Manhattan U.S. Attorney Announces $6.6 Million Settlement Against CityMD For Submitting False Claims To Medicare

CityMD Admits that it Billed Medicare for More Expensive and Complex Services Than it Performed, and Billed Medicare Under the Names of Doctors Who Did Not Actually Render the Services

  Geoffrey S. Berman, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, announced today a settlement of a civil fraud lawsuit against CityMD.  This settlement resolves federal claims under the False Claims Act, 31 U.S.C. § 3729 et seq., alleging that CityMD billed Medicare for services rendered by physicians who did not actually perform those services, and billed Medicare for more expensive and complex services than were actually provided to patients.  Under the terms of the settlement approved yesterday by U.S. District Judge Katherine Polk Failla, CityMD admitted and accepted responsibility for its conduct and agreed to pay $6,606,251.40 in damages to the United States.

Manhattan U.S. Attorney Geoffrey S. Berman said:  “CityMD improperly billed Medicare at significant cost to taxpayers.  This settlement holds CityMD accountable both through the significant monetary payment and the detailed admissions made by CityMD.” 

CityMD manages and operates approximately 88 Urgent Care centers, located primarily in the New York City metropolitan area.  As part of the settlement, CityMD admits, acknowledges, and accepts responsibility for the following conduct:

• CityMD billed Medicare for lengthier and/or more complex services or procedures than the services or procedures it actually provided to patients or that were supported with documentation in the medical records.  Had CityMD billed Medicare for the services actually rendered or supported by the documents in the medical records, it would have received a lower rate of reimbursement from the Medicare program.
   
• Medicare rules generally prohibit medical providers, such as CityMD, from seeking reimbursement from the Medicare program for services rendered by a physician unless that physician is both enrolled with the Medicare program when the services are rendered and has reassigned his or her Medicare benefits to the billing provider (collectively known as being “credentialed” with the Medicare program).
   
• CityMD is generally prohibited from billing Medicare for services rendered by an uncredentialed physician unless and until he or she is credentialed with the Medicare program. 
   
• CityMD employed a number of physicians who were not credentialed with the Medicare program at the time CityMD billed Medicare for their services.
   
• CityMD falsely billed Medicare for services rendered by these uncredentialed physicians using the National Provider Identification numbers of other credentialed physicians who did not actually render the services in question. 
   

In connection with the filing of the lawsuit and settlement, the Government joined a private whistleblower lawsuit that had been filed under seal pursuant to the False Claims Act. 

Mr. Berman noted that CityMD cooperated fully with this investigation.    

Four Defendants Convicted In Manhattan Federal Court For Stealing Confidential Government Information And Using It To Engage In Illegal Trading

  Robert Khuzami, the Attorney for the United States, Acting Under Authority Conferred by 28 U.S.C. § 515, announced the conviction of DAVID BLASZCZAK, a political intelligence consultant, CHRISTOPHER WORRALL, a government employee at the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (“CMS”), and THEODORE HUBER and ROBERT OLAN, two partners and analysts at Deerfield Management Company, L.P., a healthcare-focused hedge fund in New York, New York (“Deerfield”).  BLASZCZAK, WORRALL, HUBER, and OLAN were convicted yesterday after a four-week trial before United States District Judge Lewis A. Kaplan. 

BLASZCZAK, WORRALL, HUBER, and OLAN were charged with participating in a scheme, from in or about 2009 through in or about 2014, to convert United States property, to defraud the United States, and to commit securities fraud and wire fraud for obtaining material nonpublic information from CMS and using it to execute profitable trades at Deerfield.

As part of the scheme, BLASZCZAK was charged with obtaining confidential and nonpublic information from CMS employees, including his friend, CHRISTOPHER WORRALL, who worked at CMS, and who was charged with breaching his duties as a CMS employee by providing confidential information to BLASZCZAK.  BLASZCZAK then was alleged to have provided this material nonpublic information in advance of market-moving CMS announcements to employees at Deerfield, including HUBER, OLAN, and Jordan Fogel, who allegedly recommended trades on the basis of the information.  Jordan Fogel, a former partner and analyst at Deerfield, previously pled guilty and is cooperating with the Government.  As a result of these trades, Deerfield reaped more than $7 million in profits.

BLASZCZAK was also charged in a separate scheme with obtaining confidential and nonpublic CMS information about cuts in CMS’s reimbursement rates for home health providers, and with providing that information to Christopher Plaford, a portfolio manager at Visium Asset Management, L.P., another healthcare-focused hedge fund in New York, New York (“Visium”).  Plaford then used BLASZCZAK’s information to execute trades, resulting in approximately $330,000 in profits.  Plaford has previously pled guilty to this conduct and is also cooperating with the Government. 

Deputy U.S. Attorney Robert Khuzami said:  “As a unanimous jury found, these defendants schemed to get highly sensitive and confidential information from CMS, a governmental entity, and feed it to a hedge fund to make illegal profits in the stock market.  Trading on confidential nonpublic government information is just as illegal as trading on corporate insider information.  Our Office is committed to policing and prosecuting both.”           

According to the allegations in the charging documents and statements made in court proceedings:

CMS

CMS, a component of the United States Department of Health and Human Services (“HHS”), administers Medicare and Medicaid, among other things.  CMS is also responsible for setting Medicare reimbursement rates for healthcare providers.  CMS spends more than $1 trillion annually and pays approximately one-third of the country’s health expenditures.  Accordingly, CMS rulemaking decisions, including decisions that affect how much the federal government will pay to reimburse medical providers for services rendered, have a substantial, market-moving impact on publicly traded companies that depend on government healthcare spending. 

WORRALL began working at CMS in or about 1999.  Beginning in January 2012, WORRALL worked in the Director’s Office for the Center for Medicare (“CM”), which gave WORRALL broad access to CMS’s confidential deliberations about upcoming reimbursement decisions.  WORRALL also served as a project manager for a confidential CMS database that contained CMS’s most up-to-date claims data that CMS used to inform its decision-making. 

David Blaszczak

At all relevant times, BLASZCZAK served as a consultant at a number of Washington, D.C.-based firms that, in exchange for a fee, provided so-called “political intelligence,” which included analysis about how changes in Government reimbursement rates would affect publicly traded healthcare-related companies.  Before becoming a political intelligence consultant, BLASZCZAK worked at CMS, eventually serving as a special assistant to the CMS Administrator.  BLASZCZAK met WORRALL while the two worked at CMS. 

As a former CMS employee, BLASZCZAK was well aware of CMS’s rules governing the dissemination of nonpublic information. 

Deerfield Management Company, L.P. 

At all relevant times, Deerfield managed multiple hedge funds specializing in healthcare-related investments.  As of 2017, Deerfield had more than $7 billion in assets under management.  HUBER, OLAN, and Fogel were partners and analysts at Deerfield, where their job was to analyze investment decisions and recommend potentially profitable trades for Deerfield.  Deerfield’s compliance manual prohibited its employees from committing insider trading.  

The Scheme to Convert and Use Confidential CMS Information 

As alleged in the Indictment, from at least in or about 2009 through in or about 2014, BLASZCZAK, WORRALL, HUBER, OLAN, Fogel, and others participated in a scheme to convert to their own use confidential and material nonpublic information from CMS concerning, among other things, CMS’s internal deliberations regarding coverage and reimbursement decisions.           

During this time period, Deerfield retained BLASZCZAK as a consultant who provided political intelligence related to, among other things, the content, likelihood, and timing of CMS reimbursement decisions.  As part of the scheme, HUBER, OLAN, and Fogel encouraged BLASZCZAK to obtain confidential and material nonpublic information from CMS insiders.  As HUBER, OLAN, and Fogel knew, these CMS insiders included BLASZCZAK’s former colleagues with whom he had close personal relationships, who were prohibited from disclosing such information to CMS outsiders.

BLASZCZAK obtained material nonpublic information from his close friend and former CMS colleague WORRALL.  BLASZCZAK and WORRALL were friends since their time working together at CMS.  BLASZCZAK also frequently offered to help WORRALL find lucrative private sector employment opportunities, in exchange for WORRALL giving BLASZCZAK confidential government information.  

BLASZCZAK conveyed the information obtained from WORRALL to HUBER, OLAN, and Fogel, who – knowing that BLASZCZAK had obtained the information improperly from a CMS insider – used the information to trade.  In exchange for being provided with this inside information, HUBER, OLAN, and Fogel caused Deerfield to pay BLASZCZAK more than $800,000 in consulting fees.

Defendants’ Ages and Residences

Defendant	Residence	Age
David Blaszczak	Isle of Palms, South Carolina	42
Christopher Worrall	Linthicum Heights, Maryland	40
Theodore Huber	Westport, Connecticut	56
Robert Olan	Rumson, New Jersey	47

Mr. Khuzami praised the work of the Federal Bureau of Investigation and U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of the Inspector General, and thanked the Securities and Exchange Commission for its assistance. 
 

Manhattan U.S. Attorney Announces Extradition Of Four Mexican Nationals For International Sex Trafficking Offenses

   Geoffrey S. Berman, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, Acting Assistant Attorney General John M. Gore of the Civil Rights Division, and Angel M. Melendez, Special Agent in Charge of the New York Field Office of ICE’s Homeland Security Investigations (“HSI”), announced the extradition of EFRAIN GRANADOS-CORONA, a/k/a “Chavito,” a/k/a “Cepillo,” EMILIO ROJAS-ROMERO, ALAN ROMERO-GRANADOS, a/k/a “El Flaco,” and PEDRO ROJAS-ROMERO, who are charged together with RAUL ROMERO-GRANADOS, a/k/a “Chicarcas,” a/k/a “El Negro,” ISAAC LOMELI-RIVERA,” a/k/a “Giro,” JULIO SAINZ-FLORES, a/k/a “Rogelio,” and JUAN ROMERO-GRANADOS, a/k/a “Chegoya,” a/k/a “El Guero,” with sex trafficking offenses in a 23-count Superseding Indictment (the “Indictment”) in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York.  EFRAIN GRANADOS-CORONA and EMILIO ROJAS-ROMERO were extradited to the United States from Mexico on April 26, 2018, and presented before United States Magistrate Judge Stewart D. Aaron on April 27, 2018.  ALAN ROMERO-GRANADOS and PEDRO ROJAS-ROMERO were extradited to the United States from Mexico on May 2, 2018, and presented yesterday before United States Magistrate Judge Debra Freeman.  This case is assigned to United States District Judge Andrew J. Carter, Jr.

The Indictment, which was returned under seal on September 15, 2016, alleges that the defendants are members of an international sex trafficking organization that exploited and trafficked adult and minor women in Mexico and in the United States from at least 2000 to 2016.  Members of the defendants’ sex trafficking organization, which operated largely as a family business, used false promises, physical and sexual violence, and threats to force and coerce adult and minor women to engage in commercial sex for the organization’s profit in both Mexico and the United States. 

As part of a coordinated bilateral law enforcement action, six defendants located in Mexico – EFRAIN GRANADOS-CORONA, EMILIO ROJAS-ROMERO, ALAN ROMERO-GRANADOS, PEDRO ROJAS-ROMERO, JULIO SAINZ-FLORES, and JUAN ROMERO-GRANADOS – were arrested in Mexico and taken into custody by Mexican authorities pursuant to provisional arrest warrants requested by the United States in August 2016.  As noted, the first four of these defendants were extradited to the United States from Mexico within the past week.  The fifth of these defendants, JULIO SAINZ-FLORES, was previously extradited to the United States from Mexico on June 8, 2017, and was presented in Manhattan federal court before Chief United States Magistrate Judge Gabriel W. Gorenstein on June 9, 2017.  JUAN ROMERO-GRANADOS remains in Mexico pending extradition proceedings.  The two defendants who were arrested in the United States, RAUL ROMERO-GRANADOS and ISAAC LOMELI-RIVERA, were presented in Manhattan federal court on October 27, 2016, before United States Magistrate Judge Kevin Nathaniel Fox. 

U.S. Attorney Geoffrey S. Berman said:  “Sex trafficking is a heinous crime that violates both the rule of law and the most basic standards of human dignity.  These defendants allegedly deprived women and girls of their freedom, and forced them into prostitution against their will.  The scope of devastation these defendants allegedy inflicted on countless victims is beyond comprehension.  But now they face significant criminal charges in an American court, and will have to answer for their allegedly reprensible actions.  Our office is dedicated to combatting this demoralizing crime and helping survivors reclaim their lives.”

Acting Assistant Attorney General John M. Gore of the Civil Rights Division said:  “The Civil Rights Division will not tolerate anyone violating an individual’s rights and freedoms through sex trafficking.  We will continue to work with our law enforcement partners to vindicate the rights of victims and survivors of sex trafficking by dismantling transnational organized trafficking enterprises and putting an end to these egregious civil rights violations.”

HSI Special Agent in Charge Angel M. Melendez said:  “These four individuals were transported more than 2,000 miles from Mexico to be held accountable for the callous criminal actions alleged in this case.  Those extradited, along with others, allegedly operated a family business centered on making money from exploiting females they forced into sex slavery.  Now these traffickers will face justice where they allegedly made their income, right here in New York.  Human Trafficking remains a priority for HSI, whose primary focus is to rescue victims and release them from the grip of their captors.”

As alleged in the Indictment:[1] 

EFRAIN GRANADOS-CORONA, RAUL ROMERO-GRANADOS, ISAAC LOMELI-RIVERA, JULIO SAINZ-FLORES, JUAN ROMERO-GRANADOS, ALAN ROMERO-GRANADOS, PEDRO ROJAS-ROMERO, and EMILIO ROJAS-ROMERO, the defendants, are members of an international sex trafficking organization (the “STO”).  Many of the members of the STO are related by blood, marriage, and community.  For example:  EFRAIN GRANADOS-CORONA is the uncle of RAUL ROMERO-GRANADOS, ISAAC LOMELI-RIVERA, JUAN ROMERO-GRANADOS, and ALAN ROMERO-GRANADOS; PEDRO ROJAS-ROMERO and EMILIO ROJAS-ROMERO are brothers; JUAN ROMERO-GRANADOS and ALAN ROMERO-GRANADOS are also brothers; and ISAAC LOMELI-RIVERA is RAUL ROMERO-GRANADOS’s brother-in-law.

Between 2000 and the present, members of the STO (the “Traffickers”) have used false promises, physical and sexual violence, threats of the same, lies, and coercion to force and coerce adult and minor women (the “Victims”) to work in prostitution in both Mexico and the United States.

In most cases, a Trafficker entices a Victim – frequently a minor – in Mexico.  The Trafficker then uses multiple means to isolate the Victim from her family.  In some cases, the Trafficker uses romantic promises to induce the Victim to leave her family and live with him.  In other cases, the Trafficker rapes the Victim, making it difficult for her to return to her family due to the associated stigma of the rape.  Once a Victim is separated from her family, the Trafficker frequently monitors her communications, keeps her locked in an apartment, leaves her without food, and engages in physical or sexual violence against the Victim.  Traffickers often tell Victims that the Traffickers owe a significant debt and that the Victim must work in prostitution to assist in repaying the debt.  Traffickers typically begin forcing the Victims to work in prostitution in Mexico, frequently in a neighborhood of Mexico City known as “La Merced.”   Victims are often required to see at least 20 to 40 customers per day.  Traffickers monitor the number of clients a Victim sees by surveilling the Victim, communicating with brothel workers, and by counting the number of condoms provided to a Victim.  Traffickers typically require the Victims to turn over all of the prostitution proceeds to the Traffickers. 

After a Victim has worked in prostitution in Mexico for some time, Traffickers typically arrange for the Victim to be smuggled into the United States.  Members of the STO assist one another in making smuggling arrangements.  In many cases, multiple Traffickers and multiple Victims are smuggled into the United States together.  In other cases, one Trafficker may remain in Mexico while arranging for a Victim to be smuggled together with another Trafficker and other Victims.

Once in the United States, the members of the STO generally maintain their Victims at one of several shared apartments in New York City.  Victims living in the same apartment are frequently forbidden to communicate with one another.  Once in the United States, Traffickers continue to use physical and sexual violence, threats of the same, lies, and coercion to force the Victims to work in prostitution. 

In most cases, the Trafficker or another member of the STO provides a Victim with contact information with which to find work.  The Victims typically work weeklong shifts either in a brothel, or in a “delivery service.”  In a delivery service, the Victim is delivered to a customer’s home by a “driver.”  These brothels and delivery services are located both within New York and in surrounding states, including, but not limited to, Connecticut, Maryland, Virginia, New Jersey, and Delaware.

Generally, each customer pays $30-35 for 15 minutes of sex.  Of that, half of the money typically goes to the driver (in the case of a delivery service) or to the brothel.  The other $15 goes to the Victim, who is then typically forced to give all of the proceeds to the Trafficker.  When a Trafficker is unavailable, a Victim may also give the proceeds to another member of the STO.

The Traffickers then frequently send, or have their Victims send, some of the prostitution proceeds to Traffickers’ family members and associates in Mexico by wire transfer.  Such transfers provide financial assistance to the Traffickers’ families and provide financial support to the Traffickers themselves if they return to Mexico.                   

Since 2009, the Department of Justice – through the Civil Rights Division’s Human Trafficking Prosecution Unit – and HSI have collaborated with Mexican law enforcement counterparts in a Bilateral Human Trafficking Enforcement Initiative aimed at strengthening high-impact prosecutions under both U.S. and Mexican law.  The initiative is aimed at dismantling human trafficking networks operating across the United States-Mexico border, bringing human traffickers to justice, reuniting victims with their children, and restoring the rights and dignity of human trafficking victims held under the trafficking networks’ control.  These efforts have resulted in successful prosecutions in both Mexico and the United States, including U.S. federal prosecutions of over 50 defendants in multiple cases in New York, Georgia, Florida, and Texas since 2009, and numerous Mexican federal and state prosecutions of associated sex traffickers.  In announcing the extradition, U.S. Attorney Geoffrey S. Berman and Acting Assistant Attorney General John M. Gore of the Civil Rights Division commended U.S. and Mexican law enforcement partners for their shared and continued commitment to coordinated bilateral anti-trafficking efforts.

Mr. Berman also praised the outstanding investigative work of HSI, the work of the Mexican government, and Mexican law enforcement in executing the arrests and preparing for the extradition of the defendants to the United States, and the assistance provided by the New York City Police Department, the State Department, the Civil Rights Division’s Human Trafficking Prosecution Unit, and the Criminal Division’s Office of International Affairs.  The Justice Department also acknowledged the non-governmental victim service providers and advocates for their dedicated efforts to restore and improve the lives of survivors of trafficking and their families in connection with this case and others.

Charts containing the names, ages, residences, charges, mandatory minimum penalties, and maximum penalties for the defendants are set forth below.  The maximum potential sentences in this case are prescribed by Congress and are provided here for informational purposes only, as any sentencing of the defendants will be determined by the judge.

The charges contained in the Indictment are merely accusations and the defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.

United States v. Efrain Granados-Corona, a/k/a “Chavito,” a/k/a “Cepillo,” et al.,

S2 16 Cr. 324 (ALC)

COUNT / CHARGE	DEFENDANT(S)	MANDATORY MINIMUM PENALTIES	MAXIMUM PENALTIES
Count 1: Conspiracy to Commit Sex Trafficking 18 U.S.C. § 1594	EFRAIN GRANADOS-CORONA,    a/k/a “Chavito,”    a/k/a “Cepillo,” RAUL ROMERO-GRANADOS,    a/k/a “Chicarcas,”    a/k/a “El Negro,” ISAAC LOMELI-RIVERA,    a/k/a “Giro,”  JULIO SAINZ-FLORES,    a/k/a “Rogelio,” JUAN ROMERO-GRANADOS,    a/k/a “Chegoya,”    a/k/a “El Guero,” ALAN ROMERO-GRANADOS,    a/k/a “El Flaco,” PEDRO ROJAS-ROMERO, EMILIO ROJAS-ROMERO	N/A	Life in prison
Count 2: Sex Trafficking of a Minor by Force, Fraud, or Coercion 18 U.S.C. §§ 1591(a), (b)(1), (b)(2), and 2	RAUL ROMERO-GRANADOS,    a/k/a “Chicarcas,”    a/k/a “El Negro”	15 years in prison	Life in prison
Count 3: Sex Trafficking of a Minor by Force, Fraud, or Coercion 18 U.S.C. §§ 1591(a), (b)(1), (b)(2), and 2	EFRAIN GRANADOS-CORONA,  a/k/a “Chavito,” a/k/a “Cepillo”	15 years in prison	Life in prison
Count 4: Sex Trafficking of a Minor by Force, Fraud, or Coercion 18 U.S.C. §§ 1591(a), (b)(1), (b)(2), and 2	JULIO SAINZ-FLORES,    a/k/a “Rogelio”	15 years in prison
Count 5: Sex Trafficking of a Minor by Force, Fraud, or Coercion 18 U.S.C. §§ 1591(a), (b)(1), (b)(2), and 2	EFRAIN GRANADOS-CORONA,    a/k/a “Chavito,”    a/k/a “Cepillo,” RAUL ROMERO-GRANADOS,    a/k/a “Chicarcas,”    a/k/a “El Negro”	15 years in prison	Life in prison
Count 6: Sex Trafficking by Force, Fraud, and Coercion 18 U.S.C. §§ 1591(a), (b)(1), and 2	EFRAIN GRANADOS-CORONA,    a/k/a “Chavito,”    a/k/a “Cepillo,” RAUL ROMERO-GRANADOS,    a/k/a “Chicarcas,”    a/k/a “El Negro,” PEDRO ROJAS-ROMERO	15 years in prison	Life in prison
Count 7: Sex Trafficking by Force, Fraud, and Coercion 18 U.S.C. §§ 1591(a), (b)(1), and 2	ISAAC LOMELI-RIVERA,    a/k/a “Giro”	15 years in prison	Life in prison
Count 8: Sex Trafficking by Force, Fraud, and Coercion 18 U.S.C. §§ 1591(a), (b)(1), and 2	ISAAC LOMELI-RIVERA,    a/k/a “Giro”	15 years in prison	Life in prison
Count 9: Sex Trafficking by Force, Fraud, and Coercion 18 U.S.C. §§ 1591(a), (b)(1), and 2	JUAN ROMERO-GRANADOS,    a/k/a “Chegoya,”    a/k/a “El Guero”	15 years in prison	Life in prison
Count 10: Sex Trafficking by Force, Fraud, and Coercion 18 U.S.C. §§ 1591(a), (b)(1), and 2	ALAN ROMERO-GRANADOS,    a/k/a “El Flaco”	15 years in prison	Life in prison
Count 11: Sex Trafficking by Force, Fraud, and Coercion 18 U.S.C. §§ 1591(a), (b)(1), and 2	EMILIO ROJAS-ROMERO	15 years in prison	Life in prison
Count 12: Sex Trafficking by Force, Fraud, and Coercion 18 U.S.C. §§ 1591(a), (b)(1), and 2	PEDRO ROJAS-ROMERO, EMILIO ROJAS-ROMERO	15 years in prison	Life in prison
Count 13: Transportation of a Minor for Purposes of Prostitution 18 U.S.C. §§ 2423(a) and 2	EFRAIN GRANADOS-CORONA,    a/k/a “Chavito,”    a/k/a “Cepillo”	10 years in prison	Life in prison
Count 14: Transportation of a Minor for Purposes of Prostitution 18 U.S.C. §§ 2423(a) and 2	RAUL ROMERO-GRANADOS,    a/k/a “Chicarcas,”    a/k/a “El Negro”	10 years in prison	Life in prison
Count 15: Transportation of a Minor for Purposes of Prostitution 18 U.S.C. §§ 2423(a) and 2	RAUL ROMERO-GRANADOS,    a/k/a “Chicarcas,”    a/k/a “El Negro”	10 years in prison	Life in prison
Count 16: Transportation of a Minor for Purposes of Prostitution 18 U.S.C. §§ 2423(a) and 2	JULIO SAINZ-FLORES,    a/k/a “Rogelio”	10 years in prison	Life in prison
Count 17: Transportation for Purposes of Prostitution 18 U.S.C. §§ 2421 and 2	EFRAIN GRANADOS-CORONA,    a/k/a “Chavito,”    a/k/a “Cepillo”	N/A	10 years in prison
Count 18: Transportation for Purposes of Prostitution 18 U.S.C. §§ 2421 and 2	ISAAC LOMELI-RIVERA,    a/k/a “Giro”	N/A	10 years in prison
Count 19: Transportation for Purposes of Prostitution 18 U.S.C. §§ 2421 and 2	ISAAC LOMELI-RIVERA,    a/k/a “Giro”	N/A	10 years in prison
Count 20: Transportation for Purposes of Prostitution 18 U.S.C. §§ 2421 and 2	JUAN ROMERO-GRANADOS,    a/k/a “Chegoya,”    a/k/a “El Guero”	N/A	10 years in prison
Count 21: Transportation for Purposes of Prostitution 18 U.S.C. §§ 2421 and 2	ALAN ROMERO-GRANADOS,    a/k/a “El Flaco”	N/A	10 years in prison
Count 22: Transportation for Purposes of Prostitution 18 U.S.C. §§ 2421 and 2	PEDRO ROJAS-ROMERO	N/A	10 years in prison
Count 23: Transportation for Purposes of Prostitution 18 U.S.C. §§ 2421 and 2	EMILIO ROJAS-ROMERO	N/A	10 years in prison

DEFENDANT	AGE	RESIDENCE
EFRAIN GRANADOS-CORONA,      a/k/a “Chavito,”      a/k/a “Cepillo”	42	Mexico
RAUL ROMERO-GRANADOS,      a/k/a “Chicarcas,”      a/k/a “El Negro”	34	New York
ISAAC LOMELI-RIVERA,      a/k/a “Giro”	35	New York
JUAN ROMERO-GRANADOS,      a/k/a “Chegoya,”      a/k/a “El Guero”	32	Mexico
JULIO SAINZ-FLORES,    a/k/a “Rogelio”	36	Mexico
ALAN ROMERO-GRANADOS,      a/k/a “El Flaco”	24	Mexico
PEDRO ROJAS-ROMERO	38	Mexico
EMILIO ROJAS-ROMERO	36	Mexico

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

BRONX MAN SENTENCED TO 10 1/2 YEARS IN PRISON FOR ROBBERIES TARGETING ELDERLY WOMEN

Defendant Also Sentenced for Jail House Violence At Rikers Island

  Bronx District Attorney Darcel D. Clark today announced that a Bronx man has been sentenced to 10 years and six months in prison for two robberies committed against elderly women in the Mott Haven area. 

  District Attorney Clark said, “It is horrifying that someone would terrorize an elderly person. The streets of the Bronx are safer now that the defendant will be behind bars for a decade. We hope this sentence provides the victims with justice and a sense of security that we will continue to protect the vulnerable.” 

  District Attorney Clark said the defendant, Gilrael Ruperto, 28, was sentenced today to 10 years and six months in prison followed by five years of post-release supervision by Bronx Supreme Court Justice Michael Gross. The defendant pleaded guilty to second-degree Robbery as a Hate Crime and second-degree Promoting Prison Contraband on April 10, 2018. For the latter misdemeanor charge, he was sentenced to one year in jail to run concurrent to the Robbery sentence. 

  According to the investigation, throughout the month of November 2015, the defendant targeted two women over the age of 60, threatening them and taking their money and other possessions. In a building on East 153rd Street, the defendant stole $50 from a 64-year-old woman after punching her repeatedly and ripping off her earrings as she exited an elevator. In another incident, he robbed a 72-year-old woman of her purse after throwing her to the ground. In both incidents, the defendant sprayed the women with an unknown substance.

  According to the investigation, on April 5, 2017, while incarcerated at Rikers Island, the defendant was found to be hiding a scalpel. 

  District Attorney Clark thanked Det. Sandy Polanco of the 40th precinct for all his hard work on this case. 

STATEMENT FROM STATE SENATOR GUSTAVO RIVERA ON SAFE INJECTION SITES COMING TO NEW YORK CITY

  It is highly encouraging to see the City pursue the opening of four safe injection sites throughout our City to operate under a one-year pilot program in an attempt to implement innovative solutions to address the opioid epidemic and save the lives of New Yorkers. I have always been a proponent of harm reduction policies and programs because they are a more effective way of addressing addiction and the implementation of safe injection sites falls in line with that principle. The Overdose Prevention Centers proposed by the City will give New Yorkers struggling with addiction access to a professional that can monitor their drug use, help prevent them from dying from an overdose, counsel them on treatment options, and reduce their chances of getting infected with HIV or Hepatitis C. In the long run, this type of intervention will not only help the individual, but also our system by reducing the spread of life threatening conditions and alleviating the strain on our healthcare system by reducing hospitalizations and emergency visits. We have a responsibility to implement policies and programs that will truly help the many New Yorkers who are struggling with opioid addiction and have been impacted by this epidemic, regardless how controversial those programs and policies may be. The Mayor's plan takes us one step closer to providing these New Yorkers with direct access to the life saving services they need.

EDITOR'S NOTE:

Now where is this site going in the Bronx since the Manhattan site will be in Washington Heights Senator Rivera?