Governor Hochul Announces Major Progress in Providing Pandemic Relief to New Yorkers

 

New York State Now Ranked First Nationally in Payments Made or Obligated, with More Than $1.2 Billion

$125 Million in New State Funding Designated for Renters Previously Ineligible for Assistance Will Be Available Through the Emergency Rental Assistance Program Beginning September 15

Over $1.05 Billion in Excluded Workers Program Funds Approved for Distribution to Date; $550 Million Will Have Been Released by the End of the Week, Additional $500 Million Undergoing Final Verification

 Governor Kathy Hochul today announced significant progress in providing pandemic relief to New Yorkers through the Emergency Rental Assistance Program and the Excluded Workers Program. The amount of pandemic-related emergency rental assistance paid out has nearly doubled in the past three weeks — growing to $399 million — enabling tenants at risk for eviction to stay in their homes and helping struggling landlords to recoup unpaid rent. Beginning Wednesday, September 15, middle-income renters previously ineligible for assistance can begin applying for $125 million in state funding through the Emergency Rental Assistance Program. Additionally, while some is undergoing final verification, Governor Hochul announced that over $1.05 billion in Excluded Workers Program funds have been approved for distribution to date.

"When I was sworn in as Governor just three weeks ago today, I made it clear that my top priority was to accelerate getting relief money out the door as quickly as possible to New Yorkers struggling from the economic devastation of the pandemic," Governor Hochul said. "While we are ramping up those efforts, our work still isn't done. We will continue to provide critical assistance to excluded workers, pandemic-affected households that have fallen behind on their rent, and the landlords who saw their rental income drop significantly during the global health crisis."

Governor Hochul has made providing relief to New Yorkers affected by the COVID-19 pandemic as quickly and efficiently as possible a top priority of her administration. Since her first day in office, the Governor has taken several steps to ramp up the state's pandemic relief efforts, including creating the new Office of Pandemic Relief, enacting changes to accelerate the state's rent relief program and attract more applicants, and visiting New Yorkers in hurricane damaged areas to help ensure they were being connected with and receiving the help they need.

Emergency Rental Assistance Program

Governor Hochul took office in late August with a focus on ERAP and announced a series of actions, including reassigning 100 contracted staff to work solely with landlords to complete pending applications, to accelerate the process. Since then, the number of payments issued has grown from 15,548 payments totaling $203 million to landlords, to 30,781 payments totaling $399 million to landlords.

Beginning Wednesday, the state is accepting applications for rental assistance from households adversely impacted by the pandemic and earning between 80 percent and 120 percent of the area median income, a group that was previously ineligible to receive help from the state's Emergency Rental Assistance Program.

Under federal guidelines, only those households that were impacted by the pandemic and earning at or below 80 percent of the area median income were eligible for ERAP. Administered by the state Office of Temporary and Disability Assistance, this program is providing $2.6 billion in federal funding to pay up to 12 months arrears and three months of prospective rent directly to landlords, while providing approved tenants with up to a year of eviction protection, provided they continue to pay rent.

Area median income varies by county and by household size. Renters interested in applying for either federal or state assistance should visit otda.ny.gov/erap.

New York State is now ranked first nationally in payments made or obligated, with more than $1.2 billion, and is among the leaders in direct payments, according to the National Low Income Housing Coalition, which tracks the state-by-state implementation of ERAP.  

New York has also far exceeded the threshold to avoid a 'claw back' of federal rental assistance funds and now qualifies to potentially receive funding allocated to other states that aren't distributing this assistance quickly enough. Beginning on September 30, the Treasury may recapture excess funds that have not been obligated and reallocate those resources to high-performing jurisdictions that have obligated at least 65 percent of their original allocation.

OTDA Commissioner Mike Hein said, "With additional funding from the state, New York's Emergency Rental Assistance Program is even more dynamic in the protections provided to tenants and the breadth of assistance afforded to landlords. With Governor Hochul's continued attention to this critical issue, we are now seeing the powerful impact this program is having throughout our state and demonstrating once again that New York is a leader nationally in addressing the most challenging economic and social issues we face amid the global health crisis."

Excluded Workers Fund Program

Governor Hochul has identified one of her top priorities as getting relief money out the door as quickly as possible to help New Yorkers struggling from the economic devastation of the COVID-19 pandemic. As part of these efforts, the Governor has worked to accelerate the distribution of Excluded Workers Program benefits. To date, the New York State Department of Labor has approved over $1.05 billion in Excluded Workers Program benefits for distribution. Of these benefits, $550 million will have been released by the end this week, and an additional $500 million is undergoing final verification for applicants identified as eligible, which is expected to be distributed in the next month. The program application launched on August 1, 2021, in 13 different languages, and to date, NYS DOL has received over 130,000 applications, over 75,000 of which have been found to be eligible thus far.

Approved applicants receive one of two benefit amounts based on the level of work eligibility documentation they provide in addition to verifying their identity and residence. Tier 1 qualifiers receive $15,600 and Tier 2 qualifiers receive $3,200. Of those approved to date, 99 percent have qualified for Tier 1 benefits. Approved applicants receive a one-time payment on a prepaid card mailed to the address provided in the application. Cards allow for cash withdrawal or purchases with merchants.

The Excluded Workers Fund was created to bring financial relief to thousands of workers across the state who lost income during the pandemic and did not qualify for government-issued COVID-19 benefits is in the final approval stages.

Applicants can apply online 24/7, and DOL's 600-person multi-lingual call center is available six days a week. The EWF application process utilizes state-of-the-art technology, including an EWF virtual assistant that can provide applicants with their application's status throughout the process. Applicants can also speak with a live representative or receive a callback in 24 to 48 hours. The application and an FAQ document are available in 13 different languages on the Department of Labor's EWF page.

Similar to unemployment insurance claims, the safeguards and fraud detection built into the thorough review process are designed to ensure that funds go to eligible applicants, not scammers.

DOL plans to make available a real-time dashboard that will provide the latest EWF program data in the coming weeks. In the meantime, DOL will post hourly updates of EWF program data to its website.

New York State Department of Labor Commissioner Roberta Reardon said, "The Excluded Workers Fund is providing real relief to thousands of New Yorkers who played critical roles in our state's pandemic response, but did not qualify for state or federal unemployment benefits. I encourage all eligible individuals who lost wages or income during the pandemic to apply for this vital lifeline."

In early September, Governor Hochul signed into law a moratorium on COVID-related evictions through January 15, 2022. This legislation also established a new $250 million program to serve additional households and better support landlords. Through this program, $125 million in state funding is specifically earmarked for those households with an income too high to participate in the federally-funded ERAP.

Additionally, the legislation set aside $125 million in state funding to assist those landlords with tenants that either refuse to participate in the program or have vacated the apartment with arrears. Federal guidelines require that both tenant and landlord apply to the program, so the additional state funding will allow OTDA to post a separate application for landlords seeking this assistance sometime in early October.

New York's program does, however, allow for a tenant to be provisionally approved for assistance, while the other side of the application is pending, and a robust effort is undertaken to persuade the landlord to participate. If a landlord refuses to provide information needed to complete an application or refuses to accept the funds, the tenant is provided with a letter that can be shown in court in the event of eviction proceedings.  

Tenants approved for the program cannot be evicted because of an expired lease or for failure to pay rent during the COVID-19 pandemic. Once a landlord accepts a payment, the tenant cannot be evicted for not paying rent during the period covered or for an expired lease during the 12 months following this payment.

Governor Hochul continues to encourage New Yorkers struggling to pay back rent that accumulated during the pandemic to apply for the program. More than 200,000 applications for ERAP have already been received.

Ophthalmologist Pleads Guilty To Seven-Year Healthcare Fraud Scheme And To Defrauding SBA Program Intended To Help Small Businesses During COVID-19 Pandemic

 

 Audrey Strauss, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, announced that AMEET GOYAL, an ophthalmologist in Rye, New York, pled guilty yesterday to perpetrating a seven-year healthcare fraud scheme by falsely billing for millions of dollars of procedures he did not perform, and also to fraudulently obtaining two Government-guaranteed loans intended to help small businesses during the COVID-19 pandemic while facing charges on pretrial release for the healthcare fraud scheme.  GOYAL pled guilty before U.S. District Judge Cathy Seibel to all charges in a six-count superseding Indictment.

U.S. Attorney Audrey Strauss said:  “Dr. Ameet Goyal was an experienced eye doctor who became blinded by greed and routinely defrauded patients who trusted him to heal their eyes.  He grossly overbilled minor ophthalmological procedures, billed for tests and procedures that were never performed, falsified medical records, attempted to corrupt others in his practice to abet the scheme, and sent patients who refused to pay his fraudulent charges to collections.  Already facing charges for defrauding patients and insurers of millions of dollars, Goyal committed a new fraud in applying for Paycheck Protection Program loans on behalf of two separate businesses and lying on the applications.  Goyal looted over $630,000 in federal funds earmarked for legitimate small businesses affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.  Goyal has now admitted to both fraudulent schemes, agreed to forfeit $3.6 million, and faces the possibility of a significant term of incarceration.”

According to the allegations contained in the Indictment, court filings, and statements made during court proceedings:

At all relevant times, GOYAL owned and operated the ophthalmology practice Ameet Goyal M.D. P.C., doing business as Rye Eye Associates, with offices in Rye, Mt. Kisco, and Wappingers Falls, New York, and Greenwich, Connecticut (the “Practice”).  Between 2010 and 2017, GOYAL engaged in widespread healthcare fraud by consistently “upcoding” simpler, lower-paying surgical procedures and examinations as complex, higher-paying major operations in fraudulent billings submitted to Medicare, private insurance companies, and patients.  As a result, GOYAL fraudulently obtained at least $3.6 million in payments for procedures he did not perform.  As part of the scheme, GOYAL routinely falsified patient medical records, authoring fictitious templated operative reports that matched the complex operation he billed rather than the different minor procedure he actually performed.  GOYAL also pressured other employees in the Practice to engage in the scheme, and threatened the livelihood of employees who refused to comply.  GOYAL caused patients to pay thousands of dollars out of pocket for fraudulently billed charges, and initiated debt collection proceedings against patients who did not pay the full amounts of those false charges.

For example, GOYAL and others at the Practice routinely treated patients for an excision of a chalazion, a small bump on an eyelid, typically removed in less than 15 minutes.  An excision of chalazion, when billed truthfully under its associated code, paid the Practice approximately $200 on average from patients and insurance programs.  However, GOYAL systematically billed an excision of chalazion and other similar superficial eyelid procedures as if he had performed an orbitotomy together with a conjunctivoplasty, which are complex surgeries into the orbit of the eye, often to remove an orbital tumor together with grafting to close the resulting wound, that typically take an hour or more to perform.  These substantial surgeries, as billed, paid the Practice approximately $1,400 on average from a combination of insurance and patient out-of-pocket payments.  GOYAL also upcoded certain superficial procedures as an excision and repair of eyelid, a type of higher-paying eyelid surgery involving reconstruction or removal of certain lesions other than chalazions.  During the relevant time period, GOYAL billed less than 40 chalazions under the billing code designated for excision of chalazion, while billing over 1,400 orbitotomies, over 700 bundled conjunctivoplasties, and over 1,600 excision and repair of eyelid surgeries, all of which he claimed to have personally performed.  The scheme involved numerous other CPT codes for procedures and examinations not performed or upcoded, resulting in at least $3.6 million of ill-gotten gains for GOYAL.

On November 21, 2019, an indictment (the “Indictment”) was returned in the action United States of America v. Ameet Goyal, 19 Cr. 844 (CS) (S.D.N.Y.), charging GOYAL with healthcare fraud, wire fraud, and making false statements relating to healthcare matters.  On November 22, 2019, GOYAL was arraigned on the Indictment and placed on pretrial release pursuant to an order that notified GOYAL of the potential effect of committing a criminal offense while on pretrial release.

The Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (“CARES”) Act is a federal law enacted on March 29, 2020, designed to provide emergency financial assistance to the millions of Americans who are suffering the economic effects caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.  One source of relief provided by the CARES Act was the authorization of hundreds of billions of dollars in forgivable loans to small businesses for job retention and certain other expenses through the Small Business Administration’s (“SBA”) Paycheck Protection Program (“PPP”).  Applicants with pending criminal charges are ineligible for PPP loans.  The PPP also limits each eligible borrower to one loan, and a maximum loan amount calculated based on a business’s average monthly payroll expenses. 

In or about April 2020, GOYAL applied to the SBA and Bank-1, a federally insured institution, for over $630,000 in Government-guaranteed loans through the SBA’s PPP Program.  Specifically, on or about April 21, 2020, GOYAL applied for a loan in the amount of $358,700 for the business “Ameet Goyal,” with his own social security number and email address.  On or about April 29, 2020, GOYAL applied for a second loan in the amount of $278,500, with a business name “Rye eye associates,” using the Employer Identification Number for Ameet Goyal M.D. P.C and a different email address controlled by GOYAL.  To substantiate each loan, however, GOYAL submitted the exact same underlying payroll expense report, showing the same employees and payroll costs. 

On both applications, GOYAL falsely answered that he was not facing any pending criminal charges, and electronically placed his initials “AG” directly under his “No” response.  GOYAL also falsely certified, among other things, that his business would not receive another PPP loan until the end of the year.  After obtaining approval from Bank-1 and the SBA through his fraudulent misrepresentations, GOYAL executed loan notes for two loans.  On May 4, 2020, GOYAL received the first loan of $358,700, and on May 11, 2021, GOYAL received the second loan of $278,500.  GOYAL used the business checking account into which these funds were deposited to pay business and personal expenses, including by making a $1,800 payment to a country club in Westchester, New York, within days of receiving the first loan.                    

GOYAL, 58, of Rye, New York, pled guilty to all six counts in the Superseding Indictment.  The first count charged healthcare fraud, which carries a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison; the second count charged wire fraud, which carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison; and the third count charged making false statements relating to health care matters, which carries a maximum sentence of five years in prison.  Counts four, five, and six charged that while on pretrial release, the defendant committed the following offenses, respectively: bank fraud, which carries a maximum sentence of 30 years in prison; making false statements on a loan application, which carries a maximum sentence of 30 years in prison; and making false statements in a matter within the jurisdiction of the executive branch of the Government of the United States, which carries a maximum sentence of five years in prison.  Additionally, a conviction under counts four, five, and six, if committed while on pretrial release, provides for an additional maximum sentence of 10 years in prison consecutive to any other sentence of imprisonment.

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

GOYAL is scheduled to be sentenced by Judge Seibel on January 6, 2022, at 2:30 p.m.              

Ms. Strauss praised the work of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Inspector General, and the Office of the Inspector General of the SBA, whose expertise and diligence were integral to the development of this investigation and the guilty plea.

ALABAMA WOMAN WHO PRETENDED TO LIVE IN NYC PLEADS GUILTY TO STEALING MORE THAN $120K IN WELFARE & HOUSING BENEFITS

Offices of the NYS Inspector General Letizia Tagliafierro

 

New York State Inspector General Letizia Tagliafierro announced the guilty plea of an Alabama woman who collected nearly $70,000 in welfare benefits in New York State by misreporting her residency, employment and marriage status and using two different Social Security numbers. She also misrepresented her residence to obtain New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA) rental benefits in excess of $50,000. 

Latonja Serling, 57, of Calera, Alabama, pleaded guilty in New York City Criminal Court before Hon. Angela J. Badamo to Welfare Fraud in the 2nd Degree (C Felony) and Welfare Fraud in the 5th Degree (A misdemeanor). She was sentenced to a conditional discharge on both the felony and misdemeanor charges and must repay $50,000 in restitution within the next five years, at which point she will be able to have the felony charge removed. Serling has surrendered the NYCHA residence and one of the Social Security numbers that she used as part of her scheme. 

In November 2018, the Office of the Welfare Inspector General (OWIG) received a complaint alleging that Serling was committing welfare fraud and collecting benefits via the New York City Human Resources Administration (HRA). 

OWIG’s investigation included reviewing real estate and employment records, use of Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits, bank records, and Facebook, Instagram and LinkedIn account postings. The investigation determined that from November 2012 to present, Serling misrepresented her residence as 218 West 112th Street in New York City when she resided in either Birmingham or Calera, Alabama. OWIG also determined that Serling failed to report her employment income, her marriage, and the income of her spouse – all of which she was required to report to HRA. The investigation also found that Serling used two different Social Security numbers and she misrepresented her residence to obtain $52,646 in rental benefits through a NYCHA program. 

“For years, this individual stole tens of thousands of dollars intended for actual New Yorkers truly in need by lying about her residence, employment and more,” said Inspector General Tagliafierro. “She must repay the funds and give up her NYCHA address as part of her plea. We will continue to hold individuals who steal benefits from these important safety net programs accountable for their actions.” 

Inspector General Tagliafierro thanked the New York City Department of Investigation’s Inspector General for NYCHA for partnering on the investigation, the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office for prosecuting the case and the Social Security Administration, NYCHA and HRA for assisting in the investigation.

Governor Hochul Announces Appointments to the Joint Commission on Public Ethics

 

The Honorable C. Randall Hinrichs to Serve on Commission and Commissioner James E. Dering to Serve as Acting Chair

Begins Process to Reform JCOPE and Improve Ethics Oversight in New York State

 Governor Kathy Hochul today announced appointments to the Joint Commission on Public Ethics. The Governor is designating Commissioner James E. Dering to serve as Acting Chair of the Commission and appointing the Honorable C. Randall Hinrichs to serve on the Commission as a Governor's appointee. Governor Hochul also announced she is beginning a process to review and reform JCOPE, and as part of that process will solicit input from good government groups, legislators, and other stakeholders to improve ethics oversight in New York State. 

"As I said on day one of becoming Governor, I am committed to open, ethical governing that New Yorkers will trust. These appointments are an important first step and reflect the urgency required for the ethics body to conduct its business," Governor Hochul said. "We are committed to instituting bold reforms of JCOPE, which is why my administration will work with legislators, good government groups and the public to reform ethics oversight and ensure that the work of this ethics body is beyond reproach."

James E. Dering will serve as Acting Chair of the Commission. Commissioner Dering is a partner at Garfunkel Wild, P.C. ("GW"), a law firm that focuses on serving the business and legal needs of clients in the health care industry and other areas. Mr. Dering works in GW's Albany, NY office and is a member of the firm's Health Care, Business and Compliance practice groups. Previously, he served as General Counsel of the New York State Department of Health, and formerly was Deputy General Counsel and Director of the Bureau of House Counsel. As General Counsel, he was the chief legal advisor to the Commissioner of Health and oversaw approximately 125 attorneys and staff. Mr. Dering previously served as Bureau Chief of the New York State Attorney General's Health Care Bureau, and held other titles with the Office of the Attorney General. Prior to his government service, Mr. Dering was in private practice for more than 10 years and advised clients in the areas of heath care, insurance, corporate law and litigation. He received his J.D., cum laude, from Albany Law School of Union University and his B.S. in Business Management from Ithaca College.

The Honorable C. Randall Hinrichs has been appointed to the Commission. He previously served as Suffolk County District Administrative Judge. In that capacity he was responsible for the operation of the Suffolk County trial courts, serving the needs of approximately 1.5 million citizens of Suffolk County, and including the oversight of nearly 1,000 employees and more than 70 judges. Prior, Judge Hinrichs served as the Supervising Judge of the Suffolk County Court from April 25, 2008 until his appointment as District Administrative Judge. Before joining the bench, Judge Hinrichs served in the Suffolk County District Attorney's office from March 1982 to December 2001. Judge Hinrichs serves as an Adjunct Professor in the Criminal Justice Program at Suffolk Community College. He has also lectured at the Suffolk County Bar Association, the Suffolk County Criminal Bar Association, and has addressed forums at the Touro Law Center. Judge Hinrichs is a graduate of Bucknell University and the State University of New York at Buffalo Law School. 

EDITOR'S NOTE:

As we have seen Albany is a cesspool of corruption or sexual wants. JCOPE has shown it is unless, and it is the power of the Attorney General who can bring these law breakers to justice. 

P.S. 110 & Phipps Neighborhoods Host Back to School Event

 

P.S. 110 & Phipps Neighborhoods Host Back to School Event 

By Robert Press

On Friday, September 10th, Phipps Neighborhoods and P.S. 110 hosted a Back to School Homecoming event at their campus, located at 580 Crotona Park South in the Bronx. Fun was had by all, with food support packages from FoodStream Network, games and music, as well as backpack and uniforms giveaways. 

"Phipps Neighborhoods is so grateful to have FoodStream help connect families to fresh produce. Just like backpacks and uniforms, nourishing food is an important part of gearing up for back to school, especially this year," said Allison Marino, Director of External Relations at Phipps Neighborhoods & Lead Convener of Bronx Impact, CD6. "FoodStream's network brought us an amazing partnership with The Legacy Center that helped us send 200 families back to school with ingredients for healthy meals. We are excited about the new opportunities the platform will help us make possible for our community!" 

Other partners that joined in on the back to school fun included the New York Public Library, Rethink Food, Spreading The Love Worldwide, Osbourne and Frankie's Carnival. Photos of the event are below, thanks to John DeSio, Vice President Risa Heller Communications. Click on the images to make them larger.

MAYOR DE BLASIO UNVEILS EMERGENCY RIKERS RELIEF PLAN

 

Mayor Bill de Blasio today signed an emergency order to execute the Emergency Rikers Relief Plan, a five-point plan to address challenges on Rikers Island. In addition to the plan of City actions, the Mayor also called for action across the justice system, including immediately calendaring 500 court cases and enacting the Less is More Act.

 

“New York City will take any action necessary to keep everyone safe throughout the justice system. These reforms will do just that – both by taking immediate steps to put officers back on duty, and by making deeper reforms to reduce the number of incarcerated New Yorkers,” said Mayor Bill de Blasio. “We will uphold our obligation to provide a safe, clean environment on Rikers Island while pivoting to a fairer and more humane justice system.”

 

The mayor’s five-point plan includes:

1. Adjust staffing at courts by shifting NYPD to help operate courts, allowing some Department of Correction (DOC) staff to shift back to duty on Rikers.
2. Toughen accountability for AWOL staffers with 30-day suspensions for Correction officers who do not show up to a post.
3. Expand medical evaluation capacity for staff with additional medical providers to evaluate DOC officers for duty.
4. Engage in emergency contracting to quickly repair broken doors, clean facilities more efficiently, distribute commissary more quickly, scan mail onto tablets to reduce drugs entering facilities, and more.
5. Speed intake to reduce crowding with a goal of moving people through the intake process in 24 hours or fewer. Two currently closed clinic spaces will be opened to allow greater capacity.  

 

The mayor also called for actions across the justice system in the following areas:

• Enacting the Less is More Act
• Speeding up transfers out of Rikers into State-operated locations in five days or less
• Calendaring 500 court cases immediately out of the 5,000 people on Rikers Island in pre-trial, including over 1,500 people have been held for over one year
• Encouraging judges to use supervised release for non-violent offenders, instead of pre-trial detention at Rikers.

Van Nest Neighborhood Alliance holds In Person September Meeting

 

With the first day of in person school over, the Van Nest Neighborhood Alliance held its first in person meeting in over a year. The agenda was getting to know the new councilman for the 15th City Council District Oswald Feliz, and the councilman's challenger in the November election Ariel Rivera. 

VNNA Chair Bernadette Ferrera opened the meeting by welcoming everyone back to the first in person meeting in over a year, She introduced her Executive Board sitting up front, and then introduced Assemblywoman Nathalia Fernandez. Assemblywoman Fernandez gave a review of what went on in the recent special session of the legislature called by new Governor Kathy Hochul. She said that the eviction moratorium has been extended to January 15, 2022, and if tenants need help to get Rent Relief her office her office will work to get the needed help. Her office is open Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday, and the office is open remotely on Monday and Friday. If anyone needs help with Flood problems they should call Mr. Jerome Williams of FEMA at 256-454-6461. She also mentioned that she will be taking part in a clean up with the Friends of Pelham Parkway on September 25th from 2 - 4 PM on the South Parkway at Wallace Avenue. She ended by saying that the state owes Nine Billion Dollars to the federal government for loans given to the state.

Incumbent 15th City Councilman Oswald Feliz was next to talk about his short tenure in the council. Councilman Feliz said that he was first elected in a special election that took place in March, but because of Rank Choice voting the results were not official until one month later in April. He said that he has brought fifteen million dollars to the district already, 4.5 million for NYCHA upgrades, 4 million for schools, and 4 million for parks. He added that the mayor has committed to .5 million dollars to renovate Poe Park to add more green space, and get rid of asphalt and concrete. Also he expects from the speaker 3.5 million to redesign the MS 45 playground. He then spoke of a garbage problem in the district, putting cameras where the illegal dumping is going on, he continued funding to the Wildcat clean up crew, and that some newer state laws need to be modified.  

Councilman Feliz's opponent in November spoke next, introducing himself. Ariel Rivera said that he is twenty-two years old, ran for assembly at age eighteen, and currently works at the Board of Elections. He spoke of a housing crisis, and that he wants to use more section 8 vouchers in the NYCHA buildings. Hazel Nura then spoke about NIDC, a housing advocacy organization which helps not only tennants, but landlords oust bad tenants. A representative from Assemblywoman Karines Reyes spoke, and it was said that October 23rd will be the Annual Van Nest Fall Festival in Van Nest Park from 12 - 4 PM. The meeting was then adjourned.

Assemblywoman Nathalia Fernandez takes a question as VNNA board members (L-R) John Messinger, Bernadette Ferrera, and Sharlene Jackson-Mendez look on.

Incumbent 15th City Councilman Oswald Feliz talks of his accomplishments in just a few short months.

15th City Council candidate Ariel Rivera talks about his candidacy for the city council.

VNNA Executive Board, (L-R) John Messinger, Bernadette Ferrera, and Sharlene Jackson-Mendez, Bob Nolan, and Marion Manfredi.

Attorney General James Shuts Down Virtual Currency Trading Platform and Stops Cryptocurrency CEO From Continuing Fraudulent Conduct

 

Coinseed Put Thousands of Investors’ Money at Risk Despite Ongoing Lawsuit

 New York Attorney General Letitia James today secured a judgment against the virtual currency trading platform Coinseed, as well as founder and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Delgerdalai Davaasambuu, that permanently halts their illegal and fraudulent operations and puts in place a permanent receiver to protect investors’ funds. The receiver has also taken control of the company’s website so that it may no longer be used as part of the defendants’ fraudulent schemes. Additionally, the court awarded a $3 million judgment against the defendants. In February, Attorney General James filed a lawsuit against Coinseed and its CEO for defrauding thousands of investors across the nation out of millions of dollars. In the months since the suit was filed, Coinseed and its CEO have continued their fraud and commenced additional fraudulent conduct by trading in investors’ accounts without permission and then blocking investors from accessing those accounts.

In June, the New York County State Supreme Court granted Attorney General James’ motion for a preliminary injunction and the appointment of a temporary, court-appointed receiver with special powers to safeguard investments already made on the trading platform. Coinseed and its CEO defied that preliminary injunction by creating, offering, and selling a new virtual currency — including to New York investors — and failed to respond to Attorney General James’ complaint. 

“For years, Coinseed and its CEO have engaged in egregious and fraudulent activities that have cheated investors out of millions,” said Attorney General James. “In defiance of court orders, this company has continued to operate illegally and unethically, holding investors’ funds hostage and underscoring the dangers of investing in unregistered virtual currencies. We will continue to pursue all who attempt to abuse and manipulate the system and ensure investors are protected.”

Since Attorney General James filed this lawsuit, the Office of the Attorney General received more than 175 complaints from investors who were concerned about protecting their assets due to Coinseed’s fraudulent conduct. The judgment secured by Attorney General James today permanently appoints the court receiver to obtain, safeguard, and return all assets invested and traded through Coinseed and orders a money judgment against the defendants in the amount of $3,061,511, both together and separately. Investors who are victims of Coinseed’s fraud should contact the court-appointed receiver at CoinseedReceiver@crowell.com to obtain information about their ability to request funds.