Tag Archives: sentenced

Two ex-militia leaders in Central African Republic sentenced for war crimes, crimes against humanity

Posted on by
Reply

Alfred Yekatom and Patrice-Edouard Ngaïssona received prison sentences of 15 and 12 years for their roles in brutal attacks against civilians – primarily from the country’s mainly Muslim Seleka population – during the 2013-14 civil war.

They were found guilty “beyond any reasonable doubt” of leading and facilitating attacks on civilians in the capital, Bangui, and the country’s west.

Thousands of people were killed in the violence that swept CAR following a 2012 coup led by the mainly Muslim rebel coalition, Séléka. The fighting took on a deeply sectarian tenor as Anti-Balaka militia started a brutal campaign of reprisal attacks.

Long list of crimes

The ICC’s Trial Chamber V found Mr. Yekatom responsible for a number of crimes he committed in the context of the attack on Bangui (the capital of CAR), the events at Yamwara (a school where he had established a base), and during the advance of his group on the PK9-Mbaïki axis.

These included murder, torture, forcible transfer and deportation, directing an attack against a building dedicated to religion and persecution.

Mr. Ngaïssona was convicted for aiding and abetting many of the same crimes, including persecution, forcible displacement and cruel treatment.

Both men were also found to have targeted Muslims based on the Anti-Balaka’s perception of collective guilt for Seleka abuses.

The judges sentenced Mr. Yekatom to 15 years and Mr. Ngaïssona to 12 years, with time already served to be deducted.

Charges of war crimes of pillaging and directing an attack against a religious building during the attack on Bossangoa were not upheld against Mr. Ngaïssona, and those of conscription, enlistment and use of children were not upheld against Mr. Yekatom.

‘Instrumentalization of religion’

The Chamber noted that while religion was instrumentalised by armed groups during the conflict, the violence was not initially religious in nature.

Many witnesses testified that Muslims and Christians had lived peacefully together prior to the conflict.

The convictions mark the conclusion of a trial that began in February 2021. Over the course of proceedings, the Prosecution called 114 witnesses, while the Defense teams called 56. A total of 1,965 victims participated in the trial through legal representatives.

Source link

Indian American Jennifer Shah of ‘Real Housewives of Salt Lake City’ sentenced to 78 months in jail

Posted on by
Reply

American Indian Jennifer Shah, 49, who starred in ‘Real Housewives of Salt Lake City’ has been sentenced to 78 months in prison for running a nationwide telemarketing fraud scheme that targeted “vulnerable, elderly victims”.

Jennifer Shah previously pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud in connection with telemarketing. Besides the prison term, Shah has also been sentenced to five years of supervised release.

The court ordered her to forfeit $6,500,000, 30 luxury items, and 78 counterfeit luxury items, and to pay $6,645,251 in restitution.

“With today’s sentence, Jennifer Shah finally faces the consequences of the many years she spent targeting vulnerable, elderly victims,” Attorney Damian Williams said in a statement last week.

These individuals were lured in by false promises of financial security, but in reality, Shah and her co-conspirators defrauded them out of their savings and left them with nothing to show for it.

“This conviction and sentence demonstrate once again that we will continue to vigorously protect victims of financial fraud and hold accountable those who engage in fraudulent schemes,” Williams said.

According to court documents, from at least 2012 until her arrest in March 2021, Shah was an integral leader of a wide-ranging, nationwide telemarketing fraud scheme that victimised thousands of innocent people.

The scheme principally involved selling those victims so-called “business services” in connection with the victims’ purported online businesses (the “Business Opportunity Scheme”).

Shah knowingly and intentionally facilitated the sale of “leads” a” contact information for potential victims who had been identified as susceptible to the scheme’s lies — to sales floors that were perpetrating the Business Opportunity Scheme and, during the latter portion of her participation in the scheme, owned and operated one of the sales floors that was part of the scheme, the court noted.

Many of Shah’s victims were elderly or vulnerable, and suffered significant financial hardship and damage, a US attorney office statement said. The victims were defrauded over and over again at Shah’s direction until they had nothing left.

She and her co-conspirators persisted in their conduct until the victims’ bank accounts were empty, their credit cards were at their limits, and there was nothing more to take.

The reality show star took a series of increasingly extravagant steps to conceal her criminal conduct from the authorities — she directed others to lie, she put businesses and bank accounts in the name of others, she required payment in cash, she instructed others to delete text messages and electronic documents, etc.

Shah also moved some of her operations overseas, and tried to put computers and other evidence beyond the reach of investigators,” the attorney office statement read.

“Jen Shah deeply regrets the mistakes that she has made and is profoundly sorry to the people she has hurt,” her defence lawyer Priya Chaudhry said in a statement.

Dozens of Shah’s co-conspirators have also been arrested by federal law enforcement. Out of them, many pleaded guilty for their roles in the scheme, and two were convicted at trial.

Revoked Doctor Falsified Documents to Steal $1.8 Million Under Healthcare Scheme

Posted on by
Reply

A federal jury convicted a Michigan man today for his role in devising and executing a $1.8 million scheme to defraud Medicare by billing for services under another doctor’s name after Medicare revoked his privileges to participate in the program.

The defendant, Dr. Kenneth Mitchell, 60, of Oakland County, Michigan, was also convicted for falsification of records designed to prevent detection of this fraud and aggravated identity theft for falsely corresponding with Medicare under the name of another physician.

According to court documents and evidence presented at trial, Mitchell was revoked from participating in the Medicare program in January 2015. Shortly thereafter, he convinced his then-partner to enroll in Medicare and assist in opening a new clinic called Urban Health Care Group PLLC.

healthcare

Once the new business was set up, Mitchell continued to bill Medicare for services just as he had prior to his revocation, only now exclusively under the name of his partner. Upon law enforcement’s discovery of this scheme, Medicare suspended payments to Urban Health Care Group PLLC.

Mitchell subsequently submitted false statements to Medicare regarding the fraud allegations (again, under his partner’s name) in an effort to undermine the government’s investigation and ensure the release of Medicare funds to the bank account he controlled.

Mitchell was convicted of one count of conspiracy to commit health care fraud and wire fraud; three counts of health care fraud; one count of falsification of records in a federal investigation; and one count of aggravated identity theft.

He is scheduled to be sentenced on Jan. 26, 2023 and faces a maximum penalty of imprisonment of 20 years for conspiracy to commit wire fraud and wire fraud, 10 years for health care fraud, 20 years for falsification of records, and two years for aggravated identity theft (to be served consecutive to any other sentence).

A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.