10 Defendants Arrested In Home-Health Aide Fraud Scheme

 

Audrey Strauss, the Acting United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, and William F. Sweeney Jr., the Assistant Director-in-Charge of the New York Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (“FBI”), announced today the unsealing of an Indictment charging MARIANNA LEVIN, TETYANA GOLYAK, ELENA LOKSHIN, SVITLANA ROHULYA, MARINA ZAK, ALINA KUPTSOVA, MALIHA IJAZ, MAKHINBONU NARZULLAEVA, NATALYA SHVARTS, and INNA GEKELMAN with conspiracy to commit mail, wire and healthcare fraud; substantive counts of mail fraud, wire fraud, and healthcare fraud; and conspiracy to violate the Anti-Kickback Statute, in connection with a  scheme to fraudulently bill Medicaid for home-health and personal-care services that were not actually rendered.  The ten defendants were arrested earlier this morning and will be presented today before United States Magistrate Judge Robert W. Lehrburger in Manhattan federal court.  The case has been assigned to United States District Judge John P. Cronan.

Manhattan Acting U.S. Attorney Audrey Strauss said:  “These ten defendants allegedly attempted to swindle the managed healthcare system by billing for no-show cases, where aides provided no actual assistance to patients.  Now more than ever, the Medicare system is critical for so many Americans who depend on its services for their well-being. Conduct such as the alleged scheme today not only beleaguers the healthcare system, it unfairly penalizes those who depend on it most – the patients.”

FBI Assistant Director-in-Charge William F. Sweeney Jr. said:  “Money that’s earmarked for Medicaid-approved services, and fraudulently paid out to those who don’t render these services, is a crime that’s ultimately paid for by taxpayers themselves. In this case, as we allege, there were even patients involved in the kickback scheme who were willing to play along with the no-show scam in order to earn a few extra bucks. With a nearly $5 billion increase in managed long-term care plan spending recorded over a recent six-year period, the money paid out to those charged today is no drop in the bucket.”

As alleged in the Indictment unsealed today in Manhattan federal court[1]:

Since in or about 2015, the defendants have been engaged in a widespread fraud scheme through which the defendants defrauded Medicaid for home-health and personal-care services that were not actually rendered.  At all times relevant to the Indictment, the defendants worked at or were otherwise associated with one of two affiliated licensed homecare service agencies based in Brooklyn, New York (“Agency-1”, “Agency-2”, collectively referred to as the “Agencies”), that provide home-health and personal-care services to patients residing in all five boroughs of New York City and Nassau County.  Combined, the Agencies employed approximately 3,000 home-health and personal-care aides (the “Aides”).  Most of the Aides were licensed to provide home-health aide services and personal-care services.

Home care is a health service provided in the patient’s home to promote, maintain, or restore health or lessen the effects of illness and disability.  Home care includes personal-care services, administered by Aides, including housekeeping, meal preparation, bathing, toileting, and grooming.

At all times relevant to this Indictment, eligible Medicaid beneficiaries in New York were able to seek government-funded home-health and personal-care services through managed long-term care plans (“MLTCs”).  In turn, MLTCs received Medicaid funding to pay for their beneficiaries’ home-health and personal-care services.  In recent years, home-health costs in New York have ballooned.  In or about January 2020, New York’s State budget director announced, in substance and in part, that spending on MLTCs tripled between the 2013 and 2019 fiscal years, representing a $4.8 billion increase.

The Agencies administer home-health and personal-care services to Medicaid beneficiaries enrolled in New York MLTCs.  From in or about 2015 to in or about December 2020, Medicaid reimbursed the Agencies hundreds of millions of dollars for home-health and personal-care services.  A significant portion of the Agencies’ billings were fraudulent.  In particular, the Agencies billed Medicaid for “no-show” cases in which Aides claimed to be performing home-health or personal-care services when they were not.  At times when Aides falsely claimed to be performing home-health or personal-care services, they in fact, stayed home, ran personal errands, vacationed, and socialized with family and friends.  For example, on or about September 9, 2017, TETYANA GOLYAK was at a vineyard and winery in New Jersey at a time she claimed to be performing personal-care services for a patient residing in Brooklyn, New York; in or about January 2019, NATALYA SHVARTS was on a Caribbean cruise at a time she claimed to be performing personal-care services for a patient residing in Brooklyn, New York; and, on or about March 1, 2019, MALIHA IJAZ was at a Brooklyn restaurant at a time IJAZ claimed to be performing personal-care services.  These no-show arrangements caused the Agencies to submit false Medicaid claims to MLTCs. 

With no-show cases at the Agencies, an Aide’s fraudulently-obtained wages were often split between the no-show Aide and the no-show patient.  In addition to paying kickbacks to no-show patients, no-show Aides sometimes paid kickbacks to conspirators who referred no-show cases to Aides at the Agencies.   

The defendants are each charged with one count of conspiracy to commit mail, wire, and healthcare fraud, which carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison, one count of mail fraud, which carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison, one count of wire fraud, which carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison, one count of healthcare fraud, which carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison, and one count of conspiracy to violate the Anti-Kickback Statute, which carries a maximum sentence of five years in prison.  The maximum potential sentences and minimum sentence in this case are prescribed by Congress and are provided here for informational purposes only, as any sentencings of the defendants will be determined by the judge.

Ms. Strauss praised the outstanding investigative work of the New York FBI, New York City Police Department, and the Office of Medicaid Inspector General for New York State. 

This case is being handled by the Complex Frauds and Cybercrime Unit.  Assistant United States Attorneys Nicholas Folly, Nicholas W. Chiuchiolo and Daniel G. Nessim are in charge of the prosecution.

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

DEFENDANT	AGE	ROLE	RESIDENCE
MARIANNA LEVIN	47	Manager at Agency-1	Brooklyn
TETYANA GOLYAK	43	Director of Case Coordinators at Agency-1	Brooklyn
ELENA LOKSHIN	34	Director of Human Resources at Agency-1	Howell, NJ
SVITLANA ROHULYA	43	Case Coordinator and Supervisor of Case Coordinators at Agency-1	Brooklyn
MARINA ZAK	43	Case Coordinator and Supervisor at Agency-1 and Supervisor at Agency-2	Staten Island
ALINA KUPTSOVA	60	Case Coordinator at the Agencies	Avenel, NJ
MALIHA IJAZ	33	Intake Employee and Aide at Agency-1	Brooklyn
MAKHINBONU NARZULLAEVA	31	Case Coordinator and Aide at Agency-1	Brooklyn
NATALYA SHVARTS	51	Coordinator and Aide at Agency-1	Brooklyn
INNA GEKELMAN	70	Recruiter for Agency-1	Brooklyn

[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.

MAYOR DE BLASIO ISSUES STATEMENT ON CONGRESS’ STIMULUS NEGOTIATIONS

 

 "Direct payments to people are a step in the right direction, but a deal that sidelines local aid is a deal that sidelines our recovery.  Congress must work together to provide funding for localities to ensure public services can remain intact. Local governments like New York City are in the midst of fighting back COVID-19, and without local aid, this deal fails to meet the moment."

Kenyan National Indicted For Conspiring To Hijack Aircraft On Behalf Of The Al Qaeda-Affiliated Terrorist Organization Al Shabaab

 

Cholo Abdi Abdullah Obtained Pilot Training and Researched How to Hijack Aircraft in Order to Conduct a 9/11-Style Attack at the Direction of al Shabaab

 Audrey Strauss, the Acting United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, John C. Demers, the Assistant Attorney General for National Security, William F. Sweeney Jr., the Assistant Director-in-Charge of the New York Field Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (“FBI”), and Dermot Shea, the Commissioner of the Police Department for the City of New York (“NYPD”), announced the unsealing of an Indictment charging CHOLO ABDI ABDULLAH with six counts of terrorism-related offenses based on his activities as an operative of the foreign terrorist organization al Shabaab, including conspiring to hijack aircraft in order to conduct a 9/11-style attack in the United States.  ABDULLAH was arrested in July 2019 in the Philippines on local charges, and was subsequently transferred on December 15, 2020, in connection with his deportation from the Philippines, to the custody of U.S. law enforcement for prosecution on the charges in the Indictment.  ABDULLAH was transported from the Phillippines to the United States yesterday, and is expected to be presented today before Magistrate Judge Robert W. Lehrburger in Manhattan federal court.  The case is assigned to United States District Judge Analisa Torres.

Acting Manhattan U.S. Attorney Audrey Strauss said:  “As alleged, Cholo Abdi Abdullah, as part of a terrorist plot directed by senior al Shabaab leaders, obtained pilot training in the Philippines in preparation for seeking to hijack a commercial aircraft and crash it into a building in the United States.  This chilling callback to the horrific attacks of September 11, 2001, is a stark reminder that terrorist groups like al Shabaab remain committed to killing U.S. citizens and attacking the United States.  But we remain even more resolute in our dedication to investigating, preventing, and prosecuting such lethal plots, and will use every tool in our arsenal to stop those who would commit acts of terrorism at home and abroad.  Thanks to the outstanding investigative work of the New York Joint Terrorism Task Force, and the FBI’s global partnerships with law enforcement agencies around the world, Abdullah’s plot was detected before he could achieve his deadly aspirations, and now he faces federal terrorism charges in a U.S. court.”

Assistant Attorney General John C. Demers said:  “This case, which involved a plot to use an aircraft to kill innocent victims, reminds us of the deadly threat that radical Islamic terrorists continue to pose to our nation.  And it also highlights our commitment to pursue and hold accountable anybody who seeks to harm our country and our citizens.  No matter where terrorists who plan to target Americans may be located, we will seek to identify them and bring them to justice.  We owe a debt of gratitude to the agents, detectives, analysts, and prosecutors who are responsible for this defendant’s arrest.”

FBI Assistant Director-in-Charge William F. Sweeney Jr. said:  “Nearly 20 years after the 9/11 terrorist attacks, there are those who remain determined to conduct terror attacks against United States citizens. Abdullah, we allege, is one of them. He obtained a pilot’s license overseas, learning how to hijack an aircraft for the purpose of causing a mass-casualty incident within our borders. Fortunately, the exceptional work by the men and women assigned to the many agencies that comprise the FBI’s New York JTTF have, once again, disrupted a threat to our communities.”

NYPD Commissioner Dermot Shea said: “As alleged in the federal indictment against him, Cholo Abdi Abdullah had obtained pilot training and begun plotting a terrorist attack against a target in the United States. But the outstanding work of our NYPD detectives and federal agents of the FBI’s New York Joint Terrorism Task Force, along with all of our law enforcement partners, put an end to those plans and ensured that no one would be harmed.”

As alleged in the Indictment,[1] unsealed today in Manhattan federal court:

The charges in the Indictment unsealed today arise out of a coordinated scheme by the terrorist organization Harakat al-Shabaab al-Mujahideen, commonly known as “al Shabaab,” to target Americans both at home and abroad.  Al Shabaab, which has sworn allegiance to al Qaeda and serves as al Qaeda’s principal wing in East Africa, is responsible for numerous deadly terrorist attacks, including attacks that have claimed American lives.  Recently, al Shabaab has embarked on a string of terrorist attacks as part of an operation purportedly in response to the United States’ decision to move its embassy in Israel to Jerusalem, which the group has dubbed “Operation Jerusalem Will Never be Judaized.”  In particular, these terrorist attacks perpetrated by al Shabaab include an attack on January 15, 2019 at a hotel in Nairobi, Kenya, which resulted in the deaths of approximately 21 people, including a U.S. national and survivor of al Qaeda’s 9/11 attack on the World Trade Center in New York, New York; a September 30, 2019 attack on a U.S. military facility in Somalia; and a January 5, 2020 attack on another U.S. facility in Kenya, in which three Americans were killed.    

As alleged in the Indictment, ABDULLAH was an al Shabaab operative who participated in a plot to hijack commercial aircraft and crash them into a building in the United States.  Beginning in 2016, at the direction of a senior al Shabaab commander who was responsible for, among other things, planning the 2019 Nairobi hotel attack, ABDULLAH traveled to the Philippines and enrolled in a flight school there (the “Flight School”), for the purpose of obtaining training for carrying out the 9/11-style attack.  Between 2017 and 2019, ABDULLAH attended the Flight School on various occasions and obtained pilot’s training, ultimately completing the tests necessary to obtain his pilot’s license. 

While ABDULLAH was obtaining pilot training at the Flight School, he also conducted research into the means and methods to hijack a commercial airliner to conduct the planned attack, including security on commercial airliners and how to breach a cockpit door from the outside, information about the tallest building in a major U.S. city, and information about how to obtain a U.S. visa.

Thanks to the extraordinary work of the FBI, law enforcement authorities foiled this plot.  ABDULLAH has remained in custody since his initial arrest in the Philippines. 

ABDULLAH, 30, of Kenya, is charged with conspiring to provide and providing material support to a designated foreign terrorist organization (al Shabaab), conspiring to murder U.S. nationals, conspiring to commit aircraft piracy, conspiring to destroy aircraft, and conspiring to commit acts of terrorism transcending national boundaries.  ABDULLAH faces a maximum sentence of life in prison, and a mandatory minimum sentence of 20 years in prison.  The specific penalties for each of the charges is reflected in the chart below.  The maximum potential sentence in this case is prescribed by Congress and is provided here for informational purposes only, as any sentencing of the defendant will be determined by a judge.

Ms. Strauss praised the outstanding efforts of the FBI’s New York Joint Terrorism Task Force, which principally consists of agents from the FBI and detectives from the NYPD.  Ms. Strauss also thanked the FBI Legal Attaché Offices in Nairobi, Kenya, and Manila, the Philippines; the FBI’s Hudson Valley Resident Agency; the New York State Police; the Counterterrorism Section of the Department of Justice’s National Security Division; the Office of International Affairs of the Department of Justice’s Criminal Division; the U.S. Department of Defense; the Kenyan Directorate of Criminal Investigations, including the Anti-Terrorism Police Unit and the Joint Terrorism Task Force-Kenya; the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions in Kenya; the Philippine National Police; the Philippine Department of Justice; the Joint Terrorism Financial Investigations Group-Philippines; and the Philippine Bureau of Immigration, for their assistance.

This prosecution is being handled by the Office’s Terrorism and International Narcotics Unit.  Assistant U.S. Attorneys David W. Denton, Jr., Sidhardha Kamaraju, and Elinor Tarlow are in charge of the prosecution, with assistance from Trial Attorneys Jason Denney and Rebecca Magnone of the Counterterrorism Section.

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

Count	Charges	Penalties
1	Conspiracy to Provide Material Support to a Foreign Terrorist Organization (18 U.S.C. § 2339B)	20 years’ imprisonment
2	Provision of Material Support to a Foreign Terrorist Organization (18 U.S.C. § 2339B)	20 years’ imprisonment
3	Conspiracy to Murder U.S. Nationals (18 U.S.C. § 2332(b))	Life imprisonment
4	Conspiracy to Commit Aircraft Piracy (49 U.S.C. § 46502)	Life imprisonment; mandatory minimum of 20 years’ imprisonment
5	Conspiracy to Destroy Aircraft (18 U.S.C. § 32(a))	20 years’ imprisonment
6	Conspiracy to Commit Acts of Terrorism Transcending National Boundaries (18 U.S.C. § 2332b)	Life imprisonment, consecutive to any other term of imprisonment imposed

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

Attorney General James Reminds White House to Maintain Presidential Records After Trump Administration’s Repeated Disregard for Law

 

AG James Leads Multistate Coalition in Sending Letter to White House Counsel

Reminding Staff to Comply with Presidential Records Act and Federal Records Act AG James Leads Multistate Coalition in Sending Letter to White House Counsel

 New York Attorney General Letitia James today led a multistate coalition of 15 attorneys general from around the nation in calling on the Trump Administration to comply with the Presidential Records Act and the Federal Records Act. In a letter to White House Counsel Pat Cipollone, Attorney General James and the coalition remind Cipollone that all staff in the Executive Office of the President — which includes President Donald Trump — must comply with the law and take all necessary steps to preserve and maintain presidential records, including tweets, notes of private conversations, and emails from private servers improperly used to conduct government work.

“The Trump Administration shouldn’t have to be told that they need to comply with the law and keep all records of official business, but the last four years have shown that the president needs to be constantly reminded what the law is and how he must comply with it,” said Attorney General James. “Even the president’s tweets, the private conversations he had with Russian President Putin, and Ivanka’s private email server must be archived. Every bit of this information belongs to the American people and the White House cannot deprive the public of this information.”

Since the beginning of the Reagan Administration — 40 years ago next month — the Presidential Records Act has dictated the statutory structure under which presidents must manage the records of their administrations. The law says that the American people “retain complete ownership, possession, and control of Presidential records.” Additionally, since 1950, the Federal Records Act has set guidelines as to how federal departments and agencies preserve and manage archived records.

But, according to multiple news reports, the Trump Administration has taken numerous actions displaying an utter disregard for their duties to properly preserve records, including:

• President Trump concealing details of his conversations with Russian President Vladimir Putin, including on at least one occasion taking possession of the notes of his own interpreter and instructing the linguist not to discuss what had transpired with other administration officials, according to a news report from The Washington Post.
• President Trump tearing up presidential documents, requiring a records management analyst to tape back together documents that were supposed to be preserved, according to news reports in Politico and The New Yorker.
• Presidential Advisor Ivanka Trump’s use of a private email server to send hundreds of emails to other government officials about business affecting the American people, according to a news report in The Washington Post.
• Presidential Senior Advisor Jared Kushner’s use of a private email server that was used to communicate with other government officials about business affecting the American people, according to a news report in Politico, as well as his use of the messaging app WhatsApp to communicate with foreign leaders and other foreign government officials, according to a news report by CNN.

In today’s letter, Attorney General James and the coalition remind the White House counsel that President Trump and all White House staff — which includes anyone in the Executive Office of the President — must comply with the Presidential Records Act and the Federal Records Act. The coalition also asks for the White House counsel to confirm compliance with this request before the inauguration of President-elect Joseph Biden on January 20, 2021.

Joining Attorney General James in sending today’s letter to the White House are the attorneys general of Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Iowa, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, New Mexico, Oregon, Virginia, Washington, and the District of Columbia.

ACTING MAYOR DE BLASIO APPOINTS KERI BUTLER AS ACTING EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF PUBLIC DESIGN COMMISSION

 Today Mayor de Blasio announced Keri Butler as the Acting Executive Director of the Public Design Commission (PDC), New York City’s design review agency. Butler, who has served at PDC in various roles for 15 years, has most recently served as the agency’s Deputy Executive Director.

 

“Keri Butler brings deep experience and a forward-looking vision to the Public Design Commission,” said Mayor Bill de Blasio. “The COVID-19 pandemic has meant our city must rely on its public spaces more than ever, and I know she’ll guide us toward creative, useful, and beautiful solutions for every New York City neighborhood.”

 

“New Yorkers deserve excellence and equity in public art and design, and I’m honored to lead this agency through a crucial moment in our city’s history,” said Keri Butler. “I look forward to enhancing the PDC’s mission and supporting innovative and sustainable designs that will improve lives and move New York City forward.”

 

“Public design is reflective of our values and must welcome all New Yorkers,” said Deputy Mayor for Housing and Economic Development Vicki Been. “With over a decade of experience, Keri has demonstrated a deep commitment to and excellent advocacy for incorporating values of equity and diversity, sustainability, and accessibility into New York City’s public design. I look forward to working with her in this new role.”

 

In addition to overseeing the PDC’s design review process, Butler has represented the Commission on panels and public events that highlight the City’s art collection and women designers. She has managed collaborative projects and events such as the Annual Awards for Excellence in Design, Women-Designed NYC, and Sustainable NYC. Additionally, Keri has worked with numerous agencies and private partners to preserve the City’s art collection and expand the City Hall tour program to highlight Black history.

 

Butler managed Superstorm Sandy recovery efforts in 2012-13 and led the Commission through the abrupt transition to remote work during the COVID-19 pandemic, developing online events that have increased public engagement and participation in the design review process. She holds a Bachelor of Arts in Art from the University of North Texas and a Master of Arts in Arts Administration from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago.  

 

Congressman Adriano Espaillat - Congress Must #SavePublicTransit, Lives Depend On It!

 

The economy cannot recover without support of the MTA and public transit services around the nation.

 Representative Adriano Espaillat urged congressional leaders to include funding for the MTA and transit agencies around the nation in the fight to #SavePublicTransit as communities struggle to recover amid the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. 

Organized by the American Public Transportation Association (APTA), #SavePublicTransit Day is an effort to highlight the dire financial crisis facing the public transportation industry and urge officials to take immediate action.

"Since the start of the pandemic, the MTA has been essential in our efforts to combat this disease. New York City was able to overcome the first wave of the pandemic thanks to the MTA's 75,000 employees and the continued operation of its subways, buses and railroads. The transit agency is essential in our fight to recover and I urge my colleagues to work to save the MTA and transit systems around the country," said Rep. Espaillat.

It is critical that Congress move forward and provide emergency funding for public transit in the lame duck session before Congress recesses for the holiday. The industry is calling on Congress and the Administration to provide at least $32 billion in emergency funding to ensure that public transit agencies can survive and help our communities and nation recover from the economic fallout of the pandemic. Earlier this year, Congress provided $15 billion in aid to transit agencies in the CARES Act, and House Democrats have included larger sums in the HEROES Act, which has twice passed the House but sat dormant in the Republican-controlled Senate. The MTA received $4 billion from the CARES Act but still faces a daunting revenue shortfall.

“Immediate action needs to be taken to address the public transportation industry’s dire financial situation so that we can continue to serve essential employees every day and can help with the nation’s economic recovery,” said APTA President and CEO Paul P. Skoutelas. “The industry’s very survival is at stake.”