Los Angeles Criminal Defense Attorney Blog

Published on: December 5, 2011

Why Do We Have Such a Severe Los Angeles Medicare Fraud Problem?

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:

Published on: November 28, 2011

Being Accused of Los Angeles Medicare Fraud: Can Your Conscience Ever Be Cleared?

by Michael Kraut

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.

Published on: November 22, 2011

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

by Michael Kraut

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

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

How “under the influence” exactly was Crockett?

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

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

These extra details create new cause for consternation.

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

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

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

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

For help understanding your rights and responsibilities, connect with an experienced Glendale DUI criminal defense attorney, such as Glendale’s Kraut Law Group Criminal & DUI Lawyers, Inc. (121 W Lexington Dr, Glendale, CA 91203 Phone: (818) 507-9123). Michael Kraut is a former city prosecutor with a wealth of experience, deep connections with the legal community, and a reputation not only for stellar performance but also for passionate and powerful service.

Published on: November 15, 2011

Los Angeles Criminal News Blotter: Blogosphere Goes Absolutely Bananas After Conrad Murray’s Guilty Verdict in Michael Jackson Trial

by Michael Kraut

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

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

But that wasn’t the end of the drama!

Published on: November 8, 2011

Celebrity Long Beach DUI News Blotter: Can Survivor Star Survive Her Los Angeles DUI Charge?

by Michael Kraut

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

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

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

Published on: November 1, 2011

Glendale Medicare Fraud Ring Busted – 17 Accused, Including Glendale Doctor and San Marino Pharmacist

by Michael Kraut

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.

Published on: October 21, 2011

Glendale DUI Consequences – The Fall Out Can Haunt You: Just Ask TN State Rep Curry Todd.

by Michael Kraut

What are the consequences of driving under the influence in Glendale?

The short answer is: they depend on the intimate, specific details of your case. In general, however, they can be surprisingly profound and long-term, even if you successfully “beat the charges.”

Witness the recent high profile DUI arrest of Tennessee republican representative Curry Todd, who was stopped in Nashville on October 11th and charged with DUI, after he failed a roadside sobriety test. What made Rep Todd’s case so newsworthy? Two things:

1. He had a loaded 38-caliber gun in his car.

2. As a state lawmaker, he sponsored legislation designed to loosen laws that prevent people from bringing handguns into bars. So the “hypocracy factor” clearly played a role in the media blitz surrounding his arrest.

So what are the long-term consequences for Representative Todd?

Hard to say at this point. Last week, he surrendered his chairmanship of the Tennessee House State and Local Government Committee, which dealt with most of Tennessee’s alcohol bills and a huge variety of other proposals. Representative Todd stopped short of resigning his legislative seat. And he did not address his arrest, while attending a meeting of the Physical Review Committee, nor did he talk to reporters about the arrest after the session.

Representative Todd’s ordeal is not over. But his experience already can teach us some crucial lessons about the consequences of driving under the influence in Glendale and elsewhere.

On the one hand, the law spells out some scary and real punishments for convicted DUI drivers. These include: jail time, driver’s license suspension, mandatory alcohol education classes, strict probation terms, mandatory installation of a device called an IID (Interlock Ignition Device), which prevents you from driving if you’ve consumed any alcohol recently, and other sundry penalties such as court costs and fines. These penalties should be more than enough to scare drivers into avoiding driving under the influence in Glendale. But more insidious costs may lurk under these primary punishments.

For instance, your insurance rates may spike in the wake of your DUI arrest/conviction. If your premiums go up several hundred dollars and stay elevated for several years, you are talking about several thousand dollars of fallout from the DUI. And then, you must consider the smaller term “stuff” that can complicate your life, frustrate your career and erode your support even from friends and loved ones.

The best way to respond is to build a smart and strategically focused defense ASAP. Glendale’s Kraut Law Group Criminal & DUI Lawyers, Inc. (121 W Lexington Dr, Glendale, CA 91203 Phone: (818) 507-9123) can help. Managing Attorney Michael Kraut is a former prosecutor (Senior Deputy DA) with a Harvard Law School education and a compassionate, strategic perspective on Glendale DUI defense law.

Published on: October 18, 2011

Los Angeles Medicare Scam Alert! 14 People (Including Two Docs) Hit with Federal Charges

by Michael Kraut

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].”

Published on: October 13, 2011

Los Angeles White Collar Crime Defense and Conrad Murray’s Quirky Jury Selection Process: Lessons to be Learned

by Michael Kraut

If you have been charged with a Southern California white collar crime, like insurance fraud, medical fraud, bribery, etc, you may ultimately have to face a jury trial, depending on an array of factors, including what you allegedly did, how much harm ensued, who was involved, the scope of the scheme, etc.

Jury selections can be a tricky business, however, particularly in high profile cases.

To wit, consider the brouhaha surrounding jury selection for the trial of Michael Jackson’s doctor, Conrad Murray. The Thursday before last, Judge Michael Pastor gathered 160 prospective jurors to see whether attorneys could find candidate jurors to hear Murray’s involuntary manslaughter trial. All 160 prospective jurors had heard about the trial.

Published on: October 3, 2011

The Southern California Medicare Fraud Epidemic: What’s the Root Cause?

by Michael Kraut

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.