Statement from Attorney General James on Resignation of NRA Executive Vice President and CEO Wayne LaPierre

New York Attorney General Letitia James released the following statement on the resignation of National Rifle Association (NRA) Executive Vice President Wayne LaPierre. LaPierre, who has spent decades working for the NRA, and has been Executive Vice President and CEO since 1991, is one of five defendants in the lawsuit brought by the Office of the Attorney General (OAG) against the NRA and senior management in August 2020. 

“While the end of the Wayne LaPierre era is an important victory in our case, our push for accountability continues. LaPierre's resignation validates our claims against him, but it will not insulate him or the NRA from accountability. All charities in New York state must adhere to the rule of law, and my office will not tolerate gross mismanagement or top executives funneling millions into their own pockets. Our case will move ahead, and we look forward to proving the facts in court.”

The lawsuit brought by Attorney General James in August 2020 alleged LaPierre and NRA senior management misappropriated millions of dollars to fund personal benefits, including private jets, expensive meals, and even family trips to the Bahamas. The NRA, as a New York-registered not-for-profit, charitable corporation, has legal obligations to use its funds for charitable purposes, not to support the lavish lifestyles of senior management and organization insiders. The OAG investigation found that instead of serving NRA members, senior management blatantly disregarded New York state and federal laws, and even internal NRA policies. The trial is set to begin on January 8. 

BRONX WOMAN WHO SCAMMED IMMIGRANTS IN APARTMENT SCHEME PAYS $60,000 RESTITUTION, IS SENTENCED TO THREE YEARS PROBATION

 

 Bronx District Attorney Darcel D. Clark today announced that a Bronx woman has been sentenced to three years probation after paying restitution in the amount of $60,346 stolen from 21 immigrants in a scheme promising affordable apartments in city-owned buildings.  

 District Attorney Clark said, “The defendant preyed on hardworking immigrants desperate for affordable housing, taking amounts from $1,620 to $3,240 for deposits on apartments, which were enormous sums for the victims. We are pleased to recover more than $60,000 for them.” 

 District Attorney Clark said the defendant, Jennifer Ricardo, 42, of Decatur Avenue, the Bronx, was sentenced today to three years probation after paying restitution in the amount of $60,346, including processing fees, by Bronx Supreme Court Justice Guy H. Mitchell. On November 16, 2022, Ricardo pleaded guilty to third-degree Grand larceny was re-sentenced to petit larceny after paying back the stolen funds. 

 According to the investigation, between June 2019 and September 2020, Ricardo posed as a real estate broker or an employee of city housing agencies. She targeted Spanish speaking immigrants, primarily from the Dominican Republic, accepting rent payments and security deposits for apartments in Bronx buildings. The would-be renters never received keys or got the apartments and could not get in contact with Ricardo after they paid her. 

 District Attorney Clark thanked Police Officer John Istorico of the NYPD Bronx Grand Larceny Squad for his assistance in the investigation. District Attorney Clark also thanked the New York City Department of Investigation, New York City Housing Preservation and Development, New York City Housing Development Corporation, and Safe Horizon for their assistance.  

Governor Hochul Announces Limited Service to be Restored at 5:00 P.M. on 1 and 3 Lines Following Subway Derailment

2 Train will Continue to Run on the 5 Line

Restoration Comes One Day After Derailment

Governor Kathy Hochul today announced the Metropolitan Transportation Authority New York City Transit will resume limited subway service on the 1 and 3 lines to and from a reopened 96 Street Station at 5:00 p.m. today. The restoration comes one day after passengers were finished being safely evacuated from the derailed trains. The incident, at 96 Street 1 2 3 station, involved a passenger train carrying approximately 300 customers and a vandalized train that had been taken out of service at another station.

“MTA has been working around the clock to safely restore this essential subway service to New Yorkers,” Governor Hochulsaid. “I am grateful to all our first responders who were able to evacuate passengers quickly yesterday, and to the workers continuing to ensure that full-service is restored as soon as possible.”

MTA Chair and CEO Janno Lieber said, “New York’s subway system is incredibly resilient and over and over has shown an ability to quickly bounce back. In this case, MTA teams have worked 24 hours straight to reestablish service, and we’ll keep at it until full service is restored.”

The 1 and 3 trains will run limited service in two sections with shuttle bus service provided at skipped stations. The 1 train will run in both directions from its northern terminus at Van Cortlandt Park-242 Street to 96 Street, and from Times Sq-42 Street to South Ferry. The 3 train will run in both directions from its northern terminus at Harlem-148 Street to 96 Street, and from Times Sq-42 Street to New Lots Av. Shuttle buses will provide service for customers in both directions between 96 Street and Times Sq-42 Street. The 2 train will continue to run on the 5 line. These service changes will be in effect until additional tracks can be cleared and any necessary repairs completed.

At approximately 3:00 p.m. on Thursday, Jan. 4, two trains were traveling northbound leaving 96 Street Station at slow speeds at which time the trains bumped into each other and both derailed. There were no reported serious injuries.

Following the incident, crews made substantial progress overnight and through the day on Friday to rerail three cars that had left the tracks. The train that had been in service with passengers was removed and crews are currently addressing the vandalized non-passenger train that derailed on the local track and conducting an inspection of the area and making any necessary repairs to the tracks and infrastructure to enable resumption of full service on the 1 2 3.

The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) is on scene and their investigation into this incident is ongoing. Customers are advised to check mta.info and the MYmta app for the latest service updates.

 

MAYOR ADAMS RECOGNIZES SANITATION CHIEF, TRANSIT BUS OPERATOR WHO HELPED REUNITE LOST CHILDREN WITH THEIR FAMILIES

New York City Mayor Eric Adams presented New York City Department of Sanitation (DSNY) Chief Jeff Pitts and New York City Transit (NYCT) Bus operator Marvin McLaurin of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) with proclamations recognizing their recent individual actions to help lost children reunite with their families.

 

“Chief Jeff Pitts and MTA bus operator Marvin McLaurin show us that you do not have to wear a cape to be a hero — and that we have heroes at our Sanitation Department and behind the wheel at the MTA,” said Mayor Adams. “Chief Pitts and Marvin’s actions remind us that it takes a city to raise a child and that we all need to look out for each other. Thank you, Chief Pitts and Marvin, for going above and beyond the call of duty to keep our children safe.”

 

On December 16, DSNY Chief Pitts was at a gas station in Glendale, Queens when he saw a 10-year-old boy walking around with a backpack alone. He asked the boy to wait with him while he called 911. Chief Pitts bought the child lunch and kept him safe until two NYPD detectives arrived. Earlier that morning, the young boy had been reported missing. Chief Pitts kept the boy safe and helped return him home.

 

On November 20, at 5:15 AM, two unaccompanied siblings — a six-year-old girl and 11-year-old boy — boarded the B83 bus that McLaurin was driving through East New York, Brooklyn. McLaurin acted quickly, giving the children a sweater and jacket to keep them warm, and offering them his phone to keep them assuaged. He encouraged the two siblings to stay near the front of the bus and notified his supervisors of the situation. Once on scene, the New York City Police Department (NYPD) escorted the children to a nearby hospital, and the two siblings were soon after reconnected with their parents.

 

“There’s a misconception that New Yorkers put up blinders to other’s moments of need. Chief Pitts and Marvin McLaurin remind us that the opposite is true: Inside the heart of every New Yorker is a Good Samaritan,” said Deputy Mayor for Operations Meera Joshi. “It’s reassuring to remember that we can rely on one another to watch out for not just for us, but for our kids in this big, complex city of ours — and that our civic workforce, our bus drivers and train car operators, our sanitation staff and teachers are second to none.”

 

“Chief Pitts is a mensch and a public servant in the truest sense of the phrase,” said DSNY Commissioner Jessica Tisch. “One of the great joys of working in government is meeting people who are driven by goodness and a higher calling to serve. On and off the job, Chief Pitts exemplifies the best of us. On and off the job, he is a blessing to our city.”

 

“Bus customers tell us time and again in surveys that our operators are beloved for the work they do moving New Yorkers and being part of the fabric of their communities, and this act of compassion demonstrates why,” said NYCT President Richard Davey. “The operator's attention to detail and quick action ensured those children were kept safe until EMS and police arrived. We honor and congratulate him on a job well done.”

 

“Seeing a child in need, I just did what any other public servant would do,” said DSNY Chief of Cleaning Operations Pitts. “Being vigilant and looking out for others — that’s what it means to be ‘New York's Strongest.’”

 

“As a father of four, my instincts kicked in when I noticed a little girl and boy alone on the bus in pajamas and wanted to make sure they were okay,” said NYCT Bus Operator Marvin McLaurin. “I thought about my own children and how I would want someone to help them. I’m thankful to have been behind the wheel of my bus at the right place and time.”

 

Chief Pitts joined the DSNY as a sanitation worker in 1999, beginning his career in West Harlem. He currently serves as the chief of cleaning operations, where he oversees key elements of the Trash Revolution — DSNY’s historic agenda to transform the city’s streetscape by removing trash, including the first-ever Highway Unit, which focuses on delivering cleanliness to the city’s highways.

 

McLaurin is currently a NYCT bus operator at the East New York Bus Depot. He has been with the MTA for seven years and became a bus operator in 2019. McLaurin is a proud father of four.

  

Two Florida Residents Sentenced for $93M Health Care Fraud and Money Laundering Scheme

 

A Florida man and woman were sentenced for their roles in a wide-ranging conspiracy to defraud Medicare by billing over $93 million for home health therapy services that were never rendered.

Karel Felipe, 42, of Miami Shores, was sentenced to eight years and four months in prison. Tamara Quicutis, 54, of Hialeah, was sentenced to five years and 10 months in prison. The court also ordered forfeiture of fraud proceeds. Both defendants were convicted in October 2023 after a jury found them guilty of conspiring to commit health care fraud and wire fraud and conspiring to commit money laundering.

According to court documents and evidence presented at trial, Felipe and Quicutis conspired with others to submit false bills to Medicare for three home health companies located in Michigan. Their co-conspirators recruited individuals from Cuba to sign Medicare enrollment documents and appear as the owners of the home health agencies to conceal the identities of Felipe, Quicutis, and others involved in the scheme. Felipe, Quicutis, and their co-conspirators used these home health companies to submit claims for services that were not rendered using lists of stolen patient identities. Felipe, Quicutis, and their co-conspirators used dozens of shell companies and hundreds of bank accounts to launder the Medicare fraud proceeds and convert the proceeds into cash at Miami-area ATMs and check cashing stores. 

Four additional Florida residents were previously sentenced in the case. Jesus Trujillo, 52, of Miami, was sentenced to 14 years in prison after pleading guilty to conspiracy to commit health care fraud and wire fraud and conspiracy to commit money laundering. The court also entered a forfeiture money judgment against him for the amount involved in money laundering, $44,351,817, and ordered forfeiture of two real properties to satisfy that judgment. Didier Arcia, 44, of Davenport, was sentenced to six years and eight months in prison after pleading guilty to conspiracy to commit money laundering. Alexey Gil, 41, of Miami, was sentenced to five years and five months in prison after pleading guilty to conspiracy to commit health care fraud and wire fraud. Jeffrey Avila, 33, also of Miami, was sentenced to time served and supervised release after pleading guilty to conspiracy to commit money laundering.

Acting Assistant Attorney General Nicole M. Argentieri of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, U.S. Attorney Markenzy Lapointe for the Southern District of Florida, Special Agent in Charge Jeffrey B. Veltri of the FBI Miami Field Office, and Acting Special Agent in Charge Stephen Mahmood of the Department of Health and Human Services Office of the Inspector General (HHS-OIG) Miami Regional Office made the announcement.

The FBI and HHS-OIG investigated the case.

Trial Attorneys Jamie de Boer, D. Keith Clouser, and Emily Gurskis of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section prosecuted the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Gabrielle Raemy Charest-Turken for the Southern District of Florida is handling asset forfeiture.

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 nine strike forces operating in 27 federal districts, has charged more than 5,400 defendants who collectively have billed federal health care programs and private insurers more than $27 billion. In addition, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, working in conjunction with HHS-OIG 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.

Former Metropolitan Correctional Center Inmates Found Guilty At Trial For Bribery And Prison Contraband Scheme

 

Damian Williams, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, announced that ANTHONY ELLISON and STARLIN NUNEZ, two former inmates of the Metropolitan Correctional Center (“MCC”), a federal jail, were found guilty today in Manhattan federal court for perpetrating wide-ranging bribery and prison contraband conspiracies with other inmates and MCC employees at the jail.  Six additional former MCC inmates and three former MCC employees previously pled guilty in this case.  NUNEZ will be sentenced by U.S. District Judge Andrew L. Carter, Jr., on June 6, 2024, and ELLISON will be sentenced by Judge Carter on July 9, 2024. 

 

U.S. Attorney Damian Williams said: “Our federal detention centers are entrusted to provide care, custody, and order over inmates.  Anthony Ellison, Starlin Nunez, and their co-conspirators undermined the MCC’s mission through wide-ranging schemes of bribery and distribution of dangerous contraband, including drugs and cellphones.  Today’s unanimous verdict convicting Ellison and Nunez, and the convictions of their co-conspirators through guilty pleas, demonstrates that correctional officers and inmates who corrupt our detention centers will be held accountable.” 

According to the Indictment, public court filings and proceedings, and the evidence presented at trial:

NUNEZ, a/k/a “Chino,” and ELLISON, a/k/a/ “Harv,” were both inmates at the MCC and perpetrated with other inmates and MCC guards an extensive bribery and contraband distribution scheme within the jail between approximately 2018 and 2021.  During the course of the conspiracy, between approximately 2019 and 2020, at least 10 MCC inmates, including NUNEZ and ELLISON, paid nearly $80,000 in bribes to Perry Joyner, a corrupt MCC correctional officer.  The inmates paid the bribes through friends and relatives outside the jail, who used money transfer applications such as CashApp to transfer money to associates of Joyner.  The associates then provided the bribes to Joyner himself.  In exchange for those bribes, Joyner smuggled large amounts of contraband into the MCC.  That contraband included drugs (such as oxycodone, alprazolam, Suboxone, marijuana, and synthetic cannabinoids, commonly known as “K2”), dozens of cellphones, and cartons of cigarettes, among other contraband.  MCC inmates, including NUNEZ and ELLISON, then sold much of that contraband to other inmates at a profit as part of a widespread illicit market within the MCC.  For example, ELLISON charged other inmates as much as $100 for a single cigarette and as much as $5,000 for a used iPhone.   

In approximately early 2020, Joyner left the MCC, and the jail initiated a series of lockdowns, first to search for contraband and then in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.  As a result of those lockdowns and Joyner’s departure, the contraband market in the MCC dried up until ELLISON found a new source of contraband.  In particular, between approximately 2020 and 2021, ELLISON conspired and had a sexual relationship with another corrupt MCC employee, Sharon Griffith-McKnight, who provided contraband to ELLISON, most of which he then re-sold to other inmates. 

ELLISON, 36, from Brooklyn, New York, was convicted of one count of conspiring to commit honest services wire fraud, which carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison, and one count of conspiring to possess and provide prison contraband, including marijuana and other controlled substances, which carries a maximum sentence of five years in prison.

NUNEZ, 47, originally from the Dominican Republic, was convicted of one count of conspiring to commit honest services wire fraud, which carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison, and one count of conspiring to possess and provide prison contraband, including cellphones, which carries a maximum sentence of one year in prison. 

The statutory maximum penalties are prescribed by Congress and are provided here for informational purposes only, as any sentencing of the defendants would be determined by a judge. 

Mr. Williams praised the outstanding investigative work of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Department of Justice’s Office of the Inspector General, the Special Agents from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York, and the U.S. Customs and Border Protection in New York.

Attorney General James Reaches Agreement with Hudson Valley Health Care Provider to Invest $1.2 Million to Protect Patient Data

Ransomware Attack on Refuah Health Compromised the Data of 250,000 New Yorkers

New York Attorney General Letitia James today announced an agreement with a Hudson Valley-area health care provider, Refuah Health Center, Inc. (Refuah), for failing to safeguard the personal and private health information of its patients. The Office of the Attorney General (OAG) found that Refuah failed to maintain appropriate controls to protect and limit access to sensitive data, including by failing to encrypt patient information and using multi-factor authentication. As a result of Refuah’s poor data security, the health care provider experienced a ransomware attack that compromised the personal and private information of approximately 250,000 New Yorkers. Today’s agreement requires Refuah to invest $1.2 million to strengthen its cybersecurity and pay $450,000 in penalties and costs.  

“New Yorkers should receive medical care and trust that their personal and health information is safe,” said Attorney General James. “This agreement will ensure that Refuah is taking the appropriate steps to protect patient data while also providing affordable health care. Strong data security is critically necessary in today’s digital age and my office will continue to protect New Yorkers’ data from companies with inadequate cybersecurity.”

Refuah is a health care provider that operates three facilities and five mobile medical vans in the Hudson Valley. In May 2021, Refuah experienced a ransomware attack where the cyber-attacker was able to access the data of thousands of patients. Refuah determined that attackers gained access to files containing names, addresses, phone numbers, social security numbers, driver’s license numbers, dates of birth, financial account numbers, medical insurance numbers, and various health-related information. The OAG’s investigation concluded that attackers were able to access this data because Refuah had failed to adopt appropriate data security practices to protect patients’ personal and health information. Refuah failed to decommission inactive user accounts, rotate user account credentials, restrict employees’ access to only those resources and data that were necessary for their business functions, use multi-factor authentication, and encrypt patient information.  

As a result of today’s agreement, Refuah has agreed to invest $1.2 million to develop and maintain stronger information security programs to better protect patient data. The agreement also requires the health care provider to: 

• Maintain a comprehensive information security program designed to protect the security, confidentiality, and integrity of consumer information;  
• Implement and maintain policies and procedures that limit access to consumer information;  
• Require the use of multi-factor authentication to remotely access resources and data; 
• Regularly rotate credentials that are used to access resources and data; 
• Conduct audits at least semi-annually to ensure users only have access to resources and data necessary for their business functions;  
• Encrypt all consumer information, whether stored or transmitted;  
• Implement controls to monitor and log all security and operational activity of the company’s networks and systems; and  
• Develop, implement, and maintain a comprehensive incident response plan.   

Refuah is also required to pay $450,000 in penalties and costs to the state, of which $100,000 will be suspended when the company spends $1.2 million to develop and maintain its information security program. 

Today’s agreement continues Attorney General James’ efforts to protect New Yorkers’ personal information and hold companies accountable for their poor data security practices. In December, Attorney General James secured $400,000 from a dental insurance provider, Healthplex, Inc., for failing to safeguard consumers’ private information. In November, Attorney General James secured $450,000 from U.S. Radiology for failing to protect patient data. In October, Attorney General James secured $350,000 from Long Island health care company Personal Touch for failing to secure the data of 300,000 New Yorkers. Also in October, Attorney General James and a multistate coalition secured $49.5 million from cloud company Blackbaud for a 2020 data breach exposing the data of thousands of users. In September, Attorney General James reached an agreement with Marymount Manhattan College to invest $3.5 million to protect students’ online data. In May, Attorney General James recouped $550,000 from a medical management company for failing to protect patient data. In April, Attorney General James released a comprehensive data security guide to help companies strengthen their data security practices.   

MYTHBUSTING: Amid Rising Anti-Immigrant Rhetoric, Comptroller Lander Unveils Fact Sheet on How Immigrants Benefit New York City

 

In light of fearmongering against asylum seekers, “Facts, Not Fear” details economic boon of immigration, the right to seek asylum & history of migration

Amid rising anti-immigrant sentiment and rhetoric with the arrival of asylum seekers in New York, New York City Comptroller Brad Lander released a fact sheet called Facts, Not Fear, dispelling prevalent myths surrounding immigrants’ impact on the country and New York City’s population and economy. 

“For nearly two centuries, New York has been a welcome harbor for generations of immigrants—and the arrival of asylum seekers today is no exception,” said Comptroller Brad Lander. “In the last twenty months, New York City has readily received over 100,000 asylum seekers at a time when we did not know how we would recover from losing nearly half a million residents during the pandemic. Rather than shutting the door on new New Yorkers, our City, State, and federal government must work together to keep the tradition of embracing immigration.”

Below are some key excerpts from the fact sheet: 

FACT: Immigrants, regardless of status, strengthen our economy as workers, entrepreneurs, tax payers, and consumers. Immigrant New Yorkers are more likely to be employed, are more likely to create jobs by starting a business, and contribute billions of dollars to our New York economy in spending power and tax revenue. In 2021, immigrant New Yorkers paid $61 billion dollars in taxes and constituted $138 billion dollars in spending power; undocumented immigrants contributed $30.8 billion in total taxes nationally, including $18.6 billion in federal income taxes and $12.2 billion in state and local taxes. 

FACT: Immigrants drive population and workforce growth. New immigration helps the economy compensate for declining birth rates, slow population growth, and residents moving out of the city. New York City lost over 100,000 workers since February 2020. Immigrant workers do not take jobs away from native-born workers, instead, immigrants are more likely to be entrepreneurs than native-born Americans and actually create more jobs than they take.

FACT: Seeking asylum is lawful immigration. The right to seek asylum in the U.S. is enshrined under federal law. 8 U.S.C. § 1158(a)(1). This right to seek safety from persecution is also guaranteed under international law. The first step in seeking asylum, as required by statute, is arriving in the United States, regardless of how they arrived. Many of the asylum seekers who have reached New York City come from countries, such as Venezuela, Mauritania, and Haiti, where the U.S. Department of State has identified prevalent human rights abuses, including torture, false imprisonment, and slavery.

FACT: The federal government can (and should) do more to help local governments and asylum seekers. The federal government can provide more funding and flexibility in reimbursing localities for the cost of providing shelter, case management, workforce development, and legal services. In addition, providing more lawful immigration pathways can also provide more access to work authorizations. Between 2022 and 2023, illegal crossings from Ukrainians, Haitians, Venezuelans, Cubans, and Nicaraguans sharply decreased after lawful pathways to entry through humanitarian parole were implemented for those countries.

FACT: The U.S. and New York City have seen periods of comparable or greater growth in our immigration populations to the current period of asylum seeker arrivals in New York City. The period from 2012 to 2022 saw slower growth in the immigrant share of the population than the 2000s, 1990s, 1980s and 1970s. In the 1990s, the U.S. immigrant population  grew exponentially from 19 million to over 30 million between 1990-2000. The undocumented population in New York City has declined over the last decade. Approximately 476,000 undocumented immigrants lived in NYC in 2019, the most recent year data is available, as compared to 504,000 in 2018.

FACT: The world is currently experiencing a global refugee crisis – more people have been forced to leave their home countries than ever before. Globally, over 100 million people have been displaced due to armed conflict, instability, and violence, including over 6 million Ukrainians displaced by Russian invasion and over 7 million Venezuelans displaced by economic collapse, and about 6 million out of the over 7 million displaced Venezuelans have migrated to other Latin American or Caribbean countries.

FACT: New York City is the greatest immigrant city the world has ever seen. New York City’s population increased by over 1.3 million people from 1900 to 1910 due to immigration. In just one day in 1907, over 11,000 immigrants entered New York City through Ellis Island. Today, with twice as many people than in 1907, New York City welcomes up to 600 migrants a day seeking shelter. Over 3 million New York City residents are immigrants, comprising about 40 percent of our city’s population.

Read the full fact sheet here.