By Michael Combier – Talk Radio News Service

Attorney General Eric Holder and Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Kathleen Sebelius announced the formation of a new interagency effort, the Health Care Fraud Prevention and Enforcement Action Team (HEAT), to fight against Medicare and Medicaid fraud around the country. Holder and Sebelius also announced this afternoon the expansion of the Strike Force Team to Detroit and Houston. This Strike Team was already operating in South Florida and Los Angeles to fight Medicare fraud on a local level.

“This is part of the administration’s ongoing commitment to fiscal responsibility and accountability and putting the best minds and resources together to combat fraud and return much needing dollars into the United States’ Treasury”, said Attorney General Holder adding that when “individuals and corporations cross the line and defraud the public, we will hold them accountable.”

“The Obama administration and the American people will not stand by while criminals and health care fraud perpetrators steal from the Medicare and the Medicaid programs”, said Secretary Sebelius. “A Small but significant number of criminals and bad operators are cheating the system and costing taxpayers billions of dollars.”

Senior officials from the Department of Justice (DOJ) and HHS will integrate the HEAT team to strengthen the existing programs fighting against fraud. HEAT will not only go against unlawful practices but will also prevent fraud, waste and abuse from happening the first place. The new program will be helped by a joint DOJ-HHS Medicare Fraud Strike Force teams which have successfully fought against fraud perpetrators in South Florida and Los Angeles. In the former, the Strike Force convicted 146 defendants and succeeding in securing $186 million while in the latter, started in May 2008, 37 individuals have been charged with criminal health care fraud offenses resulting in $55 million being restored to the Medicare program.

The Attorney General and the HHS Secretary pointed out that HEAT will work with Congress to work on legislation making it more difficult for fraud perpetrators to use the taxpayers money. The American taxpayers are called upon by Sebelius “to blow the whistle on thieves and criminals who are stealing from all of us.”

By Michael Ruhl, University of New Mexico – Talk Radio News Service

Today one of Enron’s former executives found himself back in the lime light as the Supreme Court heard his case of being unjustly prosecuted. F. Scott Yeager, an executive at Enron Broadband Services, was caught up in the hunt for white-collar wrongdoing after the Enron scandal. He was charged with wire fraud, securities fraud, insider trading, money laundering, and conspiracy to engage in securities fraud and wire fraud. The original trial saw Yeager acquitted of three of the charges, but the jury couldn’t agree on the charges of insider trading and money laundering.

The United States government then tried to re-try the insider trading and money laundering charges, since the jury was undecided on the matter, something that Yeager says violates his rights against being prosecuted twice for the same matter. Yeager moved to have the case thrown out. He argued that he is protected by collateral estoppel, which prohibits the same issue from being tried twice, and is similar to double jeopardy. Yeager’s legal team relied on a good-faith defense in his initial trial, saying he was not guilty because he had a reasonable belief in his company’s financial stability. The argument for collateral estoppel was that since he was acquitted based on the good-faith defense, it would not be possible to prosecute him on insider trading, since the jury established he could not have illegality at the heart of his actions.

Both the District and Circuit Courts denied Yeager’s motion to have the case thrown out. Yeager then took the matter before the Supreme Court, in Yeager v. United States.

The Justices were undecided in the courtroom about whether or not the acquittal on the similar charges was enough to remove Yeager from any shadow of wrongdoing. Justices Samuel Alito and David Souter felt that he might have been acquitted for other reasons than simply the good-faith defense, although it was self evident that they could not know with certainty why the jury did what it did. The counsel for the United States said that the jury should have said Yeager was not guilty on the two undecided charges if they really meant it. Chief Justice John Roberts showed concern at the effect this decision could have on the Seventh Amendment in the Constitution, which protects the right to jury trials. Roberts questioned whether or not retrial of the undecided charges would undermine the jury’s decisions in the acquitted charges. Although Justice Stephen Breyer did not display a firm position on the case at large, he did say that he can’t think of why this wouldn’t be a second trial, and why collateral estoppel should not apply.

The Court is expected to return a decision on this case in May or June of this year.

University of New Mexico, Talk Radio News

At the House Committee on Oversight & Government Reform Earl Devaney, chairman of the Recovery Act Transparency and Accountability Board, said that he was creating a user friendly website: http://www.doioig.gov/index.php?menuid=460&viewid=613&viewtype=PAGE , and that some reporters are already using it.

Rep. Dennis Kucinich (D-Ohio) asked Devaney for assurance that the Recovery Act funds that have gone to existing programs are being spent quickly. Devaney said that he could not provide that.

Dan Burton (R-Ind.) asked Devaney about an expected $55 billion in fraud as the Recovery Act funds go out. Devaney confirmed that about seven percent fraud is a credible estimate, and the best law enforcement can provide is zero tolerance.

Rep. Jimmy Duncan (R-Tenn.) points out that not all of the stimulus money is creating jobs, citing $40 million in his own district that went to raises, standing bills and only two new jobs.

By Kayleigh Harvey – Talk Radio News Service

Deputy Director of the FBI, John Pistole, Special Inspector General for the Troubled Assets Relief Program, the Honorable Neil Barofsky and Acting Assistant Attorney General Rita Glavin from the Criminal division testified before a full room at a Senate Judiciary Hearing today, to discuss “The Need for Increased Fraud Enforcement in the Wake of the Economic Downturn.”

Chairman of the Committee, Senator Patrick Leahy (D-Vt) said: “This is not a partisan issue…we want to strengthen fraud enforcement, the Justice Department, the FBI, the Office of the Inspector General, the Department of Housing and Urban Development and even the Postal Inspection Service.”

“One thing I learned as a prosecutor…you can have all the laws of the world in the books but if you don’t have the resources to enforce the laws, and actually go out there after people who have broken the laws, they are meaningless.”

“We do know that banks and private mortgage companies relaxed their standards for loans, proving ever riskier mortgage and less and less due diligence, it’s almost like open the door and saying, ‘Hey, come on in fraud is welcome’,” Senator Leahy continued.

Also discussed at the hearing were the measures on how to tackle fraud now and in the future in relation to the economic crisis, catching criminal activity, and the Madoff scandal.

With regard to whistleblowers there seemed to be a unanimous agreement by the witnesses, that whistleblowers are an important tool in tackling fraud.

John Pistole said: “Anybody who has credible information, that can help either predicate or enhance investigation we look forward to working with.”

Rita Glavin stated that “The Department has enjoyed tremendous success from working with whistleblowers…we have obtained essentially $10 billion in the past 10 years…the Department believes that whistleblowers, who are often insiders, can serve a vital function in our law enforcement efforts in exposing potential fraud in connection with government programs.”

Neil Barofsky announced at the hearing that the TARP program encourages people to contact their hotline which can be found on their website if they have any information on fraud. TARP has hired a lawyer to follow all hotline enquiry leads. Barofsky said he would rather they went through 99 false lines of enquiry in order to avoid missing that one real piece of information.

Asked by Senator Edward Kaufman (D-Del) what were the most obvious fraud cases that TARP would move on quickly in order to attempt to get the most number of prosecutions, Neil Barofsky said: “Going after licensed professionals…focussing on exclusively the gatekeepers; the lawyers, the appraisers, the licensed mortgage brokers…making examples of those and letting their colleagues know that criminal behavior in these types of mortgage frauds is unacceptable, because they have the most to lose.”

By Kayleigh Harvey – Talk Radio News Service

This was a statement made by Neil Barofsky, Special Inspector General for the Troubled Assets Relief Program, at a Senate Judiciary hearing, in response to a question posed by Senator Edward Kaufman (D-Del).
February 11, 2009.

 

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By Kayleigh Harvey – Talk Radio News Service

This was an answer given by Neil Barofsky, Special Inspector General for the Trouble Assets Relief Program, at a Senate Judiciary Hearing, when asked by Committee Chairman Partrick Leahy (D-Vt), whether or not he thought fraud contributed to the economic crisis.
February 11, 2009.

 

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By Kayleigh Harvey – Talk Radio News Service

Committee Chairman Senator Patrick Leahy (D-Vt) made this comment in an opening statement to the Senate Judiciary Committee on how he felt banks and private mortgage companies had relaxed their standards for loans.
February 11, 2009.

 

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As part of Whistle Blower week, the No FEAR institute held a tribunal today led by Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee (D-Texas) and Walter Fauntroy. The tribunal met and heard from several different federal government employees, medical doctors, nurses, farmers, military personnel, veterans, whistleblowers and other civil rights activist.

The Whistleblower Week in Washington is set up to promote and encourage laws that protect individuals civil rights of those who report on hazardous, illegal conditions, waste, fraud and abuses of authority in government and government funded positions. At the tribunal today, Jackson Lee and those testifying declared that no more illegal activities or civil rights violations will occur, “not on our watch.” (more…)

Njoki N’Dungu shares her opinion on the best way forward for the United States in its relations with Kenya, specifically in terms of the United Kingdom, the former colonial power in the region. (0:45)

 

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