Governor Cuomo Updates New Yorkers on State's Progress During Covid-19 Pandemic - NOVEMBER 1, 2020

 

Positive Testing Rate in All Focus Zone Areas is 3.10 Percent; New York State Positivity Outside All Focus Zone Areas is 1.36 Percent

Statewide Positivity Rate is 1.51 Percent

17 COVID-19 Deaths in New York State Yesterday

 Governor Andrew M. Cuomo today updated New Yorkers on the state's progress during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

"New York had the highest positivity rate in the nation at the peak of this crisis — now we have the third lowest in the nation. New Yorkers should be very proud of that fact, but we also need to remain vigilant," Governor Cuomo said. "The fall is difficult for everyone - many countries are closing down again or implementing restrictions, and while in New York we're managing it well, we need to stay smart: wear a mask, wash your hands, socially distance and be united, because we can only beat this virus together."

The Governor noted that the positive testing rate in all focus areas under the state's Micro-Cluster strategy is 3.10 percent, and outside the focus zone areas is 1.36 percent. Within the focus areas, 13,283 test results were reported yesterday, yielding 412 positives. In the remainder of the state, not counting these focus areas, 135,652 test results were reported, yielding 1,843 positives. 

Today's data is summarized briefly below:

• Patient Hospitalization - 1,125 (+4)
• Patients Newly Admitted - 134
• Hospital Counties - 50
• Number ICU - 259 (+11)
• Number ICU with Intubation - 117 (-5)
• Total Discharges - 79,831 (+114)
• Deaths - 17
• Total Deaths - 25,824

Governor Cuomo Announces New Guidelines Allowing Out-of-State Travelers to "Test Out" of Mandatory 14-Day Quarantine

 

Travelers Must Get Tested Within Three Days Prior to Landing in New York, Quarantine for at Least Three Days Upon Arrival, and Get a Test on Day Four of Arrival

If Travelers Receive a Negative Test On Day Four of Quarantine They May Exit Quarantine When They Receive Negative Result

States that are Contiguous with New York Continue to Be Exempted from Quarantine Protocol — Essential Workers Also Continue to be Exempted

Travelers Who Were Only Out of State for Less Than 24 Hours Do Not Need to Quarantine but Must Get a Test on Day Four of Arrival Back in NY

All Travelers Covered by The Advisory Must Continue to Fill Out Traveler Health Form Upon Arrival Into New York State

 Governor Andrew M. Cuomo today announced new guidelines allowing out-of-state travelers to New York to "test out" of the mandatory 14-day quarantine. Travelers from states that are contiguous with New York will continue to be exempt from the travel advisory; however, covered travelers must continue to fill out the Traveler Health Form. Essential workers will continue to be exempt as well. The new protocol is effective Wednesday, November 4. 

"The ship of State is sailing well: New York is the third lowest positivity rate in the nation and New Yorkers should be very proud of what they're doing. However, travel has become an issue - the rest of the states pose a threat. We're going to a new plan given the changing facts, and the experts suggest we shift to a testing policy," Governor Cuomo said. "So there will be no quarantine list; there will be one rule that applies across the country. We bent the curve of this virus by following the data and the science, and we are continuing that approach with these new guidelines."

For any traveler to New York State from out of state, exempting the contiguous states, the new guidelines for travelers to test-out of the mandatory 14-day quarantine are below:

• For travelers who were in another state for more than 24 hours:

• Travelers must obtain a test within three days of departure from that state.
• The traveler must, upon arrival in New York, quarantine for three days.
• On day 4 of their quarantine, the traveler must obtain seek another COVID test. If both tests come back negative, the traveler may exit quarantine early upon receipt of the second negative diagnostic test.

• For travelers who were in another state for less than 24 hours:

• The traveler does not need a test prior to their departure from the other state, and does not need to quarantine upon arrival in New York State.
• However, the traveler must fill out the traveler information form upon entry into New York State, and take a COVID diagnostic test 4 days after their arrival in New York.

Local health departments will validate tests, if necessary, and if a test comes back positive, will issue isolation orders and initiate contact tracing. The local health department must make contact with the state the traveler came from, to ensure contact tracing proceeds there as well. All travelers must continue to fill out the traveler information form upon arrival into New York State to contribute to New York State's robust contact tracing program.

Governor Cuomo Updates New Yorkers on State's Progress During COVID-19 Pandemic - OCTOBER 31, 2020

 

Positive Testing Rate in All Focus Zone Areas is 3.01 Percent; New York State Positivity Outside All Focus Zone Areas is 1.30 Percent 

Statewide Positivity Rate is 1.49 Percent 

8 COVID-19 Deaths in New York State Yesterday 

 Governor Andrew M. Cuomo today updated New Yorkers on the state's progress during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

"As with everything, context is key: Cases are surging around the country and around the globe. In a sea of division and a sea of COVID chaos, our ship of state is sailing well," Governor Cuomo said. "The world, however, is in trouble. So New Yorkers should be very proud of where we are, but we also need to stay vigilant — wear a mask, wash your hands, socially distance, and stay New York Tough."

The Governor noted that the positive testing rate in all focus areas under the state's Micro-Cluster strategy is 3.01 percent, and outside the focus zone areas is 1.30 percent. Within the focus areas, 15,493 test results were reported yesterday, yielding 467 positives. In the remainder of the state, not counting these focus areas, 121,469 test results were reported, yielding 1,582 positives. Full results for tests reported yesterday, the day prior.

Today's data is summarized briefly below:

• Patient Hospitalization - 1,121 (+36)
• Patients Newly Admitted - 147
• Hospital Counties - 47
• Number ICU - 248 (+5)
• Number ICU with Intubation - 122 (+6)
• Total Discharges - 79,717 (+96)
• Deaths - 8
• Total Deaths - 25,807

Court Directs Jury Selection to Begin in Opioid Trial in January

 

Jury Selection to Take Place After Being Previously Delayed Due to COVID-19

 New York Attorney General Letitia James released the following statement after, during a pre-trial conference, the Suffolk County State Supreme Court directed jury selection to begin in the trial against multiple opioid manufacturers and distributors in January of 2021, after previously being delayed due to the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) public health crisis:

“For more than two decades, the opioid epidemic has wreaked havoc on New Yorkers and Americans across the nation. Come next year, the deadly scheme perpetrated by the companies responsible for this national nightmare will be presented in open court and laid bare before the American people, and no one will be able to deny the immoral actions that led us here. We are committed to exposing the illicit conduct that took place and holding each of these companies responsible for their role in the opioid crisis, and will continue fighting for justice for victims.”

Justice Jerry Garguilo directed jury selection to begin in January of 2021 and estimated the trial to begin in February or March of 2021. Earlier this year, the court denied the defendants’ efforts to delay the trial that was originally set to begin on March 20, 2020, but after COVID-19 began to spread rapidly across New York, the court delayed the trial indefinitely for the health and safety of all involved.

Last March, Attorney General James filed the nation’s most comprehensive lawsuit against multiple manufacturers and distributors. The defendants in the suit included Purdue Pharma, its affiliates, and the Sackler family; Janssen Pharmaceuticals and its affiliates (including its parent company Johnson & Johnson); Mallinckrodt LLC and its affiliates; Endo Health Solutions and its affiliates; Teva Pharmaceuticals USA, Inc. and its affiliates; and Allergan Finance, LLC and its affiliates. The distributors named in the complaint are McKesson Corporation, Cardinal Health Inc., Amerisource Bergen Drug Corporation, and Rochester Drug Cooperative Inc. 

The upcoming trial will cover Attorney General James’ lawsuits against all manufacturers and distributors other than Purdue Pharma, the Sackler family, and Mallinckrodt. The case against these three defendants are moving separately through U.S. Bankruptcy Court.

100 PERCENT - Election 2020 - Predictions

The biggest race is that of President of the United States. Four years ago I was the only Bronx political reporter to openly call the race for Donald Trump. During the past four years Donald Trump was cruising to an easy victory, that is until the Corona Virus started in China. That virus made its way across Asia into Europe, and finally to the United States. Now every Democrat who blamed Trump from anything to everything blames him for the Corona Virus.

Only four incumbent presidents in post 1900 United States history who served a full four year term were not reelected to a second term. They were William Taft 1909 - 1913, Herbert Hoover 1929 - 1933, Jimmy Carter 1977 - 1981, and George Bush Sr. 1989 - 1993. Only four Vice Presidents have been elected President, George Bush Sr. in 1988, Martin Van Buren in 1856, Thomas Jefferson in 1800, and John Adams in 1796. 

While certain people admonish Trump for his friendships with certain foreign countries he is the only president since Jimmy Carter not to have participated in a war with another country. The national economy has continued to grow even with the pandemic, and Trump is the first U.S. President to recognize  Jerusalem as the capital of Israel.

As I did four years ago I predict that Donald Trump will be elected, this time to a second term as president of the United States. As was the case four years ago the race is too close to call, and may not be fully determined until sometime in December. Four years ago Donald Trump won one election district in the 80th A.D. This year Donald Trump should win seven election districts in the 80th and 82nd assembly districts combined. 

On the local Bronx side two elections will have surprising results. In the 14th Congressional race in 2018 current Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez won a surprising victory over the long time incumbent, and she is now the incumbent. When all the votes are counted I expect AOC to be the winner, but her opponent John Cummings will have come closer than many expect him to, at least in the Bronx. It is the Queens part of the district that will provide the safe margin of victory for the incumbent congresswoman. AOC's primary opponent who is running on a minor third party line should be of no significance in the race.

The race to watch is the 80th Assembly race where in 2012 now Councilman Mark Gjonaj received more votes than all three of the other candidates including the incumbent (at that time) assemblywoman. Gjonaj then won election to the city council in 2017, and in April of 2018 a special election was held that handed the assembly seat to Gjonaj's then Chief of Staff with a total vote count which was less then the number of votes Gjonaj alone received in 2012. Said assembly member did not have a primary in 2018 or in 2020, and announced her decision to run for Bronx Borough President next year months before her November election which has angered many people that she is taking the people of the 80th A.D. for granted, while she campaigns for Bronx BP. Her leading an anti police march through the district right past the park where hundreds of people showed to support the police has angered others in the 80th A.D. 

Mr. Gene De Francis is the head of the Allerton Merchants Association, an officer of the 49th Precinct Community Council, and former Veteran of the armed forces which makes him a formidable opponent to the weak incumbent. The fact that candidate Gene De Francis is running with Conservative minded John Cummings in a conservative minded district is an added plus, including the two Democratic Clubs on the West side of the 80th Assembly District that have endorsed Gene De Francis. We see another Mark Gjonaj type person in Gene De Francis, and for that reason with the added minuses of the weak incumbent who also lost both of the District Leaders on her slate in the June primary we call this race for Gene De Francis by a margin of 54% to 46 %.

The writer Robert Press has an excellent record of calling close political races either exactly or within the margin of error.

New York Man Charged With Filing False Tax Returns Seeking Multimillion-Dollar Refunds

 

 Audrey Strauss, the Acting United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, and Jonathan D. Larsen, the Special Agent-in-Charge of the New York Field Office of the Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigation (“IRS-CI”), announced that JAMEEN WALKER was arrested yesterday in Manhattan, and charged with making a false claim, subscribing to false tax returns, and theft of government funds in connection with WALKER’s repeated filing of false tax returns claiming multimillion-dollar tax refunds based on fictitious income and withholdings.  WALKER will be presented today before United States Magistrate Judge Ona Wang.

Acting U.S. Attorney Audrey Strauss said:  “As alleged, Jameen Walker filed multiple false tax returns, both corporate and individual, ultimately defrauding the IRS out of nearly $7 million.  Now he will have to answer for his alleged crimes.  

IRS-CI Special Agent-in-Charge Larsen said:  “Identifying refund fraud schemes is a priority for IRS-Criminal Investigation.  I want honest taxpayers to know that we are committed to holding those accountable that choose to defraud the government.  Mr. Walker’s allegedly false claims for millions of dollars in fraudulent refunds should be considered an attack on the tax system and the general public who believe in it and follow the rules, and we take these allegations very seriously.”

According to the allegations in the Indictment[1] unsealed today in Manhattan federal court:

Between 2016 and 2018, WALKER repeatedly filed tax returns with the Internal Revenue Service (the “IRS”) falsely claiming that a corporation he controlled had paid him millions of dollars and withheld millions of dollars in federal taxes.  WALKER then fraudulently sought large federal tax refunds based on those claims.     

In 2016, WALKER filed multiple Forms 1040 (“U.S. Individual Income Tax Return”)   falsely claiming that Stallings Empire Corporation paid him $19.7 million, of which $14.6 million had been withheld.  In fact, Stallings Empire Corporation did not withhold or pay any money in federal taxes on behalf of WALKER or any other employee.  Nevertheless, based on the false claims in his Forms 1040, WALKER sought a federal tax refund of more than $6.8 million. 

Though the IRS did not issue that refund, WALKER continued to file fraudulent returns.  In 2018 and 2019, WALKER filed multiple false Forms 941 (“Employer’s Quarterly Federal Tax Return”) and 941-X (“Adjusted Employer’s Quarterly Federal Tax Return or Claim for Refund”) for Stallings Empire Corporation for tax year 2018.  In each, WALKER falsely claimed that Stallings Empire Corporation had paid millions of dollars and withheld commensurately large amounts.  In early 2019, WALKER filed a Form 1040 for tax year 2018, claiming more than $16 million in income, $12.2 million in withholdings, and seeking a multimillion-dollar refund.  Based on this false tax return, the IRS ultimately issued a tax refund check to WALKER for more than $6.9 million.  In August 2019, WALKER deposited that refund check at a bank in the Bronx, New York, and proceeded to withdraw and spend in excess of $85,000 before the bank restricted his account.      

WALKER, 46, of New York, New York, is charged with one count of making a false claim, which carries a maximum penalty of five years in prison, three counts of subscribing to a false tax return, each of which carries a maximum penalty of three years in prison, and one count of theft of government funds, which carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison.  The maximum potential sentences in this case are prescribed by Congress and are provided here for informational purposes only, as any sentencing of the defendant will be determined by the judge.

Ms. Strauss praised the outstanding investigative work of IRS-CI and the Special Agents of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York in this case.

The case is being prosecuted by the Office’s Complex Frauds and Cybercrime Unit.  Assistant U.S. Attorneys Katherine Reilly and Dina McLeod are in charge of the prosecution.

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

[1] As the introductory phase 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.

Previously Convicted Former Physician Pleads Guilty To Wire Fraud, Health Care Fraud, And Aggravated Identity Theft

 Audrey Strauss, the Acting United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, announced that SPYROS PANOS, a former orthopedic surgeon, who was previously convicted of health care fraud, pled guilty yesterday before U.S. District Judge Kenneth M. Karas to charges of wire fraud, health care fraud, and aggravated identity theft, in connection with a scheme in which he assumed the identity of a licensed orthopedic surgeon and obtained over $876,000 in payments for reviewing patient files in connection with healthcare appeals and Workers Compensation cases. 

Acting U.S. Attorney Audrey Strauss said:  “Spyros Panos, a former surgeon who surrendered his medical license after a prior conviction in this District for health care fraud, has admitted to committing health care fraud again, this time by impersonating a licensed doctor.  Now, for a second time, Panos awaits sentencing for his criminal conduct.”

According to the allegations in the Indictment to which PANOS pled guilty, PANOS, an unlicensed physician, perpetrated a scheme to defraud medical peer review companies by impersonating a licensed orthopedic surgeon practicing in Westchester County (“Doctor-1”).  Among other things, PANOS submitted Doctor-1’s credentials to peer review companies and conducted peer reviews using Doctor-1’s name and credentials.  During the course of the scheme, PANOS defrauded the peer review companies of $876,389.97. 

According to court documents, in advance of his November 2, 2020, trial, PANOS submitted proposed defense exhibits that included fraudulent emails and records.

PANOS, 52, of Hopewell Junction, New York, pled guilty to one count of wire fraud, which carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison, one count of health care fraud, which carries a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison, and one count of aggravated identity theft, which carries a mandatory minimum sentence of two years in prison.  The statutory maximum sentences are prescribed by Congress and are provided here for informational purposes only, as any sentencing of the defendant would be determined by the judge.

PANOS is scheduled to be sentenced by Judge Karas on March 16, 2021, at 10:00 a.m.

In connection with his plea, PANOS agreed to forfeit $876,389.97, and to pay restitution in the same amount.

Ms. Strauss praised the outstanding investigative work of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, the Office of the Inspector General of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, and the New York Inspector General for their assistance. 

Governor Cuomo Updates New Yorkers on State's Progress During COVID-19 Pandemic - OCTOBER 30, 2020

 

Positive Testing Rate in All Focus Zone Areas is 2.75 Percent; New York State Positivity Outside All Focus Zone Areas is 1.38 Percent     

Statewide Positivity Rate is 1.53 Percent

12 COVID-19 Deaths in New York State Yesterday

 Governor Andrew M. Cuomo today updated New Yorkers on the state's progress during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

"Our state had one of the highest infection rates in the nation, if not the globe, and we now have the third lowest in the country. We cannot become complacent and risk going backwards," Governor Cuomo said. "We continue to closely monitor the data and handle micro-clusters as they happen, as well as watching what is happening around us as cases surge again across the country. As we head into winter months, it will be critical for all New Yorkers to keep up the good work of wearing our masks, washing our hands and remaining socially distant - and above all staying New York Tough."

The Governor noted that the positive testing rate in all focus areas under the state's Micro-Cluster strategy is 2.75 percent, and outside the focus zone areas is 1.38 percent. Within the focus areas, 16,461 test results were reported yesterday, yielding 453 positives. In the remainder of the state, not counting these focus areas, 130,424 test results were reported, yielding 1,802 positives.

Today's data is summarized briefly below:

• Patient Hospitalization - 1,085 (+0)
• Patients Newly Admitted - 133
• Hospital Counties - 44
• Number ICU - 243 (+6)
• Number ICU with Intubation - 116 (+2)
• Total Discharges - 79,621 (+120)
• Deaths - 12
• Total Deaths - 25,804