http://www.oig.dot.gov/rss.jsp?subject=37 The 10 most recent releases on the U.S. DoT OIG web site related to Other Fraud Investigations en-US webmaster@oig.dot.gov (OIG Webmaster) http://www.oig.dot.gov/images/dot.gif http://www.oig.dot.gov/rss.jsp?subject=37 http://www.oig.dot.gov/item.jsp?id=2562 On October 30, 2009, U.S. District Judge Catherine C. Blake sentenced David Cooley, age 36, of Baltimore, MD, to 69 months in prison followed by five years of supervised release and ordered him to pay $104,446.35 in restitution for conspiracy to commit mail fraud and aggravated identity theft in connection with a scheme to steal treasury checks from the mail and cash the checks using false identity documents.To date, 12 defendants have been convicted for their participation in this scheme. Altogether, the conspirators cashed over $100,000 in stolen United States Treasury checks. More than 50 individuals and businesses were victims of the scheme. This investigation was conducted jointly by the U.S. Postal Inspection Service; the U.S. Postal Service, Office of Inspector General; the U.S. Secret Service; the Department of Transportation, Office of Inspector General; the U.S. Department of the Treasury, Office of Inspector General; and the District of Columbia Office of Inspector General.View USDOJ Press Release for more information. Fri, 30 Oct 2009 00:00:00 GMT http://www.oig.dot.gov/item.jsp?id=2562 http://www.oig.dot.gov/item.jsp?id=2570 On November 10, 2009, Stefanie Weathers of South Carolina pled guilty to fraud in connection with using the identification information of others to obtain loans over the Internet. In announcing the guilty plea, Acting U.S. Attorney Channing D. Phillips praised the efforts of Department of Transportation Office of the Inspector General Special Agent Dennis Ocampo, who conducted the investigation in this case. The full press release is available from the United States Attorneys Office, District of Columbia. Fri, 30 Oct 2009 00:00:00 GMT http://www.oig.dot.gov/item.jsp?id=2570 http://www.oig.dot.gov/item.jsp?id=2551 On October 9, 2009, Pablo Morales, previously a foreman with Adam Moving and Storage (AMS), Brooklyn, New York, a household goods (HHG) moving company, pled guilty in U.S. District Court, New York, New York, to a scheme of fraudulently inflating the cost of moving customers HHG. Mr. Morales participated in a scheme to provide AMS customers with lowball estimates, only to have the cost of the move increased, in some cases doubled or tripled, after the customers HHG were loaded on the moving truck. AMS would not release the customers HHG until they agreed to pay the artificially inflated rate. As part of his plea, Mr. Morales admitted to conducting this scheme on a move that was paid for by the Department of Defense. Investigation of AMS was initiated based on information received from the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) alleging that AMS violated FMCSA regulations for failing or refusing to furnish an estimate in writing. As of May 2001, FMSCA received approximately 75 complaints alleging that AMS had been holding customers HHG hostage until the customer paid an artificially inflated amount. During a compliance review, FMCSA found that AMS had an established pattern of providing binding estimates to their customers that would be fraudulently inflated upon delivery. Federal regulations prescribe that the maximum a carrier can demand at time of delivery is no more than 10% over the nonbinding estimate amount. Fri, 09 Oct 2009 00:00:00 GMT http://www.oig.dot.gov/item.jsp?id=2551 http://www.oig.dot.gov/item.jsp?id=2545 On September 21, 2009, Hugo Daniel Solana, was sentenced in U.S. District Court, Newark, New Jersey, to one year probation and ordered to pay a $100 special assessment and a $500 fine in connection with his prior guilty plea for impersonating a Federal Motor Carrier Inspector. The Department of Transportation (DOT) Office of Inspector Generals (OIGs) investigation determined that Mr. Solana owned a motor carrier consulting firm known as Redsol Safety Corporation (Redsol) in Union, New Jersey. Mr. Solana appeared at several trucking firms in the Newark, New Jersey, area where he displayed a gold badge, identified himself as a Inspector, and produced a business card bearing the DOT seal. He then threatened to arrest individuals for perceived motor carrier violations. Mr. Solana later returned and advised the victim companies that they could hire Redsol to resolve their motor carrier issues. During Mr. Solanas interview by the DOT OIG case agent Mr. Solana identified himself as a DOT Inspector and produced a gold badge. He was later arrested by DOT OIG special agents and the badge was confiscated. Mon, 21 Sep 2009 00:00:00 GMT http://www.oig.dot.gov/item.jsp?id=2545 http://www.oig.dot.gov/item.jsp?id=2538 Powers Fasteners, Inc., a Brewster, New York company, was charged today in federal court with making a false statement in connection with the construction of a federally approved highway project, the I90 connector tunnel. Fri, 18 Sep 2009 00:00:00 GMT http://www.oig.dot.gov/item.jsp?id=2538 http://www.oig.dot.gov/item.jsp?id=2544 On September 17, 2009, Franciscus Johannes de Jong, aka Frank de Jong, the former vice president of cargo sales in Europe for Martinair Holland N.V., was sentenced in United States District Court Washington, D.C. to eight months in prison for his involvement in a price fixing scheme of air cargo shipments in violation of the Sherman Act. He was also ordered to pay a $20,000 fine. According to Mr. de Jongs plea agreement filed in April 2009, he and his coconspirators engaged in a conspiracy to fix the cargo rates charged to customers for international air shipments to and from the United States. From April 2002 and continuing until February 14, 2006, Mr. de Jong and his coconspirators carried out the price fixing conspiracy by participating in meetings, conversations and communications to discuss the cargo rates to be charged on certain routes to and from the United States. This Department of Transportation Office of Inspector General investigation is being coordinated by the U.S. Department of Justice Antitrust Division and is being conducted jointly with the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the U.S. Postal Service, Office of Inspector General. Thu, 17 Sep 2009 00:00:00 GMT http://www.oig.dot.gov/item.jsp?id=2544 http://www.oig.dot.gov/item.jsp?id=2535 On September 4, 2009, Katasha Lynn Davis of Baltimore, Maryland, pled guilty in U.S. District Court in Baltimore to conspiracy to commit mail fraud, forged endorsement on a U.S. Treasury check, and aggravated identity theft. Ms. Davis participated in a scheme to steal U.S. Treasury checks from the U.S. Postal Service. During the period April to July 2007, Ms. Davis obtained at least three fraudulent Maryland drivers licenses and used these documents to cash two stolen Treasury checks at local check cashing establishments. Ms. Davis is the 12th defendant in this case to plead guilty. She is scheduled to be sentenced on October 22, 2009. The DOT/OIG investigation was conducted jointly with the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, the U.S. Postal Service Office of Inspector General, the U.S. Secret Service, the U.S. Department of the Treasury Office of Inspector General, and the District of Columbia Office of Inspector General, with substantial assistance from the Maryland Motor Vehicle Administration, Homeland Security Supervisor. Fri, 04 Sep 2009 00:00:00 GMT http://www.oig.dot.gov/item.jsp?id=2535 http://www.oig.dot.gov/item.jsp?id=2529 On August 19, in U.S. District Court, in, Pensacola, Florida, Marcus Schrenker was sentenced to 51 months imprisonment, followed by three years supervised release, and ordered to pay $34,649.07 restitution to the U.S. Coast Guard and $871,387.85 to Harley Davidson Credit Corporation. On June 5, Mr. Schrenker pled guilty to willfully wrecking an aircraft, and causing the U.S. Coast Guard to attempt to save his life and property when no help was needed. On January 11, 2009, Mr. Schrenker, while enroute to Destin, Florida, made several false distress calls to the Atlanta Air Route Traffic Control Center (AARTCC) stating his windshield was cracking and he was injured. In response to the call, the U.S. Coast Guard launched a search and rescue effort in anticipation of a potential crash. Subsequent search and rescue efforts discovered no body at the scene of the crash and no damage to the aircrafts windscreen. It was later determined that Mr. Schrenker set the plane on autopilot and parachuted out of the aircraft. Mr. Schrenker subsequently admitted to making the false distress calls intending to crash the aircraft in the Gulf of Mexico. This investigation was conducted jointly with the U.S. Coast Guard Investigative Service, with outstanding assistance from the Federal Aviation Administration, the U.S. Marshals Service, the Santa Rosa Sheriffs Department, the Gadsden County Office, the U.S. Air Force, and the U.S. Air Force 84th Radar Evaluation SquadronMcChord Air Force Base, the Louisiana Air National Guard, the Tallahassee Police Department, the Harpersville Police Department, the Talladega Police Department, the Childersburg Police Department, the Vincent Police Department, the Escambia County Sheriffs Office, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Wed, 19 Aug 2009 00:00:00 GMT http://www.oig.dot.gov/item.jsp?id=2529 http://www.oig.dot.gov/item.jsp?id=2525 On July 27, 2009, Vincent Land of Norfolk, Virginia was sentenced in Virginia State Court, Norfolk, Virginia, to four years imprisonment, three years of which were suspended, for grand larceny. On August 10, 2009, coconspirators Jacques Cowell and Marquis Vinson pleaded guilty to the aforementioned charge and each received a twoyear suspended sentence. These sentences result from the defendants roles in the May 4, 2009 theft of a DOT laptop computer and over $100,000 in transit benefit checks. The OIG investigation determined that the defendants and a fourth individual, who was not charged, checked into a Doubletree Hotel in Norfolk, Virginia, where a DOT contractor was staying. When the DOT contractor checked in, the hotel desk clerk failed to save the transaction in the hotel computer system; therefore; the hotel computer system indicated that the contractors room was available and it was assigned as if it were a vacant room. Upon entering the room, the defendants took the governmentissued laptop computer and roughly $103,800 in transit benefit checks. The majority of the stolen transit benefit checks were recovered. Mon, 27 Jul 2009 00:00:00 GMT http://www.oig.dot.gov/item.jsp?id=2525 http://www.oig.dot.gov/item.jsp?id=2461 On April 2, 2009, Atif Tate of Bladensburg, Maryland, pled guilty to one count of aggravated identity theft, in U.S. District Court, Baltimore, Maryland. Mr. Tate was then sentenced to two years imprisonment followed by one year period of supervised release and was ordered to pay $4,300 in restitution. The charges against Mr. Tate result from his involvement in an elaborate identity theft scheme in which over $100,000 in U.S. Treasury checks was stolen from the U.S. Postal Service. From May 2006 until May 2007, Mr. Tate cashed these stolen Treasury checks using fake Maryland Commercial Drivers Licenses (CDLs). He was among thirteen individuals indicted in this scheme, most of whom have also pled guilty to similar charges. Mr. Tate is the first to be sentenced. This case was initiated after receiving a referral from the Maryland Department of Motor Vehicles, Homeland Security Supervisor. The investigation identified multiple individuals who obtained counterfeit CDLs and regular drivers licenses. The U.S. Attorneys Office subsequently described these ongoing efforts as one of the largest identity theft indictments in the State of Maryland. This DOT/OIG investigation continues and is being worked jointly with the U.S. Postal Inspection Service; the U.S. Postal Service, Office of Inspector General; the U.S. Secret Service; and the U.S. Department of the Treasury, Office of Inspector General. Thu, 02 Apr 2009 00:00:00 GMT http://www.oig.dot.gov/item.jsp?id=2461