Category: Legal Issues

Source: United States Attorneys General 11

WASHINGTON – A federal jury convicted a Tennessee nurse practitioner last week for illegally prescribing opioids – including oxycodone and fentanyl – from his medical practice.

According to court documents and evidence presented at trial, Jeffrey Young, 49, of Jackson, used his medical practice, Preventagenix, to illegally prescribe more than one million medically unnecessary controlled substance pills to hundreds of patients, including a pregnant woman and women with whom he was having inappropriate physical relationships. Young maintained a party-like atmosphere at his clinic, and prescribed these drugs at least in part to boost his popularity on social media and promote a self-produced reality TV show pilot based on his self-identified persona, the “Rock Doc.”

Young was convicted of conspiracy to unlawfully distribute controlled substances, maintaining a drug-involved premises, and 13 counts of distributing controlled substances, six of which involved distribution to a pregnant woman. He is scheduled to be sentenced on Aug. 3 and faces a maximum penalty of 40 years in prison for each count involving distribution to a pregnant woman, and 20 years in prison for each of the other counts of conviction. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

Assistant Attorney General Kenneth A. Polite, Jr. of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, U.S. Attorney Kevin G. Ritz for the Western District of Tennessee, Special Agent in Charge J. Todd Scott of the DEA Louisville Field Division, and Director David Rausch of the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation made the announcement.

The DEA and Tennessee Bureau of Investigation investigated the case, with valuable assistance from the Jackson Police Department.

Assistant Chief Kate Payerle and Trial Attorney Drew Pennebaker of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section are prosecuting the case with significant assistance from Jillian Willis and Dermot Lynch.

The Fraud Section leads the Appalachian Regional Prescription Opioid (ARPO) Strike Force. Since its inception in late 2018, ARPO has partnered with federal and state law enforcement agencies and U.S. Attorneys’ Offices throughout Alabama, Kentucky, Ohio, Virginia, Tennessee, and West Virginia to prosecute medical professionals and others involved in the illegal prescription and distribution of opioids. Over the past four years, ARPO has charged over 115 defendants, collectively responsible for issuing prescriptions for over 115 million controlled substance dosage units. To date, more than 70 ARPO defendants have been convicted. More information can be found at https://www.justice.gov/criminal-fraud/health-care-fraud-unit.

Source: United States Attorneys General 11

Memphis, TN – Former Memphis attorney, Leigh M. Chiles, 49, pled guilty in connection with a scheme to defraud an estate over which she was appointed to serve as executrix. United States Attorney Kevin G. Ritz announced the guilty plea today.

According to U.S. Attorney Ritz, a federal grand jury returned an indictment against Chiles in July 2022. Based on the charges and information presented in court today, Chiles, currently of Little Rock, Arkansas, appeared before United States Magistrate Judge Annie T. Christoff and entered a guilty plea to one count of wire fraud.

In September 2018, Chiles was appointed to serve as executrix over an estate opened in Shelby County Probate Court. In connection with her duties Chiles was responsible for collecting estate assets and distributing them to heirs and beneficiaries. In violation of her fiduciary duty, Chiles used approximately $124,000 in estate funds to write checks to herself and to pay her personal credit card between November 2018 and June 2019.

A sentencing hearing is currently set before United States District Judge John T. Fowlkes, Jr. on July 17, 2023, where Chiles faces a maximum sentence of 20 years’ imprisonment, a $250,000 fine, and three years of supervised release.

The case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

Assistant United States Attorney Carroll L. André III is prosecuting this case.

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For more information, please contact Public Information Officer Cherri Green at (901) 544-4231 or cherri.green@usdoj.gov. Follow @WDTNNews on Twitter for office news and updates.

Source: United States Attorneys General 11

Memphis, TN – A superseding indictment has been returned by a federal grand jury charging three men, Michael Hobson, 30, and Tomarcus Baskerville, 34, of Somerville, Tennessee, and Christopher Peeler, 31, of Moscow, Tennessee, with committing murder in aid of racketeering and causing death using a firearm. The charges arise from a 2015 Hardeman County murder.

“This is another great example of the diligent work of the law enforcement community to rid our communities of the violence that gang members inflict upon our citizens. This indictment should serve as notice that we will use every available resource to bring those who engage in organized crime to justice,” said U.S. Attorney Kevin Ritz.

“We applaud the diligent and thorough work of our special agents and law enforcement partners and are grateful for the continued work of the U.S. Attorney in ensuring the individuals responsible for this deadly and devastating string of organized crime, throughout West Tennessee, will be held accountable for every criminal act they have committed,” said TBI Director David Rausch.

According to U.S. Attorney Ritz, as well as the charges and information presented in court, in 2022, a federal grand jury indicted 14 alleged members and associates of the Traveling Vice Lord/Junk Yard Dog gang on various racketeering charges, including murder, attempted murders, and narcotic trafficking. This superseding indictment adds charges for a second murder and includes Michael Hobson as an alleged gang member and offender.

The indictment includes charges for six separate shootings, two murders, and four attempted murders in Hardeman County. As a result of these crimes, nine individuals were shot, and two of those victims died. Each of the defendants are being detained.

The RICO conspiracy charge carries a maximum sentence of life. The charge of murder in aid of racketeering charge carries a sentence of life imprisonment. Each of the acts of brandishing and discharging a firearm during and in relation to a crime of violence carries a penalty of not less than 10 years consecutive to its related attempted murder (Violent Crime in Aid in Racketeering).

This case was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation (TBI), the Fayette County Sheriff’s Department, and the Hardeman County Sheriff’s Department.

Members of the public are reminded that an indictment only contains charges. The defendants are presumed innocent of the charges and it will be the government’s burden to prove the defendant’s guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.

Assistant United States Attorneys Neal Oldham and Beth Boswell are prosecuting the case.

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For more information, please contact Public Information Officer Cherri Green at (901) 544-4231 or cherri.green@usdoj.gov. Follow @WDTNNews on Twitter for office news and updates.

Source: United States Attorneys General 11

NASHVILLE – Tennessee State Senator Brian Kelsey pleaded guilty today to violating campaign finance laws and conspiring to defraud the Federal Election Commission (FEC) as part of a scheme to benefit his 2016 campaign for U.S. Congress.

Kelsey and Joshua Smith, of Nashville, were indicted by a federal grand jury in Nashville in October 2021 and charged with violating multiple campaign finance laws. 

According to court documents, Kelsey, 44, of Germantown, admitted that he conspired to and did secretly and unlawfully funnel money from multiple sources, including his own Tennessee State Senate campaign committee, to his authorized federal campaign committee. Kelsey and his co-conspirators, including Joshua Smith, also caused a national political organization to make illegal, excessive contributions to Kelsey’s federal campaign committee by secretly coordinating with the organization on advertisements supporting Kelsey’s federal candidacy and to cause false reports of contributions and expenditures to be filed with the FEC.

Kelsey and the other conspirators orchestrated the concealed movement of $91,000 — $66,000 of which came from Kelsey’s State Senate campaign committee, and $25,000 of which came from a nonprofit corporation that publicly advocated on legal justice issues — to a national political organization for the purpose of funding advertisements that urged voters to support Kelsey in the August 2016 primary election. Kelsey, Smith, and others also caused the political organization to make $80,000 worth of contributions to Kelsey’s federal campaign committee in the form of coordinated expenditures.

Kelsey pleaded guilty to conspiracy to defraud the FEC and aiding and abetting the acceptance of excessive contributions on behalf of a federal campaign. He is scheduled to be sentenced on June 9, 2023 and faces a maximum penalty of five years in prison on each count. Chief U.S. District Court Judge Waverly D. Crenshaw, Jr. will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

Joshua Smith pleaded guilty last month to aiding and abetting the solicitation, receipt, direction, transfer, and spending of soft money in connection with a federal election and is awaiting sentencing.

U.S. Attorney Mark H. Wildasin for the Middle District of Tennessee; Assistant Attorney General Kenneth A. Polite Jr. of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division; the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Tennessee; and Special Agent in Charge Douglas Korneski of the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Memphis Field Office made the announcement.

The FBI is investigating the case.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Amanda Klopf of the Middle District of Tennessee and David Pritchard of the Western District of Tennessee and Trial Attorney John Taddei of the Justice Department’s Public Integrity Section are prosecuting the case.

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Source: United States Attorneys General 11

NASHVILLE – A registered sex offender from Kansas City, Kansas, was sentenced in U.S. District Court in Nashville on Friday to 15 years in prison for attempting to transfer obscene materials to a minor and engaging in this activity as a registered sex offender, announced U.S. Attorney Mark H. Wildasin for the Middle District of Tennessee. 

Shawn Glazier, 51, was indicted in July and pleaded guilty in August, after engaging in online communications with an undercover FBI agent who he believed to be 13 years old and living in Clarksville, Tennessee. 

Earlier this year, Glazier used an online dating application to initiate a conversation with the undercover agent. Believing that the undercover was a 13-year-old female, Glazier turned the conversation to a sexual nature and began requesting nude and explicit photographs.  At one point, Glazier sent the undercover agent a photograph of his penis.

On June 22, 2022, the FBI executed a search warrant at Glazier’s home and arrested him.  The subsequent investigation determined that Glazier had been convicted in Missouri in 2006 of attempting to entice a minor to engage in sexual activity and interstate travel to attempt to engage in a sexual act with a minor, which required him to register as a sex offender. 

This case was investigated by the FBI and was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Monica Morrison.

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Source: United States Attorneys General 11

NASHVILLE – Patrick Martin, 51, of Gainesboro, Tennessee, was sentenced Friday to 15 months in prison for embezzling approximately $211,000 from the Community Prevention Coalition of Jackson County while serving as the Coalition’s Executive Director, announced U.S. Attorney Mark H. Wildasin for the Middle District of Tennessee.

Martin was initially charged in May 2019 and pleaded guilty in August 2021 to wire fraud, failure to pay over employment taxes, and filing a false income tax return. 

According to Court documents, beginning in 2014, Martin submitted applications to an agency of the Department of Health and Human Services for Drug Free Communities program grants and received awards for the Coalition totaling $375,000 over three years.  Martin was supposed to use the grant funds on behalf of the Coalition, but instead used the money for his own personal benefit, including to make an automobile purchase, pay personal bills, make home renovations, and financially support someone outside of his family.

As the Executive Director of the Coalition, Martin also was responsible for paying over certain employment taxes withheld from employees’ paychecks to the IRS. Martin failed to do so and used this money for his own personal benefit as well. Martin also filed false income tax returns with the IRS for tax years 2014 and 2015, failing to report the income from his embezzlement scheme.

Martin was also ordered to pay restitution in the amount of  $507,373.76, with $375,000 to be paid to the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, the agency that awarded the grant; and $132,373.76 to be paid to the IRS.  Martin was also ordered to forfeit $211,795.84.

This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation; the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Inspector General; the IRS – Criminal Investigation; and the Tennessee Comptroller of the Treasury.  Assistant United States Attorney Robert S. Levine prosecuted the case.

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Source: United States Attorneys General 11

NASHVILLE – A 14-count felony Information was filed today charging Tache “Gabe” Georgescu, 45, and Natalia Georgescu, 38, both of Laguna Niguel, California, owner and operator of now defunct Lowry Medical Supply, Inc. (Lowry Medical) in Nashville, Tennessee, with conspiracy to commit healthcare fraud and paying illegal kickbacks, announced US. Attorney Mark H. Wildasin for the Middle District of Tennessee. 

According to the charging document, in November 2017, the Georgescus purchased Lowry Medical, a durable medical equipment (DME).  In 2018, the Georgescus purchased three other DME companies located in Florida, but which were operated interchangeably with Nashville-based Lowry Medical, including Medpros Associates LLC; Alliance DME LLC; and AYMS LLC., all of which are also now defunct.  These Georgescu-controlled DME companies received nearly all their revenue from billing Medicare for orthotic braces. 

The charging document alleges the Georgescus’ payment of illegal kickbacks and bribes in exchange for the referral of Medicare beneficiaries by medical professionals, working with fraudulent telemedicine companies, for back, shoulder, wrist, and knee braces that are medically unnecessary.  Some of the charges concern luring Medicare beneficiaries, who were elderly or suffering from dementia, into a criminal scheme where the Georgescus’ mailed orthotic braces that these beneficiaries never asked for, never wanted, and never needed.  They then billed Medicare for the cost of the orthotic braces. 

In the summer of 2018, a Medicare accrediting agency advised the Georgescus that Lowry Medical was violating Medicare rules in many ways, including using a lead generation entity to buy doctors’ orders, contacting beneficiaries without their consent, sending orthotic braces to beneficiaries which those beneficiaries did not want or need, and refusing to allow the beneficiaries to return the orthotic braces.  Despite these warnings, the Georgescus did not change their practices.

In just 17 months, the Georgescus paid so-called marketing companies approximately $7.8 million in illegal kickbacks and bribes in exchange for those marketing companies providing the Georgescus with ready to bill doctors’ orders for orthotic braces for Medicare beneficiaries.  In turn, the Georgescus billed Medicare approximately $30 million for orthotic brace orders during this same period. 

The Information also contains a forfeiture allegation in which the United States seeks to recover a money judgment in the amount of $4,172,553, which represents the value of proceeds obtained from the illegal conduct between August 2018 through April 2019.

If convicted, the defendants face up to ten years in prison.

This case is being investigated by the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services-Office of Inspector General.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Thomas J. Jaworski and Christopher J. Suedekum are prosecuting the case.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Matthew Blackburn is handling the forfeiture.

The charges are merely accusations.  The defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.

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Source: United States Attorneys General 11

NASHVILLE – Bradley Home Health Care Center, Inc. and Bradley Extended Care, Inc. have agreed to pay $250,000 in civil monetary penalties to resolve allegations that they violated the recordkeeping requirements of the Controlled Substances Act (CSA), announced U.S. Attorney Mark H. Wildasin for the Middle District of Tennessee.  Bradley Home Health Care Center does business as Bradley Drug Company, and both companies operate pharmacies in Nashville

The United States alleged that Bradley Drug and Bradley Extended Care failed to maintain complete and accurate records of the movement of controlled substances, and omitted material information on multiple forms required by the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) that are used to order and track controlled substances.  The United States also alleged that Bradley Extended Care transferred more than 5% of its controlled substance stock to Bradley Drug without registering as a distributor. 

“Complete and accurate records are vital to ensure the safe distribution of controlled substances and to protect against improper diversion,” said U.S. Attorney Wildasin. “Our Office is committed to and expects total compliance with the closed system of drugs created by the Controlled Substances Act.”

“Proper recordkeeping is an essential step in preventing the diversion of controlled substances,” said Special Agent in Charge Todd Scott, head of the DEA’s Louisville Division.  “All DEA registrants are expected to fully comply with the Controlled Substances Act; those who don’t can expect to be penalized accordingly.”

Congress passed the CSA to combat the illegal distribution and abuse of controlled substances, including prescription medications. Under the CSA, entities registered with the DEA who purchase, distribute, dispense, transfer, or sell controlled substances must comply with strict inventory and documentation requirements. Regulations promulgated under the CSA require that each DEA registrant, including narcotic treatment programs, maintain complete and accurate inventories and records of each substance manufactured, received, sold, delivered, dispensed, or otherwise disposed of by the registrant for two years. These requirements play a vital role in ensuring the appropriate handling, accounting, and distribution of controlled substances.

The claims resolved by the settlement are allegations only, and there has been no determination of liability. 

This case was investigated by the DEA’s Louisville Division – Nashville District Office, Diversion Group.  The United States was represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Ellen Bowden McIntyre.

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Source: United States Attorneys General 11

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. On Saturday, April 22nd, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration will provide the public the opportunity to prevent pill abuse and theft by ridding their homes of potentially dangerous expired, unused, and unwanted prescription drugs.  Location information is available from the DEA, along with items that cannot be accepted. This service is free and anonymous, no questions asked.

This April’s event is DEA’s 23rd nationwide event since its inception 12 years ago.  Last spring, Americans turned in nearly 647,163 pounds of prescription drugs at nearly 4,902 sites operated by the DEA and almost 5,000 from its state and local law enforcement partners.

The DEA will now accept vaping devices and cartridges at any of its drop-off locations during National Prescription Drug Take Back Day.  It is important to note that DEA cannot accept devices containing lithium-ion batteries.  If batteries cannot be removed prior to drop-off, DEA encourages individuals to consult with stores that recycle lithium-ion batteries.  Concerns have been raised across the United States over illnesses and deaths caused by vaping and the high youth vaping initiation rates.  To support a healthy lifestyle and energetic population, especially among America’s youth, DEA is committed to doing all it can to help safely dispose of vaping devices and substances.

The DEA’s “Take Back” day and “Get Smart About Drugs” initiatives address the vital public safety and public health issue.  Medicines that languish in home cabinets are highly susceptible to diversion, misuse, and abuse.  Rates of prescription drug abuse in the United States are alarmingly high, as are the number of accidental poisonings and overdoses because of these drugs. Synthetic opioids, such as illicit fentanyl, are the primary driver of the increase in overdose deaths.  For information on DEA’s “Take Back” in Spanish, click here, or for more information on the “Get Smart About Drugs” publication, click for English or Spanish.

In addition to DEA’s National Prescription Drug Take Back Day, there are many other ways to dispose of unwanted prescription drugs every day, including the 11,000 authorized collectors that are available all year long.  For more information, visit DEA’s year-round collection site locator.  Participating in the next DEA Take Back Day on Saturday, April 22nd, simply means cleaning out your medicine cabinet or anywhere you keep unused, unwanted, or expired medications and dropping them off at your nearest collection site.  For more information about the disposal of prescription drugs or about the April 22nd Take Back day event, go to DEA Drug Take Back event or by calling 800-882-9539.

The FDA also provides information on how to properly dispose of prescription drugs. More information is available here: English or Spanish. 

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Source: United States Attorneys General 11

CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. – On April 7, 2023, Armando Mejia-Almazan, 44, a Mexican National, was sentenced to 292 months in prison by the Honorable Travis R. McDonough, Chief United States District Judge, in the United States District Court at Chattanooga.  

As part of the plea agreement filed with the court, Mejia-Almazan agreed to plead guilty to an indictment charging him with one count of conspiracy to distribute 50 grams or more of methamphetamine (actual) and 500 grams or more of a mixture and substance containing a detectable amount of methamphetamine, in violation of Title 21, United States Code, Sections 841(a)(1), 841(b)(1)(A), and 846.  After his release from imprisonment, Mejia-Almazan will be on supervised release for five years and may be subject to deportation. 

According to court documents and evidence presented at sentencing, Mejia-Almazan, who had previously been removed from the United States and unlawfully returned, distributed more than 50 kilograms of ice methamphetamine to a Chattanooga-based drug trafficking organization. Mejia-Almazan utilized multiple apartments in the Atlanta metro area to facilitate his drug trafficking and acted under the direction of a Veracruz, Mexico-based methamphetamine broker affiliated with the Cartel de Jalisco Nuevo Generacion (“CJNG”).

“The United States Attorney’s Office is committed to targeting the ongoing threat to our communities from cartel-based drug traffickers,” said United States Attorney Francis M. Hamilton III.  “We will continue to work with our law enforcement partners to ensure that those who seek to profit from flooding our communities with dangerous drugs will face justice.”

I’m very proud of the work done by the dedicated men and women of DEA in this case,” said Special Agent in Charge J. Todd Scott, head of Drug Enforcement Administration’s (“DEA”) Louisville Field Division.  “Mr. Mejia-Almazan had tentacles reaching down into Mexica, straight to the Sinaloa and Jalisco New Generation Cartels, the two ruthless, violent criminal organizations that are intentionally poisoning Americans to drive addiction.”

This sentencing was the culmination of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) investigation.  OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles the highest-level drug traffickers, money launderers, gangs, and transnational criminal organizations that threaten the United States by using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach that leverages the strengths of federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies against criminal networks.

The Appalachia HIDTA mission is to use a multi-disciplinary approach to deal with the ongoing threats to public health and safety, particularly as it regards prescription drug diversion, the emerging threat of heroin, as well as the continued threats of marijuana, cocaine, methamphetamine, and synthetic drugs. The Appalachia region is arguably the epicenter of this crisis and requires unprecedented multi-disciplined cooperation to effectively address the many faceted health and public safety problems that result from this daunting threat. The Appalachia HIDTA will serve as the conduit for this cooperation.

Law enforcement agencies participating in the joint investigation which led to the indictment and subsequent conviction of Mejia-Almazan, included DEA Chattanooga Resident Office, DEA Atlanta Field Division, Federal Bureau of Investigation Chattanooga Resident Agency, Chattanooga Police Department, and Hamilton County Sheriff’s Office.  Numerous agencies from the Appalachia High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area (HIDTA) Task Force assisted in the investigation.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Kevin T. Brown represented the United States.

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