Tag: texas

Fraud Ring Used Fake Doctors’ Orders in $61.5M Medicare Scheme

A Texas man was sentenced Wednesday to over 12 years in prison and two years of supervised release for organizing and leading a $61.5 million health care fraud and wire fraud conspiracy in which thousands of Medicare beneficiaries who were the victims of deceptive telemarketing were sent thousands of orthotic braces, foot baths, and genetic tests they did not need.

According to court documents and evidence presented at trial, Robert “Bobby” Leon Smith III, 50, of Archer City, Texas, owned and operated seven durable medical equipment supply companies based in Florida, Texas, and Maryland through which he submitted millions of dollars in false claims to Medicare for orthotic braces and foot baths that beneficiaries did not need.

Smith also owned a marketing company based in Texas that he used to conduct deceptive telemarketing campaigns that targeted Medicare beneficiaries for medical services they did not need. Working with an offshore call center located in the Philippines, Smith and his co-conspirators peddled medically unnecessary orthotic braces, foot baths, and genetic tests to Medicare beneficiaries nationwide. In audio recordings presented at trial, Smith was heard pressuring beneficiaries to accept these products even after the beneficiaries protested that they did not need or want them.

Smith obtained doctors’ orders for these products by allegedly paying kickbacks and bribes to illegitimate telemedicine companies. He then sold these doctors’ orders to other medical suppliers that he knew used them to submit false and fraudulent claims to Medicare. 

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Dem Candidates Keep Getting Weirder: ‘Moderate’ TX Dem Played M*********** Pervert Who Was Supposed to Be Cute in Bizarre Video

I’d really hoped that I was beyond talking about Democratic U.S. House candidate Bobby Pulido’s strange public sex habits. As much as I want the guy to lose, I also don’t want to lose my lunch, either.

Thus, when the Tejano music star and the multiple Latin Grammy-winning entertainer got busted for old Twitter posts in which he both linked to pornography and suggested other bored folk search it out, I’d hoped that was the end of it.

After all, it was old stuff, he was supposed to be the new moderate face of the party in Texas, and surely he’d disavow thoughts like his 2014 statement that “It’s impossible to have Twitter and not watch porn.” (I’ve somehow managed, but I guess the Pulido fanbase is a different animal entirely.)

Alas, I was mistaken. Last week, the New York Post unearthed an old music video in which Pulido, who trails incumbent GOP Rep. Monica De La Cruz in the polls, played a serial pervert who, among other things, pleasures himself in public.

From the New York Post:

In a music video for his song “Dias de Ayer,” Pulido pantomimed as multiple characters including an exhibitionist, who wraps himself in a red blanket while repeatedly masturbating and even exposing himself to a woman while apparently on a private jet flight.

The two-time Latin Grammy winner seemingly caused such a stir with the 2010 video — which also displayed him as a homosexual admirer of the serial exhibitionist figure — that he faced questions from the Mexican press about his sexuality the same month it was released on an eponymous album.

“People are opening up more. I can even tell you that when I started my career, I saw the whole situation (of gays) very differently. At first, they said I was gay; there were rumors that I was like that,” Pulido told the outlet El Norte in a translated Spanish language March 2010 interview.

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SHOCKING: Democrat Texas Rep. Veronica Escobar’s Staffer Caught Posing as Attorney 11 TIMES to Sneak Cell Phones into ICE Detention Facilities – Permanently BANNED After Security Breach

A senior staffer for Texas Democrat Rep. Veronica Escobar repeatedly lied and impersonated an attorney to gain unauthorized access to an ICE detention facility on at least 11 separate occasions, according to Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

The staffer, Benito Torres, a senior caseworker in Escobar’s office, falsely claimed to be a licensed attorney or “accredited representative appearing before EOIR on immigration matters.”

Torres signed visitor logs stating he possessed a signed Form G-28 (Notice of Entry of Appearance as Attorney or Accredited Representative) and used the deception to meet with detainees at the Camp East Montana ICE facility in Texas.

On January 30, Torres was caught passing a personal cellphone to multiple detainees, a clear violation of facility rules that prohibit personal phones and group meetings.

When confronted by the facility administrator, Torres admitted he was not an attorney and was visiting only as a private citizen. He falsely claimed the visits had been coordinated through Rep. Escobar’s office and ICE headquarters.

A full review of visitor logs revealed Torres had pulled the same stunt at least 11 times between September 26 and January 30.

Earlier this week, Todd M. Lyons, the Senior Official Performing the Duties of the Director at ICE, sent a formal letter to Rep. Escobar detailing the violations and permanently banning Torres from all ICE facilities nationwide.

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Outrage as Texas town official spends $5,000 of taxpayers’ cash on OZEMPIC

A tiny Texas town has been rocked by a bizarre spending scandal after thousands of dollars in taxpayer funds were used to purchase weight-loss drugs and items from TikTok Shop.

Mayor Ken Padilla of Campbell, a small city in Hunt County with fewer than 1,000 residents, confirmed that roughly 150 unauthorized credit card charges were made between 2024 and 2025 that totaled more than $28,000.

Eyebrow-raising purchases include over $5,000 spent on GLP-1 weight-loss medications such as Ozempic, along with another $5,000 on items from TikTok Shop, Fox 4 reports.

The spending spree amounts to about 3.5 percent of the city’s annual budget, raising serious concerns about oversight and accountability in the tight-knit community.

City Secretary Trisha Lowery, who was hired after the transactions occurred, told a tense city council meeting on Monday that officials still cannot determine who made the charges.

‘I cannot tell you one way or the other who made these transactions. Obviously, we all have our own opinion on who did them and how they transpired,’ Lowery said. 

‘There has to be some sort of individual identifying information that says this person used this card.’

Padilla refused to comment further due to the pending investigation. 

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Prairieland Verdict: Texas Man Found Guilty of Transporting Constitutionally Protected Pamphlets

A federal jury in Fort Worth, Texas, convicted eight protestors on charges ranging from rioting to attempted murder after a noise demonstration turned violent outside Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Prairieland Detention Center last summer. Federal prosecutors claim the group was part of an “Antifa Cell” and provided “material support to terrorists.” First Amendment legal scholars have raised serious concerns about the chilling effect these prosecutions and convictions will have on future political dissent.

One man’s conviction emphasized just how far that chilling effect could go. Daniel Rolando Sanchez-Estrada, the husband of one of the convicted protestors, wasn’t present at the time of the July 4 demonstration. After receiving a call from his wife, Maricela Rueda, from the Johnston County Jail, in which she told him to do “whatever you need to do” and “move whatever you need to move at the house,” officers began watching Sanchez-Estrada, according to the criminal complaint filed against him.

Shortly after, officers observed Sanchez-Estrada load and move a box from his home to another residence. Sanchez-Estrada was then arrested on state traffic offenses, and officers obtained a search warrant to locate and search the box. Inside, they found “numerous Antifa materials, such as insurrection planning, anti-law enforcement, anti-government, and anti-immigration enforcement documents,” according to a November indictment. Sanchez-Estrada was subsequently charged federally with corruptly concealing a document and conspiracy to conceal documents.

Sanchez-Estrada was convicted on both counts on March 13 and now faces up to 40 years in federal prison. But despite ICE proclaiming in a post on X that the contents of Sanchez-Estrada’s box contained “literal insurrectionist propaganda,” these controversial materials fall squarely under constitutionally protected speech.

“I feel like the U.S. lost here with this verdict and what it means for future defendants,” Christopher Weinbel, Sanchez-Estrada’s federal public defender and a U.S. Army veteran, told The Washington Post. “I feel like it turned its back on justice with this.”

The other eight protestors were charged and convicted of rioting, providing material support to terrorists, conspiracy to use and carry an explosive, and using explosives after they set off fireworks outside the Prairieland ICE facility. Rueda was also convicted of conspiracy to conceal documents along with Sanchez-Estrada. Additionally, Benjamin Song was convicted of attempted murder of a U.S. officer and discharging a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence after he allegedly shot and wounded a police officer during the demonstration.

In response to the convictions, Attorney General Pam Bondi said the guilty “verdict on terrorism charges will not be the last as the Trump administration systematically dismantles Antifa and finally halts their violence on America’s streets.” But First Amendment lawyers are wary of conflating constitutionally protected speech after President Donald Trump signed an executive order in September categorizing the loosely defined “antifa” as a “domestic terrorist organization.”

Suzanne Adely, president of the National Lawyers Guild, a progressive legal group, told the Associated Press that the government wants to “squash” opposition, and a case like this one creates fear, “hoping that folks in other cities then will think twice over protesting.” The U.S. district judge presiding over the case, a Trump nominee, Mark Pittman, also signaled First Amendment concerns, according to The Guardian, when he asked prosecutors about the relevance of including antifa in the jury instructions. “Whether it’s antifa or the Methodist Women’s Auxiliary of Weatherford, why does it matter?” Pittman asked during the trial, reported The Guardian.

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Bodycam Video Released of Jasmine Crockett’s Bodyguard Pulling a Gun on Police

As our own Warren Squire reported last week, a member of Rep. Jasmine Crockett’s security detail was killed during a standoff with federal agents last Wednesday. The news broke Friday night that a man wanted for impersonating a law enforcement officer, who goes by the alias “Mike King,” barricaded himself in a parking garage in Dallas. King, who provided security for Crockett in Congress and during her failed Senate campaign, was fatally shot by SWAT officers.

Bodycam footage of the incident has been released a week later. A fake name? But wait, there’s more!

The post continues:

… a FAKE name

– Was wearing a fake police uniform and pretending to be a federal agent

– Created fraudulent businesses using FAKE identifying information to hire legit cops for off-duty jobs

And Crockett pretends she had no idea. That soon-to-be-unemployed POS might be even dumber than we thought.

Crockett being dumber than we thought is probably the most likely explanation.

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Crockett Defends Her Security Guard Fatally Shot by SWAT As Dallas Police Release Bodycam Footage of Standoff 

As TGP previously reported, Congresswoman Jasmine Crockett’s security officer was fatally shot by Dallas SWAT officers last week.

The security officer, Mike King, was a fugitive after impersonating a law enforcement officer.

King was killed in a parking garage during a standoff with Dallas SWAT officers last Wednesday night.

According to CBS News, he drove a “replica undercover police vehicle” with license plates “stolen from cars outside a military recruiting office.”

King reportedly has an extensive criminal history.

It is unclear how King was able to serve as Rep. Jasmine Crockett’s security detail despite his criminal background.

On Monday, Crockett defended Mike King even though he impersonated a federal law enforcement officer and drove cars with stolen US government plates.

“As a former public defender, I’ve always believed people are more than the worst thing they’ve ever done. I believe in redemption. The man we knew showed up with respect, care, and commitment to protecting others,” Crockett said.

“We’re still learning the full story, but today we mourn a life lost. This is a tragic ending that we wish had been avoided for all,” she said.

Crockett said the fact that King was able to “circumvent the vetting process” and be a part of her security detail is “incredibly alarming.”

“The fact that an individual was able to somehow circumvent the vetting process for something as sensitive as security for members of Congress highlights the loopholes and shortcomings in many of our systems. This is incredibly alarming, especially for those members who receive high volumes of credible and sophisticated death threats,” Crockett wrote.

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Texas Could See A Spike In Raids On Hemp Businesses Under New Rules, Industry Advocates Fear

Dallas attorney Chelsie Spencer specializes in making sure Texas businesses that sell hemp-derived THC products know how to stay in compliance with state and federal rules and regulations, an area that can be very confusing. She offers them a monthly service where her law firm rigorously vets distributors and helps to independently test their products to ensure they are safe and legal to sell in her clients’ stores.

“They pay us a phenomenal amount to stay compliant,” Spencer said.

That is why when Spencer learned that one of her North Texas clients had been raided by local police and the Drug Enforcement Administration, and his home surrounded, like he was a major narcotics dealer, she was shocked.

“They took everything from my client…his children’s cellphones, every computer in the house, took all the vehicles, seized all assets, and froze all cash,” Spencer said of the raid that occurred in July.

Since August 2024, local and federal law enforcement agencies have raided more than 15 businesses across the state that were accused of selling consumable hemp products that had illegal levels of THC, according to attorneys for these cannabis retailers. During these raids, law enforcement officials seized products and cash that businesses have still not recovered, and customers were scared away. Many of those retailers have not yet been found guilty of any crime, according to their attorneys.

“You always see the headlines about the raids, but you never see these huge headlines about charges and indictments,” said Andrea Steel, a Houston attorney for several THC businesses.

Even though they have affected a small fraction of 8,000 hemp retailers registered in Texas, these raids by law enforcement agencies have ramped up over the last two years to help some lawmakers build public support for banning hemp-derived THC products, Steel said. Over the summer, Gov. Greg Abbott (R) vetoed a bill the Legislature passed to ban hemp-derived THC and told state agencies to better regulate those THC products instead.

But, she said her clients fear these types of raids will continue because the new regulations being considered could create THC limits that will be nearly impossible to meet, shuttering THC businesses and deterring businesses from selling THC products.

“The same number of raids are occurring after the veto as before. In fact, there will likely be an increase in raids once the new rules and regulations are finalized because one of them is an increase in licensing fees for enforcement; they are going to need to justify that,” she said.

Law enforcement agencies deny that these raids were politically motivated. They have said these raids were based on concerns that these retailers were selling dangerous products, especially to children, and engaging in other unscrupulous activities such as money laundering, according to a news conference from Allen police, as well as a joint one between Temple and Belton police departments. Allen Police Chief Steve Dyes, whose department raided at least a dozen businesses and warehouses since 2024, was a fixture at the Texas Capitol during the legislative session, warning lawmakers that the hemp industry was corrupt and couldn’t be trusted.

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Member of Jasmine Crockett’s Security Detail Killed in Standoff with Dallas SWAT Officers

Congresswoman Jasmine Crockett’s security officer was fatally shot by Dallas SWAT officers this week.

The security officer, Mike King, was a fugitive after impersonating a law enforcement officer.

King was killed in his garage during a standoff with Dallas SWAT officers on Wednesday night.

According to CBS News, he drove a “replica undercover police vehicle” with license plates “stolen from cars outside a military recruiting office.”

King reportedly has an extensive criminal history.

It is unclear how King was able to serve as Rep. Jasmine Crockett’s security detail despite his criminal background.

CBS reported:

A man shot and killed by Dallas police earlier this week was a familiar figure in North Texas law enforcement – and part of the security detail for U.S. Rep. Jasmine Crockett, sources told CBS News Texas.

Multiple law enforcement sources tell CBS News Texas the man, known publicly as Mike King, had been using aliases while running a business that placed officers in off‑duty jobs.

King was killed Wednesday night after a standoff with Dallas police SWAT officers. Police say he fled into a hospital parking garage, barricaded himself inside a vehicle, and was forced out by tear gas before pulling a gun on officers.

Sources say he was wanted for impersonating a law enforcement officer and had claimed to be one while operating Off Duty Police Services, an online platform connecting North Texas officers with off‑duty work. Authorities have not released his real name.

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Jury Finds Nine Antifa Members Guilty of Terrorism Charges in Attack on Texas ICE Detention Center

A jury found nine Antifa members guilty of terrorism charges in an attack on an ICE detention center in Texas.

The nine indicted defendants: Cameron Arnold, a/k/a Autunm Hill, Zachary Evetts, Benjamin Song, Savanna Batten, Bradford Morris, a/k/a Meagan Morris, Maricela Rueda, Elizabeth Soto, Ines Soto, and Daniel Rolando Sanchez-Estrada.

Last 4th of July, nearly a dozen Antifa members dressed in black bloc and body armor descended on the Prairieland ICE Detention Center in Alvarado, Texas.

The terrorists fired off explosives, vandalized federal vehicles, and fired shots at police officers.

A police officer was shot in the neck.

The defendants were found guilty on riot charges, providing material support to terrorists, conspiracy to use and carry an explosive, and using and carrying an explosive, three counts of attempted murder of an officer, three counts of discharging a firearm during a violent crime, corruptly concealing a document and conspiracy to conceal documents.

“Today’s verdict shows the FBI remains committed to identifying, locating, and dismantling Antifa and its funding networks across the country,” said FBI Director Kash Patel. “Acts of violence against our law enforcement partners will not be tolerated, and we continue our work to protect communities across the country from domestic terrorism.”

“Antifa is a domestic terrorist organization that has been allowed to flourish in Democrat-led cities — not under President Trump,” said Attorney General Pamela Bondi. “Today’s verdict on terrorism charges will not be the last as the Trump administration systematically dismantles Antifa and finally halts their violence on America’s streets.”

“Nine North Texas Antifa Cell operatives were convicted today by a federal jury in Fort Worth, Texas for their roles in rioting, using weapons and explosives, providing material support to terrorists, obstruction, and attempted murder of an Alvarado police officer and unarmed correctional officers at the Prairieland ICE Detention Center on July 4, 2025, announced United States Attorney for the Northern District of Texas Ryan Raybould,” the DOJ said.

“In a 12-day trial that began on February 23, 2026, jurors heard testimony from more than 45 witnesses and considered over 210 exhibits supporting the charges against nine indicted defendants: Cameron Arnold, a/k/a Autunm Hill, Zachary Evetts, Benjamin Song, Savanna Batten, Bradford Morris, a/k/a Meagan Morris, Maricela Rueda, Elizabeth Soto, Ines Soto, and Daniel Rolando Sanchez-Estrada,” the Justice Department said.

“Seven others, Seth Sikes, Nathan Baumann, Joy Gibson, Susan Kent, Rebecca Morgan, Lynette Sharp, and John Thomas, pled guilty last year to one count of providing material support to terrorists,” the DOJ said.

This is the first-ever federal Antifa terrorism trial in Texas.

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