Law Enforcement | WPN World People News

Mehmet Hakan Atilla was found guilty of conspiring with others, on January 3rd, including Reza Zarrab, aka Riza Sarraf, who previously pleaded guilty to evading U.S. sanctions among other offenses, to use the U.S. financial system to conduct transactions on behalf of the Government of Iran and other Iranian entities, which were barred by U.S. sanctions, and to defraud U.S. financial institutions by concealing these transactions’ true nature.

A Lauderhill, Florida, resident was sentenced to 48 months in prison for his role in a stolen identity refund fraud scheme, announced Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Richard Zuckerman of the Justice Department’s Tax Division and Acting United States Attorney Benjamin G. Greenberg of the Southern District of Florida.

Keppel Offshore & Marine Ltd. (KOM), a Singapore-based company that operates shipyards and repairs and upgrades shipping vessels, and its wholly owned U.S. subsidiary, Keppel Offshore & Marine USA Inc. (KOM USA), have agreed to pay a combined total penalty of more than $422 million to resolve charges with authorities in the United States, Brazil and Singapore arising out of a decade-long scheme to pay millions of dollars in bribes to officials in Brazil. KOM USA pleaded guilty in connection with the resolution, on December 22.

A former sales executive of Embraer S.A. (Embraer), a Brazilian-based manufacturer of aircraft, on December 21, pleaded guilty in connection with a scheme to pay bribes to a high-level foreign government official in exchange for assistance in securing Embraer’s sale of aircraft to Saudi Arabia’s national oil company.

A U.S. postal worker was sentenced to 97 months in prison for his role in a stolen identity refund fraud conspiracy, announced Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Richard Zuckerman of the Justice Department’s Tax Division and U.S. Attorney Charles E. Peeler for the Middle District of Georgia.

A Greensboro, North Carolina, business owner pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court for the Western District of Virginia to filing a fraudulent tax return, announced Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Richard Zuckerman of the Justice Department’s Tax Division and Acting U.S. Attorney Rick A. Mountcastle for the Western District of Virginia.

DaVita Rx LLC, a nationwide pharmacy that specializes in serving patients with severe kidney disease, agreed to pay a total of $63.7 million to resolve False Claims Act allegations relating to improper billing practices and unlawful financial inducements to federal healthcare program beneficiaries, the Justice Department announced on December 14. DaVita Rx is based in Coppell, Texas.

Nemelee Liwanag Jiao, 47, of Irving, Texas, pleaded guilty on December 14, before U.S. Magistrate Judge Renee Harris Toliver, to orchestrating a Ponzi scheme that cost at least 35 investors more than $1,000,000, announced U.S. Attorney Erin Nealy Cox of the Northern District of Texas.

A Brighton and Denver, Colorado, business owner pleaded guilty to tax evasion, on December 12, announced Acting Deputy Assistant Attorney General Stuart M. Goldberg of the Justice Department’s Tax Division and U.S. Attorney Bob Troyer for the District of Colorado.

21st Century Oncology Inc. and certain of its subsidiaries and affiliates have agreed to pay $26 million to the government to resolve a self-disclosure relating to the submission of false attestations regarding the company’s use of electronic health records software and separate allegations that they violated the False Claims Act by submitting, or causing the submission of, claims for certain services provided pursuant to referrals from physicians with whom they had improper financial relationships.