| In Health Care Fraud Case Physical
Therapist With $250,000 Bank Account Gets
CJA Counsel
By Matthew
Russell Lee, Patreon
BBC
- Guardian
UK - Honduras
- ESPN
MAG COURT
Exclusive, Sept 28 –
In the U.S. District Court for
the Southern District of New
York on September 28,
presentments were held by
Magistrate Judge Gabriel W.
Gorenstein on defendants in a
health care fraud and money
laundering case.
Inner City
Press went to cover it, as the
only media in the Mag Court,
and live tweeted it here.
Earlier in
the day, it was announced: "an
indictment charging
acupuncturists JUNYI LIU,
a/k/a “Jenny,” and HONGXING
WANG, as well as physical
therapists GLEEN ANCIRO, NOEMI
ALGODON, MOHAMED ELMANDOUH,
GERARD ESTRELLA, RAMON GARCIA
III, and HENLER DATU TAHIL,
and cashier ZIHAO CHEN with
operating an over $20 million
health care fraud scheme at
fraudulent medical offices in
Manhattan, Brooklyn, and
Queens. As part of the
fraud scheme, CHEN and other
of the defendants’
co-conspirators paid cash
kickbacks to patients (the
“Paid Patients”) who were
insured by Medicare and/or
other insurance providers
(collectively, the “Insurance
Providers”), and the
defendants and their
co-conspirators then billed
Medicare and the insurance
providers for physical therapy
and acupuncture services
related to the Paid Patients
that were unnecessary or never
performed. LIU was
additionally charged with
unlawfully enriching herself
and a family member through a
COVID-19 unemployment benefit
scheme.
The defendants were arrested
earlier today and will be
presented this afternoon
before U.S. Magistrate Judge
Gabriel W. Gorenstein."
When that
happened, Gerard Estrella had
a Criminal Justice Act (tax
payer funded) lawyer, despite
having a $250,000 joint
checking account. Judge
Gorenstein approved the CJA
but directed the AUSA to look
into contribution to the
taxpayers, if Estrella
continues to work as a
physical therapist. He is
allowed to travel to the
District of New Jersey.
Also
released was cashier
ZIHAO CHEN for
one-tenth the
bond ($25,000)
but who said
he wanted to
find and pay
his own
lawyer. He had
two supporters
or family
members in the
gallery, one
of whom Inner
City Press has
seen early in
the afternoon
out on East
Broadway and
Worth Street.
It can be a
long wait.
The overall case is US v. Liu, et
al., 21-cr-592 (Swain / Gorenstein)
***
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