April 10, 2019

Surgeons, hospital owner convicted in massive kickback scheme involving Forest Park Medical Center

Surgeons, hospital owner convicted in massive kickback scheme involving Forest Park Medical Center


Dallas -- Seven out of nine defendants, including four doctors, were convicted Tuesday for their roles in a $40 million bribery and kickback scheme involving Forest Park Medical Center, which illegally paid for surgeries to boost its bottom line before shutting down.

Prosecutors said the surgeons agreed to refer patients to the Dallas hospital in exchange for money to market their practices. That advertising revenue helped some of the doctors grow their practices considerably.

Patients were a valuable commodity sold to the highest bidder, according to the government. The more surgeries doctors could bring to Forest Park, the more money they could earn.

One of the charged surgeons, Dr. Nick Nicholson, was acquitted. Nicholson is a noted bariactric surgeon who has appeared on many television shows, including Good Morning America.

Read more:. https://www.dallasnews.com/news/crime/2019/04/09/surgeons-hospital-owners-convicted-massive-kickback-scheme-involving-forest-park-medical-center

April 10, 2019

Mokuaikua awarded $250k

KAILUA-KONA — Mokuaikaua Church, the first Christian church built in Hawaii, recently received a $250,000 grant from the National Fund for Sacred Places to support restoration efforts at the historic site.

The quarter-million-dollar grant was previously announced in 2016, when Partners for Sacred Places and the National Trust for Historic Preservation named the church among a list of 14 inaugural grantees for the program.

Earlier this year, Mokuaikaua Church, which was founded in 1820 by the Rev. Asa Thurston with the support of Royal Gov. John Adams Kuakini, launched its “Campaign of Spiritual Renewal,”to support its own efforts toward restoration and preservation.

“With a minimum goal of $3.4 million, the campaign will allow the church to address critical preservation work,” said a release from the church. “The preservation will be done in phases; the first of which will address the safety and structural stability of the sanctuary while maintaining the church’s historic construction character.”

Read more: https://www.hawaiitribune-herald.com/2019/04/09/features/mokuaikua-awarded-250k/

April 10, 2019

Former Real Estate Commission vice chairman sentenced to jail, court supervision for theft

The former vice chairman of the state Real Estate Commission was sentenced Friday to 10 years of court supervision, including six months in jail, for embezzling more than $200,000 from Hilo clients.

Scott Alan Sherley, 54, pleaded no contest Dec. 11 to first-degree theft. As part of a plea agreement, a similar charge will be dropped against Sherley’s 53-year-old wife, Penny Sherley, aka Penny Honda.

Shirley will be allowed a two-year period before reporting to serve his jail sentence, because Penny Sherley is seriously ill, according to Deputy Prosecutor Rick Damerville.

“We can move it up if the situation changes with to respect to his wife,” Damerville said.

Read more: https://www.hawaiitribune-herald.com/2019/04/08/hawaii-news/former-real-estate-commission-vice-chairman-sentenced-to-jail-court-supervision-for-theft/

April 10, 2019

Kauai woman sentenced for stealing nearly $365K from the U.S. Navy

KAUAI (HawaiiNewsNow) - A Kekaha woman was sentenced Monday for stealing almost $365,000 from the U.S. Navy.

Rowenalynn Yorkman, 48, will serve 30 months behind bars for wire fraud.

Between Jan. 2011 and June 2015, Yorkman worked as a travel clerk with the U.S. Navy where she was responsible for tracking and reviewing travel claims for personnel.

According to documents presented in court, during that time period, Yorkman pulled off a scheme involving false transactions, and using a co-worker’s names to direct vouchers into her own personal accounts.

Read more: http://www.hawaiinewsnow.com/2019/04/09/kauai-woman-sentenced-stealing-nearly-k-us-navy/

April 10, 2019

Sen. Kai Kahele Says He's Raised $250,000 To Challenge Tulsi Gabbard

WASHINGTON — State Sen. Kai Kahele’s congressional campaign announced Monday that he raised more than $250,000 in the first quarter of the year in his bid to unseat U.S. Rep. Tulsi Gabbard, who’s running for president but could also simultaneously seek re-election.

Kahele said the money came from 3,231 donors, which averages just over $77 per contribution.

The press release didn’t include any details about who has donated to Kahele’s campaign or what he has spent.

The last day of the fundraising quarter was March 31 and Federal Election Commission rules give candidates until April 15 to file their paperwork.

Read more: https://www.civilbeat.org/2019/04/sen-kai-kahele-says-hes-raised-250000-to-challenge-tulsi-gabbard/

April 10, 2019

Defense awaits CMS response in Guam multimillion-dollar Medicare fraud case

District Court Chief Judge Frances M. Tydingco-Gatewood has given the defense counsel in the $32 million health care fraud case until the end of this week to let the court know if the June trial date would need to be delayed.

The jury trial for co-defendants Clifford Shoemake, Kimberly "Casey" Conner and Nicholas Shoemake has been scheduled to begin on June 25.

They were indicted in January 2016 for allegedly conspiring to defraud Medicare and TriCare by submitting more than $32 million in fraudulent claims for ambulance transportation services with Guam Medical Transport. Those services were not medically necessary, the prosecution contends.

"Almost all of the subpoenas have been served," said Nicholas Shoemake's defense attorney Louie Yanza. He said the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services has been served with a subpoena, but he has not received a response. Yanza told the court his office would follow up.

Read more: https://www.postguam.com/news/local/defense-awaits-cms-response-in-multimillion-dollar-medicare-fraud-case/article_1c8cbff0-5a5c-11e9-8ee0-a7b4aaec1db6.html

April 10, 2019

GovGuam owes more than $900K in legal fees for plebiscite case

The government of Guam must pay more than $900,000 in legal fees for Arnold “Dave” Davis, who filed a successful federal lawsuit in 2011, arguing he was prevented from registering to vote in the island’s pending political status plebiscite because he is not ethnically CHamoru.

Chief Judge Frances Tydingco-Gatewood on Monday awarded a total of $947,717.39 in attorneys’ fees and costs for the case, which lasted longer than five years, including an appeal. Davis in April 2017 asked the court to award him $924,228 in fees.

The political plebiscite is a non-binding vote asking for voters preferred political status with the U.S. The choices are independence, free association or statehood for Guam.

The law that authorized the plebiscite specifies that eligible voters are native inhabitants of Guam, defined as people who became U.S. citizens on Guam by the Organic Act or their descendants.

Read more: https://www.guampdn.com/story/news/local/2019/04/08/govguam-owes-more-than-900-k-legal-fees-plebiscite-case/3397840002/

April 10, 2019

Church's creditors: Parishes, schools, cemeteries, cars could be sold to satisfy claims

Guam's Catholic schools, parishes, shelters, cars, cemeteries and a shelter for battered women could be sold off to help pay more than 200 clergy sex abuse victims and other claims, according to a lawsuit filed by creditors.

The Archdiocese of Agana issued a statement on Tuesday, trying to shield parishes and schools from the ongoing reorganization bankruptcy case. Archbishop Michael Jude Byrnes, in a statement, said parishes and schools are held only in trust by the archdiocese and, in particular, by the archbishop in office at any particular time.

“We believe that the trust relationship is well established by the facts on the ground, and fully supported by the corporation sole statute of the territory of Guam," according to attorney Ford Elsaesser, one of the bankruptcy lawyers for the archdiocese.

School bus to churches

The Official Committee of Unsecured Creditors' lawsuit includes lists of Catholic schools, parishes, vehicles and other properties that the creditors believe "should be scheduled as property of the estate."

Read more: https://www.guampdn.com/story/news/local/2019/04/09/creditors-seek-sale-catholic-schools-churches-bankruptcy-case/3408388002/

April 10, 2019

Recreational marijuana use by adults now legal on Guam, new law draws swift reactions

Guam legalized the adult use of marijuana on Thursday when Gov. Lou Leon Guerrero signed the contentious recreational cannabis bill into law.

The new law allows those at least 21 years old to possess up to an ounce of marijuana.

"We must regulate this illicit drug that is the most widely used drug in our society," the governor said. "We have to take it and control it, monitor its use and effects, benefit from its medicinal efforts, allow our people to live in a safer environment."

Adults can grow no more than six plants for their personal use, but people still won’t be able to legally buy or sell marijuana until rules are finalized by a board within the year and approved by the Legislature.

Read more: https://www.guampdn.com/story/news/local/2019/04/03/guam-governor-press-conference-recreational-marijuana-bill/3359591002/

April 10, 2019

Alaska woman sentenced to federal prison for defrauding an Anchorage medical practice

U.S. Attorney Bryan Schroder announced that an Alaska woman has been sentenced in federal court for devising multiple schemes to defraud an Anchorage medical practice of at least $640,000.

Jill Diane Applebury, aka: “Jill Wetzsteon,” 54, d/b/a Applebury Accounting Services, of Anchorage, was sentenced yesterday by Chief U.S. District Judge Timothy M. Burgess to serve four years in prison, followed by five years of supervised release. In November 2018, Jill Applebury pleaded guilty to four counts of bank fraud, one count of wire fraud, and one count of fraudulent transactions with an access device. The total amount of restitution to be paid to the victim will be determined within thirty days.

According to court documents, from the mid-1990’s until March 2013, Jill Applebury was an independent contractor who performed bookkeeping services for an Anchorage medical practice, which was owned and operated by an Anchorage physician. From at least 2001 until March 22, 2013, Jill Applebury defrauded the Anchorage medical practice in several ways.

One such scheme stems from 2001 through 2009, when Jill Applebury used the medical practice’s funds to pay her Federal Income Tax Withholding without authority. Specifically, Jill Applebury executed unauthorized and fraudulent transactions from the medical practice’s business bank account to the IRS, thereby having the medical practice pay her IRS individual income tax account. IRS Form 945 account transcripts for the medical practice showed that withheld taxes were paid to the IRS for the 2001-2009 calendar years, and applied to Jill Applebury’s individual income tax account. The total amount of unauthorized federal tax withholdings on independent contractor compensation paid by the medical practice for Jill Applebury’s benefit was $84,813.75.

Read more: https://www.anchoragepress.com/busted/alaska-woman-sentenced-to-federal-prison-for-defrauding-an-anchorage/article_40158cda-558a-11e9-8f82-8705c307b494.html