Brooklyn Man Charged With Daytime Shooting Beside Manhattan School And Playground

 

United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, Jay Clayton, Acting Special Agent in Charge of the New York Field Office of Homeland Security Investigations (“HSI”), Michael Alfonso, and the Commissioner of the New York City Police Department (“NYPD”), Jessica S. Tisch, announced the unsealing of a Complaint charging MICHAEL ZAYAS in connection with the January 14, 2026, daytime shooting during which ZAYAS fired a gun 10 times in the vicinity of Kelly Playground in the Chelsea neighborhood of Manhattan.  ZAYAS was arrested and presented today before U.S. Magistrate Judge Gabriel W. Gorenstein. 

“As alleged, Michael Zayas brazenly and unlawfully carried a firearm into a residential neighborhood—across the street from a playground where children were playing, and just down the street from a middle school—and fired it in the air 10 times,” said U.S. Attorney Jay Clayton.  “Zayas’s alleged conduct sowed fear and panic among New York residents and visitors, including hundreds of children at the middle school, which was put into lockdown when the gunfire erupted.  Our career prosecutors and dedicated partners will continue to act to bring to justice those who commit gun crimes and ensure that our playgrounds, schools, and streets are safe from threat.  That’s what New Yorkers want, and we hear them.” 

“This brazen, broad-daylight shooting—mere steps from a school and a playground and allegedly at the hands of a convicted felon—endangered innocent lives and disrupted the safety of our community,” said HSI Acting Special Agent in Charge Michael Alfonso.  “Zayas’ swift identification and arrest is a testament to the outstanding collaboration between HSI New York, the NYPD, and our federal law enforcement partners.  HSI New York remains steadfast in our commitment to pursuing violent offenders and protecting the public from senseless acts.”

According to the allegations contained in the Complaint and statements made in public court proceedings:[1] 

On or about January 14, 2026, at approximately 2:42 p.m., a masked shooter fired approximately 10 rounds near the Kelly Playground at the corner of 17th Street and 8th Avenue in Manhattan before fleeing the scene, causing at least one nearby school to be placed on lockdown.  Law enforcement officers recovered 10 9-millimeter cartridges from the scene and later identified the shooter as ZAYAS, who had previously been convicted of a felony offense.

The images below show ZAYAS, minutes prior to the shooting (approximately 2:37 p.m.), entering the elevator on a particular floor on an apartment building located approximately two blocks away from the scene of the shooting, then masked and fleeing westbound on 17th Street toward 9th Avenue after the shooting.

ZAYAS, 49, of Brooklyn, New York, is charged with one count of possession of ammunition after felony conviction, which carries a maximum sentence of 15 years in prison.

The maximum potential sentences in this case are prescribed by Congress and provided here for informational purposes only, as any sentencing of the defendants will be determined by the judge.

Mr. Clayton praised the outstanding investigative work of HSI and the NYPD.

[1] As the introductory phrase signifies, the entirety of the text of the Complaint and the description of the Complaint set forth herein constitute only allegations, and every fact described should be treated as an allegation.

New York, New Jersey Sue Trump Administration for Illegally Withholding Gateway Tunnel Funding

Without Quick Court Action, Jobs Will be Lost and New York and New Jersey will Suffer

New York and New Jersey announced that both states are suing the Trump Administration for illegally withholding $15 billion in federally committed funding for the Gateway project to provide new tunnels and rehabilitate the existing vital Hudson River rail crossing between northern New Jersey and New York City, jeopardizing the economic future of the Northeast region.

The lawsuit, filed in federal court in the Southern District of New York, seeks emergency relief to stop the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) from continuing to implement its indefinite funding freeze—funds needed to ensure that active construction on the project can continue, that workers do not lose their jobs, and that the States and their residents are not harmed.

“Donald Trump's revenge tour on New York threatens to derail one of the most vital infrastructure projects this nation has built in generations, putting thousands of union jobs and billions of dollars in economic benefits in jeopardy and threatening the commutes of 200,000 riders,” Governor Hochul said. “New York will fight this illegal effort by the Trump Administration to steal the funding the federal government committed to get the Gateway Tunnel built with everything we've got. My message to Donald Trump and Sean Duffy is simple: we'll see you in court.”

 New Jersey Governor Mikie Sherril said, “Every time the Trump Administration gets involved, costs go up and working people suffer. The illegal attack on the Gateway Tunnel is yet another example. New Jersey will not back down from this fight. If this project stops, 1,000 workers will immediately lose their jobs and hundreds of thousands of commuters will lose the chance at finally having reliable train service that makes their lives easier.”

The States are bringing this lawsuit, separate from the lawsuit the Gateway Development Commission filed this week, because they are suffering their own independent harms. Ending federal funding would do more than just kill thousands of jobs and imperil the future commutes of hard-working New Yorkers and New Jerseyans. It would also mean New Jersey and New York lose the benefits of the millions in funding and land they provided to the Gateway Project. It would mean New Jersey and New York would need to incur significant new operating costs. And because the Gateway Project is well underway with a number of active construction sites, it also means New Jersey and New York would have to incur millions to secure those sites and to prevent serious public safety and public health hazards. Given the immediate chaos, loss of jobs, and serious harms to New York and New Jersey that are otherwise coming, the States are seeking emergency relief—including a preliminary injunction—to block DOT from continuing to implement this indefinite funding freeze.

DEC ISSUES UPDATE ON HUDSON RIVER’S ATLANTIC STRIPED BASS REPRODUCTIVE SUCCESS

 

State Spawning Surveys Show Third Consecutive Year of Poor Reproductive Success

Newly Established Striped Bass Working Group Discussions at the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission to Begin February 5 to Discuss Future Stock Management Challenges

The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) today issued an update on the Hudson River’s Atlantic striped bass Juvenile Abundance Index (JAI) survey and ongoing collaborations on management of this important fishery. DEC’s JAI determined poor reproductive success in the river for the third consecutive year. In light of the ongoing poor juvenile reproduction and concerns about poor reproduction coastwide, DEC made the motion that initiated the formation of a working group at the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission (ASMFC) to discuss upcoming striped bass management challenges. That motion received strong support to begin discussions of how to manage this important fishery in the 2030s when the coastal population is expected to be much smaller.  

“For the third straight year, DEC’s annual juvenile striped bass survey in the Hudson River documented poor striped bass reproduction, heightening concerns about future abundance and long-term management implications for this critical resource,” Commissioner Lefton said. “The most recent findings confirm that it is more important than ever that DEC continue to engage with the interstate management process, as well as with the coastal community of stakeholders, to take a leadership role in responsibly managing the striped bass population over the next decade.”  

DEC surveys striped bass juveniles and adults at their spawning grounds in the Hudson River and in the Atlantic Ocean. The 2025 value for the DEC’s Hudson River striped bass young-of-year index was 8.27 fish per haul. This value is below the long-term average, and for the third consecutive year, survey values were below the 25^th percentile. The index value, which provides an estimate of annual reproduction for striped bass in the Hudson River, is generated through beach seine surveys at 13 sites in the lower Hudson River conducted bi-weekly from July to November. The survey can be found on DEC’s Striped Bass webpage. 

This recent poor juvenile reproduction in the Hudson River, along with consistent poor reproduction in the Chesapeake Bay over the last seven years, indicates that there will be a significant future decrease in catchable striped bass beginning in 2030. The Hudson and Chesapeake combined contribute approximately 90 percent of the coastal population of striped bass. Reproduction of migratory fish in estuaries along the Atlantic Coast is typically highly variable and is heavily dependent on environmental conditions such as precipitation, water temperature and salinity, but it remains unclear what is driving this pattern in striped bass.

The next striped bass stock assessment will take place in 2027 and the results of that assessment will inform ASMFC striped bass management decisions starting in 2028. Recognizing the concerning poor juvenile reproduction in recent years, DEC proactively proposed that ASMFC create and convene a working group to meet between now and the upcoming assessment to be fully prepared to make management decisions upon receipt of those results.  

The new working group will consider how to update the Striped Bass Interstate Fishery Management Plan’s goals, objectives, and management of striped bass in preparation for the results of the 2027 assessment. The goal of the working group is to prepare fishery managers to adapt successfully to the lower population level in the 2030s while maintaining access to striped bass and its important societal, cultural, and economic benefits. The initial step of forming the working group will occur on February 5, 2026, at the ASMFC Winter Meeting in Arlington, Virginia.   

For more information about striped bass, fishing regulations, and ongoing management, visit DEC’s website.

MS-13 Gang Member Who Confessed to 5 Murders Arrested Just Weeks Before Virginia Governor Spanberger Ended ICE Cooperation

 

7 of the 10 safest cities in the U.S. work with ICE law enforcement

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) was instrumental in the apprehension of an MS-13 gang member and confessed murderer in Virginia just weeks before Virginia Governor Abigail Spanberger took office and ended the state’s cooperation with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).

Through rigorous screening and vetting of his applications for asylum and work authorization in the United States, USCIS identified Edwin Antonio Hernandez Hernandez’s extensive criminal history and illegal status. USCIS officials coordinated with ICE, which resulted in ICE swiftly arresting Hernandez, 27, of El Salvador, at a USCIS appointment in Alexandria.

“This self-admitted MS-13 gang member who confessed to five savage murders in El Salvador—including the live dismemberment of one victim—is now off our streets because of DHS law enforcement. These are the criminals that Virginia’s new governor is protecting with her executive order halting cooperation with ICE,” said Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin. “Governor Spanberger’s actions have made Virginians less safe. 7 of the 10 safest cities in the U.S. cooperate with US. We need cooperation to get criminals out of our communities.” 

Newly sworn-in Governor Spanberger signed an executive order that local and state law enforcement are no longer required to cooperate with ICE, repealing an order from her Republican predecessor, Governor Glenn Youngkin. ICE arrested Hernandez two and a half weeks before Spanberger’s executive order took effect.

Hernandez illegally entered the United States in 2015 as an unaccompanied minor at age 16. After his arrest by U.S. Border Patrol, an immigration judge ordered his removal in 2017. While in custody, Hernandez admitted to being an MS-13 member and confessed to murdering five people in El Salvador through shooting, torturing, stabbing, and dismemberment.

Despite these admissions and a removal order, Hernandez brazenly preyed on the generosity of the American people and applied for asylum and then work authorization. The Biden administration disregarded his violent criminal history, handing him a work permit and setting a known killer loose on America’s streets. Furthermore, a Biden administration judge allowed him to stay in the United States, claiming he required protection from torture in his home country—a deeply ironic decision given that he was the perpetrator of violence, torture, and murder against his victims.

Americans can see more public safety threats arrested in their communities on the webpage wow.dhs.gov.

Stamford Drug Trafficker Sentenced to 9 Years in Federal Prison

David X. Sullivan, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, announced that SAMUEL ELIE, 49, of Stamford, has been sentenced by U.S. District Judge Vernon D. Oliver in Hartford to 108 months of imprisonment and five years of supervised release for distributing narcotics.

According to court documents and statements made in court, in November 2024, Stamford Police learned that Elie was selling fentanyl, powder cocaine, and crack cocaine from his house and his vehicles.  Investigators made three controlled purchases of fentanyl from Elie in December 2024 and January 2025.  Elie was arrested on related state charges on January 22, 2025.  On that date, a search of his residence revealed approximately grams of fentanyl, 215 grams of crack cocaine, 91 grams of powder cocaine, eight grams of methamphetamine, a gun magazine, and 50 rounds of assorted ammunition.

Elie’s criminal history includes felony convictions for firearm, drug, robbery, and other offenses.

Elie has been detained since his arrest.  On September 29, 2025, he pleaded guilty to possession with intent to distribute 40 grams or more of fentanyl and a quantity of cocaine.

This matter was investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration and the Stamford Police Department.  The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Mary G. Vitale.

This case is part of Operation Take Back America, a nationwide initiative that marshals the full resources of the Department of Justice to repel the invasion of illegal immigration, achieve the total elimination of cartels and transnational criminal organizations (TCOs), and protect our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime.

Two Bloods Gang Members Plead Guilty to Sex Trafficking Charges and an Associate Previously Pleaded Guilty to Laundering the Proceeds of Their Crimes

 

Defendants Had Expansive Sex and Narcotics Trafficking Business and Laundered Proceeds to Further Business and Buy Luxury Vehicles

On January 27, 2026 and February 3, 2026, in federal court in Central Islip, co-defendants David M. Amin (D. Amin) and Bryce K. Amin (B. Amin), who are brothers and members of the Bloods street gang, pleaded guilty to sex trafficking conspiracy and substantive sex trafficking in connection with their roles in their family’s sex and narcotics trafficking business.  Previously, in April 2025, co-defendant Patricia A. Peralta (Peralta), D. Amin’s spouse, pleaded guilty to money laundering conspiracy.  As part of this business, D. Amin and B. Amin engaged in acts of violence against multiple female victims, and provided drugs to them including fentanyl to cause those victims to engage in commercial sex acts for the defendants’ financial benefit.  Peralta assisted the brothers in laundering the proceeds of this lucrative business, from which she likewise derived substantial financial benefits.

D. Amin and Peralta’s guilty plea proceedings were held before United States District Judge Gary R. Brown, and B. Amin’s plea proceeding was held before United States Magistrate Judge Steven L. Tiscione.  When sentenced, D. Amin and B. Amin face a mandatory minimum term of 15 years’ imprisonment and up to life in prison, and Peralta faces up to 20 years in prison. Additionally, D. Amin and Peralta have agreed to forfeit more than $390,000, a 2021 Mercedes Benz AMG SUV, and a 2021 BMW M550i, all of which were seized from a storage facility in Suffolk County on the date of D. Amin’s arrest.

Joseph Nocella, Jr., United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York, Michael Alfonso, Acting Special Agent in Charge, Homeland Security Investigations, New York (HSI), Kevin Catalina, Commissioner, Suffolk County Police Department (SCPD), and Errol D. Toulon, Jr., Suffolk County Sheriff, announced the guilty pleas.

“The Amin brothers took advantage of vulnerable women battling addiction to coerce them into prostitution by making them beholden to illegal narcotics supplied by the defendants,” stated United States Attorney Nocella.  “These guilty pleas hold the defendants accountable for profiting from the sexual exploitation of others while subjecting their victims to harm and degradation.  It is my hope that these prosecutions will also serve to vindicate the civil rights and dignity of survivors of this evil scourge.”

Mr. Nocella also expressed his appreciation to the Nassau County Police Department for its assistance on the case.

“The guilty pleas of David Amin and Bryce Amin send a clear message: HSI will relentlessly pursue those who traffic and exploit vulnerable individuals and expose them to deadly fentanyl,” stated HSI New York Acting Special Agent in Charge Alfonso.  “HSI New York is laser-focused on rooting out sex traffickers and dismantling criminal networks that threaten our families. Working alongside our law enforcement partners, HSI New York special agents will utilize every tool at our disposal to ensure predators like the Amin brothers face the full consequences of their actions.”

“The Amin brothers preyed on vulnerable individuals, using drugs and manipulation to exploit them for profit. Their guilty pleas are a significant step toward justice for their victims. The Suffolk County Sheriff’s Office remains committed to working alongside our law enforcement partners to protect our communities from the devastating impact of human trafficking,” stated Suffolk County Sheriff Toulon.

According to court filings and statements made during the guilty plea proceedings, between October 2018 and May 2023, the defendants conspired to use violence and threats of violence to compel multiple women to engage in commercial sex acts for the defendants’ financial benefit.  D. Amin and B. Amin recruited drug addicted women for their sex trafficking operation on Long Island, and controlled the proceeds derived from the scheme.  They also manipulated their victims into believing that they were in debt to the defendants.  Additionally, D. Amin forced victims to have sex with him, which at times came with degrading rules the victims were forced to follow.  D. Amin choked and struck his victims, left one or more victims stranded in public places without money, a phone, or identification and deprived them of drugs to force withdrawal symptoms.  Similarly, B. Amin subjected the victims to violence and drug-related manipulation.  In a recorded call from jail in January 2021, B. Amin boasted about his control over one of the victims, saying “You can groom a person to do something they’re not used to doing . . . .When I tell her sit, she listens, she does whatever I tell her to do. She’s my little puppet.”

D. Amin also operated a significant drug trafficking operation on Long Island in which he sold large quantities of controlled substances, including cocaine and fentanyl. As part of their sex trafficking operation, the Amin brothers often sold drugs through female trafficking victims to individuals that were also paying them for commercial sex acts.  These add-on services were advertised as “party favors.”

The sex trafficking activity occurred at hotels on Long Island, in locations that include Bohemia, Islandia, Patchogue, and Bayport.  In addition to working at the Sayville Motor Lodge, which is now closed, D. Amin forced victims to work out of cars and apartments in Suffolk County.

Additionally, when D. Amin was arrested, law enforcement searched a storage unit that he controlled with Peralta and seized more than $390,000 in cash along with two luxury vehicles, each worth approximately $100,000.  Relatedly, Peralta regularly deposited large sums of money derived from sex trafficking and narcotics trafficking into personal bank accounts. Those funds were used to purchase a third luxury vehicle and to pay for hotels used in the sex trafficking operation.

This prosecution is also part of the Homeland Security Task Force (HSTF) initiative established by Executive Order 14159, Protecting the American People Against Invasion.  The HSTF is a whole-of-government partnership dedicated to eliminating criminal cartels, foreign gangs, transnational criminal organizations, and human smuggling and trafficking rings operating in the United States and abroad.  Through historic interagency collaboration, the HSTF directs the full might of U.S. law enforcement towards identifying, investigating, and prosecuting the full spectrum of crimes committed by these organizations, which have long fueled violence and instability within our borders. In performing this work, the HSTF places special emphasis on investigating and prosecuting those engaged in child trafficking or other crimes involving children.  The HSTF further utilizes all available tools to prosecute and remove the most violent criminal aliens from the United States.

“Incognito Market” Owner Sentenced To 30 Years For Operating One Of The World’s Largest Online Narcotics Marketplaces

Rui-Siang Lin Used the Identity of “Pharaoh” to Operate Incognito Market, Which Sold More Than $105 Million of Illegal Narcotics to Customers Around the World 

United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, Jay Clayton, announced that RUI-SIANG LIN was sentenced to 30 years in prison for conspiring to distribute narcotics, money laundering, and conspiring to sell adulterated and misbranded medication, in connection with LIN’s ownership and operation of the Incognito Market, an online narcotics marketplace that sold more than one ton of narcotics before its closure in March 2024.  On December 16, 2024, LIN pled guilty before U.S. District Judge Colleen McMahon, who imposed this sentence. 

“Rui-Siang Lin was one of the world’s most prolific drug traffickers, using the internet to sell more than $105 million of illegal drugs throughout this country and across the globe,” said U.S. Attorney Jay Clayton.  “While Lin made millions, his offenses had devastating consequences.  He is responsible for at least one tragic death, and he exacerbated the opioid crisis and caused misery for more than 470,000 narcotics users and their families.  This sentence puts traffickers on notice: you cannot hide in the shadows of the Internet.  And our larger message is simple: the internet, ‘decentralization,’ ‘blockchain’—any technology—is not a license to operate a narcotics distribution business.”    

According to court documents and the evidence presented in connection with today’s sentencing:

Incognito Market was an online narcotics bazaar that existed on the dark web.  Incognito Market formed in October 2020.  Since that time, and through its closing in March 2024, Incognito Market sold more than $105 million of narcotics—including more than 1,000 kilograms of cocaine, over 1,000 kilograms of methamphetamines, hundreds of kilograms of other narcotics, and more than 4 kilograms of purported “oxycodone,” some of which were laced with fentanyl.  Incognito Market was available globally to anyone with internet access and could be accessed using the Tor web browser on the “dark web” or “darknet.”  LIN operated the Incognito market under the online pseudonym “Pharaoh.”  As “Pharaoh”—the leader of Incognito market—LIN supervised all of its operations, including its employees, vendors, and customers, and had ultimate decision-making authority over every aspect of the multimillion-dollar operation.

Incognito Market was designed to foster seamless narcotics transactions across the internet and the world, and incorporated many features of legitimate e-commerce sites such as branding, advertising, and customer service.  Upon visiting the site, users were met by a splash page and graphic interface, which is pictured below:

After logging in with a unique username and password, users were able to search thousands of listings for narcotics of their choice.  Incognito Market sold illegal narcotics and misbranded prescription medication, including heroin, cocaine, LSD, MDMA, oxycodone, methamphetamines, ketamine, and alprazolam. An example of listings on Incognito Market is below:

Each listing on Incognito Market was sold by a particular vendor.  To become an Incognito Market vendor, each vendor was required to register with the site and pay an admission fee.  In exchange for listing and selling narcotics as a vendor on Incognito Market, each vendor paid 5% of the purchase price of every narcotic sold to Incognito Market. That revenue funded Incognito Market’s operations, including paying “employee” salaries and for computer servers.  LIN collected more than $6 million in profits from Incognito.  To facilitate these financial transactions, Incognito Market had its own “bank” (the “Incognito Bank”), which allowed its users to deposit cryptocurrency on the site into their own “bank accounts.”  After a narcotics transaction was completed, cryptocurrency from the buyer’s “bank account” was transferred to the seller’s “bank account,” less the 5% fee that Incognito collected.  The bank enabled buyers and sellers to stay anonymous from each other.  The bank’s graphic interface is pictured below:

LIN was a founding member of the Incognito Market in October 2020, and led the site as of approximately January 2022, until LIN closed it in March 2024.  LIN ran the site while based in, among other places, St. Lucia.  Remarkably, while LIN was managing Incognito, he led a four-day training for St. Lucian police officers about “Cybercrime and Cryptocurrency,” which he bragged about on his personal Facebook page.

Due to LIN’s leadership and sophisticated computer coding abilities, the Incognito Market grew its customer base to more than 400,000 buyer accounts.  Those hundreds of thousands of buyers were serviced by more than 1,800 narcotics “vendors,” many of which were serious drug traffickers in their own right.  In total, Lin’s Incognito Market facilitated more than 640,000 individual narcotics transactions.

On January 22, 2022, Lin announced a new Incognito policy that explicitly permitted its vendors to sell opiates on the site.  As a result, Incognito listings included offerings of prescription medication that was advertised as being authentic but was not. For example, in November 2023, an undercover law enforcement agent received several tablets that purported to be “oxycodone,” which were purchased on Incognito Market.  Testing on those tablets revealed that they were not authentic oxycodone at all and were, in fact, fentanyl pills.  Tragically, on September 13, 2022, a 27-year-old from Arkansas died from consuming purported “oxycodone” that he purchased on the Incognito Market. That “oxycodone” was laced with fentanyl.

In March 2024, Lin closed Incognito by stealing at least $1 million that its users had on deposit in the Incognito Bank.  In addition, Lin attempted to extort his coconspirators.  LIN demanded that the Incognito buyers and vendors pay him, or he would publish their user history and cryptocurrency addresses online.  In a posting on the Incognito site, LIN wrote “YES, THIS IS AN EXTORTION!!!,” as depicted below.

In imposing the sentence, Judge McMahon stated to the defendant that Incognito Market was “a business that made [him] a drug kingpin," and that this was the “most serious drug crime I have ever been confronted with in 27.5 years.”

In addition to the prison term, LIN, 24, of Taiwan, was sentenced to five years of supervised release and $105,045,109.67 in forfeiture.

Mr. Clayton praised the investigative work of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, New York City Police Department, Homeland Security Investigations, Drug Enforcement Administration, Food and Drug Administration Office of Criminal Investigations, and U.S. Customs and Border Protection.  

This prosecution is part of the Homeland Security Task Force (HSTF) initiative established by Executive Order 14159, Protecting the American People Against Invasion.  The HSTF is a whole-of-government partnership dedicated to eliminating criminal cartels, foreign gangs, transnational criminal organizations, and human smuggling and trafficking rings operating in the United States and abroad.

Former NFL Player Convicted for $197M Medicare Fraud

 

A federal jury in the Middle District of Florida convicted the owner of a marketing company, and former NFL player, for his role in a yearslong scheme to bilk Medicare and the Civilian Health and Medical Program of the Department of Veterans Affairs (CHAMPVA) out of nearly $200 million by selling patient information and sham doctors’ orders for orthotic braces that patients did not want or need. 

“This defendant’s conduct was egregious: he targeted seniors suffering from Alzheimer’s and dementia and billed Medicare for orthotic braces for deceased patients and amputees,” said Assistant Attorney General A. Tysen Duva of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division. “These schemes undermine the integrity of our health care system by robbing taxpayer-funded programs meant for legitimate medical care. Today’s verdict sends a clear message: the Criminal Division will aggressively prosecute those who prey on our nation’s seniors and veterans to steal from Medicare.”

“This scheme built on sham operations exploited seniors and corrupted the federal health care system. By falsifying doctors’ orders and selling patient information, the defendant sought to turn Medicare into their own personal ATM machine,” said Acting Deputy Inspector General for Investigations Scott J. Lampert of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Inspector General (HHS-OIG). “HHS-OIG will stop and catch anyone who exploits vulnerable patients to bilk federal healthcare programs and hold them accountable to the full extent of the law.”

“This guilty verdict holds the defendant accountable for his role in a healthcare fraud scheme that targeted a program meant for deserving veterans and their families,” said Special Agent in Charge David Spilker with the Department of Veterans Affairs Office of Inspector General Southeast Field Office. “The VA OIG will continue to work with our law enforcement partners to root out fraudsters and hold them responsible.”

According to court documents and evidence presented at trial, Joel Rufus French, 47, of Amory, Mississippi, worked with overseas call centers that pressured elderly Americans to provide their personal and health insurance information and agree to accept medically unnecessary orthotic braces. Some of the individuals who agreed to the braces suffered from Alzheimer’s and dementia. In certain instances, the call centers altered call recordings to make it seem like Medicare patients agreed to the braces when they did not.

French paid sham telemedicine companies to obtain signed orders from doctors and nurse practitioners who never examined, and often never even spoke to, the patients. He sold the orders to marketers and medical supply companies, which then submitted claims to Medicare. French also defrauded Medicare and CHAMPVA, the health care program for spouses and children of veterans who have or had a permanent and total service-connected disability or who died from a service-connected condition, by billing the programs for orthotic braces through eight durable medical equipment supply companies that he owned and managed, using false documents to hide his connection to the companies from Medicare. The evidence at trial showed that French and his co-conspirators caused Medicare to be billed for braces for amputees for limbs they did not have and for deceased beneficiaries. Also during the conspiracy, French withdrew approximately $225,000 in cash from a bank in Mississippi, over $10,000 of which was placed in a bag and driven to Orlando to pay accomplices who sold him beneficiaries’ personal and insurance information.

The jury convicted French of conspiracy to commit health care fraud and wire fraud, conspiracy to commit money laundering, and conspiracy to offer, pay, solicit, and receive kickbacks. French faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison for conspiracy to commit health care fraud and wire fraud, 10 years in prison for conspiracy to commit money laundering, and five years in prison for conspiracy to defraud the United States. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors. A sentencing date has not been set.

HHS-OIG, FBI, and VA-OIG investigated the case.

Acting Assistant Chief Catherine Wagner and Trial Attorney William Hochul III of the Justice Department’s Fraud Section are prosecuting the case.

The Fraud Section leads the Criminal Division’s efforts to combat health care fraud through the Health Care Fraud Strike Force Program. Since March 2007, this program, currently comprised of eight strike forces operating in federal districts across the country, has charged more than 6,200 defendants who collectively billed federal health care programs and private insurers more than $45 billion. In addition, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, working in conjunction with the Office of the Inspector General for the Department of Health and Human Services, are taking steps to hold providers accountable for their involvement in health care fraud schemes. More information can be found at www.justice.gov/criminal-fraud/health-care-fraud-unit.