Fraud

A Woodstock man pleaded guilty yesterday in Baltimore Circuit Court to participating in a scheme to fraudulently bill Medicaid for more than $4 million in services that were never performed, according to the Maryland attorney general's office. Guy Anthony Bell, 44, of the 2700 block Tallow Tree Road was the chief financial officer from October 2002 until April 2004 for the Bridges Project, which provides psychiatric rehabilitation and therapy for children and adults in Baltimore, according to prosecutors.

$1,023,600,000. That's the amount of money that the stockholders of Computer Associates lost as a result of the accounting fraud by former Chief Executive Officer Sanjay Kumar. Both Kumar, 44, and federal prosecutors agree on the number, which was computed by government economic consultants, according to court papers. They also agree that Kumar is responsible for repaying shareholders as a result of a plea deal. Yesterday, in U.S. District Court in Brooklyn, N.Y., Judge I. Leo Glasser signed off on the pact in which Kumar will be required to pay $798 million in restitution.

Man found dead in Canton fire identified A man whose body was found in a burning Canton rowhouse on Feb. 20 has been identified as the dwelling's owner, but the cause of death remains under investigation, a city Fire Department spokesman said yesterday. Shortly after firefighters gained control of the early-morning fire that heavily damaged all three floors of the debris-filled house in the 3000 block of Elliott St., they found the body of James W. Flanagan, about 60, in a bed on the second floor, said the spokesman, Chief Kevin Cartwright.

With complaints of online fraud reportedly up sixfold last year and consumers spending more for e-travel than for any other Internet purchases, vacationers should cruise cyberspace with caution.Most e-travel problems seem more the fault of inexperienced entrepreneurs still working out the glitches of a rapidly changing business milieu.Web fraud, says the U.S. Tour Operators Association, falls into two categories: e-mailed "special offers," often claiming the recipient has won a contest, and Web sites advertising false travel deals.

AMERICANS haven't even begun to think seriously about reforming Medicare. At current spending rates, the trust fund runs dry in 2008.President Clinton proposed using part of the future budget surplus to shore up the system until 2020.But that's far from certain and wouldn't address the continuing medical needs of the giant boomer generation.To find out what kind of reforms the public might accept, the League of Women Voters, together with the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation, sponsored 321 community talkathons: 11 focus groups, 300 small discussion circles and 10 large public meetings.

NEW YORK -- The sentencing of Patrick Bennett, convicted of 42 fraud and money-laundering counts in what prosecutors called the nation's biggest Ponzi scheme, was postponed yesterday as a federal judge threatened to impose a longer jail term if Bennett does not reveal where the stolen money went.Prosecutors said thousands of small investors were cheated in the $700 million scheme by Bennett, 46, former chief financial officer of Syracuse, N.Y.-based Bennett Funding Group Inc.Long jail term possibleU.

An Essex man convicted of bilking more than $520,000 from tens of thousands of students in a phony scholarship scheme was sentenced to 36 months in federal prison yesterday after prosecutors called him "an incorrigible person who makes his living by fraud."Before sentencing in U.S. District Court in Baltimore, Christopher E. Nwaigwe, 38, said he didn't mean any harm when he persuaded 52,000 students around the country to send him $10 each for scholarship application fees.The scholarships didn't exist.

MEXICO CITY -- Mexico's ruling party, which has had exclusive hold on the nation's presidency for 70 years, faces a big ideological test when its national directorate sits down today to decide exactly how it will choose a candidate in what it has promised will be a new democratic era for the Mexican electorate.The Institutional Revolutionary Party, PRI, is expected to end its closed-door system and opt for a form of primary, the first in Mexican history, to choose among four openly declared candidates and two who are flirting with the idea.

BY OPENING a telephone hot line to report "waste, fraud and abuse," Anne Arundel County Executive Janet S. Owens hopes to improve the management of government.I have no problem with county employees reporting their suspicions about wrongdoing. Who better would know if a fellow employee is stealing equipment, office supplies or money from the county till, or throwing a contract to an in-law?My concern is that by guaranteeing anonymity to the callers, the county investigators may be overwhelmed with useless information rather than useful tips on corruption.

WASHINGTON -- Say, sport, have you got a coffin nail on you?" asks a character in an O. Henry short story written in 1906. The New Dictionary of American Slang dates the phrase "coffin nail" from the late 19th century. Which fact indicates that the government, in its suit against the tobacco companies, is committing the sin-- fraud -- that it supposedly is suing about.Let us stipulate that the companies, without which the world would be better, have been deceitful about the addictiveness and harmfulness of cigarettes.

: Should South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford resign? Yes 67% No 29% Not sure 4% (793 votes, results not scientific) Next poll: : Do you think the 150-year prison term given to Bernard Madoff for perpetrating a multibillion-dollar financial fraud was an appropriate sentence? Vote at baltimoresun.com/vote

Maryland officials have barred Alan B. Fabian, an entrepreneur and one-time Republican fundraiser now in federal prison, from doing business with the state for an indefinite period. Fabian, who lived in Cockeysville, pleaded guilty last year to mail and tax fraud in connection with a $32 million fraud. The Board of Public Works, a three-member panel with purview over state contracts, approved the action Wednesday without discussion. Fabian had been notified of the proceeding and did not request a hearing, according to board records.

Fraud confirms fears of protesters The worst fears of all the citizens who supported the "tea parties" last week have now been realized. We were against the uncontrolled spending and waste of taxpayer dollars by the government. And now the article "Bailout fraud cases emerge" (April 21) describes at least 20 investigations into possible fraud in the use of bailout funds, cases that could cost taxpayers "tens of billions of dollars." We can expect the same waste and fraud if government takes more control over health care, energy policy, etc. Is it any wonder why American taxpayers are rebelling?

In the first major disclosure of corruption and fraud in the $750 billion federal bailout program, investigators said Monday that they have opened 20 criminal probes into possible securities fraud, tax law violations, insider trading and mortgage modification fraud. Neal Barofsky, the special inspector general overseeing the bailout program, said in an interview that the investigations are just the first wave of cases by his office. He expects the first criminal indictments to occur later this year.

Your Honor, I was saving jobs." Malefactors of every stripe ought to memorize that explanation. Next time they're in court facing a stiff penalty for wrongdoing, that's clearly what they ought to tell the judge. It's an argument that apparently persuaded the state Senate to shield those who commit fraud against the government from having to pay for it. What nonsense. And what bad news for Maryland taxpayers. The Senate rejection this week of Gov. Martin O'Malley's proposal to crack down on Medicaid fraud is going to open up a gaping $11 million hole in next year's budget - that's how much additional revenue the governor's budget assumed would be generated by the new law. The measure lost in a razor-thin 24-23 vote that likely would have gone the other way had any of four senators simply voted as he or she did on a similar measure last year.

With the state facing a potential $1 billion-plus budget deficit and money getting tighter every day, one might think that collecting an extra $11 million from health care providers who defraud the Medicaid program wouldn't be terribly controversial. But Gov. Martin O'Malley's proposal to do just that has met surprising resistance in Annapolis this year. The Senate has a chance to set matters straight this morning, however, by approving the governor's proposal to allow the state to collect up to triple damages in Medicaid fraud cases.

Shares of Owings Mills-based Medifast Inc. recovered slightly yesterday after the weight-loss products company responded to what it called false claims in a report this week by the Fraud Discovery Institute and defended the business model of its direct-selling division. Medifast shares closed at $5.20 a share, up 7 cents, after losing nearly 30 percent of their value Tuesday in the wake of the report by San Diego-based FDI. The report said Medifast's direct-selling Take Shape for Life division offers a "misleadingly promoted income scheme ... that requires paying fees and buying Take Shape for Life products."

Alan B. Fabian - a wealthy entrepreneur, religious philanthropist and well-connected political fundraiser - was sentenced yesterday to nine years in federal prison for running multiple schemes that defrauded companies, creditors and a fellow church member who attended Bible study in his home of an estimated $40 million. Advisory guidelines called for a 10- to 12-year sentence. But U.S. District Judge Catherine C. Blake gave Fabian, who lives in Cockeysville, credit for some of the good deeds he has done over the years, such as donating time and money - even if it might not have been his to give, she said.

Electoral fraud isn't just partisan politics The Baltimore Sun's editorial concerning ACORN and the allegations that it has engaged in voter fraud described these allegations as overblown or the product of Republican or right-wing hysteria ("Crying wolf," Oct. 13). That same day, new reports of ACORN's apparent attempts to submit fraudulent registrations were revealed, including multiple registrations of individuals and the registration of fictitious persons ("ACORN defends sign-ups; GOP lawmakers seeks probe," Oct. 15)

A man wanted in Harford County on fraud charges and suspected of duping people out of money by posing as a Baltimore Blast soccer representative was arrested yesterday in Highlandtown by city police while he drove a car reported as stolen, a Baltimore police spokesman said. After he was pulled over about 4:30 p.m., an investigation revealed that Bruce Craig Schriver, 44, of Leswood Court in Edgemere was wanted by Harford authorities for failure to appear in court on charges of credit-card fraud, said Detective Derrick Leyton of the Baltimore's Southeastern District detective unit.