Michigan doctor convicted of defrauding insurance companies of $30 million, writing 'medically unnecessary prescriptions' for opioids

A Michigan doctor has been found guilty on 30 of the 32 charges related to overprescribing opioids and insurance fraud that federal prosecutors leveled against him.

David Jankowski, 62, of Bingham Farms, Michigan, ran what amounts to an opioid "pill mill," writing perhaps thousands of what prosecutors called "medically unnecessary prescriptions" for controlled substances such as Oxycontin, Oxycodone, morphine, hydrocodone, Xanax and others.

According to an investigation conducted by the FBI and the Department of Health and Human Services, Jankowski issued or authorized the issuance of more than 1.7 million Schedule II substances, 800,000 Schedule III substances, and 870,000 Schedule IV substances, all to lure opioid-addicted patients to his practice and use them to engage in an insurance fraud scheme.

“The improper distribution of prescription drugs outside the course of ordinary medical practice causes significant harm. It is in everyone’s best interests to keep these highly addictive substances off the street, and it is particularly disturbing when a trusted physician is the vehicle for the illegal distribution of opioids,” U.S. Attorney Dawn N. Ison stated.

Jankowski even exchanged opioid prescriptions for cash given to him by recruiters who would bring in even more patients to expand his practice and increase the number of fraudulent insurance claims he could make.

Jankowski operated a clinic called Summit Medical Group, which has locations in Southfield and Dearborn Heights, Michigan, both suburbs of Detroit. Jankowski then amassed a sizeable clientele by providing patients with easy access to opioids, then filing fraudulent insurance claims on their behalf. According to evidence presented at trial, Jankowski collected almost $30 million in fraudulent auto and private medical insurance claims and an additional $6 million in fraudulent claims to Medicare and Medicaid.

“This defendant exploited vulnerable patients and the health care system by prescribing and billing for medically unnecessary prescription medications. By doing so, he violated his oath to do no harm, and defrauded health care insurance programs. This type of crime puts patients at risk and makes medical care more costly for all of us,” said James A. Tarasca, Special Agent in charge of the FBI’s Detroit Field Office. “Thanks to the diligent work of the FBI and our law enforcement partners, we are able to address this important aspect of health care fraud and continue our mission of bringing those who operate these criminal schemes to justice.”

Jankowski will be sentenced on November 15, 2022 at 1:30 p.m. local time. He faces a maximum of 20 years in prison.

https://www.theblaze.com/news/michigan-doctor-opioids-insurance-fraud

Arms Trafficking Stemming from Ukraine Conflict is an Increasing Concern for Western Governments

The U.S. and E.U. allies have pledged over $10 billion in military support since the war began in February

Russia has claimed that arms shipments meant for the Ukrainian Armed Forces are ending up on the black market in Europe and the Middle East. Speaking in televised remarks, Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu said that Ukraine had received more than 28,000 tons of military cargo so far, and some of the Western weapons were appearing in the Middle East. Shoigu did not offer any evidence to back up his claims, though the U.S. and its European allies have expressed concern over their ability to track the weapons.

“In the hope of prolonging the conflict in Ukraine, the collective West is continuing large-scale arms supplies to the Kyiv regime,” Shoigu said. “According to information at our disposal, some of the foreign weapons supplied by the West to Ukraine are spreading across the Middle Eastern region and are also ending up on the black market.”

Since Russia launched its war against Ukraine, western states have pledged more than $10 billion in military support for the beleaguered nation. NATO states have provided ammunition, armored personnel carriers and a small number of MLRS missile systems.

While Russia has not provided specifics on the supposed black-market pipeline, Western nations have been in communication with the Ukrainian government on developing a tracking system for weapons shipments. Ukraine’s government is currently setting up a more extensive weapons monitoring and tracing system with the help of western countries, according to a report from The Financial Times.

“All these weapons land in southern Poland, get shipped to the border and then are just divided up into vehicles to cross: trucks, vans, sometimes private cars,” an unnamed Western government source told the outlet. “And from that moment we go blank on their location and we have no idea where they go, where they are used or even if they stay in the country.”

The potential for US weapons sent to Ukraine to fall into the wrong hands is “among a host of considerations” given the “challenging situation” as the war continues, said Bonnie Denise Jenkins, who serves as the U.S. undersecretary for arms control and international security.

“The US very seriously takes our responsibility to protect American origin defense technologies and prevent their diversion or illicit proliferation,” Jenkins told reporters in Brussels, adding that the US was in “continued contact” with the Ukrainian government on the issue. “We are confident in the Ukrainian government’s commitment to appropriately safeguard and account for US [weapons],” Jenkins added.

Yuriy Sak, who serves as an advisor in Ukraine’s defense department, said that weapons entering the country are carefully monitored. “Any movement of weaponry either into Ukraine or out of Ukraine — when such movement is required for repairs when necessary — is very closely monitored and supervised both by Ukraine and our international partners,” Sak said.

EU interior ministers discussed the issue of Ukrainian weapons ending up on the black-market during a meeting earlier this week. In addition, the European Union commission launched an “EU support hub” in neighboring Moldova to increase coordination and monitor potential arms trafficking.

“It’s hard to avoid trafficking or smuggling — we didn’t achieve it in former Yugoslavia and probably won’t avoid it in Ukraine,” said Jana Černochová, who serves as the Czech Republic’s defense minister. Černochová went on to reiterate that Western governments are doing everything possible to prevent arms trafficking.

The U.S. and its European allies are expected to provide additional support to the Ukrainian government as the war drags on.

https://nationalfile.com/arms-trafficking-stemming-from-ukraine-conflict-is-an-increasing-concern-for-western-governments/

Hunter Biden Involved In Sexual Scandals With Ukrainians

More and more, Hunter Biden, son of US President Joe Biden, is publicly involved in illegal schemes and moral scandals. Hunter is currently the subject of a federal investigation that points to several tax crimes, such as corruption, money laundering and lobbying abroad, but a possible sexual scandal now threatens even more the image of the Biden family.

According to allegations made by witnesses during the federal investigation Hunter was involved in at least three cases of prostitution in the US, having allegedly participated in the transporting of prostitutes from Boston to New York, where they worked for him. Transporting people between states for sex services is a crime in the US, according to the Mann Act, Title 18, Section 2421:

“Whoever knowingly transports any individual in interstate or foreign commerce, or in any Territory or Possession of the United States, with intent that such individual engages in prostitution, or in any sexual activity for which any person can be charged with a criminal offense, or attempts to do so, shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than 10 years, or both”.

Sources cited by the Daily Mail claim that he would have spent more than 30,000 dollars with the services of such prostitutes in about five months – between November 2018 and March 2019. The evidence of such expenses would be in documents and texts that are now being analyzed by the US police.

What is most impressive in the reports currently published on the case is that Hunter Biden would be in contact with alleged sexual exploiters in Ukraine in order to obtain the “supply” of Ukrainian sex workers in the US. A US-based Ukrainian citizen named Ekaterina Moreva would be reportedly receiving thousands of dollars from Hunter to provide prostitutes who would serve him and his friends in New York. Moreva reportedly put Hunter in touch with a Kiev’s sex services agency under the pseudonym “UberGFE”, whose services with Ukrainian women are available in several US states.

For example, Anna Dekhtiar, from Sunny Isles Beach, Florida, known as “the student” in the virtual prostitution networks, allegedly received hundreds of dollars from Hunter Biden between November 2018 and March 2019 due to activities that, according to her bank, were “without any clear and legitimate economic objective” – a bureaucratic justification common among people who try to hide the prostitution activity. The most curious thing, however, is that Dekhtiar subsequently donated much of her money to Moreva, showing that in fact there was a structured network of exploitation.

https://southfront.org/hunter-biden-involved-in-sexual-scandals-with-ukrainians/

Hunter Biden Involved In Sexual Scandals With Ukrainians

More and more, Hunter Biden, son of US President Joe Biden, is publicly involved in illegal schemes and moral scandals. Hunter is currently the subject of a federal investigation that points to several tax crimes, such as corruption, money laundering and lobbying abroad, but a possible sexual scandal now threatens even more the image of the Biden family.

According to allegations made by witnesses during the federal investigation Hunter was involved in at least three cases of prostitution in the US, having allegedly participated in the transporting of prostitutes from Boston to New York, where they worked for him. Transporting people between states for sex services is a crime in the US, according to the Mann Act, Title 18, Section 2421:

“Whoever knowingly transports any individual in interstate or foreign commerce, or in any Territory or Possession of the United States, with intent that such individual engages in prostitution, or in any sexual activity for which any person can be charged with a criminal offense, or attempts to do so, shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than 10 years, or both”.

Sources cited by the Daily Mail claim that he would have spent more than 30,000 dollars with the services of such prostitutes in about five months – between November 2018 and March 2019. The evidence of such expenses would be in documents and texts that are now being analyzed by the US police.

What is most impressive in the reports currently published on the case is that Hunter Biden would be in contact with alleged sexual exploiters in Ukraine in order to obtain the “supply” of Ukrainian sex workers in the US. A US-based Ukrainian citizen named Ekaterina Moreva would be reportedly receiving thousands of dollars from Hunter to provide prostitutes who would serve him and his friends in New York. Moreva reportedly put Hunter in touch with a Kiev’s sex services agency under the pseudonym “UberGFE”, whose services with Ukrainian women are available in several US states.

For example, Anna Dekhtiar, from Sunny Isles Beach, Florida, known as “the student” in the virtual prostitution networks, allegedly received hundreds of dollars from Hunter Biden between November 2018 and March 2019 due to activities that, according to her bank, were “without any clear and legitimate economic objective” – a bureaucratic justification common among people who try to hide the prostitution activity. The most curious thing, however, is that Dekhtiar subsequently donated much of her money to Moreva, showing that in fact there was a structured network of exploitation.

https://southfront.org/hunter-biden-involved-in-sexual-scandals-with-ukrainians/