracy and bribery counts against Dyson, the indictment charges Lucas, 40, of North Hollywood, Calif., with one count of bribery conspiracy.

Arraignments in federal court in Chicago have not yet been scheduled.

The public is reminded that an indictment is not evidence of guilt. The defendants are presumed innocent and entitled to a fair trial at which the government has the burden of proving guilt beyond a reasonable doubt. If convicted, the Court must impose reasonable sentences under federal statutes and the advisory U.S. Sentencing Guidelines.

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On Dec. 2, a federal jury in Greeneville, Tennessee, convicted Peter Bolos, 44, of Tampa, Florida, of 22 counts of mail fraud, conspiracy to commit health care fraud and introduction of a misbranded drug into interstate commerce, following a month-long trial.

According to court documents and evidence presented at trial, Bolos and his co-conspirators, Andrew Assad, Michael Palso, Maikel Bolos, Larry Smith, Scott Roix, HealthRight LLC, Mihir Taneja, Arun Kapoor, and Sterling Knight Pharmaceuticals, as well as various other companies owned by them, deceived pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs), such as Express Scripts and CVS Caremark, regarding tens of thousands of prescriptions. The PBMs processed and approved claims for prescription drugs on behalf of insurance companies. Bolos and his co-conspirators defrauded the PBMs into authorizing claims worth more than $174 million that private insurers such as Blue Cross Blue Shield of Tennessee, and public insurers such as Medicaid and TRICARE, paid to pharmacies controlled by the co-conspirators.

Court documents and evidence at trial established that Bolos, Assad and Palso owned and operated Synergy Pharmacy in Palm Harbor, Florida. Under their direction, Synergy agreed with Scott Roix, a Florida telemarketer operating under the name HealthRight, to generate prescriptions for Synergy and the other pharmacies involved in the scheme. The prescriptions were typically for drugs such as pain creams, scar creams and vitamins. To obtain the prescriptions, evidence showed Roix used HealthRight’s telemarketing platform as a telemedicine service, calling consumers and deceiving them into agreeing to accept the drugs and to provide their personal insurance information. HealthRight then paid doctors to authorize the prescriptions through its telemedicine platform, even though the doctors never communicated directly with the patients and relied solely on the telemarketers’ screening process as the basis for their authorizations. Because this faulty and fraudulent process made the prescriptions invalid, the drugs were misbranded under the Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act. Synergy and the other pharmacies nonetheless dispensed the drugs to consumers as part of the scheme, so that Bolos could submit fraudulent reimbursement claims.

Court documents and evidence at trial established that during the conspiracy, which lasted from May 2015 through April 2018, Bolos paid Roix more than $30 million to buy at least 60,000 invalid prescriptions generated by HealthRight. Evidence showed Bolos selected specific medications for the prescriptions that he could submit for highly profitable reimbursements. In addition, Bolos used illegal means to hide his activity from the PBMs so that he could remain undetected. Evidence showed that Bolos was responsible for at least $89 million out of the total $174 million in fraudulently paid billings.

“The defendants deceived consumers in order to facilitate the distribution of drugs without proper medical oversight, and overbilled insurers for illegal prescriptions,” said Deputy Assistant Attorney General Arun G. Rao of the Justice Department’s Civil Division. “The Department will continue to investigate and prosecute individuals who use telemedicine to advance fraudulent schemes that violate the Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act.”

“The United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Tennessee applauds the unwavering efforts of the multiple agencies involved in this collaborative investigation to bring this extensive healthcare fraud and misbranding scheme to justice,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Francis M. Hamilton III for the Eastern District of Tennessee. “The scope and nature of this fraud and misbranding scheme shock the conscience. Patients were given medications that they neither requested nor wanted, and the trial proof demonstrated that the prescriptions were specifically chosen by Bolos to maximize the fraudulent scheme’s profits, rather than for the patients’ healthcare needs. The guilty verdict against Bolos and the guilty pleas obtained from his co-defendants should send a strong message that the Department of Justice will aggressively prosecute fraud against health insurance providers.”

“Healthcare fraud is an egregious crime problem that impacts every American,” said Special Agent in Charge Joseph E. Carrico of the FBI’s Knoxville Field Office. “The guilty verdict was a result of a multi-agency investigation into a complex health care fraud scheme that required substantial investigative resources. Along with its law enforcement partners, the FBI remains committed to investigate these crimes and prosecute all those that are intent in defrauding the American public."

“Distributing misbranded prescription drugs in the U.S. marketplace places patients’ health at risk,” said Special Agent in Charge Justin C. Fielder of the FDA Office of Criminal Investigations Miami Field Office. “We will continue to pursue and bring to justice those who put profits ahead of public health.”

“Bolos and his co-conspirators used their pharmacies to fraudulently bill insurance companies hundreds of millions of dollars, and that type of health care fraud impacts everyone,” said Special Agent in Charge John Condon of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Tampa. “HSI will continue to work with our law enforcement partners at the federal, state and local level to investigate all fraud and bring those responsible to justice.”

“Bolos and his co-conspirators sought to increase their profits by executing a comprehensive health care fraud scheme involving innocent patients,” said Special Agent in Charge Derrick L. Jackson of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Inspector General. “This conviction should serve as a warning to individuals who wish to deceive the government and steal from taxpayers. Alongside our law enforcement partners, we will continue to pursue medical professionals who engage in fraudulent activity.”

“The verdict in this case sends a clear message that these types of schemes will not be tolerated,” said Special Agent in Charge Matthew Modafferi of the U.S. Postal Service Office of Inspector General in the Northeast Area Field Office. “The Special Agents of the U.S. Postal Service Office of Inspector General will continue to work closely with the U.S. Attorney’s Office and our law enforcement partners to bring to justice those who commit these kinds of offenses.”

Roix, Assad, Palso, Smith, Maikel Bolos and various associated business entities previously pleaded guilty to their roles in the conspiracy. Taneja, Kapoor, and Sterling Knight pleaded guilty to felony misbranding in a conspiracy with Bolos. U.S. District Judge J. Ronnie Greer set sentencing for Bolos for May 19, 2022, in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Tennessee at Greeneville. Sentencings for the other defendants will be set for dates in 2022.

The trial and plea agreements resulted from a multi-year investigation conducted by the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services Office of Inspector General (Nashville); Food and Drug Administration Office of Criminal Investigations (Nashville); U.S. Postal Service, Office of Inspector General (Buffalo); Federal Bureau of Investigation (Knoxville and Johnson City, Tennessee); Office of Personnel Management Office of Inspector General (Atlanta); and the Department of Homeland Security, Homeland Security Investigations (Tampa). The U.S. Marshals Service also assisted in the investigation and the forfeiture of assets.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys TJ Harker and Mac Heavener for the Eastern District of Tennessee and Trial Attorney David Gunn of the Department of Justice Civil Division’s Consumer Protection Branch in Washington, and a former Assistant U.S. Attorney in Knoxville, prosecuted and tried the case. They were assisted by Barbra Pemberton, Bryan Brandenburg and April Denard from the U.S. Attorney’s office.

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Fraudulent scheme involved $3 million in contracts intended for service-disabled veterans

ALBUQUERQUE – A federal jury sitting in Albuquerque on March 2 returned a verdict finding Nick L. Medeiros, 49, and Bobby D. Greaves, 62, both of San Antonio, Texas, guilty of federal fraud and false statement charges following a seven-day trial.

A federal grand jury indicted Medeiros and Greaves on June 13, 2018, charging the two men with conspiracy, major fraud against the United States, and two counts of false statements. The indictment also included forfeiture provisions. On March 10, 2020, a federal grand jury returned a four-count superseding indictment charging Medeiros and Greaves with unlawfully obtaining more than $3 million in government contracts by falsely and repeatedly representing to the United States that Medeiros, a service-disabled veteran, was operating independently from Greaves, his brother-in-law. The indictment alleged that instead Medeiros relied on Greaves, who is not a veteran, to complete all of Medeiros’ government contract work by providing the labor and equipment. The superseding indictment alleged that two of the government contracts involved in the defendants’ fraudulent scheme involved construction projects at Cannon Air Force Base in Clovis, New Mexico, and included a $1.9 million contract to build a “Drop Zone” cybercafé.

The trial began on February 22 and concluded on March 2, when the jury returned guilty verdicts on all four counts.

During the trial, the evidence established that Greaves and Medeiros agreed to create a pass-through entity to get access to programs set aside for service-disabled veterans, and that both made material false statements on which government agencies and personnel relied in awarding contracts to Medeiros’ company. Evidence also established that Medeiros altered documents, such as bank signature cards and employee resumes. and submitted the altered versions to the Air Force, the Department of Veterans Affairs, and the Small Business Administration.

The jury deliberated for three hours before returning its guilty verdicts.

“The fraudulent acquisition of contracts intended for service-disabled veterans is an abuse of the system,” said Fred J. Federici, United States Attorney for the District of New Mexico. “Such fraud not only profits unscrupulous parties, it necessarily deprives veterans, who have made a permanent sacrifice in service to our nation, of the opportunity to compete for government contracts to once again serve their country. This office will honor its duty in prosecuting these crimes to restore justice to our veterans.”

“Conspiring to gain federal contracts set aside for service-disabled veterans is reprehensible,” said Special Agent in Charge Jeffrey Breen of the Department of Veterans Affairs Office of Inspector General’s South Central Field Office. “These guilty verdicts send a clear message that anyone who attempts to do so will be held accountable. We thank the U.S. Attorney’s Office and our other law enforcement partners for their efforts in this case.”

“The collaboration between the Department of Veterans Affairs Office of Inspector General, OSI and the Department of Justice, was significant in this investigation” said Special Agent in Charge Blair Holmstrand of the Office of Special Investigations, Procurement Fraud Detachment 3, San Antonio, Texas. “The guilty verdicts reflect the results of the hard work put forth by all agencies involved.”

The investigation began when a concerned citizen brought the close association between Medeiros and Greaves to the attention of the VA OIG, who requested assistance from AFOSI when the initial investigation revealed questionable conduct on Cannon AFB in New Mexico.

Medeiros and Greaves each face up to 25 years in prison, fines of up to twice the amount of money gained by the fraud, and forfeiture of all proceeds involved in the fraud. The defendants remain on conditions of release pending sentencing, which has not been scheduled.

The Department of Veterans Affairs Office of the Inspector General and the Air Force Office of Special Investigations investigated this case. Assistant United States Attorneys Paul J. Mysliwiec and Jonathon M. Gerson are prosecuting the case.

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In the Federal Government’s strategy to recruit and employ Veterans, the FedsHireVets.gov website was created to give resources and directions to Veterans seeking employment information. FedsHireVets recognize that Veterans have the experience, skills, and leadership abilities that make them ideal candidates for many federal jobs. Federal jobs can be a natural transition for many Veterans. They can offer more stability than employment in the private sector.

FedsHireVets offers information and resources regarding the federal employment process. On the website you can find over a thousand job opportunities and useful reference materials for Veterans programs with Veterans Affairs, the Department of Defense and the Department of Labor.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is 5-point preference and who is eligible?

A 5-point preference eligible is a Veteran whose discharge or release from active duty in the armed forces was under honorable conditions and service meets the following criteria:

1. During a war; or
2. During the period April 28, 1952 through July 1, 1955; or
3. For more than 180 consecutive days, other than for training, any part of which occurred after Jan. 31, 1955, and before Oct. 15, 1976; or
4. During the Gulf War from Aug. 2, 1990, through Jan. 2, 1992; or
5. For more than 180 consecutive days, other than for training, any part of which occurred during the period beginning Sept. 11, 2001, and ending on Aug. 31, 2010, the last day of Operation Iraqi Freedom; or
6. In a campaign or expedition for which a campaign medal has been authorized. Any Armed Forces Expeditionary medal or campaign badge, including Afghanistan (Operations Enduring Freedom (OEF), Iraqi Freedom (OIF)), Bosnia (Operations Joint Endeavor, Joint Guard, and Joint Forge), Global War on Terrorism, Persian Gulf, and others may qualify for preference.

The Veteran must have been discharged under an honorable or general discharge.

How do I determine if I am eligible for Veterans’ preference?

In general, Veterans’ preference eligibility is based on dates of active duty service, receipt of a campaign badge, Purple Heart, or a service-connected disability. Only Veterans discharged or released from active duty in the armed forces under honorable conditions (honorable or general discharge) are eligible for Veterans’ preference.

If you are not sure of your preference eligibility, visit https://www.fedshireVets.gov/job/Vetpref/index.aspx.

How many types of preference eligibles are there?

There are basically three types of preference eligibles, disabled (10 point preference eligible), non-disabled (5 point preference eligible) and sole survivorship preference (0 point preference eligible).

For more FAQ, information and resources, visit FedsHireVets.gov.

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STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- Federal officials are taking steps to help some Veterans of the Vietnam War nearly 50 years after the official end of the conflict.

Sen. Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) and Rep. Max Rose (D-Staten Island/South Brooklyn) announced bipartisan legislation on Thursday at the Vietnam Memorial in Castleton Corners that would add certain ailments to the list of those recognized and covered by the federal government.

At least Parkinson’s disease, bladder cancer, and hypothyroidism will be included in an amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act set to pass next week, according to Schumer. The version of the amendment House of Representatives will also include hypertension.

President of the Staten Island chapter of Vietnam Veterans of America Gene DiGiacomo said he was pleased with the news, but said the coverage should’ve been a priority for decades. He attended Thursday’s event press conference with other members of the chapter’s executive board -- Vice President Nicky Castoro, Treasurer Al Paolucci, and Secretary Frank Russo -- along with Veteran’s activist Michael Sulsona.

“It is so long overdue. How many men and women are suffering from these diseases?” DiGiacommo said. “This is bipartisan, which is good, but it should’ve been done years ago.”

Schumer pointed to years of fighting to secure coverage for Vietnam Veterans, and blamed the federal bureaucracy, particularly the “damn bean counters” at the U.S. Office of Management and Budget, for the delay.

The diseases to be added in this year’s NDAA amendment join a host of others linked to Agent Orange, including non-Hodgkin lymphoma, respiratory cancer, and diabetes.

“It’s been a struggle, and we’ve had to fight disease by disease by disease in terms of getting it done,” Schumer said. “There is no doubt that Agent Orange, the herbicide, caused these illnesses.”

The U.S. military used Agent Orange to reduce the dense jungles of Vietnam in an effort to help the soldiers fighting in the southeast Asian country.

Rose, who along with Schumer was joined by Assemblyman Michael Cusick (D-Mid-Island), said legislation like the amendment announced Thursday is how the nation can truly honor Veterans.

“It’s not enough just to thank our Veterans for their service,” Rose, who is a Veteran of the war in Afghanistan, said. “This is how we thank our Veterans -- by being there for them with real services.”

The military’s use of “burn pits” in Afghanistan and Iraq have drawn comparisons to what was done with Agent Orange more than 50 years ago.

According to the Department of Veterans Affair, open-air burn pits were used at deployed military bases to dispose of waste like chemicals, paint, medical and human waste, metal and aluminum cans, munitions and other unexploded ordnance, petroleum and lubricant products, plastics, rubber, wood, and discarded food.

BurnPits360 is a Veterans’ advocacy group founded by Army Captain Le Roy Torres and his wife after he developed severe breathing problems he links to his exposure to burn pits during his deployment to Iraq from 2007 to 2008.

According to the organization’s website, some “of the devastating health conditions suffered by Veterans exposed include: neurological disorders, pulmonary diseases, rare forms of cancer, and many unexplained symptoms.”

The VA does not yet recognize long-term harmful effects linked to burn pits, but has kept a database since 2014 of Veterans possibly exposed. As of June 22, 208,492 Veterans and service members had completed the registry’s questionnaire.

DiGiacommo said the responsibility of protecting enlisted men and women both during and after war falls to the governments that sends them.

“What has to happen is when you send men and women off to war or to a foreign country, you have to be responsible for them,” he said. “Any elected official that doesn’t want to recognize that should not be in office.”

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Consumer advocates are reminding veterans that you don’t have to pay someone to file disability claims.

“Some dishonest businesses set their sights on the monetary benefits veterans get for their service, especially with the passing of the PACT Act, which expands VA benefits and health care for veterans exposed to burn pits and other toxic substances,” wrote the Federal Trade Commission in a recent consumer alert.

“Scammers also try to get in your good graces by emphasizing — maybe even stretching the truth about — their time in service,” the alert stated.

That could mean a hefty financial burden for veterans, said Marty Callaghan, deputy director of benefits and claims services for the American Legion.

“I’m glad the FTC did that, because these folks are out for profits,” Callaghan said. “They charge too much money for their services, especially when veteran service organizations like the American Legion, VFW and DAV and the others can provide these services for free.”

For the last fiscal year, the American Legion alone helped veterans get $16 billion in benefits, Callaghan said. “Multiply that by all the other veteran service organizations,” he added.

The VA can help veterans find a VA-recognized organization or a VA-accredited individual to help them file a claim. The VA advises veterans to ask up front whether they will have to pay any money.

In some cases, predatory companies charge 500% to 600% of the monthly benefit the veteran receives. So if, for example, a veteran receives a monthly benefits increase of $1,000, the veteran would owe the company $5,000 to $6,000 “right off the bat,” he said. Veterans sign a contract, but may not realize the cost.

“We’re working with Congress and other veteran service organizations to try to get this problem taken care of. It’s gotten worse since the pandemic started,” Callahan said. “These companies are making millions of dollars off of our veterans.

“They’ve turned veterans’ disability benefits into a for-profit venture,” he said.

The Promise to Address Comprehensive Toxics Act, better known as the PACT Act, expands and extends eligibility for VA health care for veterans with toxic exposures and veterans of the Vietnam, Gulf War, and post-9/11 eras. It adds more than 20 additional presumptive conditions for burn pits, Agent Orange and other toxic exposures, and adds more presumptive-exposure locations for Agent Orange and radiation.

Those include 12 types of cancer and 12 other respiratory illnesses linked to burn pit exposure in the Gulf War and the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan; hypertension and monoclonal gammopathy of undetermined significance (MGUS) for veterans who served in Vietnam; and radiation-related illnesses for veterans who served in several new locations in the 1960s and early 1970s.

With presumptive conditions, veterans don’t have to prove that their service caused the condition. They just have to meet the service requirements for the condition.

Within 75 days after the PACT Act was signed into law, the VA had received 112,949 new applications for disability claims related to the new presumptive illnesses. VA will start processing the claims in January.

These additional presumptive conditions unfortunately may make veterans even better targets for predators, Callahan said.

“Veterans are easy pickings for predators,” he added.

The disability claims filing process is separate from one provision of the PACT Act, which allows lawsuits against the federal government specifically in relation to harm caused by exposure to contaminated water at Camp Lejeune.

Legal advertisements about Camp Lejeune water contamination have been flooding the air waves and mailboxes since the PACT Act was signed into law.

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If you served in the Gulf War and have since developed fibromyalgia, you may be eligible for disability benefits. Fibromyalgia VA rating and benefits work a bit differently than that of other illnesses. Specifically, Gulf War Veterans who develop fibromyalgia do not have to prove a connection between their illness and service to be eligible to receive this compensation. Rather, the VA will presume that unexplained symptoms are related to Gulf War service if a Veteran has experienced them for six months or more.

In order to be eligible for this presumptive service connection, fibromyalgia must have emerged during active duty in the Southwest Asia Theater of military operations or by December 31, 2016. It must also be at least 10% disabling.

This theater of operations includes the following locations, along with the airspace above them:

• Saudi Arabia
• Kuwait
• Iraq
• Oman
• The United Arab Emirates
• The Gulf of Oman
• The Persian Gulf
• The neutral zone between Iraq and Saudi Arabia
• The Gulf of Aden
• The Arabian Sea
• The Red Sea
• Bahrain
• Qatar

If you believe that your illness and military service make you eligible for benefits, it’s important to gather medical evidence and make a claim. This guide will break down the basics of fibromyalgia, how to make a VA disability claim, and what to expect from the fibromyalgia VA rating system.

What Is Fibromyalgia?

Fibromyalgia is characterized by unexplained, widespread pain throughout the body, lasting longer than 3 months. Fibromyalgia has been linked to repetitive injuries, physical and emotional trauma, stress, and infections. The main symptoms associated with fibromyalgia are chronic pain in muscles, tendons, and other soft tissues accompanied by “tender points” that hurt when pressure is applied. These “tender point” locations include:

• Back of the head
• Between the shoulder blades
• Top of shoulders
• Front sides of the neck
• Upper chest
• Outer elbows
• Upper hips
• Sides of hips
• Inner knees

Other symptoms may be present in people with fibromyalgia. These symptoms include:

• Moderate or severe fatigue and decreased energy
• Feeling anxious or depressed
• Sleep disturbances (such as insomnia)
• Abdominal pain, bloating, nausea, and constipation alternating with diarrhea (irritable bowel syndrome)
• Jaw and facial tenderness
• Sensitivity to one or more of the following: odors, noise, bright lights, medications, certain foods, and cold
• Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)
• Tension or migraine headaches
• Impaired memory and concentration
• Numbness or tingling in the face, arms, hands, legs, or feet
• Increase in urinary urgency or frequency (irritable bladder)
• Reduced tolerance for exercise and muscle pain after exercise
• A feeling of swelling, without actual swelling, in the hands and feet

A diagnosis of fibromyalgia is confirmed with a brief physical exam that involves the testing of the trigger points. In order to give a diagnosis of fibromyalgia, there must be widespread pain lasting at least three months, and at least 11 out of the 18 possible tender points.

The onset of fibromyalgia may be gradual or sudden. Sudden onset of fibromyalgia is usually associated with physical injury or trauma such as a car accident. Fibromyalgia may also be initiated by infections or chemical and drug exposure. There is no known cure for fibromyalgia, but there are effective treatment options to manage symptoms. Treatment usually focuses on relieving pain, avoiding stress, improving sleep, and correcting hormonal imbalances.

What Can You Expect From Meeting With a Doctor?

Since the VA requires a documented diagnosis from a rheumatologist when assessing eligibility for disability benefits, you will need to see a doctor for testing. Because many of the signs and symptoms of fibromyalgia are similar to various other disorders, you may have to see multiple doctors before receiving a diagnosis. Before meeting with a doctor you may want to write a list covering the following topics:

• Detailed description of your symptoms
• Information about medical problems you’ve had in the past
• Information about the medical problems of your parents or siblings
• All the medications and dietary supplements you take
• Any questions you want to ask the doctor.

As previously discussed above, fibromyalgia symptoms mimic many of the symptoms of other conditions. Because of this, fibromyalgia is sometimes referred to as the “great imitator.” Knowing the differences between common disorders that fibromyalgia is often mistaken for can help ensure that your doctor properly diagnoses you. The common disorders that fibromyalgia is often mistaken for include:

• Lyme disease
• Lupus
• Osteoarthritis
• Rheumatoid arthritis
• Cushing’s syndrome
• Hypothyroidism
• Polymyalgia Rheumatica
• Reflex sympathetic dystrophy syndrome
• Cervical spinal stenosis

A rheumatologist will run the tests which are needed to rule out the above conditions. After you test negative for each condition, the rheumatologist would diagnose you with fibromyalgia.

How Does The VA Rate Fibromyalgia?

Fibromyalgia VA rating is rated under diagnostic code 5025. A rheumatologist must evaluate and diagnose the condition for it to be rated under this code. Additionally, the pain must be present on both sides of the body and both above and below the waist to be rated under this code. A Veteran with a diagnosis of fibromyalgia will receive either a 10%, 20%, or 40% rating when they are suffering from widespread musculoskeletal pain and tender points, with or without associated fatigue, sleep disturbance, stiffness, paresthesias, headache, irritable bowel syndrome symptoms, depression, anxiety, or Raynaud’s like symptoms that:

• Require continuous medication for control – 10%
• Are episodic, with exacerbations often precipitated by environmental or emotional stress or by overexertion, but that are present more than 1/3 of the time – 20%
• Are constant, or nearly so, and refractory (resistant) to therapy – 40%

Widespread pain is defined by the VA to mean pain in both the left and right sides of the body, that is both above and below the waist, and that affects both the axial skeleton (i.e. cervical spine, anterior chest, thoracic spine, or low back) and the extremities.

Keep in mind that it is possible to have a different condition (such as hypothyroidism) and fibromyalgia at the time. In that situation, you cannot win a claim for fibromyalgia until the other condition has been treated and stabilized for six months and the fibromyalgia symptoms persist.

Remember that a Veterans disability law firm can help you understand these requirements, make a claim, and make an appeal if you are are a Gulf War Veteran living with fibromyalgia.

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Nearly 35,000 active-duty airmen who flew on fighter jets between 1970 and 2004 are at higher risk of developing prostate cancer and melanoma, with possible links to non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma and testicular cancer as well, according to the largest-ever study on military aviation and cancer.

While the research offers some clues about possible cancer prevention measures, it’s not enough to warrant broad policy changes for the Air Force fighter community, according to the Air Force’s School of Aerospace Medicine at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio.

The school released its findings in a May 26 memo first obtained by Defense One.

Researchers launched the study in 2020 to look for possible links between fighters and 10 types of cancer: colorectal; pancreatic; melanoma; prostate; testicular; bladder; kidney and renal pelvis; thyroid; brain and other nervous system cancers; plus non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma.

Those diseases were chosen based on previous research, theoretical risks, anecdotal reports and the input of the Red River Valley Fighter Pilots Association, a group founded to raise awareness of American aircrews who were missing, killed in action or taken prisoner during the Vietnam War, the report said.

The Air Force focused on fighters that were flown most often during the Vietnam War from 1965 to 1973: the F-100 Super Sabre, the F-105 Thunderchief, the F-4 Phantom II and its RF-4 variant used for reconnaissance. Other fighters in the inventory since the war were part of the study as well, but the report did not break out data on those platforms.

Researchers considered Air Force fighter pilots and weapons system officers who were on active duty for at least one day between June 1, 1970, and Dec. 31, 2004, and logged at least 100 hours in a jet. They tracked data on those airmen through the end of December 2018.

As is still the case, fighter pilots and their backseat crews were typically white men. Black airmen comprised 17 percent of the group studied; women made up less than 1 percent of aviators in the fighter community during that time.

One-third of men in the study group flew the F-4, followed by the RF-4 at 8 percent, F-100 at about 6 percent and F-105 at about 3 percent. Half of the group flew other kinds of fighter jets in the years after the war.

About 6 percent of the men studied, or 2,100 people, were diagnosed with prostate cancer regardless of their assigned fighter. They were nearly 20 percent more likely to have prostate cancer than the general population, 25 percent more likely to have melanoma and 13 percent more likely to have non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma.

Male pilots and WSOs on any fighter platform were also nearly 30 percent more likely to have testicular cancer than other officers, and almost 25 percent more likely to have melanoma and prostate cancer.

Those who piloted the single-seat F-100, the first jet capable of going faster than the speed of sound, may be particularly vulnerable to those cancers, researchers found.

Nearly 2,300 airmen included in the study had flown the F-100, which retired in 1979 after more than 25 years in service. About 8 percent of those airmen in the study died of cancer, more than those who worked on other jets, though researchers said the true number may be higher.

“Compared to fighter aviators who never flew the F-100 … male fighter aviators who flew the F-100 had greater odds of being diagnosed and dying from colon and rectum cancer, pancreas cancer, melanoma skin cancer, prostate cancer and brain cancer,” the report said. “They also had greater odds of dying from thyroid cancer and non-Hodgkin lymphoma, despite similar odds of diagnosis.”

While the F-100 provided cover overhead during missions to spray the carcinogenic herbicide Agent Orange in Vietnam and Laos in the 1960s, the study couldn’t prove a definitive link between Agent Orange exposure and cancer in Super Sabre aviators.

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Flu and COVID-19 can both lead to serious illness

Getting a flu vaccine this fall is more important than ever to protect yourself, your family, friends, and coworkers. We are facing a tough 2020 flu season as we prepare to battle the coronavirus at the same time.

Flu shots protect you against flu. By getting a flu shot, you will be less likely to spread flu to others. By keeping you healthy, our VA facilities won’t be overwhelmed with flu patients during the pandemic.

Flu and COVID-19

Flu and COVID-19 can lead to serious health complications resulting in hospitalization or death. The good news is both may be prevented by wearing a face covering, practicing physical distancing, washing your hands frequently and coughing into your elbow.

Everyone needs a flu shot

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends that everyone six months or older should get a yearly flu shot. Flu can be serious among young children, older adults and those with chronic health conditions, such as asthma, heart disease or diabetes.

Every year, hundreds of thousands of Americans are hospitalized with the flu.

During the 2019-2020 flu season, more than 4,600 Veterans were hospitalized at VA medical centers. More than 600 of them required intensive care stays. VA providers also saw over 27,000 Veterans for flu and spoke to more than 13,000 during phone triage calls.

Flu season is near, so talk to your health provider about where to safely get a flu shot this fall.

Shots at retail pharmacies

If you are enrolled in VA health care, you can receive the seasonal flu vaccination at more than 60,000 locations through the Community Care Network in-network retail pharmacies and urgent care partners. VA will pay for standard-dose and high-dose flu shots. Even if you haven’t had a flu shot lately, make this the year that you do!

On Sept. 1, enrolled Veterans can visit https://www.va.gov/communitycare/flushot.asp to find locations to get a no-cost flu shot.

Help us help you: we are fighting flu and COVID-19 together.

Important Resources

• Influenza
• COVID-19
• Coronavirus Frequently Asked Questions
• CDC Similarities and Differences Between Flu and COVID-19

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Flu and COVID-19 can both lead to serious illness

Getting a flu vaccine this fall is more important than ever to protect yourself, your family, friends, and coworkers. We are facing a tough 2020 flu season as we prepare to battle the coronavirus at the same time.

Flu shots protect you against flu. By getting a flu shot, you will be less likely to spread flu to others. By keeping you healthy, our VA facilities won’t be overwhelmed with flu patients during the pandemic.

Flu and COVID-19

Flu and COVID-19 can lead to serious health complications resulting in hospitalization or death. The good news is both may be prevented by wearing a face covering, practicing physical distancing, washing your hands frequently and coughing into your elbow.

Everyone needs a flu shot

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends that everyone six months or older should get a yearly flu shot. Flu can be serious among young children, older adults and those with chronic health conditions, such as asthma, heart disease or diabetes.

Every year, hundreds of thousands of Americans are hospitalized with the flu.

During the 2019-2020 flu season, more than 4,600 Veterans were hospitalized at VA medical centers. More than 600 of them required intensive care stays. VA providers also saw over 27,000 Veterans for flu and spoke to more than 13,000 during phone triage calls.

Flu season is near, so talk to your health provider about where to safely get a flu shot this fall.

Shots at retail pharmacies

If you are enrolled in VA health care, you can receive the seasonal flu vaccination at more than 60,000 locations through the Community Care Network in-network retail pharmacies and urgent care partners. VA will pay for standard-dose and high-dose flu shots. Even if you haven’t had a flu shot lately, make this the year that you do!

On Sept. 1, enrolled Veterans can visit https://www.va.gov/communitycare/flushot.asp to find locations to get a no-cost flu shot.

Help us help you: we are fighting flu and COVID-19 together.

Important Resources

• Influenza
• COVID-19
• Coronavirus Frequently Asked Questions
• CDC Similarities and Differences Between Flu and COVID-19

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Use VA’s real-time map to apply for available positions at facilities across theUS and its territories.

If you’re looking for a career caring for Veterans in a specific location, VA Careers’ real-time openings map makes it easy to explore VA employment opportunities across the United States and its territories.

As the country’s largest integrated healthcare system, VA has more than 170 medical centers and 1,255 sites of care. On any given day, there are opportunities to work by the beach, in a city or in the countryside, allowing you to apply your education, skills and experiences in the place you want to live.

Click for careers by location

Start your search at the real-time map on the VA Careers’ website. Here are a few ways to use the tool:

• The map shows bubbles with the number of openings by broad geographic area. Click a bubble to reveal which facilities are hiring in that region. Zoom in on a region or a facility for a list of openings, more detailed position information, contact information and apply links.
• Use the “search” button in the upper right-hand corner of the map to sort available positions by location and relevance. Or search for specific roles by entering keywords, job type and location. Search results show you the VA facility, its available positions and how to apply.
• Click the “list” button in upper right-hand corner of the map to display lists of positions during your search and sort by recently opened positions or relevance.
• Use the “draw” tool in the upper right-hand corner of the map to customize your search by region. Results are the available listings at the local VA medical facilities within your search circle. From there, narrow in on opportunities that match your skillset with your ideal location.

Choose VA today and #ApplyYourself

VA’s real-time map gives you the power to choose a VA career from opportunities in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, Guam, American Samoa and the Philippines. Locate your dream job today and #ApplyYourself.

• SEARCH VA careers using the map at VAcareers.va.gov.
• NAVIGATE the hiring process.
• HEALTHCARE OCCUPATIONS may apply here.

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Pentagon Report

A pentagon report referenced in a 9/13/19 Military Times article stated that the number of active and former bases with contamination from PFOS (perfluorooctane sulfonate) and PFAS (Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substance ), highly toxic chemicals in fire fighting foam, is about to grow. The last count by the Pentagon in Autumn 2018 was that approximately 90 Army and ANG bases were contaminated. They now expect similar numbers from the Air Force and Navy this fall.

What is Wrong with Fire Fighting Foams?

AFFF, or aqueous film-forming foams, contain high concentrations of PFOS to extinguish specific types of fires such as aircraft/jet fuel fires. The problem with PFOS and PFAS is that, unlike other chemicals, they do not degrade over time in the environment. Most find their way into local ground source water supplies and then into local drinking water supplies.

What illnesses are associated with PFOS and PFAS?

A study in 2004 identified increased risks of the following due to fire fighting foam:

• Prostate Cancer/Testicular Cancer
• Hodgkin’s lymphoma
• Leukemia

In 2012, Emory University showed an increased risk to the following diseases due to PFOS and PFAS:

• Multiple Myelomas
• Mesothelioma
• Diabetes Mellitus Type 2
• Kidney Cancer and non-cancer kidney diseases

The EPA has also linked PFOS and PFOAs to:

• Low birth weights
• Accelerated puberty
• Skeletal variations
• Liver effects such as tissue damage
• Immune effects such as antibody production and immunities
• Thyroid effects
• Cholesterol changes

Is there an alternative?

In the 1990s, several companies including 3M and Pyrocool Tech developed fluorine-free foam (FFF) that tested equally as well as the AFFF for putting out jet fuel fires set by the International Civil Aviation Organization. DuPont has lobbied heavily against these products with the Department of Defense. In the last two decades, several companies developed FFF foams that are up to 97% biodegradable, but the military continues to use the toxic foams.

What Can Veterans Do if They Were Exposed?

There is still a lot we do not know about the long term health effects of PFOS and PFAS. However, there are already reports of high concentrations at these bases. If a Veteran has a health concern, getting an independent medical opinion is vital in identifying the health conditions and having an expert find scientific links for those conditions to the toxins that Veterans were exposed to.

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A man has died in Washington state of COVID-19, state health officials said Saturday, marking the first such reported death in the United States.

State officials issued a terse news release announcing the death, gave no details and scheduled a news conference. A spokesperson for EvergreenHealth Medical Center, Kayse Dahl, said the person died in the facility in the Seattle suburb of Kirkland, but gave no other details.

State and King County health officials said “new people (have been) identified with the infection, one of whom died.” They did not say how many new cases there are.

Amy Reynolds of the Washington state health department said in a brief telephone interview: “We are dealing with an emergency evolving situation.”

Washington Gov. Jay Inslee said the person who died was a man from Washington state.

“It is a sad day in our state as we learn that a Washingtonian has died from COVID-19. Our hearts go out to his family and friends,” Inslee said. "We will continue to work toward a day where no one dies from this virus.

The number of coronavirus cases in the United States is considered small. Worldwide, the number of people sickened by the virus hovered Friday around 83,000, and there were more than 2,800 deaths, most of them in China.

Most infections result in mild symptoms, including coughing and fever, though some can become more serious and lead to pneumonia. Older people, especially those with chronic illnesses such as heart or lung disease, are especially vulnerable. Health officials think it spreads mainly from droplets when an infected person coughs or sneezes, similar to how the flu spreads.

Health officials in California, Oregon and Washington state worried about the novel coronavirus spreading through West Coast communities after confirming three patients were infected by unknown means.

The patients — an older Northern California woman with chronic health conditions, a high school student in Everett, Washington, and an employee at a Portland, Oregon-area school — hadn’t recently traveled overseas or had any known close contact with a traveler or an infected person, authorities said.

Earlier U.S. cases include three people who were evacuated from the central China city of Wuhan, epicenter of the outbreak; 14 people who returned from China, or their spouses; and 42 American passengers on the Diamond Princess cruise ship, who were flown to U.S. military bases in California and Texas for quarantining.

Convinced that the number of cases will grow but determined to keep them from exploding, health agencies were ramping up efforts to identify patients.

The California Department of Public Health said Friday that the state will receive enough kits from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control to test up to 1,200 people a day for the COVID-19 virus — a day after Gov. Gavin Newsom complained to federal health officials that the state had already exhausted its initial 200 test kits.

Santa Clara County in the San Francisco Bay Area reported two cases where the source of infection wasn’t known. The older woman was hospitalized for a respiratory illness, and rapid local testing confirmed in one day that she had the virus, health officials said.

“This case represents some degree of community spread, some degree of circulation,” said Dr. Sara Cody, health officer for Santa Clara County and director of the County of Santa Clara Public Health Department.

“But we don’t know to what extent,” Cody said. “It could be a little, it could be a lot.”

“We need to begin taking important additional measures to at least slow it down as much as possible,” she said.

Cody said the newly confirmed case in Santa Clara County is not linked to two previous cases in that county, nor to others in the state.

The Santa Clara County resident was treated at a local hospital and is not known to have traveled to Solano County, where another woman was identified Wednesday as having contracted the virus from an unknown source.

Dozens of people had close contact with the Solano County woman. They were urged to quarantine themselves at home, while a few who showed symptoms of illness were in isolation, officials said.

At UC Davis Medical Center at least 124 registered nurses and other health care workers were sent home for “self-quarantine" after the Solano County woman with the virus was admitted, National Nurses United, a nationwide union representing RNs, said Friday.

The case “highlights the vulnerability of the nation’s hospitals to this virus," the union said.

Earlier Friday, Oregon confirmed its first coronavirus case, a person who works at an elementary school in the Portland area, which will be temporarily closed.

The Lake Oswego School District sent a robocall to parents saying that Forest Hills Elementary will be closed until Wednesday so it can be deep-cleaned by maintenance workers.

Washington state health officials announced two new coronavirus cases Friday night, including a high school student who attends Jackson High School in Everett, said Dr. Chris Spitters of the Snohomish County Health District.

The other case in Washington was a woman in in King County in her 50s who had recently traveled to South Korea, authorities said.

Both patients weren’t seriously ill.

But health officials aren't taking any chances. Some communities, including San Francisco, already have declared local emergencies in case they need to obtain government funding.

In Southern California's Orange County, the city of Costa Mesa went to court to prevent state and federal health officials from transferring dozens of people exposed to the virus aboard a cruise ship in Japan to a state-owned facility in the city. The passengers, including some who tested positive for the virus and underwent hospital care, had been staying at Travis Air Force Base in Northern California.

On Friday, state officials said the federal decided it no longer had a crucial need to move those people to the Fairview Developmental Center in Costa Mesa. That's because of the imminent end of the isolation period for those passengers and the relatively small number of persons who ended up testing positive, officials said.

The new coronavirus cases of unknown origin marks an escalation of the worldwide outbreak in the U.S. because it means the virus could spread beyond the reach of preventative measures like quarantines, though state health officials said that was inevitable and that the risk of widespread transmission remains low.

Federal officials think the coronavirus is spread only through “close contact, being within 6 feet of somebody for what they’re calling a prolonged period of time,” said Dr. James Watt, interim state epidemiologist at the California Department of Public Health.

Peter Beilenson, Sacramento County's health services director, said he expects even those who test positive to become only mildly ill.

Associated Press writer Adam Beam contributed to this report.

The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Department of Science Education. The AP is solely responsible for all content.

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Veterans Affairs Secretary Robert Wilkie confirmed during his testimony on Capitol Hill Wednesday that one Veteran is being treated for the coronavirus at a VA facility in Palo Alto, California, and said the agency has a section of the campus set up to receive Veterans who have the virus.

"We began moving on supply chain and preparation really before this became a national issue. Case in point is the one Veteran, that we know of, who has this virus. We prepared a swath, a section of our Palo Alto campus to receive Veterans who have this virus. We set it up for that and that Veteran is being taken care of there," Wilkie told lawmakers on the House Appropriations Committee.

This is the first time coronavirus has directly touched the second largest federal agency, which provides care to Veterans at 1,243 health care facilities across the country.

After the hearing, Wilkie, who is part of the White House task force addressing the potential of a pandemic, stressed that while there is only one known coronavirus case involving a Veteran, VA staff and facilities are well prepared to handle the outbreak should it continue to spread.

"We rehearse all the time, for epidemics and natural disasters — we are constantly rehearsing and just change the name on whatever we are dealing with... if it's Ebola, if it's H1-N1, that's how we deal with it," he told CNN.

Despite some complaints from local health officials in California about a lack of kits used to test for the virus, Wilkie told CNN Wednesday that he is not aware of any such reports coming from VA facilities.

"We do all sorts of things, we have questionnaires, we take temperatures... we are using our own resources," he said. Asked if any VA facilities have requested additional testing kits, Wilkie said: "Not that I know of, because, again, we have one case so far."

The VA has about 1,000 testing kits, Veterans Health Administration head Dr. Richard Stone told House lawmakers Wednesday, adding that the department plans to order more. Each kit is capable of testing hundreds of people.

Wilkie's comments come as health officials say the US should be proactive when it comes to testing for the novel coronavirus.

"Yes. The answer is yes and I feel strongly about that," Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, told lawmakers Wednesday when asked if the US should be proactive with testing in hospitals, rather than waiting for people to come and be tested.

Negotiators in Congress also struck a deal Wednesday on a sweeping spending package to dedicate billions to dealing with the coronavirus outbreak, according to two sources involved with the talks.

The White House is expected to back the deal, which is expected to be voted on by the House of Representatives later Wednesday.

Meanwhile, VA spokesperson Christina Mandreucci told CNN on Wednesday that the agency is coordinating with federal health officials to ensure Veterans "benefit from the latest prevention, testing and treatment protocols and develop emergency management plans for medical centers."

"While the Department of Health and Human Services is leading the federal government's COVID-19 response efforts, VA is monitoring the situation through its Emergency Management Coordination Cell and collaborating with public health officials from HHS and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to ensure Veterans benefit from the latest prevention, testing and treatment protocols and develop emergency management plans for medical centers," Mandreucci added.

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Department of Veterans Affairs Secretary Robert Wilkie confirmed to Congress Wednesday the first case of a Veteran testing positive for coronavirus.

A Veteran in California is being treated for COVID-19 at the Palo, Alto, Calif. VA hospital, Wilkie said during a budget hearing before a House Appropriations Committee subpanel, and VA has space nationwide to care for more.

Veterans Health Administration head Dr. Richard Stone said that there is a place prepared for Veterans with COVID-19 at every VA system in the U.S., a total of about 1,000 "negative airflow" rooms.

"The entire nation is covered with negative airflow beds," Stone said. Negative airflow rooms are isolation strategies using specialized ventilation and air pressure in hospitals to prevent contamination and the spread of infection.

"The one Veteran we know of who has this virus, we prepared a swathe of our Palo Alto campus to receive Veterans who have this virus. We are set up for that," Wilkie said. "That Veteran is being taken care of there."

Stone also said VA has begun pre-screening outside its emergency rooms, the same method it uses for significant flu outbreaks.

A special concern for VA, though, is its 135 nursing homes nationwide that care for 8,000 Veterans, Stone said. VA is screening everyone coming into those facilities for symptoms. Some have blocked visitors entirely.

"We train for this. We train for epidemics," Wilkie said, adding that VA is in "constant contact with the CDC and National Institutes of Health as well as the presidential task force."

Wilkie also has a seat on that task force, he said.

VA has about 1,000 testing kits, Stone said, adding that it's not enough and the department plans to order more as well as design its own.

Last week, Wilkie declined an offer for additional resources from lawmakers on Capitol Hill, saying he believed VA was prepared for a potential outbreak.

“Not at this point,” Wilkie told lawmakers of his need for more resources. “We are a foundational response when it comes to emergencies like this. We train for them year-round … We are testing our processes as we speak … We are checking supply lines.”

Wilkie also said “we are set” on staffing for emergency management.

But if conditions take a turn for the worse, Stone said things will change.

“If this develops into a pandemic, in which parts of the American health system break down, we’re going to have a different conversation,” Stone said, adding that as of now, “we see ourselves as well prepared.”

A VA spokesperson told Connecting Vets Thursday that while the Department of Health and Human Services is leading the federal government COVID-19 response efforts, "VA is monitoring the situation through its Emergency Management Coordination Cell and collaborating with public health officials from HHS and the Centers for Disease Control to ensure Veterans benefit from the latest prevention, testing and treatment protocols and develop emergency management plans for medical centers."

VA also has produced a guide for Veterans on coronavirus, which includes that Veterans who believe they are infected should call their local VA before they show up to the hospital.

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Five Common Mistakes When Filing A VA Disability Claim

Here at Hill and Ponton, we know that the process of filing VA disability claims for disability benefits can be very frustrating and confusing. Any Veteran who has not yet started the VA claims process has probably heard about the delays and lengthy appeals process. For any disabled Veteran who needs help making their way through this process with the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, there are five common mistakes to avoid when filing for VA disability benefits:

1. Not Filing Your Claim Right Away for Disability Benefits

One of the most common mistakes I have seen is not putting in a VA claim right away. There is no statute of limitations for eligible Veterans to file a claim for VA disability compensation benefits. If a Veteran has been wondering if they are eligible or waiting to see if their symptoms have improved, not filing a disability claim right away could potentially lose them a lot of money.

If a Veteran receives an award, either through their first decision or on appeal, the benefits will be paid to them retroactively from the date the Veteran’s original claim.

2. Giving Up on Your Disability Claim

As mentioned above the appeals process is slow and complicated. Adding to the fact that some Veterans have financial hardships that they may be going through while waiting on a disability rating, it seems like it would just be easier to give up. Most of the time, a finding of service connection is also required to be able to secure other VA benefits such as health care.

3. Failing to Learn How the VA Decides to Give You Veterans Benefits

Most of the time, Veterans think that all they have to do is fill out a VA form, send it to the VA, and wait for a check to arrive in the mail. The process that the VA uses to decide new claims is much more complicated than that. The VA will only award disability benefits when a Veteran can prove that they are eligible to receive VA benefits, have a current disability, have proof that something happened to them while in service, have medical evidence linking their disabilities to something that happened in service and supporting evidence indicating the severity of their condition. It is very well known that proving these points is extremely difficult the first time around. This is one of the reasons that the VA will deny most first-time claims if they are not fully developed claims.

4. Not Filing for Secondary Conditions

There are many Veterans who do not realize that they may be entitled to benefits for disabilities that are secondary to their already service-connected disability. This happens when a service-connected injury or illness causes a new disabling condition or aggravates a non-service-connected disability.

A great example to help understand this is when a Veteran has a service-connected illness of diabetes that can later lead to other illnesses. Even if the secondary illness does not develop until years later, benefits may still be available if there is medical evidence or a medical opinion to help establish the service-connection.

5. Failing to Obtain a Medical Opinion

As discussed above, one of the biggest reasons why the VA will deny a claim is the lack of medical records or medical evidence linking a service member’s disability to their active-duty military service. Just lay statements claiming that the issue is related to service, on their own, will not suffice. If your disability claim contains a written opinion from a medical expert or professional liking the disability to service, it can make a huge difference in the outcome of the claim.

In conclusion, there are many mistakes that can be made when filing a claim for VA benefits for the first time. There is an abundance of information and knowledge behind these claims and knowing what to do and what not to do and give any Veteran a nice head start. It all starts when a Veteran decides to file a claim. Remember, a Veteran cannot receive benefits if they do not file a claim first.

Need Help with your VA Disability Claim?

Don’t wait any longer if your VA disability claim has been denied! Our team at Hill & Ponton has over 20 years of experience helping Veterans obtain their rightful VA disability benefits. We have experience with all types of cases such as Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), Agent Orange, MST, Depression, and many more; even helping family members who have lost their Veteran spouses with Dependency and Indemnity Compensation claims. You can get started here!

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Skills learned in the military are readily applied in careers at VA.

Veterans Month is a great time for newly transitioning service members or longtime Veterans to be reminded that VA hires former service members not only because it’s the right idea but because it’s the smart idea. Here are five skills to highlight when applying for healthcare careers at VA.

1.Teamwork.

Great leaders know how to step back and be team players. Remind an interviewer or recruiter that Veterans understand the level of communication, trust and responsibility needed to work effectively as a team. Veterans bring a sense of camaraderie to VA careers and the mission to serve and care for fellow Veterans.

2. Innovation.

The U.S. military develops some of the most sophisticated technologies in the world. Veterans may be the first to adopt many of these innovations, well before they make it to the civilian market. Let interviewers know that Veterans bring a high degree of technical skill and education to increasingly complex systems, a valuable asset when navigating cutting-edge healthcare technologies, building information systems that deliver benefits to Veterans and creating novel solutions to address challenges in the largest healthcare system in the country.

3. Resilience.

Military members operate under some of the most stressful conditions imaginable. The military trains people to handle and cope with stress, a skill that translates to VA’s busy healthcare environment. VA’s crew of former basic medical technicians, combat medic specialists, basic hospital corpsmen or basic health services technicians use skills learned in service to care for fellow Veterans as Intermediate Care Technicians, for instance. Former military personnel are ideal colleagues for busy days when things don’t go as planned.

4. Problem solving.

Work in the military is often dynamic and unpredictable. Highlight for job interviewers the military-tested ability to think quickly in changing circumstances, create solutions to surmount obstacles and safely complete the mission.

5. Diversity

During service, military members formed working relationships and friendships with fellow U.S. service members from many different backgrounds. In fact, the Veteran population is even more diverse than the U.S. population as a whole. Veterans should highlight ability to speak another language or anything that helps connect with Veteran patients in a special way that might set them apart from other candidates.

Choose a VA career today

During Veterans Month and all year long, look ahead to a career based on giving back as a VA healthcare provider. Choose VA today.

• LEARN about post-military VA careers in the transitioning military flyer (pdf).
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• EXPLORE how to transition to a VA career.
• REACH out to a recruiter.

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Networking, while not a new concept, has become a significant component of modern life. Commonly associated with career advancement, the evolution of online social platforms has extended networking far beyond just opportunities to further one’s career.

While networking can be important and beneficial to anyone, it may be even more so for military members, Veterans and their spouses.

Former service members are aware of the difficulties that can come from adjusting to life outside of the military. Whether it’s acclimating to a new job title and company or understanding the inner workings of today’s corporate culture, Veterans often face obstacles not well-understood by those without similar experiences.

Given this reality, it makes sense for any Veteran to start forming connections and building relationships with those who understand their unique point of view.

Here are several ways joining a Veteran network can help a service member, Veteran or their spouses.

Why You Should Join an Online Veteran Network

1. It’s where your battle buddies hang out.

Every service member knows that there will be a transition to civilian life, but it impacts everyone differently. Your experiences while in the military, how long you served, where you served, your circumstance upon returning to civilian life – these all come together to form a unique set of circumstances.

For some Veterans, leaving the military means leaving a way of life and community behind. Their housing or homes may have been on base or provided by the military. Their food, alcohol, home furnishings, jewelry, or even their car shopping might have been on base, as well as their place of work, socializing and recreational events. The support network is built into each military installation.

There’s also a substantial difference in which attitudes and behaviors are appreciated and sought after in the military versus in the civilian community. The more conversations a member can have with those who have been through or are going through a similar situation, the more they can learn what behaviors from the military should be kept and what should be shed, what’s to be amplified and what’s to be silenced.

Humans are social, relational creatures, meaning the friendships and personal connections we create and foster matter. The difficulty transitioning to civilian life is an all-too-common story. But through the empathy and shared experiences of other Veterans in your network, this challenging transition can be made smoother.

2. You’ll get a better understanding of the civilian work culture.

There aren’t any first shirts, no XOs, no squad leaders, no platoon guides, or section chiefs outside the military. The daily language is practically a foreign language in corporate America and one that’s not easily understood. No one’s reporting at o’dark thirty for required PT, let alone in cadence while double timing. Instead, there’s an entire new lexicon and lingo in the civilian workplace, and mastering it soonest means connecting with new colleagues, with your new tribe, in valuable ways.

Trying to make the switch from the military to a role in a company can be one of the greatest and most critical challenges a Veteran will face. With a network of fellow Vets who have been through comparable situations, it’s likely someone has directly applicable words of wisdom or experiences to offer.

3. You’ll find a place to build your community and network.

Many service members spend years training and mastering their skills, and even longer using them throughout the world. Their next job and career might not take advantage of those skills. The earlier a member can connect with their future community and learn the culture, terminology and ways of dress and business practice, the better.

Within a wide network, there will be plenty of firsthand advice specific to your new role. Beyond the commonalities of military service and transition, a refined network of individuals in the same position and industry offers a valuable resource that you likely won’t find on the job.

4. They have access to resources and information.

Where a military member is from, where they served, and where they’re going after the military may all be different places. Building an online network means developing real relationships and local knowledge for your next chapter of life – wherever it may take you.

Having a vast network of peers available to connect with makes it easier to gain firsthand knowledge about a community that might be a potential next home. It can also provide you with actual connections in that very community, offering an invaluable support system upon arrival.

5. You get the opportunity to make an impact.

Joining a Veteran’s network isn’t only about gaining advice and knowledge. It’s also about giving it. You never know how your experiences might be helpful to someone else. As an advisor or mentor, or potentially even as just an acquaintance or connection, you could be an excellent guide for how someone can best succeed within a new company, school district, soccer league, church, or even a homeowner’s association.

The bonds you make during military service are unique. The unity, camaraderie and shared experience can extend beyond your service and play a role in helping yourself and fellow Veterans make the most of life outside of military duty. It just takes a little networking.

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Networking, while not a new concept, has become a significant component of modern life. Commonly associated with career advancement, the evolution of online social platforms has extended networking far beyond just opportunities to further one’s career.

While networking can be important and beneficial to anyone, it may be even more so for military members, Veterans and their spouses.

Former service members are aware of the difficulties that can come from adjusting to life outside of the military. Whether it’s acclimating to a new job title and company or understanding the inner workings of today’s corporate culture, Veterans often face obstacles not well-understood by those without similar experiences.

Given this reality, it makes sense for any Veteran to start forming connections and building relationships with those who understand their unique point of view.

Here are several ways joining a Veteran network can help a service member, Veteran or their spouses.

Why You Should Join an Online Veteran Network

1. 1.It’s where your battle buddies hang out.

Every service member knows that there will be a transition to civilian life, but it impacts everyone differently. Your experiences while in the military, how long you served, where you served, your circumstance upon returning to civilian life – these all come together to form a unique set of circumstances.

For some Veterans, leaving the military means leaving a way of life and community behind. Their housing or homes may have been on base or provided by the military. Their food, alcohol, home furnishings, jewelry, or even their car shopping might have been on base, as well as their place of work, socializing and recreational events. The support network is built into each military installation.

There’s also a substantial difference in which attitudes and behaviors are appreciated and sought after in the military versus in the civilian community. The more conversations a member can have with those who have been through or are going through a similar situation, the more they can learn what behaviors from the military should be kept and what should be shed, what’s to be amplified and what’s to be silenced.

Humans are social, relational creatures, meaning the friendships and personal connections we create and foster matter. The difficulty transitioning to civilian life is an all-too-common story. But through the empathy and shared experiences of other Veterans in your network, this challenging transition can be made smoother.

1. 2.You’ll get a better understanding of the civilian work culture.

There aren’t any first shirts, no XOs, no squad leaders, no platoon guides, or section chiefs outside the military. The daily language is practically a foreign language in corporate America and one that’s not easily understood. No one’s reporting at o’dark thirty for required PT, let alone in cadence while double timing. Instead, there’s an entire new lexicon and lingo in the civilian workplace, and mastering it soonest means connecting with new colleagues, with your new tribe, in valuable ways.

Trying to make the switch from the military to a role in a company can be one of the greatest and most critical challenges a Veteran will face. With a network of fellow Vets who have been through comparable situations, it’s likely someone has directly applicable words of wisdom or experiences to offer.

1. 3.You’ll find a place to build your community and network.

Many service members spend years training and mastering their skills, and even longer using them throughout the world. Their next job and career might not take advantage of those skills. The earlier a member can connect with their future community and learn the culture, terminology and ways of dress and business practice, the better.

Within a wide network, there will be plenty of firsthand advice specific to your new role. Beyond the commonalities of military service and transition, a refined network of individuals in the same position and industry offers a valuable resource that you likely won’t find on the job.

1. 4.They have access to resources and information.

Where a military member is from, where they served, and where they’re going after the military may all be different places. Building an online network means developing real relationships and local knowledge for your next chapter of life – wherever it may take you.

Having a vast network of peers available to connect with makes it easier to gain firsthand knowledge about a community that might be a potential next home. It can also provide you with actual connections in that very community, offering an invaluable support system upon arrival.

1. 5.You get the opportunity to make an impact.

Joining a Veteran’s network isn’t only about gaining advice and knowledge. It’s also about giving it. You never know how your experiences might be helpful to someone else. As an advisor or mentor, or potentially even as just an acquaintance or connection, you could be an excellent guide for how someone can best succeed within a new company, school district, soccer league, church, or even a homeowner’s association.

The bonds you make during military service are unique. The unity, camaraderie and shared experience can extend beyond your service and play a role in helping yourself and fellow Veterans make the most of life outside of military duty. It just takes a little networking.

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NEWARK, N.J. – A Florida man today admitted his role in a conspiracy to receive kickbacks and bribes from laboratories in exchange for referrals of patient DNA samples and genetic tests, Acting U.S. Attorney Rachael A. Honig announced.

Norman Smiley, 80, of Boca Raton, Florida, pleaded guilty by videoconference before U.S. District Judge Brian R. Martinotti to an information charging him with conspiracy to violate the Anti-Kickback Statute.

According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court:

Smiley owned and operated Sun Health Advocates LLC, a company that was in the business of acquiring patient DNA samples and physicians’ orders for purposes of submitting those samples and orders to clinical laboratories for genetic testing, including Metric Lab Services LLC and Spectrum Diagnostic Labs LLC. Smiley, on behalf of Sun Health, entered into illicit agreements with the Metric and Spectrum laboratories under which the laboratories paid Sun Health kickbacks in exchange for delivering DNA samples and orders for genetic tests. Sun Health concealed these arrangements by issuing sham invoices to the laboratories that purportedly reflected services provided at an hourly rate even though the parties had already agreed upon the kickback amount, which was based on the revenue the laboratories received from Medicare. Metric and Spectrum paid Sun Health approximately $1.16 million in kickbacks as part of the scheme.

The charge to which Smiley pleaded guilty carries a maximum penalty of five years in prison and a fine of $250,000, or twice the gross grain or loss from the offense, whichever is greatest. Sentencing is scheduled for March 16, 2022.

Acting U.S. Attorney Honig credited special agents of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Inspector General, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Scott J. Lampert; and special agents of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of New Jersey, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Thomas J. Mahoney, with the investigation leading to today’s guilty plea.

The government is represented by Bernard J. Cooney, Chief of the Government Fraud Unit.

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NEWARK, N.J. – A Palm City, Florida, man today admitted participating in a compounded medication kickback scheme that he and others ran out of a pharmacy in Clifton, New Jersey, U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger announced.

Anderson Triggs, 42, pleaded guilty by videoconference before U.S. District Judge John Michael Vazquez to an information charging him with one count of conspiracy to violate the Anti-Kickback Statute.

According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court:

From 2014 through 2016, Triggs and his conspirators used Main Avenue Pharmacy, a mail-order pharmacy with a storefront in Clifton, New Jersey, to run a kickback scheme involving compounded drugs like scar creams, pain creams, migraine mediation, and vitamins. Compounded drugs are prescribed by a physician when an FDA-approved drug did not meet the health needs of a particular patient, such as when a dye or preservative triggers an allergic reaction, or when a patient can’t swallow an FDA-approved pill.

Triggs started as a consultant to Main Avenue Pharmacy and later became a board member of its corporate parent. The scheme revolved around identifying compounded drugs that would yield exorbitant reimbursements from health insurers, including both federal and commercial payers.

The physicians who signed prescriptions for compounded medications that were filled at Main Avenue frequently had never even spoken to the patients or examined them. Once the prescriptions were signed by a doctor, they would be returned to the marketing company, which would transmit the prescription to Main Avenue Pharmacy, which would fill them and submit claims to health care benefit programs for reimbursement

On compounded medications alone, Main Avenue received over $34 million in reimbursements from health care benefit programs, approximately $8 million of which was paid by federal payers. Triggs earned over $900,000 through the course of the scheme.

The charge of conspiracy to violate the Anti-Kickback Statute carries a maximum penalty of five years in prison and a $250,000 fine, or twice the gross gain or loss from the offense, whichever is greatest. Sentencing is scheduled for June 21, 2022.

U.S. Attorney Sellinger credited special agents of the FBI, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge George M. Crouch Jr. in Newark; the Department of Defense Office of Inspector General, Defense Criminal Investigative Service under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Patrick J. Hegarty; and special agents of the Department of Health and Human Services, Office of the Inspector General, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Scott J. Lampert, with the investigation leading to the charges.

The government is represented by Senior Trial Counsel Jason S. Gould of the Health Care Fraud Unit of the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Newark.

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BUFFALO, N.Y. - U.S. Attorney James P. Kennedy, Jr. announced today that Michael F. Hanley, 49, of Clearwater, Florida, pleaded guilty, before U.S. Magistrate Judge Michael J. Roemer, to threatening a federal employee. The charge carries a maximum penalty of one year in prison and $100,000 fine.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Douglas A. Penrose, who is handling the case, stated that the defendant was formerly employed by the United States Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) as a Veterans Claims Examiner. During his tenure at the VA, Hanley became acquainted with another VA employee (Victim), and the two had a history of contentious interactions.

The defendant left a series of similar voicemails on the Victim’s phone between October 15, 2018, and November 13, 2019, in which he threatened to kill the Victim and the Victim’s family.

The plea is the result of an investigation by the VA Office of Inspector General, Criminal Investigations Division, under the direction of Special Agent-in-Charge Christopher Algieri.

Sentencing is scheduled for November 18, 2020, at 10:30 a.m. before Judge Roemer.

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Miami, Florida – A Florida man pleaded guilty yesterday to unlawfully distributing opioids at his pain management clinic in Miami, Florida.

According to court documents, Habib Geagea Palacios, 40, of Miami, owned a cash-only pain management clinic in Miami, Florida named General Care Center, Inc. At General Care Center, Palacios paid doctors to prescribe opioids to nearly all patients who visited the clinic, resulting in the illegal distribution of more than two million tablets of Oxycodone 30 mg and generating more than $3 million in cash that was deposited into various bank accounts associated with the clinic and Palacios. Five doctors who worked at General Care Center have already pleaded guilty in connection with their unlawful prescribing practices at the clinic.

Palacios pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to distribute a controlled substance and one count of distributing a controlled substance. He is scheduled to be sentenced on January 26, 2022 at 11:00 a.m. and faces a maximum penalty of 40 years in prison. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

U.S. Attorney Juan Antonio Gonzalez of the Southern District of Florida; Assistant Attorney General Kenneth A. Polite Jr. of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division; Special Agent in Charge Omar Pérez Aybar of the Department of Health and Human Services, Office of the Inspector General (HHS-OIG), Miami Regional Office; Special Agent in Charge George L. Piro of the FBI’s Miami Field Office; Special Agent in Charge Deanne L. Reuter of the DEA Miami Field Division; and Special Agent in Charge Brian Swain of the U.S. Secret Service (USSS), Miami Field Office, made the announcement.

HHS-OIG, FBI, DEA, and USSS are investigating the case.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Kevin J. Larsen of the Southern District of Florida and Trial Attorney Alexander Thor Pogozelski of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section are prosecuting the case.

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BOSTON – A Florida man was sentenced yesterday for his role in a multi-million-dollar Medicare fraud scheme involving durable medical equipment.

Nathan LaParl, 34, of Boca Raton, Fla., was sentenced by U.S. District Court Senior Judge George A. O’Toole, Jr. to three years of probation, the first year to be served subject to a curfew and forfeiture in the amount of $220,671. On Jan. 21, 2021, LaParl pleaded guilty to one count of receiving kickbacks in connection with a federal health care program and one count of violating the HIPAA statute.

LaParl and co-defendant Talia Alexandre sold Medicare patients’ personal and medical data to Juan Camilo Perez Buitrago. LaParl and Alexandre worked with foreign call centers to contact Medicare patients to ask if they were interested in durable medical equipment (DME) such as arm, back, knee and shoulder braces “at little to no cost.” The call centers collected demographic and insurance information from Medicare patients, which LaParl and Alexandre sold to Perez Buitrago. Together, LaParl and Alexandre received more than $1.6 million from Perez Buitrago for the patient data. Perez Buitrago used that patient data to submit more than $109 million in false and fraudulent claims, submitting claims for DME that was not prescribed, not necessary, and, in many instances, never requested or received.

To perpetuate the scheme, LaParl checked Medicare patients’ insurance eligibility by improperly accessing a patient eligibility tool provided by co-defendant Stefanie Hirsch. Hirsch owned EI Medical, Inc., a Medicare-enrolled wheelchair and scooter repair company that qualified for access to a health care clearinghouse that contains Medicare patients’ personal, medical and insurance information. Hirsch improperly gave LaParl access to that clearinghouse and charged him about $0.25 per patient eligibility check. Using Hirsch’s credentials, LaParl accessed the personal and medical data of more than 350,000 patients.

Hirsch pleaded guilty to violating the HIPAA statute and was sentenced on Sept. 21, 2021, to three years of probation. Hirsch was also ordered to pay a fine of $2,500. Alexandre pleaded guilty to one count of receiving kickbacks in connection with a federal health care program and was sentenced on Dec. 8, 2021, to three years of probation with the first year spent in home detention. Alexandre was also ordered to pay a fine of $5,000 and restitution in the amount of $1.47 million

United States Attorney Rachael S. Rollins; Johnnie Sharp Jr., Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Birmingham Field Division; Phillip M. Coyne, Special Agent in Charge of the Department of Health and Human Services, Office of the Inspector General, Boston Division; and Ketty Larco Ward, Inspector in Charge of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service made the announcement. Assistant U.S. Attorney Elysa Q. Wan of Rollins’ Health Care Fraud Unit prosecuted the case.

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A Florida police department is making sure that a homeless Veteran who served during the Vietnam War and was described as "a unique soul” will be buried Friday with the honors he deserved.

The afternoon burial for John Meade Jr. at the Jacksonville National Cemetery is being hosted by the St. Augustine Police Department with the public invited.

“John Meade Jr. was a unique soul and connected with everyone he met,” the department said in a Facebook post on Tuesday. “That's why the St. Augustine Police Department's Outreach Team exhausted all resources to find information that would help them learn a little more about Meade. Unfortunately, Meade lived off the grid alone.”

The team was unable to locate Meade’s family but did discover he served in the Army from 1966 to 1968 and was honorably discharged.

"It was kind of my mission to make sure that he got what he deserved,” Officer Steven Fischer told Fox 30 Jacksonville.

It's unclear how old Meade was when he died several months ago. A cause of death wasn't revealed.

Fox 30 reported interviewing David Carni, a friend of Meade’s, who said, “He was a part of our town.”

Facebook commentators praised the police department for its efforts on Meade’s behalf.

“Every time I drove by him I would give him money,” Dan O’Connor Sr. wrote. “He never asked for it and never held a sign.”

He added, “I had seen a couple of people trying to reach out to him from time to time, but he was content where he was at. He made my day a lot of times. I only hope I did the same in return.

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BOSTON – A Florida woman was sentenced today in connection with a multi-million-dollar Medicare fraud scheme.

Talia Alexandre, 30, of Palm Springs, Fla., was sentenced by U.S. Senior District Court Judge George A. O’Toole Jr. to three years of supervised release with the first year spent in home detention. Alexandre was also ordered to pay a fine of $5,000 and restitution in the amount of $1.47 million. On Feb. 24, 2021, Alexandre pleaded guilty to one count of receiving kickbacks in connection with a federal health care program.

Alexandre and co-conspirator Nathan LaParl sold Medicare patients’ personal and medical data to Juan Camilo Perez Buitrago. Alexandre and LaParl worked with foreign call centers to contact Medicare patients to ask if they were interested in durable medical equipment (DME) such as arm, back, knee and shoulder braces “at little to no cost.” The call centers collected demographic and insurance information from Medicare patients, which Alexandre and LaParl sold to Perez Buitrago. Alexandre received more than $1.4 million from Perez Buitrago for the patient data. Perez Buitrago used that patient data to submit more than $109 million in false and fraudulent claims, submitting claims for DME that was not prescribed, not necessary, and, in many instances, never requested or received.

Acting United States Attorney Nathaniel R. Mendell; Johnnie Sharp Jr., Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Birmingham Field Division; Phillip M. Coyne, Special Agent in Charge of the Department of Health and Human Services, Office of the Inspector General, Boston Division; and Ketty Larco-Ward, Inspector in Charge of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service made the announcement. Assistant U.S. Attorney Elysa Q. Wan of Mendell’s Health Care Fraud Unit prosecuted the case.

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Medicare reimbursement consultant Ted Albin and his wholly-owned consulting and billing firm Grapevine Billing and Consulting Services Inc. (Grapevine), both based in Stuart, Florida, have agreed to pay $50,000 to resolve allegations that they violated the False Claims Act. This settlement resolves allegations that Albin and Grapevine caused the submission of false claims to Medicare because of kickbacks to Medicare beneficiaries and because patients were ineligible to receive glucometers. This settlement is based on the United States’ analysis of financial disclosures made by Grapevine.

“Consultants must abide by federal requirements when providing Medicare billing advice,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General Brian M. Boynton for the Justice Department’s Civil Division. “We will continue to protect the integrity of federal health insurance programs by pursuing individuals or entities responsible for the submission of false or fraudulent claims, including those who cause such claims to be submitted.”

In its complaint, the United States alleged that, from 2008 until 2017, Albin and Grapevine provided consulting services to now-defunct diabetic testing supplier Arriva Medical LLC (Arriva), its parent Alere Inc. (Alere), and starting in January 2018, Abbott Laboratories (Abbott), after Abbott acquired Arriva and Alere in October 2017. From at least 2009 until 2011, Albin, through Grapevine, allegedly served effectively as the Head of Reimbursement at Arriva, overseeing Arriva’s reimbursement department, developing Arriva’s policies for the collection of beneficiary copayment obligations and submitting claims to Medicare on Arriva’s behalf for diabetic testing supplies.

The United States alleged that, as consultants to Arriva, from April 2010 until the end of 2016, Albin and Grapevine knowingly caused the submission of claims to Medicare that were tainted by the payment of kickbacks to Medicare beneficiaries in the form of (i) free or “no cost” glucometers, or (ii) the routine waiver of beneficiary copayment obligations. Additionally, the United States alleged that Albin and Grapevine knowingly caused the submission of claims to Medicare for glucometers on behalf of beneficiaries who were not eligible to seek reimbursement because they had received a meter paid for by Medicare within the previous five years.

The United States produced sworn testimony from Albin in the litigation in which he admitted that, as a reimbursement consultant for Arriva, Albin personally (1) would “write off customer co-payments” because “I could tell someone on my team ‘Yes, write this off,’” (2) engaged in such write-offs “probably every week,” (3) engaged in “mass write-offs of denials by Medicare” for ineligible meters, (4) created Arriva’s “routine policy not to send a bill for customers who owed less than $5,” and (5) “came up with the policy” of “courtesy adjustments” in the form of copayment waivers in response to customer complaints about their Medicare coinsurance obligations.

“The resolution of this matter brings about the conclusion of a lengthy and protracted investigation and litigation in which the United States sought and received substantial penalties and damages as a result of allegations of False Claims Act violations,” said U.S. Attorney Mark H. Wildasin for the Middle District of Tennessee. “I commend the legal team and investigators for working diligently to preserve the integrity of our federal healthcare programs.”

“Those who provide advice to health care providers about Medicare billing must do so with integrity,” said Special Agent in Charge Tamala E. Miles of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General (HHS-OIG). “Working with our law enforcement partners, we will continue to investigate those who cause fraudulent claims to be submitted to federal health care programs.”

The litigation resolved by this settlement originally included claims against Arriva and Alere that were brought under the qui tam or whistleblower provisions of the False Claims Act by Gregory Goodman, a former employee in Arriva’s Antioch, Tennessee call center. Under those provisions, a private party can file an action on behalf of the United States and receive a portion of any recovery. The act also permits the United States to intervene and take over the litigation of a qui tam action, as the United States did here. In August 2021, Arriva and Alere agreed to pay $160 million to resolve the claims against them. The United States also previously settled for $1 million claims against Arriva’s founders, David Wallace and Timothy Stocksdale, for their alleged part in the scheme. The litigation, which is concluded by the settlement announced today, is currently captioned United States v. Albin, et al., Case No. 3:13-cv-00760 (M.D. Tenn.).

The resolution obtained in this matter was the result of a coordinated effort between the Justice Department’s Civil Division, Commercial Litigation Branch, Fraud Section, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Tennessee and HHS-OIG, with the assistance of the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation.

The investigation and resolution of this matter illustrates the government’s emphasis on combating healthcare fraud. One of the most powerful tools in this effort is the False Claims Act. Tips and complaints from all sources about potential fraud, waste, abuse, and mismanagement, can be reported to the Department of Health and Human Services at 800-HHS-TIPS (800-447-8477).

The matter was handled by Trial Attorney Jake M. Shields of the Civil Division and Assistant U.S. Attorney Ellen Bowden McIntyre of the Middle District of Tennessee.

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NCH Healthcare System (NCH), which operates two hospitals in Collier County, Florida, has agreed to pay the United States $5.5 million to resolve allegations that it made donations to local units of government to improperly fund the state’s share of Medicaid payments to NCH.

The Florida Medicaid program provides medical assistance to low-income individuals and individuals with disabilities, and is jointly funded by the federal and state governments. Under federal law, Florida’s share of Medicaid payments must consist of state or local government funds, and not “non-bona fide donations” from private health care providers, such as hospitals. A non-bona fide donation is a payment — in cash or in kind — from a private provider to a governmental entity that is then returned to the private provider as the state share of Medicaid. The private provider’s donation triggers a corresponding federal expenditure for the federal share of Medicaid, which is also paid to the private provider. This unlawful conduct causes federal expenditures to increase without any corresponding increase in state expenditures, since the state share of the Medicaid payments to the provider comes from and is returned to the provider. The prohibition of this practice ensures that states are in fact paying a share of Medicaid payments and thus have an incentive to curb Medicaid costs and prevent unnecessary services.

The United States alleged that, between October 2014 and September 2015, NCH made improper, non-bona fide donations by: (1) providing free nursing and athletic training services to the Collier County School Board; and (2) assuming and paying certain of Collier County’s financial obligations. Both types of donations were designed to increase Medicaid payments received by NCH, without any actual expenditure of state or local funds. In particular, NCH’s donations freed up funds for the county and school board to make payments to the State as the state share of Medicaid payments to NCH. This state share was “matched” by the federal government before being returned to NCH as Medicaid payments. The Medicaid payments NCH received were thus funded by the federal government and NCH’s own donations, in violation of the prohibition on non-bona fide donations.

“States and local units of government must use their own money when seeking federal Medicaid matching funds to help ensure that Medicaid payments are determined by beneficiaries’ medical needs rather than donations by hospitals or other health care providers,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General Brian M. Boynton of the Justice Department’s Civil Division. “When private parties violate the rules by making improper donations to fund the state share of Medicaid, they endanger the integrity of the Medicaid program.”

“Millions of Floridians depend on the Medicaid Program for medical care and related services,” said U.S. Attorney Roger B. Handberg for the Middle District of Florida. “This settlement underscores our commitment to protecting the integrity of the Medicaid program by ensuring that government funds are legally obtained and used for their intended purposes.”

The resolution obtained in this matter was the result of a coordinated effort between the Justice Department’s Civil Division, Commercial Litigation Branch, Fraud Section, and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Florida, with assistance from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General.

The matter was handled by Fraud Section Attorneys Alison B. Rousseau and Jonathan T. Thrope and Assistant U.S. Attorney Carolyn B. Tapie.

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Nonprofit organization is providing educational scholarships to spouses and children of America's fallen and disabled service members

During an appearance on Thursday morning on "Fox & Friends," the CEO of Folds of Honor explained in detail why "freedom isn't free" — and why Americans might think about helping out struggling military families across America during this holiday season by downloading a runaway musical hit.

A chunk of the profits from that song is going to two amazing organizations — and, through them, some very deserving Americans.

Country music star John Rich and Lt. Col. Dan Rooney, who heads up Folds of Honor, appeared on Thursday morning to discuss the holiday-focused effort that is taking place right now to help American military families.

The Folds of Honor mission is clear and straightforward.

Since 2007, the organization "has carried forth this singular, noble mission: to provide educational scholarships to spouses and children of America’s fallen and disabled service members," it explains on its website.

Folds of Honor adds, "Our motto says it best: Honor their sacrifice. Educate their legacy."

The hit song this Christmas season, "Santa's Gotta Dirty Job" — a combined effort between John Rich and Mike Rowe — has now been the number-one downloaded song for eleven straight days, said Rich on Thursday morning.

Proceeds are going to both Folds of Honor and Mike Rowe's charity, mikeroweWORKSfoundation.

"We will be there to stand with his spouse and five kids," Dan Rooney noted at the top of the segment, referring to Navy SEAL, Cmdr. Brian Bourgeois, 43, who sadly passed away this past Monday after a training accident on Saturday in Virginia Beach, Va.

"Their Christmas is never going to be the same … Folds of Honor is standing with Cmdr. Bourgeois's family" and others, he noted.

Folds of Honor, by the way, receives 50% of its donations in December to help care for military families. Everyone can take part in helping others at this time of year.

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The Department of Veterans Affairs is creating food pantries at its medical centers across the nation.

The food pantry project is a public-private partnership between the VA and Feeding America, a nonprofit organization with a network of more than 200 food banks nationwide. There are currently 18 food pantries in operation at VA locations.

Local VA facilities work through the VA Voluntary Services department to make outside donations from local and national organizations available at medical centers. To date, the program has served more than 700,000 meals to Veterans, including those with dietary and health restrictions, such as diabetes.

During the intake process for medical appointments at participating centers, Veterans are screened for signs of food insecurity. If they are found to be in need, the pantries supply them with a week's worth of groceries before they leave the medical center.

This screening takes place whether the visit is for inpatient or outpatient services. If the Veteran's individual situation warrants, they are connected with an on-site coordinator to find other available food resources and assistance.

The food pantry program is part of the VA's whole health approach to treating Veterans under its care. This program takes into account individual, social and other issues. Food insecurity is one example of a social determinant of health. The VA also offers assistance with other social determinants, such as education, employment and housing.

Food insecurity is not only about groceries. It's also about planning, social dynamics and the competing demands that many families face.

"I remember one 32-year-old Veteran who worked at a gas station. You could just tell he was malnourished," says Mary Julius, a registered dietitian in the VA's Northeast Ohio VA Health Care System. "At first, he denied that he was having trouble, out of pride, but when I asked him what he ate, he said he was eating whatever was left over from the food he bought his kid. We were able to provide him groceries and instructions."

Check with your local VA medical facility for details.

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In 2019, Daniel Crabtree began to plan for civilian life after 16 years of military service. A petty officer second class, Crabtree had served across the globe, most recently in human resources positions looking after navy staffing needs.

Not only was 40-year-old Crabtree well-experienced in the HR arena, he’d also earned a master’s degree while in the service. The challenge for Crabtree was translating those skills (and that degree) into the civilian marketplace.

“I’d never really applied for a job or written a résumé or negotiated a salary,” Crabtree said. “I had a lot to offer companies, but no idea how to market myself to them.”

Enter Hire Heroes USA, an employment assistance organization that helps service members and veterans transition into the civilian workforce. Six months after starting with Hire Heroes, Crabtree found a job in HR with CFI, a leading trucking company. “So many veterans wind up homeless or unemployed because they didn’t know how to make the shift into civilian life,” says Crabtree. “Hire Heroes was an essential component of my success.”

Veterans like Crabtree exemplify the struggles of many former servicemen navigating the transition to life after the military. The key challenge facing so many is employment. As I’ve seen time again: if a veteran starts their post-military chapter with a high-quality job, other hurdles are far more surmountable. As Dr. Peter Kramer, professor of clinical psychiatry at Brown University has discussed in his research into veteran suicide, “there is no substitute for what jobs offer in the way of structure, support and meaning.”

Yet, tragically, veterans are consistently undervalued in the civilian workforce. Despite their unparalleled training, work ethic and team mentality, far too many struggle to secure meaningful employment. According to The Veterans Metrics Initiative (TVMI) from Penn State, 61% of veterans are either unemployed or underemployed — even now when the US labor market is in dire need of talent.

Part of the problem here is perception: veteran leadership abilities are often undervalued by employers, while their training, even when clearly applicable, is not always recognized. For example, due to nonsensical licensure requirements in 10 states and territories, a medic who saved lives in the battlefield must start over with new and redundant medical training just to ride in the back of an ambulance as an EMT. Former military truckers also face retraining issues owing to variances between civilian and military truck licensing requirements; a crucial gap at a time of severe trucker shortages.  

There are, however, a handful of organizations working hard to reverse this problem. This month, the Call of Duty Endowment — which funds organizations like Hire Heroes USA — achieved its long-term goal of helping 100,000 veterans get back to work in high quality civilian jobs. For perspective, this is more than half the size of the entire active duty Marine Corps.

Since its inception, the Call of Duty Endowment has achieved an estimated $5.6 billion in economic value for US and UK veterans. We place veterans in jobs with starting salaries that are almost double the national average ($64,000/year), which represents a major contribution to the US economy. Our efforts are also efficient, costing roughly one-tenth the placement expenditures ($547) of the US Department of Labor’s efforts.

My work with The Endowment over the past decade has taught me three key lessons about setting veterans up for success. First, assisting veterans with resume writing and preparing for job interviews is crucial. TVMI data reveals that veterans are two to three times more likely to find a job if they worked on these areas with a mentor or coach.

Second, the federal government must prioritize and allocate sufficient funding to veteran employment initiatives. Despite proven impact, these services are the lowest funded of any major veteran program — at less than one-tenth of 1% of the US government’s approximately $300 billion veteran spend. A mere doubling of this allocation would have life-changing benefits.

Lastly, employers need to understand that they will benefit from the skills and experiences of veterans. We can change the current disconnect through the kind of employer education that the Endowment supports while also helping veterans better communicate the value of their military experience and skills.

I offer these lessons with the goal of getting another 100,000 veterans back to work in high quality jobs. Doing so will not only strengthen our workforce — it will strengthen our country.

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In 2022, Veterans who receive Veterans Administration disability compensation will see a sizable increase in Veterans Administration compensation checks.

VA disability compensation is a monthly tax-free monetary benefit paid to Veterans due to their service-connected disabilities; it compensates Veterans for their decreased quality of life or adverse effects on their ability to work.

According to the VA, the cost of living adjustment for 2022 will be 5.9%. This year's increase is the highest cost of living adjustment since 1983, when the VA increased rates by 7.4%.

Some examples of VA disability compensation increases:

For a 10% disabled Veteran, they would see their VA compensation go from $144.14 to $152.64, and a 50% disabled Veteran would see their VA compensation go from $905.04 to $985.43.

Unhoused Bloomington Veteran: Challenges continue, offers of help abound for Anthony Lee Julian

In addition to VA disability recipients, the folks who receive the following benefits will also see the 5.9% increase for their 2022 payments:

• Military retirees.
• Veterans who receive VA disability.
• Veterans or surviving spouses who receive a VA pension.
• Surviving spouses and children who receive dependency and indemnity compensation (DIC).
• Social Security recipients.
• Federal civilian retirees.
• Supplemental Security Income.
• Social Security Disability Insurance.

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One of the most valuable aspects of the federal Post-9/11 GI Bill is that veterans can share the benefit with their spouses and children. But when this happens, everyone’s pulling from the same, limited 36-month pool of benefits — and likely no one will have their full four-year degree covered by the shared benefit.

Not so for qualifying veterans in Wisconsin.

The Wisconsin GI Bill can provide all Wisconsin vets with extra GI Bill benefits. And for certain disabled vets, it may provide the veteran, spouse and children each with their own set of 128 credit hours of Wisconsin GI Bill benefits, which they can use at the same time as the veteran and each other. And one person in the family using their benefits doesn’t reduce anyone else’s GI Bill.

The benefit can be used at any school in the University of Wisconsin and Wisconsin Technical College systems and provides qualifying veterans with 128 credit hours, or eight semesters, of free tuition and related fees for all levels of higher education.

“Most of the time when I’m talking to folks and explaining what it can pay for the, the reaction is, ‘This sounds great. Where’s the hook?’” said Joe Rasmussen, the veteran services coordinator at the University of Wisconsin, Madison’s Veteran Services and Military Assistance Center.

“It’s somewhat unbelievable, but it’s a really generous benefit that’s helped a lot of people,” he said.

Four University of Wisconsin system schools made Military Times’ Best for Vets Four-Year Colleges ranking in 2018 and two Wisconsin technical colleges made our Best for Vets Career and Technical Colleges ranking.

The Wisconsin GI Bill first passed in 2005. The Wisconsin Department of Veterans Affairs determines a veteran’s eligibility, but the program itself is mostly run and paid for by the schools. A veteran can apply by first submitting a form to the Wisconsin state VA and, once they are approved for the Wisconsin GI Bill, applying directly to participating universities.

In most cases, a veteran must have exhausted his or her federal GI Bill benefits before accessing the Wisconsin GI Bill. For a veteran to qualify, he or she must have completed two years of active-duty service — or 90 days of active-duty service during war time — and must have been a Wisconsin resident for five consecutive years.

In 2017, the benefit was extended to prospective students who began their active-duty service when they were residents of states other than Wisconsin. It’s helped Wisconsin market itself as a destination for active-duty troops looking for a free higher education.

“That’s a lot of what the intent has become,” said Jackie Helgeson, veterans services manager at Western Technical College in La Crosse, Wis. “It’s the carrot they dangle. ‘Hey, come live in Wisconsin!’”

There’s no time limit on when veterans must use the Wisconsin GI Bill. They can access the benefit at any time post-separation, as long as they don’t exceed the limits of 128 credit hours or eight semesters.

And it’s worth noting that a veteran is getting eight free semesters no matter what. If they use all of their 128 credit hours in six semesters, they’ll still have two free semesters of education under the Wisconsin GI Bill.

Family members can also take advantage of the benefit, but only if the veteran has at least a 30 percent disability rating. The spouse of a dead veteran cannot be remarried, and children must be between the ages of 17 and 25 on the first day of the first semester in which the Wisconsin GI Bill is being used. They must have also lived in Wisconsin for five consecutive years, just like their veteran parent or spouse.

“The one big thing... is the fact you can send your kids to school at a low cost,” said Donnie Placidi, the Wisconsin state VA’s administrator of veteran benefits. “There’s just so much that this Wisconsin GI Bill offers.”

Ashley Peotter joined the Air National Guard in 2014 and is now a senior airman and cardiopulmonary technician. She is currently going to UW-Madison’s medical school for free, thanks to the Wisconsin GI Bill.

She was able to access that benefit because her pulmonary training counted toward that 90 days of active-duty service requirement. The National Guard isn’t considered active duty and thus its members usually aren’t eligible for this benefit.

Poetter said she wished the Wisconsin GI Bill also paid for other education expenses like books and housing, but she’s happy with its provisions overall.

“Do it while you have the motivation and the time,” she advised her fellow veterans. “Use every program and benefit that you can, because they’re there to be used.”

Jacob Carlson has had a similar experience with the Wisconsin GI Bill. He became an Army guardsman in 2012 and is now a first-year student at Western Technical College.

“It’s really nice with the benefits it has, because you don’t have to worry about tuition at all,” he said. "It took a big rock off your shoulders. It made it easy.”

The Wisconsin VA approved 3,490 applications for Wisconsin GI Bill benefits from March 1, 2018, through Feb. 28, 2019, according to Placidi. He also said that 1,321 of them were not Wisconsin residents when they entered the military.

According to UW-Madison’s Rasmussen, 342 students at the school took advantage of Wisconsin GI Bill benefits in fiscal year 2017-18. That included 158 veterans, 174 children and 10 spouses, who saved over $3 million combined in tuition and fee remissions.

In Rasmussen’s experience, the most common reason he hears for why people enlist in the first place is to gain access to education benefits. The Wisconsin GI Bill is the fulfillment of that goal.

“For many students in higher ed, one of their main barriers is funding,” he said. “With the funding portion not as difficult... they can fully focus on the other aspects of what it means to be a successful student.”

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Dr. James J. Cole’s Patients Were Prescribed High Levels of Opioids and the “Holy Trinity” Cocktail

ALBANY, NEW YORK – Dr. James J. Cole, formerly a physician in Albany, is paying the United States $125,000 for overprescribing opioids and other controlled substances to patients, including one patient who died. Cole also forfeited his prescribing privileges and his medical license.

The announcement was made by United States Attorney Carla B. Freedman, Scott J. Lampert, Special Agent in Charge of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Inspector General’s New York Region (DHHS-OIG); and Acting Special Agent in Charge Keith Kruskall, U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), New York Division.

“Sadly, many addictions begin and continue in a doctor’s office,” said Carla Freedman, United States Attorney for the Northern District of New York. “We know that opioids present significant risk to patients, especially when prescribed at high levels, for extended periods of time. We will continue using federal legal remedies to hold doctors accountable when they facilitate abuse.”

“DEA Registrants hold great responsibility and trust,” said Keith Kruskall, Acting Special Agent in Charge of the DEA New York Division. “This particular registrant violated that trust, and the settlement in place demonstrates how DEA and our law enforcement partners will continue to hold all sources of diversion accountable.”

“Opioid abuse has devastated many communities around this country," said Special Agent in Charge Scott J. Lampert, of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Inspector General, Office of Investigations' New York Region. "We will continue to work with our law enforcement partners to ensure that physicians that overprescribe are thoroughly investigated and held accountable for their actions."

This settlement resolves allegations that:

• One of Dr. Cole’s patients died after taking a combination of fentanyl and oxycodone prescribed by Dr. Cole. Six months before the fatal overdose, the patient overdosed using fentanyl strips, and an emergency room doctor took the strips from the patient. The next day, Dr. Cole prescribed fentanyl strips for the patient along with oxycodone and morphine.

The $125,000 payment constitutes civil penalties under the Controlled Substances Act, and damages sustained by Medicare when it reimbursed for Dr. Cole’s illegitimate prescriptions. Dr. Cole has surrendered his DEA registration, and, as part of the civil settlement, agreed not to seek a renewal for at least 15 years. In a separate agreement with New York State, Dr. Cole also agreed to permanently forfeit his New York State medical license.

This case was investigated by DEA Albany District Office’s Diversion Group and Tactical Diversion Squad; the DHHS Office of Inspector General’s New York Region, with assistance from the New York State Department of Health, Bureau of Narcotic Enforcement.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Christopher Moran represented the United States in this matter.

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Gulfport, Miss. – A Saucier man was sentenced to serve 12 months in federal prison for stealing government property, announced U.S. Attorney Darren J. LaMarca and Special Agent in Charge Jeffrey A. Breen of the Veterans Affairs (VA) Office of Inspector General, South Central Field Office.

Chad Jacob, 55, was also ordered to pay a $40,000 fine and $23,584 in restitution to the VA.

According to court documents, Jacob stole personal protective equipment (“PPE”), electronics, and medical equipment while working as the Assistant Chief of Supply Chain Management for the Gulf Coast Veterans Health Care System. Starting in 2019 and continuing to December 2020, Jacob stole items belonging to the VA and resold them to local pawn stores and on his personal eBay account. In total, Jacob made more than $50,000 selling the stolen N-95 masks and over $9,000 selling stolen iPads and iPhones.

The case was investigated by the VA Office of Inspector General.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Kathlyn R. Van Buskirk prosecuted the case.

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Gulfport, Miss. – A Saucier man was sentenced to serve 12 months in federal prison for stealing government property, announced U.S. Attorney Darren J. LaMarca and Special Agent in Charge Jeffrey A. Breen of the Veterans Affairs (VA) Office of Inspector General, South Central Field Office.

Chad Jacob, 55, was also ordered to pay a $40,000 fine and $23,584 in restitution to the VA.

According to court documents, Jacob stole personal protective equipment (“PPE”), electronics, and medical equipment while working as the Assistant Chief of Supply Chain Management for the Gulf Coast Veterans Health Care System. Starting in 2019 and continuing to December 2020, Jacob stole items belonging to the VA and resold them to local pawn stores and on his personal eBay account. In total, Jacob made more than $50,000 selling the stolen N-95 masks and over $9,000 selling stolen iPads and iPhones.

The case was investigated by the VA Office of Inspector General.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Kathlyn R. Van Buskirk prosecuted the case.

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Jana Tobias is Miss June 2022 in Gina Elise's annual Pin-Up for Vets calendar

Jana Tobias was eager to suit up in a completely different way.

The Veteran, who served in the Army as a Black Hawk pilot, is one of 12 women who swapped their uniforms and combat boots for ‘40s style dresses and high heels, for the 16th annual Pin-Ups for Vets 2022 calendar. The award-winning nonprofit, founded in 2006 by California resident Gina Elise, raises funding to support hospitalized and deployed troops.

"I try to follow as many Veteran organizations as possible," Tobias told Fox News. "I came across Pin-Ups for Vets on Facebook and I was just intrigued. I’ve always loved the 1940s, not because of the clothes, but really the nose art. I’m in aviation, so that has always fascinated me. It was also a time when our country was going through hardship and war. And yet, we as Americans did whatever was possible to motivate and uplift our troops, so they can keep going. I felt like I could contribute."

The 44-year-old’s journey is one made fit for the silver screen. As a child, she was enamored with G.I. Joe and the 1984 action film "Red Dawn," about how a group of teenagers band together to defend their country from invading Soviet forces.

"I grew up with four brothers," she chuckled. "My father always treated me like one of the boys. He didn’t treat me special because I was a girl. He taught me everything, including fishing, camping, hiking – whatever else my brothers were doing. We also wrestled. I felt like I could do anything that my brothers could do. My father also served at the National Guard so service was essential in my family."

According to the Massachusetts resident, it was in college when she saw a flyer for the ROTC at her dorm cafeteria.

"It was something I’ve always wanted to do," said Tobias. "I wanted to help people, save people. And I felt it would be very cool."

The choice forever changed her life.

Tobias joined the Santa Barbara ROTC at the University of California during her freshman year in 1995. She was commissioned as a Second Lieutenant through the ROTC when she graduated in June 1999.

According to Tobias, she served in South Korea from 2000 until 2001. From there she headed to Fort Hood from 2001 until 2008. Then came the Texas Army National Guard from 2009 until 2015, and finally the Massachusetts Army National Guard from 2016 until 2020. Tobias was deployed twice to Iraq; once with the 1st Cavalry Division on active duty from 2004 until 2005 and then with the 36th Infantry Division in the Texas Army National Guard from 2010 until 2011.

Tobias said one of her most memorable experiences was being involved with the disaster relief and rescue operations during Hurricane Katrina in 2005. She described landing on overpasses, streets, stadiums and rooftops to help those stranded by rising waters.

"We all just came together from all different services to help civilians," she recalled. "We got people from dark buildings that had no electricity. It was really hard to hold it together at times because you’re helping people who have lost everything. I remember one woman who was diabetic and I had to send my crew down a dark stairwell with the waters rising. I remember one family was waving at us from a rooftop in need of help. We were so grateful to be of aid, but it was just a humbling experience for all of us. Mother nature can take away everything in a heartbeat."

"But I love flying helicopters," she continued. "And it felt good to stand united and help others."

Over the years, Tobias said she followed several Veteran organizations on social media. And along the way, she discovered Pin-Ups for Vets.

"The style was intriguing," she said. "But also, I was just really drawn to the organization’s mission and what they were trying to accomplish by supporting our Veterans. It felt like the perfect way for me to serve again. I reached out because I have done my own little pinup photos for my husband in these cool outfits and thought, ‘I could do this.'"

The nonprofit famously produces WWII-inspired bombshell calendars featuring Veterans as models. The 16th annual calendar for 2022 features 12 female Veterans, whose combined military service equals 100 years.

Since its launch, Pin-Ups for Vets has donated over $80,000 to help hospitals purchase new rehabilitation equipment and to provide financial assistance for Veterans’ health care program expansion across the country. During the pandemic, Pin-Ups for Vets has been shipping out care packages enclosed with gifts of appreciation to hospitalized Veterans. It continues to mail morale-boosting care packages to deployed U.S. troops around the globe.

Tobias is Miss June 2022.

"I’m not a model, so this was outside my comfort zone," said Tobias. "But my husband was there and making me laugh. It was a lot of fun. I met so many amazing women with inspirational stories from their time in the military. And when I saw the photos, I just couldn’t believe it was me. Gina has this eye and I felt so beautiful. I still can’t believe it’s me."

And the cause hit close to home. Tobias said that like many Veterans, she faced personal struggles.

"My biggest struggle was knowing who I was and how I fit in," she admitted. "I was an officer, I was a leader. I was in charge of platoons and companies. Those were all skills I learned to develop… Some people might think Veterans just follow commands because that’s the perception of the military. You’re just a soldier. You don’t ask questions. But you have your integrity, your moral compass. We’re not just robots. We have goals and dreams like anyone else."

"Even a simple thank-you makes me feel appreciative," she continued. "When I was younger, I just couldn’t understand how our Vets could be treated so poorly after they saw hardships. You want to feel that you matter from the people you love. You want to feel appreciated and not alone. When a soldier feels appreciated, they can do their job so much better. The feeling of being alone and not understood is so detrimental to someone’s mental health, no matter what you do. But especially serving, the things we are required to do are difficult. So the more support that we have, the stronger our soldiers can be… and horrible tragedies will be less likely to happen."

Looking back at her experience with Pin-Ups for Vets, Tobias said she’s a proud American and is looking forward to what our country can accomplish in the New Year.

"I am proud of our resilience," she said. "I am proud that we can live in a place where we aren’t persecuted daily. I don’t know if many people realize that. You don’t have to look over your shoulder constantly. We have our freedoms. I’m happy where we are as a nation because it’s far better than it could be. We always fight and we never give up. We’re not afraid to tackle hard issues. And, we’ve maintained a level of security and freedom that is unparalleled."

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Agreement Includes Lifetime Ban from Participating in Federal Programs

NASHVILLE – John Davis, 43, of Franklin, Tennessee, and the former CEO of Anesthesia Services Associates, PLLC d/b/a Comprehensive Pain Specialists (“CPS”), agreed to a permanent voluntary exclusion from participation in federal procurement and non-procurement programs as part of an agreement to resolve the United States’ civil claims against him, announced Acting U.S. Attorney Mary Jane Stewart for the Middle District of Tennessee.

CPS, which was based in Brentwood, Tennessee, at one point operated over 40 pain clinics and had operations in 12 states, until it shut down in 2018. On July 22, 2019, the United States filed a Consolidated Complaint in Intervention in the United States District Court for the Middle District of Tennessee against Davis, as well as CPS and other CPS executives, alleging, among other things, that Davis submitted false claims for medically unnecessary and/or non-reimbursable testing and acupuncture (the “Civil Action”).

As part of the settlement, Davis also agreed not to be employed in any industry or field in which he could, either directly or indirectly, submit claims seeking reimbursement from Medicare and other Federal health care programs.

In April 2019, Davis was convicted for his role in a $4 million Medicare Kickback scheme. After a seven-day trial, a jury convicted Davis of one count of conspiracy to defraud the United States and violate the Anti-Kickback Statute as well as seven counts of violating the Anti-Kickback Statute. In July 2020, Davis was sentenced on the criminal charges to 42 months in prison. Earlier this year, Davis’ sentence was commuted by then-President Donald J. Trump.

The United States previously resolved its claims against CPS, its owners, and a former manager. This settlement resolves the remaining allegations against Davis and results in the dismissal of the Civil Action.

The Civil Action was handled by the United States Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Tennessee and the Tennessee Attorney General’s Office. This case was investigated by the Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Inspector General and the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation Medicaid Fraud Control Unit. Assistant U.S. Attorney Kara F. Sweet represented the United States.

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ALEXANDRIA, Va. – An Arlington businessman was sentenced today to 21 months in prison with three years of supervised release for making false statements to multiple federal agencies in order to fraudulently obtain multimillion-dollar government contracts, COVID-19 emergency relief loans, and undeserved military service benefits.

“In the early stages of the global pandemic, the defendant engaged in three egregious fraudulent schemes that he brazenly concocted to enrich himself,” said Raj Parekh, Acting U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia. “He falsely represented to the federal government that he could provide $38 million in life-saving N95 masks, and simultaneously, he fraudulently obtained over $1 million in pandemic assistance intended for deserving families and businesses. The defendant also continued an offensive seven-year scheme to obtain unearned Veterans benefits by falsely claiming to have served as a Marine. This case underscores our commitment to holding accountable those who exploit essential government programs at the expense of Veterans, front-line medical personnel, and vulnerable members of our communities.”

According to court documents, Robert S. Stewart, Jr., 35, was the owner and president of Federal Government Experts (FGE) LLC, an Arlington-based company that purported to provide various services to the U.S. government. In this capacity, between April 1, 2020 and May 14, 2020, Stewart made false statements to the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) in order to obtain lucrative contracts to provide COVID-19 personal protective equipment (PPE). In addition, Stewart fraudulently obtained loans under the federal Paycheck Protection Program and the Economic Injury Disaster Loan Program. He also defrauded the VA by falsely claiming to be entitled to Veteran’s benefits for serving in the U.S. Marine Corps when, in fact, he never served in the Marines.

As part of his PPE scheme, Stewart falsely stated to procurement officials from FEMA and the VA that he was in possession of large quantities of PPE, including N95 masks. Based on Stewart’s false statements, the VA and FEMA awarded FGE contracts valued at $35,000,000 and $3,510,000, respectively. The VA intended to use the PPE purchased from FGE to protect employees and patients at various Veterans Health Administration facilities, which serve the medical needs of over nine million Veterans each year. FGE failed to supply any PPE to the VA and FEMA. The U.S. government suffered no financial loss because the contract called for payment upon delivery and inspection of the goods.

“These were crimes against the American people. Stewart fraudulently pursued contracts that were needed to supply VA hospital patients and staff with critical personal protective equipment during the COVID-19 pandemic, and stole taxpayer dollars intended to help local businesses stay afloat during the pandemic. In addition, he lied about his service in the military and received Veterans benefits for which he was not entitled,” said VA Inspector General Michael J. Missal. “This sentence should send a clear message that the VA Office of Inspector General will work diligently with its law enforcement partners to ensure those who would defraud the nation’s Veterans and the public will be caught and prosecuted.”

“We continue to collaborate with our law enforcement partners to pursue and dismantle schemes aimed at exploiting critical COVID-19 resources, and we are grateful for today’s sentencing decision, which sends a strong message to help deter potential fraudsters,” said Joseph V. Cuffari, Inspector General for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS).

“Today’s sentencing shows that we will not allow criminals to get away with exploiting government relief efforts that were designed to assist millions of Americans during the COVID-19 pandemic. Stewart fraudulently obtained government-backed loans, and his nefarious and unethical actions were for his own personal gain,” said Robert E. Bornstein, Acting Special Agent in Charge of FBI’s Washington Field Office Criminal Division. “The FBI and our partners are committed to protecting the American people and the integrity of government assistance programs and will work to identify, arrest, and prosecute those who choose criminal activity and greed over principle and the law.”

Stewart also applied for various loans on behalf of FGE under the federal Paycheck Protection Program and the Economic Injury Disaster Loan Program. These programs were designed to provide emergency financial assistance to the millions of people suffering the economic effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. The loan applications submitted by Stewart falsely overstated the number of FGE employees and the amount of FGE’s payroll, two factors that were important in determining loan eligibility and the proper amount of the loan. In addition, Stewart used some of the loan proceeds for personal expenditures rather than to pay employees or for other appropriate business expenses. As a result of these fraudulent loan applications, Stewart obtained approximately $1,066,000 in government-backed loans during the pandemic.

In a separate fraudulent scheme, Stewart, an Air Force Veteran, submitted an application for benefits to the VA. The application was fraudulent in that Stewart falsely claimed that he also served in the U.S. Marine Corps. Stewart created fraudulent documents that stated he attained the rank of Corporal in the Marine Corps and was honorably discharged after receiving several awards and commendations, including the Rifle Expert Badge, Pistol Expert Badge, Meritorious Mast, National Defense Service Medal, Sea Service Deployment Ribbon, Southwest Asia Service Medal, Certificate of Appreciation, and the Kuwaiti Liberation Medal. Stewart, in fact, never served in the Marines. Based on his fraudulent application, he received excess benefits in the amount of $73,722.45 between September 2013 and October 2020.

Raj Parekh, Acting U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia; Robert E. Bornstein, Acting Special Agent in Charge of FBI Washington Field Office Criminal Division; Joseph V. Cuffari, Inspector General for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS); and Michael J. Missal, Inspector General for the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, made the announcement after sentencing by U.S. District Judge Rossie D. Alston, Jr.

Assistant U.S. Attorney William Fitzpatrick prosecuted the case.

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DETROIT - Former Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist, Elizabeth Prophitt, age 39, of Saline, was sentenced today to 3-years’ probation for stealing controlled substances, including several opioids, from hospital dispensing machines, announced Acting United States Attorney Saima S. Mohsin.

Joining Mohsin in the announcement were Gavin McClaren, Acting Special Agent in Charge, Veteran’s Affairs, Office of Inspector General, Central Field Office and Special Agent in Charge Keith Martin, DEA, Detroit Division.

Prophitt, was sentenced by U.S District Court Judge Robert H. Cleland after pleading guilty to five counts of obtaining controlled substances by fraud, misrepresentation or deceit. She used her position as a surgical nurse to steal more than 2,000 vials of Schedule II and Schedule IV controlled substances, which included fentanyl, hydromorphone, morphine and midazolam. Prophitt would use protected patient information and falsify medical documents to obtain the controlled substances. Instead of using the medication on the purported patients, she diverted the drugs for her own personal use. At times, on days when she was unscheduled to work or after normal working hours, she would access the hospital and steal the vials directly from the hospital dispensing systems.

Acting United States Attorney Mohsin stated, “In order to protect the health and safety of our citizens, we take crimes like this seriously and will not hesitate to prosecute health care workers whose theft of drugs put patients in harm’s way.”

“We will not tolerate medical professionals stealing controlled substances intended for the care of our nation’s Veterans,” said Acting Special Agent in Charge Gavin McClaren of the Department of Veterans Affairs Office of Inspector General’s Central Field Office.  

This case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Brandy R. McMillion. McMillion serves as the District’s Opioid Fraud Abuse and Detection Prosecutor as well as the Deputy-Chief of the Health Care Fraud Unit. The Opioid Fraud Abuse and Detection Unit is a Department of Justice initiative designating twelve special prosecutors across the country to focus on prosecuting medical professionals that are contributing to the nation’s opioid crisis. The case was investigated by special agents of the Department of Veteran Affairs – Office of Inspector General and the Drug Enforcement Administration.

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A former Delaware doctor was sentenced today to 20 years in prison for unlawful drug distribution and maintaining a drug-involved premises.

Patrick Titus, 58, of Milford, was convicted by a federal jury in July 2021 of 13 counts of unlawfully distributing and dispensing controlled substances and one count of maintaining a drug-involved premises.

“This sentence is a reminder that the Department of Justice will hold accountable those doctors who are illegitimately prescribing opioids and fueling the country’s opioid crisis,” said Assistant Attorney General Kenneth A. Polite Jr. of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division. “Doctors who commit these unlawful acts exploit their roles as stewards of their patients’ care for their own profit.”

According to court documents and evidence presented at trial, Titus unlawfully distributed or dispensed a variety of powerful opioids – including fentanyl, morphine, methadone, OxyContin and oxycodone – outside the usual scope of professional practice and not for legitimate medical purposes. Titus operated an internal medicine practice where he frequently prescribed these dangerous controlled substances in high dosages, sometimes in combination with each other or in other dangerous combinations, mostly in exchange for cash. Evidence at trial showed he distributed over 1 million opioid pills. Although these Schedule II drugs are approved for pain management treatment, Titus provided no meaningful medical care and instead prescribed these controlled substances to patients he knew were suffering from substance use disorder and/or who demonstrated clear signs that the prescribed drugs were being abused, diverted or sold on the street.

“DEA-registered medical practitioners have an important role in our communities to treat patients compassionately and responsibly,” said DEA Administrator Anne Milgram. “Today’s sentencing makes clear that medical professionals who recklessly prescribe opioids and endanger the safety and health of patients will be held accountable. I applaud the outstanding investigative work conducted by DEA’s Wilmington Resident Office Tactical Diversion Squad and the Department of Justice’s prosecution of the case.”

“As we continue the fight against the opioid crisis, this case serves as an important reminder that health care professionals have a duty to prescribe medication responsibly to ensure the well-being of individuals under their care. Failing to do so can endanger patients and undermines critical, ongoing public health measures,” said Special Agent in Charge Maureen Dixon of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of the Inspector General (HHS-OIG). “HHS-OIG will continue to work with our law enforcement partners to hold bad actors accountable.”

The DEA and HHS-OIG investigated the case.

Assistant Deputy Chiefs Aleza Remis and Justin Woodard and Trial Attorney Claire Sobczak of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section prosecuted the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Edmond Falgowski of the District of Delaware assisted with the case.

The Fraud Section leads the Criminal Division’s efforts to combat health care fraud through the Health Care Fraud Strike Force Program. Since March 2007, this Program, comprised of 15 strike forces operating in 24 federal districts, has charged more than 4,200 defendants who collectively have billed the Medicare program for more than $19 billion. In addition, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, working in conjunction with the Office of the Inspector General for the Department of Health and Human Services, are taking steps to hold providers accountable for their involvement in health care fraud schemes. More information can be found athttps://www.justice.gov/criminal-fraud/health-care-fraud-unit.

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Tampa, Florida – U.S. District Judge William Jung has sentenced Dr. Richard Davidson (Delray Beach, 42) to six years in federal prison for conspiracy to commit health care fraud. As part of his sentence, the court ordered Davidson to forfeit approximately $650,000 in funds traceable to the offense or as substitute assets. The court also entered a money judgment of $2.47 million and ordered $10.72 million in restitution. Davidson lost his medical license due to his conviction.

Davidson had pleaded guilty on September 16, 2020.

According to court documents, in 2018, Davidson and his conspirators established a conglomerate of durable medical equipment (“DME”) supply companies. During the creation of the companies, they lied to Medicare to secure billing privileges. The scheme involved placing the companies in the names of straw owners. By concealing the companies’ true ownership, the conspirators secretly gained control of multiple companies. This enabled the conspirators to submit high volumes of illegal DME claims while attempting to evade law enforcement scrutiny. In one year, through the conglomerate, Davidson and his conspirators submitted more than $20 million in illegal DME claims, resulting in more than $10 million in payments from Medicare and the Civilian Health and Medical Program of the Department of Veterans Affairs (“CHAMPVA”).

To attain such high volumes of claims, the conspirators used bribes and kickbacks. Specifically, Davidson and his conspirators illegally purchased thousands of DME claims from so-called “marketers.” The marketers, for their part, had generated the claims under the guise of “telemedicine,” but no telemedicine had actually occurred. Instead, the “marketers” had bribed doctors to sign the DME brace orders that supported the claims. Davidson and his conspirators paid millions to secure the illegal DME claims for submission to Medicare and CHAMPVA.

“It’s sickening to see a member of the medical community profiting from a scheme that’s cheating the nation’s federally funded healthcare program. The FBI and its law enforcement partners will continue to expose the greed and deceit taking precedence over patient care,” said FBI Tampa Special Agent in Charge Michael McPherson.

“CHAMPVA ensures that family members of service-connected disabled veterans receive quality health care services,” stated David Spilker, Special Agent in Charge at the Department of Veterans Affairs Office of Inspector General (VA OIG). “This sentence holds the defendant accountable for his criminal actions to defraud both CHAMPVA and the Medicare program and reflects the magnitude of his multi-million dollar health care fraud scheme. The VA OIG thanks our law enforcement partners for their collaboration in this important investigation.”

This case was investigated by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services – Office of Inspector General, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Department of Veterans Affairs – Office of Inspector General, and the Internal Revenue Service – Criminal Investigation, Tampa Field Office. It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Kristen A. Fiore and James A. Muench.

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A federal jury in the Eastern District of Tennessee convicted a former nurse practitioner yesterday of unlawfully distributing prescription opioids to patients at a clinic he owned in Manchester, Tennessee.

According to court documents and evidence presented at trial, Mark Allen, 64, now of Destin, Florida, distributed oxycodone not for a legitimate medical purpose outside the course of professional practice and used his clinic for unlawful drug distribution. Specifically, the evidence showed that through his clinic, Volunteer Family Medical, he wrote controlled substance prescriptions for more than 15,000 pills to three women with whom he had sexual relationships, and a male patient who later passed away.

Allen was convicted of one count of maintaining a drug-involved premises and six counts of unlawful distribution of a controlled substance outside the scope of professional practice. He is scheduled to be sentenced on Jan. 21, 2022, and faces up to 20 years in prison per count. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

Assistant Attorney General Kenneth A. Polite Jr. of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division; Acting U.S. Attorney Francis M. Hamilton III of the Eastern District of Tennessee; Special Agent in Charge Joseph Carrico of the FBI’s Knoxville Field Office; Special Agent in Charge Derrick Jones of the Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Inspector General (HHS-OIG); and Assistant Director Mike Cox of the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation (TBI) made the announcement.

The FBI, HHS-OIG, and TBI investigated the case.

Trial Attorney Emily Petro of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section and Assistant U.S. Attorney James Brooks of the Eastern District of Tennessee are prosecuting the case.

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