Florida Criminal Defense Blog | Brunvand, Wise & Farinella Law Group

OFAC Sanctions Trio Of Lebanese Men For Allegedly Aiding Hizballah

On Behalf of Brunvand, Wise & Farinella Law Group | Dec 18, 2019 | OFAC

The Federal government last week announced sanctions against a trio of Lebanese men and several companies associated with them over allegations that they are involved in laundering money for Hizballah.The U.S. Department of the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) say the men and their network have laundered tens of millions of dollars for the terror group and its allies, whom OFAC says engage in illegal activity that places Hizballah's interest ahead of those of the Lebanese people.Among the misdeeds engaged in by the sanctioned individuals is massive tax evasion, which it...

Man hides methamphetamine in belly button, gets caught

On Behalf of Brunvand, Wise & Farinella Law Group | Dec 13, 2019 | Drug Charges

Drug charges can have a serious impact on your life and freedoms. If you're accused, you could be arrested and may have to spend time in jail. You may face harsh penalties and fines, too. Most of the time, once you're caught, it's a smart choice to be cooperative. If you're asked if you have more, you can stay silent instead of giving an answer one way or another.Sometimes, fact is stranger than fiction in these cases, but many people will do anything they can to avoid being caught with drugs. Take, for example, this man who hid a bag of methamphetamines in his belly button. According to the...

Largo Man Charged With Operating A Drug House After Several Alleged Drug Buys By Undercover Deputies

On Behalf of Brunvand, Wise & Farinella Law Group | Dec 13, 2019 | Drug Charges

A Largo man is facing a raft of charges based upon allegations by deputies that he operated a drug house in unincorporated Pinellas County. Per the deputies, the 31-year-old man was marketing crack cocaine from the home. Undercover officers say they made several purchases at the home, allowing them to develop sufficient probable cause to obtain a warrant to search the home. Upon entering the home, deputies say they discovered a variety of illegal drugs in salable quantities. Among the illegal drugs allegedly found in the home were 5 ounces of cocaine, ecstasy, oxycodone, and several others....

Boston Hospital To Pay $26.67 Million To Settle Allegations Of Medicare Fraud

On Behalf of Brunvand, Wise & Farinella Law Group | Dec 5, 2019 | Government Fraud

A Massachusetts hospital has agreed to pay to the Federal government $26.67 million to settle claims that it improperly billed government programs for illegally-obtained referrals and testing equipment that was not eligible for reimbursement because the testing was a product of paid-for referrals.Per prosecutors, the Boston hospital conspired with several other parties to obtain referrals by way of doctors to whom they paid kickbacks disguised as investment returns. They say the hospital established management service organizations that funneled the kickbacks to doctors with the help of...

Florida law introduces new penalties for distributing fentanyl

On Behalf of Brunvand, Wise & Farinella Law Group | Nov 13, 2019 | Drug Charges

In recent years, fentanyl has become increasingly common in the illegal drug market. Used in the medical field as a pain reliever for conditions like advanced cancer, the synthetic opioid pain reliever is a potent drug whose heroin-like effects can prove addictive and extremely dangerous when abused. Florida sees rise in fentanyl useUnfortunately, the United States has experienced a spike in fentanyl-related deaths. In 2017, fentanyl caused more than 28,000 deaths. Florida is no stranger to this growth in recreational use of the opioid.Florida Department of Law Enforcement Chief Forensic...

Tennessee Health Care Exec Sentenced To 3.5 Years In Federal Prison For Alleged Medicare Kickback Scheme

On Behalf of Brunvand, Wise & Farinella Law Group | Oct 21, 2019 | Government Fraud

A former health care executive in Tennessee was sentenced to 3-1/2 years in Federal prison last week on a guilty plea for her alleged involvement in a scheme to pay $4.6 million in kickbacks for illicit Medicare referrals. The 71-year-old woman is accused by prosecutors to have agreed to pay illegal kickbacks to the CEO of a pain management clinic in exchange for providing Medicare referrals for durable medical equipment (DME). Prosecutors say the CEO provided the referrals in exchange for 60 percent of the proceeds derived from Medicare. In order to obscure the illegal kickbacks,...

Nigerian Man Sentenced To 46 Months In Federal Prison After Pleading Guilty To Medicare Fraud

On Behalf of Brunvand, Wise & Farinella Law Group | Oct 15, 2019 | Drug Crimes

A Nigerian man living in Southern California was sentenced to almost four years in Federal prison after pleading guilty to involvement in a scheme to defraud Medicare via sales of durable medical equipment (DME). Investigators say that he and two other defendants paid cash kickbacks to patient recruiters and physicians for fraudulently prescribing DMEs to Medicare beneficiaries in cases where such instruments were not medically necessary. With such orders in hand, investigators say the trio's medical supply company submitted claims to Medicare for the unnecessary equipment, which they say...

Mental health providers accused of Medicaid fraud in Tallahassee

On Behalf of Brunvand, Wise & Farinella Law Group | Sep 19, 2019 | Government Fraud

Two mental health providers in Tallahassee have been indicted by a federal grand jury following accusations of over 80 counts of Medicaid fraud, aggravated identity theft and false statements related to health care.The case began after the Medicaid Fraud Control Unit started an investigation into the mental health providers. The indictment states that the manager of North Florida Mental Health and a signatory made false and fictitious claims for reimbursement and payment to Florida Medicaid and managed care organizations. They claim to have performed services including psychiatric diagnostic...

Woman sentenced to 4 years in prison for white collar crimes

On Behalf of Brunvand, Wise & Farinella Law Group | Aug 21, 2019 | White Collar Crimes

White collar crimes don't involve violence, but they can impact many people's lives. Unfortunately, if you get caught participating in one of these activities, the penalties can be significant.Take, for example, this case out of Port St. Lucie. A woman, only 29 now, has been sentenced to four years in federal prison as a result of committing wire fraud and forgery. The woman admitted that she had committed wire fraud, forged securities and access device fraud in the time when she worked in four jobs in health-care billing. How did she do it? She called companies and pretended to be...

Florida Lottery Winners Arrested On Narcotics Charges Hours After Collecting Prize Money

On Behalf of Brunvand, Wise & Farinella Law Group | Jul 31, 2019 | Criminal Charges, Drug Charges

Three Deltonia residents were jailed within hours of claiming a prize from the Florida lottery after police say they were discovered in possession of illicit drugs. According to Volusia County authorities, a 59-year-old woman and her 39-year-old son bought what ultimately proved to be a lottery ticket worth $22,000 in Orlando a few days before. Upon revealing that the ticket was a winner, the pair retrieved the prize money and returned to their home. Meanwhile, deputies obtained a search warrant for the premises, which they executed within hours of their arrival home. They say they saw the...