Tag: Texas

Dallas is ground zero for largest Medicare/Medicaid fraud ring yet uncovered—Nigerians this time

~ Ann Corcoran ~ Leave a comment

Last week we had the largest Medicaid fraud bust in DC history and as it turns out earlier in February we were given more details on the massive 2012 Texas bust as that case heads to trial.  In the DC case, the ringleader was a woman from Cameroon, and in Texas, 1/3 of the cases involve Nigerians.

Where is David Lubell and “Welcoming America” with his immigrant-entrepreneurs-bring-economic-boom-times to your “welcoming” cities mumbo-jumbo.  (‘Welcoming America’ is partially funded by the Office of Refugee Resettlement to get your minds right about the joy immigrant diversity will bring to your town and a large part of their campaign is to convince you that hard-working immigrants are fueling the local economy.)

Readers, increasingly we see home health care businesses listed as one of those economic enterprises refugees and other immigrants bring to multi-culti cities.  (Somalis here in St. Cloud!) Now we see why!

Keep in mind, as you read this, that we don’t resettle refugees from Nigeria in any large numbers, there may be some among the asylum seekers, but I would guess the largest numbers are here because they overstayed a visa—student or tourist.  Also, know that Nigerians were “winning” the diversity visa lottery in such large numbers that they are barred in the upcoming cycles from that LEGAL immigrant pipeline to America.

Dr. Joseph Megwa’s attorney asked that his nationality and immigration status not be admitted to the court! Photo: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2213046/Medicare-fraud-bust-Justice-department-arrests-91-doctors-nurses-430MILLION-largest-case-kind.html

From Dallas News.  (Hat tip: the ever-vigilant ‘pungentpeppers’)  Emphasis is mine:

Hundreds of North Texas Nigerian-Americans are caught up in the biggest home health care frauds ever uncovered by U.S. law enforcement.

Federal indictments were issued in 2012 against those who allegedly profited the most from half a billion dollars in fraudulent local Medicare billings. But many other Nigerian-Americans living in the area and operating small health care businesses were also involved, federal law enforcement officials say.

Those officials say most of the health care fraud in Texas is committed by Texans with no particular ethnic background. And community leaders insist most Nigerian-Americans in the health care business in the Dallas area are honest.

But law enforcement officials and leaders in the Nigerian-American community describe Dallas home health care fraud as rampant and say a surprising number of the perpetrators — a third of all cases under investigation — involve Nigerian-Americans.

Greed and lax enforcement!  And, possibly a cultural predilection?

“It is embarrassing to the Nigerian community that this type of thing is going on,” said Ihekwaba, who is also president of the West Africa America Chamber of Commerce and Industry in Dallas.

“It’s greed. Greed and trying to see the easy way out,” he said. “People took advantage of lax enforcement by the federal government on this issue.”

The FBI says health care fraud is the costliest crime in America. Estimates of the losses to federal health insurance programs like Medicare and Medicaid run from $44 billion to $80 billion a year.

Dallas has some of the highest Medicare spending in the nation. While the amounts spent on hospitals, drugs and doctors are not far off the national averages, home health care spending is far above the norm.

Over $100 million in fraud allegedly funneled through Dr. Joseph Megwa.

Between 2006 and 2012, federal law enforcement authorities allege more than 230 Dallas-area home health care agencies funneled patients to Arlington physician Joseph Megwa to approve $100.5 million in care they didn’t need. The owner of the largest home care agency in the case, Nigerian-American Ferguson Ikhile of Irving, has pleaded guilty.

But, LOL! Don’t mention Megwa’s nationality or immigration status because of backlash against immigrants!  If the shoe fits!

Last month, Megwa’s attorneys asked the judge in the case to prohibit prosecutors from mentioning Megwa’s nationality or immigration status because of “a backlash in this country against immigrants, particularly immigrants of color and immigrants from Africa, who are charged with criminal offenses.”

Nothing makes Americans angrier than opening our doors to immigrants who then turn around and rip us off!  As a matter of fact, we think there should be a law that when an immigrant crook is indicted, their immigration status should be made available to the public, so if they are here legally, we can begin to identify which legal programs need to be tightened up.

The next time one of your pals says, ‘I’m opposed to illegal aliens, but I’m o.k. with LEGAL immigrants,’ know that they don’t know what they are talking about!

The article at Dallas News is a long one with lots of details about how the scam is done, so I recommend reading the whole thing.

Is Amarillo, TX joining the “pockets of resistance” to refugee resettlement?

~ Ann Corcoran ~ Leave a comment

Update:  Readers may wish to contact Rep. Thornberry and encourage his willingness to speak up.  Contact info. is here—best to try the Amarillo office first then ask for a staff person who works on immigration issues.

It looks like David Lubell and his mind-police at ‘Welcoming America’ have another emergency on their hands, this time in Texas!

In my previous post this morning I mentioned that ‘Welcoming America’ has been hired by the Office of Refugee Resettlement to help head off “pockets of resistance” to more refugee resettlement in immigrant over-loaded cities.  And, no sooner did I post it than reader Joanne sent along this hot news story—‘Amarillo struggles to handle influx of refugees‘ from the Texas Tribune.

Wyoming, why do you think the State Department needs you now?  They are running out of places to resettle thousands of new refugees entering the US each month!

US Rep Mac Thornberry: “We cannot keep going at the rate we’ve been going,”

Texas Tribune (emphasis is mine):

More international refugees were resettled in Texas in 2012 than in any other state, according to the federal Office of Refugee Resettlement. And one of the leading destinations is Amarillo, where members of Thawng’s church and other newcomers from places like Myanmar and Iraq often work in meatpacking plants.

Now local officials are worried that Amarillo’s refugee population is straining the Panhandle city’s ability to respond to 911 callers who speak numerous languages and to help schoolchildren learn English and adapt to a new culture.

“We’ve raised some red flags and said this isn’t good for some entities in the city or for the refugees themselves,” said Mayor Paul Harpole.

Amarillo, the state’s 14th largest city, with 195,000 residents, receives a higher ratio of new refugees to the existing population than any other Texas city, according to 2007-12 State Department data from U.S. Rep. Mac Thornberry, R-Clarendon. And the only Texas cities that receive a larger number of refugees than Amarillo (which received 480 in 2012) are also the state’s largest: Houston, Dallas, Fort Worth, Austin and San Antonio.

But those numbers show only a refugee’s initial placement and do not account for secondary migration, Thornberry said. Many refugees who initially settle elsewhere relocate to Amarillo for jobs or to join family members.

The State Department decides how many refugees are resettled in an area, and states review those recommendations. Last fall, the department, the Texas Health and Human Services Commission and refugee placement organizations agreed that for 2014, placements in Amarillo should be limited to family reunifications, said Stephanie Goodman, a spokeswoman for the commission.

“We cannot keep going at the rate we’ve been going,” Thornberry said.  [Readers:  we often see mayors raise red flags, but rarely is a Member of Congress brave enough to say something like this publicly!—ed]

Catholic Charities brought refugees for meatpacking jobs!  Where have we heard that before?

Now there aren’t so many of those jobs (someone please tell Grover to call off the amnesty, there are legal immigrants here looking for work!).

Even so, she soon considered Amarillo her home, and 17 years later, she’s still there. She is now interim director of refugee resettlement at Catholic Charities of the Texas Panhandle, which helps people who have fled war and persecution find homes and jobs. Many find work at area meatpacking plants, which often pay $14 an hour, Lohony said.

But Harpole said demand for workers at the plants was declining. “We just think it’s going to be more difficult for the refugees to do well here,” he said.

Educational challenges, cultural challenges and how not to go hunting for food on private property!  What! The do-gooders at Catholic Charities can’t feed them?  Shame on you!

For schools, challenges include educating students who sometimes cannot read in English or in their native language, Thornberry said.

“You look at the burden you’re placing on the school system not only to meet the testing requirements but to help integrate these kids into modern American life,” he said.

Cultural differences are also an issue outside schools, he said. Recently a refugee was found on a local ranch hunting for food.

“Obviously, it was quite a shock to some of the ranchers,” Thornberry said.

Check out our previous mentions of Amarillo—a preferred resettlement site in 2009—here.

Muslim immigration fraud: Let me count the ways!

~ Ann Corcoran ~ Leave a comment

Update May 30th:  The Blaze has much more on this case, thanks to Vlad Tepes blog (via twitter) for alerting us.

Although this story isn’t about political refugee fraud as we recently witnessed in the Boston Bomber case, it’s about an alleged Lebanese terrorist getting into the US by marrying an American.

Remember last week I told you that the legal Muslim population of the US is growing by 100,000 a year mostly through the refugee program, grants of asylum, family reunification and the diversity visa lottery, but there are other ways as demonstrated by this alleged member of Hezbollah caught in Texas.

Here is the story from My San Antonio thanks to Joanne:

The FBI has arrested a San Antonio man on charges he lied to get into the United States and tried to get a sensitive Defense Department position.

Wissam Allouche, 44, appeared for an initial hearing Friday afternoon, and shook his head when U.S. Magistrate Judge Henry Bemporad read the charges leveled in a federal indictment. The judge ordered him held pending a bail hearing and his arraignment Tuesday.

“He allegedly tried to cover up his affiliation with Hezbollah,” said special agent Erik Vasys, spokesman for the FBI in San Antonio. “It is believed he was looking to secure a sensitive position with the U.S. government at some point.”

The indictment said Allouche had married a U.S. citizen and was going through the naturalization process. During that process, he reportedly lied when asked if he’d ever been a member of or associated with a terror organization, the indictment said.

There is more.  Read it all!  I looked for a photo of Allouche but couldn’t find one, if you see one send it my way.  Lacking the photo, I’ve illustrated this post with Hezbollah’s flag. The logo reads:  “Then surely the party of Allah are they that shall be triumphant.”

Since we are on the subject of Texas, the other day one of my alerts sent me to this very helpful write-up for an immigration lawfirm in the Lone Star State.  They have three offices scattered around the state with lawyers ready and eager to guide clients through the refugee/asylum process.  Actually their write-up is a pretty useful one for us as it summarizes what one must do to be considered a refugee or to be granted asylum.  I’ll bet those lawyers have their ears to the grapevine about border apprehensions and are right there to offer their services.

Texas: Somali food stamp fraudster sentenced to prison; sent your money to Somalia

~ Ann Corcoran ~ Leave a comment

Just redistributing your infidel wealth to the third world—what is wrong with that!

From the Star Telegram (hat tip: Gary):

FORT WORTH _ An Arlington convenience store owner was sentenced Friday to 57 months in federal prison for committing food stamp fraud, wire fraud, and running an unlicensed money transmitting business.

Ali Ugas Mohamud, who owned the Tawakal Grocery Store at 2440 South Collins Street, must also pay more than $1.4 million in restitution, $98,000 of which is due immediately, U.S. District Judge John McBryde ordered, according to a press release by the U.S. Attorney’s office.

According to court documents, Mohamud had applied for and was granted authorization in February 2004 for his store to participate in the food stamp program, the United States Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program or SNAP.

Beginning in 2009, however, Mohamud began occasionally exchanging food stamp benefits for cash or wired money to other individuals in Somalia using food stamp benefits, court documents state.

As part of his scheme, he also wired thousands of dollars from Affiliated Computer Services, Inc.,  which manages Lone Star cards for retailers, to his bank in Arlington between September 2008 and Februrary 2010.

Mohamud had pleaded guilty in October to seven counts of food stamp fraud, five counts of wire fraud and one count of conducting an unlicensed money transmitting business. McBryde sentenced him to 13 concurrent sentences of 57 months in federal prison on each count.

Here is the US Attorney’s office press release from last October when he was found guilty—this case must have slipped by me!

Believe me, this blog isn’t Somali Immigrant Watch even if it seems like it sometimes!

For new readers, our immigrant food stamp fraud archive is here.