NEWARK, N.J. – A former pharmacy procurement technician today admitted stealing prescription HIV medications from the pharmacy of the Veterans Affairs Medical Center (VAMC) in East Orange, New Jersey, Acting U.S. Attorney Rachael A. Honig announced.

Lisa M. Hoffman, 49, of Orange, New Jersey, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Esther Salas in Newark federal court to Count 2 of an indictment charging her with theft of government property.

According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court:

From October 2015 through November 2019, Hoffman was a procurement officer at the VAMC, who used her authority to order medication for the outpatient pharmacy, including ordering large quantities of HIV medication. Hoffman admitted that she stole HIV prescription medications from the VAMC pharmacy and sold it to her conspirator, Wagner Checonolasco, 34, of Lyndhurst, New Jersey, in exchange for cash. Checonolasco previously admitted to conspiring with Hoffman to steal HIV medication belonging to the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. Hoffman and Checonolasco stole approximately $10 million worth of HIV medications belonging to the VAMC during the scheme.

The theft of government property charge is punishable by a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison and a fine of $250,000, or twice the gross gain or loss from the offense, whichever is greatest. Sentencing is scheduled for March 9, 2022.

Checonolasco previously pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to steal government property and is scheduled to be sentenced on Dec. 15, 2021.

Acting U.S. Attorney Honig credited special agents of the FBI, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge George M. Crouch Jr. in Newark, and the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs Office of Inspector General, Northeast Field Office, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Christopher F. Algieri, with the investigation leading to today’s guilty plea.

The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Nicole F. Mastropieri of the Health Care Fraud Unit in Newark.

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NEWARK, N.J. – A former pharmacy technician was arrested today for stealing prescription HIV medications from the pharmacy of the Veterans Affairs Medical Center (VAMC) in East Orange, New Jersey, Acting U.S. Attorney Rachael A. Honig announced.

Lisa M. Hoffman, 48, of Orange, New Jersey, is charged by complaint with theft of medical products, specifically HIV medication. Hoffman is scheduled to make her initial appearance by videoconference before U.S. Magistrate Judge Mark Falk this afternoon.

According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court:

Hoffman’s responsibilities at the VAMC included ordering the necessary drugs and supplies for the outpatient pharmacy, including determining when to place orders and for what products, as well as regularly maintaining inventory levels of needed drugs and supplies. From at least August 2017 through November 2019, Hoffman used her position to steal prescription HIV medication from the VAMC. She placed large orders for HIV medication, purportedly on behalf of VAMC, and then stole the medication after it was delivered. VAMC surveillance footage captured Hoffman regularly taking dozens of bottles of HIV medications from the shelves of the outpatient pharmacy, placing them in a white mail bin, and then transferring the medications from the mail bin to her bag and exiting with the stolen medication. Hoffman stole approximately $8.2 million worth of the VAMC’s HIV medication.

Once Hoffman had the medication, Hoffman met her associate, Wagner Checonolasco, aka “Wanny,” 33, of Lyndhurst, New Jersey, often at her residence, so that she could sell the stolen HIV medication to Checonolasco for cash. After obtaining the stolen HIV medication, Checonolasco resold it to others.      

Checonolasco was previously charged with conspiracy to steal government property. Those charges remain pending.

The charge of theft of medical products is punishable by a potential penalty of 20 years in prison, and a fine of $1 million, or three times the economic loss attributable to the offense.

Acting U.S. Attorney Honig credited special agents of the FBI, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge George M. Crouch Jr. in Newark, and the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Office of Inspector General, Northeast Field Office, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Christopher F. Algieri, with the investigation leading to the charges.

The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Nicole F. Mastropieri of the Health Care Fraud Unit.

The charges and allegations contained in the complaints are merely accusations, and the defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.

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NEWARK, N.J. – A former pharmacy procurement technician was indicted today for stealing prescription HIV medications from the pharmacy of the Veterans Affairs Medical Center (VAMC) in East Orange, New Jersey, Acting U.S. Attorney Rachael A. Honig announced.

Lisa M. Hoffman, 48, of Orange, New Jersey, is charged by indictment with one count each of conspiracy, theft of government property, and theft of medical products.

According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court:

From October 2015 through November 2019, Hoffman was a procurement officer at the VAMC, who used her authority to order large quantities of HIV prescription medications so that she could steal the excess. After the medications arrived, Hoffman waited until co-workers were out of sight and then removed them from the VAMC.

Once Hoffman stole the medications, she met her associate, Wagner Checonolasco, aka “Wanny,” generally at Hoffman’s residence, so that Hoffman could provide the stolen HIV medications to Checonolasco in exchange for cash. Hoffman and Checonolasco used an encrypted messaging application to plan and execute their thefts and sales of the stolen HIV medications, including arranging for the medications-for-cash exchanges. After obtaining the stolen HIV medications from Hoffman, Checonolasco sold them. Hoffman and Checonolasco stole approximately $10 million worth of HIV medications belonging to the VAMC during the conspiracy.

Checonolasco, 33, of Lyndhurst, New Jersey, was previously charged with conspiracy to steal government property, and those charges remain pending.

The conspiracy charge is punishable by a maximum penalty of five years in prison. The theft of government property charge is punishable by a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison. The charge of theft of medical products is punishable by a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison. Each charge also is punishable by a maximum fine of $250,000, or twice the gross pecuniary gain derived from the offense, or twice the gross pecuniary loss sustained by any victims of the offense, whichever is greatest. The theft of medical products charge also carries a civil penalty of $1 million, or three times the economic loss attributable to the offense.

Acting U.S. Attorney Honig credited special agents of the FBI, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge George M. Crouch Jr. in Newark, and the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs Office of Inspector General, Northeast Field Office, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Christopher F. Algieri, with the ongoing investigation leading to the charges.

The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Nicole F. Mastropieri of the Health Care Fraud Unit.

The charges and allegations against the defendants are merely accusations, and they are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.

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PITTSBURGH, PA - A former physician who operated private family practices in Perryopolis, Pennsylvania, and Mount Pleasant, Pennsylvania, has been sentenced in federal court to 18 months’ incarceration, followed by three years supervised release, and ordered to pay a $5,000 fine on his conviction of violating federal narcotics and health care laws, United States Attorney Cindy K. Chung announced today.

United States District Judge J. Nicholas Ranjan imposed the sentence on Emilio Ramon Navarro, 60, of Coal Center, Pennsylvania.

According to the information presented to the court, Navarro, a licensed physician in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, operated private family practices in Mount Pleasant and Perryopolis. In 2018, Navarro issued Victim 1 nine prescriptions for a total of 300 dosage units of Oxycodone and 240 dosage units of Oxymorphone, both Schedule II controlled substances, outside the usual course of professional practice and for no legitimate medical purpose. Rather, Navarro forced Victim 1 to engage in sexual acts with him prior to issuing her these prescriptions to which he caused her to be addicted. Navarro thereby caused the submission of fraudulent claims to Medicaid for reimbursement for the unlawfully prescribed prescriptions thereby defrauding Medicaid.

Prior to imposing the sentence, Judge Ranjan stated, “There are victims involved and they have suffered lasting impacts.”

“Today’s sentence holds Dr. Navarro accountable for his illegal activities,” said U.S. Attorney Chung. “I will continue our office’s tenacious pursuit of unscrupulous doctors who exploit the addictions of patients for personal gratification and then cause our healthcare system to be defrauded.”

“Dr. Navarro had a clear disregard for medical integrity,” said FBI Pittsburgh Special Agent in Charge Mike Nordwall. “He preyed on victims struggling with addiction and traded drugs for sex. The FBI will continue to work with our partners to hold accountable those who abuse their positions of trust.”

“When Dr. Navarro prescribed opioid prescriptions in exchange for sexual favors, he abandoned his duty as a physician and recklessly discarded the health and safety of his patients,” said Special Agent in Charge Maureen R. Dixon of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. “Together with our law enforcement partners, our agency will continue to uproot such egregious fraud schemes that threaten public health and wastes taxpayer dollars.”

“Navarro held a position of trust in his community and his patients depended on him to provide medical care,” said AG Shapiro. “He will now face consequences for showing no regard for the health and safety of his patients, illegally prescribing drugs that have fueled the opioid crisis here in Pennsylvania, and defrauding our Commonwealth's Medicaid Program. The Office of Attorney General's arrests of prescribers who divert prescription drugs are up 135% since 2016. We will continue to work with our partners to seek out those who put lives at risk and hold them accountable.”

Assistant United States Attorneys Robert S. Cessar and Mark V. Gurzo are prosecuting this case on behalf of the government.

The investigation leading to the prosecution of Emilio Navarro was conducted by the Western Pennsylvania Opioid Fraud and Abuse Detection Unit (OFADU). The Western Pennsylvania

OFADU, led by federal prosecutors in the U.S. Attorney’s Office, combines the expertise and resources of federal and state law enforcement to address the role played by unethical medical professionals in the opioid epidemic. The agencies which comprise the Western Pennsylvania OFADU include: Federal Bureau of Investigation, U.S. Health and Human Services – Office of Inspector General, Drug Enforcement Administration, Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigations, Pennsylvania Office of Attorney General - Medicaid Fraud Control Unit, Pennsylvania Office of Attorney General – Bureau of Narcotic Investigations, United States Postal Inspection Service, U.S. Attorney’s Office – Criminal Division, Civil Division and Asset Forfeiture Unit, Department of Veterans Affairs-Office of Inspector General, Food and Drug Administration-Office of Criminal Investigations, U.S. Office of Personnel Management – Office of Inspector General and the Pennsylvania Bureau of Licensing.

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Acting United States Attorney Dennis R. Holmes announced that a Wagner, South Dakota, man formerly employed as a physician at the Wagner Indian Health Service Clinic was sentenced on five counts of Abusive Sexual Contact on December 13, 2021, by U.S. District Judge Karen E. Schreier.

Pedro Ibarra-Perocier, age 60, was sentenced to 120 months in federal prison, followed by five years of supervised release, a $35,000 fine, and a special assessment to the Federal Crime Victims Fund in the amount of $500.

Ibarra-Perocier was indicted by a federal grand jury on February 4, 2020. He pled guilty to five counts of Abusive Sexual Contact on August 26, 2021.

The conviction stemmed from several incidents that occurred between approximately February 2007 and August 2018, when Ibarra-Perocier was a licensed physician practicing at the Wagner Indian Health Service Clinic and sexually abused five Native American women who came to see him at the clinic for medical appointments. Ibarra-Perocier frequently locked the door to the examination room before he sexually abused those women. Ibarra-Perocier often touched and rubbed their breasts and genitals, either directly or through their clothing, without their consent and when there was no medical reason to do so. Ibarra-Perocier also forced some of his victims to touch his genitals, either directly or through his clothing.   Ibarra-Perocier threatened or placed some of them in fear that they would not receive the medications or medical care they needed unless they complied with his sexual demands in the clinic examination rooms.

“Dr. Ibarra-Perocier abused his position of trust as a physician to sexually abuse five Native American women—his patients—all in the examination rooms at the Indian Health Service Clinic where he practiced,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Dennis Holmes. “Because these five women bravely came forward, this predator was held accountable for his actions.”

“Today’s sentence ensures that the defendant will not be in a position to harm his patients any longer, and women in the community can once again seek medical care without fear of becoming a victim,” said FBI Special Agent in Charge Michael Paul. “Every medical professional takes an oath to do no harm, and I want to thank the FBI agents and analysts who worked side by side with the Department of Health and Human Service’s Office of Inspector General to ensure that the defendant was held accountable for his actions and that his victims received the justice they deserved.”

“Dr. Ibarra-Perocier’s actions were unconscionable— he violated his position of trust to abuse vulnerable patients at an Indian Health Service clinic and threatened to withhold needed medical care if his victims did not comply. These illegal acts will never be tolerated,” said Special Agent in Charge Curt L. Muller of HHS Office of Inspector General. “We remain committed to aggressively investigating corrupt health professionals and protecting patients across the country.”

This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Inspector General, Office of Investigations. Assistant U.S. Attorney Ann M. Hoffman prosecuted the case.

Ibarra-Perocier has been allowed to self-surrender to the custody of the Bureau of Prisons by January 10, 2022.

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Earlier today, in federal court in Central Islip, Michael Belfiore, a former medical doctor, was sentenced by United States Circuit Judge Joseph F. Bianco to 23 years in prison for the illegal distribution of oxycodone causing the deaths of two patients and the illegal distribution of oxycodone to those patients and to an undercover detective. In addition, Belfiore was ordered to forfeit $7,270 in illegal fees that he took from the two deceased patients and the undercover detective and to pay $17,000 in restitution based upon costs associated with the overdose deaths that he caused. Belfiore was convicted of the charges by a federal jury in May 2018 following a five-week trial. Belfiore’s medical license has lapsed and he is no longer practicing medicine.

Breon Peace, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York, Keith Kruskall, Acting Special Agent-in-Charge, Drug Enforcement Administration, New York Division (DEA), and Patrick J. Ryder, Commissioner, Nassau County Police Department (NCPD), announced the sentence.

“In violation of his oath to do no harm, Belfiore intentionally distributed highly addictive and potentially lethal opioids in dosages and quantities that resulted in the overdose deaths of two of his patients,” stated United States Attorney Peace. “Today’s sentence sends a strong message that this Office and its law enforcement partners will fight the opioid epidemic and seek serious punishment for medical professionals like Belfiore who betray their profession and use their prescription pads to further addiction, rather than as a tool to heal. I want to extend my sincere thanks to DEA’s Long Island Tactical Diversion Squad, who tenaciously investigated this case.”  

“During the midst of an opioid epidemic, the defendant chose to use his education and medical training to do harm, and at the expense of two of his patients’ lives,” stated DEA Acting Special Agent-in-Charge Kruskall. “DEA and its law enforcement partners will continue to seek justice for the victims who have been betrayed and have suffered greatly at that hands of those who were trusted with their health and wellbeing.”

Belfiore, a former doctor of osteopathic medicine who primarily operated out of an office in Merrick, New York, illegally distributed oxycodone outside the usual course of professional practice and not for a legitimate medical purpose.   Oxycodone is a powerful and highly addictive drug that is increasingly abused because of its potency when crushed into a powder and ingested. It is a controlled substance that may be dispensed by medical professionals only to patients suffering from significant pain that is documented through medical exams, diagnostic testing—such as x-rays and MRIs—and other objective proof. Although oxycodone is commonly prescribed in five milligram tablets, the trial evidence showed that Belfiore wrote thousands of 30 milligram prescriptions for oxycodone in quantities of up to 180 pills per month.

At trial, the evidence established that on February 28, 2013, Belfiore gave an illegal prescription for 120 30 mg oxycodone pills to 42-year-old Edward Martin.   On March 5, Mr. Martin overdosed and died in his bed after snorting the oxycodone obtained from Belfiore’s prescription. On April 12, 2013, Belfiore gave an illegal prescription for 150 30 mg oxycodone pills to 32-year-old John Ubaghs. On April 13, 2013, Mr. Ubaghs was found unresponsive after overdosing on oxycodone prescribed by Belfiore, and was pronounced dead at the hospital.

Between March 2013 and August 2013, Belfiore intentionally dispensed six prescriptions of oxycodone without a legitimate medical purpose to an undercover detective with the NCPD’s Narcotics Vice Squad. Belfiore created fake medical charts to justify those prescriptions and during office meetings with the undercover detective, Belfiore’s “treatment” consisted of a discussion of the defendant’s trip to San Diego and his interest in helicopters, yachts and cigarette boats.  

The case was investigated by the DEA’s Long Island Tactical Diversion Squad comprising agents and officers of the DEA, NCPD, Suffolk County Police Department, Port Washington Police Department and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Inspector General.

The government’s case is being handled by the Office’s Long Island Criminal Division. Assistant United States Attorneys Charles N. Rose and Bradley T. King are in charge of the prosecution.

The Defendant:

MICHAEL BELFIORE

Age: 58

Westbury, New York

E.D.N.Y. Docket No. 15-CR-242 (JFB)

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SYRACUSE, NEW YORK - Jennifer Caloia, age 57, a licensed pharmacist who owned and operated Dougherty Pharmacy in Morrisville, New York, from 1998 to 2015, was sentenced today in federal court in Utica to serve a two-year term of probation, perform 80 hours of community service, a fine in the amount of $10,000.00, a special assessment of $100 after previously pleading guilty to one felony count of health care fraud.

The announcement was made by Acting United States Attorney Antoinette T. Bacon; Janeen DiGuiseppi, Special Agent in Charge of the Albany Field Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI); Scott J. Lampert, Special Agent in Charge of the New York Regional Office of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Inspector General (HHS OIG); Ralph D. Tortora III, Regional Director, New York Attorney General’s Medicaid Fraud Control Unit, Syracuse Office; Carol S. Hamilton, Regional Director, U.S. Department of Labor Employee Benefits Security Administration (DOL EBSA); and Shirin Emami, Acting Superintendent, New York State Department of Financial Services.

In pleading guilty previously, Jennifer Caloia admitted that between 2011 and 2015 she defrauded public and private health insurance programs by submitting false and fraudulent claims for prescription drugs that the pharmacy did not dispense. Caloia also admitted that customers submitting prescriptions for medications had their health insurance providers billed for more expensive drugs than those prescribed. To facilitate this scheme, Caloia changed the names of some of the prescription drugs in the software she used to communicate with insurance companies and to print drug labels, which allowed her to submit her fraudulent claims while providing the customer with the appropriate labels and instructions. Evidence presented to the court in support of Caloia’s guilty plea also revealed that in at least a few instances she dispensed a drug different than what a customer’s doctor had prescribed as part of her scheme to defraud. Caloia no longer owns or operates Dougherty Pharmacy.

In sentencing Caloia, United States District Judge David N. Hurd also ordered her to pay restitution in the amount of $110,431.02 to the public and private insurers affected by her fraud scheme.

In separately negotiated civil settlements with the Civil Division of the United States Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of New York and the New York State Attorney General’s Office, Caloia and her company agreed to pay $92,308.76 related to her submission of false claims to public insurers such as Medicare and Medicaid. The civil settlement resolves a whistleblower lawsuit filed under the qui tam provisions of the federal and New York False Claims Acts, which allow private persons, knowns as “relators,” to file civil actions on behalf of the government and share in any recovery. The relator in this case will receive $18,461.75 of the settlement proceeds. The federal civil case is docketed with the United States District Court for the Northern District of New York under number 6:17-cv-92 (BKS/ATB).

This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI); the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Inspector General (HHS OIG); the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), the U.S. Department of Labor-Employee Benefits Security Administration (DOL EBSA), New York Attorney General’s Medicaid Fraud Control Unit; and the New York State Department of Financial Services, and it is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael F. Perry. The civil investigation is being handled by Assistant United States Attorney John Hoggan and New York Attorney General’s Medicaid Fraud Control Unit, Syracuse Office Regional Director Ralph D. Tortora III.

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David Pruett was “hobbling around” for several years upon being discharged from the U.S. Navy in the late 1990s, before learning he could get some help for his injuries through the Veterans Administration.

Now it’s his job to help Veterans navigate that same system to ensure they get the help they deserve.

Effective last week, the longtime Rifle resident and real estate appraiser is the new appointed agent whose job it is to steer Garfield County Veterans to the various services that are available to them.

It was the former longtime Veterans Services Officer for the county, Joe Carpenter, who helped Pruett work through the process to get the help he needed.

“Today, there are a lot of young Veterans who’ve served in the last 20 years who may need those services, but aren’t really sure how to go about it,” Pruett said. “As I learned, it’s not just an old guys’ thing. Some Veterans need that assistance the day they get out.”

County commissioners last week appointed Pruett, a Navy Veteran and Rifle High School graduate, to be the new Veterans services officer (VSO) for Garfield County. He replaces outgoing VSO Lisa Reed-Scott, who had been at the post since January 2019. She resigned last month to pursue other career avenues.

Pruett, 49, was active duty as a member of the prestigious Navy SEALs (Navy Special Warfare) for almost five years after graduating from Mesa State College in Grand Junction (now Colorado Mesa University) in 1994 with a degree in criminal justice.

Injuries ended his military career prematurely, but he continued in the volunteer spirit after returning to Rifle, as a firefighter for the Rifle Fire Protection District, and with the Sunlight Mountain Resort Ski Patrol and the Garfield County Sheriff’s Office Search and Rescue.

“I’m excited to have the chance to work with Veterans here in Garfield County,” Pruett told county commissioners upon his appointment. “I’m very familiar with paperwork, working as an appraiser, and I have the paper cuts to show for it.”

Growing up in Rifle

Pruett was born in Denver, but his parents, Mike and Irene Pruett, moved to Rifle when he was young. He has two siblings, sister Kimberly, who lives in Grand Junction, and brother Mark from Denver.

While attending Mesa, he met his wife, Annick Pruett, who is well-known in the Rifle area as community relations director for Grand River Health. David Pruett took over the family appraising business after working with his mother for several years. He and Annick have two grown children, daughter Makenna and son Dalton.

“David is a former student of mine and former student body president of Rifle High School, so this makes me very happy,” County Commissioner Mike Samson, a longtime former RHS teacher, said of Pruett’s appointment to the VSO position.

Pruett said he had always wanted to go into special operations, and the opportunity presented itself after he graduated from Mesa State.

“I always liked the military, and special operations was something I had considered,” he said. “I looked at the Army Green Berets, but at that time the fastest way to get into special operations was in the Navy.”

The stretch of time during which he served did not involve any major conflicts, though he was part of various operations in North Africa and the Middle East where the SEALs were tasked with stopping ships that were breaking embargoes.

“I was going to make it a career, but injuries I sustained in training pushed me out,” Pruett said.

Back home in western Colorado, when not working, Pruett said he still enjoys his weekends in the outdoors as much as possible.

“When I left the service, they asked me why I wanted to come back here … ‘there’s nothing there,'” he recalled.

“I told them that, if I’m at home on a weekend, it’s either because I’m sick or it’s a bad weekend,” Pruett said. “Otherwise, I’m going to be outside doing something. That was especially true when we had kids.”

New opportunity to serve

Pruett said he had thought about applying for the VSO position in the past, including when Carpenter retired in 2016. But he and Annick were still busy home-schooling their children at the time, so he decided to wait.

When the opportunity became available again this spring, Pruett decided it was the right time in his life.

His appraiser office in Rifle was a popular spot for local Veterans to visit, and he would always enjoy talking to them about life and service.

“I’d chat with them and learn so much from each of them about their service, both tactically and historically, and I also learned a lot about their frustrations and struggles to connect with needed services,” he said.

Pruett said his primary focus will be on communicating with area Veterans who are in need of the various services that are available to them.

“I want them to know that I’m on their side,” he said. “I’ll do my best to take care of them and their families, and for anyone who may be struggling with depression or suicidal thoughts, remember that we’re all in this together, so let’s stick together.”

Another concern among Veterans advocates is for those who are experiencing homelessness, whether by circumstance or by choice.

“As I’ve seen it, there are several different reasons to be homeless,” Pruett said. “For some of them, that’s what they choose, having come from military combat and what they’ve seen. That’s how it impacted them.

“Some have mental disabilities and can’t hold a job or keep a home. But there are programs available for them, if they need them. We just need to find them, and get them in contact with the right people.”

A difficulty for many Veterans is that there’s no special privilege in civilian life based on rank, as they had become used to in the military.

“But you’re still a Veteran,” Pruett said. “You volunteered or were drafted, but No. 1, you served. And when you get out, you might not even be looking for those benefits. But if you need it, it’s my job to try to help them find that benefit.”

Learning the ropes

Pruett is now in the equivalent of basic training for Veterans services officers.

Every county in Colorado has at least one VSO. Shortly after his appointment last week, he was on a videoconference call with several of those officers learning about the latest programs that are available.

A particular focus right now is on suicide prevention, he said, as the suicide rate among Veterans remains a major concern.

“We just want people to know that we’re here, and can find them the help that they need,” Pruett said.

Pruett will be working out of the Veterans Services offices in both Glenwood Springs, 803 Colorado Ave., and Rifle, at 195 W. 14th Street, Building A.

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PITTSBURGH, Pa. – A resident of New Castle, Pennsylvania, was sentenced in federal court for unlawfully prescribing and distributing controlled substances, Acting United States Attorney Stephen R. Kaufman announced today.

United States District Judge David S. Cercone, sentenced Thomas Ranieri, 68, to two years of supervised release, with the first year served as home detention.

During his plea hearing on August 21, 2019, the defendant admitted that he previously was a physician who practiced as an anesthesiologist and pain-management specialist in clinics located in New Castle, Pennsylvania, and multiple locations in Ohio. From January 2, 2013, to June 26, 2013, the defendant prescribed and distributed quantities of Schedule II controlled substances (i.e., Oxycodone, Fentanyl, and Opana ER) outside the usual course of professional practice and without a legitimate medical purpose. In total, the defendant pled guilty to fourteen distribution counts associated with his dispensing of approximately 1,100 doses of narcotics.

Assistant United States Attorney Eric G. Olshan prosecuted this case on behalf of the government. The Federal Bureau of Investigation, Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General, Internal Revenue Service - Criminal Investigation, and the Pennsylvania Office of Attorney General Medicaid Fraud Control Section conducted the investigation that led to the prosecution of Ranieri.

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BOSTON – A former Newton scientist sponsored by Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) has agreed to resolve allegations that he submitted false statements on a grant application to the National Institutes of Health (NIH).

Sam W. Lee, PhD, 67, of Bellevue, Wash., has agreed to pay $215,000 to resolve allegations that he submitted false claims for payment in a grant application to the NIH. MGH, the sponsor institution for the NIH grant, disclosed to the United States that Dr. Lee, the Principal Investigator (PI), submitted the grant application to NIH containing allegedly inauthentic data. MGH separately repaid NIH the full amount of funds it drew from the grant.

“The NIH grant application process relies on scientific integrity, accuracy and honesty from individual principal investigators, but Dr. Lee supplied falsified results, inauthentic data and false statements instead,” said Acting United States Attorney Nathaniel R. Mendell. “Defrauding the NIH wastes taxpayer money, limits the availability of funding for other research and undermines the central purpose of scientific inquiry. We commend MGH for disclosing the alleged false statements, for repaying funds and for taking meaningful steps to prevent future recurrences.”

“The National Institutes of Health (NIH) seeks to preserve and enhance the well-being of our communities by spending $35 billion in taxpayer money each year on medical research; in Massachusetts, over $3 billion is spent annually,” said Special Agent in Charge Phillip M. Coyne of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Inspector General. “Dr. Lee’s lack of truthfulness defied NIH’s grant application process that is meant to protect research dollars. OIG, with our law enforcement partners, spares no resources to ensure that funding for life saving research is appropriately spent. People who suspect grant fraud are encouraged to report it by calling 1-800-HHS-TIPS.”

The United States contends that Dr. Lee knowingly included inauthentic data in his grant application to NIH. Pursuant to NIH policy, PIs are required to provide a signed assurance when submitting a grant application to the NIH that certifies the truth, completeness and accuracy of the information in the application. Dr. Lee signed the PI assurance for the grant application and confirmed that he had reviewed and approved the application. A fellow in Dr. Lee’s laboratory conducted the underlying experiments for certain figures included in the grant application, but the fellow no longer worked for Dr. Lee at the time that he submitted the application. The United States contends that Dr. Lee altered the experiment descriptions in two of the figures, falsifying the results of the experiments, and that Dr. Lee falsified a third figure by horizontally flipping the image and thus mislabeling the results in the application.

Acting U.S. Attorney Mendell and HHS-OIG SAC Coyne made the announcement today. Assistant U.S. Attorney Jessica J. Weber of Mendell’s Affirmative Civil Enforcement Unit handled the matter.

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WASHINGTON – Mahsa Azimirad, the former office manager for Universal Smiles, a Washington, D.C.-based dental practice, was sentenced today to 12 months in prison on a federal charge of health care fraud stemming from a scheme in which she was paid over $813,000 by defrauding the District of Columbia’s Medicaid program.

The announcement was made by Acting U.S. Attorney Channing D. Phillips; Wayne A. Jacobs, Special Agent in Charge, FBI Washington Field Office, Criminal Division; Maureen R. Dixon, Special Agent in Charge of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General for the region that includes Washington, D.C., and Daniel W. Lucas, Inspector General for the District of Columbia.

Azimirad, 41, of Rockville, Md., was indicted in January 2019, along with Bilal Ahmed, the dentist who ran the dental practice. She pleaded guilty in May 2021 in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. She was sentenced by the Honorable Colleen Kollar-Kotelly. Following completion of her prison term, Azimirad will be placed on three years of supervised release. The Court entered a $813,184 forfeiture money judgment and also ordered her to pay $813,184 in restitution.

According to the statement of offense submitted to the Court and admitted by Azimirad, she was the marketing and operations manager for Universal Smiles, a dental practice in Northwest Washington. Through Universal Smiles, she and Ahmed engaged in a scheme to enrich themselves by defrauding D.C. Medicaid, a health care benefits program jointly funded by the federal government and the District of Columbia to provide health care services to residents who meet the income qualifying requirements. As part of the scheme, Ahmed applied to be a Medicaid provider. Once approved to bill Medicaid, Azimirad and Ahmed then billed D.C. Medicaid for thousands of provisional crowns, a significant number of which were not provided to the Medicaid patients. From Aug. 9, 2012, through Feb. 26, 2014, D.C. Medicaid paid Universal Smiles approximately $5.4 million for provisional crowns. Of the $5.4 million that D.C. Medicaid paid for provisional crowns, Azimirad received approximately $813,184.

In a related case, Ahmed, 49, pleaded guilty in 2017 to sexually assaulting five former dental patients and one former employee and improperly touching another former employee. The victims were attacked in separate incidents between 2010 and 2014. He was sentenced to 16 ½ years in prison for those offenses and is serving a concurrent sentence after pleading guilty in 2019 to a federal health care fraud charge in this case.

In announcing the sentence, Acting U.S. Attorney Phillips, Special Agent in Charge Jacobs, Special Agent in Charge Dixon, and Inspector General Lucas commended the work of those who investigated the case from the FBI’s Washington Field Office, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General, and the District of Columbia Office of Inspector General. They also expressed appreciation for the work of Paralegal Specialist Chad Byron and Forensic Financial Analyst Bryan Snitselaar. Finally, they commended the work of Criminal Division Trial Attorney Gary Winters, Assistant U.S. Attorney Melissa Jackson, Assistant U.S. Attorney Emily Miller, and former Assistant U.S. Attorneys Denise A. Simmonds, Michelle Bradford, and Lionel André, who prosecuted the case.

The FBI, the Department of Health and Human Services’ Office of Inspector General, the District of Columbia’s Office of the Inspector General’s Medicaid Fraud Control Unit, and the U.S. Attorney’s Office are committed to investigating and prosecuting individuals who defraud the D.C. Medicaid program. The government relies on the public for tips and assistance in helping stop health care fraud. If you have information about individuals committing health care fraud, please call the Department of Health and Human Services’ Office of Inspector General hotline at (800) HHS‑TIPS [(800) 447-8477.

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Outbreak was the largest public health crisis ever caused by a contaminated pharmaceutical drug

BOSTON – The former owner of the now-defunct New England Compounding Center (NECC) was resentenced today in federal court in Boston in connection with the 2012 nationwide fungal meningitis outbreak. The defendant was resentenced after the First Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed his criminal convictions but vacated his sentence and forfeiture order.

Barry Cadden, 54, previously of Wrentham, was sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge Richard G. Stearns to 174 months in prison. Cadden was also ordered to pay forfeiture of $1.4 million and restitution of $82 million.

Cadden was originally sentenced in June 2017 by Judge Stearns to nine years in prison, three years of supervised release and forfeiture in the amount of $7.5 million after being convicted by a federal jury in March 2017 of racketeering, racketeering conspiracy, mail fraud and introduction of misbranded drugs into interstate commerce with the intent to defraud and mislead.

Co-defendant Glenn Chin, NECC’s former supervisory pharmacist, is scheduled to be resentenced tomorrow by Judge Stearns. Chin was sentenced in January 2018 to eight years in prison, two years of supervised release and ordered to pay forfeiture of $175,000 and restitution in an amount to be determined. In October 2017, Chin was convicted by a federal jury of all 77 counts, including racketeering, racketeering conspiracy, mail fraud and introduction of misbranded drugs into interstate commerce with the intent to defraud and mislead.

In 2017, the government appealed the defendants’ sentences. In July 2020, the First Circuit Court of Appeals vacated the defendants’ sentences, finding that the Court failed to impose applicable sentencing enhancements and erred in its forfeiture rulings. Significantly, the First Circuit held that the patients who were injected with NECC’s contaminated preservative-free methylprednisolone acetate (MPA) may be considered victims of the fraud. According to court documents, more than 100 patients died and approximately 800 patients were sickened as a result of contaminated MPA injections. As a result of the First Circuit’s decision, the defendants’ convictions were affirmed, and their sentences and forfeiture orders were vacated and remanded to the District Court for resentencing.

In 2012, 753 patients in 20 states were diagnosed with a fungal infection after receiving injections of MPA manufactured by NECC, and more than 100 patients died as a result. The outbreak was the largest public health crisis ever caused by a contaminated pharmaceutical drug.

Cadden was responsible for directing and authorizing shipments of contaminated MPA to NECC customers nationwide. In addition, he authorized the shipping of drugs before test results confirming their sterility were returned, never notified customers of nonsterile results and compounded drugs with expired ingredients. Furthermore, certain batches of drugs were manufactured, in part, by an unlicensed pharmacy technician at NECC. Cadden also repeatedly took steps to shield NECC’s operations from regulatory oversight by the FDA by claiming to be a pharmacy dispensing drugs pursuant to valid, patient-specific prescriptions. In fact, NECC routinely dispensed drugs in bulk without valid prescriptions. NECC even used fictional and celebrity names on fake prescriptions to dispense drugs, such as “Michael Jackson,” “Freddie Mae” and “Diana Ross.”

Acting United States Attorney Nathaniel R. Mendell; Acting FDA Commissioner Janet Woodcock, M.D.; Joseph R. Bonavolonta, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Boston Division; Patrick Hegarty, Special Agent in Charge of the Defense Criminal Investigative Service, Northeast Field Office; Christopher Algieri, Special Agent in Charge of the Department of Veterans Affairs, Office of Inspector General, Northeast Field Office; and Joshua McCallister, Acting Inspector in Charge of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service’s Boston Division, made the announcement today. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Amanda P.M. Strachan, Chief of Mendell’s Health Care Fraud Unit, Christopher R. Looney, David G. Lazarus, Chief of Mendell’s Asset Recovery Unit, and Alexandra W. Amrhein prosecuted the case.

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PITTSBURGH, PA - A former physician has been sentenced in federal court to one day of imprisonment, to be followed by three years of supervised release, including 15 months home confinement and 300 hours community service, on his conviction of drug diversion, health care fraud and money laundering, associated with his suburban Pittsburgh holistic medical practice, Acting United States Attorney Stephen R. Kaufman announced today.

Senior United States District Judge Nora Barry Fischer imposed the sentence on Andrzej Kazimierz Zielke, 66, of Allison Park, Pennsylvania 15101.

According to information presented to the court, Zielke owned and operated Medical Frontiers, LLC, a purported pain management practice, located in Gibsonia, Pennsylvania. On or about October 3, 2017, May 25, 2017, October 3, 2017, and December 17, 2014, Zielke knowingly dispensed and distributed Schedule II drugs, including Oxycodone, Methadone, Hydrocodone and Oxymorphone, to four patients outside the course of professional practice and not for a legitimate medical purpose. Zielke committed health care fraud by causing fraudulent claims to be submitted to Medicaid for payments to cover the costs of the unlawfully prescribed drugs. Finally, Zielke violated federal money laundering statutes when he caused approximately $150,000 in proceeds obtained through his illegal drug distribution to be wired from a bank account to Kitco Metals, Inc., in Canada to purchase silver and collector coins.

In addition to the criminal penalties, Zielke agreed to forfeit $75,359 in U.S. currency and an unvalued amount of gold coins and bullion.

Assistant United States Attorney Robert S. Cessar, and Special Assistant United States Attorney Summer F. Carroll prosecuted this case on behalf of the government.

The investigation leading to the filing of charges in this case was conducted by the Western Pennsylvania Opioid Fraud and Abuse Detection Unit (OFADU). The Western Pennsylvania OFADU, led by federal prosecutors in the U.S. Attorney’s Office, combines the expertise and resources of federal and state law enforcement to address the role played by unethical medical professionals in the opioid epidemic.

The agencies which comprise the Western Pennsylvania OFADU include: Federal Bureau of Investigation, U.S. Health and Human Services – Office of Inspector General, Drug Enforcement Administration, Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigations, Pennsylvania Office of Attorney General - Medicaid Fraud Control Unit, Pennsylvania Office of Attorney General – Bureau of Narcotic Investigations, United States Postal Inspection Service, U.S. Attorney’s Office – Criminal Division, Civil Division and Asset Forfeiture Unit, Department of Veterans Affairs-Office of Inspector General, Food and Drug Administration-Office of Criminal Investigations, U.S. Office of Personnel Management – Office of Inspector General and the Pennsylvania Bureau of Licensing.

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BOSTON – An Illinois man was sentenced yesterday for defrauding insurance companies in relation to a high-priced drug made by Cambridge-based pharmaceutical company Aegerion Pharmaceuticals Inc., and for using the identities of physicians to carry out the fraud.

Mark Moffett, 49, of Springfield, Ill., was sentenced by U.S. Senior District Court Judge William G. Young to 54 months in prison and three years of supervised release. In December 2019, Moffett was convicted by a federal jury of nine counts of wire fraud and six counts of aggravated identity theft.

“Mr. Moffett exploited his personal relationships with medical staff, stole doctors’ identities, falsified medical documents and deceived insurance companies – all in pursuit of sales bonuses,” said Acting United States Attorney Nathaniel R. Mendell. “His prison sentence is a reminder that those who engage in healthcare fraud schemes, no matter how sophisticated, will pay for their crimes.”

“Today’s sentence holds Mark Moffett accountable for gaming the healthcare system to line his own pockets. He deceived doctors and patients to boost sales of this powerful drug, and defrauded Medicare in the process. Fraud of this magnitude will not be tolerated because it drives up healthcare costs for all of us,” said Joseph R. Bonavolonta, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Boston Division.

“Today’s sentence shows that fraudsters like Mark Moffett who try to enrich themselves at the expense of federal health care programs and the well-being of beneficiaries will be held accountable for their greed-fueled schemes. Such scams threaten patient health, waste taxpayer funds, and drive-up healthcare costs for all of us,” said Phillip M. Coyne, Special Agent in Charge for the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services, Office of Inspector General. “Working closely with our law enforcement partners, we will continue to aggressively root out health care fraud and bring criminals to justice.”

“Working with our law enforcement partners, the Employee Benefits Security Administration continues to investigate and vigorously pursue cases in which participants and private sector health benefit plans are victimized by unscrupulous and illegal pharmaceutical sales practices,” said Carol S. Hamilton, Regional Director of the U.S. Department of Labor, Employee Benefits Security Administration, Boston Regional Office.

In 2014 and 2015, Moffett, a pharmaceutical sales representative for Aegerion, marketed the company’s cholesterol drug Juxtapid. Juxtapid was approved by the FDA only to treat high cholesterol in patients with a rare genetic disease called homozygous familial hypercholesterolemia (HoFH). The FDA approved the drug only to treat HoFH patients because the drug carried serious risks of side effects, including liver damage. The drug’s label included a black box warning.

Moffett nonetheless convinced doctors to prescribe Juxtapid, which costs over $300,000 per year, for patients without HoFH. In order to defraud Medicare and private sector employee health plans into paying for a drug they only covered for FDA-approved uses, Moffett obtained fraudulent prescriptions and falsified numerous documents, including statements of medical necessity and other insurance documents. This included false patient test results, false clinical histories and false diagnoses. Moffett used the identities of several cardiologists to carry out the fraud. He was paid bonuses by Aegerion of up to $11,000 for each prescription of Juxtapid.

Acting United States Attorney Mendell, FBI Boston SAC Bonavolonta, HSI-OIG SAC Coyne and DOL-EBSA Regional Director Hamilton made the announcement. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Kriss Basil, of Mendell’s Securities and Financial Fraud Unit, and Rachel Y. Hemani, of Mendell’s Health Care Fraud Unit, prosecuted the case.

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PITTSBURGH, PA - A former Pittsburgh-area physician pleaded guilty in federal court to violating federal narcotics and health care laws, Acting United States Attorney Stephen R. Kaufman announced today.

Emilio Ramon Navarro, 60, of Coal Center, Pennsylvania, 15423 pled guilty to one count of unlawful distribution of oxycodone and one count of health care fraud before United States District Judge J. Nicholas Ranjan. Navarro also accepted responsibility for eight additional counts of unlawful distribution of Schedule II controlled substances.

In connection with the guilty plea, the court was advised that Navarro was a licensed physician in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and operated private family practices in Mount Pleasant and Perryopolis, Pennsylvania. In 2018, Navarro issued Victim 1 nine prescriptions for a total of 300 dosage units of oxycodone and 240 dosage units of oxymorphone, both Schedule II controlled substances, outside the usual course of professional practice and for no legitimate medical purpose but in exchange for sexual favors. Navarro then submitted fraudulent claims to Medicaid for reimbursement for the unlawfully prescribed prescriptions thereby defrauding Medicaid.

Judge Ranjan scheduled sentencing for March 1, 2022, at 2:00 p.m. The law provides for a total sentence of not more than 20 years in prison, a fine of $1,000,000, or both, for the narcotics conviction. Navarro faces an additional maximum term of imprisonment of not more than 10 years, a fine of $250,000, or both, for the health care fraud conviction. Under the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, the actual sentence imposed is based upon the seriousness of the offenses and the prior criminal history, if any, of the defendant.

Assistant United States Attorneys Robert S. Cessar and Mark V. Gurzo are prosecuting this case on behalf of the government.

The investigation leading to the filing of charges in this case was conducted by the Western Pennsylvania Opioid Fraud and Abuse Detection Unit (OFADU). The Western Pennsylvania OFADU, led by federal prosecutors in the U.S. Attorney’s Office, combines the expertise and resources of federal and state law enforcement to address the role played by unethical medical professionals in the opioid epidemic.

The agencies which comprise the Western Pennsylvania OFADU include: Federal Bureau of Investigation, U.S. Health and Human Services – Office of Inspector General, Drug Enforcement Administration, Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigations, Pennsylvania Office of Attorney General - Medicaid Fraud Control Unit, Pennsylvania Office of Attorney General – Bureau of Narcotic Investigations, United States Postal Inspection Service, U.S. Attorney’s Office – Criminal Division, Civil Division and Asset Forfeiture Unit, Department of Veterans Affairs-Office of Inspector General, Food and Drug Administration-Office of Criminal Investigations, U.S. Office of Personnel Management – Office of Inspector General and the Pennsylvania Bureau of Licensing.

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PITTSBURGH – A former physician pleaded guilty today in federal court to drug diversion, health care fraud and money laundering charges associated with his suburban Pittsburgh holistic medical practice, Acting United States Attorney Stephen R. Kaufman announced today.

Andrzej Kazimierz Zielke, 66, of Allison Park, Pennsylvania 15101 (Hampton) pleaded guilty to four counts of unlawful dispensing and distributing Schedule II controlled substances, one count of health care fraud, and one count of money laundering before Senior United States District Judge Nora Barry Fischer,

In connection with the guilty plea, the court was advised Zielke owned and operated Medical Frontiers, LLC, a purported pain management practice, located in Gibsonia, Pennsylvania. On or about October 3, 2017, May 25, 2017, October 3, 2017, and December 17, 2014, Zielke knowingly dispensed and distributed Schedule II drugs, including Oxycodone, Methadone, Hydrocodone and Oxymorphone, to four patients outside the course of professional practice and not for a legitimate medical purpose. Zielke committed health care fraud by causing fraudulent claims to be submitted to Medicaid for payments to cover the costs of the unlawfully prescribed drugs. Finally, Zielke violated federal money laundering statutes when he caused approximately $150,000 in proceeds obtained through his illegal drug distribution to be wired from a bank account to Kitco Metals, Inc., in Canada to purchase silver and collector coins.

“We are intensely focused on stemming the supply of illegal opioids into our communities, regardless of whether the dealers are trafficking on a street corner or are abusing their physician’s oath by prescribing painkillers for no legitimate medical reason,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Kaufman. “We will continue our critical work to prosecute all those who are fueling our nation’s continuing opioid crisis.”

“Mr. Zielke created a lucrative scheme peddling opioids for profit and at the same time undermining our healthcare system through fraudulent billing,” said FBI Pittsburgh Special Agent in Charge Mike Nordwall. “Unethical, crooked doctors who choose to line their pockets cause medical care costs to increase for everyone. The FBI is committed to holding those who think they won’t be caught accountable.”

“Andrzej Zielke recklessly funneled opioids into Pittsburgh neighborhoods, fueling the height of the epidemic that takes the lives of 13 Pennsylvanians every day,” said Attorney General Josh Shapiro. “We're working closely with our federal partners to combat this crisis that continues to destroy Pennsylvania families and communities.”

Judge Fisher scheduled sentencing for November 1, 2021. The law provides for a maximum per count sentence of 10 years in prison, a fine of $500,000.00, or both, for the controlled substances offenses. Zielke faces an additional maximum per count sentence of 10 years and fine of $250,000.00 for the health care fraud charges; and a maximum per count sentence of 10 years and a fine of $250,000.00 for the money laundering offenses. Under the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, the actual sentence imposed would be based upon the seriousness of the offenses and the prior criminal history, if any, of the defendant. Under the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, the actual sentence imposed is based upon the seriousness of the offense and the prior criminal history, if any, of the defendant.

Pending sentencing, the Court continued Zielke on bond.

Assistant United States Attorney Robert S. Cessar and Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Summer Carroll of the Pennsylvania Attorney General’s Office are prosecuting this case on behalf of the government.

The investigation leading to the filing of charges in this case was conducted by the Western Pennsylvania Opioid Fraud and Abuse Detection Unit (OFADU). The Western Pennsylvania OFADU, led by federal prosecutors in the U.S. Attorney’s Office, combines the expertise and resources of federal and state law enforcement to address the role played by unethical medical professionals in the opioid epidemic. The agencies which comprise the Western Pennsylvania OFADU include: Federal Bureau of Investigation, U.S. Health and Human Services – Office of Inspector General, Drug Enforcement Administration, Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigations, Pennsylvania Office of Attorney General - Medicaid Fraud Control Unit, Pennsylvania Office of Attorney General – Bureau of Narcotic Investigations, United States Postal Inspection Service, U.S. Attorney’s Office – Criminal Division, Civil Division and Asset Forfeiture Unit, Department of Veterans Affairs-Office of Inspector General, Food and Drug Administration-Office of Criminal Investigations, U.S. Office of Personnel Management – Office of Inspector General and the Pennsylvania Bureau of Licensing.

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Defendant bribed physicians and encouraged sales reps to profit from criminal scheme

BOSTON – A former Regional Sales Director for Insys Therapeutics was sentenced today in federal court in Boston for his role in conspiring to bribe practitioners to prescribe Subsys, a fentanyl-based pain medication.

Joseph A. Rowan, 45, of Panama City, Fla., was sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge Allison D. Burroughs to 27 months in prison, three years of supervised release, restitution to be determined at a later date and ordered to pay approximately $2 million in forfeiture. The government recommended a sentence of 120 months in prison.

In May 2019, Rowan was convicted by a federal jury of racketeering conspiracy along with four other Insys executives.

Subsys, a drug owned and manufactured by Insys Therapeutics, Inc., is a fentanyl-based, rapid-onset opioid approved to treat cancer patients suffering intense breakthrough pain. From May 2012 to December 2015, Rowan and his co-defendants conspired to bribe practitioners, many of whom operated pain clinics, in order to induce them to prescribe Subsys to patients. The defendants also conspired to mislead and defraud health insurance providers who were reluctant to approve payment for the expensive drug when it was prescribed for patients without cancer. Medicare would not approve payment for the drug except to treat breakthrough cancer pain.

Beginning in 2012, Rowan joined Insys as a sales representative working exclusively with a doctor in Alabama known to write prescriptions for fentanyl products. Rowan paid the doctor speaker honoraria in exchange for Subsys prescriptions, and was so successful that it became a model within Insys. Rowan was subsequently twice promoted, ultimately becoming a Regional Sales Manager. In this role, Rowan fueled the criminal scheme by approving the use of speaker programs to bribe doctors to write more Subsys prescriptions, and to write Subsys prescriptions at increasingly higher dosages.

In addition, Rowan stressed the importance of the success of the Insys Reimbursement Center (IRC) to sales representatives. During a national sales meeting, Rowan encouraged sales employees to assist the IRC and stated, “what I am saying is this. This is how you get paid…”

United States Attorney Andrew E. Lelling; Joseph R. Bonavolonta, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Boston Field Division; Phillip Coyne, Special Agent in Charge of the U.S Department of Health and Human Services, Office of the Inspector General; Judy McMeekin, Pharm.D. Acting Associate Commissioner for Regulatory Affairs of the U.S. Food and Drug; Brian D. Boyle, Special Agent in Charge of the Drug Enforcement Administration, Boston Field Division; Leigh-Alistair Barzey, Special Agent in Charge of the Defense Criminal Investigative Service, Northeast Field Office; Carol S. Hamilton, Acting Regional Director of the U.S. Department of Labor, Employee Benefits Security Administration, Boston Regional Office; Joseph W. Cronin, Inspector in Charge of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service’s Boston Division; Matthew Modafferi, Special Agent in Charge of the U.S. Postal Service Office of Inspector General, Northeast Area Field Office; Jeffrey K. Stachowiak, Acting Special Agent in Charge of the Department of Veterans Affairs, Office of Inspector General; and Thomas W. South, Deputy Assistant Inspector General for Investigations of the Office of Personnel Management made the announcement.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys K. Nathaniel Yeager, Fred M. Wyshak, and David G. Lazarus prosecuted the case for Lelling’s Health Care Fraud Unit.

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DENVER – Loren D. Sherwood, a former physician at Dave Sherwood Family Medicine in Ridgway, Colorado, has agreed to forgo practicing medicine and pay a penalty to resolve civil allegations that he unlawfully prescribed controlled substances without a medical license in violation of federal law.

Dr. Sherwood’s medical license with the State of Colorado expired on April 30, 2017. For nearly nine months after the expiration of his medical license, Dr. Sherwood continued to issue prescriptions for controlled substances. The United States contends that this conduct violated the Controlled Substances Act, which allows only practitioners with a valid professional license to issue prescriptions of controlled substances. The United States further contends that by prescribing controlled substances after his medical license had expired, Dr. Sherwood caused invalid claims for payment to be submitted to the federally funded Medicare Program, in violation of the False Claims Act.

Dr. Sherwood cooperated with the government’s investigation of the allegations. To resolve this matter, Dr. Sherwood has agreed to pay $21,000, over time. If Dr. Sherwood fails to make timely payments under the terms of the agreement, he will be liable for $40,000. In addition, Dr. Sherwood has also agreed that he will not practice medicine again, will not in the future seek a medical license from Colorado or any other state, and will not in the future seek the reinstatement of his Drug Enforcement Administration (“DEA”) registration number, which has been retired.

“Ensuring that only licensed medical professionals issue prescriptions for controlled substances is critical to protect patients,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Matt Kirsch. “It also helps reduce the illegal supply of opioids and other prescription drugs available for abuse.”  

“The DEA continues its commitment to safeguard the public by investigating those who illegally prescribe controlled substances,” said Deanne Reuter, Special Agent in Charge, DEA Denver Field Division. “I commend the tireless efforts of our Diversion Investigators to ensure that doctors and pharmacists in our communities are abiding by the laws and guidelines set forth for the safe prescribing of medications.”

“Violating protocols that are meant to protect patients and Federal health care programs can result in serious penalty that lasts indefinitely, as the outcome of this case proves,” stated Curt L. Muller, Special Agent in Charge with the Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General. “HHS-OIG regards patient safety and Medicare program integrity as top priorities as we work with our law enforcement partners to detect and deter fraud.”

This matter was investigated by the DEA’s Denver Field Division and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Inspector General. This matter was handled by Assistant United States Attorney Andrea Wang on behalf of the United States Attorney’s Office for the District of Colorado.

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Outbreak was the largest public health crisis ever caused by a contaminated pharmaceutical drug

BOSTON – The former supervisory pharmacist of the now-defunct New England Compounding Center (NECC) was resentenced today in federal court in Boston in connection with the 2012 nationwide fungal meningitis outbreak. The defendant was resentenced after the First Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed his criminal convictions but vacated his sentence and forfeiture order.

Glenn Chin, 53, previously of Canton, was sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge Richard G. Stearns to 126 months in prison and three years of supervised release. Chin was also ordered to pay forfeiture of approximately $473,584 and restitution of $82 million.

Chin was sentenced in January 2018 to eight years in prison, two years of supervised release and ordered to pay forfeiture of $175,000 and restitution in an amount to be determined. In October 2017, Chin was convicted by a federal jury of all 77 counts, including racketeering, racketeering conspiracy, mail fraud and introduction of misbranded drugs into interstate commerce with the intent to defraud and mislead.

On July 7, 2021, co-defendant Barry Cadden, a former owner of NECC, was resentenced by Judge Stearns to 174 months in prison and ordered to pay forfeiture of $1.4 million and restitution of $82 million. Cadden was previously sentenced in June 2017 by Judge Stearns to nine years in prison and three years of supervised release after being convicted by a federal jury in March 2017 of racketeering, racketeering conspiracy, mail fraud and introduction of misbranded drugs into interstate commerce with the intent to defraud and mislead.

In 2017, the government appealed the defendants’ sentences. In July 2020, the First Circuit Court of Appeals vacated the defendants’ sentences, finding that the Court failed to impose applicable sentencing enhancements and erred in its forfeiture rulings. Significantly, the First Circuit held that the patients who were injected with NECC’s contaminated preservative-free methylprednisolone acetate (MPA) may be considered victims of the fraud. According to court documents, more than 100 patients died and approximately 800 patients were sickened as a result of contaminated MPA injections. As a result of the First Circuit’s decision, the defendants’ convictions were affirmed, and their sentences and forfeiture orders were vacated and remanded to the District Court for re-sentencing.

In 2012, 753 patients in 20 states were diagnosed with a fungal infection after receiving injections of MPA manufactured by NECC, and more than 100 patients died as a result. The outbreak was the largest public health crisis ever caused by a contaminated pharmaceutical drug.

Chin manufactured and oversaw the manufacturing of contaminated MPA. In doing so, Chin ignored pharmacy regulations and NECC’s own drug formulation worksheets and standard operating procedures. Specifically, he improperly sterilized the MPA, failed to verify the sterilization process and improperly tested it to ensure sterility. Despite knowing these deficiencies, Chin directed the MPA to be filled into tens of thousands of vials and shipped to NECC customers nationwide. During the fungal meningitis outbreak, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control identified 18 different types of fungi from MPA vials and patient samples.

Chin directed the shipping of drugs prior to receiving test results confirming their sterility, and he directed NECC staff to mislabel drugs to conceal this practice. He also directed the compounding of drugs with expired ingredients, including chemotherapy drugs that had expired several years prior. Chin prioritized drug production over cleaning, directed the forging of cleaning logs and routinely ignored mold and bacteria found inside the clean rooms.

Acting United States Attorney Nathaniel R. Mendell; Acting FDA Commissioner Janet Woodcock, M.D.; Joseph R. Bonavolonta, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Boston Division; Patrick Hegarty, Special Agent in Charge of the Defense Criminal Investigative Service, Northeast Field Office; Christopher Algieri, Special Agent in Charge of the Department of Veterans Affairs, Office of Inspector General, Northeast Field Office; and Joshua McCallister, Acting Inspector in Charge of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service’s Boston Division, made the announcement today. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Amanda P.M. Strachan, Chief of Mendell’s Health Care Fraud Unit, Christopher R. Looney, David G. Lazarus, Chief of Mendell’s Asset Recovery Unit, and Alexandra W. Amrhein prosecuted the case.

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A former nurse practitioner and clinic owner was sentenced in the Eastern District of Tennessee today to 14 years in prison for illegally distributing prescription opioid pills to his patients.

Mark Daniel Allen, 64, of Venice, Florida, was found guilty of six counts of unlawfully distributing controlled substances not for a legitimate medical purpose outside the scope of professional practice and one count of maintaining a drug-involved premises after a three-day trial on Sept. 1, 2021.

According to evidence presented at trial, Allen unlawfully prescribed roughly 15,000 opioid pills to three women with whom he had sexual relationships, and to a male patient who later passed away.

Assistant Attorney General Kenneth A. Polite Jr. of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division; U.S. Attorney Francis M. Hamilton III for the Eastern District of Tennessee; Special Agent in Charge Joseph Carrico of the FBI’s Knoxville Field Office; Special Agent in Charge Tamala Miles of the Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Inspector General (HHS-OIG); and Director David Rausch of the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation (TBI) made the announcement.

The FBI, HHS-OIG, TBI, Manchester Police Department and Coffee County Sheriff's Office 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 prosecuted the case.

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Assistant U. S. Attorneys Peter Ko (619) 546-7359 and Mark Conover (619) 546-6763

NEWS RELEASE SUMMARY – October 27, 2022

Justice.gov

SAN DIEGO – Christopher Toups, who at the time of his crimes was a chief petty officer in the U.S. Navy, pleaded guilty in federal court today, admitting that he and others participated in a scheme to file false claims to obtain unearned benefits from an insurance program that compensates service members who suffer serious and debilitating injuries while on active duty.

According to his plea agreement, participants in the scheme obtained approximately $2 million in payments from fraudulent claims submitted to the insurance program - Traumatic Servicemembers Group Life Insurance Program, or TSGLI - and Toups personally obtained about $400,000.

At today’s hearing, Toups pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud. He admitted that from 2012 to at least December 2015, he conspired with his then-spouse Kelene McGrath, Navy Dr. Michael Villarroel, and others to obtain money from the United States by making claims for life insurance payments based on exaggerated or fake injuries and disabilities. He is scheduled to be sentenced on February 3, 2023, at 9 a.m.

“The theft of military healthcare dollars directly ‎harms service members and taxpayers,” said U.S. Attorney Randy Grossman. “This fraud was costly for the U.S. Navy, and now for this defendant.” Grossman thanked the prosecution team and investigating agencies for their excellent work on this case.

“Fraudulently filing claims for unearned TSGLI benefits diverts compensation from deserving service members who suffered serious and debilitating injuries while on active duty,” said Special Agent in Charge Rebeccalynn Staples with the Department of Veterans Affairs Office of Inspector General’s Western Field Office. “Worse yet, this defendant actively recruited others into the scheme to feed his greed for compensation he did not deserve. This guilty plea is a testament to the VA OIG’s commitment to investigating those who would defraud benefit programs administered by VA.”

“The Traumatic Servicemembers Group Life Insurance Program is designed to compensate service members who suffer serious and debilitating injuries while on active duty. Falsely claiming benefits from this program siphons money from deserving beneficiaries and makes medical care more costly for all of us,” said Stacey Moy, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI San Diego Division. “This scheme is particularly egregious given the service members involved deceitfully served themselves for their own financial gain. The FBI will continue to work with our law enforcement partners to ensure those who willingly defraud the American people are held accountable.”

The Traumatic Servicemembers Group Life Insurance (TSGLI) program was administered by Prudential for the Navy and funded by servicemembers and the Department of the Navy. TSGLI provided financial assistance to servicemembers recovering from traumatic injuries.

According to the plea agreement, in addition to submitting his own TSGLI claims based on fake injuries and disabilities, Toups encouraged numerous current or former Navy servicemembers to submit claims and sometimes told them to provide medical records to McGrath. McGrath, a nurse, falsified or doctored medical records to exaggerate or fake injuries. Villarroel certified that he reviewed the records and determined activities of daily living were lost or impaired and consistent with the claimed injuries as required for claims to be processed and qualify, at times supporting the determination by falsely stating he interviewed the claimant. Villarroel also, at times, provided others’ medical records for McGrath to use in fabricating claims.

Toups admitted that he encouraged recipients of claim payments to give him part of the money, sometimes characterizing it as a “processing fee.” McGrath and Villarroel received part of the kickback depending on their involvement in the claim. Toups paid Villarroel in cash and by cashier’s check. At times, Toups and other conspirators conducted financial transactions in amounts under $10,000 to evade perceived financial reporting requirements.

According to court records, some of Toups’ co-defendants were part of the Explosive Ordinance Disposal Expeditionary Support Unit One (“EOD ESU One”), based in Coronado, California. Toups was a Chief Petty Officer Construction Mechanic.

Ronald Olmsted and Anthony Coco, who each entered guilty pleas earlier this year, were previously sentenced by U.S. District Judge Janis L. Sammartino. Olmsted was sentenced to four months in prison followed by four months of home detention to be served as part of three years of supervised release. Coco was sentenced to four months of home detention to be served as part of three years of probation.

According to court records, Toups, Villarroel, and Meyer were at the center of the scheme, and together the conspirators defrauded the TSGLI program of nearly $2 million. Toups, Villarroel, and Meyer received kickbacks for creating and filing the fraudulent TSGLI applications for other U.S. Navy service members.

DEFENDANT           18CR1674-JLS

Christopher Toups     43       Woodstock, GA

RELATED CASES

Kelene Meyer                         18CR1674-JLS                       44                   Jacksonville, FL

Dr. Michael Villarroel           18CR1674-JLS                       48                   Coronado, CA

Paul Craig                               18CR1674-JLS                       47                    Austin, TX

Richard Cote                           18CR1674-JLS                       45                   Oceanside, CA

Earnest Thompson                 18CR1674-JLS                       46                   Murrieta, CA

Ronald Olmsted                      20CR0659-JLS                       48                   Mobile, AL

Anthony Coco                         20CR0197-JLS                       43                   San Diego, CA

Stephen Mulholland               20CR0052-JLS                       51                   Panama City Beach, FL

SUMMARY OF CHARGES

Toups:

18 U.S.C. § 1349, Conspiracy to Commit Wire Fraud

Maximum Penalty: Twenty years in prison, $250,000 fine, forfeiture and restitution

Others:

18 U.S.C. § 1349, Conspiracy to Commit Wire Fraud

Maximum Penalty: Twenty years in prison, $250,000 fine, forfeiture and restitution

18 U.S.C. § 1343, Wire Fraud

Maximum Penalty: Twenty years in prison, $250,000 fine, forfeiture and restitution

18 U.S.C. § 287, Making a False Claim

Maximum Penalty: Five years in prison, $250,000 fine

AGENCIES

Federal Bureau of Investigation

Naval Criminal Investigative Service

Department of Veterans Affairs - Office of Inspector General

*The charges and allegations contained in an indictment or complaint are merely accusations, and the defendants are considered innocent unless and until proven guilty.

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Veterans Day is a week away. So, the National Women Veterans United (NWVU) group celebrated contributions and stories of women Veterans. Keynoting their event at the Sgt. Simone A. Robinson Military Women Veteran’s Center was former U.S. Soldier and POW Jessica Lynch.

Eighteen years after she was captured by Iraqi forces on March 23, 2003 — at age 19, becoming the first American prisoner of war and first woman to be rescued since World War II — former U.S. soldier Jessica Lynch still wrestles with post traumatic stress disorder.

Today, the 38-year-old elementary school teacher in West Virginia, who became a household name after the incident four months into the Iraq War, has learned to cope with both the physical and mental scars, just as all Veterans do, she told Veterans here Saturday.

“It’s the courage and the strength we all have inside of us to be able to continue to persevere, to just continue one more day,” said the woman whose April 1, 2003, rescue was filmed and beamed around the world in a keynote before the National Women Veterans United (NWVU) organization, at Sgt. Simone A. Robinson Military Women Veteran’s Center.

“It’s inside of us. But we just have to be able to find and bring it out, because at 19 years old, and just 76 pounds when they rescued me — I didn’t eat, I wasn’t given that — I didn’t think that I was going to make it,” she said. “I really didn’t think that I was going to make it.”

Lynch had been invited to speak at the center in Ashburn, the only Veterans center in Illinois devoted to aiding women in the military — named for a Black soldier who served in the Afghanistan War, killed by an improvised explosive device detonated near her security post.

Many of the women Veterans gathered at the center identified with that post-service trauma as they shared their own stories of service to their country, and resilience in the face of physical injuries or the struggle to break gender and race barriers.

“Just before Jessica came in, we just didn’t have females in those positions. The draft went away in ‘74, and without men to fill those lower ranks, women started coming in. After 9/11 was when they started sending them out into the field, and they were vulnerable,” said Retired Army Col. Constance Edwards, 77, of Frankfort, a Vietnam War Veteran.

Edwards was the third Black woman to reach the rank of Army colonel here in Illinois.

Also attending the event was Lt. Gov. Juliana Stratton, chair of the Illinois Council on Women and Girls, as well as the Military Economic Development Committee.

“Fourteen years ago, our distinguished guest testified before Congress and exhibited, yet again, her unwavering bravery. Jessica told the nation: ‘I had a story that needed to be told so that people would know the truth,’” said Stratton, referring to Lynch’s historic testimony before the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform on April 24, 2007.

Lynch unveiled misinformation surrounding her capture and rescue — saying she’d been portrayed as a “little girl Rambo” who fought her captors, when she’d been unconscious.

“Jessica’s commitment to do the right thing every step of the way, to stand for truth and service, is what heroes are made of. Jessica stood up to tell her story, but how many other women Veterans have gone unheard?” said Stratton.

The U.S. Army private with the 507th Maintenance Company had landed on the ground just three days before her convoy was ambushed; 11 members of her unit killed, she and four others taken. Lynch spent nine days in captivity before her rescue by U.S. Special Forces.

“When I came in 1976, the Coast Guard was only accepting five women per month for active duty, and had only started letting them in to the academy in ‘74. A lot of places I served, I was the only woman,” said Brenda Woodfaulk Parker, 65, of Gary, a retired Chief Yeoman for the U.S. Coast Guard.

“I can’t even imagine her waking up and being surrounded by all these men, and the language barrier, being alone. I felt for her, going through that at such a young age.”

Lynch suffered a broken back and legs, enduring numerous surgeries over the years. The recipient of a Bronze Star, Purple Heart and POW medals, she received a medical honorable discharge in August 2003, and authored her biography, “I Am A Soldier, Too,” in late 2003.

“I was fine for the first few years, because I was surrounded by love and support. As time went by, you feel better physically, you feel better mentally. And then it hits you like a ton of bricks: ‘Oh crap, I survived, and my comrades did not,’” Lynch said.

“And it hurts. It physically, mentally hurts. Sometimes it’s not the physical but the inside that hurts the most, and we don’t talk about it. I don’t go public with what I experienced with my PTSD. I never talked about what exactly I felt, what I saw,” she said.

“For instance, every time I was on the interstate, I would almost kind of close my eyes... because whenever someone would pass me, I thought they were going to shoot me.”

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BOSTON – A former Department of Veteran Affairs (VA) employee was sentenced today for embezzling nearly $70,000 in VA funds.

Michael Donaher, 41, of Lakeville, was sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge Indira Talwani to time served (approximately one day), three years of supervised release with the first six months to be served in a sober house, and ordered to pay $69,720 in restitution. The government recommended a sentence of one year and one day incarceration. In May 2020, Donaher pleaded guilty to one count of embezzlement and theft of public money, property or records after being arrested and charged in January.

Donaher worked as an Inventory Management Specialist for the Veterans Affairs Medical Facility in Brockton and was responsible for purchasing various equipment necessary for use in the facility. Donaher conducted fraudulent transactions using his government-issued purchase cards and routed the proceeds to his personal bank account. He attempted to conceal these fraudulent purchases by making it appear as if the purchases were made through a large company that the VA frequently used for legitimate business, when, in fact, they were actually made through a company Donaher created through a mobile payment company. These purchases were not for actual items ever received by the VA. Furthermore, Donaher attempted to hide this fact by annotating the items as having been received within the VA’s accountability system. Donaher fraudulently routed approximately $70,000 of VA funds to his personal account since the scheme began in 2016.

United States Attorney Andrew E. Lelling and Christopher Algieri, Special Agent in Charge of the Department of Veteran Affairs, Office of the Inspector General, Northeast Field Office made the announcement today. Assistant U.S. Attorney Eugenia M. Carris of Lelling’s Public Corruption & Special Prosecutions Unit prosecuted the case.

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BOSTON – A Tewksbury woman was sentenced today for diverting morphine while she was employed as a nurse in the hospice unit at the Veterans Affairs (VA) Medical Center campus in Bedford.

Kathleen Noftle, 55, was sentenced to 40 months in prison and three years of supervised release. In October 2020, Noftle pleaded guilty to one count of tampering with a consumer product and one count of obtaining a controlled substance by misrepresentation, fraud, deception and subterfuge.

On Jan. 13, 14 and 15, 2017, Noftle used her position as a nurse to obtain doses of morphine that were meant to be given to the Veterans under her care in the hospice unit. Noftle admitted that she mixed water from the sink with a portion of the liquid morphine doses, and then administered the diluted medication to patients orally. Noftle then ingested a diluted amount of the remaining drug.    

United States Attorney Andrew E. Lelling and Christopher Algieri, Special Agent in Charge of the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Office of Inspector General, Northeast Field Office made the announcement today. Assistant U.S. Attorney William B. Brady of Lelling’s Health Care Fraud Unit.

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CLARKSBURG, WEST VIRGINIA – A former nursing assistant pled guilty today in federal court here to murder and assault charges in the deaths of eight Veterans at the Veterans Affairs Medical Center (VAMC) in Clarksburg, West Virginia, U.S. Attorney Bill Powell announced.

Reta Mays, 46, of Harrison County, West Virginia, pled guilty today to seven counts of second degree murder in the deaths of Veterans Robert Edge, Sr., Robert Kozul, Archie Edgell, George Shaw, W.A.H., Felix McDermott, and Raymond Golden. She pled guilty to one count of assault with Intent to commit murder” involving the death of Veteran R.R.P.

“In today’s plea agreement, the defendant has admitted to actions that ended the lives of several military Veterans who served our country honorably. Our investigation never lost sight of each of these lives and the sacrifices these men made for their country. The investigative work and the time it took to do it was always done with an eye towards honoring these men. Though we can’t bring these men back because of her evil acts, we hope the conclusion of the investigation and guilty plea helps ease the pain of the victims’ families,” said Powell. “I want to thank the incredible work by the FBI, the VA-OIG, the West Virginia State Police, the Greater Harrison Drug & Violent Crimes Task Force and our prosecution team. I also want to especially thank Attorney General Barr, and the families of the victims who never wavered in their support of this investigation. We look forward to the conclusion of this matter at the sentencing, where we will be seeking the maximum penalty.”

Mays was employed as a nursing assistant at the VAMC, working the night shift during the same period of time Veterans in her care died of hypoglycemia while being treated at the hospital. Nursing assistants at the VAMC are not qualified or authorized to administer any medication to patients, including insulin. Mays admitted to administering insulin to several patients with the intent to cause their deaths.

“These cases are tragic and heart breaking,” said Veterans Affairs Inspector General Michael J. Missal. “I thank the VA OIG agents and our law enforcement partners who worked tirelessly to ensure justice was served and that the victims’ families have some measure of closure. They are in our thoughts and prayers as we work with VA to help prevent anything like this from ever happening again.”

“When you break the trust you’re given as a medical professional and break the law, there are consequences,” said FBI Special Agent in Charge Michael Christman. “This was a lengthy and thorough investigation with hundreds of interviews, extensive medical and administrative records to review and forensic testing that needed to be done. These eight Veterans deserved respect and honor. They served our country and we all owe them a debt of gratitude. They didn’t deserve to die at the hands of a nursing assistant who intentionally inflicted pain on them and their families. I commend the work of my agents and our law enforcement partners with the Veterans Affairs Office of Inspector General.”

Mays faces up to life in prison for each count of second-degree murder. Mays faces up to 20 years in prison for assault with intent to commit murder.” Under the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, the actual sentence imposed will be based upon the seriousness of the offenses and the prior criminal history, if any, of the defendant.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Jarod J. Douglas and Brandon S. Flower are prosecuting the case on behalf of the government. The Veterans Affairs Office of Inspector General and the FBI investigated. The West Virginia State Police and the Greater Harrison Drug & Violent Crimes Task Force, a HIDTA-funded initiative, assisted.

U.S. District Judge Thomas S. Kleeh presided.

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CLARKSBURG, WEST VIRGINIA – A former nursing assistant was sentenced today in federal court for murder and assault charges in the deaths of eight Veterans at the Veterans Affairs Medical Center (VAMC) in Clarksburg, West Virginia, Acting U.S. Attorney Randolph J. Bernard announced.

Reta Mays, 46, of Harrison County, West Virginia, was sentenced to seven consecutive life sentences, one for each murder, and an additional 240 months for the eight victims. Mays pleaded guilty in July 2020 to seven counts of second-degree murder in the deaths of Veterans Robert Edge Sr., Robert Kozul, Archie Edgell, George Shaw, W.A.H., Felix McDermott, and Raymond Golden. She pleaded guilty to one count of assault with intent to commit murder involving the death of Veteran Russell Posey.

“In a case where we are confronted with the horrific crimes committed by the defendant against those who gave so much of themselves to serve this country, justice is somewhat of an elusive concept. No amount of prison time will erase the pain and loss that the families of these eight brave and honorable men have experienced. These men are heroes in our community, state, and country, and deserved so much more,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Bernard. “Mays will now spend every minute of the rest of her life where she belongs, in prison.”

Mays was employed as a nursing assistant at the VAMC, working the night shift during the same period of time that the Veterans in her care died of hypoglycemia while being treated at the hospital. Nursing assistants at the VAMC are not qualified or authorized to administer any medication to patients, including insulin. Mays would sit one-on-one with patients. She admitted to administering insulin to several patients with the intent to cause their deaths.

“While responsibility for these heinous criminal acts lies with Reta Mays, an extensive healthcare inspection by our office found the facility had serious and pervasive clinical and administrative failures that contributed to them going undetected,” said VA Inspector General Michael J. Missal. “I hope that the victims’ families can find some measure of solace knowing that Mays was caught and punished, and that steps are being taken to help ensure other families do not suffer the same loss. I would like to thank the U.S. Attorney’s Office, the FBI, and the West Virginia State Police for their strong partnership throughout this complex investigation.”

“It is beyond disturbing that someone would seek out the opportunity to work as a medical professional to aid the sick, and then twist their duty and willingly end the life of their patients,” said FBI Pittsburgh Acting Special Agent in Charge Carlton Peeples. “I hope today’s sentence brings peace and closure to the families of these Veterans. It certainly sends the message that when you break the trust you are given and, in the process break the law, there are consequences, no matter who you are or what your profession is.”

This investigation, which began in June 2018, involved more than 300 interviews; the review of thousands of pages of medical records and charts; the review of phone, social media, and computer records; countless hours of consulting with some of the most respected forensic experts and endocrinologists; the exhumation of some of the victims; and the review of hospital staff and visitor records to assess their potential interactions with the victims. Today’s sentence was the result of the tireless and comprehensive efforts of both criminal investigators and healthcare experts.

Mays was also ordered to pay a total of $172,624.96 to the victims’ families, the VA Hospital, Medicare, and insurance companies.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Jarod J. Douglas and Brandon S. Flower prosecuted the case on behalf of the government. The Veterans Affairs Office of Inspector General and the FBI investigated. The West Virginia State Police and the Greater Harrison Drug & Violent Crimes Task Force, a HIDTA-funded initiative, assisted.

U.S. District Judge Thomas S. Kleeh presided.

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SHREVEPORT, La. – A licensed pharmacist, who was formerly employed with the Overton Brooks VA Medical Center (VAMC) in Shreveport, was found guilty today by a federal jury for stealing controlled substances from mail-out prescriptions, announced United States Attorney David C. Joseph.

Following a one-week trial and four hours of deliberations, Melissa W. Richardson, 44, of Shreveport, was found guilty of 15 counts of acquiring a controlled substance by fraud.

According to evidence presented at trial, on June 9, 2017, Richardson, a licensed pharmacist employed at the VAMC, stole various quantities of Hydrocodone out of individual prescription bottles as she verified mail-out prescriptions meant for Veterans. The prescriptions at issue had been prepared by a pharmacy technician and were awaiting a second count and verification from Richardson. Video surveillance from inside the VAMC controlled substances vault showed Richardson slipping the pills into her pocket as she counted the prescriptions. In multiple instances, she slipped pills into her pocket before the pills were counted. Video footage showed her then verify that the prescription was correct in the VAMC’s computer system, seal the bottle, place it in a sealed envelope, and drop it in a bin for mail-out. When federal agents confronted Richardson, she had 236 loose pills in her pocket.

The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Office of Inspector General, conducted the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Brian C. Flanagan and Supervisory Assistant U.S. Attorney Allison D. Bushnell are prosecuting the case.

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A doctor of osteopathic medicine who formerly worked at the Veterans Affairs (VA) Medical Center in Beckley, West Virginia, pleaded guilty today to three counts of depriving veterans of their civil rights under color of law by sexually abusing them.

Jonathan Yates, 51, of Bluefield, Virginia, was previously indicted on five counts of depriving veterans of their civil rights under color of law, in violation of Title 18, U.S. Code, Section 242, and two counts of abusive sexual contact, in violation of Title 18, U.S. Code, Section 2244(b).

At the change of plea hearing held today before U.S. District Judge Frank W. Volk, Yates admitted that he rubbed the genitals of two veterans, and digitally penetrated a third veteran’s rectum under the guise of legitimate medicine, when in fact he acted without a legitimate medical purpose. This conduct, performed while Yates was acting under color of law in his capacity as a VA physician and a federal employee, deprived the veterans of their constitutional right to bodily integrity and caused them pain. According to the plea documents, the veterans had sought treatment from Yates to manage chronic pain through osteopathic manipulative therapy.  

“This doctor abused his position of trust by preying on veterans who came to him for medical treatment,” said Assistant Attorney General Eric Dreiband of the Civil Rights Division. “As this prosecution demonstrates, he will now be held accountable for using his position as a VA physician to deceive and molest his patients.”

“By virtue of today’s plea agreement, Yates stands convicted of heinous criminal acts committed against military veterans who served our country honorably and with great sacrifice,” said U.S. Attorney Mike Stuart for the Southern District of West Virginia. “Throughout this matter, from the commencement of this investigation to today’s plea, our focus has been on seeking justice for these veterans by holding Yates accountable for these terrible acts.”

“We are pleased with the outcome of this investigation,” said FBI Pittsburgh Special Agent in Charge Michael Christman. “These cases are tough to work and the facts of this case are appalling. The patients and their families at this hospital expected and deserved better care and instead were caused both physical and mental injuries. Accepting the charges against him and pleading guilty allows the victims and their families to not have to relive the abuse during a trial, but still find some form of justice.”

“What occurred at the Beckley VA Medical Center is particularly despicable because this abuse was at the hands of a doctor who was entrusted with providing compassionate and supportive care to veterans,” said VA Inspector General Michael J. Missal. “The result today was due to the tireless and dedicated efforts of the VA OIG investigators and our law enforcement partners. This doctor will no longer be able to prey on the trust of those who have dedicated their lives in service to our nation.”

Yates is scheduled for sentencing on Jan. 4, 2021. He faces a statutory maximum sentence of 30 years in prison.

The case was investigated by the FBI, the Department of Veterans Affairs Office of Inspector General, and the VA Police Department. The case is being prosecuted by Special Litigation Counsel Samantha Trepel and Trial Attorney Kyle Boynton of the Civil Rights Division of the U.S. Department of Justice, Assistant U.S. Attorney Greg McVey of the Southern District of West Virginia, and Assistant Chief Kilby MacFadden of the Fraud Section of the U.S. Department of Justice.

Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Southern District of West Virginia at http://www.wvsd.uscourts.gov/ or on http://pacer.wvsd.uscourts.gov/

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A former doctor of osteopathic medicine who previously worked at the Veterans Affairs (VA) Medical Center in Beckley, West Virginia, was sentenced today for depriving Veterans of their civil rights under color of law by sexually abusing them.

U.S. District Judge Frank W. Volk sentenced Jonathan Yates, 52, of Bluefield, Virginia, to 300 months in prison and three years of supervised release, announced Deputy Assistant Attorney General Gregory B. Friel of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division, U.S. Attorney Michael B. Stuart of the Southern District of West Virginia, Special Agent in Charge Michael A. Christman of the Pittsburgh Division of the FBI, and VA Inspector General Michael J. Missal.

Yates previously pleaded guilty on Sept. 17, 2020, to three felony counts of deprivation of rights under color of law. According to the plea documents, Yates rubbed the genitals of two Veterans and digitally penetrated a third Veteran’s rectum under the guise of legitimate medicine, when in fact he acted without a legitimate medical purpose. This conduct, performed while Yates was acting under color of law in his capacity as a VA physician and a federal employee, deprived the Veterans of their constitutional right to bodily integrity and caused them pain. According to the plea documents, the Veterans had sought treatment from Yates to manage chronic pain through osteopathic manipulative therapy. Several Veterans addressed the court at sentencing, describing the trauma and mental anguish that Yates had caused them. Yates surrendered his medical licenses as a condition of his plea agreement.

“The sentence today reflects the seriousness of this defendant’s misconduct. In a despicable betrayal of his oath, he used his specialized medical knowledge and expertise to sexually abuse his own patients. He has now been held accountable,” said Deputy Assistant Attorney General Gregory B. Friel of the Civil Rights Division. “It is a testament to the bravery of our Veterans that so many came forward to bring this defendant to justice.”

“Military Veterans who serve and sacrifice to protect our nation deserve only the best of care. Yates betrayed his oath as a physician and the Veterans under his care,” said U.S. Attorney Michael Stuart for the Southern District of West Virginia. “Today, Yates has been called to account for his heinous acts. While his prison sentence will not undo the significant harm Yates inflicted on the victims, we hope that it will ease their pain. I want to commend the incredible work of the FBI and the Department of Veterans Affairs-OIG in this investigation. I also want to thank the victims and their families for their unwavering support during the prosecution of this case.”

“Yates committed hideous crimes in a hospital room, which should be a sanctuary for patients,” said FBI Pittsburgh Special Agent in Charge Michael Christman. “The facts of this case are disgusting and these patients and their families deserved better care. While today’s sentence won’t take away what happened to these patients who dedicated their lives in service to our nation, Yates will never be able to hurt anyone again. Hopefully, this will serve as justice for his victims.”

“This sentence is the culmination of the exceptional work of the Office of the Inspector General special agents and our law enforcement partners,” said VA Inspector General Michael J. Missal. “Our thoughts are with the Veterans who suffered horrific abuse by a doctor entrusted with their care, and we remain vigilant in our efforts to keep all VA patients safe from harm.”

The case was investigated by the FBI, the Department of Veterans Affairs Office of Inspector General, and the Veterans Affairs Police Department. The case was prosecuted by Special Litigation Counsel Samantha Trepel and Trial Attorney Kyle Boynton of the Civil Rights Division of the U.S. Department of Justice, Assistant U.S. Attorney Greg McVey of the Southern District of West Virginia, and Assistant Chief Kilby MacFadden of the Fraud Section of the U.S. Department of Justice.

Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Southern District of West Virginia at http://www.wvsd.uscourts.gov/ or on http://pacer.wvsd.uscourts.gov/.

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Stole Over $15,000 after Applying to Become Victim’s Representative Payee

A Fort Dodge man who stole over $15,000 in Social Security benefits from a severely disabled woman was sentenced February 23, 2022, to ten months in federal prison. Donald Glenn Conner, also known as Donald Luevanos, age 38, received the prison term after a September 16, 2021 guilty plea to one count of representative payee fraud.

In a plea agreement, and at his guilty plea and sentencing hearings, Conner admitted that, in March 2018, the Social Security Administration (SSA) approved his application to become the representative payee for a severely disabled relative. A representative payee is a person whom the SSA entrusts to manage Social Security funds for those who cannot do so due to mental, physical, or other limitations. A doctor had diagnosed Conner’s relative with a severe mental impairment, and she also had a number of other physical health issues. In May 2019, Conner admitted his victim to a local nursing home on the false pretense that she was on Medicaid when she was not. Conner then used his victim’s social security funds for his own purposes, including at a casino, a grocery store, and for videogames, subscription services, and other bills. In March 2020, after the nursing home began asking questions about Conner’s use of his victim’s Social Security funds, Conner abruptly removed his victim from the nursing home against a doctor’s medical advice and left the nursing home with an unpaid bill in excess of $50,000. The investigation also revealed that Conner falsely underreported his household income and received an overpayment of Section 8 federal housing benefits.

Conner was sentenced in Sioux City by United States District Court Chief Judge Leonard T. Strand. Conner was sentenced to 10 months’ imprisonment. He was ordered to make $15,499 in restitution. He must also serve a two-year term of supervised release after the prison term. There is no parole in the federal system.

Conner was released on the bond previously set and is to surrender to the Bureau of Prisons on a date yet to be set.

The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Timothy L. Vavricek and investigated by the Social Security Administration, Office of Inspector General, and Health and Human Services, Office of Inspector General.

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An alternative to a nursing home

Medical Foster Homes are private residences where a trained caregiver provides services to no more than three individuals. Some, but not all, residents are Veterans. VA inspects and approves all Medical Foster Homes.

A Medical Foster Home can serve as an alternative to a nursing home. It may be appropriate for Veterans who require nursing home care but prefer a non-institutional setting with fewer residents.

Medical Foster Home caregivers and relief caregivers provide care and supervision 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Caregivers can help Veterans carry out activities of daily living, such as bathing, dressing and administering medications. Caregivers also provide home-cooked meals, socialization and overall support.

VA ensures the caregiver is trained to provide VA-planned care. VA completes initial and annual inspections of the home from multiple disciplines, including fire/safety, nursing, nutrition and social work. These inspections help ensure the caregivers are able and qualified to provide the care the Veterans need.

Medical Foster Home Veterans are also enrolled in VA’s Home Based Primary Care program. Services may vary by location. A VA social worker or case manager can help with eligibility guidelines for Home Based Primary Care and Medical Foster Home care.

Veteran pays for Foster Home care

Medical Foster Homes are not provided or paid for by VA.

Veterans privately pay for Medical Foster Home. The charge for a Medical Foster Home ranges from $1,500 to $3,000 each month, based on the Veteran’s income and the level of care needed. The Veteran and caregiver agree on a specific cost before admitting the Veteran.

VA works with the Veterans to maximize their VA benefits for the payment. Medical Foster Home program coordinators work with eligible Veterans to apply for Aid and Attendance benefits.

Veterans can use these benefits, along with any Social Security or personal funds, to cover the costs of Medical Foster Home care.

Click here to see if your VA facility has a Medical Foster Home program.

This list includes the VA medical centers that operate a Medical Foster Home program. However, many facilities are in various stages of development of their programs. Please reach out to your VA social worker to ask when a Medical Foster Home will be available at your local facility.

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In the 100th season of the NFL, four centenarian World War II Veterans were honored by participating in the Super Bowl LIV opening coin flip as the Kansas City Chiefs take on the San Francisco 49ers.

In addition to deciding what team gets the ball first, the result of the flip was closely watched by gamblers across the nation who have money on Super Bowl proposition bets.

The 49ers won the toss, and elected to defer; the Chiefs took the ball to start the game.

“By honoring these four Veterans at the championship game, the league is preserving the national memory of the Greatest Generation and World War II,’’ said Holly Rotondi, executive director of the Friends of the National World War II Memorial.

The 100-year-old Veterans for the coin flip were:

1. Charles McGee — McGee flew 136 combat missions in World War II as part of the famed Tuskegee Airmen, attacking targets in Italy and supporting the rescue of 1,000 prisoners of war in Romania. He went on to become a colonel and fly in wars in Korea and Vietnam.
2. Odon Cardenas — Cardenas fought in France and Germany as part of the Third Army under the command of Gen. George Patton. He was captured in the late stages of the war in Germany, serving briefly as a prisoner of war before being liberated.
3. Samuel Lombardo — Lombardo served as a rifle platoon leader and company executive officer, fighting in the Battle of the Bulge and other major campaigns in the final months of the war.
4. Sidney Walton — Walton fought in the China, Burma and India theater after enlisting before the war with the stated desire of taking down Adolf Hitler. He and his son, Paul, have been on a tour visiting every state to raise awareness of the diminishing number of WWII Veterans and the sacrifices they made.

The Veterans were asked by the NFL to participate to honor both their military heritage and the 100th anniversary of the NFL as a professional football league.

“It was quite a thrill to be asked,’’ McGee said. “I couldn’t say no.’’

Sixty-two percent of U.S. Veterans said they think the Chiefs will win the big game, according to a blog post from Veterans United Home Loans, which provides home loans and other home-buying educational information for Veterans. The remaining 38 percent believe the 49ers will win.

More than 1,600 Vets responded to the question posed by the company, which is not affiliated with the Department of Veterans Affairs.

“I just hope for a good game, and good refereeing,’’ McGee added. “I’m looking forward to seeing the coin and then seeing the game.’’

McGee was home on holiday in Chicago celebrating his 22nd birthday when Japanese planes bombed Pearl Harbor in 1941, sending the nation into war.

He remembers vividly being in the car with others in his glee club driving to perform at a South Chicago church when President Franklin Roosevelt came on the radio to announce the bombing.

A few years into the war he would join the only African-American pilot squadron training in segregated Tuskegee, Alabama.

He’s one of the last surviving airmen of the 996 pilots — 84 of whom lost their lives in the war — who trained in Alabama.

“The Army policy at the time was we didn’t have the brainpower and moral fiber to become pilots,’’ he said. “We dispelled that notion.’’

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Miami, Florida – Today, a South Florida federal district judge sentenced three men from different parts of the country to federal prison terms for their roles in a conspiracy to defraud companies by issuing worthless bonds to insure large-scale construction projects. A fourth defendant was sentenced earlier this year.    

On December 2, Alexander Robert Xavier, 57, formerly of Boca Raton, Florida was sentenced to 72 months in prison; Timothy Castracane a/k/a “Guy” Castracane, 51, of Saratoga Springs, New York, was sentenced to 46 months in prison; and Henry John Hattendorf, 73, of Las Vegas, Nevada was sentenced to 24 months in prison. On November 16, Robert Michael Wann, 64, of Rancho Mirage, California, was sentenced to 54 months in prison. Each defendant was also sentenced to a term of supervised release of three years and ordered to pay over $2.6 million in restitution to victims of the fraud.

From approximately March 2015 through December 2015, the defendants devised a scheme to unlawfully enrich themselves by issuing various performance and payment bonds – a type of insurance required on major construction contracts. During the course of the fraud, Defendant Xavier, acting as a so-called “individual surety,” pledged over $30 million in assets to builders working on large-scale infrastructure and residential construction projects. In truth, and as the defendants well knew, there were no such assets; only worthless securities that the defendants referred to as “gold certificates.”

Juan Antonio Gonzalez, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida; Sean Earle, Special Agent in Charge, Eastern Region Field Office, United States Environmental Protection Agency, Office of the Inspector General (EPA-OIG); and David Spilker, Special Agent in Charge, Southeast Field Office, United States Department of Veterans Affairs, Office of Inspector General (VA-OIG), made the announcement.

United States District Judge Donald M. Middlebrooks imposed the sentences. Previously, the defendants all pled guilty to conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 1349.  

At the time of his sentencing, Defendant Xavier was already serving a 150-month prison sentence imposed in a different Southern District of Florida criminal fraud case, Case No. 15-80149-cr-Marra.

EPA-OIG and VA-OIG investigated the case, with assistance from the United States Department of Transportation OIG, Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigation Division, in Albany, New York, and The Port Authority of New York & New Jersey OIG.

It was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Christopher B. Browne and Stephanie Hauser. Annika Miranda handled the asset forfeiture component of the case.

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ANCHORAGE – Four Anchorage individuals involved in a bribery and fraud scheme to obtain Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Business (SDVOSB) government contracts with the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) have been sentenced in federal court.

Donald Garner, 50, owner of Veteran Ability, was a government contractor who provided various services to the U.S. government, including the VA in Anchorage. Richard Vaughan, 74, worked at the Anchorage VA as a contract officer representative responsible for awarding and managing numerous contracts for the VA, including a $700,000 SDVOSB contract to perform snow removal services at the Anchorage VA.

Between 2015 and 2017, Garner directed his bookkeeper Yalonda Moore, 52, to deliver more than $29,000 in bribe payments to Vaughan. In exchange, Vaughan gave preferential treatment to Garner by selecting Veteran Ability to complete dozens of “purchase card” jobs at the Anchorage VA, totaling more than $100,000. Vaughan also approved numerous invoices submitted by Garner related to the snow removal contract for work that was either unnecessary or never actually performed, causing the government an estimated $347,000 in losses.

Garner and Vaughan each pleaded guilty to one count of bribery involving a public official and were sentenced to one year and one day in federal prison, followed by three years of supervised release. They must also pay $347,000 in restitution to the VA.

Additionally, between 2014 and 2016, Dale Johnson, 50, owner of ADALECO General LLC, conspired with Garner to perpetrate a “pass-through” scheme in which Johnson allowed Garner to use ADALECO’s name to bid on and obtain SDVOSB set-aside contracts for which Garner’s company was not eligible, including the VA snow removal contract. Although ADALECO was expected to perform the work, Garner’s company illegally assumed control of the contract and received the majority of the profits. In return, Garner paid Johnson a percentage of the contract as a kickback, totaling $54,302.

Johnson pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to defraud the United States and was sentenced to five years’ probation and ordered to pay $54,302 in restitution.

The FBI and the VA Office of the Inspector General began investigating Garner, Vaughan, and Johnson in 2016. During that investigation, Moore, who worked as a bookkeeper for both Veteran Ability and ADALECO, intentionally obstructed the government’s investigation by tipping off Garner about the FBI’s investigation plans. Prior to that Moore had been purporting to cooperate with the government’s investigation. Moore recently pleaded guilty to one count of obstruction of justice and was sentenced to three years’ probation.

“The bribery and fraud scheme by these defendants not only cheated the government, but simultaneously diverted work from eligible, law-abiding service-disabled Veterans,” said John E. Kuhn, Jr. U.S. Attorney for the District of Alaska. “The U.S. Attorney’s Office will prosecute every unlawful attempt to corrupt the government contracting process and will work to ensure that no one profits from such efforts.”

“At the expense of U.S. taxpayers, these individuals traded their integrity for greed, and undermined the VA’s efforts to lawfully contract with service-disabled Veteran-owned businesses in Alaska,” said Assistant Special Agent in Charge Shawn Peters of the FBI Anchorage Field Office. “Dismantling criminal enterprises involving bribery and corruption will always be a priority for the FBI, and together with our law enforcement partners, we will hold those accountable who take part in such schemes.”

The Federal Bureau of Investigation, the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs Office of the Inspector General, the Small Business Administration Office of the Inspector General, and the General Services Administration Office of the Inspector General investigated the case.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Ryan Tansey prosecuted the case.

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Note to Editors:

Garner case: 3:19-cr-00120-SLG-DMS

Vaughan case: 3:19-cr-00120-SLG-DMS

Johnson case: 4:19-cr-00018-RRB-SAO

Moore case: 3:21-cr-00084-JMK-MMS

The United States Small Business Administration (SBA) is an independent agency of the federal government responsible for aiding, counseling, assisting and protecting the interests of small business concerns. The SBA and VA administer a program to award SDVOSB contracts which can only be awarded to small businesses owned and controlled by qualified Service-Disabled Veterans (SDVs)

Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Business (SDVOSB) is a small business that is 51% unconditionally owned and controlled by a service-disabled Veteran. Through the SDVOSB, the federal government aims to award at least three percent of all federal contracting dollars to SDVOSBs each year. Competition is limited for certain federal contract opportunities to businesses that participate in the SDVOSB program.

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DALLAS – For honorably discharged Veterans, tax-free online shopping at the Army & Air Force Exchange Service continues to make a difference four years after the benefit launched.

Since they were granted access to ShopMyExchange.com on Veterans Day 2017, more than 275,000 Veterans have used their lifelong benefit, which offers tax-free shopping and military-exclusive pricing. Veterans have placed more than 1.2 million orders, saving nearly $16 million in sales tax. At the time the benefit launched, it was the first expansion of military exchange privileges since 1990.

“During the last four years, it has been such an honor to welcome Veterans back to their Exchange benefit,” said Exchange Director/CEO Tom Shull, a Vietnam-era Army Veteran who worked to secure the change in Department of Defense policy to give all honorably discharged Veterans shopping privileges at military exchanges online. “Our heroes are reconnecting with their military community, remaining Veterans for life. The Exchange team is all in to serve them.”

Word about the online shopping benefit continues to spread. The Exchange touted the good news with a national audience on CBS with a TV and in-stadium campaign during the inaugural Commanders’ Classic—the Army vs. Air Force football game—on Nov. 6.

Every order Veterans make through ShopMyExchange.com helps improve the quality of life for all who wear the uniform. 100% of Exchange earnings support military communities. In the last 10 years, the Exchange benefit has provided $3.4 billion in earnings for critical military Quality-of-Life programs such as outfitting 700,000 Warfighters at cost annually, providing school meal support for Department of Defense Education Activity facilities overseas and delivering needed services to locations impacted by natural disasters.

“It matters where you shop,” Shull said. “The Exchange is a Quality-of-Life force multiplier for Soldiers, Airmen and Guardians, and our Veterans shoppers play a big role in this virtuous circle.”

All Veterans with service-connected disabilities can shop in person. Veterans can visit ShopMyExchange.com/Vets to learn more and verify their eligibility to shop.

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David Szumowski had been in Vietnam only 40 days when his tank platoon was attacked during a recovery mission near the Michelin rubber plantation northwest of Saigon. His tank took a direct hit from a rocket-propelled grenade, and the fragmentation wounds left Szumowski totally blind.

After recovering at Walter Reed Medical Center and the Edward Hines Jr. VA Medical Center, Szumowski was accepted to the University of Denver law school. He worked for a time as a benefits counselor for VA in San Diego, Calif., and later helped start the Vietnam Veterans Leadership Program there. He went on to be a prosecutor in the San Diego District Attorney’s office and then a San Diego County Superior Court judge—a position he held for 18 years until he retired in 2016.

Szumowski was still recovering from his wounds when he was introduced to NLS, the National Library Service for the Blind and Print Disabled. NLS serves people like Szumowski who are blind or have low vision, as well as serving people with physical disabilities–people who have had a stroke, for example, or have suffered a traumatic brain injury–that makes it difficult to read regular print.

Through its national network of cooperating libraries, NLS circulates books and magazines in braille or audio formats, delivered by postage-free mail or instantly downloadable. NLS provides playback equipment for audio books received in the mail, and there’s an app that makes listening to downloaded books on smart devices a cinch.

Better yet, it’s all free! And by law, Veterans–whether or not their visual impairment or disability is service-related–go to the front of the line at NLS.

In the hospital, “I started reading a lot–it was a way to kill time,” Szumowski recalls. One of the first NLS books he read was a time-killer for sure: Tolstoy’s War and Peace, which–in 1969–was available on a set of 43 16-rpm records. (Now it can be downloaded.)

In the five decades since he lost his sight, Szumowski has read thousands of books (“I stopped counting long ago at 2,000,” he says), many of them from NLS’s extensive collection. Just like a public library, NLS has tens of thousands of books of all kinds, from current best sellers to the classics, as well as an array of books of interest to people with disabilities. NLS has dozens of magazines in braille and audio too, including Sports Illustrated, Consumer Reports, American History, Southern Living, and Smithsonian.

And if you’re a musician, or want to learn to play an instrument, NLS has the world’s largest collection of braille music scores and braille and audio music instruction and appreciation materials.

Guides

NLS also produces guides on a variety of topics of interest to people who are blind or disabled. One of them, Resources for Disabled Veterans, was updated just last year and includes contact information for organizations that help Veterans with employment and rehabilitation, financial and legal matters, physical and psychological health, and more. It’s available to NLS patrons and the general public on our website, at www.loc.gov/nls/resources/general-resources-on-disabilities/resources-for-disabled-Veterans/. NLS also has guides on topics such as travel and recreation for people who are visually impaired, accessible video games, and where to get Bibles and other sacred writings in audio, braille, and large print.

Events

Many libraries in the NLS network sponsor events specifically for patrons who are blind or disabled, such as audio-described movie nights, book clubs, health fairs, “touch tours” of local museums, and classes on all kinds of technology topics–like how to customize your mobile phone or tablet, or how to use popular shopping apps.

And since 2015, NLS has partnered with the Bureau of Engraving and Printing to distribute iBill currency readers, free of charge, to any blind or visually impaired U.S. citizen or legal resident who requests one. You can find out more about that program at www.bep.gov/resources/meaningfulaccess.html.

Impact

Now that he’s retired, Szumowski tries to read two or three books each week. He’s also told his own story in a memoir titled Reach for More: A Journey from Loss to Love and Fulfillment. It will be added to the NLS collection later this year.

What impact has NLS had on his life? “It provides an opportunity for me to learn things I’d like to learn and travel to places through reading that I’d otherwise never get to see,” Szumowski says. “It’s also been a tremendous source of pleasure for me.”

If you have a visual or physical disability that keeps you from reading regular print, enrolling in NLS is easy. Just call 1-888-NLS-READ (1-888-657-7323) and follow the prompts to be connected with the NLS network library that serves your state. You can also find more information about NLS and how to enroll at www.loc.gov/thatallmayread.

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The gift of reading returned to Veterans with visual impairments

The Braille and Talking Book Program offers Veterans who have difficulty with regular print materials the return of the gift of reading.

Whether escaping into a great novel or staying current with popular magazines, the freedom and independence of reading are only a few steps away. This program, from the National Library Service (NLS) and the Library of Congress, provides talking books, audio magazines, and digital talking-book players free of charge.

Any honorably discharged Veteran who is blind, has low vision, or a disability preventing the reading of traditional materials is eligible. Participants choose whether their selected reading materials are delivered by mail, downloaded from the web-based service BARD (Braille and Audio Reading Download) or through the BARD mobile app for smartphones and tablets. NLS maintains a vast catalog of titles and publications from the latest best-sellers to timeless classics. Plus, Veterans have preferential status in the lending of materials and equipment.

The Braille and Talking Books Program is accomplished through a nationwide network of libraries to serve citizens and Veterans living inside the U.S. or abroad. Applying for this service is easy. Call the National Library Service at 1-888-NLS-READ (1-888-657-7323) or visit them on the web at www.loc.gov/ThatAllMayRead

Veterans served to protect freedom. Now let National Library Service provide the freedom for all to read.

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The Defense Health Agency sets as a primary goal the providing of quality care to active-duty service members, Veterans, and their dependents. To meet this goal, the Military Health System has made important strides in research and development for both mental and rehabilitative care to wounded, ill, and injured service members. From mental health awareness programs to advances such as osseointegration for prostheses, MHS continues to innovate to develop better quality of life for its beneficiaries.

Activities like the Real Warriors Campaign or RWC work to destigmatize mental health care throughout the military. Launched by the Department of Defense in 2009 and now managed by the Psychological Health Center of Excellence or PHCoE, the multi-media public awareness initiative promotes a culture of support for psychological health while providing vital resources for the military community. With more than 125,000 followers on both Facebook and Twitter, the campaign leverages social media to bring mental health awareness to service members at the swipe of a finger.

Nick Polizzi, Ph.D., a psychologist at PHCoE and the Real Warriors Campaign and inTransition program action officer, notes that the campaign’s social media presence is important for reaching service members, Veterans, and family members.

“It helps to be connected in that way, as most of us are walking around with our cell phones and now have access to materials through our social media channels and website,” Polizzi said. “It’s important for folks to understand what psychological care looks like, whether that is self-care or going in to seek treatment.”

Despite its large social media presence, RWC is not limited to these platforms. The program has a website offering a vast array of mental health resources and continues to promote its digital resources through in-person interactions, including conference and event presentations and military installation site visits.

“We want to do everything we can to increase awareness of psychological health care topics and normalize psychological health care, to get it into the conversation,” Polizzi said, adding that programs like RWC are only the first step. Once a service member takes action to seek mental health guidance, there must be a continuum of care whether a member has a permanent change of station or is transitioning outside of the service. This is when programs like inTransition come into play.

A free, confidential service, inTransition helps active-duty service members, National Guard members, reservists, Veterans, and retirees who need access to mental health care. The 24-hour phone line connects a service member with a “coach” – who is also a licensed mental health provider—to support service members as they transition their mental health care during duty relocations, returning from deployment, or preparing to leave military service.

Polizzi stresses this one-on-one coaching aspect as a highlight of the program. “You establish a rapport with your coach to discuss strengths, barriers, and concerns to better plan your care,” he added.

Services provided by inTransition can be accessed by beneficiaries through the program’s toll free phone line to set up their own care. Health care providers can also call inTransition on behalf of a patient to initiate enrollment. The program also makes outgoing calls to service members who have been treated for mental health care within the past year.

“While transitioning, health care might fall to the bottom of your priority list, especially psychological health care,” Polizzi said. “With so many other things to deal with, inTransition helps support patients and get them connected to care at their next location.”

The inTransition service is undergoing a transition of its own, expanding its services to cover traumatic brain injury as well. Outgoing calls will be made to service members who have been treated for moderate to severe traumatic brain injury within a year of discharge or relocation.

Participation in inTransition is voluntary, Polizzi stresses. “When beneficiaries decide with their provider to call the program to enroll, we find much higher levels of future engagement. Although inTransition is required to conduct outbound calls to beneficiaries, we’d like to make sure that people feel empowered to call into the program themselves and seek the care that they need.”

While the Psychological Health Center of Excellence supports beneficiaries’ mental health, the Walter Reed National Military Medical Center is working on technological innovation in prosthetics through osseointegration to improve the lives of service members.

Osseointegration is a procedure that implants a device directly into a bone. The device exits the skin and attaches to a unique functional prosthesis, allowing for precise movement and the ability to feel where the limb moves more naturally. A patient received the first compress-based, osseointegrated prosthesis implant in May 2016, with improvements made to the procedure in the years following.

Navy Cmdr. (Dr.) Jonathan Forsberg, led of one of Walter Reed’s first osseointegration programs. During a National Museum of Health and Medicine event in 2018 he said, "Your immune system … was not designed for a blast, which is really a systemic injury. What we see is massive amounts of inflammation that drives a primitive—but overwhelming—healing response that can lead to complications, such as heterotopic ossification, or bone that forms in the soft tissues."

Forsberg and a committee of osseointegration and bone physiology experts from around the world worked to develop a prosthetic implant that is uniquely suited for patients with blast injuries. The resulting prosthesis makes it easier for patients with amputations to bear weight.

The Transfemoral Amputee Osseointegration Study that uses these prostheses is still underway. Eligible participants can learn more information about this study through Walter Reed’s website.

These programs are only a few examples of how the MHS uses research and development to care for wounded warriors as they recover from wounds and illness. For more information on warrior care, visit the Warrior Care webpage.

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LOS ANGELES — On a mild winter night in late February, two large, black Suburbans pulled into the parking lot of the Downtown Women’s Center in the Skid Row neighborhood of Los Angeles, home to one of the country’s largest homeless populations.

Department of Veterans Affairs Secretary Denis McDonough got out of one SUV and was quickly surrounded by about a dozen people waiting to meet him. The group included Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti, as well as Rep. Mark Takano, D-Calif., and representatives from the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority, the California Department of Veterans Affairs, and the office of Hilda Solis, a member of the County of Los Angeles Board of Supervisors.

For the following two hours, the group crisscrossed Skid Row, tallying the number of homeless individuals for the federal government’s annual point-in-time count — a nationwide effort to calculate the country’s homeless population.

The convening in Skid Row that night was emblematic of the partnerships that are necessary to make significant progress in the fight against Veteran homelessness, McDonough said.

“We saw in action the kinds of partnerships that have allowed us to begin to make very significant progress against Veteran homelessness here in Los Angeles and beginning across the country,” he said. “Those are the types of federal, state, local, private and philanthropic organizations that we’re going to need to continue the progress we’ve begun.”

The VA has set out to prove if the agency can end Veteran homelessness in Los Angeles, which has one of the tightest housing markets in the country and more homeless Veterans than in any other city, it can be done anywhere.

McDonough on Feb. 25 announced his goals for Veteran homelessness in 2022, one of which is to get at least 1,500 homeless Veterans in Los Angeles into permanent housing. Nationally, he wants the VA to house 38,000 Veterans this year. If the department achieves those goals, it will have housed 10% more Veterans in Los Angeles and nationwide than in 2021.

The department is leaning on its partnerships, increased levels of federal funding and a heightened sense of urgency to accomplish its benchmarks in Los Angeles, and it’s tackling the issue on multiple fronts, from providing tiny, temporary shelters for Veterans living on the street to constructing permanent housing units on its massive VA campus.

However, the lack of housing stock in the area, as well as a shortage of case managers who can help Veterans stay in their homes, are challenges that confront the agency. Additionally, advocates wonder how and when the work in Los Angeles will be replicated elsewhere.

From tents to shelters

Army Veteran Michael Shea, 32, walked past rows and rows of identical, 8-by-8-foot shelters searching for the one that belonged to him.

Shea’s temporary home was one of 110 tiny shelters located on the VA campus in West Los Angeles. The shelters were placed atop pallets on new concrete in what was recently an empty lot about half the size of a football field.

Once he arrived at his shelter, which was undistinguishable from the rest, Shea opened the door, revealing a tiny room with a cot on one end and clothes hanging on the other. Shelves lined the back wall and contained all his possessions. The space came with a solitary light, an air conditioning unit, a heater and four windows.

“I have my independence, my own space,” Shea said. “A lot of people say it’s like a jail cell, but I don’t believe that. I’ve been in solitary confinement, and here, you can open the door.”

Shea spent several years bouncing between VA treatment programs, jail and halfway houses in the Midwest before he came to California last year to find his new beginning. He lived in a tent on the VA campus for a while before the department introduced the tiny shelters in October.

The shelters are part of the VA’s recent push to reduce Veteran homelessness in Los Angeles. It started with McDonough’s visit to the West Los Angles site in October, when he spoke to Veterans living in tents along San Vicente Boulevard, which abuts one end of the VA campus. The encampment, known as Veterans Row, was home to about 40 people at the time.

McDonough ordered VA staff in Los Angeles to find other temporary housing for those Veterans, and he tasked them with getting another 500 Veterans into transitional or permanent housing before the end of the 2021. Transitional housing is an intermediary step between homelessness and permanent housing and includes residential treatment facilities, as well as the tiny shelters now assembled on VA grounds.

When Veterans Row was first ordered closed, some Veterans moved inside VA gates, where the department set up rows of tents. Shea lived in one of those for a brief amount of time.

“In the tents with the wind, it would get cold. Here, it’s been awesome,” said Shea, referring to the tiny shelters. “Although, with the Porta-John and showers, you know, whatever. But there are very dedicated people, and it’s been getting better.”

The first three shelters arrived in October and more were introduced incrementally in the following four months. They were donated by various philanthropists, including former California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger.

Veterans use portable toilets and shower in a mobile shower truck. In late February, construction workers were busy building a mess hall, where Veterans would soon be able to socialize and eat three meals per day.

The VA fulfilled McDonough’s goal and housed 705 Veterans by the end of 2021. About half of those Veterans were placed in permanent housing, and the other half were in the tiny shelters or other transitional units. Kathryn Monet, president of the National Coalition for Homeless Veterans, said the department should make a clear distinction between the two. Her organization coordinates efforts to end Veteran homelessness and works with Congress, the White House and local, state and private agencies nationwide.

Just because Veterans are placed into transitional housing, doesn’t mean they’ll eventually graduate to a permanent home, Monet said. About 80% of individuals in transitional housing move onto something more permanent.

It’s also important to ensure Veterans aren’t languishing in the tiny shelters long-term, she said.

“I don’t want to say the shelters are terrible. They’re moving someone indoors from something that was probably terrible, and if they’re choosing that option, it’s probably an option they want. That’s a good thing,” Monet said. “But that doesn’t always mean they’re going to move onto housing. We think a lot about what kinds of services and supports are paired with it, and how are you really engaging with the Veterans who are there?”

Three large trailers were parked at the site of the tiny shelters in West Los Angeles. Inside each were a few rooms holding offices for caseworkers. Veterans at the site were enrolled into the VA’s care, treatment and rehabilitative services program, which provides access to medical care and behavioral health services, as well as help with obtaining permanent housing.

Chanin Santini, a VA social worker, oversees the site. She has a team of three social workers and two peer-support specialists who work with Veterans. Medical providers are on site every day, treating Veterans and providing coronavirus vaccinations and tests. The VA also offers amenities such as acupuncture and a storytelling group.

Santini sees the community of tiny shelters as a comfortable, temporary stop for Veterans on their way to something better.

“I think sometimes people want to think the VA is just this machine that doesn’t move,” she said. “But there’s so many cool things that happen here, like I never would’ve thought this would get turned into what it is. This will be a great place for folks to hang out, and then be able to move toward their next housing goal."

The time to get Veterans from the shelters to their next goal varies, Santini said.

“It’s all on a case-by-case basis. The case managers do a really good job of meeting the Veteran where they are and working with them,” she said. “So that’s either our HUD-VASH program, or some Veterans just want to save enough money to be able to purchase a home. It all depends on what’s going on with them.”

Challenging housing market

HUD-VASH refers to a federal program in which the Department of Housing and Urban Development provides vouchers that subsidize the cost of housing for Veterans in the private market, while the VA provides case management and clinical services designed to keep them in their homes.

The program is a key part of the VA’s “Housing First” initiative, which is designed to get Veterans into homes as quickly as possible while offering support to help them keep their housing. The initiative runs counter to programs that require Veterans to be deemed “housing ready” before they’re eligible for a home.

A study released this month by the University of California, Los Angeles, found Housing First was effective in helping homeless Veterans access housing and remain in their homes. Researchers credited the initiative with a nearly 50% reduction in homeless Veterans nationwide since 2009. That year, 73,000 Veterans were homeless, compared with 36,000 in 2020.

Efforts to sustain Housing First have continued, the researchers said, but they found strong leadership and community partnerships were necessary for it to remain effective over time.

Funding for the HUD-VASH program has continued to increase over the years. On Thursday, Congress approved a federal spending bill for 2022 that would allocate $2.2 billion for the VA’s homelessness programs. It includes $735 million for the HUD-VASH program — about $100 million more than last year. President Joe Biden is expected to sign the bill.

Biden’s administration is already looking toward the 2023 budget, and the VA is expected to soon release its requests for next year.

Monet testified to Congress on March 2 that the VA should get an additional $150 million in 2023 for the HUD-VASH program, including about $50 million to hire more case managers who work with Veterans to help them stay in their homes.

Case managers are in extremely high demand in the Los Angeles area, which makes it difficult for the VA to have enough, Monet said.

“What I hear from providers out in Los Angeles is that it’s a really competitive employment market,” she said. “It’s competitive for employers, so case managers can pick and choose.”

Continuing with the Housing First approach, McDonough established new goals for HUD-VASH vouchers in 2022. He ordered the staff in Los Angeles to make certain at least 75% of the vouchers allotted to Veterans in the area are used successfully to subsidize their housing. McDonough also wants to increase the number of vouchers that are used within 90 days of being issued. He asked the Los Angeles VA to help bring that rate to 50%.

Veterans often will be awarded vouchers but are unable to find rental units where the landlords permit tenants who use them. That problem is particularly stark in Los Angeles, where there are low vacancy rates, and the housing market is fast paced.

Seventy-five percent remains well below the national average for voucher utilization rates, but it would be a significant increase for the Los Angeles area, McDonough said.

“If we can get it done in the tightest housing market in the country, we can get it done anywhere,” he said.

The problem of voucher utilization is the largest obstacle to housing Veterans in Los Angeles, Monet argued.

“I think the vouchers are great, but if you don't have a lot of housing units in which to use them, it can be challenging,” she said. “Their housing stock is one of the biggest issues.”

Faced with low inventory of housing, the VA is working to create some of its own.

An abundance of space

When you exit off the busy Wilshire Boulevard and onto the VA campus in West Los Angeles, the traffic thins and the space between buildings widens.

The land was donated to the government in 1888 by a wealthy California landowner who wanted the area to be used to provide health care and homes for disabled Veterans. There are several historic structures on the campus, and most of the buildings were built in the Spanish Colonial Revival style, with their characteristic red-tile roofs and stucco walls.

Many of the buildings now sit vacant, some because of their states of disrepair and others because the coronavirus pandemic pushed employees out of their offices.

The campus contains a nine-hole golf course, a Japanese garden and plenty of open space. There are 388 acres in total, and exactly how to use the land has been the subject of serious debate in the past several years.

In late February, construction workers were busy restoring two large buildings on the campus into permanent housing units for Veterans. A third building in the area is already complete and contains about 50 apartments. By the end of the year, the VA expects to have 186 apartments ready for use.

“There is a ton of space out there on the West [Los Angeles] campus,” Monet said. “I'm happy to see that they're finally trying to maximize its usage to address one of the major issues that Veterans in that community are facing.”

The restorations are part of a broader plan, first established in 2016, to build 1,200 subsidized apartments for homeless Veterans on VA grounds.

Progress on the effort has been slow. In 2021, five years after it launched, only 54 units had been finished — about 11% of what was expected to be complete by that time. After an investigation last year, the VA’s Office of Inspector General blamed the delays on land-use issues, environmental impact studies, the need for infrastructure upgrades and challenges with fundraising, among other issues.

Shortly after taking office last year, McDonough promised to give his approval on a master plan for the project by the end of 2021. A 200-page plan was posted to the Federal Register in October, and it garnered more than 1,000 comments that the VA must now aggregate and consider, McDonough said. The plan called for 800 apartments to be under development at the campus by 2023.

McDonough hasn't approved a plan yet. He said in February that a revised master plan would be released to the public soon, but he didn’t offer a date.

“The American people have dedicated resources to this effort,” he said. “We’ll continue to hold ourselves to account. There will be no secrets in the master plan.”

It also remained uncertain how the plan might change based on input from the public. In Monet’s opinion, the plan should include more housing units than the 1,200 initially proposed. There isn’t much empty space left in Los Angeles for development, she argued, and the VA campus has a lot of it.

“One thing I do think a lot about is the golf course there,” Monet said. “People like to golf, and it’s therapeutic for some Veterans. But for some Veterans who are homeless, having a house is therapeutic, too. So, to some degree, I would be comfortable seeing more development on campus.”

A sense of urgency

When McDonough established his initial goals for Veteran homelessness in Los Angeles, staff met those benchmarks and brainstormed ideas such as the tiny shelters, as well as “documentation days,” events at which Veterans could submit all their paperwork to receive government identification.

When asked why the VA couldn’t eliminate Veterans Row and house 705 additional Veterans before McDonough set the goals, the secretary listed two factors: a heightened sense of urgency and additional funding from Congress.

During the coronavirus pandemic, Congress provided the VA’s homelessness programs with an additional $1.5 billion in an effort to get Veterans into safe housing where they could follow social distancing guidelines. In some cases, that included housing Veterans in hotels and motels.

In December, the VA disbursed $20 million to VA medical centers for the purpose of assisting homeless Veterans. The funds came from the American Rescue Plan, a $1.9 trillion economic stimulus bill approved by Congress last spring. The VA was given the authority late last year to use the funds to address homelessness.

The $2.2 billion that Congress approved in its spending deal Thursday would mark the highest-ever budget for Veteran homelessness efforts and a 16% increase over 2021.

“Congress has been very generous with investments,” McDonough said. “The Speaker of the House [Nancy Pelosi] and [President Joe Biden] have been very clear to me, personally, that this is a major priority, and that's why they've set aside significant — even historic — levels of funding to help us to ensure that we get it done.”

During McDonough’s visit to Los Angeles, he asserted the local VA had the funding, partnerships and other tools necessary to reduce homelessness. The final element, he said, was to apply urgency.

“What remains is for us to underscore that we will not tolerate the idea that there’s a homeless Veteran in this country,” he said. “When we internalize that and apply the urgency of our activity to the intensity of that principle, then we have all the other ingredients to get this done.”

While outlining his plans for Veteran homelessness in Los Angeles last year, McDonough claimed the focus there would help spark momentum on the issue across the country. It remains unclear whether that has materialized yet.

McDonough mentioned two locations — New Orleans and Salt Lake City — where he believes improvements have been made, but advocates such as Monet would like to see a more concerted effort in places outside Los Angeles. Monet said she hoped the VA would launch something like a nationwide housing challenge to get other locations involved in addressing the issue.

“I think what’s missing from the conversation is: What is the VA doing to help people anywhere get this done?” she said. “How do we get other VA [medical centers] to do that?”

Monet said she does believe McDonough’s involvement in Los Angeles is “really positive” and creating faster movement there. As their direct supervisor, McDonough’s attention is meaningful to other VA leaders, she said.

The increased focus has resonated with Steve Braverman, director of the VA Greater Los Angeles Healthcare System. Braverman joined McDonough and the rest of the group in February that counted homeless individuals in Skid Row.

The night prior, Braverman spoke to about 50 VA employees who had gathered on the VA campus before setting out to count homeless Veterans throughout the grounds — an effort that was also part of the government’s annual point-in-time count.

Braverman let them know that — as far as Veteran homelessness was concerned — all eyes were on Los Angeles.

“The secretary of the VA has made it very clear that from his perspective, we’re the center of the Veteran homelessness universe,” he said.

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Veterans group asks Congress to expand benefits to those who served on Guam and in Thailand

TAMPA, Fla. (WFLA) – Stories shared by two Tampa Bay area Veterans cast great doubt on the military’s claim that it did not spray the toxic defoliant, Agent Orange on Guam.

When those two Veterans died, their stories shared by 8 On Your Side inspired others to take their fight to Congress.

So the calls on Congressional offices continue.

According to former Marine Brian Moyer, a bill providing benefits to Veterans exposed to toxic herbicides while serving onGuam now has 85 co-sponsors in the House.

“The past two days we’ve been working the Senate side of the bill,” said Moyer who is working with Military Veterans Advocacy to expand benefits to Veterans of Guam andThailand.

Contamination on Guam became a hot issue 3 years ago when from a wheelchair in his Lakeland home, Air Force Veteran Leroy Foster tearfully confessed he sprayed hundreds of thousands of gallons of Agent Orange around U-S military bases there, exposing tens of thousands of service members and their families.

“I was spraying the most deadliest substance on earth and I am responsible for it,” Foster stated. Leroy Foster suffered from scores of illnesses before he died in 2018.

Navy Veteran Lonnie Kilpatrick ofPascoCounty was also based onGuam. Lonnie worked in top-secret electronic warfare and was exposed to the toxic defoliant.

“After they sprayed, it just turned a burnt orange,” Kilpatrick said. “Made everything dusty. Everything died, it was that quick.”

Agent Orange produces the powerful toxic dioxin linked to 14 illnesses, many of them are deadly.

2 years ago, from his death bed, Kilpatrick lamented that the VA denied his claim for Agent Orange benefits. The Department of Defense denied spraying it onGuam.

8 On Your Side asked Rep. Gus Bilirakis (R)-Fla to get involved. Congressman Bilirakis convinced the D-O-D to open Lonnie’s classified file.

“It was definitely clear that he worked in a particular area where Agent Orange was definitely sprayed,” Representative Bilirakis said.

The VA awarded Lonnie Kilpatrick health care and disability benefits. He died weeks later.

Brian Moyer traveled toGuam last year to gather evidence for the bill named after Lonnie. He showed the Environmental Protection Agency where spraying occurred.

“I had a phone call from contact with us, EPA and told me they got positive detections for dioxin at all locations that we went to,” Brian Moyer said.

Moyer expects an official report from the EPA later this spring. By then he hopes he will have support from some Republicans in the Senate.

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U.S. military communities in Washington, D.C., San Diego, and San Antonio are among the first in the Department of Defense to receive the COVID-19 vaccine Dec. 14 as part of the DOD’s initial distribution plan.

Walter Reed National Military Medical Center (WRNMMC) in Bethesda, Maryland, started vaccinating select medical staff for COVID-19 Monday, with acting Secretary of Defense Christopher Miller on hand to witness the initial shots and receive one himself.

"This is a very important day, not just for the Department of Defense, but for our nation," Miller said before getting his vaccination.

Seven months after President Donald Trump announced Operation Warp Speed and the goal to deliver a vaccine by January 2021, "today... the very first Americans are being inoculated by a safe and highly effective vaccine," Miller said.

"Our service members, DOD civilians, and their families have demonstrated remarkable endurance and sacrifice throughout the pandemic," he added. "We know that our collective sacrifice would accelerate the path to a cure and save lives."

Miller said that because of the DOD's precision logistics, "the first shipments of vaccines are arriving securely at hundreds of distribution sites around the country as we speak," he added.

In addition to WRNMMC, Naval Medical Center San Diego in California and the Air Force's 59th Medical Wing in San Antonio, Texas, also received their first shipment Monday and expect to begin vaccinations Tuesday.

These are the first of an initial 16 DOD sites to receive authorized COVID-19 vaccines as part of the DOD’s phased approach to distribute and administer COVID-19 vaccines.

Last week, the Pentagon outlined the DOD's plan to vaccinate its population of approximately 11.1 million.

“Our goal is to be transparent with the force about what is happening and to encourage our personnel to use the vaccine,” said Pentagon Spokesman Jonathan Hoffman during a DOD press briefing last week with Assistant Secretary of Defense for Health Affairs Thomas McCaffery and Army Lt. Gen. Ronald Place, Defense Health Agency director.

McCaffery and Place said the phased, standardized, and coordinated strategy for prioritizing, distributing, and administering COVID-19 vaccines was developed in collaboration with Operation Warp Speed, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), and the DOD’s COVID Task Force assessment of unique mission requirements.

It “will provide the COVID vaccine to DOD uniformed service members, both active and selective reserve components, including members of the National Guard, dependents, retirees, civilian employees, and select DOD contract personnel as authorized in accordance with DOD policy,” added McCaffery.

Priority populations and selected locations

Based on the limited initial availability, DOD is slated to receive an allotment of just under 44,000 doses of the Pfizer vaccine for this first week, which will be distributed in proportion to population size of selected sites. The Pfizer vaccine was approved for emergency use authorization Dec. 11 by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

The DOD locations were selected because they meet several unique criteria that best support the initial distribution and administration plan, according to McCaffery. For example, all 16 locations meet the unique supply-chain requirements for initial vaccines, such as the capability for ultra-cold storage.

Additionally, all sites serve a sizable DOD population with priority personnel across all military services who will receive the vaccine before other members of the healthy DOD population — including health care providers and support personnel, residents and staff of DOD long-term care facilities, other essential workers such as emergency responders and security personnel, and high-risk beneficiaries. And they all have sufficient medical personnel to administer the vaccines and monitor recipients.

Vaccine safety

Even though the vaccine cannot be mandated under the terms of the emergency use authorization, the department is strongly encouraging everyone to get it to “protect yourselves, your families, your shipmates, your wingmen, your battle buddies, and your communities,” said Place. “The preliminary data on the safety and effectiveness of the two vaccine candidates is highly encouraging.”

As with most vaccines, Place explained, there is a chance some recipients will experience slight adverse effects, such as arm soreness, fatigue, and fever.

“The department will be fully transparent about any adverse effects that are reported and share this information with the CDC,” said the DHA director. However, as a physician, he advised everyone to get the vaccine. “The risk of these vaccines, from what we know, is much less than the risk of the actual disease process.”

Vaccines are only available after they are demonstrated to be safe and effective in phase 3 clinical trials, have been authorized by FDA, and have been manufactured and distributed safely and securely. Additionally, the DOD has decades of experience with conducting global vaccine programs — whether it’s annual flu campaigns or protection against novel diseases around the world.

“We vaccinate millions of our service members and families and retirees of every age every year, and we have systems in place to monitor the health of everyone who receives a vaccine,” Place said.

Mitigation during phased distribution

As a result of the gradual approach, DOD will continue to distribute vaccines in a phased format, “adding additional prioritized personnel and additional prioritized locations until allocations of the vaccine reach 60 percent of our DOD, roughly 11.1 million personnel," explained McCaffery.

Once the 60 percent threshold is reached, DOD anticipates vaccine manufacturing rates to support full-scale, unrestricted vaccine distribution to department personnel. At that point, DOD intends to distribute the vaccine in the same way it conducts its annual flu vaccine program.

“I’m extremely confident the department’s plan … provides a very clear roadmap to protect our entire DOD population across the globe against the pandemic,” said McCaffery. “This has been a tough year for all Americans, and I’m inspired by the perseverance and commitment of the men and women of the department and the Military Health System. Together we’re working as a team to protect all entrusted to our care.”

DOD health officials stressed the need to continue wearing appropriate face coverings, practice physical distancing, wash hands, and following local and installation force health protection guidelines until a large portion of the DOD population is vaccinated.

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The Government Accountability Office has recommended that the Department of Veterans Affairs stop work on its new electronic health record (EHR) modernization program to conduct “critical” tests before launching at any more medical centers.

The EHR system has faced critical shortfalls and the VA hasn’t completed tests that could result in the failure of the system at the heart of the 10-year, $16 billion modernization program, the GAO states in a report released Thursday.

The system is currently live at a Spokane, Washington medical center with no major reported issues. But as the program continues to be rolled out, the VA’s new health care IT system could falter, the GAO report cautions. Thus, the GAO recommends that the VA “postpone deployment of its new EHR system at planned locations until any resulting critical and high severity test findings are appropriately addressed.”

While the VA responded to the report’s findings by “concurring in principle,” it told FedScoop that it doesn’t plan to stop the rollout.

“The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) does not plan to stop the launch of VA’s new electronic health record system,” the VA said in a statement. “VA appreciates the opportunity to review the recent Government Accountability Office (GAO) report regarding the progress of VA’s Electronic Health Record Modernization (EHRM) program and the disposition of test findings in relation to subsequent deployments.”

The GAO had a stark warning for VA if it doesn’t properly test and evaluate the system.

“If VA does not close or appropriately address all critical and high severity test findings prior to deploying at future locations, the system may not perform as intended,” the report warned.

However, the VA said that its current rate of testing and risk mitigation strategy will suffice.

While the GAO doesn’t have the grounds to force the VA to do anything, its reports are used by lawmakers who can censure the department leadership in congressional hearings and require them to take action.

The VA apparently disagreed with some of the specifics in the GAO recommendations. After reviewing a draft version of the report, the VA asked the GAO to change some of the report’s language to soften its negative tone.

“Specifically, in the title [Office of Electronic Health Records Modernization] recommends changing the phrase ‘…but Subsequent Test Findings Will Need to Be Addressed’ to read ‘..and Test Findings are being Addressed,'” the report states.

GAO declined, saying its “recommendations are appropriate, as presented.”

At the time of the first “go-live” in October, congressional aides had concerns with the launch. One told FedScoop at the time the VA was only “5 percent” ready. The next leg of the rollout is scheduled to be at the Puget Sound Health Care System in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2021.

Despite congressional and GAO concerns, the VA remains confident in the systems it developed and its processes for dealing with future bumps in the road.

“VA has made significant progress over the last few months and we are well-positioned to continue moving forward while minimizing impact to providers and Veterans,” the VA told FedScoop. “VA is taking every precaution to deliver a safe and effective system for our clinicians and users and remains committed to getting this right for our Veterans.

The EHR system has faced previous delays due to inconsistencies in system performance and a need for more testing. VA staff leading the EHR program told FedScoop in October at the launch “we are getting positive comments,” despite some “usual jitters” among the staff about using the new technology.

The Department of Defense is also migrating its electronic health records system to the same Cerner Millennium cloud-based platform so that it can be linked to the VA system for the seamless transfer of records when service members retire.

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The Gary Sinise Foundation is dedicated to helping wounded Veterans

Actor Gary Sinise announced Tuesday on "Fox & Friends" he's moving his non-profit foundation and his family from Los Angeles to Nashville, Tennessee.

Sinise told hosts Brian Kilmeade, Steve Doocy and Ainsley Earhardt it was a family decision to make the cross-country move.

"After so many decades and some great successes here in California in the movie and television business, we wanted to change," he said.

The star of "Forrest Gump" created a charity and Veterans service organization called the Gary Sinise Foundation, which offers a variety of programs, services and events for wounded Veterans.

Sinise said the decision was motivated by not having to pay state income tax in Tennessee and having his band, the Lt. Dan Band, in the Nashville area.

"I looked at all those no-tax states. … But I have many, many friends in the country music business and filmmaker friends in Nashville. There is all kinds of production going on in the Nashville area. It is a great no-tax state as you mentioned. It will be good for the foundation," he said, adding Tennessee is more "centrally located" near military bases.

Sinise said many of his employees made the move with him.

"Most of the folks are out of California now and operating in the new space in the Nashville area. We have had to repopulate the staff with a great group of new people. So we are rebuilding. We’ve got a great new CEO. We’ve got a great leadership team," he said.

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Actor Gary Sinise recently received the Fox Nation Patriot Award for his outstanding ‘Service to Veterans’

Emmy-award winning actor and philanthropist Gary Sinise has made it his "lifelong mission" to support and give thanks to our nation’s heroes.

"For me personally, the events of September 11, 2001 are seared into my memory. And afterwards, there was our nation’s collective grief, a numbness and a fear we all shared, and I quite simply, at that terrible time, felt that my heart was breaking," Sinise told Fox News Digital on Tuesday. "It was through service work that I found healing for my broken heart. And I have continued that work ever since."

Sinise shared what he’s thankful for this holiday season with Fox News Digital, ahead of Thanksgiving and less than one week after receiving the "Service to Veterans" honor at the fourth annual Fox Nation Patriot Awards.

"Supporting our nation’s heroes is my lifelong mission and I will continue to serve it faithfully," Sinise said. "It’s an honor to be recognized and the best part is that I get to, in turn, shine a light and recognize the true heroes who serve our country."

In 2011, after spending the previous decade volunteering with other organizations, Sinise decided to take humanitarian efforts into his own hands and launched his nonprofit, the Gary Sinise Foundation. Through the Foundation, Sinise said he’s been "blessed" with opportunities to expand service efforts, providing the military, Veteran and first responder communities with additional fundraising and outreach.

"The mission of the Gary Sinise Foundation is broad, and this is a reflection of the needs I’ve seen over the many years supporting so many amazing organizations," Sinise said. "And the Foundation’s mission is designed to also give us the freedom and flexibility to adapt to the ever-changing needs of our Veterans, first responders, and the families who sacrifice alongside them."

Many Americans may recognize Sinise for one of his most iconic movie roles, the rough and tough – yet beloved – Lt. Dan in 'Forrest Gump.' Having grown up with many Veterans in his own family before taking on the role, it was Lt. Dan’s story and transformation that drew Sinise to the character.

"Unlike many of the movies released depicting the Vietnam War Veteran in the ‘70s and ’80s, Lt. Dan had a happy ending. Before ‘Forrest Gump,’ it was unusual for a Vietnam Vet to have a hopeful conclusion," Sinise noted. "But at the end of Lt. Dan’s story, after going through so much hardship, you know he is going to be all right. He has persevered through his challenges, he is successful at business, he’s wealthy, he’s married, he’s happy, and standing up on his own ‘magic legs.’"

Sinise further described the "invaluable" bond and enduring connection Lt. Dan has created with America’s military and Veterans communities, as well as civilians.

"The response to Lt. Dan was overwhelming and made a major and lasting impact on my life," Sinise said. "Whenever I went overseas or visited our wounded, everyone would call me Lt. Dan."

"The character inspired so much joy and hope, and still does. Lt. Dan’s ending is what we hope for all our nation’s heroes: happy and moving beyond the war years toward a brighter future."

And Sinise is helping define that brighter future. From building smart homes and making mobility modifications for Veterans, to hosting an annual trip to Walt Disney World for Gold Star families, Sinise expressed that each of the Foundation’s programs holds a "very special" meaning.

The actor and patriot also showed admiration for media or movies that shine a positive light on true Veteran stories, such as the 2016 film "Hacksaw Ridge," which tells the tale of Medal of Honor recipient Desmond Doss, an Army medic who saved the lives of nearly 75 wounded.

"Regardless of whether you are left or right, Republican or Democrat, conservative, liberal, whatever, our defenders defend us all," Sinise said, "and having been in the military community for so long, I have met extraordinary people serving our country."

"We all need heroes, people to look up to and aspire to," Sinise continued. "I think that we, as a grateful nation, can always do a little more to support them in their time of need."

"We all have Veterans in our local community, so many who struggle in silence. Reach out to lend a helping hand. And if you feel so inspired, support organizations who uplift them. At the Gary Sinise Foundation, we do just that 365 days a year."

The Gary Sinise Foundation "is constantly firing on all cylinders," according to its founder, who added that their team is always finding more ways to serve and honor our nation’s heroes.

"Everything that we do is made possible through the generous support of hundreds of thousands of generous and grateful Americans who trust us to be the conduit of their love and gratitude to those who serve," Sinise said.

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HARRISBURG, PA —The United States Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Pennsylvania announced that Geisinger Community Health Services (GCHS) has agreed to pay $18,513,621.05 to resolve allegations of civil liability for submitting claims to Medicare for hospice and home health services that violated Medicare rules and regulations. GCHS voluntarily disclosed the violations.

According to the voluntary disclosures, between January 2012 and December 2017, through several affiliated entities, GCHS submitted claims to Medicare for hospice and home health services that violated Medicare rules and regulations regarding physician certifications of terminal illness, patient elections of hospice care, and physician face-to-face encounters with home health patients. After it discovered the problems, GCHS took corrective action and disclosed the matter to the United States Attorney’s Office.

“The $18 million payment in this matter reflects the priority healthcare providers should place on making sure they closely follow all Medicare rules and regulations,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Brandler. “Healthcare fraud remains a focus of the Department of Justice and the Affirmative Civil Enforcement Unit of the United States Attorney’s Office. I commend GCHS for taking this seriously, voluntarily disclosing these issues to our office and working to address the problems that led to these violations.”

This matter was handled by the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), Office of Counsel to the Inspector General (OCIG), the Justice Department’s Civil Division Commercial Litigation Branch, Fraud Section, and AUSA Tamara Haken of the Affirmative Civil Enforcement Unit of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Pennsylvania.

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Columbia, South Carolina---- Acting United States Attorney M. Rhett DeHart announced today that his office has resolved claims that Alpha Genomix Laboratories, Inc. paid unlawful kickbacks to Aiken Counseling Group, LLC to induce genetic testing referrals, from April 2015 through December 2016.

The United States alleges that during this time period, Alpha Genomix disguised its kickbacks by paying the salary of an individual who primarily worked for Aiken Counseling Group. Further, the United States alleged most of the referrals were not legitimately ordered by a physician and were medically unnecessary. Medicare and South Carolina Medicaid paid for these fraudulent claims, which violated the Anti-Kickback Statute and the False Claims Act. Alpha Genomix Laboratories, Inc. will pay a $35,000 settlement upfront and a percentage of gross annual revenues up to a total of $200,000 to resolve the claims.

The allegations settled arose from a lawsuit filed by a psychiatrist formerly employed by Aiken Counseling Group, under the whistleblower provisions of the False Claims Act. Under the act, private citizens can bring suit on behalf of the government for false claims and share between 15 and 30% of the recovery.

The owner of the Aiken Counseling Group, Lain Bradford, was sentenced in February 2020 to three years of probation and ordered to pay restitution, after pleading guilty to health care fraud and drug offenses in a related case. Aiken Counseling Group filed for Chapter 7 Bankruptcy in January 2018 and is no longer in business.

Since the allegations, Alpha Genomix Laboratories was sold to new ownership.

The Alpha Genomix Laboratories, Inc. matter was investigated by the Office of the Inspector General of the Department of Health and Human Services, the South Carolina Attorney General’s Medicaid Fraud Control Unit, and Assistant United States Attorney Beth Warren.

“Providers participating in Medicare and Medicaid are expected to uphold the integrity of the programs,” stated Derrick L. Jackson, Special Agent in Charge with the Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General (HHS-OIG). “Companies that seek unmerited payment for unnecessary and illegitimate services abuse the programs and divert funds meant to improve the health and prolong the lives of beneficiaries. HHS-OIG and our partners will actively pursue those who commit health care fraud.”

The litigation and settlement 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 this settlement are allegations only. Alpha Genomix Laboratories, Inc. does not admit wrongdoing or liability.

The case is captioned United States ex rel. Jane Doe, M.D. v. Aiken Counseling Group, LLC and Alpha Genomix Laboratories, Inc.

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National Health Care Fraud Enforcement Action Results in Charges Involving over $1.4 Billion in Alleged Losses

CHARLOTTE, N.C. – A Georgia man is facing federal charges for an illegal kickback scheme that has defrauded the North Carolina Medicaid program of more than $4 million, announced William T. Stetzer, Acting U.S. Attorney for the Western District of North Carolina. Specifically, a criminal bill of information charges Glenn Pair, 35, formerly of North Carolina now residing in Georgia, with conspiracy to commit Medicaid fraud and money laundering.

“The Medicaid program provides medical services to qualified North Carolinians in need of assistance. It’s not a piggy bank for cheats and fraudsters,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Stetzer. “The U.S. Attorney’s Office will hold accountable those who engage in get-rich-schemes that exploit government programs and deprive important resources from those in real need.”

“North Carolina’s Medicaid program is meant to help the most vulnerable people in our community. Anyone who thinks they can manipulate the system should know the FBI will work tirelessly to make sure they pay dearly,” said FBI Special Agent in Charge Robert R. Wells.

“IRS Criminal Investigation is committed to unraveling complex financial transactions and money laundering schemes where individuals attempt to conceal the true source of their money. Individuals who engage in this type of financial fraud should know they will not go undetected and will be held accountable,” said Acting Special Agent in Charge Mona Passmore for the Charlotte Field Office of Internal Revenue Service Criminal Division.

As alleged in the charging document, Pair was a partner and operator of Everlasting Vitality, LLC (EV) and Do-It-4-The Hood Corporation (D4H). From January 2016 through November 2018, Pair and his co-conspirators paid individuals to recruit at-risk youths, in particular children who were Medicaid eligible, for EV’s or D4H’s after-school and youth mentoring programs. Once enrolled, children were required to submit urine specimens for drug testing. Pair and his co-conspirators allegedly conspired with certain laboratories to perform the drug testing of the enrolled children’s urine specimens submitted and received kickbacks once the laboratories were reimbursed by the North Carolina Medicaid.

Pair and his conspirators also allegedly conspired to defraud North Carolina Medicaid by providing client information used by certain laboratories to file other fraudulent reimbursement claims. For example, on some occasions, Pair and his co-conspirators obtained personal identifying information (PII) of D4H clients, such as names, addresses, dates of birth, and Medicaid beneficiary numbers, which the laboratories used to submit drug testing claims to the North Carolina Medicaid that were fraudulent because, among other reasons, the drug tests were not medically necessary, or the urine specimens were not of the Medicaid beneficiaries under whose names they were submitted. Once the laboratories were reimbursed by North Carolina Medicaid, they paid companies under the control of Pair and others a percentage of the Medicaid reimbursements.

As the bill of information alleges, the drug testing laboratories involved in the scheme submitted over $16 million in fraudulent claims to Medicaid and received $4 million in reimbursements, of which they paid more than $1.5 million in illegal kickbacks to Pair and his co-conspirators.

Pair is the second defendant charged in the scheme. Pair’s co-conspirator, Markuetric Stringfellow, was sentenced in February 2021 to 78 months in prison and was ordered pay $5,278,550 in restitution for his role in the conspiracy.

In making today’s announcement Acting U.S. Attorney Stetzer thanked the FBI, IRS-Criminal Investigations and the North Carolina Medicaid Investigations Division for their investigation of the case.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael E. Savage, of the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Charlotte, is prosecuting the case.

A bill of information is merely an allegation, and the defendant is presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

* * *

The Department of Justice announced today criminal charges against 138 defendants for their alleged participation in various healthcare fraud schemes that resulted in approximately $1.4 billion in alleged losses. Nationwide, the charges target approximately $1.1 billion in fraud committed using telemedicine, $29 million in COVID-19 health care fraud, $133 million connected to substance abuse treatment facilities, or “sober homes,” and $160 million connected to other health care fraud and illegal opioid distribution schemes across the country.

“This nationwide enforcement action demonstrates that the Criminal Division is at the forefront of the fight against health care fraud and opioid abuse by prosecuting those who have exploited health care benefit programs and their patients for personal gain,” said Assistant Attorney General Kenneth A. Polite Jr. of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division. “The charges announced today send a clear deterrent message and should leave no doubt about the department’s ongoing commitment to ensuring the safety of patients and the integrity of health care benefit programs, even amid a continued pandemic.”

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Christopher A. Parris, 41, formerly of Rochester, New York, and currently of Lawrenceville, Georgia, pleaded guilty today to conspiracy to commit mail fraud related to a Ponzi scheme, as well as to wire fraud involving the fraudulent sale of purported N95 masks during the pandemic.

“The fraud schemes at issue here, including the purported sales of personal protective equipment that the defendant could not actually provide, are particularly egregious,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General Brian M. Boynton of the Justice Department’s Civil Division. “The Department of Justice is committed to prosecuting anyone who would try to profit through this kind of conduct.”

“Defendant Parris, together with his co-defendant Perry Santillo, bilked millions of dollars from unsuspecting investors in their Ponzi scheme,” said U.S. Attorney James P. Kennedy Jr. for the Western District of New York. “Their web of deceit spread far and wide as they purchased established investment advisor or broker businesses from across the country in order to gain access to new victims. This office remains committed to working with all of our partners to identify and bring to justice those who seek to enrich themselves by defrauding others.”

“Preying on companies and the Department of Veterans Affairs as they sought to protect their employees and patients from this pandemic is beyond the pale,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Channing D. Phillips for the District of Columbia. “The department and our law enforcement partners will catch and stop those who take advantage of public health emergencies to perpetrate such frauds.”

“The U.S. Postal Inspection Service aggressively conducts investigations of those who fraudulently use the U.S. Mail to facilitate complex fraud schemes,” said Acting Inspector in Charge Joshua W. McCallister of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, Boston Division. “Today’s plea demonstrates our ongoing work with law enforcement partners to stop those who are engaged in these types of fraudulent activities.”

“Financial frauds are grounded in greed, so it's no surprise that when multiple people are behind a single scheme the greed runs deeper and the damage hits harder,” said Special Agent-in-Charge Stephen Belongia of the Buffalo Office of the FBI. “The only guarantee in a Ponzi scheme is that it will fall short, and the founders who contrived them will too.”

“The urgent need to protect Veterans and VA health care workers during this fast-moving pandemic required the Department of Veterans Affairs to rapidly purchase personal protective equipment” said Inspector General Michael J. Missal of the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). “Working with our law enforcement partners, the VA Office of Inspector General (OIG) stopped a criminal who was attempting to profit from this horrible crisis and prevented the government and taxpayers from being defrauded of hundreds of millions of dollars. The VA OIG will continue to work zealously to ensure schemes like this are uncovered, investigated and prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.”

“Since the onset of the pandemic, HSI quickly adapted to investigate the increasing and evolving threat posed by COVID-19-related fraud and criminal activity,” said Acting Special Agent in Charge Jack P. Staton of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), New Orleans Field Office. “This guilty plea is a testament to the commitment we have, along with our law enforcement partners, to protecting the American public in times of crisis.”

The Ponzi Scheme

Between January 2011 and June 2018, Parris conspired with co-defendant Perry Santillo and others to obtain money through an investment fraud, commonly known as a Ponzi scheme. Specifically, in 2007, Parris and Santillo, as equal partners, formed a business known as Lucian Development in Rochester. Prior to approximately July 2007, Lucian Development raised millions of dollars from investors in Rochester, and elsewhere, by soliciting investments for City Capital Corporation, a business operated by Ephren Taylor. In July 2007, Parris and Santillo were advised by Ephren Taylor that their investors’ money had been lost. In response, in August 2007, Parris and Santillo agreed to acquire the assets and debts of City Capital Corporation. The acquisition proved financially ruinous, with the amount of the acquired debt far exceeding the value of the acquired assets. Taylor was later prosecuted and convicted of operating a Ponzi scheme.

Subsequently, Parris and Santillo chose not to disclose the truth to investors that their money, entrusted to Lucian Development for investment in City Capital Corporation, was gone. Instead, Parris and Santillo continued to solicit ever-increasing amounts of money from new investors in an unsuccessful attempt to recoup the losses. In order to find potential investors to solicit and defraud, Parris and Santillo purchased businesses from established investment advisors or brokers who were looking to exit their businesses. Between approximately 2008 and September 2017, Parris and Santillo, using money obtained from prior investors, purchased the businesses of at least 15 investment advisors or brokers, located in Tennessee, Ohio, Minnesota, Nevada, California (five businesses), Florida, South Carolina (two businesses), Texas, Pennsylvania, Maryland and Indiana.

The investment offerings pitched by Parris and Santillo consisted principally of unsecured promissory notes and preferred stock issued by various entities controlled by Parris and Santillo. Potential investors were offered an apparent array of investment options to create the illusion of a diversified investment portfolio. Those investment options included products issued by purported issuers such as First Nationle Solutions (FNS), Percipience Global Corporation, United RL Capital Services, Boyles America, Middlebury Development Corporation and NexMedical Solutions, among others. None of these issuers had substantial bona fide business operations or used investor money in the manner and for the purposes represented to investors. To the extent that an issuer may have had some minor legitimate business activities, it was not profitable, and insufficient revenues were generated to pay investors any returns (let alone return the principal amounts of their investments).

Over the years, to keep the Ponzi scheme from being detected, a substantial portion of incoming new investor monies were depleted by making promised interest and other payments to earlier investors. Most of the rest of incoming investor money was used by Parris, Santillo and other co-conspirators to finance lavish lifestyles of the conspirators, their families and associates; to expand the scheme by purchasing investment advisor/brokerage businesses to obtain access to fresh investors; and to pay operating expenses – salaries for a sales force and administrative staff, office rents and related expenses, housing for employees, and interest on loans – all of which were used to keep the scheme going and maintain a façade of legitimate business operations.

Very little investor money was deployed in productive investments, and when so deployed, the investments yielded meager income and were not profitable, or failed altogether. The Ponzi scheme was headquartered and based out of locations in Rochester, with a number of satellite offices around the country. Administrative and banking functions were largely performed out of Rochester. The conspiracy employed a variety of salespeople, including Parris and Santillo, who traveled around the country to meet with and solicit new investors.

Between January 2012 and June 19, 2018, Parris and Santillo obtained at least $115.5 million from approximately 1,000 investors. By the time the scheme collapsed in late-2017/early 2018, Parris and Santillo, doing business through an array of corporate entities, had returned approximately $44.8 million to investors as part of their scheme, but continued to owe investors approximately $70.7 million in principal.

Among the Rochester area victims of the Ponzi scheme were the following:

• A resident of Webster, New York, who held a total asset value of $94,341.89 with a fictitious company known as First Nationle Solutions (FNS), which, as of Dec. 31, 2017, was in fact worthless or close to worthless; and
• A resident of Victor, New York, and his wife, who invested approximately $221,758.67 with FNS and Middlebury Development. The couple received three payments of $2,500 but lost approximately $214,258.67.

Parris and Santillo controlled hundreds of different business bank accounts opened under numerous different business names at various financial institutions, including but not limited to Bank of America, Citizens Bank, Genesee Regional Bank and ESL Federal Credit Union. Santillo and Parris directed and authorized the transactions that occurred in the accounts, including deposits, withdrawals, check writing and funds transfers. The various bank accounts were used to transfer money from one account to another. Incoming investor money was routinely transferred through several accounts before the funds were finally spent on whatever purpose Parris and/or Santillo authorized. By moving investors’ funds through various accounts in various entity names, Parris and Santillo were able to conceal and obscure the fact that new investor money was being used to repay earlier investors, finance the operations of the Ponzi scheme, and fund their lifestyles.

Santillo was previously convicted and is awaiting sentencing.

The COVID-19 Fraud Scheme

Parris also pleaded guilty in a case originally charged in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia to defrauding the U.S. Department of Veterans’ Affairs (VA), as well as at least eight other victim companies, in a scheme involving personal protection equipment (PPE). Between February and April 10, 2020, the defendant, as the owner and operator of Encore Health Group, a company based in Atlanta, that purported to broker medical equipment, offered to sell scarce PPE, including 3M-brand N95 respirator masks, to various medical supply companies and governmental entities. In these proposals, Parris knowingly misrepresented his access to, and ability to obtain and deliver on time, vast quantities of 3M N95 masks and other PPE. The defendant falsely represented that he was able to obtain 3M N95 masks directly from authorized sources in the United States, when in fact, he had no ready access to 3M factories or 3M N95 masks or other PPE, no proven source of supply, and no track record of procuring and delivering such items.

For example, in March 2021, Parris offered to sell the VA 125 million 3M N95 masks at a cost of $6.45 per mask. In this process, the defendant attempted to obtain an upfront payment of $3.075 million from the VA, even though he knew at the time that he had no access to the promised masks or present ability to deliver the promised masks.

As part of his guilty plea, Parris admitted that, in addition to attempting to defraud the VA, he actually obtained upfront payments totaling approximately $7.4 million from at least eight clients for 3M N95 masks that he knew he had no access to or present ability to obtain or deliver on time. Parris also admitted that the proceeds of the scheme totaled approximately $6,218,525. In total, Parris sought orders in excess of $65 million for the non-existent PPE equipment.

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Parris is scheduled to be sentenced on Dec. 8 before U.S. District Judge Frank P. Geraci Jr. He faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison for conspiracy regarding the Ponzi scheme, 30 years in prison for wire fraud in connection to a presidentially-declared emergency, and 10 years in prison for committing the offense originally charged in the District of Columbia while on release from the Western District of New York.

The plea is the result of an investigation by the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, under the direction of Acting Inspector-in-Charge Joshua W. McCallister of the Boston Division; the FBI, Buffalo Division, under the direction of Special Agent-in-Charge Stephen Belongia, the IRS, Criminal Investigation Division, under the direction of Thomas Fattorusso, Acting Special Agent-in-Charge; the U.S. Department of Labor, Office of Inspector General, Office of Investigations – Labor Racketeering and Fraud, under the direction of Nikitas Splagounias, Acting Special Agent-in-Charge, New York Region, the New York State Department of Financial Services, under the direction of Superintendent Linda A. Lacewell; the Securities and Exchange Commission; the VA OIG, under the direction of Michael J. Missal, Inspector General, and HSI, under the direction of Acting Special Agent in Charge Jack P. Staton of the New Orleans Field Office.

Assistant U.S. Attorney John J. Field is handling the prosecution in the Western District of New York, and Trial Attorney Patrick Runkle of the Civil Division’s Consumer Protection Branch and Assistant U.S. Attorney Peter Lallas are handling the prosecution in the District of Columbia.

On May 17, 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 visit https://www.justice.gov/coronavirus.

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Miami, Florida -- A Georgia man was sentenced yesterday to over 11 years in federal prison for defrauding Tricare of approximately $12 million through a South Florida compounding pharmacy fraud scheme. Tricare is the health care benefit program covering military personnel and their dependents.

According to court documents, 51-year-old Erik Santos and his co-conspirators ran the scheme as follows: Santos paid recruiters to convince Tricare beneficiaries to fill prescriptions for expensive, supposedly tailor-made, compounded medications that the beneficiaries did not need. Santos paid doctors to approve pre-printed prescriptions for large amounts of these medications. The doctors did not see the beneficiaries or otherwise consider their medical needs before approving the prescriptions. Lastly, Santos steered the Tricare beneficiaries to fill their prescriptions with Patient Care America (PCA), a compounding pharmacy located in Broward County, Florida. PCA would bill Tricare for expensive drug formulations that had little to no therapeutic value. Many of the compounded medications were billed to Tricare at $10,000 to $15,000 for a month’s supply, even though the ingredients used in the mixtures were little more than common pain or scar creams. Santos’s fraudulent referrals caused an actual loss to the Tricare program of approximately $12 million. PCA pharmacy paid Santos over $7 million in prescription referral kickbacks.

In addition to the prison sentence, the Court imposed restitution in the amount of $11.8 million and entered a forfeiture judgement of approximately $7.6 million. On January 27, 2021, Santos pled guilty in federal district court in Ft. Lauderdale to one count of conspiring to commit health care fraud and wire fraud.

Acting U.S. Attorney Juan Antonio Gonzalez of the Southern District of Florida, Special Agent in Charge Cynthia A. Bruce of the Defense Criminal Investigative Service (DCIS), Southeast Field Office, and Special Agent in Charge George L. Piro of FBI Miami announced the sentence.

“Criminals steal exorbitant amounts of money from our government health programs through prescription medication fraud schemes. This significant sentence recognizes the seriousness of the crime,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Gonzalez. “Those who use kickbacks and other illegal activity to bilk taxpayer dollars from vital public programs will be held accountable.”

“Billing healthcare programs for medically unnecessary medications not only undermines the viability of those programs, it exploits all citizens,” said DCIS Special Agent in Charge Bruce. “I am pleased with the significant outcome of this investigation and would like to thank the U.S. Attorney’s Office and the investigative team for their tireless effort and great work to hold accountable those who fraudulently bill the Defense Health Agency.”

“Illegal kickbacks undermined the integrity of the Tricare health benefit program by putting profits in front of patient welfare,” said FBI Special Agent in Charge Piro. “The investigators who unraveled this scam are to be commended for their diligence and commitment. The FBI and our partners will continue to pursue those individuals who pay kickbacks and fraudulently bill for medical services that are not necessary.”

DCIS investigated the case with assistance from FBI Miami, and the Food and Drug Administration-Office of Criminal Investigation. The superseding indictment also named CHAMPVA (the Department of Veterans Affairs’ version of Tricare) as a fraud target and the Department of Veterans Affairs-Office of Inspector General assisted with the investigation.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Jon Juenger prosecuted the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Daren Grove is handling the asset forfeiture component of the case.

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Fraudulent orders included knee brace for leg amputee

AUGUSTA, GA: A Rockdale County, Ga., nurse practitioner faces substantial time in federal prison after a jury found her guilty of health care fraud, aggravated identity theft, and other counts in a multimillion-dollar telemedicine fraud scheme.

Sherley L. Beaufils, 43, of Conyers, Ga., was convicted after a two-day trial on charges of an illegal kickback conspiracy, and five counts each of Health Care Fraud, False Statements Related to Health Care, and Aggravated Identity Theft, said David H. Estes, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Georgia. Conviction on the charges subjects Beaufils to a possible statutory sentence of up to 10 years in prison on each count of Health Care Fraud, two years on each count of Aggravated Identity Theft, and five years in prison on all other counts, along with substantial fines and penalties, followed by a period of supervised release upon completion of any prison term. There is no parole in the federal system.

“Indicted in the Southern District as part of the nationwide Operation Brace Yourself initiative targeting healthcare fraud, Sherley Beaufils profited by signing unnecessary orders for orthotic braces for patients she never examined or spoke to,” said U.S. Attorney Estes. “Her greed was her undoing – and she is now being held accountable for targeting the elderly with her serial fraud.”

As described in court documents and testimony, Beaufils, as a nurse practitioner, facilitated orders for more than 3,000 orthotic braces that generated more than $3 million in fraudulent or excessive charges to Medicare. Co-conspirators captured the identities of senior citizens, identified through a telemarketing scheme, and bundled that information as “leads.”

Beaufils then signed her name to fake medical records, in which she falsely claimed she provided examinations of those patients, and then created orders for orthotic braces for patients she never met or spoke with – including a knee brace for an amputee, and a back brace for a recently deceased patient – and other durable medical equipment, in exchange for money. Beaufils’s fraudulent orders were then sold to companies that would generate reimbursement from Medicare.

Beaufils was found not guilty at trial of one additional charge of conspiracy.

“Today, this defendant found out what health care providers who defraud Medicare are finding out all over America: fraudsters will be held accountable for their greed-fueled fraud schemes,” said Special Agent in Charge Tamala E. Miles of the Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General. “Our investigators will continue to work closely with our state and federal law enforcement partners to protect federal health care programs from such scams.”

“The level of greed shown by Beaufils in this case is shocking, as she lined her pockets at the expense of American taxpayers and government funded healthcare programs,” said Philip Wislar, Acting Special Agent in Charge of FBI Atlanta. “Health care costs are driven up when doctors and staff bill for unnecessary and incomplete services, and the FBI and our partners will use every resource necessary to put a stop to it.”

The case was investigated by the FBI and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General, and prosecuted for the United States by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Jonathan A. Porter and Patricia G. Rhodes.

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ATLANTA – Carenow Services, LLC, a Roswell-based psychotherapy services provider, as well as its CEO Leena Karun (collectively “Carenow”), have agreed to pay $2 million to settle allegations that they violated the False Claims Act by billing Medicare and Medicaid for psychotherapy sessions at nursing homes and skilled nursing facilities that were medically unnecessary, improperly documented, or billed at higher intensity levels than justified (a practice known as upcoding).

“Indiscriminately billing the government for psychotherapy services without regard to medical need or intensity of treatment deprives taxpayers of precious federal healthcare resources,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Kurt R. Erskine. “We remain committed to investigating healthcare fraud, particularly those schemes that target the most vulnerable in our communities. Those who commit healthcare fraud should know that they risk significant fines, penalties and even federal prison time.”

“Hopefully, the False Claims Act settlement in this case will be a deterrent to anyone thinking about abusing federal healthcare programs for their own benefit,” said Chris Hacker, Special Agent in Charge of FBI Atlanta. “The FBI is determined to protect taxpaying citizens and those who need federal help for their healthcare needs.”

“Carenow Services allegedly exploited not only its access to Federal health care dollars, but also its relationship with nursing facility residents in need of psychological services,” said Derrick L. Jackson, Special Agent in Charge with the Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General. “Fraudulently billing Medicare and Medicaid for personal gain cheats millions of people who fund the programs or depend on their services. With our law enforcement partners, HHS-OIG unceasingly carries out our mission to protect these programs, in part, by bringing to justice those who bilk them.”

“Our Medicaid Fraud Division, in cooperation with our state and federal enforcement agencies, will remain vigilant in maintaining the integrity of public programs and prosecuting those who steal from taxpayers,” said Georgia Attorney General Chris Carr.

The settlement resolves False Claims Act allegations that between 2012 and 2018, Carenow billed Medicare and Medicaid for psychotherapy sessions at nursing homes and skilled nursing facilities that did not have any documented medical necessity. Additionally, in those situations where the psychotherapy sessions were medically necessary, Carenow allegedly upcoded its services and billed Medicare and Medicaid at higher reimbursing procedural codes. Consistent with the Justice Manual, the settlement includes credit to Carenow for immediately cooperating with the government in this investigation and for promptly taking steps to remediate the conduct described above.

This settlement resolves a lawsuit filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia styled United States and Georgia ex rel. Whitaker v. Carenow Services, LLC, No. 1:17-CV-1314-ELR (N.D. Ga.) by a former Carenow employee under the qui tam or whistleblower provisions of the False Claims Act, which permit private citizens to bring lawsuits on behalf the United States and obtain a portion of the government’s recovery. The whistleblower in this case will receive a share of the government’s recovery.

This case was investigated by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Georgia, the Georgia Medicaid Fraud Control Unit, and Health and Human Services—Office of the Inspector General, and the Federal Bureau of Investigations.

The civil settlement was reached by Assistant U.S. Attorney Armen Adzhemyan, who is the civil Elder Justice Coordinator, and Georgia Assistant Attorney General Sara Vann. The claims resolved by this settlement are allegations only and there has been no determination of liability.

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Montgomery, Ala. – Today, Acting United States Attorney Sandra J. Stewart announced that two individuals have pleaded guilty to conspiring to unlawfully distribute a controlled substance. On July 8, 2021, Shayla Denise Moorer, 39, of Suwanee, Georgia entered her guilty plea. Last week, on June 30, 2021, Naaman Rashad Jackson, 33, from Montgomery, Alabama admitted his guilt in federal court.

Moorer’s and Jackson’s guilty pleas follow an April 2021 indictment charging them and thirteen others with conspiring to unlawfully distribute oxycodone, a Schedule II opioid controlled substance. The overall conspiracy began at an unknown date and continued through April 2020. Both Moorer and Jackson operated in the scheme with Deandre Varnel Gross, who previously pleaded guilty to his role in the conspiracy. According to court records, Moorer and Jackson entered into an agreement with associates of theirs to obtain prescriptions of oxycodone from Montgomery, Alabama physician, D’livro Lemat Beauchamp, despite there being no medical reason to do so. They would then fill those prescriptions at a pharmacy. Once they had the oxycodone tablets, Moorer and Jackson would sell some or all of them to others. Often, they would receive the prescriptions without actually seeing Beauchamp. Instead, Moorer and Jackson would obtain the prescriptions from other co-conspirators.

In Moorer’s plea agreement, she admitted to first receiving a prescription as part of the scheme on or about April 18, 2014. Jackson’s agreement states his first prescription was received on or about July 3, 2013. Thereafter, they both received prescriptions for either 60 or 90 30-milligram oxycodone tablets made out to them and signed by Beauchamp approximately once a month. Moorer continued in the scheme until March of 2020 and Jackson continued until April 2020. Over the course of Moorer’s involvement, she admitted to receiving and filling 63 oxycodone prescriptions which resulted in approximately 5,100 illegally obtained tablets and a total of 153,000 milligrams of the highly addictive and abused drug. During Jackson’s participation in the scheme, he obtained 47 prescriptions for 4,230 pills, equaling 126,900 milligrams of oxycodone.

Moorer’s and Jackson’s sentencing hearings will take place on September 28, 2021 and they are both facing a maximum of 20 years in prison. The cases against the other thirteen named in the indictment are still pending.

This case was investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration’s Tactical Diversion Squad, the Shelby County Sheriff’s Office, and the Montgomery Police Department, with assistance from the Alabama Board of Medical Examiners, the United States Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General, and the United States Department of Defense Office of Inspector General. Assistant United States Attorneys Jonathan S. Ross and Alice S. LaCour are prosecuting the case.

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Thomson — Louis Graziano remembers the grim-faced German troops arriving in the little red schoolhouse that day in 1945 in Reims, France. A U.S. Army master sergeant, his duties including helping rebuild and maintain parts of the city, including that building, where the Germans showed up to surrender at the end of World War II.

Now 98, he remembers feeling glad the war was over and that he would be able to return home after serving nearly three years abroad.

“They came in straight-faced. They didn’t have much to smile about,” he recalled about the Germans. “I had the room set up where they were all going to sit. It didn’t take them no time to sign the papers.”

This Friday, the French government will present Graziano with the Legion of Honor, France’s highest decoration. It is given to French citizens and foreign nationals who have served the country and its ideals. Gens. Dwight D. Eisenhower and Douglas MacArthur are among its best-known American recipients.

Graziano could be the sole surviving witness of the German surrender, according to the consulate and Eric Montgomery, a military history buff from Tennessee who submitted Graziano’s records to the French government.

Scores of Graziano’s family and friends are traveling to see him receive the honor at a 1 p.m. ceremony here.

“It’s a great thing,” he said of the honor, sitting in his office and surrounded by his WWII mementos. “I appreciate them giving me that.”

Vincent Hommeril, consul general of France in Atlanta, is from Normandy and remembers discussing the war with his parents and grandparents.

“They told me how very happy they were to see and welcome American and other Allied soldiers – during this time of great darkness,” he said. “I am deeply honored to be able to bestow this decoration to Mr. Graziano and other WWII Veterans and to personally give thanks for their bravery and service.”

Born in 1923, between the 1918 influenza pandemic and the Great Depression, Luciano “Louis” Charles Graziano grew up in East Aurora, New York. He is the son of Sicilian immigrants who arrived at Ellis Island. While his mother, Filipa, raised him and his four older siblings, his father, Pietro, worked as a railroad watchman and as a brick mason. After his sister opened a beauty salon, Graziano followed in her footsteps, becoming a hairstylist.

He was drafted in 1943 and boarded a ship for Scotland before arriving by train in England. After landing in France as part of the Allied invasion, he pushed all the way to Reims, where he was put in charge of plumbing, communication, electrical and construction work.

Graziano met his future wife, Bobbie, there. He remembers first seeing her pitching in a softball game. An Alabama native, she was also serving in the U.S. military.

“She was a staff sergeant, and I was a master sergeant, so I pulled my rank on her,” he joked.

When the was over, they settled in the Augusta area. They were married for 62 years before she passed away in 2007. Her photos are prominently displayed in their home and on the dashboard of his red Ford pickup truck. Graziano still cuts hair in the same brick salon he built with his bare hands. He works near the front of his shop, where he can look out the window and see the world. Copies of his book, “A Patriot’s Memoirs of World War II,” sit on the counter next to his salon chair. Graziano didn’t talk about the war for years, his daughters said, and decided to write his memoir after Bobbie died.

“I think he wanted people to realize what they went through for our freedom,” said his daughter, Moira Johnson.

“He is having a hard time thinking of himself as a hero and a famous person,” she added, “because that is not Dad.”

Another daughter, Kim Evans, agreed: “He says the heroes are the ones who died.”

A big stack of mail was piled up nearby. People from around the world write him daily, thanking him for his sacrifices and asking for autographs. Strangers routinely show up at his salon to learn what it was like that day during the Nazi surrender. Graziano, who survived a battle with COVID-19 in September, is also often asked about the secret to his longevity. He points to a habit he picked up from his Sicilian parents.

“I cook everything with olive oil,” he said.

He has three other children, including a son who served in Vietnam and who has received three Purple Hearts. Fittingly, that son, Louis “Butch” C. Graziano II, is scheduled to speak at his ceremony Friday.

Asked what message he has for fellow Americans, Graziano kept it simple: “Fight for their country. Do what has to be done.”

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Continuing to get COVID-19 vaccinations for Veterans – especially those in rural and highly rural areas – is a high priority, VA Secretary Denis McDonough told reporters Feb. 23.

More than 1 million Veterans have at least one vaccine and 400,000 received both doses, McDonough said, with numbers of shots in arms climbing daily.

Veterans are generally receiving the COVID vaccine quickly after facilities receive doses.

“In many facilities, from arrival of dosages to having provided all those dosages in arms is about three to four days in some and not more than seven in any facility,” McDonough said.

The secretary has witnessed the urgency by VA staff to get Veterans the COVID-19 vaccine.

“People have taken really seriously the assignment to get these shots in arms,” he said.

To reach some Veterans, VA has found new and creative ways to deliver shots in arms. Veterans in rural Kalispell, Montana, received COVID-19 vaccines following an airplane delivery from Fort Harrison near Helena into Glacier Park International Airport Feb. 3. A private charter delivered 400 Moderna vaccines for high-risk Veterans. The area is one of the more remote parts of Montana, about 200 miles from Fort Harrison. Veterans also receive shots through mobile shot clinics, like one recently in Nebraska.

The secretary said Veterans will see continued vaccinations at VA facilities. As the vaccination program moves forward in the months to come, Veterans will see VA take that capacity on the road, too. And, VA will partner with federal agencies to further expand the number of vaccinators to get Veterans their shots.

McDonough said Veterans in rural and highly rural communities not receiving the vaccine is a concern. About 4.7 million Veterans live in rural and highly rural areas. Of those, about 2.7 million use VA health care. Rural Veterans enroll in VA health care at about a 58% rate, significantly higher than the 37-percent enrollment rate of urban Veterans.

Urban areas have at least 30% of the population residing in an urbanized area as defined by the Census Bureau. Rural areas have less people than urban areas, while highly rural areas have sparse population. Highly rural areas have less than 10% of the working population that commutes to any community larger than an urbanized cluster. That is typically a town of no more than 2,500 people.

Compared to urban areas, rural communities tend to have higher poverty rates. They also have more elderly residents, residents with poorer health and fewer physician practices, hospitals, and other health delivery resources. Rural Veterans enrolled in VA’s health care system are also significantly older. About 55% are over the age of 65.

Other COVID assistance for Veterans

Veterans are also receiving debt relief from VA, McDonough said. VA will continue suspension of collection on all Veteran benefit overpayments and medical copayment debts incurred after April 1, 2020. VA is suspending this debt collection to provide Veterans continued financial relief due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Veterans also received an extension on existing moratorium on evictions and foreclosures, as well as an extension on VA loan forbearance requests, to June 30, because of COVID-19.

“The President has given us a clear mission to do everything we can to get to and through this pandemic,” McDonough said. “And providing that economic relief is a big part of that.”

VA staff

The secretary said about 259,000 VA clinicians received at least the first vaccine and about 220,000 received both doses. That allows health care workers to provide continuing care to Veterans.

As secretary, McDonough said he wants to empower VA staff to be “innovative and creative” in finding ways to serve Veterans. He said Veterans deserve VA staff to have clear processes and procedures to provide care. In his short time as secretary, he’s been impressed with VA staff.

“I think the people are really talented people,” he said.

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President Donald Trump on March 21 signed a bill into law that will ensure GI Bill benefits aren’t suspended for college programs forced to switch to distance learning because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Without the bill, tuition, housing, and subsistence allowances might have had to be suspended when schools switch from classroom to distance learning formats.

The Air Force Association joined a coalition of organizations that signed a March 17 letter to the leaders House and Senate Veterans Affairs committees urging quick action. With well over 100 educational institutions shuttered and transitioning to online coursework due to the virus, a rapid fix was necessary, they wrote.

“While all students are affected by these course changes, many military-connected students face urgent and unique impacts regarding receipt of GI Bill benefits that are tied to specific types of course approval,” the letter said.

While GI Bill education benefits cover distance, hybrid, and in-residence education programs, each program must be specifically approved by the VA before payments can be made. Most at risk were conventional college classroom and laboratory programs.

“Without a legislative solution, all VA benefits payments would stop if a program only approved for in-residence learning moves to online learning,” the coalition wrote. Both housing and tuition would be suspended because “the program would be considered unapproved for VA benefits.”

AFA President and retired Air Force Lt. Gen. Bruce Wright praised the bill’s quick passage by the U.S. House of Representatives and Senate.

“This is a sign of Congress’ deep commitment to the best interest of service members, Veterans, and their families, especially in this time of unprecedented uncertainty,” Wright said. “We applaud this rapid, bipartisan response to ensure continued GI Bill payments and stability in the midst of the global COVID-19 pandemic.”

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What is Glioblastoma?

Glioblastoma is an aggressive type of cancer that occurs primarily in the brain and is the most common type of malignant brain tumor among adults. The tumor is predominantly made up of abnormal astrocytic cells, which are infiltrative and invade into nearby regions of the brain. While this type of brain cancer can occur at any age, it is most common in older adults. In order to diagnose glioblastoma, a variety of tests and procedures are performed, including neurological exams, imaging tests, and biopsies. An early and accurate diagnosis of this condition gives treating doctors a better indication of a patient’s prognosis and guides treatment options. Symptoms of glioblastoma typically include the following:

• Seizures
• Constant headaches
• Nausea and vomiting
• Memory loss
• Changes in mood or personality
• Double or blurred vision
• Trouble speaking

Treatment of glioblastoma often takes the form of surgery, radiation, chemotherapy, or electric field therapy. Overall, the goal of treatment is to slow and control the growth of the tumor and help patients live as comfortably as possible. With standard treatment, the average length of time for living with this disease is approximately 11-15 months following diagnosis.

Glioblastoma and Agent Orange Exposure

In recent years, Vietnam Veterans and survivors have been pushing VA to extend benefits to those who were exposed to Agent Orange and later developed glioblastoma. VA has consistently strayed away from doing so, but advocates are hoping there is potential to revisit the issue following the death of United States Senator and Vietnam Veteran, John McCain, who also suffered from this condition. In July of 2017, McCain joined the rapidly increasing number of Vietnam Veterans to be diagnosed with glioblastoma. VA data shows more than 500 Vietnam-era Veterans have been diagnosed with glioblastoma at VA facilities since 2000. This does not take into account the unknown number of those diagnosed at private facilities as well. McCain passed away in August of 2018, eleven months after his diagnosis. Since then, there has been growing support among widows of Vietnam Veterans to add glioblastoma to VA’s list of presumptive conditions associated with Agent Orange exposure.

Currently, Vietnam Veterans have to fight for VA disability compensation for glioblastoma on a case-by-case basis. Specifically, they must prove their glioblastoma was at least as likely as not caused by their exposure to Agent Orange. These efforts to establish service connection on a direct basis have mostly resulted in denials. VA has indicated the department does not recognize a connection between Agent Orange exposure and brain cancer at this time, but is examining the issue further in light of the questions that have been raised. In March of 2017, VA asked a National Academy of Medicine panel studying the effects of Agent Orange to focus special attention on glioblastoma although previous reports by the group have not found a connection. VA is also asking about brain cancer in a wide-ranging survey of Vietnam Veterans.

VA’s History of Adjudicating Claims for Glioblastoma

VA’s adjudication of claims for glioblastoma based on Agent Orange exposure has been inconsistent over time. Between 2009 and 2017, the Board of Veterans’ Appeals issued more than 100 decisions in cases in which widows have appealed benefit denials related to their husbands’ brain cancer. Of those decisions, about two dozen were granting benefits. In those favorable outcomes, VA noted that glioblastoma was not recognized as a disease that automatically warranted benefits linked to Agent Orange but that current medical research has shown a causal relationship between herbicide exposure and glioblastoma. Importantly, this finding is contrary to VA’s official policy. Advocates continue to push for presumptive service connection for this condition in order to provide relief to a growing number of Vietnam Veterans and survivors.

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CAMDEN, N.J. – A federal grand jury today returned a five-count indictment charging a Gloucester County, New Jersey, man with defrauding his employer’s health insurance plan out of more than $4 million by submitting fraudulent claims for medically unnecessary compounded medications, Acting U.S. Attorney Rachael A. Honig announced today.

Christopher Gualtieri, 48, of Franklinville, New Jersey, is charged with conspiracy to commit health care fraud and mail fraud and individual acts of mail fraud. Gualtieri was also charged with making false statements to federal agents during the investigation, as well as preparing and filling fraudulent oxycodone prescriptions. Gualtieri is scheduled to appear today by videoconference before U.S. Magistrate Judge Sharon A. King. The case is assigned to U.S. District Judge Robert B. Kugler in Camden.

According to the indictment:

Compounded medications are specialty medications mixed by a pharmacist to meet the specific medical needs of an individual patient. Compounded drugs can be properly prescribed when a physician determines that an FDA-approved medication does not meet the health needs of a particular patient, such as if a patient is allergic to a dye or other ingredient.

Gualtieri and others learned that certain compound medication prescriptions – including vitamins, scar creams, pain creams, and sunscreens – were reimbursed by their health insurance plan for up to thousands of dollars for a one-month supply. Gualtieri recruited co-workers who were covered by their employer’s self-funded health insurance plan to agree to receive medically unnecessary compounded medications for themselves and their family members. Gualtieri and others caused the submission of fraudulent prescriptions to compounding pharmacies, which filled the prescriptions and billed the health insurance plan’s pharmacy benefits administrator. The pharmacy benefits administrator paid the compounding pharmacies more than $4 million for compounded medications arranged by Gualtieri and two conspirators for themselves, their dependents, and other family members. Gualtieri received a portion of the amount paid by the pharmacy benefits administrator to the compounding pharmacies. Gualtieri then paid cash and other remuneration to his conspirators for their participation in the scheme. When questioned by special agents of the FBI, Gualtieri falsely denied recruiting others to receive compounded medications and falsely denied paying cash to others for their participation in the scheme.

During the same time period as the conspiracy involving compounded medications, Gualtieri also prepared and filled fraudulent prescriptions for oxycodone for himself and a family member.

Gualtieri faces a maximum penalty on the conspiracy and mail fraud counts of 20 years in prison, a maximum penalty on the false statements count of five years in prison, and a maximum penalty on the obtaining drugs by fraud count of four years in prison. He also faces a fine on each count of up to $250,000 or twice the gross gain or gross loss from the offense, whichever is greatest.

Acting U.S. Attorney Honig credited agents of the FBI, Philadelphia Field Office, Health Care Fraud Task Force, under the direction of Acting Special Agent in Charge Bradley S. Benavides, and task force members from the Pennsylvania Attorney General’s Office, Department of Health and Human Services – Office of Inspector General, and the Philadelphia Police Department, as well as diversion investigators of the Drug Enforcement Administration, New Jersey Division, Camden Resident Office, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Susan A. Gibson, with the investigation leading to the indictment. Acting U.S. Attorney Honig also thanked U.S. Postal Service – Office of Inspector General, for their assistance in the investigation.

The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Jeffrey Bender of the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Camden.

The charges and allegations contained in the indictment are merely accusations, and the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.

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If you're planning on going back to school this fall you may have several questions: will the dorms be open; will classes meet online or in person; how much will your GI Bill payments be? While many of these questions remain unanswered, one thing we do know is how much your GI Bill will pay you.

2020/2021 GI Bill Housing Rates

The Post-9/11 GI Bill pays full tuition and fees at public schools, and also pays most students a Monthly Housing Allowance (MHA) that is equal to the Basic Allowance for Housing (BAH) for an E-5 with dependents. The amount is determined by the ZIP code of the location where students attend the majority of their classes.

Prior to the COVID-19 epidemic, students attending all their classes online only received ½ the national average BAH as their MHA. That changed, however, last spring when most colleges shut down classroom sessions and moved to all-online courses.

An emergency law passed as a result of this switch to online courses temporarily authorized that students who were affected by their classes moving from in-person to online sessions to be paid as if they were attending classroom sessions, and therefore continue to receive their MHA as originally authorized. This increased MHA is effective through Dec. 21, 2020.

That means that for the upcoming fall term, GI Bill students will continue to get the higher MHA payments as they did last spring, even if their classes are only taught online.

Students enrolled in a foreign school will see their MHA increase from $1,789 to $1,833 each month. Those who are enrolled in a totally online degree program or course of education will still only be eligible for ½ the national average BAH which will go from $894.50 to $916.50 on Aug. 1.

2020/2021 GI Bill Tuition Payment Amounts

While students using their GI Bill to attend public or foreign schools will have their full tuition paid by the VA, those who are going to private schools have their tuition payments capped at a national maximum amount as dictated by law. For the 2020-2021 school year which runs from Aug. 1, 2020 - July 31, 2020 that amount will be $25,162.14, up from $24,476.79 last year.

Your School Switches From Letter Grades to Pass/Fail

If your school switches their grading system to pass/fail as a result of the current situation, your GI Bill payments will be unaffected.

Keep Up With Your Education Benefits

Whether you need a guide on how to use your GI Bill, want to take advantage of tuition assistance and scholarships, or get the lowdown on education benefits available for your family, Military.com can help. Subscribe to Military.com to have education tips and benefits updates delivered directly to your inbox

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The Airborne Hazards and Open Burn Pit Registry (AHOBPR) allows Veterans who were deployed to Southwest Asia and/or Afghanistan to document their environmental exposures in an online questionnaire and then address any associated health concerns during a free, in-person exam with an Environmental Health Clinician at their local VA medical center.

The Golden VA Clinic began conducting AHOBPR exams in September 2018 and completed 687 exams as of February 1, 2020. Anisa Moore, MD, has personally conducted almost 300 of these exams since the clinic opened. She was the only AHOBPR examiner at the site until several others were hired in the summer of 2019.

Dr. Moore, who is Section Chief of the new Environmental Health Department at VA Eastern Colorado Health Care Services and Lead Environmental Health Clinician for Veterans Integrated Service Network (VISN) 19, is passionate about helping Veterans by conducting AHOBPR exams. VA’s Post Deployment Health Services talked to Dr. Moore about AHOBPR health exams and her experience conducting them.

How long does the average exam take for Veterans?

Moore: We schedule 90 minutes for most AHOBPR exams. Many of the Veterans who request these exams have done so because they have specific symptoms or concerns that they want to address, and we find that we need a full 90 minutes to address these concerns and perform a comprehensive history and physical. In addition to a 90-minute visit with the Environmental Health Clinician, we also schedule all AHOBPR Veterans for same-day, in-clinic spirometry (breathing tests) and labs.

What are some health concerns that Veterans have shared with you related to airborne hazards?

Moore: In my experience, the top four health concerns are:

1. Breathing problems (e.g., shortness of breath, decreased exercise tolerance, or chronic cough
2. Congestion (e.g., runny nose or post-nasal drip)
3. Gastrointestinal problems (e.g., difficulty swallowing, diarrhea, constipation, or abdominal pain)
4. Cancers (e.g., either an existing cancer diagnosis or concerns about developing cancer in the future)

About how many exams do you conduct per week?

Moore: I conduct three to four AHOBPR exams a day, and most of our other examiners perform two to three AHOBPR exams a day. To increase our productivity, we combine AHOBPR and Gulf War exams for Veterans who are eligible for both.

What do you like most about your role in conducting AHOBPR exams?

Moore: I absolutely LOVE doing AHOBPR exams—in fact, they are my very favorite registry exam to perform. Here’s why:

1. AHOBPR exams contribute to our knowledge about the health impacts of inhalational exposures. My own husband was deployed to Kuwait and Saudi Arabia in 1990-1991 as a part of Desert Storm/Desert Shield, so you’d better believe I care about research that could identify the health impacts of deploymentrelated, inhalational exposures on him and other Veterans.

2. AHOBPR exams yield a high return of individual diagnostic information. I have found all sorts of pathology (thyroiditis, eosinophilic esophagitis, Fanconi syndrome, various cancers, hypertrophic obstructive cardiomyopathy, etc.) just by listening to Veterans and doing a careful history and physical with a review of systems.

3. Most importantly, the Veterans are deeply appreciative of AHOBPR exams. I frequently get hugs and thank you notes from Veterans after their exams. In fact, I had a retired lieutenant colonel tell me his AHOBPR exam was the most thorough medical exam he had ever had.

How does a Veteran go about scheduling an exam at your clinic?

Moore: Veterans contact our Environmental Health Coordinator via phoe or email.

Is there anything else you would like to tell me about your work with the AHOBPR?

Moore: AHOBPR exams are unique to the VA; these exams are simply not available in the community or private sector. Veterans who participate in AHOBPR exams should know that they are helping not only themselves, but all Veterans, by contributing to research on the health impacts of military environmental exposures.

If you have completed an AHOBPR questionnaire and would like to schedule your AHOBPR exam, contact your local VA Environmental Health Coordinator. Learn more about the AHOBPR.

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Democrats claimed Republicans' Limit, Save, Grow Act would cut Veterans funding

Dozens of House Republicans are demanding that the Department of Veterans Affairs apologize and take down a press release that claims the GOP’s debt limit bill would harm military Veterans, and called the statement an attempt to "despicably fear-monger" over their legislation.

"This is a shameful use of scare tactics and a blatant attempt to mislead millions of Veterans across our nation. The truth is not a single provision in this legislation even mentions Veterans’ benefits. In fact, many Members of Congress who voted in support of this legislation are Veterans," Rep. Andrew Clyde, R-Ga., wrote in a letter signed by 65 House Republicans.

"Your department’s press release presents yet another attempt by the Biden administration to despicably fear-monger the American people, and we demand its immediate retraction and correction," they wrote.

Republicans also called on Veterans Affairs Secretary Denis McDonough to "issue an apology to our Veterans for intentionally creating undue fear and anxiety in order to advance a false and sinister narrative for political gain."

The late April press release claimed that House Republicans’ Limit, Save, Grow Act would "cut a broad range of critical programs by 22%" and "would threaten critical services for Veterans."

That statement prompted outrage among the GOP ranks, and last week, House leaders hosted a press call last week to reject the claim. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., told reporters he called it a "lie" when he met with President Biden about the debt limit on Tuesday.

"Instead of effectively negotiating a responsible path forward on the debt ceiling with House Republicans, President Biden is determined to push blatant falsehoods about our sensible solution," Clyde, a 28-year Navy combat Veteran, told Fox News Digital. "Our Limit, Save, Grow, Act has zero cuts to Veterans’ benefits – and the White House knows this. Yet in a desperate attempt to deflect from the President’s inaction, the VA is shamelessly spreading this baseless lie in order to advance a dangerous political narrative."

The House GOP letter sent on Thursday also stated that a range of Veterans benefits, such as education and home loan programs, are classified as "mandatory spending" rather than the discretionary levels they’re looking to cap.

"Not only is your press release inaccurate, but it is also an attempt by the Biden Administration to deflect from acknowledging the devastating consequences that Democrats’ rampant spending has had on our Veterans," the letter stated.

It cited a survey by the Wounded Warrior Project that claimed more than 80% of young wounded Veterans and their families are feeling hard-pressed by inflation.

"We are deeply disappointed that your department and the Biden Administration would make flagrantly false statements while your own policies are driving hardships for Veterans," the lawmakers wrote.

Department of Veterans Affairs referred Fox News Digital to the Office of Management and Budget when asked for comment and once again shared the press release from April 21.

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There are roughly 134,000 transgender Veterans in America today

Republicans on Capitol Hill are firing back at the news that transgender Veterans will soon be able to receive gender-transition surgeries through the Veterans Affairs (VA) health care coverage.

VA Secretary Denis McDonough announced Saturday that the department has taken the first step, in what is expected to be a years-long process, toward providing gender transition surgeries covered by the Veteran healthcare network.

"We’re making these changes not only because they are the right thing to do, but because they can save lives," McDonough announced during a Pride event in Orlando.

But while the VA secretary said this is being done to make the department "more welcoming" to all Veterans, the move has frustrated GOP lawmakers.

"President Biden and Secretary McDonough should be less focused on winning the culture wars and more focused on helping the Veterans who are suffering from the actual wars," Ranking Member of the House Veterans’ Affairs Committee, Rep. Mike Bost, told Fox News.

"Congress has been waiting for months for them to come to the table and help us deliver care and benefits to toxic-exposed Veterans who are sick and dying. We have gotten no response," the Veteran continued. "Yet, somehow they found time to decide that taxpayers should pay for gender transition surgeries at VA medical facilities."

The National Center for Transgender Equality estimates there are more than 134,000 transgender Veterans in America today, along with another 15,000 transgender individuals serving in the ranks.

Though McDonough said changing the VA’s health regulations will "take time," roughly 4,000 Veterans nationwide are estimated to be interested in the gender transitioning procedure, reported the Military Times.

It remains unclear what the surgery costs could look like for the VA, but Montana Republican Rep. Matt Rosendale has objected to using funds provided to the VA through taxpayer dollars.

"Advocating for taxpayer-funded gender transition surgeries is an absolute disgrace," Rosendale said in a statement to Fox News. "This is yet another radical policy proposal by an administration with no concern for the reality of its harmful effects on those suffering from mental illness who have sacrificed for our country."

Saturday’s announcement shows a drastic shift from the Trump administration that banned transgender participation in the military and limited surgery options for those already in the armed forces.

Biden reversed the transgender military ban days after entering the White House.

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The United States has intervened in six complaints alleging that members of the Kaiser Permanente consortium violated the False Claims Act by submitting inaccurate diagnosis codes for its Medicare Advantage Plan enrollees in order to receive higher reimbursements.

The Kaiser Permanente consortium members (collectively Kaiser) are Kaiser Foundation Health Plan Inc., Kaiser Foundation Health Plan of Colorado, The Permanente Medical Group Inc., Southern California Permanente Medical Group Inc. and Colorado Permanente Medical Group P.C. Kaiser is headquartered in Oakland, California.

“Medicare’s managed care program relies on the accuracy of information submitted by health care providers and plans to ensure that patients receive the appropriate level of care, and that plans receive the appropriate compensation,” said Deputy Assistant Attorney General Sarah E. Harrington of the Justice Department’s Civil Division. “Today’s action sends a clear message that we will hold health care providers and plans accountable if they seek to game the system by submitting false information.”

“The integrity of government health care programs must be protected,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Stephanie Hinds for the Northern District of California. “The Medicare Advantage Program maintains the health of millions, and wrongful acts that defraud the program cannot continue and will be pursued.”

“The federal government pays hundreds of billions of dollars every year to Medicare Advantage Plans,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Matt Kirsch for the District of Colorado. “The District of Colorado will vigorously pursue investigations with our partners to make sure that money supports necessary health care, not fraud.”

Under Medicare Advantage, also known as the Medicare Part C program, Medicare beneficiaries have the option of enrolling in managed care insurance plans called Medicare Advantage Plans (MA Plans). MA Plans are paid a per-person amount to provide Medicare-covered benefits to beneficiaries who enroll in one of their plans. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), which oversees the Medicare program, adjusts the payments to MA Plans based on demographic information and the diagnoses of each plan beneficiary. The adjustments are commonly referred to as “risk scores.” In general, a beneficiary with more severe diagnoses will have a higher risk score, and CMS will make a larger risk-adjusted payment to the MA Plan for that beneficiary.

Medicare requires that, for outpatient medical encounters, MA Plans submit diagnoses to CMS only for conditions that required or affected patient care, treatment or management during an in-person encounter in the service year. In order to increase its Medicare reimbursements, Kaiser allegedly pressured its physicians to create addenda to medical records after the patient encounter, often months or over a year later, to add risk-adjusting diagnoses that patients did not actually have and/or were not actually considered or addressed during the encounter, in violation of Medicare requirements.  

The lawsuits were filed under the qui tam, or whistleblower, provisions of the False Claims Act, which permit private parties to sue on behalf of the government for false claims and to receive a share of any recovery. The False Claims Act also permits the government to intervene in such lawsuits, as it has done, in part, in these cases. The cases are consolidated in the Northern District of California and captioned United States ex rel. Osinek v. Kaiser Permanente, 3:13-cv-03891 (N.D. Cal.); United States ex rel. Taylor v. Kaiser Permanente, et al., 3:21-cv-03894 (N.D. Cal.); United States ex rel. Arefi, et al. v. Kaiser Foundation Health Plan, Inc., et al., 3:16-cv-01558 (N.D. Cal.); United States ex rel. Stein, et al. v. Kaiser Foundation Health Plan, Inc., et al., 3:16-cv-05337 (N.D. Cal.); United States ex rel. Bryant v. Kaiser Permanente, et al., 3:18-cv-01347 (N.D. Cal.); and United States ex rel. Bicocca v. Permanente Med. Group, Inc., et al., No. 3:21-cv-03124 (N.D. Cal.).

This matter was investigated by the Civil Division’s Commercial Litigation Branch, Fraud Section, and the U.S. Attorney’s Offices for the Northern District of California and the District of Colorado, with assistance from HHS-OIG.

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ST. LOUIS – On August 18, 2021, a federal grand jury issued a thirteen-count indictment against Matthew Steven Miller, D.O. charging Dr. Miller with illegally prescribing controlled substances and other related offenses. At the time Dr. Miller allegedly committed these offenses, he was licensed to practice medicine in Missouri, Michigan, and New Jersey.  

The indictment alleges that Dr. Miller illegally prescribed Xanax to five individuals with whom Dr. Miller did not have a doctor-patient relationship. It further alleges that Dr. Miller was not licensed by the Missouri Bureau of Narcotic and Dangerous Drugs to prescribe Xanax. The indictment also alleges that Dr. Miller never examined these individuals to determine whether they had a medical need for Xanax. The indictment additionally alleges that the Xanax that was obtained through the issuance of the illegal prescriptions and/or the money received as a result of the sale of the fraudulently obtained Xanax was shared with Dr. Miller.

The charges set forth in this indictment are merely accusations and do not constitute proof of guilt. Every defendant is presumed to be innocent unless and until proven guilty.

The United States Drug Enforcement Administration, the United States Department of Health and Human Services (Office of the Inspector General), and the Missouri Medicaid Fraud Control Unit are investigating this case. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Dorothy L. McMurtry.

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ST. LOUIS – Earlier this week a federal grand jury indicted Michael McCormac with one count of health care fraud and three counts of violations of the Anti-Kickback Statute. The indictment was suppressed until today.

The indictment charges Michael McCormac, the former owner of GoLiveWell Pharmacy in Creve Coeur, Missouri with one count of health care fraud and three counts of violations of the Anti-Kickback Statute. McCormac is accused of paying kickbacks to marketing companies for referrals of prescriptions for topical creams, oral medications, and antibiotic and antifungal drugs referred to as “foot bath” drugs, which were filled by GoLiveWell and reimbursed by federal health insurance.

McCormac is accused of paying the kickbacks to marketing companies as various percentages, or “margins,” which are net profits on each prescription. The indictment also alleges that McCormac was aware that patients often did not have a valid doctor/patient relationship with the providers who signed the prescriptions and that the prescriptions were not medically necessary.

GoLiveWell primarily functioned as a mail-order pharmacy, which filled prescriptions for federal health insurance beneficiaries throughout the United States between on or about March 17, 2017 and November 30, 2019. Through the health care fraud and kickback scheme alleged in the indictment, Medicare paid at least $4.7 million to GoLiveWell to which it was not entitled, Missouri Medicaid paid at least $490,000 to GoLiveWell to which it was not entitled, and Ohio Medicaid paid at least $330,000 to GoLiveWell to which it was not entitled.

“Individuals who seek to enrich themselves through kickback fraud schemes -- as alleged in this case -- undermine the taxpayer-funded Medicare and Medicaid programs and drive up health care costs for everyone,” said Special Agent in Charge Curt L. Muller, of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General. “We remain committed to working closely with our law enforcement partners to swiftly investigate such fraud allegations.”

Charges set forth in the indictment are merely accusations and do not constitute proof of guilt. Every defendant is presumed to be innocent unless and until proven guilty.

The case was investigated by the Office of Inspector General for the United States Department of Health and Human Services and the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

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ST. LOUIS – On August 18, 2021, a federal grand jury issued a twenty-five-count indictment against Katie Diana Rooney charging Rooney with health-care fraud and controlled substance offenses. At the time Rooney allegedly committed these offenses, she was a resident of St. Charles, Missouri.    

The indictment alleges that through fraud and deceit, Rooney obtained prescriptions for Adderall and Xanax, both controlled substances. Rooney illegally sold these drugs to an undercover detective. Because the drugs were intended for Rooney’s two minor children, who were both Medicaid recipients, Medicaid paid for the drugs.

The charges set forth in this indictment are merely accusations and do not constitute proof of guilt. Every defendant is presumed to be innocent unless and until proven guilty.

The United States Drug Enforcement Administration, the United States Department of Health and Human Services (Office of the Inspector General), and the Missouri Medicaid Fraud Control Unit are investigating this case. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Dorothy L. McMurtry.

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ANorth Carolina Veteran completed a public-use disability benefits remote questionnaire for a Department of Veterans Affairs claim for a mental health condition arising from three service-connected conditions.

A North Carolina Veteran completed a public-use disability benefits remote questionnaire for a Department of Veterans Affairs claim for a mental health condition arising from three service-connected conditions.

Ultimately, the VA awarded about $6,500 in disability to the Veteran, despite the fact that an examination by a licensed clinical psychologist ruling there was no direct relationship between the Veteran's symptoms and conditions. That's according to a new VA inspector general report released Tuesday, finding that use of questionnaires administered remotely increased bad rulings and led to fraud.

In this case, the Veteran went through a private provider in Puerto Rico via teleconference to fill out the questionnaire. The VA prohibits staff from using questionnaires completed remotely by non-VA doctors when determining benefits.

The report suggested that the Veterans Benefits Administration "determine whether public-use disability benefits questionnaires continue to be an effective means of gathering evidence to support claims for benefit entitlement and, if not, take steps to discontinue their use."

The VBA created the questionnaires for public use a decade ago to address its claims backlog by letting Veterans undergo a private, non-VA provider examination. But several years later, over concerns of fraud raised by the IG, the VBA stopped accepting "telehealth" examinations -- health care delivered remotely via phone or internet -- by non-VA providers or contractors when determining a disability claim.

But IG staff found VBA claims processors have used the telehealth questionnaires to make decisions in more than half of the claims it reviewed, adding up to about $613,000 in payments from April 2017 through September 2018.

VBA staff have alerted 225 potential fraudulent claims relating to these public-use questionnaires to the IG as of December 2018.

"VBA claims processors improperly used disability benefits questionnaires completed by private providers to determine benefit entitlement without evidence the examination was done in person," IG staff wrote in the report. "VA lacks the ability to easily identify private provider telehealth examinations and takes no actions to correct claims where such examinations are improperly used to provide benefits."

The report added that "numerous" organizations have been using these telehealth questionnaires to exploit Veterans, charging them fees or taking some of their disability compensation benefits in exchange for filling out the questionnaires. IG staff also reported hearing reports that Veterans were being coached on what to say to maximize their benefits.

In addition to lacking checks, the IG report pointed out neither the VBA's website nor its forms informed users that telehealth questionnaires filled out by private providers could not be used for deciding benefit entitlements.

VA staff told the IG it would take time to change the form and website because of the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 and the requirement to obtain approval from the Office of Management and Budget. This process takes more than a year to complete so public-facing forms, including public-use questionnaires, will be outdated.

VBA staff concurred that a broad review should be done, along with subsequent changes if they decide to keep the questionnaire - adding a spot to say it was completed via a telehealth examination and update VBA procedures so staff know what to do if they suspect a questionnaire was completed via telehealth.

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Fraud Ring Used Proceeds from Stolen Information to Purchase Array of Luxury Items

PLANO, Texas – A Sherman woman has been sentenced to prison for federal violations in the Eastern District of Texas, announced Acting U.S. Attorney Nicholas J. Ganjei today.

Amanda Lowry, 40, pleaded guilty on Dec. 4, 2020, to conspiracy to obtain information from a protected computer and was sentenced to 30 months in federal prison today by U.S. District Judge Sean D. Jordan.

“Today’s sentence is another example of the Eastern District’s commitment to vigorously defending protected health information and prosecuting those who exploit such information for their personal gain,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Nicholas J. Ganjei. “The defendant’s actions not only compromised victims’ sensitive information, exposing them to fraudulent schemes; but, also ultimately resulted in unnecessary costs to federal healthcare programs.”

According to information presented in court, Lowry, Demetrius Cervantes, and Lydia Henslee were named in a federal indictment on Sept. 11, 2019 charging them with conspiracy to obtain information from a protected computer and conspiracy to unlawfully possess and use a means of identification. They are alleged to have breached a health care provider’s electronic health record (EHR) system in order to steal protected health information and personally identifiable information belonging to patients. This stolen information was then “repackaged” in the form of false and fraudulent physician orders and subsequently sold to durable medical equipment (DME) providers and contractors. The defendants obtained more than $1.4 million in proceeds from the sale of the stolen information. The defendants then used those proceeds to purchase items such as sport utility vehicles, off-road vehicles, and jet skis.  

Cervantes was sentenced to 48 months in federal prison on July 8, 2021. Henslee pleaded guilty on March 25, 2021. Her sentencing date has not been set.

This case was investigated by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Inspector General; U.S. Department of the Treasury, Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigation; and the U.S. Department of Defense, Office of Inspector General, Defense Criminal Investigative Service. The matter is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Nathaniel Kummerfeld and Adrian Garcia.

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PITTSBURGH- A resident of Westmoreland County, PA, pleaded guilty to three counts of Conspiracy to Violate the Anti-Kickback Statute, Health Care Fraud, and Conspiracy to Distribute Phentermine Hydrochloride and Diethylpropion, Acting U.S. Attorney Stephen R. Kaufman announced today.

Thomas Whitten, age 71, of Greensburg, PA, pleaded guilty before United States District Judge William S. Stickman.

In connection with the guilty plea, the court was advised that, from May 2013 to November 2015, Whitten conspired to receive kickbacks from Insys Therapeutics, a pharmaceutical company based in Arizona in exchange for prescribing Subsys, a powerful opioid narcotic containing fentanyl. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved Subsys solely for the “management of breakthrough pain in cancer patients who are already receiving and who are tolerant to around the clock therapy for their underlying persistent cancer pain.” Whitten admitted to prescribing Subsys to patients for whom Subsys was not medically necessary and thus not eligible for insurance reimbursement. Further, Whitten admitted that from November 2017 through December 12, 2019, Whitten conspired with a co-conspirator to unlawfully distribute Schedule IV controlled substances, phentermine hydrochloride and diethylpropion, to patients at five weight loss clinics.

Judge Stickman scheduled sentencing for December 7, 2021. The law provides for a maximum total sentence of 10 years in prison, a fine not to exceed $250,000, or both. Under the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, the actual sentence imposed would be based upon the seriousness of the offense and the prior criminal history, if any, of the defendant.

Assistant United States Attorneys Cindy K. Chung and Karen Gal-Or are prosecuting this case on behalf of the government.

The matter was investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration, Federal Bureau of Investigation, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services – Office of Inspector General, and the Pennsylvania State Attorney General’s Office.

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PITTSBURGH – A resident of Westmoreland County, PA, was sentenced in federal court following his convictions for conspiracy to violate the Anti-Kickback Statute, health care fraud, and conspiracy to distribute Schedule IV controlled substances, United States Attorney Cindy K. Chung announced today.

United States District Judge William S. Stickman sentenced Thomas Whitten, age 71, of Greensburg, PA, to 57 months of imprisonment followed by three years of supervised release.

Whitten pled guilty on July 22, 2021. During the change of plea hearing, Whitten admitted that, from May 2013 to November 2015, he conspired to receive kickbacks from pharmaceutical company Insys Therapeutics in exchange for prescribing Subsys, a powerful painkiller approximately 50 to 100 times more potent than morphine. The FDA approved Subsys only for the management of breakthrough pain in cancer patients. Whitten prescribed Subsys to patients for whom the drug was not medically indicated and received more than $100,000 as well as other benefits from Insys in exchange for writing those prescriptions. Prescriptions for Subsys typically cost thousands of dollars each month, and Medicare and Medicaid, as well as commercial insurers, including Highmark, paid millions of dollars to cover illegitimate Subsys prescriptions written by Whitten.

In addition, from November 2017 through December 12, 2019, Whitten conspired to unlawfully distribute Schedule IV controlled substances, phentermine hydrochloride and diethylpropion, to patients at five weight loss clinics. Based on an agreement between Whitten and the owner of those clinics, Schedule IV controlled substances were dispensed to patients under Whitten’s DEA registration numbers, including to new patients and patients who had not been seen at the clinics for years, without any physical examination by Whitten or another appropriately trained licensed medical professional.

As part of his sentence, Whitten must pay restitution totaling over $8 million to the victim insurers, and forfeit both his medical license and DEA registration.

United States Attorney Cindy K. Chung and Assistant United States Attorney Karen Gal-Or prosecuted this case on behalf of the government.

The investigation leading to the filing of charges in this case was conducted by the Western Pennsylvania Opioid Fraud and Abuse Detection Unit (OFADU). The Western Pennsylvania OFADU, led by federal prosecutors in the U.S. Attorney’s Office, combines the expertise and resources of federal and state law enforcement to address the role played by unethical medical professionals in the opioid epidemic.

The agencies which comprise the Western Pennsylvania OFADU include: Federal Bureau of Investigation, U.S. Health and Human Services – Office of Inspector General, Drug Enforcement Administration, Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigations, Pennsylvania Office of Attorney General - Medicaid Fraud Control Unit, Pennsylvania Office of Attorney General – Bureau of Narcotic Investigations, United States Postal Inspection Service, U.S. Attorney’s Office – Criminal Division, Civil Division and Asset Forfeiture Unit, Department of Veterans Affairs-Office of Inspector General, Food and Drug Administration-Office of Criminal Investigations, U.S. Office of Personnel Management – Office of Inspector General and the Pennsylvania Bureau of Licensing.

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H. Res. 387, Expressing support for the designation of June 10, 2023, as "Veterans Get Outside Day". This resolution can be a saving grace for those veterans suffering from post-traumatic stress and depression, along with those who have also suffered a traumatic brain injury. The men and women of the Armed Forces have higher rates of suicide compared to their civilian counterparts and this proposed day outside is to call attention to the healing power of mother nature on the mind and body. To join together on this day as a united veteran support system is a step forward to create the awareness necessary to combat the mental health crisis veterans face daily.

Please contact your elected officials and ask for their support.

TAKE ACTION

Cannabis is still identified as a Schedule I drug under the Controlled Substances Act. As of Feb. 3, 2022, 37 states, three territories and the District of Columbia allow for the medical use of cannabis products. For years, veterans have claimed the benefits of cannabis for conditions they suffer–often as a result of military service. Veterans seeking relief for conditions such as chronic pain and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), which may be resistant to more conventional treatments, are eager to have additional options that may improve the quality of their lives.

Bipartisan companion bills, H.R. 1003 and S. 326, the VA Medicinal Cannabis Research Act of 2023, would require VA to conduct randomized clinical trials into the effectiveness of cannabis on improving certain health outcomes for veterans with chronic pain and PTSD. Specifically, for veterans diagnosed with chronic pain, the bills would identify the effects of cannabis on osteopathic pain, sleep quality, inflammation, and agitation in addition to the effects on the use of alcohol, benzodiazepines, and opioids while the trial is ongoing. For veterans diagnosed with PTSD, the study would identify the effects of the trial on measures in standardized PTSD clinical scales, alcohol, and benzodiazepine use in addition to social functioning, mood, sleep, and suicidal ideation. The trials may also investigate the longer-term effects of cannabis on other medical conditions.

DAV Resolution No. 128 calls for support of more comprehensive and scientifically rigorous research by the VA into the therapeutic benefits and risks of cannabis and cannabis-derived products as a possible treatment for service-related conditions.

Please contact your Representative and Senators and urge them to co-sponsor and support H.R. 1003 and S. 326. Thank you for your support of our nation’s ill and injured veterans.

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Rep. Julia Brownley (Calif.) and Senators Debbie Stabenow (Mich.) and Peter Welch (Vt.) have introduced H.R.1278/S. 592, the Driver Reimbursement Increase for Veteran Equity (DRIVE) Act to increase the mileage reimbursement rate for veterans receiving health care from the Department of Veterans Affairs. Veterans who are seeking care for service-connected conditions or veterans with service-connected conditions rated at least 30% are among veterans who are eligible for beneficiary travel pay—which may include reimbursement for mileage, tolls and additional expenses, such as meals or lodging.

Unfortunately, the current mileage rates for beneficiary travel do not always cover the actual expenses for gas and associated costs of using a personal vehicle. The difference in the current mileage rate for reimbursement for veterans (41.5 cents) compared to federal employees using personal vehicles for business (62.5 cents) highlights the inadequacy of the rate for veterans’ travel. Such expenses may serve as a barrier to care, especially when gas prices are high.

The DRIVE Act would tie veterans’ mileage reimbursement to the rate government employees receive for using their personal vehicles for government business. DAV supports the DRIVE Act in accordance with Resolution No. 432, which calls for adopting the General Services Administration increased mileage rate for veterans’ beneficiary travel.

Please ask your representative and senators to support H.R. 1278 and S. 592—the DRIVE Act.

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DAV Supports H.R. 1529 and S. 777, the Veterans’ Compensation Cost-of-Living Adjustment (COLA) Act of 2023. This would increase VA compensation benefit rates for veterans and those in receipt of Dependents Indemnity Compensation (DIC).

Without annual COLAs, many disabled veterans, who sacrificed their own health and family life for the good of our nation, may not be able to maintain the quality of life they deserve. Consistent with DAV Resolution No. 102, we support H.R. 1529 and S. 777. We must ensure that veterans’ benefits keep pace for the many veterans and survivors who are on fixed incomes and largely rely on their compensation payments for basic necessities.

Please contact your Senators and Representative and urge them to co-sponsor and support the Veterans’ Compensation Cost-of-Living Adjustment Act of 2023. Thank you for standing with DAV to provide a cost-of-living increase for our nation’s service disabled veterans, their families and survivors.

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Join DAV in our support of H.R. 1606, the Veterans Entrepreneurship Training Act, which would statutorily authorize the Boots to Business (B2B) program that helps transitioning service members to start and grow businesses.

B2B is an entrepreneurial education and training program offered by the Small Business Administration as part of the Department of Defense's Transition Assistance Program (TAP). The B2B program offers transitioning service members and military spouses a foundational two-day, in-person course for an introduction to business ownership which can be followed by optional online courses on topics including market research, business fundamentals, and revenue readiness.

The Veteran Entrepreneurship Training Act would authorize the B2B program for five years.

In accordance with DAV Resolution No. 439, DAV strongly supports H.R. 1606, the Veterans Entrepreneurship Training Act. Veterans deserve the opportunity for self-employment that accommodates their employment barriers and provides them with financial empowerment.

Please use the prepared email to contact your Representative to request they co-sponsor H.R. 1606. Thank you for your support and defense of our nation's Veterans who were wounded, injured or made ill due to their service.

TAKE ACTION

Please join DAV in our support of H.R. 1799, the Ensure Military Personnel Learn Opportunities Yielding Vocations that Employ Transitioning Servicemembers Act, or the EMPLOY VETS Act.

About 250,000 service members transition to civilian life each year. The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Transition Assistance Program (TAP) provides information, resources, and tools to service members and their loved ones to help prepare for the move from military to civilian life.

The transition from military service to civilian life can be very difficult for many Veterans who must overcome obstacles to successful employment. The EMPLOY VETS Act would expand the definition of eligible Veterans for VA job counseling, training and placement services for Veterans by adding those service members who are eligible for TAP.

In accordance with DAV Resolution No. 187, DAV strongly supports H.R. 1799, the EMPLOY VETS Act. For many service members separating from service, the immediate focus is seeking gainful employment to support themselves and their families. H.R. 1799 will provide the assistance they need to achieve that goal.

Please use the prepared email to contact your Representative to co-sponsor the EMPLOY VETS Act. Thank you for your support and defense of our nation's Veterans who were wounded, injured or made ill due to their service.

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H.R. 232, the Real Justice for Our Veterans Act, would authorize the Department of Justice (DOJ) to provide grants to local governments for improving retention rates in Veterans’ treatment courts and specialized programs that integrate substance use treatment services with criminal justice proceedings. The bill also would allow Veterans to participate in a regular drug court program if no Veterans’ treatment court is available. This bill would also require DOJ to report to Congress three years after its enactment on the effectiveness of Veterans’ treatment court programs, including an assessment of access to such programs for women and other demographic groups.

Years of experience from the Veterans’ treatment courts have resulted in a reduction of recidivism rates for Veterans compared with persons in other treatment courts and individuals not involved in any sort of alternative or diversionary court program. DAV supports H.R. 232, in accordance with DAV Resolution No. 030, which supports the continued growth of Veterans’ treatment courts in addition to appropriate goals and metrics to determine the program’s effectiveness.

We request DAV members and supporters contact their elected representative and urge them to co-sponsor and support H.R. 232, the Real Justice for Our Veterans Act of 2023.

TAKE ACTION

Please take action today to join DAV in our support of H.R. 2968, the Military and Veteran Student Loan Relief Act.

The caregivers of our nation’s disabled Veterans have dedicated so much to care for their injured and ill loved ones, often sacrificing or delaying their own career and educational goals to do so. In many cases, when they do seek to advance their education, the high costs are overwhelming—especially for those who lost income in order to take on caregiving responsibilities.

H.R. 2968 would help ease the financial burden caregivers face in pursuing their educational goals by including service as a military or Veteran caregiver as a public service job, making them eligible for the Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) Program. This program forgives remaining direct loan balances after an individual has made 120 monthly payments while working for a qualifying employer.

This bill will not only help provide much-needed financial relief for caregivers, it will offer well-deserved recognition of the commitment and dedication they have shown caring for their loved one.

DAV Resolution No. 018 supports legislation to improve and provide comprehensive services for the caregivers of severely disabled Veterans. Please contact your Representatives to request they co-sponsor H.R. 2968 to provide the nation’s military and Veteran caregivers with the financial relief they have earned by fulfilling such a critical role.

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On January 12, 2023, Rep. Sanford Bishop (Ga.) introduced H.R. 333, the Disabled Veterans Tax Termination Act.

This bill would permit retired members of the Armed Forces who have a service-connected disability rated 40% and below to receive concurrent payment of both retired pay and Veterans’ disability compensation. The bill would also make permanent the eligibility for concurrent receipt for Chapter 61 disability retirees who retired with less than 20 years of service.

DAV supports H.R. 333, as it would end the unfair policy of requiring certain military retirees to forfeit some of their retired pay in order to receive equal amounts of disability compensation from the Department of Veterans Affairs or, in the case of Chapter 61 retirees, having them choose between the two benefits. This legislation is in accordance with DAV Resolution No. 092 and would eliminate the bar to concurrent receipt of these benefits for all retirees.

Please use the prepared letter or draft your own to urge your representative to support and cosponsor H.R. 333. As always, we appreciate your support for DAV and thank you for participating in the Commander’s Action Network.

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Recently, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) reviewed VA's scheduling process and identified specific challenges that the Veterans Health Administration (VHA) has in ensuring that medical care appointments are scheduled in a timely manner. According to GAO, the Department's current policy for scheduling specialty care appointments at VHA facilities mandates they be scheduled within 3 business days from the date a provider enters a referral into the veteran's electronic health record.

H.R. 41, the VA Same-Day Scheduling Act, would require the VA Secretary to ensure when a veteran contacts the Department by telephone to schedule an appointment for care or services at any VA facility, the scheduling for the appointment occurs during that telephone call (regardless of the prospective date of the appointment being scheduled).

DAV supports the VA Same-Day Scheduling Act, in accordance with DAV Resolution No. 435, as it would improve current scheduling procedures and require real-time scheduling practices that ensure more timely access to VA health care services.

We call on all DAV members and supporters to contact their Representatives and urge them to co-sponsor and support H.R. 41, the VA Same-Day Scheduling Act.

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The Veterans Health Administration (VHA) has designated patient advocates at each VA medical center (VAMC) to receive and document feedback from veterans or their representatives, including requests for information, compliments, complaints and assist with clinical appeals. Given concerns in recent years with VHA’s ability to provide veterans timely access to health care, the importance of a strong patient advocacy program has taken on new significance.

H.R. 5755, the Veterans Patient Advocacy Act, would direct VAMC directors to ensure there is no fewer than one patient advocate for every 13,500 enrolled veterans. Additionally, it would also address the need for highly rural veterans to have access to the services of patient advocates assigned to rural community-based outpatient clinics.

DAV supports H.R. 5755, in accordance with DAV Resolution No. 056, which recognizes that staffing shortages and vacancies in the VA health care system, including critical positions like patient advocates, can hamper the ability of veterans who rely on the VA to overcome barriers to accessing the care they need and deserve.

We call on all DAV members and supporters to contact their representative and urge them to co-sponsor and support H.R. 5755—the Veterans Patient Advocacy Act.

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The number of veterans experiencing homelessness saw a decrease of 11% during January 2020, according to the January 2022 point-in-time count led by the Department of Housing and Urban Development, drawing the U.S. closer to ending homelessness among veterans. Compared with non-veterans, however, veterans are at higher risk of homelessness, and women veterans especially face unique challenges that increase their risk of homelessness.

To continue the progress toward eliminating homelessness among veterans, H.R. 645, the Healthy Foundations for Homeless Veterans Act, would permanently authorize the use of certain funds to improve flexibility in the provision of assistance to homeless veterans.

Consistent with DAV Resolution No. 060, DAV strongly supports H.R. 645. The bill would strengthen the capacity of the Department of Veterans Affairs’ Homeless Veterans Program by authorizing use of available funds to assist with:

• Expenses such as food, shelter, clothing, blankets, and hygiene items;
• Transportation to appointments with service providers, housing searches, and the attainment of food and supplies;
• Communications equipment and services such as tablets, smartphones, disposable phones, and related service plans;
• Contacting service providers, prospective landlords, and family members.

We are calling on all DAV members and supporters to contact their representative and urge them to co-sponsor and support H.R. 645 to end homelessness among veterans.

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Over the past several years, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) added VA health care and acquisition management to its High-Risk List. Addressing longstanding challenges requires sustained leadership and strong management and would help ensure veterans receive the care and benefits they deserve.

H.R. 693, the VACANT Act, would require the VA Secretary to appoint a VA medical center director as acting director after detailing that director to a different position within the Department. The individual appointed as acting director would be afforded all of the authority and responsibilities of the detailed director.

DAV supports H.R. 693, in accordance with DAV Resolution No. 056, as it would improve accountability to sustain needed leadership to ensure the VA health care system runs seamlessly during a period of transition and that veterans’ continuity of care and benefits are not disrupted.

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Leonard C Boyle, Acting United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, and Phillip Coyne, Special Agent in Charge of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of the Inspector General, today announced that LISA AZINHEIRA and L.A. VISION LLC, have entered into a civil settlement agreement with the federal and state governments and have agreed to pay $678,901.21 to resolve allegations that they violated the federal and state False Claims Acts.

Azinheira is a licensed optician and an owner of L.A. Vision, a business located on South Whitney Street in Hartford that offers optical goods and services. The allegations against Azinheira and L.A. Vision concern the submission of claims for optical goods and services that were not medically necessary.

The government alleges that starting in January 2014, every time Azinheira and L.A. Vision billed Connecticut Medicaid for a pair of eyeglasses, they also submitted a claim to Medicaid for “miscellaneous vision services or items,” using procedure code V2799. Pursuant to the Department of Social Services (“DSS”) fee schedule, procedure code V2799 can only be billed for medically necessary vision services, and must be billed at actual acquisition cost. The United States and the State of Connecticut allege that Azinheira and L.A. Vision did not provide any services or items that would justify billing that procedure code, and if any services or goods were provided, they were not medically necessary, and not billed at acquisition cost.

The government also alleges that starting in January 2014, Azinheira and L.A. Vision encouraged Medicaid beneficiaries under the age of 21 to choose up to three pairs of eyeglasses at a time. Relevant Medicaid guidance indicates that spare pairs of eyeglasses are not medically necessary and are not covered. The federal and state governments contend that Azinheira and L.A. Vision knowingly submitted false claims to Medicaid for multiple pairs of eyeglasses that were not medically necessary.

To resolve the allegations under the federal and state False Claims Acts, Azinheira and L.A. Vision have agreed to pay $678,901.21 to the federal and state governments for conduct occurring between January 1, 2014, and November 10, 2018.

As part of the settlement, Azinheira and L.A. Vision have entered into a three-year billing Integrity Agreement with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services that is designed to ensure future compliance with the requirements of federal healthcare programs.

This matter was investigated by the Office of the Inspector General for the Department of Health and Human Services, and the Connecticut Office of the Attorney General. This case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Sara Kaczmarek, and by Assistant Attorney General Gregory O’Connell of the Attorney General’s Office.

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FALLS CHURCH, Va.  –  Will you soon be eligible for Medicare and TRICARE coverage? If yes, be sure to join the TRICARE webinar, “How to Get Started with Medicare and TRICARE,” on March 31, from 1 to 2 p.m. ET. This webinar will help you learn the basics of TRICARE For Life (TFL) and the steps to take to get TFL coverage. You must register to participate.

What is TFL? TFL provides Medicare-wraparound coverage to military retirees and their family members who are eligible for Medicare Part A, Part B, and TRICARE. As described in the TRICARE For Life Handbook, once you’re entitled to Medicare Part A, have Part B, and show as TRICARE eligible in the Defense Enrollment Eligibility Reporting System (DEERS), you automatically get TFL benefits.

“Medicare Part A and Part B are the two parts of Medicare that are critical for you to be eligible for TRICARE For Life,” said Anne Breslin, TRICARE For Life program manager with the Defense Health Agency. “Most of us become eligible for Medicare when we turn age 65.”

If you or a family member are turning age 65 soon, join the webinar for important information and resources. The webinar will highlight things you need to know, like when to sign up for Medicare so you don’t have a break in your TRICARE coverage and get your TFL benefits on time. It will also cover how you get care with TFL, Medicare providers, Medicare and TRICARE covered services, and TFL costs.

A Q&A will follow the presentation. Make sure to register for the March 31 TRICARE webinar for a chance to participate. Registration for the webinar is limited.

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There are many myths about having a Department of Veterans Affairs' disability rating and serving in the military. The most common is that, if you have a VA disability rating, you can never serve in the military again. Or if you do serve in the military, you have to waive your disability rating or all of your VA disability compensation. None of these statements is completely true.

The truth is, in some cases, it is possible to serve in the military with a VA disability rating.

Because you can file a VA disability claim only after leaving active duty, this article is making the assumption that the military member has left active duty and is either transitioning into the Guard or Reserves or trying to return to active duty after a break in service.

Can You Serve in the Military with a Disability Rating?

The answer is maybe. Simply having a VA disability rating does not prevent someone from joining the military. However, the underlying medical condition may prevent someone from medically qualifying to serve again.

For example, you can receive a VA disability rating for knee surgery that you had while on active duty. If your knee has otherwise healed and you can perform your military duties, remain deployable and pass your PT test, then you may be eligible for continued military service.

However, other underlying medical conditions may prevent you from joining the military again. For example, it may be difficult to join again if your VA disability rating stems from a serious medical condition that prevents you from being able to perform your military duties, maintain deployability status or pass your PT test.

If you had a break in service before trying to go back into the military, you may need to process through MEPS again. If you have a VA disability rating or certain other medical conditions, you may need to apply for a medical waiver to join the military.

Can You Serve on Active Duty with a VA Disability Rating?

Provided you have been medically cleared to serve, simply having a VA disability rating isn't enough to prohibit you from serving on active duty.

However, federal law prohibits members from receiving military compensation and VA disability compensation for the same day of service.

So, while you won't have to waive your actual VA disability rating, you would need to suspend your VA disability compensation payments until after your active-duty service ends. After that, you can contact the VA to resume your payments.

What About Serving in the Guard or Reserves with a Disability Rating?

The same rules apply to members of the Reserve Component as they do for active duty. However, there is one big difference: You don't have to suspend your VA disability compensation payments unless you are serving in a full-time capacity.

When you receive VA disability compensation, you receive it on a monthly basis.

When you serve in the Reserve Component, you receive military pay only on the days you serve (typically one weekend a month, and two weeks a year). You actually perform four drill periods on your weekend drill and receive pay for four days of work. You will receive only one day of pay for the other days you serve in the Reserve Component (Active Training, TDY, PME, etc.).

The typical Guard or Reserve member receives military pay for only a handful of days per month. They are in an inactive status and are not receiving compensation for the remaining days of the month.

Remember the rule above: "Federal law prohibits members from receiving military compensation and VA disability compensation for the same day of service."

The law requires members of the Reserve Component to waive either their military compensation or VA disability compensation for days in which they received both forms of compensation. Thankfully, it's easy to decide which pay to waive.

Deciding Which Pay to Waive

Simply compare your monthly VA disability compensation payment to the base military pay for your paygrade and years of service. Waive the lesser of the two (Spoiler: This will almost always be your VA disability compensation).

Keep in mind you have to waive your pay only on the days on which you receive both forms of compensation. In other words, the pay you waive is prorated -- you don't have to waive the full month of either of these payments, only the prorated amount for the days on which you received both.

Both the VA and Defense Finance and Accounting Service (DFAS) prorate the payments based on a 30-day month. This means each day of VA compensation is worth 1/30 of your monthly VA disability rate. Likewise, each day of military service is worth 1/30 of your base military pay.

So if you serve the traditional one weekend a month, two weeks a year, you would receive military compensation for 63 days of service (48 weekend drills and 15 AT days).

The VA sends members a copy of VA Form 21-8951 at the end of the year documenting the number of days on which they received military compensation and VA disability compensation for the same period of service.

You use this form to elect to either waive your VA disability compensation or your military pay. This article explains VA Form 21-8951 in more detail.

If you waive your VA disability compensation, the VA will simply withhold future payments based on the number of days for which you received compensation in the previous year. If you were paid for 63 days of military service, the VA would withhold a little more than two months' worth of disability compensation from future payments. You can even request that the VA withhold only a portion of your future payments until the full amount is withheld.

If you choose to waive your military compensation, you would need to repay the military in full. This would mean writing a large check to DFAS.

In most cases, you will have earned more military compensation than you received in VA disability compensation, so it would make much more sense to waive your VA compensation.

In Summary

Yes, it may be possible to serve in the military with a VA disability rating, provided your underlying medical condition doesn't prevent you from meeting requirements. If you serve on active duty, in the full-time Guard/Reserves, or you have been activated, you may need to suspend your VA disability compensation payments to comply with federal law. Otherwise, members of the Reserve Component may need to waive either their military compensation or their disability compensation for the number of days on which they received both forms of compensation on the same day.

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Acting United States Attorney Leonard C Boyle and Connecticut Attorney General William Tong today announced that CORNELL SCOTT HILL HEALTH CORPORATION (“CSH”) has entered into a civil settlement agreement with the federal and state governments and has paid $350,000 to resolve allegations that CSH improperly billed the Connecticut Medicaid program for certain dental services.

CSH is a Federally Qualified Health Center (“FQHC”) that provides a variety of health care services, including dental services, to Connecticut Medicaid beneficiaries and other individuals. Pursuant to federal requirements, the State of Connecticut compensates FQHCs on an “encounter-based” reimbursement structure. For the provision of dental services, claims are limited to one all-inclusive encounter per day to include all dental services received by a patient on the same day.

The allegations against CSH arise out of improper billing for certain dental services, specifically prophylactic cleanings and dental exams. The government alleges that CSH implemented a policy that required Medicaid patients to receive prophylactic cleanings and dental exams on separate days, resulting in CSH getting paid two encounter rates instead of just one rate.

To resolve their liability, CSH paid $350,000 to the federal and state governments for conduct occurring between January 1, 2017 through December 31, 2019. In addition, CSH has agreed to change its policy and offer all Medicaid beneficiaries the option of scheduling a prophylactic cleaning and dental examination on the same day.

This matter was investigated by the Office of Inspector General for the Department of Health and Human Services. The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Richard M. Molot and by Assistant Attorneys General Michael Cole and Joshua Jackson of the Connecticut Office of the Attorney General.

People who suspect health care fraud are encouraged to report it by calling 1-800-HHS-TIPS or the Health Care Fraud Task Force at (203) 777-6311.

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For the first time in the United States, a heart from a deceased donor was successfully revived prior to being transplanted into a patient in need.

On Sunday, Duke University doctors revived the heart from the deceased donor using an artificial circulatory mechanism, according to the New York Post. Once beating, the heart was successfully transplanted into the patient, a military Veteran, according to a statement provided to Fox News from the Duke Health.

Jacob Niall Schroder, director of the heart transplant program at Duke University Medical Center, later took to Twitter with now-deleted footage of the heart beating outside of a human body. The physician in the same tweet said the occurrence was the “[first] adult DCD heart in the USA.” DCD stands for donation after circulatory death.

To restart the heart outside of the body, doctors used warm perfusion, a trailblazing technique that “circulates blood, oxygen and electrolytes through the disembodied heart,” according to the Post. In 2015, according to Schroder’s tweet, Royal Papworth Hospital in the U.K. became one of the first to use warm perfusion.

The method could expand the donor pool — which is currently facing a shortage — “up to as much as 30 [percent],” he added, noting this could subsequently “decrease waitlist time, deaths on the waitlist, with excellent survival results.”

Typically, according to the statement from Duke Health, heart donations “have depended on a declaration of brain death." But donation after circulatory death "occurs after the heart has stopped beating and the person’s death has been declared. DCD transplantation is done regularly in the U.S. for organs other than the heart, although DCD heart transplants have been conducted in Europe and Australia.”

Speaking to the Daily Mail, Schroder called the transplant “a huge deal.”

“This is the first time in the US, which is a huge deal because transplant need and volume is so high, but a few centers around the world, including Papworth, have pioneered this effort," he said.

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This week we are asking you to help us get support for 4 bills related to Service Dogs.  

HR 1022 and S 951 will direct the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to carry out a grant program under which the Secretary shall make grants to private entities for the provision of service dogs to eligible Veterans with post-traumatic stress disorder. 

HR 1448 and S 613 will direct the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to carry out a pilot program on dog training therapy, and to amend title 38, United States Code, to authorize the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to provide service dogs to Veterans with mental illnesses who do not have mobility impairments. 

Canine support is a proven treatment for those Veterans suffering from Post-Traumatic Stress.  There are many documented cases of these dogs being life savers.  With Veteran suicide at an unacceptably high level, this program will save lives and improve the quality of life for our mentally wounded warriors. 

HR 1022

S 951

HR 1448

S 613

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Here’s a one-stop website for information

Pandemic. COVID-19. Social distance. These are all terms we wish we didn’t know. And, as you’ve heard, geriatric adults are at increased risk for coronavirus.

We could all use some good news these days. VA’s Geriatrics and Extended Care website has been refreshed and updated. It is a one-stop resource for Veterans and their caregivers.

Visit www.va.gov/Geriatrics to find:

COVID-19 Resources

• What Veterans Need to Know about COVID-19
• VA COVID-19 Care Resources
• Stay Connected During COVID-19
• Make Your Wishes Known

The COVID-19 outbreak has the potential to increase stress and anxiety, both because of the fear of catching the virus and because of uncertainty about how the outbreak will affect us socially and economically. VA’s PTSD website offers resources to help manage stress and improve your well-being.

Key Website Topics

• Home and Community Services
• Residential Settings and Nursing Homes
• Paying for Long Term Care
• Making Decisions and Advance Care Planning
• Memory Loss and Brain Health, and more

Subscribe to Receive Monthly Emails

If you choose to subscribe through the gov.delivery system, you will receive monthly emails that feature topics of interest to help you age well and connect with VA and community resources.

You provide your email address to receive updates that you request. The system also allows you to set subscriber preferences. And it’s easy to unsubscribe, if desired.

Help spread the word about what VA can do for our older Veterans, those who care for them, and Veterans with extended care needs.

Please stay safe and stay healthy during these challenging times.

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Helmets to Hardhats helps people transition from military to civilian life, one Vet at a time.

When Michael Szabla entered the Marine Corps, he thought it would be forever. However, his tours abroad as a combat engineer took their toll and, after four years of service, he returned to civilian life.

Ready to start anew, he went through a weeklong transition assistance program where the message was clearly, “Take your GI Bill and go to college.”

But that wasn’t going to happen.

“I had no desire to go to college,” Szabla, 28, says. “I spent my entire deployments outside, not in an office. I couldn’t imagine sitting in a classroom, and then if I had to go to a cubicle job, I knew I would lose my mind.”

It’s a tough transition around 200,000 service members go through every year. After spending years taking orders — told where to go, what to do and even when to go to bed — they suddenly need to make their own decisions about their futures. Additionally, many lack skills that easily translate to civilian jobs; the ability to shoot at enemy combatants or defuse bombs aren’t applicable to most positions. Experts also cite Veterans' high incidence of post-traumatic stress disorder and substance abuse as reasons for difficulty with the transition. An estimated 1.4 million U.S. Veterans are below the poverty line.

However, the Chicago resident considers himself lucky: He now has a job with an enviable paycheck, retirement savings and insurance ensuring both his physical and mental health — invaluable for combat Veterans. Plus, as a pipefitter apprentice, he finds the job challenging and fulfilling.

He says other Veterans can do the same if they only knew where to go.

“When I got out of the Marine Corps, I was looking for something to give me purpose again, to fill a void,” he explains. “I found this and it filled that void pretty quickly. Sometimes when I go downtown to see a Blackhawks game, I will see a building and think ‘I helped build that.’”

Szabla found out about the opportunity through Helmets to Hardhats, a nonprofit organization which helps to bridge the gap between Veterans that need careers and employers who have a surplus of well-paying skilled labor jobs.

While Szabla feels like he lucked out, Helmets to Hardhats Executive Director Darrell Roberts says that most Veterans can follow similar routes and more would if they just knew the opportunities existed. He sees his job mostly as spreading the word.

“We want to take luck and chance out of the equation,” Roberts says. “We want to make the odds greater than you learn about this at a time where you can make an informed decision.”

Helmets to Hardhats was started in 2003 by retired Marine Major General Matt Caulfield, who came up with it after a chance meeting with Joe Maloney of the AFL-CIO. Now, more than 10,000 Veterans around the country use their services each year to find what Roberts calls meaningful work.

“We're not just looking to help someone find a job, we're looking to help them find a career,” he explains.

Significant opportunity

Recent Department of Labor statistics show a shortage of skilled trade labor, largely a result of a booming economy, a low unemployment rate, a high rate of retirement among older workers and an increase in college degrees held by younger Americans who aren’t interested in physically demanding work. Millions of those jobs in the coming years might go unfilled, many with six-figure earning growth potential.

Meanwhile, according to research by the University of Southern California, nearly 70,000 Veterans are homeless — almost 10 percent of the total number of Vets — and they are twice as likely to be living on the streets. This is despite the fact that many employers say they value their work ethic and team spirit, valuable traits learned during military careers solving problems in demanding and even dangerous situations.

Szabla, for example, carries his combat engineer philosophy to his new job where, he says, the team spirit reminds him of his service days.

“There's an incentive to work hard,” he explains. “If you work hard, you're going to get rewarded for it. We're not here just punching a clock. You get to put your name on what you're doing, and, at the end of the day, you get to look and say, ‘I did that.’ That’s what I get out of it, personally.”

On the other side, union apprenticeship programs provide all the necessary training to get them the skills they need and also provide an income in the process, creating “earn while you learn” opportunities. However, starting apprenticeship jobs regularly pay less than $20 per hour, a very unappealing prospect for Veterans like Szabla.

“Most of these kids that join, they're 18, and they're right out of high school,” Szabla explains. “They have time to save up money and get a house or an apartment or something. For me, I was 25, I was in the Marine Corps, I was living on my own. I had led men into combat. The last thing I wanted to do was go live back with my parents to save money.”

Instead, Szabla learned from Helmets to Hardhats that he could supplement that income with the GI Bill, bringing his total income to more than $40 per hour, enough to “get on my own and get my own place and start my life instead of starting from zero prior to the military.” Every six months, Szabla has received a raise, after which his GI payouts decreased. In a couple of years, he will make full journeyman pipefitter with Chicago Local 597, at which point his job will pay his full salary.

Roberts points out that with all of the encouragement for Veterans to use their GI Bills for college tuition, most don’t even realize they can use them this way.

“The training is free, and apprentice programs pay 50 to 70 percent of what a journeyperson makes,” Roberts explains. “The GI Bill pays the difference so, under this model, they receive a check and can use it for whatever they needed, whether it was to buy groceries, putting [it] in the bank or pay a mortgage bill.”

Hard work

Tabetha Andino, a single mother and an Army Veteran, left the Army in 2002 but spent time taking care of her sons, now 16 and 11. Two years ago, she felt ready to return to the workforce and decided to become a mason apprentice.

It didn’t take long for her to get started.

“They only offer the start once a year, but I got to bypass the waiting [because of Veteran status],” Andino, 37, explains. “It took just 30 days from when I signed up to my first class. Then, after three weeks, they send you out to a site. You are sent to work immediately.”

Andino is particularly thankful for her steady hours. Knowing she has kids, her employer doesn’t schedule her for night shifts. She’s also very thankful for the high-level benefits that enable her to take care of her sons, one of whom was diagnosed with juvenile diabetes.

“Without the medical they give me, I would never have been able to get the right doctors,” she says.

That doesn’t mean she won’t take the opportunity to get overtime when it’s available, often meaning she heads to the site as early as 3:30 a.m.

“In a nutshell, I’m the sole provider,” she explains. “For women it’s a little harder because we have to make sure that our home is good. Thank god I have a company that works with me for my children. I would never have been able to take care of my children the way I can now.”

She says she often tells service members ready to make the transition about her union, Local 79, and the kinds of jobs that are available that offer the same “tight knit camaraderie” they experienced in the military and the kind of medical insurance they need.

“I’m a big advocate,” she says.

For Roberts, these kinds of stories show how valuable a little guidance can be.

“Every transition is different,” he says.

The trades, he says, offer a good alternative, and he hopes the military will start talking them up more. A Navy hull technician who eventually eschewed the college route to work with sheet metal, he understands the population he serves.

“[In the military], you're used to a family environment, part of a big effort and you're trying to work toward an outcome or goal. When you come out of that, there's that period of culture shock and you feel a little lost and, on top of that, you also need to start a new career with new people. Every year we hear success stories, and one of the things that I’m most thankful for is when I hear that they found another family.”

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Are you at risk?

Managing hypertension or high blood pressure can be tough, especially during the winter months. A change in routine, family visits, traveling, illnesses, holiday menus and financial concerns can all stop your best efforts at keeping high blood pressure under control.

If you’re one of the millions of Americans with high blood pressure, it’s vital to keep your blood pressure stable. Drastic changes can put you at risk for heart attack or stroke.

The facts about blood pressure

Blood pressure is a measure of the pressure that is placed on the arteries. As the heart pumps blood with oxygen and nutrients out to the body, it creates pressure in the arterial system, like a pipeline.

Arteries carry this oxygenated blood from the heart to other organs and areas in the body. As blood pressure rises, the heart must work harder to pump blood to the body’s organs. This causes strain and damage to the heart and arteries.

Blood pressure is based on two readings. The top number (systolic reading) measures the pressure as the heart contracts or beats. The bottom number (diastolic reading) is the pressure in the arteries as the heart relaxes between beats. In general, normal blood pressure is 120/80.

However, blood pressure may change with stress or activity. High blood pressure (hypertension) is diagnosed when the top number (systolic blood pressure) is greater than or equal to 140, and the bottom number (diastolic blood pressure) is greater than or equal to 90.

Are you at risk?

Risk factors for high blood pressure include:

• Family history of high blood pressure (mother, father, brother or sister)
• African American
• Smoking
• Diet high in salt and fried foods
• Overweight
• Diabetes, heart or kidney disease
• Increased stress
• Greater than two alcoholic drinks per day
• Sedentary lifestyle
• History of stroke or heart attack

Many people have hypertension and do not know it. For this reason, it’s often considered the silent killer. Take these steps to control blood pressure, prevent complications and lower your risk for heart disease. You can work with your health care team to develop a healthy habits plan.

Blood pressure control plan

A good plan should include healthy eating and regular physical activity. Eat foods that are low in sodium. Skip the salt shaker and use spices instead. Try not to eat foods that are high in fat or fried foods. Bake, broil or grill foods and eat lean meats, such as chicken or fish, whole grain cereals and breads, fresh fruits and vegetables.

Learn how to read food labels. Healthy eating will reduce blood pressure and promote weight loss. Great fitness exercises include walking, biking and swimming. Exercise for 30 minutes a day most days. Walk whenever you can. Through proper diet and exercise, you will look and feel better and have less stress. Also, try quitting smoking, limiting alcohol and reducing your caffeine intake.

Sometimes, healthy habits are not enough to lower blood pressure. If that’s the case, your health care provider may recommend medications. Often, more than one medication may be needed. It’s important to take all your medications as prescribed and follow up with your health care provider regularly.

Do not let yourself become a victim of this silent killer. You can do this by making simple changes in your life. Change your eating habits. Begin an exercise routine. Take your medicine as prescribed. You can control your blood pressure and ensure a healthier tomorrow.

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As many as one in five Veterans living in America today could see new health care coverage and disability benefits under the toxic exposure legislation advanced by the Senate Thursday, but some Veterans will see help sooner than others.

The package — which was advanced by the Senate in a bipartisan 84-14 vote and heads now to the House for final congressional approval — would cost almost $280 billion over the next decade and radically transform how the Department of Veterans Affairs analyzes and compensates victims of military chemical and radiation exposure incidents.

President Joe Biden has said he will sign the bill into law if it comes to his desk, and Veterans Affairs officials have already begun preparing staffing and implementation plans in anticipation of the new requirements.

“America’s Veterans and their loved ones will be better off as a result of this work today,” said Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee Chairman Jon Tester, D-Mont., just moments before the vote. “This will make the country a better place... Today will show that we can put party politics aside and honor America’s bravest.”

The burn pit provisions of the Promise to Address Comprehensive Toxics (PACT) Act have received the most attention in recent months, in part because of the recency of those injuries.

Tens of thousands of Veterans from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan have developed rare respiratory conditions and cancers in the years following their deployments, believed caused by poisonous smoke from massive burn pits used to dispose of a host of military waste.

But because scientific monitoring was not done at many sites, conclusively linking the smoke to Veterans’ ailments has been a difficult task.

The PACT Act codifies recent changes in how the Department of Veterans Affairs approaches those kinds of health claims, lowering standards for proof and offering presumptive status for some rare illnesses believed caused by the burn pits.

Advocates said those fundamental changes could have wide-ranging and positive impact on Veterans for years to come, developing a more patient-friendly approach to how VA approaches any toxic exposure incidents.

But they also say the direct benefits for groups that have been excluded in the past are more urgent. Those individuals include not only troops who recently separated but some who served more than five decades ago.

Here are highlights from those provisions:

The benefit: Presumptive status for disability benefits for 23 conditions related to burn pit exposure.

Who gets it: Most Veterans who served in the Iraq and Afghanistan Wars era are expected to be covered under the provision, although specifics of how to implement that still must be written by VA officials.

Individuals would receive disability benefits if they contract any type of the following cancers: head, neck, respiratory system, gastrointestinal system, reproductive system, lymphatic system, kidney, brain, skin or pancreas.

Individuals would also receive disability benefits if they contract any type of the following ailments: asthma, chronic bronchitis, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, constrictive bronchiolitis, emphysema, granulomatous disease, interstitial lung disease, pleuritis, pulmonary fibrosis, sarcoidosis, chronic sinusitis, chronic rhinitis or glioblastoma.

Most of the illnesses other than cancer would be eligible for benefits within the next year. The cancer benefits would be phased in from 2024 to 2025, except for individuals facing severe medical issues.

The benefit: Ten years of health care coverage from VA upon separation from the military. Currently, all separating troops get five years of coverage.

Who gets it: All Veterans who left the ranks in summer 2017 or later will have their eligibility automatically extended. Veterans who left between summer 2014 and summer 2017 will be able to apply for additional years of health care coverage, ending at 10 years after the date they separated.

The benefit: Presumptive status for disability benefits related to Agent Orange exposure for Veterans suffering from hypertension or monoclonal gammopathy of undetermined significance (MGUS).

Who gets it: All Veterans currently eligible for disability benefits related to Agent Orange exposure. For MGUS, the presumptive status goes into effect as soon as the bill is signed into law.

Veterans suffering from hypertension will be phased in. Those who age 85 and older, or those suffering extreme health or financial problems. will receive immediate benefits status. For others, the presumptive status will start on Oct. 1, 2026.

The benefit: Presumptive status for disability benefits related to Agent Orange exposure for Veterans who served in areas previously not recognized for the chemical defoliant use.

Who gets it: For Veterans 85 or older who qualify, the benefit goes into effect immediately. For younger Veterans, the provisions will trigger on Oct. 1, 2022. The eligible groups include:

♦ Individuals who served in Thailand (or any Royal Thai base) from Jan. 9, 1962, to June 30, 1976;

♦ Individuals who served in Laos between Dec. 1, 1965, and Sept. 30, 1969;

♦ Individuals who served in Cambodia’s Kompon Cham province between April 16, 1969, and April 30, 1969;

♦ Individuals who served in Guam or American Samoa (or their territorial waters) between Jan. 9, 1962, and July 31, 1980;

♦ Individuals who served on the Johnston Atoll between Jan. 1, 1972, and Sept. 30, 1977.

The benefit: Presumptive status for disability benefits for Persian Gulf War Veterans.

Who gets it: All Veterans who served in the first Gulf War. The provisions remove rules regarding eligibility expiration.

The benefit: Presumptive status for disability benefits related to radiation exposure for Veterans who served at the Enewetak Atoll.

Who gets it: Individuals who served at the site from Jan. 1, 1977, to Dec. 31, 1980.

The benefit: Presumptive status for disability benefits related to radiation exposure for Veterans who served in Palomares, Spain.

Who gets it: Individuals who served at the site from Jan. 17, 1966, to March 31, 1967.

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The Pentagon has spent $15 million in the past five years to treat 1,892 transgender troops, including $11.5 million for psychotherapy and $3.1 million for surgeries, according to Defense Department data provided to Military.com

Of the 243 gender reassignment surgeries performed on military personnel since 2016, 50 took place between Jan. 1, 2016 and Dec. 31, 2017, and 193 occurred from Jan. 1, 2018 to Dec. 31, 2019 -- the two years after President Donald Trump announced via Twitter that he would bar transgender individuals from serving in the U.S. military.

According to the Defense Health Agency, the surgeries were performed in military health facilities and included removal of breasts or testicles, hysterectomies and labiaplasty -- creation of or reshaping the flesh around a vagina.

The total number of transgender persons serving in the armed forces across all three components -- active-duty, Reserve and National Guard -- is not known as not all likely have sought treatment.

But as of May, 1,892 military personnel have been diagnosed and treated for gender dysphoria, including 726 Army soldiers, 576 Navy sailors, 449 Air Force airmen and 141 Marines, according to DHA spokesman Peter Graves.

The Palm Center, a public policy think tank that focuses on LGBT issues, estimated in 2018 that 14,707 transgender troops serve in the U.S. armed forces, including nearly 9,000 on active duty and 5,727 in the reserves.

In 2016, then-Defense Secretary Ash Carter announced that transgender people already serving in the military would be allowed to serve openly and transgender individuals were allowed to enlist as of July 1, 2017.

Trump announced via tweet in July 2017 that planned to ban transgender people from serving in the U.S. military, saying he consulted with military leaders and military experts before deciding that DoD did not need to be "burdened with the tremendous medical costs and disruption that transgender in the military would entail."

A policy was released by then-Secretary of Defense James Mattis in 2018 that prohibited individuals diagnosed with gender dysphoria from serving, with exceptions. It also said that transgender persons who didn't have the gender dysphoria -- defined as extreme anxiety or distress that may accompany a person's desire to be the opposite gender -- could serve, but only in their birth gender.

A number of lawsuits were filed over the policy, which was upheld by the U.S. Supreme Court in January 2019.

President Joe Biden reversed the policy on his fifth day in office, Jan. 25, 2021.

According to DoD, the department spent $11,582,262.99 on psychotherapy for service members with gender dysphoria from Jan. 1, 2016 through May 14, 2021. Within DoD, 637 service members received hormone therapy during the same time frame, at a cost of $340,000, and 243 surgeries were performed at a cost of $3.1 million.

The Pentagon's annual medical budget for health care programs in 2016 was $33.5 billion; the proposed fiscal 2022 budget calls for $35.6 billion in discretionary spending for health care.

The services have been rolling out branch-specific guidance regarding the treatment of transgender troops. The Air Force released its guidance on April 30, while the Navy issued a message June 3 stipulating its policy barring discrimination against any service members.

"The Navy remains committed to treating all persons with dignity and respect," the message read. "No person, solely on the basis of gender identity, will be denied accession, involuntarily separated or discharged, denied reenlistment or continuation of service, or subjected to adverse action or mistreatment."

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Pentagon officials on Wednesday released a list of military treatment facilities and clinics that will no longer provide care to military retirees and active-duty families as part of a shift in focus to supporting active-duty readiness.

"The military health system is in the midst of implementing several significant reforms aimed at building a more integrated and effective system of readiness and health," said Tom McCaffery, assistant secretary of defense for health affairs. "We reviewed all facilities through the lens of their contributions to military readiness -- that includes MTFs [being] operated to ensure service members are medically ready to train and deploy. 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 list is included in a 61-page report to Congress delivered Wednesday. The report lays out the process through which officials selected the locations slated for changes.

Those changes, first announced in a Feb. 3 memo obtained by Military.com, are slated to impact 200,000 retirees and active-duty family members. Of those, officials said Wednesday, about 80,000 are active-duty family members, while the remaining 120,000 are retirees and their families.

Of the 38 facilities that will no longer see retirees or family members, 24 are slated to shift to active-duty only over the next several years, officials said. Eleven clinics have already started the process of moving to active-duty only, and three are slated to close to all users.

An additional four facilities are slated for downgrades. For example, the hospital at Marine Corps Air Station Beaufort, South Carolina, will downgrade to an ambulatory care center under the plan. Two facilities will shift to mostly active-duty care, but will take families as needed. And two hospitals could be given upgrades, including the hospital at Camp Lejeune, North Carolina.

While officials said military readiness, not cost savings, is the primary driver for the changes, pushing retirees and active-duty families into the community for care should save the system money.

For 2021, that savings is expected to reach about $36 million, officials said.

"We have generally found that, through our contracts, that our care often is cheaper in the network from a government purchase point of view than the cost of actually doing it within our direct-care system in some locations," Dr. Dave Smith, deputy assistant secretary of defense for force health, told reporters. "And clearly, as part of our methodology, that was one of the questions we asked, but our principal question was, 'Are we getting readiness value out of this location that is worth the cost, if you will, compared to putting that somewhere else in the system.'"

But the changes will bring higher costs to many users forced to see doctors within the civilian community. For retirees on Tricare Prime, receiving care off base costs $20 per visit for primary care and $31 for specialty care. That’s for in-network doctors outside the MTF, and comes on top of a $600 per family annual registration fee.

For active-duty families on Tricare Prime, the change will carry no out-of-pocket costs.

The Feb. 3 memo noted that "in many cases" all users will still be able to receive pharmacy services at the impacted facilities.

All the clinics listed as shifting to active duty-only were noted as keeping pharmacy service for all users. However, pharmacy services provided by the facilities slated for complete closure will cease. That means users who previously received drugs from those facilities will need to shift to a different military pharmacy or pay out of pocket for drugs from a local retail pharmacy or mail order.

Officials told reporters Wednesday that no clinics identified for transition will do so until care is secured within the civilian community for each patient, a process that they said could take as long as five years. The Defense Health Agency, which manages the Tricare program and its private contractor, will oversee that process, McCaffery said.

"It will be the Defense Health Agency working with the local MTF leader, the installation commander and our Tricare network partners in making those determinations in terms of assessing the ability of that civilian health care market to take on additional patients," he said. "We recognize that this is an MTF by MTF, market by market implementation."

Officials said they examined more than 300 military health facilities as part of their review. Of those, they looked at 77 for a "detailed assessment" and determined that 50 warrant changes. Thirty-eight were then identified as having the necessary nearby civilian medical support to absorb an influx of new patients, they said.

That civilian capacity was assessed by surveying the local provider network and working with base commanders and MTF officials, the report says.

For example, researchers looked at primary, specialty and in-patient care within specific drive-time standards. For primary care, officials looked at providers within 15 miles of the current MTF for urban areas, and 30 miles for rural areas. For specialty care, the standard was 40 miles for urban areas and 55 miles for rural areas. And for in-patient hospital care, the standard was a 60-minute drive time.

For in-patient care, special attention was paid to labor and delivery services, the report states. In many cases, it notes, decisions were made specifically based on that issue. For example, at Fort Campbell, Kentucky, closing Blanchfield Army Medical Center to non-active duty patients is not an option because the local hospitals, in nearby Hopkinsville, Kentucky, and Clarksville, Tennessee, would not be able to handle a resulting 267% increase in annual deliveries, the report states.

Below is a list of facilities slated for changes or closures. The list can also be downloaded here. The complete report to Congress is available here.

Facilities closing to non-active duty patients include:

• Goodfellow Air Force Base, Texas, outpatient clinic
• Barksdale Air Force Base, Louisiana, outpatient clinic
• Maxwell Air Force Base, Alabama, outpatient clinic
• Dover Air Force Base, Delaware, outpatient clinic
• Hanscom Air Force Base, Massachusetts, outpatient clinic
• MacDill Air Force Base, Florida, outpatient clinic
• Robins Air Force Base, Georgia, outpatient clinic
• Dyess Air Force Base, Texas, outpatient clinic
• Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst, New Jersey, outpatient clinic
• Navy Weapons Station Earle, New Jersey, Colts Neck Earle clinic
• San Onofre Marine Corps Base, California, San Onofre Health Clinic
• Fort Bragg, North Carolina, Joel clinic and Robinson clinic
• Marine Corps Logistics Base Albany, Georgia, Naval Branch Health Clinic Albany
• Naval Support Facility Dahlgren, Virginia, Naval Branch Health Clinic Dahlgren
• Naval Submarine Base New London, Connecticut, Naval Branch Health Clinic Groton
• Naval Support Facility Indian Head, Maryland, outpatient clinic
• Naval Air Station Belle Chasse, Louisiana, outpatient clinic
• Naval Support Activity Mid-South, Tennessee, outpatient clinic
• Portsmouth Naval Shipyard, New Hampshire, outpatient clinic
• Fort Detrick, Maryland, Barquist outpatient clinic
• Defense Distribution Center in New Cumberland, Pennsylvania, outpatient clinic
• Redstone Arsenal, Alabama, outpatient clinic
• Fort Lee, Virginia, Kenner-Lee outpatient clinic
• Aberdeen Proving Ground, Maryland, Kirk Army Health outpatient clinic

Facilities that have either already transitioned to active duty-only, or are in process:

• Fort Riley, Kansas, Farrelly Health Clinic
• Fort Hood, Texas, Fort Hood Medical Home and Charles Moore clinic
• Naval Support Activity Lakehurst, New Jersey, Naval Behavioral Health Clinic Lakehurst
• Marine Corps Air Station Miramar, California, Rancho Bernardo clinic
• Presidio of Monterey, California, outpatient clinic
• Rock Island Arsenal, Illinois, outpatient clinic
• Naval Air Station Corpus Christi, outpatient clinic
• Naval Station Newport, Rhode Island, Naval Health Clinic New England
• Naval Air Station Patuxent River, Maryland, outpatient clinic
• Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Washington, Okubo Medical Home
• Fort Carson, Colorado, Robinson-Carson outpatient clinic

Facilities that will close completely to all users:

• MacDill Air Force Base's Sabal Park community clinic in Brandon, Florida
• Fort Benning, Georgia, North Columbus-Benning clinic
• Fort Irwin, California, Department of Behavioral Health

Facilities that could see upgrades:

• Camp Lejeune, North Carolina, upgrade to Level II Trauma Center
• Tripler Army Medical Center, Hawaii, could be closed to non-active duty patients if officials determine that the local community can handle providing the necessary medical care.

Facilities slated for downgrade:

• Fort Meade, Maryland, Kimbrough, Ambulatory Care Center to downgrade to a clinic
• Marine Corps Air Station Beaufort, South Carolina, Naval Hospital Beaufort downgrade to ambulatory surgery center
• Joint Base Langley-Eustis, Virginia, downgrade to an ambulatory surgery center and outpatient clinic; McDonald clinic downgrade from ambulatory surgery to an outpatient clinic
• Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, downgrade from ambulatory surgery to an outpatient clinic

Facilities that may continue to see active-duty families

• Naval Technical Training Center Meridian, Mississippi, outpatient clinic
• Southern Command (SOUTHCOM), Miami, Florida, Gordon outpatient clinic

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If you receive VA disability pay, Social Security or SSI and you haven't received your third stimulus check, your wait is almost over. The IRS just announced that payments to those receiving VA disability could be made in mid-April, while most payments for people who receive other federal benefits and aren't required to file a tax return will be made Wednesday, April 7.

The April 7 payment date applies to those who get benefits from Social Security retirement and disability, Supplemental Security Income and the Railroad Retirement System. A payment date for those who get VA benefits hasn't yet been announced.

Why Are VA Disability and Social Security Recipients Still Waiting?

If you file a tax return and receive benefits, chances are good that you're among the 127 million Americans who have already gotten their $1,400 stimulus checks. But about 30 million recipients of Social Security and other benefits are still waiting on stimulus money.

That's because the IRS is processing stimulus payments using 2019 and 2020 tax returns. But just as with the first two rounds of payments, the IRS didn't require recipients of Social Security and other benefits to file a tax return if they weren't otherwise required to. Instead, the IRS got the information it needed from the appropriate agency.

This time around, the IRS was waiting on Social Security and other agencies to provide updated direct deposit information and addresses for recipients. On March 25, after the House Ways and Means Committee issued a 24-hour ultimatum, the Social Security Administration provided the updated information. The VA and Railroad Retirement System provided the information earlier last week.

For recipients of VA benefits, the IRS news release announcing payment dates says: "The IRS continues to review data received for Veterans Affairs (VA) benefit recipients and expects to determine a payment date and provide more details soon. Currently, the IRS estimates that Economic Impact Payments for VA beneficiaries who do not regularly file tax returns could be disbursed by mid-April."

Do I Have to Do Anything to Get My Check?

Probably not. If you received the first two checks, you're probably in line to get this one, too. The only thing you can do right now is wait.

One exception: If you have dependents, you may need to file a tax return, because the IRS may not get dependent information directly from Social Security or another agency. This time around, you'll get $1,400 for each dependent, regardless of their age. If you have dependent children, submitting a return could also help you get a child tax credit of $3,600 for children younger than 6 or $3,000 for children 17 and younger.

You may not receive money on behalf of your dependent with your check. If you don't get it with your check, the IRS will send you the extra money once it processes your return.

You can expect to receive your third stimulus check however you get your federal benefits, either through direct deposit or a Direct Express Debit Mastercard. If you've closed the bank account the IRS has on file, your bank will reject the deposit and you'll get your payment in the mail.

Can I Track My Stimulus Check Yet?

If you receive federal benefits and don't file a tax return, not yet. The IRS Get My Payment tool will be updated the weekend of April 3-4 for benefit recipients who are getting paid on April 7.

The information is updated once a day. Avoid multiple log-ins, as you may get locked out for 24 hours.

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Veteran households consistently outearn their non-Veteran counterparts — a trend that has prevailed for nearly 40 years, according to a new report.

“Households headed by Veterans have higher incomes and are less likely to be in poverty, on average, and this is especially the case for Veterans in racial or ethnic minority groups and those with less education,” a report from the Pew Research Center published Monday said.

The report, based off of information from the U.S. Census Bureau, showed that the median annual income for Veterans households in 2017 was approximately $88,700 — about $12,000 more than the median annual income among non-Veteran households.

The report, however, does not explain why.

This is not a recent development. In fact, the study notes that the median income for Veteran households was $77,000 in 1980. For non-Veteran households, that number dropped to $61,500.

Since then, Veteran households have always earned more each year than non-Veteran households, according to the report.

The gap in income is even more stark when examining households headed by racial or ethnic minorities. For example, black Veteran households earned an average of $77,400 in 2017, whereas non-Veteran black households earned an average of $50,300 that year.

The report also found that Hispanic Veterans households earned more than $30,000 on average a year than non-Veteran Hispanic households in 2017.

Likewise, Veterans with a high school diploma significantly outearned non-Veterans with the same educational background by about $20,000 in annual income, the report found.

Among those with bachelor’s degrees, the disparity was less severe and Veterans had a roughly $2,500 advantage.

The analysis only reflected those between the ages of 25 and 54 to focus on those in their “prime working years,” since Veterans are more likely to be older than non-Veterans, the study said.

The Pew Research Center report comes days after the Bureau of Labor Statistics announced that the Veterans unemployment rate rose slightly from 3 percent in October to 3.4 percent in November.

Even so, Veterans unemployment has stayed under the national average for 19 consecutive months. The national unemployment rate reached 3.5 percent last month.

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The decisions that 1.6 million service members are making this year about whether to stay with the old or jump to the new military retirement system have just one thing in common: Each decision is extremely personal.

So, as the deadline of Dec. 31 approaches for eligible service members to make the choice to opt in to the new Blended Retirement System, Military Times looked at how two service members approached their decisions. One of our volunteer participants chose the BRS, and one chose the legacy system. They both have about nine years of service. One is a Navy E-5, the other is an Air Force O-3.

If you’re in that group of people eligible to choose between the legacy system and the new BRS but haven’t made your decision yet, the thought processes of these two volunteers might help you start your research.

Those eligible to choose between the two retirement systems are active-duty troops with fewer than 12 years of service and reserve component members with fewer than 4,320 retirement points as of December 2017.

All troops entering the military now are automatically enrolled into the new BRS. Those with more than 12 years of service as of the end of 2017 automatically stay with the legacy system.

The BRS is a blend of the legacy retirement system and some new features. It still provides monthly retired pay after at least 20 years of service, but the pay is 20 percent less than under the current system.

Under the legacy system, if you leave before 20 years, you get nothing. Under BRS, you can receive matching contributions from DoD of up to 5 percent of your pay into your Thrift Savings Plan, and you can take that with you whether you leave after a few years or 20 years.

BRS also offers a one-time payout known as continuation pay at 12 years, with a commitment to serve an additional four years. And retirees can under BRS can opt for a partial lump-sum payout at retirement.

Both of our volunteers carefully considered all the pros and cons of both systems, but their own circumstances, career plans and perceptions led them to different decisions.

We put our volunteers in touch with professional financial planners to discuss their current finances, the retirement decisions they’ve made, their goals, and whether there are any tweaks to their finances that could shore up that financial bridge to their retirement goals.

One notable thing these service members have in common: They’ve made great strides in paying off debt. That alone puts them in a better position for their goals.

Air Force Capt. Brad Byington and his former wife paid off $105,000 in consumer debt.

Navy Hospital Corpsman 2nd Class Ronald Rhea and his wife have paid off $45,000 in debt in the last year, since she started working after finishing school. They’re still working on their debt, but they’ve made great progress.

Rhea did his research early and jumped into the new BRS on Jan. 1, as soon as the enrollment window opened. He increased his contributions to his Thrift Savings Plan to 5 percent of his basic pay in order to get that full match from the Defense Department.

He didn’t realize that less than 20 percent of service members serve long enough to earn full retirement benefits. While he hopes his prospects are good, he said, he knows there’s no guarantee that he’ll serve to retirement.

For him, the 20-percent reduction in retirement pay if he does reach full retirement eligibility is worth the tradeoff because of the uncertainty.

Byington, who is single and 31, is putting away 15 percent in his Thrift Savings Plan account. Although he doesn’t get any DoD matching contribution by staying in the legacy system, he’s still on track to building his nest egg in addition to the legacy retirement benefits.

He believes his prospects are good for retiring from the Air Force, which is a key part of his decision. After crunching the numbers, with his continued 15 percent contributions and the assumption he retires after at least 20 years, he said, the matched BRS contributions of 5 percent still never accumulate enough to make up for what he would receive under the legacy system.

“There’s just absolutely no way for the new retirement system to pay out as much as the old,” he said.

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The financial well-being of Veterans has improved over the last three years, as Veterans have less difficulty covering expenses and bills, are less likely to have a drop in income, and more likely to have emergency funds and retirement savings in addition to employer plans, according to new research.

And Veterans’ financial capability is improving at a faster rate than Americans in general, according to the research, conducted by the FINRA Investor Education Foundation, based on the foundation’s National Financial Capability Study survey of more than 3,000 Veterans and 20,000 non-Veterans.

The research compared the well-being of Veterans in 2018 compared to the same survey in 2015; and also compared them to the population of non-Veterans. Active-duty members aren’t included in the research.

Compared to non-Veterans in 2018, Veterans overall have 6 percent less financial anxiety; 4 percent higher scores in financial well-being, and a 4 percent higher level of confidence in their financial abilities. In addition, Veterans were 12 percent more likely to use financial technology for planning.

There’s been little research on the financial well-being of Veterans, the study’s authors noted.

“We’re fortunate in that our study relies on the most comprehensive collection of data chronicling Veterans’ financial well-being over time, comparative data with civilians and detailed evidence on key differences within important Veteran subgroups,” said study co-author Dr. William Skimmyhorn, a retired Army lieutenant colonel who is an assistant professor of economics and finance at the College of William & Mary. While the findings don’t allow conclusions as whether an individual’s military service is the cause of the differences, he noted, they do document how Veterans are doing in some important areas.

"We hope our research will draw and maintain public attention to the financial well-being of our nation's Veterans, so that we might serve them as they have so ably served us," he said, in an announcement of the results.

While some of the findings mirror national results, some don’t. For example, researchers found that black Veterans have somewhat higher financial well-being than white Veterans, which runs counter to recent studies that examined race-based differences in financial well-being in the general population. One possible explanation, researchers noted, is that the military serves as a socioeconomic equalizer across race and ethnicity.

“In any event, understanding why black Veterans have somewhat higher financial well-being than white Veterans might inform our understanding of why black Americans, in general have lower levels of financial well-being than white Americans,” the authors wrote.

The 2018 survey used some new measures, including the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s Financial Well-Being Scale. Black Veterans have 3 percent higher scores on that CFPB scale than white Veterans, and have a 5 percent higher score regarding their perception of their own financial capabilities. Veterans with “other” race or ethnicity have 3 percent lower scores than whites on the CFPB Financial Well-Being Scale.

The research indicates that some groups of Veterans may warrant more attention. Generally those who are female, who are younger, who are married, divorced or separated or have financial dependents fare worse than their Veteran peers.

Similar to the general population, female Veterans have higher levels of financial stress and anxiety than male Veterans. Female Veterans had 25 percent higher financial stress and 16 percent higher financial anxiety.

Overall, Veterans are improving financially, but there were some areas where Veterans are doing worse than in 2015. In 2018, Veterans were:

• 11 percent more likely to report high-cost credit card behaviors such as late fees, over-the-limit fees, using the card for cash advances, or paying only the minimum due.;
• 11 percent more likely to report having foregone medical treatment. This is potentially troubling, researchers stated. “Gaining a better understanding of what could be driving this increase might help improve both the financial and health outcomes of Veterans,”
• 28 percent less likely to be attending a four-year college or university (among those attending schools). This decline might be driven by concerns about student loan debt, an improving economy, or “simply a change in Veteran demand for higher education,” the researchers stated. “In any event, the repercussions of a less educated Veteran population could be significant.”

The good news was that researchers found that compared to 2015, Veterans in 2018 were:

• 23 percent less likely to be underwater on their home (among those who owned a home);
• 15 percent less likely to have difficulty covering bills and expenses;
• 15 percent less likely to have experienced a drop in income in the previous 12 months;
• 5 percent more likely to have an emergency fund;
• 7 percent more likely to have retirement savings outside an employer plan; and
• 5 percent more likely to have savings in non-retirement accounts

Among those in this survey, more education doesn’t necessarily equate to more financial peace of mind. Compared to Veterans with a high school degree, those with some college, a college degree, or more than a college degree had more financial anxiety, ranging from 19 percent higher, to 31 percent higher for those with more than a college degree.

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If you’re one of those Veterans who have new shopping benefits on military bases, and wonder if you’ll be able to bring along your spouse.... it depends.

Defense officials maintain that these new shoppers are allowed to bring their spouses and others with them, if they follow screening and security procedures, with certain caveats based on security needs.

By law, and as DoD policy reflects, spouses and dependents aren’t authorized the new benefit, so for example, they can’t purchase anything in commissaries, exchanges, or in morale, welfare and recreation facilities. "However, they may accompany a member of the newly-eligible patron groups [eligible Veterans or caregivers] onto the installation and into authorized facilities,” said DoD spokeswoman Jessica Maxwell, in a response to Military Times’ questions.

But that doesn’t mean it’s happening at every installation. Since the new benefit began on Jan. 1, some Veterans have contacted Military Times asking why their spouses were not allowed to come with them on installations. These Veterans understand that their spouses don’t have the shopping benefit and can’t buy anything. But they questioned why bases are veering from DoD’s consistent statement that spouses are allowed to come on base with them, following required procedures.

The new benefits were authorized by law for all Veterans with VA service-connected disability ratings; Purple Heart recipients; Veterans who are former prisoners of war; and primary family caregivers of eligible Veterans under the VA caregiver program.

According to the Purple Heart and Disabled Veterans Equal Access Act of 2018, these populations are now entitled to access to commissaries, exchanges and certain morale, welfare and recreation facilities on the same basis as military retirees.

There’s an important caveat. Maxwell noted that even if the accompanying guest provides the proper credentials to get onto the installation, installation commanders might still temporarily limit or restrict these guests’ access onto the base, depending on the situation. The installation commanders still have the responsibility and authority to take needed and lawful steps “in their best judgment to protect installation property and personnel,” she said.

Everyone understands the need for additional security measures, said one Veteran whose wife was denied access at Naval Air Station Jacksonville in Florida. This new benefit for about 4.1 million potential new customers took effect just before military officials around the world were implementing heightened security measures as a result of tensions between the U.S. and Iran.

But many question why spouses aren’t even given the opportunity to undergo the credentialing and background checks required for all guests to enter the military installation.

One Veteran told Military Times that the procedure for getting access to Marine Corps Air Station Miramar was easy for him, but he was not allowed to bring his wife into the gate with him. This was on Jan. 2, before the heightened security measures took effect.

Miramar officials referred questions to Marine Corps Installations Command, who didn’t confirm what the policy is at Miramar or where it originated. “We are ensuring we abide by guidelines put forth by DoD, Veterans Affairs and other partnered agencies to properly welcome our new patrons,” said MCIC spokesman Jeku Arce. “We appreciate our new patrons’ patience as our installations adapt to the new policy changes and follow proper physical security procedures to ensure the safety of those who work and live on our installations.

”Please keep in mind that force protection measures can change at any time for various reasons which can impact access to DoD installations."

On Jan. 16, the Veteran contacted Military Times to say he was told the Miramar policy had changed, and his wife would be allowed to come on base with him.

While some bases have told Veterans their restriction is temporary, at least one other base has published a statement saying spouses and other guests don’t have the right to enter the base. “The new legislation does not grant escort or sponsorship privileges,” according to a press release issued by MacDill Air Force Base, Fla, home of U.S. Central Command, U.S. Special Operations Command and dozens of other military tenants. It states that eligible Veterans and caregivers who are granted access to the installation and to base amenities “will not be able to bring family or members or guests with them them” unless those people have base privileges through their own Veteran or military-affiliated status.

Commissary, exchange and MWR officials have no control over security procedures at installation gates. Commissary and exchange officials allow guests to accompany authorized shoppers, and check IDs of those who make purchases.

Here are the current rules for these new customers who want to bring guests with them:

*Stop at the installation’s visitor control center for the required security check, including verification of identity through a document such as REAL-ID compliant driver’s license, passport, etc.; and an on-the-spot criminal history and terrorism checks.

* Guests must remain with their sponsoring Veteran or caregiver at all times, and in retail facilities, but they don’t have access to the benefits, such as making purchases.

*If the installation has credential enrollment capabilities and the guest presents a credential that can be enrolled, the guest can be enrolled for recurring access to avoid having to stop at the visitor center each time. However, the guest can only enter the installation when accompanying their eligible Veteran or caregiver.

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ERIE, Pa. – A physical therapy practice in Erie County, Pennsylvania, and 20 people – 18 of them from northwestern Pennsylvania - have been indicted by a federal grand jury in Erie on charges of conspiracy to commit wire and health care fraud and health care fraud, Acting United States Attorney Stephen R. Kaufman announced today.

The two-count Indictment named the following individuals as defendants:

• Aaron Wilhelm Hertel, of North East, Pennsylvania 16428
• Michael Robert Brown, of Erie, Pennsylvania 16506
• Sarah Elizabeth Bailey, of Erie, Pennsylvania 16506
• Jessica Jeanne Morphy, of Erie, Pennsylvania 16505
• Jacqueline Renee Exley, of Erie, Pennsylvania 16508
• Julie Ann Johnson, of Erie, Pennsylvania 16506
• Bobby Lee Rainey, of Erie, Pennsylvania 16505
• Steve Michael Bauer, of Erie, Pennsylvania 16502
• Austin John Dudenhoefer, of Erie, Pennsylvania 16509
• Philip Dale Sorensen, Jr., of Erie, Pennsylvania 16509
• Patricia Susan Berchtold, of Melbourne, Florida 32940
• Jeremy Richard Bowes, of Erie, Pennsylvania 16506
• Jennifer Marie Larmon, of Waterford, Pennsylvania 16441
• Travis Walter Litz, of Erie, Pennsylvania 16508
• Erin Marie Riffe, of Conneaut, Ohio 44030
• Abigayle Jane Fachetti, of Erie, Pennsylvania 16511
• Lori Lynn Goss, of Waterford, Pennsylvania 16441
• Marissa Sue Hull, of Waterford, Pennsylvania 16441
• Justin Charles Burger, of Erie, Pennsylvania 16508
• Carl William Lewis, Jr., of Lake City, Pennsylvania 16423

The indictment also names Hertel & Brown Physical & Aquatic Therapy, main office located at 902 West Erie Plaza Drive, Erie, Pennsylvania 16505, as a defendant.

According to the Indictment presented to the court, the defendants conspired from January 2007 to October 2021 to commit wire fraud and health care fraud. The multi-faceted conspiracy had numerous components including:

a) Hertel & Brown Physical & Aquatic Therapy utilized unlicensed technicians to provide physical therapy treatment, including aquatic therapy, and billed that treatment as if performed by a licensed physical therapist or physical therapy assistant.

b) Unlicensed technicians at Hertel & Brown Physical & Aquatic Therapy were permitted and required to log into the treatment documentation system, WebPT, as a licensed physical therapist to facilitate documenting treatment as if performed by a licensed therapist.

c) Hertel & Brown Physical & Aquatic Therapy and its licensed employees regularly recorded and billed for treatment time in excess of actual treatment time spent with patients.

d) Hertel & Brown Physical & Aquatic Therapy and its licensed employees rarely if ever utilized group therapy codes when billing for treatment even when group billing codes were the only appropriate billing codes that could have been utilized.

e) Hertel & Brown Physical & Aquatic Therapy regularly billed treatment time using the name and credentials of a physical therapist who was on vacation and not working on the day in question.

f) Hertel & Brown Physical & Aquatic Therapy allowed physical therapy assistants and unlicensed personnel to treat patients with insurance that only reimbursed for treatment performed by a physical therapist. Then the practice and its employees covered up who actually treated the patient by removing the name of the actual person providing treatment from the treatment record.

g) Hertel & Brown Physical & Aquatic Therapy and some of its employees also manually changed the patient schedule after the fact to conceal that Medicare patients were scheduled at the same time as other patients. This was done to conceal that Medicare patients did not have one on one treatment with a physical therapist as billed by the practice and required by Medicare.

“The indictment alleges that essentially since Hertel & Brown opened in 2007, the defendants perpetrated a systematic and brazen fraud scheme that bilked insurance companies and the government of millions through blatantly false billings,” said U.S. Attorney Kaufman. “Addressing health care fraud is a top priority of our Office and of our federal, state and local law enforcement partners.”

“Those charged today were in the business to make a quick buck and in turn violated the very basic ethical and moral standards medical professionals are held to,” said FBI Pittsburgh Special Agent in Charge Mike Nordwall. “Taking short cuts, illegal and improper billings and elaborate health care fraud schemes all increase the cost of medical care. The FBI will continue to work with our state, local and federal partners to detect and hold accountable those who abuse our health care system and patients’ trust.”

"When individuals and entities engage in health care fraud schemes, they steal from taxpayers and undermine the safeguards intended to protect patients,” stated Special Agent in Charge Maureen R. Dixon of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General. “Working with our law enforcement partners, we will continue to investigate health care fraud to protect the integrity of federal health care programs and the beneficiaries served by them.”

“Health care fraud takes away limited resources from some of our most vulnerable Pennsylvanians,” said Pennsylvania Attorney General Josh Shapiro. “My Office, as well as our local, state, and federal partners, are committed to stopping these bad actors and preventing them from undermining critical support that families across the Commonwealth rely on.”

“Today’s indictment charges the defendants with conspiring to fraudulently bill the government for healthcare services that were either not provided or not provided to standard,” said Special Agent in Charge Kim Lampkins with the Department of Veterans Affairs Office of Inspector General. “The VA OIG, along with our law enforcement partners, is dedicated to ensuring that our nation’s Veterans receive only the highest quality health care for which they deserve.”

The law provides for a maximum total sentence of 30 years in prison, a fine of $500,000 or twice the pecuniary loss (whichever is greater), or both for each defendant and the business. Under the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, the actual sentence imposed would be based upon the seriousness of the offenses and the prior criminal history, if any, of the defendant.

Assistant United States Attorney Christian A. Trabold is prosecuting this case on behalf of the government.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), United States Department of Health and Human Services – Office of Inspector General (HHS-OIG), United States Department of Veteran’s Affairs – Office of Inspector General (VA-OIG), Defense Criminal Investigative Service (DCIS), the Pennsylvania Office of Attorney General – Medicaid Fraud Control and Abuse Unit, and the United States Office of Personnel Management – Office of Inspector General (OPM-OIG) conducted the investigation leading to the Indictment in this case.

An indictment is an accusation. A defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.

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