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

DUI Manslaughter Charges Given to St. Pete Beach Woman Who Allegedly Killed Pedestrian

On Behalf of Brunvand, Wise & Farinella Law Group | Oct 5, 2018 | Criminal Charges

A St. Pete Beach woman is facing charges of DUI manslaughter after Pinellas County authorities say she struck and killed a man, then fled and initiated another car wreck.Per PCSD deputies, Carolyn Jean Yovan was piloting her Lexus SUV near Captiva Circle and Blind Pass Road on the evening of February 17 when it jumped the curb and struck Peter Chenhall.Chenhall, who was walking on the sidewalk at the time of the incident, sustained mortal injuries in the accident. Also of St. Pete Beach, the 39-year-old man was transported to Bayfront Hospital, but doctors were unable to save his life, and...

Another Tampa Bay Physician Indicted on Drug Charges

On Behalf of Brunvand, Wise & Farinella Law Group | Oct 5, 2018 | Drug Charges

Another local Tampa Bay area doctor faces federal drug charges this month. Dr. John Anthony Gianoli, III, a physician practicing in St. Petersburg and Largo, was indicted recently on five counts of illegally distributing or causing the distribution of oxycodone.According to the indictment, Gianoli illegally prescribed oxycodone on five occasions between October 2009 and February 2010. He is apparently an internist who specializes in pain management and has an interest in yoga.If convicted on all counts, Gianoli faces a maximum penalty of twenty years in federal prison. The indictment also...

Tampa Pharmacists Accused of Medicare Fraud

On Behalf of Brunvand, Wise & Farinella Law Group | Oct 4, 2018 | Government Fraud

Five Tampa Bay-area pharmacists have been charged with defrauding the federal government and stealing from Medicaid, Medicare and Tricare, the military insurance program, by submitting fraudulent reimbursement requests for prescriptions never filled.Federal prosecutors allege Jatin Patel submitted false reimbursement requests from his pharmacy in Clearwater and that two other pharmacists, Rajnish Mehta and Satender Singh, provided him with forged prescriptions to support the claims.Patel later told investigators that he submitted those claims for $260,000 and split the money with Mehta and...

Los Angeles Doctor Convicted In $4.1 Million Medicare Conspiracy

On Behalf of Brunvand, Wise & Farinella Law Group | Oct 4, 2018 | Government Fraud

A California jury last week found a Los Angeles doctor guilty of conspiracy in relation to allegations that he was involved in a Medicare kickback scheme with a local home health care agency.Prosecutors say Dr. Kanagasabai Kanakeswaran, M.D., was engaged in a conspiracy to refer Medicare patients to the home health care firm Star Home Health Resources in exchange for payments both directly to him in cash and by check to his firm Digital Perfection Corporation.Per the government, Star submitted claims to Medicare that were derived from patients sent to them by Kanakeswaran, with Star...

NYC Pharmacy Store Owner Indicted On Allegations Of Defrauding Medicare And Medicaid For Over $7.9 Million

On Behalf of Brunvand, Wise & Farinella Law Group | Oct 3, 2018 | Government Fraud

Federal prosecutors say the owner of a quartet of pharmacies in New York City submitted millions of dollars in false claims involving drugs that were not medically necessary or even disbursed to Medicare and Medicaid over the course of several years.Last Monday, Aleah Mohammed, aka "Aleah Haniff," was arraigned in a federal court in Brooklyn on an indictment charging her with submitting false claims to Medicare Part D and Medicaid for drugs through her drug stores, namely Superdrugs Inc., Superdrugs I Inc., Superdrugs II Inc., and S&A Superdrugs II Inc.Per the indictment, from the spring...

Brooksville Man Spared Death Penalty After Trio Of First-Degree Murder Convictions

On Behalf of Brunvand, Wise & Farinella Law Group | Oct 2, 2018 | Criminal Charges

A Hernando County jury declined to sentence a Brooksville man to death for the three murders for which he was convicted in June.George Mason III will likely be given a life sentence in November after the jury deliberated on a sentence of death by lethal injection for approximately an hour last Tuesday. Deliberations came after over a week of testimony from both defense attorneys and county prosecutors on the issue.According to prosecutors, Mason gunned down his half-brother Ralph Peyton in late August 2014. Upon killing Peyton, investigators say Mason proceeded into his mother's room and...

Associates Of Venezuelan President Maduro Designated By OFAC

On Behalf of Brunvand, Wise & Farinella Law Group | Oct 1, 2018 | OFAC

The U.S. government last week levied sanctions on four of Venezuelan president Nicolas Maduro's closest advisers on allegations that they helped facilitate Maduro in plundering the wealth of the Venezuelan people.The U.S. Department of the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) designated First Lady and former Attorney General and President of the National Assembly Cilia Adela Flores de Maduro, Executive Vice President of Venezuela Delcy Eloina Rodriguez Gomez, Vice President Jorge Jesus Rodriguez Gomez, and Sectoral Vice President of Political Sovereignty, Security, and Peace...

Spring Hill Man Facing Arson, Attempted Murder Charges After June Fire At Ex-Girlfriend’s Home

On Behalf of Brunvand, Wise & Farinella Law Group | Sep 28, 2018 | Criminal Charges

Hernando County police arrested a Spring Hill man last week they say set fire to the home of an ex-girlfriend in an alleged attempt at killing her.Christopher Lamar Jamison was arrested on September 20th for allegedly torching the home of an ex-girlfriend on July 23rd. Per investigators, Jamison approached his ex-girlfriend's home that evening and set fire to the home's lanai, which soon spread to the roof of the home.Although each of the home's residents escaped the dwelling unharmed, the structure itself was not so lucky. Much of the building was damaged by the fire, which detectives say...

Home Texas Harris County Houston Trio Found Guilty For Allegedly Fraudulently Billing $17 Million To Medicare Houston Trio Found Guilty For Allegedly Fraudulently Billing $17 Million To Medicare

On Behalf of Brunvand, Wise & Farinella Law Group | Sep 27, 2018 | Government Fraud

A Federal jury found three Houston individuals guilty of committing $17 million in Medicare fraud last week at the conclusion of a six-day trial.John P. Ramirez, M.D., Ann Nwoko Shepherd, and Yvette Nwoko were convicted of one count of conspiracy to commit health care fraud at the conclusion of a trial in the chambers of U.S. District Judge David Hittner of the Southern District of Texas. In addition to a single count of health care fraud, Nwoko was found guilty on three more counts of health care fraud, Shepherd was handed a guilty verdict on six additional counts of health care fraud, and...

Trinidad Duo Designated By OFAC For Allegedly Funneling Funds To ISIS

On Behalf of Brunvand, Wise & Farinella Law Group | Sep 25, 2018 | OFAC

The United States government levied sanctions last week against two Trinidadian men they say have been instrumental in funding the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) for several years.The U.S. Department of the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) says Emraan Ali and Eddie Aleong helped provide financial support for ISIS from and through Trinidad and Tobago to ISIS forces in Syria.According to OFAC, Ali, who is a dual U.S. and Trinidadian citizen, has orchestrated or otherwise participated in money transfers to ISIS at least as far back as early last year. The Office says...