Recent Blog Posts in September 2010

The government alleges that the 165-bed acute care hospital fraudulently inflated its charges to Medicare patients to obtain larger reimbursements from the federal health care program. The settlement covers claims submitted by the hospital for short inpatient admissions, usually of one day or less, when the services should have been billed on an outpatient observation basis or as emergency room visits.

“Our office will aggressively work with investigative partners to protect healthcare funds from fraud and abuse,” said Laura Duffy, United States Attorney for the Southern District of California. “Today’s settlement demonstrates our commitment to holding health care providers who receive federal funds and knowingly defraud or overcharge federal health care programs accountable.”

The allegations arise from a lawsuit that was brought under the qui tam, or whistleblower, provisions of the False Claims Act (FCA), which permit private citizens with knowledge of fraud against the government to bring an action on behalf of the United States and to share in any recovery. The whistleblower in this case, Pietro Ingrande, a former employee of El Centro Regional Medical Center, will receive $375,000 as his share of the recovery.

The United States has agreed to dismiss the lawsuit as a result of the settlement. In addition, as a condition of continued participation in federal health care programs, the Office of Inspector General of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (OIG-HHS) has required El Centro Regional Medical Center to enter into a Corporate Integrity Agreement. The agreement subjects the hospital to strict policies and procedures to ensure future compliance with applicable statutes and regulations that govern the use of federal health care funds.

“Whistleblowers are critical to ensuring that Medicare dollars are not siphoned off, but find their way to those who most need them,” said Glenn R. Ferry, Special Agent in Charge for the Los Angeles Region of the OIG-HHS. “Office of Inspector General special agents and our law enforcement partners have forged a powerful team that will work with private citizens who come forward to protect the Medicare Trust Fund and defend it from fraud and abuse.”

The investigation and settlement of this case are the result of the collaborative effort of the Justice Department’s Civil Division, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of California, OIG-HHS, and the FBI. This settlement is part of the government’s emphasis on combating health care fraud and another step for the HEAT initiative, which was announced by Attorney General Holder and Secretary Sebelius in May 2009. The partnership between the two departments has focused efforts to reduce and prevent Medicare and Medicaid fraud through enhanced cooperation.

Fraud consists of many different types of crimes, but is generally defined as intentional misrepresentation or concealment of information in order to deceive or mislead. Fraud crimes use deception on unsuspecting individuals who fall for a scheme or sales pitch that sounds too good to be true. If you have been accused of a state or federal fraud crime, you will need an experienced Los Angeles fraud crimes defense attorney to represent you in defense against these charges. Depending on the manner in which the fraud was committed, a fraud crime may be charged on the state or federal level. Fraud criminal lawyers at the Los Angeles based law firm Marks and Brooklier handle defense for any number of fraud crime charges.

If you has been arrested for a federal fraud crime, you will need to consult a Los Angeles and United States federal fraud criminal defense lawyer who has the special knowledge of this area of the law. Attorneys Donald Marks and Anthony Brooklier are qualified Los Angeles criminal attorneys to represent you. Contact us for a free consultation, 24/7, strictly confidential.

California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger signed legislation to put some sex offenders in prison for life at a bittersweet ceremony for family and friends of a 17-year-girl who was killed after being abducted while running less than seven months ago.

Chelsea's Law is named for Chelsea King, who was murdered by 31-year-old convicted child molester John Gardner. He was sentenced to life in prison fter pleading guilty to murdering Chelsea and 14-year-old Amber Dubois. "Because of Chelsea, California's children will be safer. Because of Chelsea, this never has to happen again," said Schwarzenegger, an early backer of the legislation.

The ceremony began under a light drizzle then gave way to sunshine at an outdoor theater in Balboa Park, where Chelsea played French horn for the San Diego Youth Symphony. Many of the 200 people in the audience carried sunflowers, her favorite flower.

Brent and Kelly King, who traveled from their new home in suburban Chicago, thanked lawmakers for speeding the bill through the Legislature with overwhelming bipartisan support. Brent King said he was initially skeptical about the bill's prospects and had been preparing to sponsor a ballot initiative. Kelly King said the lawmakers were an example for young people.

The Kings, in an interview, said they plan to promote similar legislation in other states and have tentatively targeted Texas, Florida, Colorado and Ohio, the scenes of high-profile child abductions. They have not settled on a timetable.

The Kings have not been considering their new home state of Illinois for legislation because they want to shield their 14-year-old son Tyler from the spotlight. The avid baseball player has recently shown renewed interest in the game.

The Kings plan to use their nonprofit foundation, Chelsea's Light, to promote peer counseling programs  and to offer scholarships for college and other programs.

Chelsea's Law allows life without parole sentences for adult predators who kidnap, drug, bind, torture or use a weapon while committing a sex crime against a child. Life terms could be ordered for first-time and repeat offenders.

It also increases other penalties for child molesters, including requiring lifetime parole with GPS tracking for people convicted of forcible sex crimes against children under 14. Previous law permitted lifetime GPS monitoring, but most tracking ended when offenders leave parole.

Assemblyman Nathan Fletcher, the San Diego Republican who spearheaded the Chelsea's Law legislation, said in an interview it would have resulted in a longer prison sentence, possibly life, and longer parole for Gardner in 2000 for molesting a 13-year-old neighbor. Gardner served five years of a six-year sentence and repeatedly violated parole. Supporters came to the ceremony wearing T-shirts with one of Chelsea's favorite quotations, "They can because they think they can," from the Roman poet Virgil.

If you have been arrested with a sex crime, you will need to consult a Los Angeles sex crime criminal defense lawyer who has the special knowledge of this area of the law. Attorneys Donald Marks and Anthony Brooklier are qualified Los Angeles and Beverly Hills sex crimes criminal attorneys to defend you. You will need the over 33 years of experience that our law firm can provide you with. Contact us for a free consultation, 24/7, strictly confidential.

Two Latino gang members were convicted of first-degree murder in a hate-crime trial involving the deaths of a 14-year-old black girl and a potential witness in the Harbor Gateway area of Los Angeles. The jury deliberated for less than two days before convicting Jonathan Fajardo and Daniel Aguilar, members of the 204th Street gang, of all charges. Fajardo was found guilty of killing Cheryl Green, whose slaying the jury found was a hate crime motivated by her race. Both men were convicted of participating in the murder of 21-year-old Christopher Ash, who prosecutors say was a fellow gang member suspected by the rest of the gang of talking to police about Green's killing.

Fajardo and Aguilar showed no emotion, staring blankly ahead, as their families wept in the audience. The penalty phase for Fajardo, in which the jury will decide whether he should receive the death penalty, is next. Aguilar, who faces life in prison without the possibility of parole, is scheduled to be sentenced Sept. 27.

Green was shot in December 2006 as she stood with friends in a driveway in broad daylight. Prosecutors alleged at the trial that Fajardo was agitated from an earlier confrontation with a black man when he fired into the crowd of black youngsters. Three others were wounded in that shooting. Fajardo was convicted of seven counts of attempted murder for firing at the others in the crowd.

Ash's death came two weeks later. His body, stabbed more than 60 times and enveloped in a blood-soaked blanket, was dumped on a roadside in Carson, California. The gang suspected him because police served a search warrant on his apartment but released him the same day. At the trial, a fellow 204th Street gang member testified in graphic detail about Ash's killing in exchange for a lighter sentence. In his testimony, Jose Covarrubias recounted how Fajardo hit Ash in the head with the butt of a shotgun, causing him to stumble, after which other gang members beat and stabbed him. Aguilar, Ash's best friend, was assigned to lure him to the garage, and later kicked him in the legs after he appeared dead, Covarrubias testified.

Two other gang members, Robert Gonzales and Raul Silva, are expected to stand trial later this year in Ash's slaying. Another man, Ernesto Alcarez, is charged in Green's murder and is awaiting trial for allegedly acting as Fajardo's lookout. In the two-week trial, Fajardo's attorney disputed that Green's killing, which Fajardo admitted to in police interviews, was motivated by race, calling it an "accident that rose of fear and anger" and a "rash impulse." The defense attorney also maintained that Fajardo did not know Ash would be killed. Aguilar's attorney, told jurors that other gang members kept his client in the dark about their plans to stab Ash to death because Aguilar was Ash's friend.

Green's death sparked furor in the community and outrage from authorities and politicians about long-standing gang violence and black-Latino tensions in the neighborhood, a narrow stretch of Los Angeles between Torrance and Carson where graffiti with racial epithets were an everyday occurrence. The girl's death was but one of a number of slayings in the area that police believe were racially motivated. The slayings date as far back as 1997.

If you have been arrested or under investigation for murder, it is crucial that you obtain a Los Angeles murder criminal defense lawyer immediately to begin planning of your legal defense. A conviction for murder can result in a lifetime sentence in a California penitentiary or even the death penalty.

Los Angeles Police will conduct an intensive investigation following a murder. Therefore, if you are charged, you will need an experienced murder criminal defense lawyer from Marks & Brooklier. Attorney's Donald Marks and Anthony Brooklier have been representing clients for murder charges since 1976 and have the skill necessary to provide you with an exceptional criminal defense. We will conduct our own thorough investigation of the facts and study all evidence obtained against you in order to present a strong defense. Our Los Angeles homicide criminal defense attorneys are aggressive and are well-versed in a court room setting and look forward to assisting you with your case. Contact us for a free consultation, 24/7.

A man suspected of being an international serial rapist is in custody in Orange County after being extradited from Austria following a DNA match through INTERPOL. The defendant was featured on the Orange County District Attorney’s Ten Most Wanted list.

Ali Achekzai, 32, formerly of Ladera Ranch, will be arriving at Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) from Austria. He is being escorted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and Tustin Police Department.

The defendant will be held in the Orange County Jail on $1 million bail and is subject to a United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement nobail hold. He is expected to be arraigned in the Central Jail, Santa Ana. 

Achekzai is charged with two felony counts of forcible rape, two felony count of sexual penetration by foreign object by force, one felony count of aggravated assault, one felony count of assault with the intent to commit a sexual offense, and sentencing enhancements and allegations for committing sexual crimes against more than one victim and causing great bodily injury to a victim. The Orange County District Attorney's Office is prosecuting the defendant for rapes and assault with the intent to commit a sexual offense  that occurred in both Orange and San Diego Counties. If convicted, Achekzai faces a maximum sentence of 68 years and four months to life in state prison.

Tustin Police Department is the lead investigating agency and the FBI coordinated the extradition. The OCDA charged the defendant and a $500,000 arrest warrant was issued for him Oct. 19, 2004. The warrant was later increased to $1 million and Achekzai was arrested in Salzburg, Austria, on Jan. 26, 2010. The Federal Ministry of Justice in Vienna, Austria granted extradition on Aug. 13, 2010.

Achekzai's return to the United States will be funded by the FBI Project Welcome Home, which provides funding to facilitate the transportation of fugitives wanted by the FBI to the United States. It is anticipated that the federal government will dismiss the federal warrant charging Achekzai with Unlawful Flight to Avoid Prosecution in lieu of the OCDA prosecution.

On Jan. 31, 2004, Achekzai is accused of meeting 21-year-old Jane Doe #1 at a nightclub in Laguna Beach. Shortly after 2:00 a.m., Jane Doe #1 observed the defendant following her in his car as she was driving on Jamboree Road toward Tustin. The defendant is accused of following Jane Doe #1 as she drove around and attempted to get away from him. Achekzai is accused of pulling up near Jane Doe in his car and yelling for her to pull over because he wanted to talk to her about something important.

Jane Doe #1 parked in a fast food restaurant lot and Achekzai is accused of getting into her car under the pretense of warning her about another man she had met at the nightclub. The victim became scared, got out of her car, and attempted to run away. Achekzai is accused of getting out of the victim’s car, chasing Jane Doe #1, catching her, and leading her back to the car as she cried and struggled to get away. Once they were back in the car, the defendant is accused of grabbing Jane Doe #1 by the neck, holding her down, digitally penetrating and forcibly raping her. He is accused of then getting back into his car and driving away. Jane Doe #1 reported the rape to police and DNA was collected from her clothing. TPD investigated this case.

On May 3, 2004, Achekzai is accused of meeting two women while at a nightclub with his male cousin in San Diego. Late that night, the defendant is accused of going with his cousin and the two women to Mount Soledad in San Diego County. Achekzai is accused of isolating 21-year-old Jane Doe #2 from the other two friends by inviting her to take a walk through a dark park. Once the defendant was alone with the victim, he is accused of grabbing her and pulling her to the ground as she struggled to get away.

Achekzai is accused of repeatedly hitting and punching the victim and telling her that he would kill her if she screamed. He is accused of covering the victim’s mouth to keep her quiet and forcibly raping and sexually penetrating her in the bushes. The defendant is accused of threatening Jane Doe #2 that he would kill her if she told anyone about the rape.

When the defendant and victim returned to the car, Jane Doe #2 immediately told her friend that she had been raped. Achekzai is accused of becoming angry and punching her in the mouth, knocking out her front tooth. Jane Doe #2 reported the rape to police and DNA was collected from her clothing. The San Diego Police Department investigated this case. In July 2004, DNA linked both rapes to the same defendant. Charges were filed against Achekzai for the sexual assaults of Jane Doe #1 and Jane Doe #2 in October 2004.

On Oct. 26, 2002, Achekzai is accused of getting into a limousine with four other people including 24-year-old Jane Doe #3, her friend, and two friends of the defendant. The group had been at a nightclub in Laguna Beach and drove to Costa Mesa to drop one of the men off at home. While still in the limousine, Achekzai is accused of removing Jane Doe #3’s pants and assaulting her after she fell asleep with the intent to commit a sexual offense. The victim woke up to find the defendant fondling her breasts. Achekzai is accused of swearing at the victim and telling Jane Doe #3 to shut up as she screamed. Jane Doe #3’s friend was also asleep in the limousine.

Achekzai is accused of fleeing the country prior to being charged for the rapes. The defendant is accused of fleeing illegally into Canada. He is accused of changing his name several times and obtaining identification under the identities of Ali Achekzai, Ali Achekza, Ali Achelczia, Waleed Nawabi, Walid Nawabi, David Azizi, and Wali Ahmed Shoja. He is a national and citizen of Afghanistan and is suspected to have lived in Afghanistan, Germany, San Francisco, Canada, Austria, and England.

Based on the fact that Achekzai had multiple California victims, and knowing that he fled internationally, Tustin Police Department worked with the Orange County Sheriff’s Department Crime Lab in December 2009 to coordinate the submission of Achekzai’s DNA to the international police agency, INTERPOL.

On April 24, 2009, Achekzai was arrested in Austria for rape under the name Wali Ahmed Shoja. His DNA was taken at that time, but the case in Austria was later dismissed. As a result of this case, INTERPOL matched the defendant from the Austria rape to the rapes in Orange and San Diego Counties and determined that Achekzai was living in Salzburg, Austria.

He was arrested Jan. 26, 2010, at the Hotel Unterbrunn in the Austrian town of Neukirchen am Grossvenediger. He was arrested by the Salzburg Criminal Investigative Division in cooperation with the FBI.

The case against and arrest of Achekzai has been a coordinated effort between the Tustin Police Department, Orange County District Attorney's Office, Federal Bureau of Investigation and FBI Legal Attache in Vienna, Orange County Sheriff’s Department, United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and ICE Homeland Security Investigations, United States Marshals Service, United States Department of Justice Office of International Affairs, Toronto Police Services Fugitive Squad, INTERPOL, Salzburg CID, Austrian Federal Police, Austrian Ministries of Justice and Interior, San Diego Police Department and San Diego District Attorney’s Office.

If you have been charged with a sex crime, you need to contact a Los Angeles rape and sex crimes criminal defense attorney who has the extensive knowledge of this area of the law. At Marks & Brooklier, we have qualified California and Los Angeles rape and sex crimes lawyers to defend you. You will absolutely need the experience that our law firm can provide you with. Our international legal team has handled high profile cases involving rape and other sex crimes with great success and can do the same for you. Contact us for a free consultation, 24/7, strictly confidential.

The Los Angeles County sheriff has escalated his war of words against California medical marijuana dispensaries, saying as many as 97 percent operate as criminal enterprises.

Some of the pot shops get marijuana from Mexican drug cartels, and most dole out pot to people with no medical need for it, Sheriff Lee Baca said.

"Millions of dollars are being made for profit, and it's all illegal," the sheriff said.

Baca presented no evidence to support his claim. His comments coincided with a recent announcement that he would lead efforts against a November ballot measure to legalize marijuana for personal use in California. Critics said his claims about the dispensaries were politically motivated and untrue.

"When they run out of scare tactics, they come out with stuff like this," said Michael Backes, a board member of the Cornerstone Research Collective, which provides marijuana to patients in the Eagle Rock area of Los Angeles.

Backes stressed there was no need to buy pot from Mexican cartels because more than enough quality marijuana is legally grown in California to supply the dispensaries.

A Drug Enforcement Administration spokesman, who works in the San Francisco office, said it was difficult to substantiate or refute Baca's claims because of challenges in determining where pot found in dispensaries was produced.

Baca, however, said chemical analyses of pot confiscated during drug raids against street dealers showed similar pesticide content and other characteristics as marijuana sold in dispensaries.

Allegations of criminal activity involving pot shops increased after a string of deaths, including the slaying of three men in West Hollywood, California who police suspect had been buying up bulk quantities of high-grade marijuana from dispensaries and reselling it on the street.

The suspect in that case confessed to killing the men when he didn't have enough cash to complete a transaction. In addition, two workers at different marijuana dispensaries have been killed during robberies in recent weeks.

"It is no surprise that people are going to get killed, drugs and violence go together," Baca said. Despite his concerns about the way dispensaries operate, Baca has been a longtime advocate of medical marijuana use by AIDS patients and people with other chronic conditions.

The 1996 law approved by California voters allows collectives to grow medicinal marijuana, though they are not supposed to make profits and can only charge enough to cover operating expenses.

Baca said the intent of the law was good but had been corrupted almost beyond recognition with most "patients" producing spurious notes from doctors describing vague ailments that don't need to be treated with marijuana.

Thirteen other states have legalized medical marijuana, and many jurisdictions around the country have decriminalized marijuana to the point that low-level possession offenses aren't prosecuted.

At Marks & Brooklier, criminal lawyers Donald Marks and Anthony Brooklier have been representing clients on medical marijuana and other drug related matters since 1976. When faced with medical marijuana charges you need experienced Los Angeles medical marijuana criminal defense lawyers with experience in representing individuals for California marijuana drug crimes. If you have been charged with a medical marijuana drug crime, we recommend you contact us in order to begin to prepare your case for a successful defense.

A Los Angeles physician was arrested for prescribing Vicodin pain medication to homeless people who didn't need the drugs. Dr. Zhiwei Lin is set to be arraigned on five counts of illegally prescribing drugs, misdemeanors each punishable by up to a year in County Jail and a $20,000 fine, according to the arrest warrant filed in Los Angeles County Superior Court.

Lin, a board-certified neurologist, declined to comment. "I cannot speak to you right now because they are coming to me without any explaining," Lin said as a Los Angeles County sheriff's deputy led him away in handcuffs from his Western Avenue practice in the Harvard Heights neighborhood.

Sheriff's Sgt. Steve Opferman, who runs the medical fraud unit that made the arrest, said Lin is suspected of prescribing Vicodin, a powerful pain reliever popular among drug abusers, to homeless people without legitimate medical need. Police believe the homeless "patients" were brought to the doctor by recruiters, also known as cappers. The cappers would pay the homeless people for their prescriptions and turn them over to dealers who sold them by the pill at a huge mark-up.

A security officer at the building, said that Lin's practice drew "strange characters" on the days it was open and that police had been called to at least one disturbance. Opferman said Lin's case would be referred to the Medical Board of California, which could pursue action against his license. The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration was also involved and could pull the physician's federal permit to prescribe drugs prone to abuse.

Los Angeles criminal defense lawyers Donald Marks and Anthony Brooklier have been representing clients on illegal prescription drug and other drug related matters since 1976. When faced with illegal prescription drug charges you need skilled Los Angeles prescription drug criminal defense attorneys with experience in defending clients on prescription drug charges. Such charges could include offenses for unlawful prescription drug possession, prescription drug trafficking and other drug related charges. If you have been charged with an illegal prescription drug crime, we recommend you contact us in order to begin to prepare your case for a successful defense.

A Long Beach, California homeless man was found guilty of 22 counts including attempted murder, kidnapping and mayhem. He stabbed, slashed or strangled six women from February to May 2008; all of the victims survived. The homeless man who went on a crime rampage in downtown Long Beach that included slashing two women's throats was sentenced to 11 life terms and 433 years in prison.

Charles Juan Proctor was convicted of 22 counts including attempted murder, kidnapping for robbery and mayhem. He was accused of robbing various Long Beach businesses and one in Hawaiian Gardens for cash ranging from $35 to about $700. In the process, Proctor threatened, slashed, stabbed or strangled six female shop owners.

The prosecution alleged that Proctor left a 1/4-inch-wide gash on one woman's throat. In another incident, he stuck a knife into a woman's throat and turned it when she resisted, then repeatedly slashed her face.

The victims, of varying age and race, were attacked in beauty salons, a clothing boutique and a bridal shop. The incidents occurred between February and May 2008, most of them on consecutive days in late April. The crimes were linked to Proctor through DNA he left on a cellphone case at one of the crime scenes. The genetic material was matched to Proctor's records in Nevada, where he had been arrested and convicted for assaulting a woman with a box cutter in a Hooter's parking lot in Las Vegas in 2007.

Proctor will serve nine years in Nevada prison for his conviction there, then return to California for the rest of his terms. Victims spoke at Proctor's sentencing, saying they continue to be haunted and traumatized by the attacks.

If you have been accused or charged with attempted murder, robbery or any type of violent crime, it is crucial that you obtain a qualified Los Angeles criminal defense attorney immediately. A conviction for any type of violent crime in the State of California can result in a lifetime sentence in a California penitentiary.

Los Angeles Police will conduct an intensive and thorough investigation following a violent crime. Therefore, if you are charged, you will need an experienced criminal defense attorney from Marks & Brooklier. Attorney's Donald Marks and Anthony Brooklier have represented clients for attempted muder, robbery and other violent crimes charges since 1976. It takes a dedicated legal team to fight a violent crime charge, and with our firm you can feel condifent that we will provide you with the highest quality criminal defense team possible. We will conduct our own thorough investigation of the facts and study all evidence obtained against you in order to present a strong defense. Our Los Angeles attempted murder criminal defense lawyers are aggressive and are well-versed in a court room setting and look forward to assisting you with your case. Contact us for a free consultation, 24/7.