Federal Fraud

The durable medical equipment industry is rife with power wheelchair fraud. In fact, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services have seen an increase of nearly 450 percent in spending over the past four years. (All of that cannot possibly be legit.) Today’s “Fraud...

Magicians have been known to use ''smoke and mirrors'' to create a distraction that leads their audience to believe magic has occurred. Fraudsters often use money laundering to create a similar effect by moving illegal proceeds between shell companies, which appear to be legitimate....

When tempted by money, people often find themselves acting in ways that are contrary to their belief system. At first, they may convince themselves that they'll only indulge just a little because after all, they deserve it and no one will notice or be...

Generosity is a characteristic that is not usually associated with fraudsters unless they are on the receiving end of a windfall. (They tend to be very generous with themselves, making sure they collect as much money as possible.) Today’s fraudster from Williamsport, Pennsylvania was the...

There are lies, and then there are lies. Given the subject, some are a way to spare someone’s feelings; others are a lapse in moral turpitude. (One thing is for certain though, lying on a government document is fraud – and a felony.) As...

The purpose of a medical research study is to use human participants to add to the body of medical knowledge. (Medical research studies are used to test the efficacy and safety of new interventions and often lead to medical breakthroughs and even cures.) Today,...

Americans spend around $40 billion per year on the purchase of legal and illegal marijuana. While the number of states that have passed legislation legalizing the use of marijuana for medical purposes and recreational use has increased, it’s still a federal crime to grow...

The National Hurricane Center reports that Hurricane Sandy formed in the central Caribbean on October 22, 2012 and tracked north through Jamaica, eastern Cuba and the Bahamas before heading to the United States and the mid-Atlantic coast around October 28th. The storm packed a punch, causing...

Wherever there is a disaster, it seems there is someone trying to cash in on it. But, what most fraudsters don’t realize is that the penalty for disaster fraud is higher than most realize. Today’s fraudster is a Florida woman who is facing 30 years...

Today’s “Fraud of the Day” is based on an article entitled, “Phenix City resident convicted of stolen identity fraud ring that sought $26 million,” posted on AL.com. A Phenix City resident was convicted by a federal jury for stealing the identities of soldiers, state prisoners and teenagers in a scheme that sought $26 million in false tax returns.