A medical doctor, a clinic owner and four nurses, all South Florida residents, pleaded guilty today before U.S. District Judge Adalberto Jordan in U.S. District Court in Miami for their participation in a fraudulent Medicare home health care scheme, the Departments of Justice and Health and Human Services (HHS) announced.

Juan Javier Cardenas of Miami pleaded guilty today to one count of conspiracy to traffic in and possess unauthorized credit card numbers with intent to defraud, and one count of trafficking in unauthorized credit card numbers, announced Assistant Attorney General Lanny A. Breuer of the Criminal Division; U.S. Attorney Wifredo A. Ferrer for the Southern District of Florida; Special Agent in Charge Michael K. Fithen of the U.S. Secret Service, Miami Field Office; and Special Agent in Charge Kenneth T. Jenkins Jr., of the U.S. Secret Service, Criminal Investigative Division.

Polar Air Cargo LLC has agreed to plead guilty and to pay a $17.4 million criminal fine for its role in a conspiracy to fix prices in the air transportation industry.

Willoughby Farr of West Palm Beach, Fla., has been sentenced to 262 months in prison and three years of supervised release for perpetrating a “cramming scheme,” which was designed to place charges on consumers’ telephone bills for collect calls that were not made.

Flor Crisologo, 58, pleaded guilty before Magistrate Judge Barry L. Garber in U.S. District Court in Miami to one count of conspiracy to commit health care fraud.

A Raleigh, N.C., real estate speculator pleaded guilty to conspiring to rig bids for public real estate foreclosure auctions held in multiple counties in eastern North Carolina.

Cesar Carranza, a resident of Long Beach, Calif., was sentenced today to 72 months in prison for his role in laundering $2.5 million dollars in proceeds derived from several stolen credit card information schemes.

An Atlanta grand jury returned an indictment today against an executive of Martinair Holland N.V. for participating in a conspiracy to fix and coordinate certain surcharges on air cargo shipments to and from the United States.

Boris Sachakov, M.D., was arrested today in Brooklyn, N.Y., and charged in connection with a scheme to defraud Medicare and numerous other health care benefit programs of at least $3.5 million.

Three individuals pleaded guilty today in connection with a Medicare fraud scheme operated out of a Houston-area durable medical equipment (DME) company.

Three Miami-area residents were sentenced to prison today for their participation in a $22 million Medicare fraud scheme operated through two Miami home health agencies, ABC Home Health Care Inc. and Florida Home Health Care Providers Inc.

China Airlines Ltd. has agreed to plead guilty and to pay a $40 million criminal fine for its role in a conspiracy to fix prices in the air transportation industry.

An owner of two Houston health care companies pleaded guilty today in connection with a $6.3 million Medicare fraud scheme, announced the Departments of Justice and Health and Human Services (HHS).

The Department of Justice announced today that it filed a civil antitrust lawsuit in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York challenging rules that American Express, MasterCard and Visa have in place that prevent merchants from offering consumers discounts, rewards and information about card costs, ultimately resulting in consumers paying more for their purchases.

A New Orleans-area medical doctor and the owner and operator of a medical equipment company each pleaded guilty today for their roles in a Baton Rouge-area durable medical equipment (DME) health care fraud scheme.

The owner and operator of a Los Angeles durable medical equipment company was sentenced to 46 months in prison in connection with a power wheelchair scheme to defraud Medicare.

"Today, the Department of Justice, along with seven state attorneys general, filed a civil antitrust lawsuit in the Eastern District of New York challenging rules that Visa, MasterCard and American Express have put in place that prevent merchants from providing discounts to consumers."

Jay Lee (aka Michael Smith; John Marks; Ricky Marks; and Anthony Romero) was sentenced today in connection with an odometer tampering scheme that defrauded numerous victims in Wyoming, Colorado and other places, the Justice Department announced.

Princewill Njoku, 51, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Court Judge Gray Miller in Houston to conspiracy to commit health care fraud.

Seventy-three defendants, including a number of alleged members and associates of an Armenian-American organized crime enterprise, were charged in indictments unsealed today in five judicial districts with various health care fraud-related crimes involving more than $163 million in fraudulent billing.

The United States has sued a Bryson City, N.C., tax return preparer seeking to bar her and her company from preparing federal tax returns for others.

A McCormick, S.C., tax return preparer pleaded guilty today to two counts of aiding and assisting in the preparation of false tax returns.

Seven additional Houston-area residents who allegedly served as patient recruiters and a nurse have been charged for their alleged participation in a $5 million Medicare home healthcare fraud scheme.

"This morning, we filed a civil antitrust lawsuit in U.S. District Court in Michigan against Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan alleging that provisions in their agreements with hospitals stifle competition, resulting in higher health insurance prices for consumers in Michigan," said Assistant Attorney General Varney.

The Justice Department today announced that it has reached a settlement agreement with Catholic Healthcare West (CHW) to resolve allegations that CHW engaged in a pattern or practice of citizenship status discrimination by imposing unnecessary and discriminatory hurdles to employment for work-authorized individuals.

Rodney K. Justin, a medical doctor from Woodleaf, N.C., was sentenced to three years in prison and ordered to pay over $600,000 in restitution to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) for obstructing the internal revenue laws and for failing to file tax returns for several years.

Two Miami health care companies and four owners and senior managers of the companies were indicted today for their alleged participation in a fraud scheme involving approximately $200 million in Medicare billing for purported mental health services.

Cynthia Garza-Williams, 49, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit health care fraud before U.S. District Court Judge Nancy Atlas in Houston.

"Today’s charges mark the first time that HEAT’s Medicare Fraud Strike Force has indicted a corporate entity for Medicare fraud," said Assistant Attorney General Breuer.

"In addition to the arrests and criminal charges that Assistant Attorney General Breuer announced, we are also announcing that we have obtained a Temporary Restraining Order freezing the assets of four corporate entities," said Assistant Attorney General West.

Brooklyn-area resident Yefim Drakhler pleaded guilty today in U.S. District Court in Brooklyn for his participation in a Medicare fraud scheme operated out of the Solstice Wellness Center, a Brooklyn-area clinic purportedly providing physical therapy and various diagnostic services.

A patient recruiter who sold the personal information of Medicare beneficiaries from San Diego and Los Angeles to fraudulent Los Angeles medical clinics and durable medical equipment (DME) companies was sentenced late yesterday to 21 months in prison in connection with a scheme to defraud Medicare.

A patient recruiter for a Houston-based home health care company pleaded guilty today in connection with a $5.2 million Medicare fraud scheme.

A Miami grand jury returned an indictment today against two executives of Cargolux Airlines International S.A., a Luxembourg-based corporation, for participating in a conspiracy to fix and coordinate certain surcharges on air cargo shipments to and from the United States.

A Miami grand jury returned an indictment today against four former airline executives of competing air cargo carriers for participating in a conspiracy to fix surcharges on air cargo shipments from the United States to South and Central America following Hurricanes Katrina and Rita.

All Nippon Airways Co. Ltd. (ANA) has agreed to plead guilty and to pay a $73 million criminal fine for its role in two separate conspiracies to fix prices in the air transportation industry.

Oddie Tribble, a former police officer with the Kershaw County, S.C., Sherriff’s Office, was charged today with violating the civil rights of an arrestee on Aug. 5, 2010.

Today, Department of Justice Attorney General Eric Holder and Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Kathleen Sebelius visited Brooklyn, N.Y., where they participated in the third Regional Health Care Fraud Prevention Summit.

The Justice Department reached a settlement agreement with the University of South Carolina to resolve an investigation into the university’s policies and procedures related to discrimination and harassment.

An Atlanta grand jury returned an indictment today against a former executive of Japan Airlines International Co. Ltd. (JAL) and two former executives of Nippon Cargo Airlines Co. Ltd. for participating in a conspiracy to fix and coordinate components of rates for air cargo shipments to and from the United States.

Juan Javier Cardenas of Miami was sentenced today in the Southern District of Florida to 121 months in prison for buying, trafficking and possessing stolen credit card information.

Jose Garcia, 55, was sentenced today in U.S. District Court in Miami to 57 months in prison for his participation in a Medicare fraud scheme involving a Miami-area HIV clinic.

On Monday, after a one-week trial in federal court in Los Angeles, a jury found Donna K. Wells, 52, guilty of one count of health care fraud.

Dr. Walter Janke, his wife, Lalita Janke, and Vero Beach, Fla.-based Medical Resources L.L.C. have agreed to pay $22.6 million to resolve allegations that they caused Medicare to pay inflated amounts based upon the submission of false diagnosis codes.

The Department of Justice Federal Bureau of Prisons today implemented a key provision of the Tribal Law and Order Act of 2010 by launching a four-year pilot program to begin accepting certain tribal offenders sentenced in tribal courts for placement in Bureau of Prisons institutions.

Singapore Airlines Cargo Pte Ltd. has agreed to plead guilty and to pay a $48 million criminal fine for its role in a conspiracy to fix prices in the air transportation industry.

On March 1, 2010, Linda Eteimo Ere Kendabie, 29, of Nigeria, pleaded guilty to conspiring to commit health care fraud.

Houston-area residents Oliver Nkuku and Callistus Edozie were sentenced to 120 months in prison and 41 months in prison, respectively, for their roles in a durable medical equipment (DME) Medicare fraud scheme.

A one-count indictment was returned late yesterday in U.S. District Court in Miami charging Miami-based Florida West International Airways Inc., one of its former executives and two executives of a competing air cargo carrier with participating in a conspiracy to fix and coordinate certain components of air cargo shipments from Colombia to Miami.

Four Detroit-area residents were arrested today by federal agents from the Department of Health and Human Services, Office of the Inspector General (HHS-OIG) and FBI as part of an ongoing investigation into a $14.5 million home health care fraud scheme, announced the Departments of Justice and HHS.