Fraud

May 20, 2009 -- Flanked by several Congressional colleagues and a crowd of onlookers, U.S. Senator Ted Kaufman (D-DE) stood beside President Barack Obama May 20 as he signed the Fraud Enforcement and Recovery Act (FERA), legislation to strengthen tools and increase resources available to federal prosecutors to combat financial fraud. Sen. Kaufman introduced FERA - bipartisan legislation that passed Congress this week - in February with Senators Patrick Leahy (D-VT) and Chuck Grassley (R-IA).    » read more »

May 20, 2009 -- Senator Chuck Grassley today issued the following comment after President Barack Obama signed legislation he authored with Senators Patrick Leahy and Ted Kaufman. The Fraud Enforcement Recovery Act will help protect Americans from fraud as well as recover taxpayers’ money lost to fraud.

The legislation bolsters existing tools and increases resources available to federal investigators and prosecutors to combat fraud. It also includes the most significant update to the federal False Claims Act since 1986 when Grassley authored amendments to the False Claims Act which have helped the government recover more than $22 billion to the United States treasury.

Here is Grassley’s comment.    » read more »

Washington, D.C., May 19, 2009 — The Securities and Exchange Commission today announced that a federal court has approved the distribution of more than $843 million to harmed investors in the American International Group, Inc. from a Fair Fund that the SEC established after the company’s settlement of an SEC enforcement action for accounting fraud.

The AIG Fair Fund’s court-appointed distribution agent estimates that checks will be mailed to more than 257,000 affected AIG investors within the next few months.    » read more »

Independent, Bipartisan Financial Crisis Commission Would Have Subpoena Power

May 19, 2009 -- WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Johnny Isakson, R-Ga., today praised Congressional passage of a financial fraud bill that includes his proposal to create a Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission charged with fully investigating the causes of the near collapse of our financial markets and our economy. The bill now goes to the President for his signature into law.    » read more »

Washington, D.C., May 18, 2009 — The Securities and Exchange Commission today charged employment search provider Monster Worldwide, Inc. for its multi-year scheme to secretly backdate stock options granted to thousands of Monster officers, directors and employees.

Monster agreed to pay a $2.5 million penalty to settle the SEC's charges that the company defrauded investors by granting backdated, undisclosed "in-the-money" stock options while failing to record required non-cash charges for option-related compensation expenses.    » read more »

Scheme Also Put Municipal Employee Paychecks at Risk

Washington, D.C., May 14, 2009 — The Securities and Exchange Commission today charged two New Jersey men with orchestrating a fraudulent scheme that sold unregistered securities and commingled investor funds with their payroll service used by New Jersey municipalities and small businesses.

The SEC alleges that Paul G. Bultmeyer and Arthur J. Piacentini carried out the fraud through their firms Sherbourne Capital Management, Ltd. and Sherbourne Financial, Ltd. by offering and selling so-called "Prime Certificates of Participation" they advertised in print publications as well as on Craigslist and other Internet sites.    » read more »

May 14, 2009 -- WASHINGTON -- AARP today announced its endorsement of the bipartisan “Seniors and Taxpayers Obligation Protection (STOP) Act,” sponsored by Senators Mel Martinez (R-FL), Bill Nelson (D-FL) and John Cornyn (R-TX). This legislation will help curb the billions of dollars spent on Medicare fraud each year. A statement from AARP Executive Vice President Nancy LeaMond follows:

“The skyrocketing costs of health care are hurting our wallets and the bedrock programs like Medicare that millions of Americans depend on. That’s why AARP is working with lawmakers on both sides of the aisle to reform the health care system—including cracking down on the fraud, waste and abuse that are driving up costs.    » read more »

May 12, 2009 -- WASHINGTON — The Department of Justice’s Antitrust Division today announced the details of its newly formed initiative aimed at preparing government officials and contractors to recognize and report efforts by parties to unlawfully profit from the stimulus projects that are being awarded as part of The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009.

Consistent with its mission to protect the welfare of the American economy by promoting open and fair competition, the Department’s Antitrust Division launched an initiative to help government agencies insulate procurement, grant and program funding processes from collusion and fraud, as well as to ensure that those who abuse those processes are prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.    » read more »

May 12, 2009 -- WASHINGTON—As the Administration prepares to announce another drop in the lifespan of the Medicare trust fund, AARP’s Health Action Now campaign is insisting that comprehensive health reform include specific measures to cut wasteful spending and lower costs for individuals—all while improving the quality of care. The organization is focusing on reducing waste in Medicare, particularly by reducing costly hospital readmissions and cutting billions of dollars in fraud.

“For most Americans, the biggest roadblock to health care is cost,” said AARP Executive Vice President Nancy LeaMond. “By rooting out the waste, fraud and abuse in Medicare, we can improve the health of people in the program, improve access to quality care and save billions of dollars.”    » read more »

Washington, D.C., May 8, 2009 — The Securities and Exchange Commission announced today that Michael Lauer, the head of two Connecticut-based hedge fund advisors, has been ordered to pay more than $62 million within 15 days as a result of being found liable on SEC fraud charges last fall.

U.S. District Judge Kenneth Marra for the Southern District of Florida found that Lauer, head of Lancer Management Group and Lancer Management Group II, must pay more than $43.6 million to deprive him of his ill-gotten gains, and more than $18.9 million in prejudgment interest.    » read more »

May 7, 2009 -- Acting United States Attorney Michelle L. Jacobs announced today that a federal grand jury in the Eastern District of Wisconsin returned a twenty four count indictment charging five people with wire fraud and money laundering in connection with a mortgage fraud scheme. Charged were Paul J. Zaleski, 60, formerly of Richmond, Illinois; Michael Pembroke, 45, of Twin Lakes, Wisconsin; John F. Hochrek, Jr., 48, of Spring Grove, Illinois; Patricia Lynn Kay, 47, of Kenosha, Wisconsin; and Robert Farrell, 29, formerly of Richmond, Illinois.    » read more »

Laundering Money Through Las Vegas Casinos

May 6, 2009 -- WASHINGTON -- Two former managers of the Bank of China and their wives were sentenced today after their convictions on Aug. 29, 2008, by a federal jury in Las Vegas on charges of racketeering, money laundering, international transportation of stolen property as well as passport and visa fraud, Assistant Attorney General Lanny A. Breuer of the Criminal Division and U.S. Attorney Gregory A. Brower of the District of Nevada announced today.    » read more »

Government Seeks Forfeiture of Commercial Real Estate, Residences and Expensive Automobiles

May 6, 2009 -- A 23-count indictment unsealed today alleges that a civilian contractor paid more than $2.8 million in bribes to a U.S. Army contracting official stationed at Camp Arifjan, an Army base in Kuwait, and the official’s wife, and that the three individuals committed honest services fraud and money laundering offenses in connection with the same conduct.    » read more »

Washington, D.C., May 5, 2009 — The Securities and Exchange Commission today charged Renato Negrin, a former portfolio manager at hedge fund investment adviser Millennium Partners L.P., and Jon-Paul Rorech, a salesman at Deutsche Bank Securities Inc., with insider trading in credit default swaps of VNU N.V., an international holding company that owns Nielsen Media and other media businesses.    » read more »

Ads Target 10 Members of Congress

April 30, 2009 -- A front group with ties to the energy industry is running misleading radio advertisements in 10 congressional districts to try to undermine support for comprehensive energy and climate legislation that would lower energy costs and create jobs, according to the Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS).

The American Energy Alliance (AEA), which was founded in 1993, is headed by Thomas J. Pyle, who served as a staff member for former House Majority Leader Tom Delay (R-Texas). The group's Web site says it is an "independent affiliate" of the Institute for Energy Research, which is headed by Robert L. Bradley, former director of public policy analysis at Enron and a speechwriter for CEO Kenneth Lay.    » read more »