Justice Department Announces Charges in 17 Fraud Cases Involving More Than $350 Million

The Justice Department announced a series of fraud enforcement actions Thursday spanning seven Southeastern states and involving more than $350 million in alleged or intended losses.

The 17 cases include allegations involving tax fraud, health care billing, Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits, federal housing assistance and Small Business Administration loans. The cases were brought in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina and South Carolina.

Federal prosecutors charged cases involving more than $90 million in losses and 12 named defendants since July 4, according to the department’s National Fraud Enforcement Division. Other matters announced Thursday include guilty pleas, sentencings and previously filed charges.

The division also announced the creation of federal-state anti-fraud task forces in Florida, Mississippi and North Carolina. New cooperation agreements will allow federal investigators to access publicly available corporate registration and public-benefit payment data maintained by participating state agencies.

Assistant Attorney General Colin McDonald said the agreements would improve the government’s ability to identify connections between businesses, benefit payments and financial transactions.

“Whether it’s sharing intelligence, data, personnel, or priorities, partnering with state agencies directly strengthens our ability to identify those stealing taxpayer dollars,” McDonald said.

Among the largest cases announced was a Louisiana prosecution involving $174 million in fraudulent Medicare claims for allegedly unnecessary cancer and cardiovascular genetic testing. A defendant identified as Spivey was sentenced for participating in the health care fraud conspiracy.

In Alabama, Birmingham-area tax preparer Michael Shine was accused of filing thousands of returns containing allegedly fraudulent energy tax credits, causing nearly $70 million in losses. The charges were filed in a criminal complaint.

Florida defendant Daniel Liburdi pleaded guilty to filing a false tax return and agreed to pay nearly $35 million in restitution. His forfeiture agreement included Miami Beach and U.S. Virgin Islands properties, two Ferraris and a Range Rover.

Four defendants in South Florida were accused of processing nearly $20 million in fraudulent SNAP transactions through a Miami convenience store. Prosecutors alleged the defendants exchanged recipients’ electronic benefits for discounted cash payments.

In North Carolina, a tax-return preparation business owner and seven co-conspirators were accused of using fraudulent COVID-19 tax credits to claim nearly $25 million in refunds. Two Romanian brothers also pleaded guilty in a separate multistate SNAP fraud case involving approximately $766,000.

Other cases included allegations that:

• An SBA employee and his co-conspirators generated more than $11.5 million in fraudulent disaster loans in Mississippi.
• Alabama defendants sold approximately $7 million in counterfeit postage stamps.
• Georgia defendants diverted millions of dollars from federal pandemic-relief and public-housing programs.
• A Louisiana charter school executive and her co-defendants diverted nearly $1.5 million in federal money.
• Federal inmates in Mississippi fraudulently obtained approximately $4.3 million in unemployment and disaster-loan benefits.
• A South Carolina medical transportation employee used forged physician certifications to generate more than $1.8 million in Medicare billing.

The enforcement initiative followed a regional meeting involving 18 U.S. attorneys’ offices, seven state attorneys general and five federal law enforcement agencies. Secretaries of state from six participating states and treasurers from Florida, Mississippi and South Carolina agreed to provide the Fraud Division with access to specified public data.

The Justice Department created the National Fraud Enforcement Division on April 7 to investigate and prosecute fraud involving federal programs and taxpayer money.

Charges contained in indictments, informations and complaints are allegations. Defendants who have not entered guilty pleas are presumed innocent unless proven guilty in court.