Tag: fraud

Man indicted for allegedly committing almost a quarter of all Arizona ACCCHS fraud

Multiple Arizona residents are among the more than 300 people charged in a nationwide “takedown” of health care schemes, including one accused of being responsible for billing the state for 22% of all AHCCCS “sober living” fraud. 

Farukh Jara Ali is accused of submitting about $650 million in “false and fraudulent claims” to the Arizona Health Care Cost Containment System and personally receiving $24.5 million as part of the alleged fraud.

Ali is the owner of a company called ProMD Solutions, which 12News has previously covered in connection with the AHCCCS “sober living” fraud scandal.

ProMD Solutions is listed as the statutory agent for multiple businesses accused of fraud. 

In 2023, a man identifying himself as Mark Stanley, a Vice President with the company, told 12News via Zoom that ProMD Solutions was a billing company that also provided turnkey solutions for behavioral health businesses. He denied any billing fraud on ProMD’s part. 

ProMD Solutions’ website lists an address in Irvine, CA. But a search of the address reveals it to be a strip mall with a third-party mailbox store. In reality, prosecutors say Ali was running the business from Pakistan. 

In court documents, prosecutors state that Ali had contracted with 38 purported healthcare providers to bill the state for $650 million, of which AHCCCS paid $564 million.

According to the indictment, other behavioral healthcare businesses began a scheme to offer bribes and kickbacks to sober living homes, allegedly offering higher amounts for patients who could use the American Indian Health Plan.

Native Americans were widely targeted by the sober living scheme.  In many cases, they were promised drug and alcohol rehab that they never received. 

The bribes were allegedly in exchange for sending the sober living residents to these behavioral health providers. Prosecutors allege Ali and the business owners conspired to falsify treatment notes to justify billing for services that were never rendered. 

According to the indictment, ProMD Solutions was the company responsible for doing the actual billing, with Ali taking 5% off the top. Prosecutors say he made just under $25 million. Prosecutors believe he bought a $3 million golf course home in Dubai using at least some of that money. 

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Huawei To Stand Trial In US On Charges Of Bank Fraud, Sanctions Violations, Theft

Chinese company Huawei Technologies will stand trial on multiple charges after a federal judge denied its bid to dismiss a long-running case against it.

On July 1, District Judge Ann Donnelly of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York ruled that there was sufficient evidence to proceed with a 16-count indictment against Huawei and its subsidiaries.

Huawei, which is closely tied to the Chinese communist regime, stands accused of racketeering, stealing trade secrets from six U.S. companies, and committing bank fraud.

With Donnelly’s ruling, the case will move forward toward trial. Currently, the proceedings are scheduled to begin on May 4, 2026.

Huawei stands charged with using a Hong Kong-based front company, Skycom, to conduct business in Iran in violation of U.S. sanctions and with misleading banks in order to facilitate more than $100 million in illegal money transfers.

Additionally, the indictment alleges that Huawei engaged in racketeering to expand its global brand.

Representatives of Huawei did not respond to a request for comment from The Epoch Times by publication time.

In November 2024, Huawei pleaded not guilty and called itself “a prosecutorial target in search of a crime.”

The upcoming trial is expected to last several months and could have significant implications for the ongoing tensions between the United States and China over technology, trade, and national security.

As part of the long-running federal investigation into Huawei’s business dealings, Huawei’s chief financial officer, Meng Wanzhou, also the daughter of the company’s founder, Ren Zhengfei, was previously charged and detained in Canada for nearly three years before the charges against her were dismissed in 2022 as part of a deferred prosecution agreement.

Huawei, based in Shenzhen, China, operates in more than 170 countries and employs approximately 208,000 people worldwide. The U.S. government has imposed restrictions on Huawei’s access to U.S. technology since 2019, citing national security concerns; Huawei has denied those accusations.

Along with manufacturing smartphones and consumer technolog

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Justice Department charges 324 defendants in major nationwide health care fraud operation

The Justice Department (DOJ) on Monday charged at least 324 people with health care fraud charges in connection to its massive 2025 National Health Care Fraud Takedown operation, including 96 doctors and medical professionals.

The charges come from a joint operation between the DOJ, FBI, the Health and Human Services (HHS) Department and the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA). The charges accounted for more than $14.6 billion in intended loss. 

The defendants range from licensed medical professionals, to business owners, to alleged members of transnational criminal organizations, according to the DOJ. 

“This record-setting Health Care Fraud Takedown delivers justice to criminal actors who prey upon our most vulnerable citizens and steal from hardworking American taxpayers,” Attorney General Pamela Bondi said in a statement. “Make no mistake – this administration will not tolerate criminals who line their pockets with taxpayer dollars while endangering the health and safety of our communities.”

The charges include allegations of fraudulent “wound care,” which refers to allegedly providing patients with treatment that they did not need, prescription opioid trafficking such as fentanyl, and telemedicine and genetic testing fraud schemes, among others. 

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North Korean IT workers infiltrated Fortune 500 companies in massive fraud scheme

Federal authorities have unraveled several schemes by the Democratic People’s Republic of North Korea (DPRK) that were used to fund its regime through remote information technology (IT) work for U.S. companies, resulting in two indictments, tech and financial seizures and an arrest.

The Department of Justice (DOJ) said Monday that North Korean actors were helped by individuals in the U.S., China, the United Arab Emirates and Taiwan to obtain employment with over 100 U.S. companies, including Fortune 500 companies.

In one scheme, U.S.-based individuals created front companies and fraudulent websites to promote the legitimacy of remote workers, while hosting laptop farms where remote North Korean IT workers could remotely access company-provided laptop computers.

In another scheme, IT workers in North Korea used false identities to gain employment with a blockchain research and development company in Atlanta, Georgia, and steal virtual currency worth over $900,000.

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Nigerian Woman Breaks Down After Being Detained and Denied Entry at U.S. Airport Over Social Media Posts That Revealed Her True Reason for Visiting the Country

Another wake-up call in the era of law and order: Biden may have thrown open the borders, but under Trump-era immigration policies still on the books, fraud doesn’t fly — no matter how many tears are shed.

A Nigerian businesswoman, Chinelo Ejianwu, learned the hard way that U.S. immigration doesn’t play around when it comes to visa fraud — especially not under rules put in place during President Donald Trump’s administration.

As of June 18, 2025, the Trump administration’s policy requires F‑, M‑, and J‑visa applicants to make all social media accounts public and disclose usernames from the last five years for enhanced vetting.

This policy targets student, vocational, and exchange programs — not tourist, business, or temporary visit categories.

However, U.S. Customs & Border Protection (CBP) officers can search phones or computers and review digital content during entry inspections, regardless of visa type.

If they find posts or content flagged as politically sensitive, extremist, or related to national-security concerns, you may face denial of entry or detainment—even with a valid visa.

Ejianwu, the owner of “Onyx Hair by Nelly,” sobbed in a viral video after being detained for 24 hours and ultimately denied entry into the United States upon arrival for what she claimed was a “business meeting” trip.

She was heading to Houston to participate as an exhibiting vendor at a major Nigerian-backed trade fair — a violation of her B1/B2 visa.

A B1/B2 visa is a nonimmigrant visa issued by the United States to foreign nationals for temporary stays, typically for business (B1) or tourism (B2) purposes, or a combination of both.

This visa allows individuals to enter the U.S. for a limited period to engage in activities like attending business meetings, visiting family, or sightseeing.

“This has to be one of the hardest posts I have made . But I told myself I was always going to tell my story no matter how bad or ugly it is. I know social media life doesn’t really show the messy side, but here is one of mine,” Chinelo wrote on her Facebook.

“I really don’t even know how I feel at the moment. I have dealt with different emotions anger, anxiety,rejection,regret ,you name it. I wish there was a way I can clear the image of how I Was handled like a criminal literally, detained for more than 26 hours, my phones and passport taken from me and escorted back to the plane like a fugitive off my head or all the funds in thousands of dollars that went down the drain but this won’t break me.”

According to her, U.S. officials scanned her Instagram messages and posts, uncovering clear-cut evidence that she was promoting her presence at the “Naija Brand Chick Trade Exhibition” in Houston, scheduled for June 27–29.

Her role? Officially listed as an exhibiting vendor — the type of commercial activity that squarely violates the terms of a tourist/business visa.

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Administrator Kelly Loeffler Announces Full-Scale Audit of SBA 8(a) Program After DOJ Finds Over $550 Million in Contracts Linked to Bribery and Fraud Scheme

A USAID official and three government contractors pleaded guilty to a decade-long bribery scheme involving over $550 million in contracts, according to the Justice Department.

According to court documents, beginning in 2013, USAID contracting officer Roderick Watson agreed with corporate executive Darryl Britt to receive bribes in exchange for Watson’s influence to award contracts to a small business named Apprio and its subcontractor Vistant.

Watson received more than $1 million in bribes to steer no-bid contracts to Apprio and Vistant.

Wilson and Britt used the Small Business Administration’s 8(a) contracting program, which helps ‘socially and economically disadvantaged businesses’ bid on contracts, to make this massive scheme possible.

Per the DOJ:

Four men, including a government contracting officer for the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and three owners and presidents of companies, have pleaded guilty for their roles in a decade-long bribery scheme involving at least 14 prime contracts worth over $550 million in U.S. taxpayer dollars.

  • Roderick Watson, 57, of Woodstock, Maryland, who worked as a USAID contracting officer, pleaded guilty to bribery of a public official;
  • Walter Barnes, 46, of Potomac, Maryland, who was the owner and president of PM Consulting Group LLC doing business as Vistant (Vistant), a certified small business under the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) 8(a) contracting program, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit bribery of a public official and securities fraud;
  • Darryl Britt, 64, of Myakka City, Florida, who was the owner and president of Apprio, Inc. (Apprio), a certified small business under the SBA 8(a) contracting program, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit bribery of a public official; and
  • Paul Young, 62, of Columbia, Maryland, who was the president of a subcontractor to Vistant and Apprio, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit bribery of a public official.

On Friday, Kelly Loeffler, the head of the Small Business Administration announced the SBA will perform a full-scale audit of the 8(a) race-based contracting program.

Loeffler released this statement Friday.

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Former NY DEI Director and Hochul Aide Linda Sun CHARGED in Multimillion-Dollar PPE Fraud and Kickback Scheme

While New Yorkers were gasping for N-95 masks and latex gloves in the dark spring of 2020, the woman once tasked with “diversity, equity & inclusion” inside the Hochul-Cuomo political machine was allegedly busy funneling state contracts to her own relatives—and pocketing the profits.

The Gateway Pundit reported last year that the FBI conducted a pre-dawn raid on the $3.5 million Long Island home.

The lavish five-bedroom home, located in a gated community called Stone Hill in Long Island, was searched thoroughly by agents, though it remains undisclosed whether any items were seized during the operation.

A federal grand jury has returned a second superseding indictment against Linda Sun, former Director of Diversity, Equity & Inclusion for New York and later Deputy Chief of Staff to Gov. Kathy Hochul, along with her husband Christopher “Chris” Hu.

Prosecutors say the pair raked in more than $8 million in kickbacks, bribes and laundered cash by steering COVID-19 personal-protective-equipment (PPE) contracts to companies run by Sun’s cousin and Hu’s business partner.

The new counts include honest-services wire fraud, conspiracy, bribery, money-laundering, and—just for good measure—tax evasion for Hu. Arraignment is set for Monday, June 30 in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York.

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AOC’s ‘Bronx Girl’ Act Exposed as a TOTAL FRAUD by Republican Sharing School Yearbook Photo

New York leftist Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez loves to present herself as someone who grew up in the hood. A person who knows the streets, is tough, and faced a hard life. None of that is true.

She grew up in an affluent area, went to Boston University where the tuition is currently more than $60K a year, and interned at the office of the late Senator Ted Kennedy.

The Gateway Pundit ran an exclusive report about this back in 2019, exposing AOC’s true past when she was known as “Sandy.”

During one of her recent and stupid quips on Twitter/X, she called herself a Bronx girl. That’s pure fantasy, and Republican New York Assemblyman Matt Slater just exposed her for the fraud she is.

FOX News reports:

GOP assemblyman calls out AOC’s suburban roots with yearbook proof after Trump spat

A New York state lawmaker called out Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., over her upbringing after she referred to herself as a tough “Bronx girl” during an internet spat in which she traded jabs with President Donald Trump.

State Assemblyman Matt Slater, a Republican, called out the progressive firebrand, who represents portions of the Bronx and Queens, and shared an image of her during her freshman year in suburban Yorktown High School, almost an hour north of the Bronx.

“If you’re a BX girl then why are you in my Yorktown yearbook? Give it up already,” Slater tweeted.

Slater’s move came after Ocasio-Cortez got into a social media spat with Trump after she called for his impeachment for ordering strikes over the weekend that targeted Iranian nuclear sites.

In a lengthy post on Truth Social, Trump criticized the congresswoman, calling her “stupid” and “one of the ‘dumbest’ people in Congress.”

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As Congress struggles to cut spending, states expose Medicaid fraud on steroids

Medicaid for millionaires. Jaw-dropping swindles. Bureaucrats who aren’t checking patients’ eligibility.

As Congress struggles to find spending cuts in a bloated federal budget, a growing number of states are exposing the breathtaking extent of fraud, waste and abuse inside the government’s primary medical welfare program for the poor. 

Arizona became the latest state to unveil failures, as Senate Majority Leader Janae Shamp, House Majority Leader Michael Carbone, and other GOP lawmakers released a report showing that 130,000 of the 388,000 state residents who applied for Medicaid last year were not verified, suggesting up to $6 billion a year in Medicaid fraud.

“When we’re talking about cutting fraud, waste and abuse, that is exactly where we start,” Shamp told Just the News.

The report showed only 24% of Arizonans who applied for the assistance were vetted, and of those people who did get vetted properly, 34% weren’t supposed to be accepted, but they got the Medicaid benefits anyway.

When asked if she believes that Arizona’s Democratic Governor Katie Hobbs would consult the Republicans who led the effort to investigate, Shamp told Just The News, “I always want to believe in the good that, yes, we can work across party lines, and we can figure out how to do this collectively together, because it’s the citizens of Arizona, the taxpayers of Arizona, that are bearing the brunt of this fraud.”

“I have sent a letter to her office, and I’m asking for a bunch of questions to be answered and to find out what it is that the governor’s office is prepared to do with her agency that is directionless, leaderless…no transparency [and] totally unaccountable,” she continued. 

Arizona’s Medicaid problems follow similar issues found in states like Ohio where a Bloomberg Law investigation revealed that state health departments and Medicaid contractors often fail to detect or ignore blatant fraud, costing taxpayers billions annually. 

Congressional leaders are targeting an estimated $50 billion in yearly Medicaid waste, as states and contractors prioritize approving claims over scrutinizing questionable expenditures. 

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EU hits Greece with record fine over farmers subsidy fraud

The European Union has imposed a 392.2 million-euro ($451.9 million) fine on Greece over a major scandal involving the mismanagement of agricultural subsidies by a government agency between 2016 and 2022.

The bloc’s Executive Commission decided to reduce the subsidies Greece will receive in the next years by 5%, it said on Friday, reflecting the view that there has been no proper supervision and operation of the subsidy management model for years.

Greece expected to receive about 1.9 billion euros in direct EU subsidies next year.

The fine comes months after European prosecutors charged dozens of Greek livestock farmers who received EU financial aid through the Greek government paying agency OPEKEPE with making false declarations of ownership or leasing of pastureland.

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