Category Archives: Fraud

May 9, 2013

5 federal officials charged in CA immigration scam

Posted on May 9, 2013 by ifnm| Leave a comment

LOS ANGELES – Authorities said Wednesday they have broken up an immigration fraud ring that led to the arrests of four federal law enforcement officers accused of accepting bribes to help foreigners enter the country.

An 18-count indictment laid out a detailed account of alleged corruption where tens of thousands of dollars, a flat-screen TV and airline tickets to Thailand were some of the bribes used to have the officers forge documents and other illegal activity that involved three federal agencies.

Among those charged with conspiracy to commit bribery are James Dominguez, 46, a special agent with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement; Jesus Figueroa, 66, a supervisory officer with Citizenship and Immigration Services and Michael Anders, 53, a Customs and Border Protection officer.

Federal prosecutors said lawyer Kwang Man Lee, who was previously charged in a related case, paid bribes to the officers to secure admission stamps and lawful permanent residence status for people who paid fees ranging from a few hundred dollars to more than $50,000.

The bribes ranged from as little as $50 to as much as $10,000, prosecutors said.

“The allegations in this case concern federal law enforcement officers selling their services and betraying their oaths to our nation so they could profit from a clandestine immigration fraud ring that allowed scores of aliens to improperly enter and reside in the United States,” said United States Attorney André Birotte Jr.

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Posted in Fraud, Immigration, Law & Courts

May 1, 2013

Moreno Valley: Homes, business searched in political corruption probe

Posted on May 1, 2013 by ifnm| Leave a comment

Federal and local agents served search warrants throughout in Moreno Valley on Tuesday morning, April 30, raiding the homes of all five City Council members, a businessman with close political connections and the corporate offices of warehouse developer Highland Fairview.

Federal and local agents served search warrants on Tuesday, April 30, at the homes of Moreno Valley’s five City Council members, a real estate broker with political connections and the corporate office of Skechers warehouse developer Highland Fairview.

The raids, which began early in the morning, are part of “an ongoing political corruption investigation,” Riverside County District Attorney Chief Investigator Michael Moriarty said. Authorities declined to be more specific.

At least one former city councilman and a Moreno Valley resident have filed or said they would file complaints about relationships between Highland Fairview and its president and CEO Iddo Benzeevi and City Council members, who have defended Benzeevi and the corporation. Those inside city government who challenge Highland Fairview and Benzeevi have been punished, they say.

Some City Council members said they had nothing to hide, while Mayor Tom Owings urged Moreno Valley residents to be patient.

Michele Patterson, assistant to City Manager Henry Garcia, said no investigating agencies had contacted City Hall or city offices.

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Posted in Business, Fraud, Government, Law & Courts

April 27, 2013

NYTimes Confirms: Massive Fraud at USDA in Pigford; Breitbart Vindicated

Posted on April 27, 2013 by ifnm| Leave a comment

The New York Times reported Friday that the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has likely enabled massive fraud in the Pigford series of legal settlements, in which black, Hispanic, female and Native American farmers have claimed to be victims of past discrimination.

The cost of the settlements, which could exceed $4.4 billion, is the result of a process that “became a runaway train, driven by racial politics, pressure from influential members of Congress and law firms that stand to gain more than $130 million in fees,” the Times notes.

Among those influential members of Congress was then-Senator Barack Obama, who made Pigford payouts a priority in exchange for political support for his 2008 presidential campaign among a coveted group of black voters in the rural South, the Times reports.

As president, Obama continued to support payouts for new groups of claimants while abandoning a review process that had been used to fight fraud. The aim was “buying the support” of minorities, according to the Times, while middlemen created a “cottage industry” in defrauding the government.

The Times investigation, led by reporter Sharon LaFraniere, vindicates the late Andrew Breitbart, for whom Pigford became a crucial issue in demonstrating the cynical use of racial politics by the institutional left to hurt the very people they claimed to be helping. Breitbart directed investigations of the Pigford fraud and championed the cause of the original black farmers in the lawsuit, arguing that many of them had been left behind while opportunistic lawyers and fraudulent claimants looted the federal treasury in exchange for votes and support.

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Posted in Agriculture, Andrew Breitbart, Fraud, Law & Courts, Multiculturalism

April 12, 2013

Rev. Jeremiah Wright’s daughter indicted in fraud scheme

Posted on April 12, 2013 by ifnm| Leave a comment

A federal grand jury handed down the multi-pronged indictments Wednesday that accused Jeri Wright of engaging in a series of bank transactions in November 2009 in which she cashed more than $27,800 in checks drawn from the bank account of a non-profit the Evans controlled and from which the state funds had been deposited.

The daughter of President Barack Obama’s former pastor was indicted Wednesday on charges of money laundering and lying to federal investigators in an expanding 2009 state grant-fraud case.

Jeri L. Wright, daughter of the Rev. Jeremiah Wright, was accused of participating in a fraud scheme allegedly orchestrated by former Country Club Hills Police Chief Regina Evans and her husband involving a $1.25 million state job-training grant geared toward minorities.

Jeri Wright, 47, of Hazel Crest, was charged with two counts of money laundering, two counts of making false statements to federal law enforcement officers and seven counts of giving false testimony before a grand jury.

A federal grand jury handed down the multi-pronged indictments Wednesday that accused Jeri Wright of engaging in a series of bank transactions in November 2009 in which she cashed more than $27,800 in checks drawn from the bank account of a non-profit the Evans controlled and from which the state funds had been deposited.

The indictment described Jeri Wright as a “close friend and associate” of Evans and her husband, Ronald W. Evans, Jr.

With that cash in hand, Jeri Wright then allegedly deposited $19,888 of that total into the personal bank account belonging to Evans and her husband, “knowing that the property involved in the financial transaction represented the proceeds of some form of unlawful activity,” the indictment alleged.

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Posted in Crime, Democrats/Progressives, Fraud, Law & Courts, Radicals

April 7, 2013

Boomtown 2: Only 100 Federal Employees Tasked with Monitoring EBT Fraud

Posted on April 7, 2013 by ifnm| Leave a comment

On Fox News’ one-hour “Boomtown 2: The Business of Food Stamps” special Friday, Government Accountability Institute (GAI) president Peter Schweizer asked viewers on “Hannity” to type in the hashtag #EBT on Twitter to see how easy it was to engage in food stamp fraud.

On Twitter and other social media sites like Facebook, those with EBT cards that are meant for food often trade the cards for cash.

As Schweizer, who appeared on the special with Breitbart News Executive Chairman Stephen K. Bannon, described, someone may take $150 in cash in exchange for a $250 EBT card.

While nearly 220,000 stores take EBT cards, only 100 federal employees have been tasked to monitor fraud. In addition, the USDA only monitors less than 10% of all food stamp vendors.

As a result, there is no way to measure the amount of fraud in the $75 billion-a-year food stamp industry. Government bureaucrats have said in their defense that only 1% of the food stamps program is subject to fraud.

“It’s very easy to do because it is a card that is interchangeable,” Schweizer said, noting the government does not want to even implement photo ID on the cards so as not to stigmatize the EBT card recipients.

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Posted in Documentary, Entitlements, Fraud, Journalism, Sean Hannity

April 4, 2013

Ex-Goldman trader Taylor pleads guilty to wire fraud

Posted on April 4, 2013 by ifnm| Leave a comment

Ex-Goldman Sachs Group Inc trader Matthew Marshall Taylor has turned himself in to federal authorities in connection with charges that he defrauded the Wall Street bank out of $118 million in 2007, two sources familiar with the matter said.

Taylor, 34, pleaded guilty to one count of wire fraud in federal court in lower Manhattan on Wednesday morning, after voluntarily turning himself into federal authorities earlier in the day.

The Massachusetts Institute of Technology graduate pleaded guilty about four months after the Commodities Futures Trading Commission filed a civil complaint against him. The CFTC accused Taylor of fabricating trades to conceal a huge, unauthorized position in e-mini Standard & Poor’s futures contracts, which bet on the direction of the S&P 500 index.

Taylor on Wednesday told U.S. District Judge William Pauley that his trading position at Goldman exceeded risk guidelines set by his supervisors “on the order of 10 times.” He also admitted to making false statements to Goldman personnel who questioned him about the position, which led to a $118 million loss for Goldman Sachs.

“I am truly sorry,” Taylor said.

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Posted in Fraud, Law & Courts

April 1, 2013

IRS knowingly sends Billions in Fraudulent Refunds to Illegal Immigrants

Posted on April 1, 2013 by ifnm| Leave a comment

The whistleblower notified the IRS of dozens of returns that were “fraudulent, 100% fraudulent tax returns.” But, no response was ever received from the IRS. Out of frustration he went to WTHR investigative reporter Bob Segall.

A WTHR-TV Indianapolis investigative report exposes a fraudulent scheme wherein the IRS is sending $4.2 billion per year to illegal immigrants as an “additional child tax credit” for children who don’t even live in the U.S.

Further, the IRS and Congress have been ignoring the scheme for years. The Inspector General’s office has repeatedly identified the problem in audit after audit. The IG, Russell George says, “The magnitude of the problem has grown exponentially,” but the IRS is doing nothing to stop it.

“It’s so easy it’s ridiculous,” the tax preparer whistleblower who exposed the fraud admits. Names are simply listed on the IRS form. “The more you put on there, the more you get back.” No questions asked…the check’s in the mail.

Below is the video of the shocking report.

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Posted in Fraud, Tax

March 30, 2013

3 dozen indicted in Atlanta cheating scandal

Posted on March 30, 2013 by ifnm| Leave a comment

The previous state investigation in 2011 found cheating by nearly 180 educators in 44 Atlanta schools. Educators gave answers to students or changed answers on tests after they were turned in, investigators said. Teachers who tried to report it faced retaliation, creating a culture of “fear and intimidation” in the district.


In this June 13, 2011 file photo, outgoing schools superintendent, Dr. Beverly Hall, center, arrives for her last Atlanta school board meeting at the Atlanta Public Schools headquarters in Atlanta. Hall and nearly three dozen other administrators, teachers, principals and other educators were indicted Friday, March 29, 2013, in one of the nation’s largest cheating scandals.

In another embarrassing blow to Atlanta public schools, nearly three dozen former educators, including the ex-superintendent, were indicted Friday in one of the nation’s largest test cheating scandals.

Former Superintendent Beverly Hall faced charges including racketeering, false statements and theft because prosecutors said some of the bonuses she received were tied to falsified scores.

Hall retired just days before a state probe was released in 2011. She has long denied knowing about the cheating or ordering it.

During a news conference Friday, Fulton County District Attorney Paul Howard provided examples of two students who demonstrated “the plight of many children” in the Atlanta school system. He described a third-grader who failed a benchmark exam and received the worst score in her reading class in 2006. The girl was held back, yet when she took a separate assessment test not long after, she passed with flying colors.

Howard said the girl’s mother, Justina Collins, knew something was awry, but was told by school officials that the child simply was a good test-taker. The girl is now in ninth grade, reading at a fifth-grade level.

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Posted in Education, Fraud, Law & Courts

March 29, 2013

Caught on tape: School officials laughing as they talked about hiding millions of dollars

Posted on March 29, 2013 by ifnm| Leave a comment

We shared our findings with Kerrie Dallman, President of the Colorado Education Association. “Listening to this recording I think every educator, every parent and every student should be very insulted,” said Dallman. “It’s sounding more and more like the financial crisis has been made up on the part of the district. That it’s not real and that it has been parents, students and staff that are paying the price.”

Hours of secretly recorded conversations obtained exclusively by FOX31 Denver News indicate school officials in the Adams 12 Five Star School District may have been intentionally hiding tens of millions of dollars in retirement benefit payments from the public.

“We did not want the public at large to know that we have these big stipends that people get when they exit the system,” said Superintendent Chris Gdowski. “We did try to bury it,” replied Chief Human Resources Officer Mark Hinson. “The way it has been shown is…off the budget,” said financial consultant Vody Herrmann.

That exchange was caught on tape by the school district’s internal auditor Gina Holub back in September.

Holub was meeting with the Superintendent and executive level staff to discuss concerns she had with the school district’s 2012-2013 budget.

“I recorded the conversation because I was concerned that school officials were hiding millions of dollars while cutting jobs and eliminating educational programs,” said Holub.

“Many of the cuts were not necessary. The school district is hiding more than $17 million dollars.” She was concerned that schools officials “were going to sweep it under the rug.”

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Posted in Crime, Education, Fraud

March 21, 2013

5 of 6 former officials convicted in Bell, California, corruption case

Posted on March 21, 2013 by ifnm| Leave a comment

A lawyer for Hernandez said during the trial that his client was unschooled, illiterate and not the type of “scholar” who understood the city’s finances.

Five former elected officials of the small, blue-collar California city of Bell were convicted Wednesday of multiple counts of misappropriating public funds by paying themselves huge salaries while raising taxes on residents.

Former Mayor Oscar Hernandez and co-defendants Teresa Jacobo, George Mirabal, George Cole and Victor Belo were all convicted of multiple counts and acquitted of others.

Former Councilman Luis Artiga was cleared entirely.

The charges against the officials involved paying themselves inflated salaries of up to $100,000 a year in the city of 36,000 people, where one in four residents live below the poverty line.

An audit by the state controller’s office previously found the city had illegally raised property taxes, business license fees and other sources of revenue to pay the salaries. The office ordered the money repaid.

The guilty findings were related to the appointment of the defendants to the Solid Waste and Recycling Authority, an agency that prosecutors had argued during trial served no purpose other than to pay them a salary.

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Posted in Fraud, Government, Law & Courts