| Gulkarov
Pled Guilty in Laundering & No
Fault Scam Now ex NYPD Aronov
Wants Probation
by
Matthew Russell Lee, Patreon Book
Substack
SDNY COURTHOUSE,
April 8 – Rolando
Chumaceiro ran
and ostensibly
owned a
no-fault
medical clinic
at 2767
Southern
Boulevard in
the South
Bronx.
But
he was only
pretending to
own it, as a
doctor, while
engaged in a
health care
fraud and
money
laundering
conspiracy,
and selling
fentanyl.
On April 5,
2023 U.S.
District Court
for the
Southern
District of
New York Judge
Paul G.
Gardephe held
a change of
plea
proceeding.
Inner City
Press went and
covered
it.
Chumareiro
pled guilty to
three counts,
after
conferring
with his
lawyer. There
is a plea
agreement but
its terms,
including
sentencing
guideline
agreed to, were
not read
outloud, as
best as Inner
City Press could make
out. Nor are
plea
agreements
routinely put
into the
docket, at
least at this
stage. (The
agreed
guideline will
be quoted in
the sentencing
memos).
There
was no one but
Inner City
Press in the
courtroom
gallery
(where, we
noted, COVID
masks were no
longer
required).
On
November 3,
2023, lead
defendant
Gulkarov
followed
suit and pled
guilty
to conspiracy
to commit
bribery,
conspiracy to
commit
healthcare
fraud, and
aggravated
identity theft
in connection
with his
orchestration
of a $40
million fraud
targeting
no-fault
automobile
insurance
companies. The
plea deal is
for 144
months, with
24 of them
mandatory on
top of any
other
sentence.
On
December 19, Gulkarov's
lawyer was
before Judge
Gardephe,
seeking to withdraw.
Judge
Gardephe noted
the March
sentencing,
and asked Gulkarov
about
getting
another
lawyer. Gulkarov
said it would
have to wait
until after
the holidays - the
lawyers' holidays,
he clarified.
He did not
know how much
they would charge.
The Probation
Officer will
be informed,
for the
Pre-Sentencing
Report, with a
letter due in
two weeks.
The reasons
for withdrawal
were not put
on the record, as
privileged.
On
January 2,
Gulkarov's
new retained
lawyer filed a
notice of
appearance: "NOTICE
OF ATTORNEY
APPEARANCE:
Deborah
Austern Colson
appearing for
Alexander
Gulkarov.
Appearance
Type: Retained."
On
January 10,
Gulkarov's
new counsel
asked for a 60
day adjournment
of sentencing,
and for
Gulkarov to be
approved for
medical
marijuana,
citing (and
attaching a
photo of)
his medical marijuana
card and
citing an EDNY
case.
On
January 16 it
was granted:
"Defendant
Gulkarov's
sentencing
date is
adjourned to
April 16, 2024
at 2:00 p.m.
In addition,
Defendant
Gulkarov's
bail
conditions are
modified to
permit the use
of medical
marijuana.
(Sentencing
set for
4/16/2024 at
02:00 PM
before Judge
Paul G.
Gardephe)
(Signed by
Judge Paul G.
Gardephe on
1/12/2024)."
On
December 1,
co-defendant
Albert Aronov
also pled
guilty, sentencing
set for April
11, 2024.
Filed
on March 28,
but only put
in the public
docket on
April 8, Aronov is
asking for
probation. The
Pre-Sentencing
Report describes
him logging
into NYPD
computers and
taking photos
of
confidential
motor vehicle
accident
reports with a
pre-paid burner
phone, then
emailing the photos
to Gulkarov.
The
sentencing
submission, labeled
"to be filed
under seal," says
that the
burner phone
was "to
facilitate an
affair he was
having with
another woman."
The
case is US v.
Gulkarov, et
al., 22-cr-20
(Gardephe)
***
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