Identity Theft/Fraud

Fraud occurs just about everywhere in the U.S., from sea to shining sea. In today’s case, we take a look at a COVID-19 and identity theft fraud scheme that began on the West Coast in Seattle, Wash., but ended June 2021 on the East...

In the Star Wars movie series, Death Star and Death Star II were the Galactic Empire's ultimate terror weapons that could destroy an entire planet. Similarly, Justin Sean Johnson a.k.a. TheDearthStar and Dearthy Star, hacked the human resources databases of the University of Pittsburgh...

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) estimates that as many as 9 million Americans have their identities stolen each year. In 2020, the Insurance Information Institute noted that approximately 1,660 Puerto Ricans alone had their identity stolen. (In one year, mind you.) One of those...

Open enrollment for Medicare is in full swing. (Ask any senior citizen how many telemarketing calls or mailings they’re getting right now.) That’s why it’s important to heed a Milwaukee woman’s warning about a Medicare ‘gold chip’ card scheme. Paula Rhyner, 67, answered what...

A former resident of Lawrence, Mass., who was living under a false identity, was sentenced in Boston on charges arising from his use of the stolen name and Social Security number belonging to another U.S. citizen. An individual referred to as “John Doe,” was...

A North Providence, R.I., man and his co-conspirators were sentenced to prison for 30 months for conspiring to commit wire fraud and aggravated identity theft. They were involved in an automobile warranty fraud scheme that caused a loss of more than $385,352.19 to a...

A former employee of the Massachusetts Department of Unemployment Assistance (DUA) pleaded guilty to fraud and identity theft charges arising from her claims for Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA) funds. (It’s hard not to acknowledge the irony.)   Tiffany Pacheco, 35, formerly of New Bedford, pleaded...

“Operation Devil’s Highway” focused on putting a stop to drug distribution in Lawrence, Mass., and drug trafficking between the city and the State of New Hampshire. The investigation, which involved more than two dozen law enforcement agencies, resulted in federal drug charges against 40...

The Helping Hands Academy in Connecticut was supposed to provide applied behavior analysis for children diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). Instead, the business owner and a phony “behavior analyst” conspired to defraud Medicaid (while victimizing families and patients with subpar services). Medicaid requires that...

Two Maryland women have been sentenced after committing Medicaid fraud. Sasha Saunders, 42, and Diane Jordan, 48, were found guilty of billing Medicaid using stolen identities.    Saunders worked as the founder and president of two mental health and substance abuse treatment programs. Jordan was the vice president of the same companies – Changing Directions, Inc. and HEAL Inc. (Perhaps the women should have tried...