LAFAYETTE, La. – United States Attorney Brandon B. Brown announced that Kristal Glover-Wing, 51, formerly a resident of Broussard, Louisiana, and now living in California, has been sentenced for conspiracy to commit health care fraud and three counts of health care fraud. United States District Judge Robert R. Summerhays sentenced Glover-Wing to 72 months in prison, followed by 3 years of supervised release. She was also ordered to pay $3,675,948.42 in restitution.
"As federal prosecutors, we must protect the taxpayer dollar by taking cases of Medicare fraud seriously due to the overwhelming number of Americans that rely on such programs to literally survive,” said U.S. Attorney Brandon B. Brown. “The defendant in this case took advantage of elderly patients for the benefit of her company as opposed to her clients. We believe this is a fair sentence and we will continue to prosecute cases of fraud and corruption by those who seek to unjustly enrich themselves to the detriment of the elderly and federal government.”
“The sentence imposed today is an affirmation of our commitment to protect the integrity of our nation’s health insurance programs from those who illegally profit through their fraudulent activities,” said Special Agent in Charge Jason E. Meadows of the United States Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Inspector General (HHS-OIG). “HHS-OIG will continue to work closely with our federal law enforcement partners and bring to justice bad actors who defraud the Medicare program.”
Glover-Wing was convicted by a federal jury of the charges in April 2023 following a nearly four-week trial. Glover-Wing was the owner of Angel Care Hospice (“Angel Care”), a Louisiana corporation that purported to provide hospice services in Lafayette Parish and other parishes in the Western District of Louisiana. Through evidence presented at trial, jurors learned that from approximately 2009 through 2017, over 24 patients were placed on hospice by Angel Care without meeting the criteria required by Medicare.
During the time period that the patients were on hospice and under the care and supervision of Angel Care, none of them had been diagnosed with a terminal condition. In fact, many of the patients themselves, who are still alive and thriving many years later, as well as family members of other patients, testified that they never knew that they had been placed on hospice. One of the patients testified at trial that Medicare refused to cover a procedure he needed to have because unbeknownst to him, he was listed as a hospice patient. Many of these patients thought they were receiving some type of home health or free services, rather than being placed on hospice.
Testimony at trial revealed that while on hospice care, many of the patients were living normal lives and although most of them did have medical conditions, none had been diagnosed as having a terminal condition. Evidence was introduced proving that there were patients who had been on hospice for more than five years and at the time of trial, were still alive.
The case was investigated by the Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Inspector General, and Federal Bureau of Investigation, and prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Kelly P. Uebinger, Danny Siefker, and Lauren L. Gardner.
SHREVEPORT/LAFAYETTE/ALEXANDRIA/LAKE CHARLES/MONROE, La. – U.S. Attorney David C. Joseph of the Western District of Louisiana today announced that more than $65 million in Department of Justice grants is available to help communities combat human trafficking and serve adults and children who are victimized in trafficking operations.
“Combatting human trafficking is a top priority of my office,” U.S. Attorney Joseph said. “These federal funds will provide critical resources needed to fight human trafficking and to assist those who have been victimized by this terrible crime. I encourage state and local victim services organizations and non-profit groups to apply for these grants.”
“Our nation is facing difficult challenges, none more pressing than the scourge of human trafficking. Human traffickers pose a dire threat to public safety and countering this threat remains one of the Administration’s top domestic priorities,” said Katharine T. Sullivan, Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General for the Office of Justice Programs. “The Department of Justice is front and center in the fight against this insidious crime. OJP is making historic amounts of grant funding available to ensure that our communities have access to innovative and diverse solutions.”
The funding is available through OJP, the federal government’s leading source of public safety funding and crime victim assistance in state, local and tribal jurisdictions. OJP’s programs support a wide array of activities and services, including programs that support human trafficking task forces and services for human trafficking survivors.
A number of funding opportunities are currently open, with several more opening in the near future.
Missing and Exploited Children Training and Technical Assistance Program
Total Available $16.5 million Opens week of 3/16/2020
Specialized Training and Technical Assistance on Housing for Victims of Human Trafficking
Total Available $2 million Opens week of 3/16/2020
Human Trafficking Training and Technical Assistance Program
Total Available $5 million Opens week of 3/16/2020
Improving Outcomes for Child and Youth Victims of Human Trafficking
Total Available $6 million Opens week of 3/16/2020
Integrated Services for Minor Victims of Labor Trafficking
Total Available $8 million Opens week of 3/16/2020
For more information regarding all OJP funding opportunities, visit: https://www.ojp.gov/funding/explore/current-funding-opportunities
In November 2019, U.S. Attorney Joseph announced the launch of the Northwest Louisiana Human Trafficking Task Force, which is led by the United States Attorney’s Office and Bossier Parish Sheriff’s Office, and is a collaboration of federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies and prosecutors, along with local non-governmental victim services organizations, including civic, faith-based, and social services organizations.
LAFAYETTE, La. – A federal jury has returned a guilty verdict against Kristal Glover-Wing, 50, of Broussard, Louisiana, for one count of conspiracy to commit health care fraud and three counts of health care fraud following a trial that lasted nearly four weeks, announced United States Attorney Brandon B. Brown. Dr. Gary M. Wiltz and Dr. Charles H. Louis were each acquitted on their charges in the indictment. Judge Robert R. Summerhays presided over the trial.
Glover-Wing was the owner of Angel Care Hospice (“Angel Care”), a Louisiana corporation that purported to provide hospice services in Lafayette Parish and other parishes in the Western District of Louisiana. Through evidence presented at trial, jurors learned that from approximately 2009 through 2017, over 24 patients were placed on hospice by Angel Care without meeting the criteria required by Medicare. During the time period that the patients were on hospice and under the care and supervision of Angel Care, none of them had been diagnosed with a terminal illness. In fact, many of the patients themselves, who are still alive and thriving many years later, as well as family members of other patients, testified that they never knew that they had been placed on hospice. The testimony revealed that while on hospice care, many of the patients were living normal lives and although most of them did have medical conditions, none had been diagnosed as being terminally ill. The fraudulent claims submitted to Medicare and reimbursed to Angel Care resulted in a loss of approximately $1,539,161.10 to Medicare.
“Krystal Glover-Wing defrauded the government and we thank the jury for holding her accountable. We will now move forward to her sentencing hearing,” stated U.S. Attorney Brandon B. Brown. “I thank the trial team and investigators for staying the course throughout years of investigating and a hard-fought trial. Although the doctors in this case were ultimately acquitted, we as prosecutors present the facts to a federal grand jury when we truly believe there has been a violation of federal law that we can prove beyond a reasonable doubt. Furthermore, if the grand jury decides to indict, we are not afraid to proceed to trial and give a federal trial jury the chance to ultimately decide someone’s guilt or innocence based on the evidence that we have. The verdict rendered in this case is evidence that the system can be just, fair and the trial jury has the ultimate prerogative to convict or acquit.”
“Whenever Medicare providers are motivated by greed, our most vulnerable citizens, the elderly, are put at risk,” said Assistant Special Agent in Charge Jeff Richards of the Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Inspector General (HHS-OIG). “HHS-OIG agents will continue to work closely with our law enforcement partners to investigate providers who loot the Medicare Trust Fund.”
Glover-Wing faces a sentence of up to 20 years in prison on the conspiracy to commit health care fraud charge, up to 10 years in prison on the health care fraud charges, 3 years of supervised release, and a fine of up to $250,000.
The case was investigated by the Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Inspector General, and Federal Bureau of Investigation, and prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Kelly P. Uebinger, Danny Siefker, and Lauren L. Gardner.
BOISE – Richard Alan Stansell, 53, of Caldwell, was sentenced to 135 months in federal prison for possession child pornography, U.S. Attorney Josh Hurwit announced today.
According to court records, in October 2021, the Idaho Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force began investigating CyberTip reports from Google, Instagram, and Facebook. According to the reports, several online accounts had been used to upload child pornography. ICAC’s investigation revealed that the accounts belonged to Stansell. ICAC also learned that the Idaho State Police had an active investigation involving Stansell. As part of that investigation, Stansell had communicated online with two undercover detectives posing as 13-year-old females. During the online communications, Stansell engaged in sexually explicit conversation with the purported children and sent them pictures of his penis and other pornographic images.
ICAC obtained a federal search warrant to seize and search Stansell’s electronic devices. In May 2022, ICAC, and other members of law enforcement, executed the search warrant and seized Stansell’s cellphone. A forensic examination of the cellphone revealed numerous images and videos of child pornography and evidence that Stansell had traded files of child pornography with other individuals online. Investigators also located evidence that Stansell had been communicating with juveniles. During an interview, Stansell admitted to receiving, viewing, and distributing images of child pornography. Stansell also admitted to chatting online with underage girls and to receiving explicit images from them.
“The defendant’s illegal and harmful conduct in this case is deserving of the significant sentence imposed,” said U.S. Attorney Hurwit. “Other offenders tempted to produce, obtain, or share child pornography should know that they cannot hide. Our office and our law enforcement partners, including the ICAC Task Force, are laser-focused on prosecuting to the fullest extent anyone who would victimize children, and our collaborative efforts in these critical investigations are second to none.”
“I am proud of the work done by our office in cooperation with the U.S. Attorney, Idaho State Police, and the Caldwell Police Department. The ICAC unit has been instrumental in protecting children by putting offenders away. Furthermore, I want to thank the law enforcement professionals in the state and U.S. Attorney Josh Hurwit for the diligent work that resulted in the conviction of Mr. Stansell,” Idaho Attorney General Labrador said.
U.S. District Judge Amanda Brailsford also sentenced Stansell to 16 years of supervised release, which will start upon completion of his prison sentence, and entered an order forfeiting the cellphone that was used to commit the offense. Stansell was ordered to pay $3,000 in restitution to the victims in the images that he possessed. Stansell will also be required to register as a sex offender as a result of the conviction and pay a $5,100 special assessment to the Court.
U.S. Attorney Hurwit commended the cooperative efforts of the ICAC Task Force, the Idaho Attorney General’s Office, the Idaho State Police, and the Caldwell Police Department, which led to the charges.
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. As part of Project Safe Childhood, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Idaho and the Idaho Attorney General’s Office partner to marshal federal, state and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.justice.gov/psc.
NASHVILLE – A federal jury yesterday convicted a Clarksville, Tennessee man of filing false tax returns that omitted income he earned from his business, announced U.S. Attorney Mark H. Wildasin for the Middle District of Tennessee and Acting Deputy Assistant Attorney General Stuart M. Goldberg of the Justice Department’s Tax Division.
According to court documents and evidence presented at trial, David Haley, 65, of Clarksville, owned Haley & Associates Mechanical Contractors, a heating and plumbing business. From 2014 through 2017, Haley & Associates was hired as the subcontractor on commercial projects in middle Tennessee and was paid more than $1,000,000 for each year. Generally, the contractors that hired Haley & Associates paid via check and reported the payments to the IRS via Forms 1099-MISC as non-employee compensation. Even though Haley personally received a portion of the company’s earnings as business income and nonemployee compensation, Haley reported earning no income on his 2014-2017 tax returns. Haley’s failure to report that income on his tax returns for tax years 2015 through 2017 caused the IRS a loss of approximately $186,290.
Haley was convicted of three counts of filing false tax returns for tax years 2015, 2016, and 2017. The jury acquitted Haley of one count of filing a false tax return relating to his 2014 tax filing.
Haley will be sentenced at a later date. He faces a maximum penalty of three years in prison for each count of filing false tax returns. U.S. District Judge William L. Campbell, Jr. will determine any sentence after consideration of the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
IRS-Criminal Investigation investigated the case.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Kathryn W. Booth and Trial Attorney Mitchell T. Galloway of the Justice Department’s Tax Division are prosecuting the case.
LAFAYETTE, La. - United States Attorney Brandon B. Brown announced that three defendants have been sentenced in U.S. District Court in Lafayette, Louisiana, on drug and firearms charges.
Chief United States District Judge S. Maurice Hicks, Jr. sentenced two of the defendants as follows:
Desmond Francois, 32, of Houston, Texas, was sentenced to 120 months in prison, followed by 5 years of supervised release, for possession with intent to distribute cocaine. On May 11, 2017, officers with the Lafayette Police Department initiated a bus interdiction at the Greyhound Bus Station located in downtown Lafayette, Louisiana. Law enforcement officers boarded the bus and identified themselves and told the passengers the purpose of their stop. While searching the bus, officers observed that on row 6, there were two black backpacks on the floor, a silver purse, and a gray hoodie and phone on the seat. Directly above that seat was a red and black plaid bag. When all passengers re-boarded the bus and returned to their seats, row 6 remained empty. Officers asked all passengers if the items belong to anyone present and none claimed them. However, one of the passengers told the officer that he saw the male and female from row 6 run when they saw law enforcement boarding the bus. The male was later identified as Francois. Inside the backpack from row 6 was approximately ten kilograms of cocaine and a Greyhound bus ticket for passenger Desmond Francois. Further investigation confirmed that Francois was associated with a drug trafficking organization in the Houston area that has a history of drug trafficking in Louisiana.
This case was investigated by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration and Lafayette Police Department and was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Jamilla A. Bynog.
Lionel Hill, Jr., 41, of Port Arthur, Texas, was sentenced to 60 months in prison, followed by 4 years of supervised release, on drug trafficking charges. Officers with the New Iberia Police Department stopped a vehicle being driven by Hill on May 6, 2021 for a traffic violation. Hill consented to a search of his person and officers located 50.6 grams of a substance containing fentanyl and 28.7 grams of a substance containing methamphetamine. Hill admitted to officers that he possessed the narcotics with the intent to distribute them. Lab reports later confirmed that the substance contained a detectable amount of fentanyl. On October 21, 2021, Hill pleaded guilty to possession with intent to distribute over 40 grams or more of a mixture or substance containing a detectable amount of N-phenyl-N-[1-(2-phenylethyl)-4-piperidinyl] propanamide, a Schedule II narcotic controlled substance.
The case was investigated by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration and the New Iberia Police Department and was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Daniel J. Vermaelen.
United States District Judge David C. Joseph sentenced Jacob Wilson Zirlott, 39, of Franklin, Louisiana, to 70 months in prison, followed by 3 years of supervised release, for being a convicted felon in possession of a firearm. On June 19, 2017, officers with the St. Mary Parish Sheriff’s Office executed a search warrant on Zirlott’s residence. During their search, deputies located an AR-15 firearm in the living room, along with several magazines located next to the firearm and drug paraphernalia. Zirlott admitted that the gun belonged to him even though he was a convicted felon and knew he was prohibited from possessing any firearm. Zirlott has prior felony convictions for robbery in Florida (1999) and aggravated second degree battery in Louisiana (2010).
The case was investigated by the Homeland Security Investigations-U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and the St. Mary Parish Sheriff’s Office and was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney John W. Nickel.
