Prescription Drug Fraud in Livonia

Mark Mandell, Esq.

A Livonia doctor and five accomplices were charged last week with running a prescription pain pill fraud scheme.

The indictment alleges that the scheme involved recruiters who would bring patients to Dr. Mohammad Batahney’s office for a “cursory examination or no examination at all.”  Allegedly, the doctor would then write a prescription for Roxicodone, a highly addictive pain pill, and give it to the recruiter. 

The indictment states that the recruiter would then pay the doctor and get the prescriptions filled at a cooperating pharmacy.  After being filled, the recruiter is alleged to have sold the drugs to street dealers in Detroit.

Dr. Batahney is believed to have unlawfully prescribed more than 300,000 doses of Roxicodone from 2011 to April 2013. 

Dr. Batahney and the other five defendants have been charged with conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute controlled substances – a felony punishable by up to 20 years in prison.

With prescription drug fraud rising to epidemic levels, Federal prosecutions have dramatically increased.  The crimes charged are severe and the sentences are long.  Having knowledgeable and experienced counsel on your side is a necessity.

If you or someone you know has been charged with fraud, or are concerned that you may be involved in fraudulent behavior, contact experienced fraud attorney Mark Mandell at (248) 380-0000 or online at www.MichiganFraudLawyer.com. 

To read about this latest indictment, please visit:

http://www.freep.com/article/20130422/NEWS02/304220150/Pills-prescription-fraud-Livonia-doctor

New State Law Could Leave Shoplifters with Five-Year Sentence

Mark Mandell, Esq.

Shoplifting, to many, appears as a lapse in self-restraint: kleptomania, psychologists have deemed it. Currently, shoplifters spend 90 days in jail and pay about $200 in fines. Recently, shoplifting has begun to evolve into organized retail crime with farther reaching consequences. A new Michigan state has gone into effect with stiffer penalties aimed to combat this growing problem. Individuals participating in this more sophisticated version of retail fraud could face a five-year felony sentence.

Over the past fives years, rates of shoplifting have risen between 3% and 4%. While the effects of shoplifting aren’t always readily apparent, the average American household pays for the crime: $500 a year to cover losses. And while the ordinary shoplifter is easily deterred by retailers, those involved in organized theft are much more brazen in their actions, often crossing state lines with their stolen merchandise in order to sell it for a profit. As a result, more than 15 states have passed new laws targeting retail fraud; however, legislators are still pushing to make it a federal law.

The penalties perpetrators will face as a result of the new law are meant to deter these individuals. For example, a Clinton Township man stole a shopping cart full of Red Bull energy drinks from a Kroger store in December, planning to sell the drinks to party stores. Under Michigan’s existing retail fraud laws, the most the man would face was 93 days in jail. However, under the new law, he could face five years in prison and a hefty $2,000 fine.

To learn more and read the original article, please visit: http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2013303300100

If you have questions about retail fraud or other legal issues, please contact Mark Mandell or Tariq Hafeez at 248.380.0000 or online at www.MichiganFraudLawyer.com.

After Outrage, the Michigan Unemployment Agency Reverses Controversial Directive

Mark Mandell, Esq.

After a harsh grilling of the Michigan Unemployment Agency’s director by a Senate committee last week, the agency has rescinded a controversial directive made in October regarding the handling of fraud cases.

The October directive at issue told agency officials not to show up for administrative hearings for unemployment insurance fraud cases unless the amount of fraudulently claimed benefits was at least $15,000. However, the directive ran contrary to the 2011 law passed by the legislature that makes unemployment insurance fraud above $3,500 a potential felony. As a result, lawmakers were outraged.

“Do you make it a habit of interpreting legislation for your own convenience?” Sen. Jack Brandenburg, R-Harrison Township, asked UI Agency Director Steve Arwood. “You changed the legislation’s intent; don’t tell me you didn’t.”

Arwood stated that he only signed off on the directive as a “temporary measure” due to staff shortages after the UI Agency laid off 400 of its 1,200 employees at the beginning of October.

When agency officials do not appear for the fraud hearing, the judge finds that the state has abandoned its fraud claim and tosses out the case. While it may be convenient for the UI Agency to ignore smaller claims, such fraudulent claims cost both employers and workers through higher insurance rates.

A new directive was sent out last Friday that referred agency officials to the fraud manual, which specifically states that attendance at civil fraud hearings before administrative law judges is necessary if the amount in question is $3,500 or more.

It seems the UI Agency is back in line with the law.

To learn more and read the original article, please visit: http://www.freep.com/article/20130417/NEWS06/304160180/Unemployment-Insurance-Agency-pivots-controversial-fraud-policy

Michigan Chooses New System to Fight Statewide Fraud

Mark Mandell, Esq.

In order to help combat fraud, waste and abuse in the state’s unemployment insurance and food stamp programs, Michigan’s Enterprise Fraud Detection System has selected SAS Analytics as its program of choice. While unemployment insurance helps to provide a safety net for workers who have lost their jobs, it is easily abused. Just last year alone, $10.3 billion in fraudulent insurance payments were made across the country.

The use of the SAS Fraud Framework for Government allows state officials to not only detect where fraud occurs, but also to help uncover fraudulent claims before they are paid. The system will initially be used to fight fraud and abuse in Michigan’s unemployment insurance and food stamp programs. Over time, it will be integrated and used to spot fraud across all executive branch departments and programs as well.

Instead of simply measuring how much fraud occurs, the system will help experts to examine the different factors that caused the fraud to occur in the first place. The SAS Fraud Framework for Government is specifically tailored to help governmental agencies in multiple ways: from detecting suspicious patterns in social programs, to uncovering tax evasion and even identifying sophisticated fraud rings.

Greg Henderson, Government Practice Lead for SAS Fraud and Financial Crimes Global Practice calls Michigan “a national leader in the fight against fraud.” By utilizing SAS, Henderson says, “it supports Gov. Snyder’s commitment to curtail fraud, waste and abuse, and to get assistance to the people who truly need it.”

The new system will bring transparency to both the unemployment and food stamp programs, helping Michigan to deliver benefits and services to those in need while avoiding costly, fraudulent pay-outs.

To learn more and read the original article, please visit: http://gcn.com/articles/2013/03/05/michigan-analytics-stop-fraud-waste-abuse.aspx

If you have questions about health care fraud or other legal issues, please contact Mark Mandell or Tariq Hafeez at 248.380.0000 or online at www.MichiganFraudLawyer.com.

New Bill Introduced in an Attempt to Fight Bridge Card Fraud

Mark Mandell, Esq.
 

State Representatives Roger Victory and Gail Haines announced new legislation that will penalize retailers committing Bridge Card Fraud.

 

“It is my job to protect hard-working Michigan taxpayers from waste and abuse of our welfare system, as well as protect our retailers from unfair competition,” said Victory.

The bills are meant to punish those retailers who abuse the state’s welfare system by allowing Bridge Card holders to purchase liquor and lottery tickets with their Bridge Card funds. By overcharging a customer on another item, retailers allow Bridge Card holders to purchase items the Bridge Card funds do not in fact cover.

Victory says the legislation is an attempt not only to penalize those retailers who abuse the system, but it is also an attempt to discourage future Bridge Card fraud.

If passed, the bills would provide consequences for those retailers abusing the system. With the first offense, the business would have its liquor or lotto license suspended for 60 days. With the second offense, the license would be revoked. Haines says it is these steep penalties that will help to prevent Bridge Card fraud. 

To learn more and read the original article, please visit: http://detroit.cbslocal.com/2013/03/04/new-bill-targets-bridge-card-fraud/

If you have questions about health care fraud or other legal issues, please contact Mark Mandell or Tariq Hafeez at 248.380.0000 or online at www.MichiganFraudLawyer.com.

 

Attorney Mark Mandell Discusses the McCotter Political Fraud Scandal with Channel 4

http://www.clickondetroit.com/news/Thaddeus-McCotter-What-went-wrong/-/1719418/19555896/-/kb954a/-/index.html