Los Angeles Criminal Defense Attorney Blog

Those who drive under the influence in Long Beach and cause injury accidents are often ignorant of the law or of the consequences of their actions.

Or, at least, the conventional wisdom would have you believe that.

As we have covered countless times on this Long Beach DUI blog, all sorts of people are stopped, arrested, and ultimately convicted for DUI – some of whom even make and enforce the DUI laws. When lawmakers, police officers, prosecutors, and others who work in the Long Beach DUI system are tagged for such crimes, a big hubbub in the media and blogosphere inevitably sparks. Makes sense, right? After all, police officers, Congressmen, Los Angeles DUI attorneys, etc understand the dangers better than practically anybody out there.

That’s why a recent fiasco out of Etowah County, Alabama, has attracted so much head-scratching among Los Angeles DUI lawyers.

According to WHNT News 19, the police chief of Tuscumbia, AL, Tony Logan, was convicted by jury last week of misdemeanor DUI. Logan was sentenced to 30 days, and his driver’s license might be suspended. But his punishment is less interesting than the fact that he was not just a police officer, but the chief of police for a whole town.

Brandon Hughes, a local prosecutor, summed up the jury’s message: “Drinking and driving on Alabama’s roadways is not going to be tolerated. I just hope it sends a message to folks around the state…to be more careful…there are repercussions [for driving DUI].”

Is there any moral to this story? Can we learn anything from Tony Logan’s experience?

Indeed, we can.

Logan’s arrest and subsequent conviction demonstrates how easy it is easy for anyone -- even a super-educated Los Angeles DUI lawyer who understands the dangers of driving under the influence on a very personal level and who works with DUI cases on a day-to-day basis -- can make errors of judgment that lead to arrests, accidents, and worse.

Of course, this is not to excuse bad behavior or DUI – it is merely to place it in context. If you were arrested for driving under the influence in Long Beach or for engaging in other misbehavior behind the wheel, you are not alone. The transgression doesn’t make you a bad person, or even a bad driver. (It does, however, mean that you might need a Los Angeles DUI attorney.)

Going forward, keep the following in mind:

1. Learn from your mistakes, if you made any, to avoid getting into similar trouble.

To do this, you need to reflect on what happened: what caused you to misbehave or ignore the Long Beach DUI laws?

2. Deal with the reality of your arrest and charges.

A Long Beach DUI criminal defense attorney at the Kraut Law Group (444 West Ocean, Suite 800 Long Beach, California 90802 Phone: (562) 531-7454 ) will help you plan the next steps. Attorney Kraut is one of the most respected local DUI attorneys – he has a great reputation among his legal peers, a nearly immaculate record at jury trials, and he draws on his Harvard Law School education and background as a former Deputy District Attorney (14+ years) to deliver superlative service for his clients.

Continue reading "Police Chief Convicted of DUI – Long Beach DUI Attorney Reacts" »

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.

Practically no one intends to drive under the influence in Glendale. Misjudgments, carelessness, and other factors come into play and ultimately lead to dire circumstances. It’s typical for Glendale DUI defendants to have trouble explaining to other people precisely what went wrong and why.

After all, everyone knows the dangers of driving under the influence in Glendale -- the serious penalties that you can face if you violate the law, not to mention the long-term costs that you will face financially, emotionally, and physically. Often what happens is not a thought out “breaking of the law,” but rather a momentary lapse of reason that has consequences well beyond the moment.

That’s all a little abstract. The explanation does not have the metaphorical punch needed to really communicate this feeling. Fortunately, the Discovery Channel’s MythBusters accidentally created the perfect metaphor to help give people perspective for what it feels like get busted for Glendale DUI. On December 7, the MythBusters team was experimenting with what happens to a cannon when it fires materials other than cannonballs.

Guess what? A massive accident happens!

According to the Times, the Discovery team fired a cannon at some trash cans, but the projectile went off course into a nearby home, where a couple was sleeping. Their bedroom was pierced by a 10-inch hole. According to the Times, “the cannonball was travelling as fast as a bullet. It exited the house, bounced across four lanes of traffic, struck the roof of another house and then smashed through the window of a parked minivan.” Fortunately – miraculously, perhaps – no one was injured. But the incident shows how small miscalibrations, accidental or even on purpose, can ricochet to massive, dangerous effects.

Likewise, when you miscalibrate how to drive in Glendale – drive too fast, drive while distracted, drive while DUI – the consequences can be metaphorically similar to the consequences of that misfired cannonball shot. Damages to life and limb can be the tragic consequence.

If you or someone you care about needs a Glendale DUI criminal defense attorney, trust Michael Kraut of the Kraut Law Group (450 North Brand Boulevard, Suite 600, Glendale, California 91203 Phone: (818) 507-9123). Mr. Kraut is a Harvard Law School-educated former District Attorney (14-plus years in that office) who has close relationships with those in the legal community and a terrific track record helping defendants like you.

Continue reading "The Perfect Metaphor for Glendale DUI: MythBusters Show Rockets Cannonball Through Sleeping Couple's House" »

Most people who go to jail for crimes like Los Angeles Medicare or Medi-Cal fraud do not spend weeks or months ruminating over whether to skirt the law and ultimately decisively concluding to “lead a life of crime.”

That may be the way events play out on TV. But, in reality, the temptation to commit any Southern California white collar crime, like Los Angeles credit card fraud, insurance fraud in Los Angeles, etc is slowly and incrementally hatched.

In other words, there is no "a-ha!" moment – no epiphany where a doctor, chiropractor, dentist, or other professional makes an “evil villain” type speech and crosses over to the dark side.

Instead, what happens is that frustrated, angry, or opportunistic business people come to identify fraudulent activities as doable and acceptable, based on their circumstances. The human mind has an amazing ability to justify what it wants to justify. Thus, for instance, say you are a doctor who has spent years getting ripped off by unfair insurance practices and patients who skip out on bills. You may develop the belief that it’s right to “take something back” for yourself, and thus the seeds for Medicare or Medi-Cal fraud are planted in your mind.

You may develop this belief months, if not years, before you violate industry norms, but the belief sits there, eroding your good judgment and causing you stress.

The other thing to remember is that white collar crimes are often crimes of desperation. Or at least they start out that way. Perhaps you had a mortgage payment ballooning ever higher every month. Or maybe you have kids in school, and you need to pay for their education somehow. Or maybe you become aware of a gray market connection with a dubious pharmacy, or you read about some cunning scheme that another medical fraud artist pulled off in some other state.

The point is: what drove you to do what you did was almost certainly a real and understandable human need. Maybe you needed to protect your children, save your home, prop up the business that you grew and loved, enjoy the fruits of your labor. Whatever the fundamental need was, it was not necessarily a bad thing. The strategy that you may have employed might have been dangerous, stupid, illegal, etc. But avoid condemning the need that drove you to desperate measures.

Of course, platitudes aside, you need a specific, action-oriented plan to help you build a defense. Los Angeles Medicare fraud attorney Michael Kraut of the Kraut Law Group can help you discover the most picture perfect legal plan based on what you’ve been charged with.

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 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.

After U.S. lawmakers pressured Apple, the tech company has banned an app called “Buzzed” which revealed the locations of Long Beach DUI checkpoints (and checkpoints elsewhere) that police had not previously publicized. Apple also changed its online store guidelines to come into compliance with this new policy: “Apps which contain DUI checkpoints [such as Los Angeles DUI, Pasadena DUI, Glendale DUI, Burbank DUI, etc.] that are not published by law enforcement agencies that encourage and enable drunk driving will be rejected."

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D) Nevada applauded Apple but encouraged the company “to take the next responsible step for removing all applications that allow unsafe drivers to evade police checkpoints.” Perez Hilton, for one, also applauded the Apple move: “It’s definitely a step in the right direction… we feel these apps only do more harm than good by putting other drives at risk. Not only will drunk drivers be drunk, but they will be fiddling around on their cell phones to avoid getting caught!”

Opinions about Apple's move were far from unanimous, however. For instance, as techdirt.com points out, blogger Nick Gillespie built a powerful argument against the banning of apps like Buzzed: “police themselves regularly make this info available as a deterrent.”

Quoting from Gillespie’s blog now: “Some police departments actually support the data used in such apps because they reduce the number of drunk drivers on the road!”

Another blog post on reason.com argued that such apps (like Buzzed) actually minimize drunk driving and speeding – which is one of the reasons why police in places such as Travis County, Texas are the ones entering the information for DUI checkpoint apps such as Trapster. As a Travis County cop puts it, “If we can stop the problematic behavior without writing tickets or hauling people, everybody is better off.”

The pundits and techno bloggers can continue to debate the merits (or lack thereof) of Apple’s app ban. But if you or someone you care about has recently been pulled over at a Long Beach DUI checkpoint, you have fewer intellectual concerns and more practical ones. A Los Angeles criminal defense attorney, such as Long Beach’s Kraut Law Group (444 West Ocean, Suite 800 Long Beach, California 90802 Phone: (562) 531-7454), can inform you, help you understand your rights and responsibilities, and develop an astute and aggressive strategy to clear your record and defend your interests.

Continue reading "Long Beach DUI Tech News – Apple Bans “Buzzed” App" »

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.

For last several years, we've witnessed massive arrests for Southern California Medicare fraud and other healthcare fraud schemes around the nation. Billions of dollars have been seized, and hundreds of people have been arrested and brought to trial. The news practically glitters every week with examples of chiropractors, dentists, doctors, and other healthcare providers caught up in the dragnet.

According to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, President Obama’s 2012 budget proposes a variety of new antifraud tools that will escalate the government’s fight against fraudsters and scam artists. Some experts estimate that the antifraud tools may save over $32 billion over the next decade. What are some of these new antifraud tools, and will these enhanced tactics really repair the system and prevent abuse and graft?

First, let’s take a look at some crucial statistics:

• The Government Accounting Office (GAO) estimated that nearly 10% of total outlays – around $48 billion – were “improper” in 2010.
• A cardiothoracic surgeon and Republican representative from Louisiana, Dr. Charles Boustany, testified that “Medicare fraud has become such an attractive target for criminals that the FBI and OIG have seen an increasing number of foreign criminal groups coming to America to exploit the program because it’s less risky and a lot more lucrative than other illegal ventures.”
• The House Ways and Means Committee heard testimony from a Nigerian immigrant, Aghaegbuna Odelugo, who pilfered nearly $10 million from Medicare last decade by deploying 14 different front companies to defraud Medicare by false billing for wheelchairs, DEMA pumps, and orthotics. Odelugo testified that “the primary skill required to do it [commit the Medicare fraud] successfully is knowledge of basic data entry on the computer.” Scary stuff.

The antifraud tools proposed include:

• An additional $350 million (to be allocated over this next decade) to help law enforcement detect fraud;
• Heightened scrutiny for providers who sign up for Medicare – particularly high risk caregivers;
• Increased use of recovery audit contractors for a variety of programs, including Medicaid and Medicare Advantage;
• Better data sharing and data analytics among federal agencies to identify fraud in real time;
• Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services can stop payment immediately if a fraud allegation hits the radar.

Doctors, chiropractors, other caregivers who’ve been hit with Southern California white collar crime charges, charges of Los Angeles credit card fraud, or Los Angeles insurance fraud often don’t understand the scary options that prosecutors can deploy to hold them accountable. A talented Los Angeles criminal defense lawyer, like Michael Kraut, can give defendants the strategic advice they need to draft and execute an appropriate, methodical defense.

Last week, 700 FBI and Health and Human Services agents rounded up 111 suspects in nine cities – including five people suspected of Los Angeles Medicare fraud – in the “largest-ever Federal health care fraud takedown” in the United States, according to government officials. The Los Angeles Times reports that five LA defendants “cheated the government out of more than $225 million in false billing schemes that included fraudulent claims, kickback operations, money laundering and identity theft.”

A spokesperson for the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, Assistant Attorney General Lanny Breuer, said “our message is clear… we are determined to put Medicare fraudsters out of business.”

The Justice Department’s task force has really revved up, since its inception in early 2007. So far, nearly 1,000 people have been charged for false billing schemes – approximately 75% of these people have been convicted. The average prison sentence has been quite substantial – 43 months (more than 3.5 years). In 2010 alone, national, state, and local task forces raked in about $4 billion in fines and recovery payments.

A February 17 L.A. Times article summarized the situation this way: "The charges brought Thursday run the gamut of offenses. Some are accused of submitting claims to Medicare for treatments that were medically unnecessarily or never provided. Some are suspected of recruiting patients for hospitals and doctor's offices, and then pocketing lucrative cash kickbacks.” A Detroit area podiatrist charged Medicare for toenail removals that never occurred. In addition to Los Angeles Medicare fraud busts, authorities made arrests in Dallas, Miami, Baton Rouge, and Brooklyn, New York.

Given the government's crack down on crimes like Southern California insurance fraud, Los Angeles credit card fraud, and Southern California white collar crimes, defendants need to pay attention to their rights and identify resources to help them respond judiciously to charges.

An experienced Los Angeles criminal defense attorney, such as Michael Kraut of the Kraut Law Group, can bring to bear an arsenal of strategies and resources to guide you through the legal maze. Attorney Kraut is an ex-prosecutor who has dealt with many sophisticated Los Angeles white collar crime cases, and his amazing success rate at jury trials (99%) and deep connections with (and abiding respect from) local prosecutors and judges should encourage any prospective clients – even clients facing difficult and complex charges.

When you picture Southern California medical, dental, or chiropractic fraud arrests, you might envision a surly doctor conspiring with a criminal cohort to develop sophisticated white collar crime techniques.

You might not imagine that eight nurses (between the ages of 32 and 55) would be capable of pulling off a scam that bilked Medicare out of nearly $19 million.

But that’s exactly what the Department of Justice has alleged against eight RNs in Miami. The owners of two health care agencies, Florida Home Health Care Providers Inc. and ABC Home Health Inc., allegedly charged Medicare for unnecessary services (or services that never got provided) to the tune of $18.7 million. Last Tuesday, the eight nurse-owners – Diana Sanabia, Daisy Santos, Roberto Rodriguez, Marlene Magadan, Maria Perez, Alberto Alvarez, Yanisley Chao, and Leonardo Malagon -- got sentenced to prison time as well as forced restitution (upwards of $700,000) for their roles in the Medicare scam.

Developing a defense to Los Angeles credit card fraud, insurance fraud, or health care fraud charges can be excruciatingly challenging. After all, Southern California white collar crime law is complicated, and many different laws may or may not apply, depending on what you allegedly did or did not do.

Designing a best fit defense means understanding not only precisely what the charges against you mean, but also how the prosecution will likely argue its case. Given that your medical and professional license, reputation, and even personal freedom may be on the line, it behooves you to get in touch with a Los Angeles criminal defense attorney, such as Michael Kraut of the Kraut Law Group, to come up with and execute an appropriate white collar crime defense.

Attorney Kraut understands how prosecutors think because he actually was one for 14 years. He has the education (Harvard Law School) and respect from his legal peers (often featured as a guest analyst on CNN, New York Times, KTLA Los Angeles, etc.) to give you an optimized defense, even if you face complicated and highly technical counts.