Los Angeles Criminal Defense Attorney Blog

If you or someone you care about was recently arrested or investigated for a crime like Southern California Medicare/Medi-Cal fraud, your life has been topsy-turvy.

The penalties associated with your charges could include substantial jail time and forced reparations. You could also lose your dental, medical, or chiropractic license. On top of that, a seemingly endless array of ripple effects could haunt you: e.g. loss of your professional reputation, loss of respect from your family members and peers, financial problems, etc.

Perhaps the most frustrating thing about being tagged for Los Angeles Medicare fraud (or Southern California credit card fraud, Los Angeles insurance fraud, or other so-called white-collar crimes) is the self-recrimination that often follows.

When most people read stories about Medicare fraud, they immediately jump to conclusions. A suspect may be deemed a “reprehensible person” or someone who “just doesn’t care” about sick people. If you are a defendant, you’d like to be seen in a more compassionate light, even if what you did, in retrospect, was not aligned with your fundamental values.

Because of this dissonance – you did something that violated your own values and principles – you may feel tremendous guilt on top of everything else. This pain can be uncomfortable and chronic, and may challenge you long after the fact.

Remedy the situation. First of all, become aware of your feelings about what happened. If you repress your feelings and thoughts about the event – the alleged crime, the arrest, everything that followed – you will never be able to learn from it and grow, and you may even compromise your ability to build a solid defense.

As any respected Southern California Medicare fraud attorney will tell you, the first step in any kind of legal defense is to assess reality. It’s less important to assess blame, guilt, wrongness, etc. It’s far more useful to discuss what happened; what motivated you to do it; why you became involved in the first place; and why you didn’t stop even after seeing warning signs.

Only with these answers can you begin to construct the most appropriate response to your legal situation. Connect with the team at the Kraut Law Group. Los Angeles criminal defense attorney Michael Kraut is an experienced former prosecutor who has the track record, compassion, strategic vision, and connections to help people charged with a complicated white-collar crime, like Medicare fraud.

Every driver in the valley is somewhat sensitized to the dangers of driving under the influence in Glendale, etc.

But if you are a parent, you’re probably especially aware of vulnerabilities that you and your kids face on freeways and even surface streets. That’s why so many people here in the Southland – especially parents – were alarmed by a story out last week out of New Jersey. According to USA Today, a 46-year-old bus driver, Carole Crockett was arrested last Monday afternoon, after she drove 25 children to Westhampton Middle School in NJ while intoxicated.

How “under the influence” exactly was Crockett?

According to newspaper reports, the bus driver blew a blood alcohol level of 0.25% – to put that in perspective, that’s more than three times the legal limit for Glendale DUI, as defined by California Vehicle Code Section 23152. (Indeed, the 0.08% threshold is the national standard, according to the Highway Safety Research and Communications organization.)

How, exactly, did this bus driver DUI situation transpire? Here's a quote from the Washington Post’s blog: “children in a school bus in New Jersey called their parents to say the driver was swerving and falling asleep behind the wheel. The parents called the Westhampton Middle School, which alerted police. Officers found Carole Crockett at Holly Hills High School trying to pick up more students.”

These extra details create new cause for consternation.

Number one: why did the bus driver continue to try to pick up students, after she was falling asleep behind the wheel? That’s terrifying.

Number two: how could any parent have known and thus prepared against such a contingency? The answer is: not even the most prepared parent could.

Per the Post, 46-year-old Crockett “faces 25 counts of driving under the influence with a minor and child endangerment.”

Obviously, most people react in a shock horror to stories about Glendale DUI school bus accidents and the like. But the reality is, any time you drive under the influence of alcohol, drugs, or even prescription medications, you potentially put not only your own life but also the lives of others in serious danger.

For help understanding your rights and responsibilities, connect with an experienced Glendale DUI criminal defense attorney, such as Glendale’s Kraut Law Group (450 North Brand Boulevard, Suite 600, Glendale, California 91203 Phone: (818) 507-9123). Michael Kraut is a former city prosecutor with a wealth of experience, deep connections with the legal community, and a reputation not only for stellar performance but also for passionate and powerful service.

Continue reading " Every Parent’s Worst Glendale DUI Nightmare: What If You Kid’s School Bus Driver Had a BAC of 0.25%?? " »

So much happened last week in Los Angeles criminal defense news. Yet one story dominated the headlines and even momentarily distracted the populous from the sad but ever-developing story of Lindsay Lohan’s DUI/probation violation/grand theft/morgue duty skipping/playboy stripping saga.

Let’s quickly recap some of the “big events” in the Murray-Jackson saga from last week. Last Monday, 12 jurors found the 58-year old doctor guilty of involuntary manslaughter, just days after pop icon Michael Jackson's physician appeared on The Today Show. Sentencing has been set for November 28th.

But that wasn’t the end of the drama!

• A medical imaging company has sued the doctor for nearly $150,000 dollars.
• Different jurors have begun telling their stories to the media. One juror confided to the New York Daily News that “she voted to convict (Murray) because he made a covert phone call to Michael Jackson’s handlers rather than dialing 911 first."
• Another juror went on Good Morning America and said that she convicted the doctor “because she believes Michael Jackson would be alive today if it had not been for the doctor… 'Conrad Murray did it.'”
• Dr. Murray was placed on suicide watch.

And that wasn’t even the end of all the drama.

NBC aired a documentary, “Michael Jackson and a doctor – a fatal friendship,” which retold the Murray story from the doctor's perspective. October Films, a production company from England, followed the doctor through his trial. Michael Jackson’s family was hugely critical of the filmmakers, whom some alleged contributed significant money to the doctor’s legal defense.

All in all, it’s clearly a huge, complicated mess – just the kind of story about Los Angeles crime that the media loves and the populous eats up.

But aside from the distraction value, is there anything actionable that we can learn from all this hoopla? In other words, if you or someone you care about was recently arrested in the Southland for Los Angeles Medicare fraud, insurance fraud in Southern California, Los Angeles healthcare fraud, etc, can you learn anything substantial from Murray’s defense (or lack thereof) and the way that the trial was covered?

Obviously, Dr. Murray’s criminal situation – his charges, his relationship with the most famous singer of all time, etc – colored his case and made the situation unique. However, the rapidly evolving and difficult situations that Murray found himself in can give us insight. His legal situation quickly became chaotic as events unfolded. This can be normal. No matter how carefully you plan your defense, surprises can happen, often when you least want or expect them.

That’s why it’s so important to choose a legal representative who will be there for you, fighting for you, and making the most precise, strategic and effective moves.

Los Angeles criminal defense attorney Michael Kraut of the Kraut Law Group (6255 Sunset Boulevard, Suite 915, Los Angeles, California 90028) can help you. Mr. Kraut is a Harvard Law School educated former prosecutor with terrific reputation and a fantastic track record at jury trials.

Last Sunday, 25-year-old Semhar Tadesse was arrested for DUI after allegedly blowing through a red light. Blogs and major media who cover stories like celebrity DUI in Long Beach (and elsewhere in the Southland) reported that the former “Survivor” contestant blew a BAC reading of 0.14% -- nearly twice the limit for Long Beach DUI, pursuant to California Vehicle Code Section 23152(b).

A KTLA report said that Tadesse was arrested on the spot, after law enforcement officials smelled alcohol on her breath and tested her to have a 0.14% BAC. The reality star was released from jail after posting a $5,000 bail.

A TMZ.com report on the arrest reveals more details: “Sources close to Semhar tell (TMZ.com), she was unable to walk in a straight line because of a foot injury – but the reality star is still accepting responsibility and feels extremely disappointed in herself… especially after losing a close friend to drunk driving in the past.”

If Tadesse understood on a deep and personal level that driving under the influence in Long Beach (or elsewhere) would be so dangerous, then why did she ignore her “better angels” and get behind the wheel? Not only did she test her limits, but she also allegedly drove through a red light.

One can only speculate here. However, this question is certainly germane. Too often, we are quick to judge someone as "guilty" or "not-guilty" – or as a “good” or “horrendous” driver. In reality, our driving skills – and our moral reasoning abilities – depend intimately on circumstances and specifics. The decisions that Tadesse made (or failed to make) need to be understood in the context of her life and story. Since we do not have access to those details, it’s difficult for anyone to objectively and systematically understand the lapse in judgment and thinking that went on.

This point is critical, and it is why, if you or someone you care about has been arrested for driving under the influence at Long Beach, you might benefit tremendously from the counsel of an experienced Long Beach criminal defense attorney, like Michael Kraut of the Kraut Law Group (444 West Ocean, Suite 800 Long Beach, California 90802 Phone: (562) 531-7454).

A good attorney can dig beneath the details of your arrest to uncover legal tactics and strategies to minimize your penalties and maximize your chances of getting back on the road (safely). He or she can also work with you to help you understand the fundamental misjudgments or dangerous beliefs that led you into legal trouble in the first place.

Attorney Kraut is a Harvard Law School educated former Deputy District Attorney for Los Angeles. He has won the respect of judges and legal peers and has a spectacular success rate at jury trials.

According to a October 28th report in Los Angeles Times, 17 people, including a pharmacist and physician, have been accused of Medicare and Medi-Cal fraud for participating in a sophisticated psychiatric drug recycling ring that bilked benefits programs out of millions of dollars and compelled the government to pay multiple times for the same stolen pills.

Apparently, so-called “runners” in the ring would obtain Medicare beneficiary cards illegally, either by buying them outright from Medicare and Medi-Cal recipients or by stealing them. Then they would use these cards to obtain prescriptions for expensive antipsychotic agents, like Zyprexa and Seroquel. According to q criminal complaint filed in U.S. District Court in Los Angeles last Thursday, the scam was sophisticated, intertwined, and quite organized.

After the runners filled the prescriptions and billed for them, they would then funnel the drugs back to the pharmacies that provided the drugs in the first place. Those pharmacies would then repackage, re-label and dispense the drugs, often to ring members using stolen Medicare cards.

17 defendants have been accused of bilking Medicaid and Medi-Cal of $7.3 million. (Medicare officials suggest that the loss to the program may significantly exceed the $7.3 million figure.) A Deputy Administrator for the Medicare program, Peter Budnetti, told the Los Angeles Times; "this is organized. The allegations… speak to much broader kind of activities that sweeps a lot of people into it.”

Regular readers of this Los Angeles white collar crime blog might recognize that this story in many ways “rhymes” with other stories that we’ve covered about Los Angeles Medicare fraud, Los Angeles identity theft, and Southern California credit card fraud.

Why are the same kinds of cases iterating themselves? What's driving the trend?

Perhaps the structure of the Medicare program itself is to blame. Some policy analysts blame the complicated and loophole filed Medicare Part D prescription drug benefit portion of the Medicare program for creating “low hanging fruit” for fraudsters and scam artists.

In any event, if you or someone you care about has been arrested on similar Medicare or Medi-Cal fraud charges, the team at the Kraut Law Group can help. Michael Kraut is an experienced former prosecutor who has a Harvard Law School education and close connections with local prosecutors. He has the wherewithal, resources, and sophisticated understanding of the prosecutorial system to get you positive results.