Los Angeles Criminal Defense Attorney Blog

On this blog, we talk a lot about why doctors, chiropractors, dentists, and others commit Los Angeles Medicare fraud. What drives them, psychologically, socially, and societally?

We also talk about what these defendants should do, how to grapple with the situation, etc. But let's take time to change perspective and consider the role of family members. If you are the spouse or child of someone charged with any Southern California white crime, such as credit card fraud, insurance fraud, identity theft, etc., you may feel mixed emotions about what's going on.

• On the one hand, perhaps you are shocked by the news of the arrest or investigation – you had no idea.
• Perhaps you knew that something “fishy” was going on, so you are not surprised, but you’re deeply disappointed and scared.
• Perhaps you played a small, non-negligible role in the fraud, and you are scared about what might happen to you.
• In any case, you are worried about the ultimate consequences, not only for your loved ones, but also for your life, future, financers, and reputation.

So what's the solution in this drama? How do you go about reconstructing your life, getting at the truth, and dealing with a cascade of revelations?

According to productivity guru David Allen, it’s never a bad idea to begin recalibrating by assessing “what's true now” in your world. Rather than spend time ruminating about what life was like before the Los Angeles Medicare fraud charges, spend some time identifying what's true in your world. What are all the things that are pulling on your attention? Once you have those categorized, you can then process, organize, and review them per Allen’s methodology.

Getting clarity about what's true is an essential first step. The next step is to gain clarity on where you would like to go. What you would like to be true, given your currently reality?

It’s best to find resources and mentors to help you through this process. An experienced Southern California Medicare fraud attorney, like Michael Kraut of the Kraut Law Group, can help you make sense of the chaos in your life and steer you in a positive direction.

This blog is not the only blog on the web to voice serious concerns over Los Angeles Medicare fraud investigative practices.

Indeed, it’s common knowledge that both state and federal efforts to identify, track, and thwart Southern California white collar crimes, like Los Angeles’ insurance fraud, credit card fraud, healthcare fraud and the like are stymied by bad processes and systems. It's a fiasco: there are problems with method, investigators who are not incentivized correctly, evidentiary mistakes, etc. Outsiders introduced to the system often blanch at just how out of control things seem to be.

Last week, an AP article crystallized the frustrations many people out there in the Los Angeles criminal defense community have been feeling:

“Contractors pay tens of millions of taxpayer dollars to detect fraudulent Medicare claims using inaccurate and inconsistent data that makes it extremely difficult to catch bogus bills submitted by crooks, according to an Inspector General’s report released Monday.

Medicare's contractor system has morphed into a complicated labyrinth, with one set of contractors paying claims and another combing through those claims in an effort to stop an estimated $60 billion a year in fraud. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Inspector General's report… found repeated problems among fraud contractors over a decade and systemic failures by federal health officials to adequately supervise them.”

This is huge. Huge.

Consider: $60 billion a year in fraud is not exactly chump change, especially in our current economic climate, where monumental political battles are waged over sums one-thousandth that amount.

The system to police and enforce antifraud rules seems broken. When healthcare fraud experts, such as Harvard University’s Malcolm Sparrow, say things like this – “Very few private contractors have financial incentives which are genuinely linked to protection of public funds” – how are we supposed to make progress, clean up the mess, deter fraud, punish wrongdoers appropriately while simultaneously protecting their rights and get them rehabilitated quickly?

Most people will read blog posts like this and just shake their heads at the chaos of it all. But what if you are someone who has been charged with a crime, like Los Angeles Medicare fraud, and you know (or at least you believe) that the charges against you are either blatantly unfair or at least trumped up and inappropriate?

With the investigative situation so out of control, how can you ensure that you are protected from arbitrary judgments that could destroy your medical, dental, or chiropractic career and lead to jail time, unimaginable fees and fines, and other long-term stresses?

Connect immediately with an attorney at the Kraut Law Group to discuss your Los Angeles Medicare fraud charges. Attorney Michael Kraut built a reputation as one of LA county’s toughest prosecutors when he worked in the Deputy District Attorney’s Office (14 plus years); as a Los Angeles Criminal Defense Attorney, he has proven himself to be a powerful, effective, and passionate champion for those who have been unjustly or unfairly charged.

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.

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.

Last Thursday, 14 people were indicted on federal charges of Los Angeles Medicare fraud, after billing Medical and Medicare for over $6 million in medical services that were either never performed or completely unnecessary.

The five-count indictment is against Lake Medical Group (based here in LA). The scam artists allegedly bilked insurance companies out of over $2.7 million in Oxycontin-related sub-scam. According to a Thursday report in the San Francisco Chronicle, so far 10 people have either surrendered or been placed under arrest. Pharmacist Theodore Yoon, as well as two doctors – Dr. Morris Halfon and Dr. Eleanor Santiago – were among those who allegedly conceived of and perpetuated this Los Angeles Medicare scam.

Here are the gory details, courtesy the San Francisco Chronicle article: "Investigators said the scam between August 2008 and February 2010 involved the clinic using recruiters known as “cappers” who brought in Medicare and Medical patients who were often issued a prescription for Oxycontin. They were offered up to $500 to get the prescriptions filled… Runners took the patients to pharmacies, including some run by Yoon… the clinic’s administrator was given the pills that were then sold on the street for roughly $25 a piece [the pills usually sell for around $6 each].”

In 2009, members of the scam sold 2,000 Oxycontin pills to a confidential informant. Prosecutors alleged that approximately 900,000 Oxycontin pills might have been diverted into the scam.

Here is another interesting line from the article: “The clinic and some of its staff also are accused of generating prescriptions for people whose identities were stolen and never made a visit.” The so-called “runners” were vital conduits for getting the Oxycontin into the black market.

Obviously, there are multiple aspects of the story that are viscerally disturbing. Our state faces a fiscal crisis, our entitlement systems could be charitably described as “in tatters” and we have more than enough people already addicted to painkillers and other narcotics.

All that said, it’s important not to rush to judgment here.

If you've recently been charged with a Southern California white collar crime, like Los Angeles credit card fraud or Pasadena insurance fraud, you deserve a fair, comprehensive, and strategic defense. Moreover, even if you did participate in a scheme or conspiracy, the actions you take from this point forward can profoundly affect not only your potential sentencing but also your ability to practice medicine and your professional reputation.

In other words, even if the charges you face are extremely serious – and jail time seems inevitable at this point – don’t abandon hope. Los Angeles’ Kraut Law Group can provide a systematic, clear, and compassionate assessment of your defensive resources and help you identify precisely what you need to do (and perhaps more importantly, what you should NOT do) to pick up the pieces of your life and put them back together again.

The Obama administration and California state officials are passionately bent on stamping out Southern California Medicare/Medical fraud, and their quest makes a good deal of sense.

Our national and state coffers are challenged by a sluggish economy that shows no signs of long-term stabilization, and the California state budget debacles have made the Golden State something of a laughing stock.

Stories in the news about doctors, dentists, chiropractors, and other health care providers perpetrating schemes to defraud public programs out of much-needed funds have awakened righteous ire, not only in public officials but also in the public at large. The search for justice is understandable, at least from a psychological perspective, but the passion can be dangerous.

As our public officials attempt to destroy Southern California Medicare fraud and punish perpetrators, they might arrest innocent people, hold certain people responsible who really shouldn’t be, and do a lot of posturing without making any real progress on the root causes of our fiscal or Medicare program problems.

Pundits, analysts, and news commentators might do well to step back and spend less time thinking about the right solution to Southern California healthcare fraud, insurance fraud, credit card fraud, and identity theft fraud and instead attend to the bigger picture:

What drives people to commit these crimes? Why now? Why here? Why under XYZ circumstances?

Crimes are never motivated arbitrarily. There are always root drivers. And until we can figure those out – perform a collective brainstorming session – our solutions for Medicare fraud are going to fall short of the mark, sweep up innocents into the dragnet, and lead to outrageous and ultimately ineffectual punishments that might make prosecutors feel good but ultimately won’t relieve the burden on the public.

Having said all that, it’s a huge challenge to identify these root drivers.

For instance, officials are going after more people for Medicare fraud than they have in the past. More crimes are being committed. But why? Maybe the spike is just an artifact of how the problem is framed. More money is going into the medical system than ever -- perhaps this “bigger pot” is simply attracting more attention from criminals.

In other words, the root cause may not be that criminals have somehow gotten smarter or developed better schemes. Rather, maybe there is just more potential money to steal, so people who might have attempted different criminal schemes are becoming more attracted to Medicare schemes because of the bigger payoff.

This is obviously speculation. But it goes to show how complicated the underlying issues and causes are.

All theorizing aside, if you are a defendant or someone close to a defendant, you need actionable, practical advice about how to protect your rights and build the best defense. Los Angeles white collar criminal defense attorney Michael Kraut can answer your questions and help you feel more in control of your life and case.

Crimes like Los Angeles Medicare, Medical, and Medicaid fraud are serious and scary for defendants. But the details often make for dry, complicated reading.

Readers interested in pulpy, tabloid-like Southern California medical crimes might be more galvanized by an amazing revelation in the trial of Michael Jackson’s erstwhile doctor, Conrad Murray.

According to a report from the UK paper, The Mirror, the transcript of a witness statement “revealed that the doctor [Conrad Murray] stood in front of a lifeless Jacko in the singer's bedroom and claimed: "He doesn’t have a problem. He is fine. He was practicing all night. I am just treating him for dehydration.""

Wow.

The paramedic (Senneff) was the first person on the scene after Jackson’s overdose who was not affiliated in some way with the King of Pop. He “believed the doctor lied to him about what drugs he had given Jacko.” During Murray’s Supreme Court trial here in Los Angeles, the paramedic's words will be parsed very carefully. Prosecutors hope that Senneff’s testimony “will show [that Murray] tried to cover his tracks after giving Jacko the anesthetic propofol.”

Murray allegedly denied to Senneff that Jackson had been taking any medication. In his panic, however, the doc admitted seconds later that he had given Jackson lorazepam for his sleeping troubles.

Two other disturbing snippets from Senneff's testimony:

1) Allegedly, Murray attempted to “clear bottles” from Jackson’s room. What might have been in those bottles? Crazy amounts of medication that the star should never have had access to?

2) Senneff found Murray doing CPR on Jackson on his bed, even after the 911 operators told the doctor to move the King of Pop to the floor for CPR.

Murray’s trial promises to be one of the most watched and commented on of the summer/fall. Michael Jackson’s larger-than-life celebrity profile – and the craziness of the allegations against Murray – will inspire unending chatter in the mainstream media and the blogosphere.

Beyond all the hype, however, the Jackson tragedy and Murray’s charges highlight the fact that there are a lot of people out there who need some kind of help (psychological, medical, legal, etc.) who either don’t have access to help or don’t know how to ask for it.

If you or someone you care about has been charged with a crime in Los Angeles, like Los Angeles insurance fraud, theft crimes in Burbank, or another white collar crime in Southern California, former Senior Deputy District Attorney Michael Kraut can help. Attorney Kraut is an experienced criminal defense lawyer with a great track record at jury trials, a Harvard Law School education, and a deep working understanding of how to build and execute great defenses.

Were you or a close family member or friend recently arrested and charged with Los Angeles healthcare fraud? If so, you are not alone.

According to recently released government statistics – thanks to the Obama administration’s efforts, federal healthcare fraud prosecutions spiked more than 85% in 2011 over 2010. The Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse (TRAC) statistics show that the federal government has prosecuted over 900 people so far this year for healthcare fraud. In all of fiscal year 2010, only 731 people were prosecuted across the U.S. The TRAC data suggest that prosecutions have spiked more than 70% from just half a decade ago.

A spokesman for the Justice Department, Alisa Finelli, confirmed the TRAC data analysis: “the trend certainly looks accurate and on track with our data.” Over the past 12 months, the Justice Department has brought out the heavy ammunition to nail executives, nurses, doctors, and other caregivers (e.g. chiropractors, dentists, etc.) for defrauding programs like Medicare and Medicaid. Here are some fraud arrest highlights from 2011:

• 111 people arrested after a Medicare fraud tax force found that they had fraudulently billed Medicare for over $225 million;
• The government paid $300 million to whistleblowers in 2010;
• In January, the FBI went after 533 people in Puerto Rico who worked with doctors to send bogus injury claims to an American family life insurance company – ultimately soaking the company for $7 million. (Courtesy USA Today article "Healthcare fraud prosecutions on pace to rise 85%," sourced August, 29, 2011).
• August 2010 bust of 73 members and coconspirators with the Armenian mafia, who allegedly bilked federal government programs out of over $163 million.

Southern California white-color crimes – be they Los Angeles insurance fraud, Burbank identity theft, Beverly Hills credit card fraud, you name it – carry extremely substantial penalties. Not only could you face many years in prison, forced remuneration, and punitive damages, but you could also face the destruction of your professional reputation, the suspension of your medical license, and long-term indirect catastrophes for your personal life and finances.

Attorney Michael Kraut of the Kraut Law Group provides aggressive, compassionate, and systematic defenses for Southern California white-collar criminal defendants. Attorney Kraut is a former prosecutor who has tremendous experience and success defending people who have been charged with complex and serious white-collar crime charges.

Attorney Kraut actually served as a prosecutor for nearly 15 years, during which time he accumulated a deep understanding of how prosecutors work – and he can use this knowledge and his contacts to help you devise a sensible defense strategy.

Last Tuesday, a jury convicted Pastor Christopher Iruke in a multimillion dollar Los Angeles healthcare fraud case. Iruke, an employee, and Iruke’s wife were nailed on charges of healthcare fraud and conspiracy to commit fraud for devising and carrying out a scam that bilked Medicare for $14 million.

A story last week in the Los Angeles Times painted a vivid picture of Iruke’s last moments before his arrest. As federal authorities zeroed in on his fraud ring, the pastor of a South LA storefront church started to “shove pages upon pages of incriminating evidence into a shredder until the machine overheated. He then stuffed papers into the toilet and tried flushing his problems away…the documents linked him to bogus prescriptions for power wheelchairs for which he billed the government about $6,000 a piece, prosecutors alleged.”

Prosecutors said that the pastor collected about $6.6 million in reimbursements from the false claims (out of $14.2 million in claims filed) and that “the money funded a lavish lifestyle, including several luxury cars, international travel, and about $0.5 million remodeling on his Baldwin Hills home.”

So this story has touched nerves on many levels. First of all, no one likes to read about these blatant cases of South California Medicare fraud, Los Angeles insurance fraud, Burbank identity theft, and the like. Even if you participated in a scam, you recognize that these crimes corrode our social contract.

We also expect clergy members to adhere to a higher moral standard. So when we read about pastors allegedly bilking Medicare out of millions of dollars to furnish their homes, buy fancy cars, and travel abroad, we get righteously riled up.

This kind of ire can be a double-edged sword. Especially if you’ve been falsely accused of a crime like Medicare fraud – or even if you did commit a crime – the fallout can be difficult to manage. People who once trusted you may now scorn you. You might even have trouble relating to friends and family members. The path to redemption (so to speak) may be complicated. But an experienced Los Angeles Medicare fraud defense attorney will help you figure out what to do. Connect with former prosecutor and Harvard Law School-educated lawyer Michael Kraut to get a free, systematic, and strategic evaluation of the possibilities for your defense.

Newsflash: the Southern California Medicare fraud crackdown is real.

The Drug Enforcement Administration, Department of Health and Human Services, FBI, and other organizations are taking dead aim at fraud rings. They want to punish schemers and sending a warning to would-be white collar criminals in Los Angeles: consequences can be dire.

The latest shot across the bow comes out of Detroit. Last week, 26 people were indicted in US District Court. Allegedly, they bilked Medicare and Medicaid out of over $58 million in a fraudulent prescription scheme. The alleged mastermind, Babubhai “Bob” Patel, allegedly purchased a number of local Detroit pharmacies and then “set them up with store owners to conceal his stake in the enterprise.” Using this structure, Patel and his fellow coconspirators wrote bogus prescriptions and collected kickbacks. Patients were recruited to bribe individuals “to bill their insurance for medications and services that were either never provided or unnecessary.”

Although the scheme apparently started back in January 2006, in just the past 2.5 years alone, the Patel-owned pharmacies dispensed a massive amount of medication to patients – who may or may not have abused the drugs. The alleged totals boggle the mind:

• 0.25 million doses of Oxycodone
• 6 million doses of narcotics
• 4.6 million doses of Hydrocodone
• 1.5 million of Vicodin
• 1.5 million doses of Alprazolam (Xanax)
• 61,000 pints of codeine cough syrup

Many patients and recruiters allegedly were paid with narcotics for participating in the Medicare fraud scam. All told, 31 Michigan pharmacies were involved. The 34 count indictment garnered lots of local media coverage in Michigan. But it's not just a local issue. The crackdown should also serve as a warning to people who even flirt with the idea of committing Southern California credit card fraud, Los Angeles identity theft, or any other white collar crime.

Here is the reality: government-entitlement programs are starving for cash. Our collective fiscal panic has motivated the government to take harsh actions against would be wrongdoers. So whether you're a physician who accidentally got caught up in unsavory business without your full and conscious knowledge; or whether you purposefully got involved in gray or black market scheme, you need smart, compassionate guidance now.

Depending on the nature of your crime, the extent of the damages, the frustration you caused, your level of recalcitrance and willingness to pay back damages that you caused, you can face a veritable rainbow of punishments, such as jail time, loss of your license and reputation, fines and court costs, and more.

A Los Angeles criminal defense attorney, such as Michael Kraut of the Kraut Law Group, can help you understand a more resourceful, strategic way to respond to what’s happened to you. Mr. Kraut is a former prosecutor (Harvard Law School educated) who’s dealt with extremely complex Southern California white collar crimes from both sides. He has the intuition, knowledge, wherewithal, and relationships to help you build the legal defense that you need to protect your rights, possibly salvage your practice, and move beyond the frustrating and possibly embarrassing charges.

Brace yourself for a slew of high profile Southern California medicare fraud arrests.

According to a July 10 article in Los Angeles Times, “Medicare Anti-fraud Detection System Launched,” federal officials have set up a powerful new predictive modeling system to identify Medicare fraud and punish syndicates and individuals who bill for false claims and engage in other types of fraud.

The LAT describes the computer predictive modeling system – which was honed in South Florida over a few years – as working “much like credit card systems that raise alerts about suspicious purchases – such as 20 pairs of shoes or unusually large sales – to help block criminals from using stolen cards or IDs.”

Peter Budetti, the Head of the Medicare’s anti-fraud initiative, noted that Medicare scams tend to get replicated across the country when they work. Budetti said “these problems migrate from one part of the country to others fairly quickly.” Federal officers have now set up strike forces in Los Angeles and other major cities to investigate criminal networks. And investigators have been hitting back – hard – against suspected “fraudsters” in places like Michigan, South Florida, and elsewhere.

If you or someone you care about has been hit with recent charges of Southern California insurance fraud, Los Angeles credit card fraud, or Southern California white collar crime, a competent Los Angeles criminal defense attorney can help you deal with the plethora of challenges that you and your family face. These go beyond simply confronting the scary charges against you – which can lead to many years of jail time.

Mr. Kraut is no stranger to Los Angeles criminal law. He spent 14 plus years as a Deputy District Attorney for L.A. (after receiving a Harvard Law School education) prior to “switching sides” and representing defendants. He has a superb jury trial record, excellent relationships with local prosecutors and others in the legal community, and a thorough knowledge of relevant law. He can help with even complex and sophisticated charges.

If you or someone you care about has recently been arrested or indicted for Southern California Medicare fraud, you have company.

As this blog regularly reports, government investigators are cracking down, big time, on entitlement fraud across the country. One of the biggest news stories on this front came out of Chicago last week: 43-year-old Jacinto Gabriel, Jr. was indicted in connection with a $20 million scam to defraud Medicare. Gabriel, Jr. owned a variety of businesses, including Perpetual Home Health, Incorporated and Legacy Home Healthcare Services. He submitted millions of dollars in false claims for services never delivered (or price inflated or medically unnecessary services).

Allegedly, Perpetual Home Health, Inc. – by itself – submitted 14,000 different claims between the middle of 2006 and early 2011 and collected $38 million in payments from Medicare. This made it one of the biggest recipients of Medicare funds in all of Illinois. Gabriel, Jr. allegedly used the money he collected from Medicare to gamble, buy automobiles, purchase real estate at home and abroad, provide kickbacks and gifts to physicians for patient referrals, and more.

One can only speculate about the potential punishments that Gabriel might face, including jail time, a destroyed reputation, massive fines and forced reimbursements to victims and to the government, and other problems.

If you or someone you care about has been charged with a similar kind of Southern California Medicare fraud, Los Angeles insurance fraud, or Southern California white collar crime, you might be extremely fearful of the long jail sentence, massive fines, and destruction of your professional and personal reputation.

The question is: What do you do now?

A Los Angeles criminal defense attorney, like Michael Kraut of the Kraut Law Group, can help you understand your current reality and face down the challenges heading your way. It’s not resourceful to deny your situation or wait to get help.

The sooner you acknowledge the charges against you -- identify the outcomes you want to avoid and outcomes you want to achieve -- the easier it will be to map out a strategy to get you to where you want to be. Your success or failure can hinge on the quality of your legal representation. Attorney Michael Kraut is an extremely experienced defense attorney – he’s also a very successful former prosecutor, and he taps into his prosecutorial knowledge and relationships to help his clients get the results they need.

A quiet but disturbing Los Angeles Medicare fraud case resolved last Monday, when 45-year-old Petros Odachyan was sentenced to 51 months in prison in a Los Angeles Federal Court pursuant to charges that his company, RL Medical Supply, defrauded Medicare out of $600,000 (after billing the program for more than $1 million).

Prosecutors charged Odachyan with forging prescriptions for items like medical equipment, electric wheelchairs, and hospital bills – most of which RL Medical Supply never gave to patients. Odachyan pled guilty last June to committing healthcare fraud; he now will apparently face more than four years behind bars, unless he appeals the decision and manages to get some reprieve.

Odachyan’s sad saga is unfortunately all too common these days. And anyone who has been recently accused of Southern California medical fraud, Los Angeles insurance fraud, or any other Southern California white collar crime could potentially face similarly serious sentences – many years behind bars, possibly, and a total devastation of your business reputation.

If you did commit a wrong, even the most competent and reputable Los Angeles criminal defense attorney may not be able to help you escape punishment entirely. But the actions you take from this point forward can have an enormous bearing on your future and potential to rebound from your arrest and charges.

Often, many people who have been charged with white collar crimes buckle under the spotlight and scrutiny (and loss of support from family, friends, and colleagues on top of that) and don’t fight vigorously enough for their rights. And this is a shame. Obviously, gains that have been illicitly taken from programs like Medicare should be paid back, and if you really did to harm to anybody or any institution, you likely need to repair that harm or make up for it in some way.

But self-flagellation or capitulation or denial will not make the past go away or make your future any better. A good defense begins with a clear headed acceptance of your current reality. Your next step is to identify where you want to be – in ideal circumstances. The Kraut Law Group’s Michael Kraut is a former city prosecutor (14 plus years as a Senior Deputy DA, in fact) who founded Kraut Law Group to help criminal defendants tap into his expertise not only to extract themselves from unfortunate circumstances but also to rebuild their lives and futures.

Last Monday, Armen Kazarian, a “Vor” or “don” for the Armenian mafia, admitted in court that “I was involved in a criminal conspiracy,” including Southern California Medicare fraud.

Last October, federal investigators busted up Kazarian’s ring of 118 “phantom” clinics that allegedly made off with over $35 million in funds. All told, Kazarian and his co-conspirators tried to defraud the government out of around $160 million. 70 mobsters stand accused. So far, only Karen Aharonian and Rafik Terdjanain have pled guilty. The deal that the mob godfather developed with prosecutors generated heated debate on the blogosphere. According to the New York Daily News, Kazarian “admitted Monday to making threats and other crimes in exchange for the light (3-year) sentence. The final details of the plea were put off for a week.” Prosecutors who busted up the ring expressed their respect for the size and structure of the Armenian mob’s conspiracy, saying that it “put the traditional mafia to shame.”

Will busting up Kazarian’s ring fundamentally alter the game? When reports suggest that Medicare fraud losses top $60 billion a year, it’s hard to see how any individual busts -- even of the size and scope of this crackdown -- can have fundamental, game changing effects.

This isn’t to say that actions to clamp down on crimes like Southern California identity theft, Los Angeles white collar crime and Southern California insurance fraud shouldn’t be priorities. But let's at least collectively acknowledge the limitations that law enforcement agencies face.

Elsewhere, Business Week has reported that a Federal judge in Tennessee has ordered three companies to pay over $86.2 million in a separate Medicare fraud case started up by a whistleblower.

What should you do if you’ve been accused of medical, dental or chiropractic fraud in Southern California? A Los Angeles criminal defense attorney can help you organize and follow through on a strong strategy. But time is of the essence. The longer you wait to retain experienced counsel, the more difficult may be to assemble evidence, construct arguments and anticipate prosecutorial tactics. Attorney Michael Kraut of Los Angeles’ Kraut Law Group spent the bulk of his career as a city prosecutor (Senior Deputy District Attorney), and he leverages his former prosecutorial experience to tremendous effect for his clients. Attorney Kraut can provide a free, comprehensive and confidential consultation about your white collar crime charges.

Politicians, pundits and “everyday Americans” alike are striving to stamp out Southern California Medicare, Medi-Cal and Medicaid fraud – and for good reason. Consider Massachusetts Republican Senator Scott Brown's recent rant against fraud in the Medicare system: “The Government Accountability Office has estimated that nearly 10%, or $47 billion, of annual Medicare spending is nothing but waste, fraud or abuse.” Attorney General Eric Holder has put the number higher – at $60 billion. "We need Medicare administrators to work to prevent these improper payments – instead of the existing “pay and chase” model that makes the system so susceptible to fraud."

Senator Brown and others are livid, understandably. Southern California white collar crimes, such as Los Angeles insurance fraud, Pasadena Medicare fraud and identity theft not only sap money from a strained system but also cause a deterioration in our ability to trust institutions designed to protect us and support us in times of need.

It’s easy to look at enormous numbers like this – $47 billion, $60 billion – and to develop a mentality that it’s “all these people’s fault.” In other words, there is a handful of “bad guys” who are robbing the system blind. If we could only catch and punish these perpetrators, then our health care system would be fixed, our economy will be righted, and all would be well.

If only things were that simple!

The reality is that our fiscal and health care crises are complex and likely related to foundational factors – for instance, we have collectively been consuming vastly more sugar per capita than we were eating back in the 1960s and 1970s. And guess what? Rates of obesity, diabetes, and other diseases have shot up since those halcyon days.

This is not to say that we shouldn’t streamline our entitlement systems or punish people who commit property crimes. But let’s get real. When you shovel bucket loads of sugar down the mouths of Americans, more people are going to get sick, and more people are going to need health care. But instead of addressing foundational issues like this; politicians and policymakers seem happier to identify and castigate people who commit fraud, waste, and abuse.

Again, this isn’t to say that people who commit crimes should be exonerated. And as an experienced Los Angeles criminal defense attorney will tell you, Southern California white collar crime cases are often extremely complicated, and defendants who do commit wrongs often should (and want to!) correct what they have done wrong, remunerate victims, and generally “clean up their messes.”

But identifying and developing your best path towards a good criminal defense is a complicated business. Attorney Michael Kraut of the Kraut Law Group is a unique defense attorney, in that he spent the lion's share of his career as a prosecutor for the City of Los Angeles. Today, he represents criminal defendants, and not only has he gotten great results at jury trials, but he has also gained the respect of other lawyers, judges, and media (KTLA Los Angeles, New York Times, Fox News, etc.) for his compassionate, ethical, and skillful work.

Last week, while most of the blogosphere zeroed in on the salacious accusations against International Monetary Fund's chief, the news on the Southern California Medicare fraud front was not exactly silent.

Indeed, a May 14th article in the Wall Street Journal ("Medicare Fraud Nets Guilty Plea") has had a lot of pundits and analysts debating the implications. A Brooklyn physical therapist, Alexander Kharkover, plead guilty the Friday before last in Federal Court to five counts of submitting false/fraudulent claims to Medicare. For a five-year period (from January 2005 to July 2010), Kharkover allegedly overbilled Medicare to the tune of nearly $12 million, and Medicare paid $7.3 million worth of those claims.

Mr. Kharkover pled guilty without trying to arrange a plea deal. He has yet to be sentenced. Here is an interesting quote from the WSJ about the matter: “According to a person familiar with the case, in one instance, Mr. Kharkover allegedly submitted a bill for a service he performed personally, but on a date when he was on vacation cruise.”

Anyone who has been charged with a Southern California white collar crime, Los Angeles insurance fraud, or a somewhat related crime, like Southern California identity theft, may be quickly and roundly excoriated in the press as a villain, even if your case is complicated and extenuating arguments might explain your actions (or failure to act).

Unfortunately for white collar crime defendants, the public is in a relatively tenacious mood. As the national economy continues to lag, the public appears to be less and less tolerant of what it perceives to be “crimes of the rich.” Meanwhile, the federal government has cranked up its anti-fraud programs, and the experience of defendants like this Brooklyn healthcare provider can often be scary, lonely, and overwhelming.

A Los Angeles criminal defense attorney, like Michael Kraut of the Kraut Law Group, (6255 Sunset Boulevard, Suite 915, Los Angeles, California 90028), can give you insight and practical help. Mr. Kraut has a stellar record at jury trials, a great reputation within the legal community, and lots of experience as a former prosecutor he draws upon to help his clients get excellent results.

Yes, it can be scary to be charged with multiple fraud counts, especially if you know that you did something wrong. But the quality of your legal representation can have a dramatic influence on your potential penalties and your ability to put the arrest behind you and get back to living your life and running your business.

If you’ve recently been charged with a Southern California white collar crime, insurance fraud, credit card fraud, or any other non-violent offense, you might not immediately see any parallels between your situation and the war on terror. But the blogosphere was literally inflamed this past week with news about Osama bin Laden’s death at the hands of US commandos, and it may be useful for us to examine how the ways in which we think about crime influence our potential legal defense strategies.

The basic point is this: We often construct "just so" stories or narratives to justify our opinions about events and people.

The manhunt for Osama bin Laden, for instance, ended successfully from the United States’ point of view. Now, when we look back, historically, things will look all tied up like a neat little bow. One can almost think about Osama being gunned down by snipers in the daring 40-minute raid in Abbottabad Pakistan as the third act of a movie (guessing there probably will be one pumped out by Hollywood soon enough). Thus, our ì20/20 hindsightî makes it seem like the deliverance of justice upon Osama was a forgone conclusion. If history had proceeded along another path – what’s technically known as a counterfactual – we would have constructed a different "just so" story, and that, too, would have seemed like an inevitable product of history.

Thinking about history in terms of its counterfactuals is incredibly useful – and it is useful not just in an abstract sense, but also if you are trying to concoct and execute an appropriate defense to charges, for instance, of Southern California white collar crime.

Other counterfactual examples: everyone assumes that President Ronald Reagan "spent the Soviet Union to death" and thus precipitated the fall of the Berlin Wall and the end of communism and all that. But had events transpired slightly differently -- if the Soviet Union reacted by engaging in preemptive war against the US, instead -- then President Reagan’s strategy would not have looked so keen!

Indeed, you can look at basically any event in history that we think of along the lines of: "of course it was inevitable that XYZ would happen" and question that thinking. We create "just so" stories because human beings naturally gravitate towards narratives. But these narratives don’t necessarily correlate to any fundamental objective "truth." They are perceptions -- and often warped perceptions, at that.

So, how is this all relevant to your potential Southern California white collar crime defense?

Think about what you’ve been charged with (or will be charged with). As soon as prosecutors (and friends and family) even hear the charges, they will begin to construct artificial scenarios in their minds about how you did it, why you did it, etc. Before even engaging analytically with the evidence, they may either convict you in their minds or declare you innocent in their minds. You may even do this yourself, believe it or not! It's a variation of the well-known psychological phenomenon of Stockholm Syndrome – where a kidnapping victim begins to develop defensive feelings for his or her kidnapper.

It’s important to remember to fight back against these ìjust soî stories that crop up in the minds of prosecutors, judges, juries and other people who might judge you in the future (e.g. friends, peers, employers). For help, turn to an experienced Los Angeles criminal defense attorney, such as Michael Kraut of the Kraut Law Group (6255 Sunset Boulevard, Suite 915, Los Angeles, California 90028). Mr. Kraut worked for over a dozen years (14 to be specific) as a prosecutor, so he can come at white collar crime matters from both sides and develop more creative and strategic approaches to building defenses.

As this blog has been reporting for months now, federal investigators have been really cracking down on crimes like Southern California Medicare and Medical fraud. A breaking story out of Miami highlights how much the government means “business.”

According to an April 14th story in the Miami Herald, Lawrence Duran and his wife, Marianella Valera, pled guilty to stealing $200 million from Medicare as part of a massive conspiracy. The couple could face 20 years in prison – for running what the Herald describes as “The nation’s largest mental health racket.”

The couple, who owned seven different mental health clinics, got indicted last October on charges of defrauding 22 defendants, including psychiatrists, recruiters, and even senior employers in their companies. The Assistant Attorney General of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, Lanny Breuer, did not mince words: “they reaped millions in illegal profits by operating a sham mental healthcare company that provided unnecessary and illegitimate treatments to patients, many of whom were recruited through bribes and kickbacks, and then they laundered the proceeds.”

Duran and Valera tried to negotiate a plea deal for the 38 count indictment but ultimately failed. It’s unclear whether they’ll be charged with trying to steal $83 million from Medicare (the amount they actually received) or $200 million (the amount that their company billed Medicare). The resolution of this niggling issue may have a strong bearing on their prison sentences. At this point, the couple could face a decade in prison… or two decades.

Irrespective of what happens to this couple, the harshness and severity of the justice delivered should make anyone charged with a similar crime of Los Angeles credit card fraud, Southern California insurance fraud, or any other Southern California white collar crime nervous.

Fortunately, an experienced Los Angeles criminal defense attorney can provide powerful and useful strategic guidance – but your choice of lawyer does matter. You want to make sure that your attorney has trial experience, the capability to investigate and understand the sophisticated charges you face, and good working relationships with prosecutors.

Mr. Michael Kraut of the Kraut Law Group served for many years as a prosecutor of crimes like Southern California white collar crime, and he has a hugely successful rate at jury trials. You can use his experience to help you develop and execute a smart and results-oriented defense.

A new Minnesota Public Radio report has public health authorities, economists, and bloggers who focus on issues like Southern California Medicare fraud alike analyzing and chatting about powerful charges against a couple from Brooklyn Park, Minnesota.

Anita and Stephen Soledolu -- co-owners of a home healthcare service -- allegedly submitted Medicare claims that did not have documentation. Prosecutors allege that the couple bilked Minnesota for over $864,000. The Soledolus face indictments on six felony counts. Each one could be hit with six decades behind bars and penalties of $300,000.

According to a Minnesota Public Radio report: “The Soledolus submitted claims for home care of Medicaid recipients when investigators found clients weren’t home.”

The Commissioner of the MN Department of Human Services, Lucinda Jesson, discussed the prevalence of Medicare fraud in the state. According to her counting, fraud in MN leads to a loss of upwards of $670 million – or 10% of the annual amount paid out by the state ($6.7 billion) for claims put in by pharmacists, doctors, and other healthcare providers. All told, Jesson estimates that MN recovers just $7 million in fraud payments.

Minnesota is clearly grappling with problems similar to those that California investigators face. Los Angeles Medicare fraud is an enormous problem – as is Southern California credit card fraud, Los Angeles insurance fraud, and other Southern California white collar crimes.

Both Federal and state governments are doing everything in their power to recoup losses and clamp down on budgets in the wake of the extended economic downturn. Thus, even innocent (or partially innocent) healthcare providers may be caught up in the dragnet.

Furthermore, if you did commit a Southern California white collar crime, like Medicare fraud, a Los Angeles criminal defense attorney can help you design and follow through on a sturdy defense. The quality of your preparation and the experience of your legal representative can have an incredible bearing on your outcome – and your potential penalties. If you do not take advantage of excellent legal resources, you could wind up with a much longer jail sentence, much higher fees, and a complete obliteration of your professional reputation.

To that end, if you or someone you care about has been accused of a white collar crime – whether sophisticated or simple – connect with attorney Michael Kraut of Los Angeles’s Kraut Law Group. Mr. Kraut is actually a former prosecutor – he spent over 14 years of his life working to put defendants in cases like white collar crime behind bars. Now serving in the capacity of criminal defense attorney, Mr. Kraut has the resources, knowledge, skills, and relationships to deliver superior results for his clients.

As regular followers of this blog’s ongoing series on Los Angeles Medicare fraud know, the Federal Government has been stepping up its campaign to bust up Southern California insurance fraud and other white collar crimes – particularly Medicare and Medicaid related schemes.

Today, we'll focus on a major news story out of Detroit, Michigan. According to the AP, Oscar Linares, a 53-year-old Michigan doctor, allegedly fraudulently billed Medicare for $5.7 million between 2008 and 2010. The Wednesday before last, authorities broke into Linares’ clinic, The Monroe Pain Center, and arrested the doctor.

According to reports from the Monroe Evening News, Linares’ Medicare fraud was unusually intense. He allegedly saw 250 patients a day – actually, he didn’t specifically "see" the patients, he had proxies see the patients and dole out prescriptions for controlled substances like OxyContin. Indeed, if more than 200 patients came in a day, employees allegedly would get bonuses!

The AP says that Linares “had patients get medical tests without regard to their symptoms and medical conditions.” Authorities seized 7 luxury cars Linares owned as well as four bank accounts that he allegedly stuffed with money from the Medicare fraud.

Obviously, the superficial evidence suggests the government might have a strong case against Linares. But it’s important not to rush to judgment when you read reports about Southern California white collar crime, Medi-Cal fraud, Los Angeles credit card fraud, and the like. After all, situations that appear from news reports to be “black and white” – as in, “this guy is obviously guilty” -- may turn out to be far more nuanced upon deeper examination.

This isn’t to say that a doctor, chiropractor or dentist accused of Southern California white collar crime will be totally innocent of the charges – but rather that news reports can artificially “gin up” our tendency to prejudge defendants.

Note also: We are not saying that white collar crime and Medicare fraud are not huge problems for this country and that perpetrators should not be stopped. Rather, the argument is that it’s important to holistically examine fraud cases instead of demonizing individual defendants. In other words, is there really an epidemic of fraud? What’s driving it? And how best can we motivate doctors and others to play within the rules?

When dealing with complicated issues like prescription narcotic addiction and Medicare fraud, it’s temptingly easy to draw lines between the “good guys” and the “bad guys” – but this a lazy way of approaching the problem. Instead, let’s have the collective courage to understand the root causes driving addiction, abuse of medical power and waste in government entitlement programs.

If you or a family member stands accused of Los Angeles Medicare or Medi-Cal fraud, a Los Angeles criminal defense attorney can be an invaluable asset. Mr. Michael Kraut (of the Kraut Law Group based in Los Angeles) is a former senior level city prosecutor who now represents defendants like you. He has an amazing record at jury trials and has won respect not only from his peers but also from judges and other prosecutors.