http://www.ice.gov/pi/news/newsreleases/articles/060626detroit.htm
June 26, 2006
"Dearborn doctor indicted for healthcare and immigration fraud"
ARTICLE SNIPPET: "DETROIT -- A federal grand jury's 40-count indictment against a Dearborn doctor was unsealed Friday, announced U.S. Attorney Stephen J. Murphy, Eastern District of Michigan. The case was investigated by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and other federal agencies.
Dr. Ali S. Makki, 46, was charged with over-billing Medicare more than $500,000 for unnecessary medical tests, falsifying medical records submitted in response to a Medicare audit, and providing false medical records to more than 500 "green card" applicants.
The 40-count indictment also charged Makki with immigration fraud for providing two immigrants who tested positive for syphilis with "negative" test results, with helping aliens obtain citizenship by signing false medical waivers, and with illegally dispensing prescriptions for controlled substances without a medical purpose.
Makki was arrested early Friday afternoon by agents from: ICE, the FBI, Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General, and the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). His arrest took place at Detroit Metropolitan airport after he got off a flight from his native Lebanon by way of Paris. His arrest culminated a two-year investigation by those agencies.
"This multi-agency investigation of a doctor accused of cheating Medicare and lying to federal immigration officials about hundreds of immigrants and their medical status, is an example of the excellent kind of teamwork that can occur in federal law enforcement when agencies work together," Murphy said. "This kind of fraud will not be tolerated."
Murphy was joined in the announcement by Brian M. Moskowitz, special agent-in-charge of the ICE’s Office of Investigations in Detroit; Daniel D. Roberts, FBI special agent in charge; and David Krupnick, special agent in charge of Health and Human Services of Office of the Inspector General ("HHS-OIG").
The United States plans to seek detention of Dr. Makki pending trial as a flight risk."
Note: The following text is a quote:
---
http://www.ice.gov/pi/news/newsreleases/articles/060627detroit.htm
June 27, 2006
Chicago-area man pleads guilty to arson
DETROIT - An Iraqi citizen residing in the Skokie, Ill.-area pleaded guilty today to setting fire to the car of a human trafficking victim as an act of intimidation. The victim was one of the Eastern European women who was forced to work as an exotic dancer in Detroit-area strip clubs. The guilty plea was announced by Stephen J. Murphy, U.S. Attorney, Eastern District of Michigan; and Wan J. Kim, Assistant Attorney General, Civil Rights Division. This case was investigated by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and other federal agencies.
Duay Joseph Jado, 27, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Victoria A. Roberts to violating the “Interstate Travel in Aid of Racketeering Enterprises” Act by crossing state lines in the Spring of 2004 to commit arson.
According to the plea agreement and other public court records, after a dancer escaped from “Beauty Search Inc.,” the corporate cover for the human trafficking organization, a ringleader paid Jado to set fire to the dancer's car. The arson deal was in retaliation for the woman's escape, for her failing to repay an outstanding debt allegedly owed to Beauty Search, and to intimidate other dancers not to follow in her footsteps.
“We will pursue the investigation and prosecution of this human trafficking organization wherever the evidence leads,” said U.S. Attorney Murphy. “Human trafficking crimes evidence some of the most brutal and detestable behaviors that one human being can visit upon another. Today's conviction indicates our resolve to bring to justice all participants in this odious sort of criminal activity.”
"Sadly, this case is an example of the continued victimization of a woman ensnared by an international human trafficking organization," said Brian M. Moskowitz, special agent in charge of the ICE Office of Investigations in Detroit. "Those who use threats of violence and intimidation against human trafficking victims can be certain that ICE and its partners will work to bring them to justice."
With today's plea, eight people have been convicted of crimes associated with this trafficking conspiracy. On March 8, Aleksandr Maksimenko, of Livonia, Mich., one of the ringleaders of the scheme, pleaded guilty to conspiring to violate the civil rights of the dancers through involuntary servitude, as well as immigration and money laundering conspiracies. Another partner of Beauty Search Inc., Michail Aronov, a Lithuanian citizen from the Chicago area, pleaded guilty to similar charges on Sept. 8, 2005. Evgeniy Prokopenko and Alexander Bondarenko, two Ukrainian citizens residing in Brooklyn, N.Y., pleaded guilty to visa fraud on Sept. 9, 2005, admitting that they entered into sham marriages in 2004 with two of the dancers in order to permit the dancers to gain entry into the United States. On Nov. 1, 2005, Anna Gonikman-Starchenko, a Ukrainian citizen living in the Detroit metro area, pleaded guilty to obstruction-related charges stemming from actions taken following the arrests of Maksimenko and Aronov. On Nov. 3, 2005, Niki Papoutsaki, a Greek citizen living in the Detroit metro area, pleaded guilty to misprision of a felony in connection with obstruction-related activity. Finally, on Feb. 14, 2006, Valentina Maksimenko, a naturalized U.S. citizen residing in the Chicago area, pleaded guilty to a conspiracy to obstruct justice during the course of the federal investigation.
Jado remains in custody pending his sentencing. He faces a statutory maximum sentence of up to five years in prison. The parties agreed that under the Federal Sentencing Guidelines an appropriate sentence for Jado is 37 to 46 months in prison.
The government's investigation and prosecution of others involved in the trafficking scheme is continuing. The case is being investigated by the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the FBI, the Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigation, and the State Department Diplomatic Security Service.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Mark Chutkow and Luis de Baca, Senior Litigation Counsels at the Department of Justice, Civil Rights Division, Criminal Section, prosecuted the case. Peter Ziedas, Assistant U.S. Attorney is handling the asset forfeiture part of the case.
-- ICE --
>>>"Dearborn doctor indicted for healthcare and immigration fraud"
That was a nICE bust! Now throw away the key.