Health News: Tips for Working Out During Your Work Day

Health News: Tips for Working Out During Your Work Day: Tips for Working Out During Your Work Day The average adult in the United States sits for more than eight hours a day. That is not how ...

South Bronx News: Subway Clerk Becomes Batman Fights Off Thief

South Bronx News: Subway Clerk Becomes Batman Fights Off Thief: CAUGHT ON CAMERA: Subway Clerk Becomes Batman Fights Off Thief You're not stealing his sandwich. A Subway employee fought off a woul...

Bronx Sports: Time running out for NY soccer fans

Bronx Sports: Time running out for NY soccer fans: Time Running Out for NY Soccer Fans By Howard Goldin BRONX, NEW YORK (SPORTS)-  Experienced NYC goalie Josh Saunders recently sp...

Bronx Sports: Heartbreak for NYCFC

Bronx Sports: Heartbreak for NYCFC: Heartbreak for NYCFC BRONX, NEW YORK (SPORTS)-  Andrew Jacobson scored his first goal in more than two years as New York City FC los...

AROUND TOWN NY: New Babies Arrive for Children's Zoo

AROUND TOWN NY: New Babies Arrive for Children's Zoo: New Babies Arrive for Children's Zoo BRONX, NY - AUG. 26, 2015 - Attached photos: A baby North American porcupine was born at W...

South Bronx News: ‘Doctors’ Rob Cell Phone Store

South Bronx News: ‘Doctors’ Rob Cell Phone Store: ‘Doctors’ Rob Cell Phone Store By Dan Gesslein BRONX, NEW YORK (BRONX NEWS )-   The old joke that doctors wear masks because...

South Bronx News: Are you getting all your benefits?

South Bronx News: Are you getting all your benefits?: Are you getting all your benefits? By Michael Horowitz   BRONX, NEW YORK (BRONX NEWS)- Senior citizens who are not sure if they are gett...

BRONX NEWS: Worker loses 4 fingers to lawn mower

BRONX NEWS: Worker loses 4 fingers to lawn mower: Worker loses four fingers in lawnmower accident By Michael Horowitz     BRONX, NEW YORK (BRONX NEWS)- A 23-year-old worker in Co-op City...

South Bronx News: Pols Learn to Play Ball

South Bronx News: Pols Learn to Play Ball: 100 PERCENT By Robert Press Pols Learn to Play Ball Play Ball was the cry not once, but twice at this year's Bron...

AROUND TOWN NY: Music, Dance, Theater Class Registration

AROUND TOWN NY: Music, Dance, Theater Class Registration: Registration for music, theater and dance classes BRONX, NEW YORK (AROUND TOWN)-Bronx House School for Performing Arts is currently...

Wakefield News: $31 Million Bilked in Medicaid Mills

Wakefield News: $31 Million Bilked in Medicaid Mills: $31 Million Bilked in Medicaid Mills BRONX, NEW YORK (BRONX NEWS)- A man was convicted of running fraudulent Bronx Medicaid mills that ...

$31 Million Bilked in Medicaid Mills

$31 Million Bilked in Medicaid Mills

BRONX, NEW YORK (BRONX NEWS)- A man was convicted of running fraudulent Bronx Medicaid mills that bilked the government out of $30 million and give HIV patients watered down meds.

Preet Bharara, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, announced that Oscar Huachillo, the former owner and operator of multiple HIV/AIDS clinics in New York City, was sentenced in Manhattan federal court to 87 months in prison for orchestrating a scheme to defraud Medicare out of more than $31 million; he was also sentenced to 60 months in prison, to be served concurrently, for evading more than $3.4 million in federal income taxes by falsely underreporting his income. 

As part of the scheme, Huachillo submitted bills to Medicare for expensive treatments that were administered at highly diluted doses or never administered at all, and were often unnecessary. Huachillo previously pled guilty to conspiring to commit health care fraud and committing tax evasion before U.S. District Judge Katherine Polk Failla, who imposed today’s sentence.

Manhattan U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara said: “Oscar Huachillo defrauded Medicare out of tens of millions of dollars and evaded millions of dollars in taxes on his illegal windfall. His schemes put patients at risk, undermined and exploited the Medicare program, and cheated honest taxpayers.”

According to the criminal complaint, superseding information, and other documents filed in Manhattan federal court, as well as statements made at related court proceedings:

Huachillo set up and operated multiple health care clinics in New York City that purported to provide injection and infusion treatments to Medicare-eligible HIV/AIDS patients, but that were, in reality, health care fraud mills (the “Clinics”) that routinely billed Medicare for medications that were never provided or were provided at highly diluted doses, and that were often unnecessary because the person being “treated” did not medically need the treatments.

Huachillo and his co-conspirators executed the fraudulent scheme by recruiting HIV/AIDS patients who were eligible for Medicare to come to the clinics multiple times per week, for multiple months, to undergo expensive “treatments” that were often unnecessary. The purported treatments included drugs costing hundreds of dollars each to administer and typically reserved for cancer and anemia patients. Huachillo and his co-conspirators paid the patients cash kickbacks of up to $300 per week in exchange for coming to the clinics and agreeing to undergo the treatments. Patients were also offered approximately $50 for each additional patient they referred to the clinics. Huachillo and his co-conspirators then used these patients’ status as Medicare beneficiaries to submit claims to Medicare for reimbursement for the treatments purportedly administered to the patients, often receiving tens of thousands of dollars in reimbursements per patient. As a result of the scheme, from 2009 through 2013, Huachillo and his co-conspirators defrauded the Medicare system out of at least $31 million.

In addition, Huachillo willfully evaded over $3.4 million in taxes owed to the IRS during the tax years 2009 through 2011 by falsely underreporting his taxable income, including income he had obtained through fraudulent Medicare claims.

In pronouncing the sentence, Judge Failla said, “[I]n the cases I’ve had as a judge, this is the worst fraud I’ve had. $31 million in losses; that’s terrible.” She also said, “The conduct is simply reprehensible.”

In addition to the term of prison, Huachillo, 55, of Manhattan, was sentenced to three years of supervised release and was ordered to pay $3,454,244.16 in restitution and $31,177,987.84 in forfeiture, including forfeiture of approximately $14 million of assets that were seized at or around the time of Huachillo arrest in August 2013.

George Juvier, 58, of Manhattan, has been charged separately in connection with the Medicare fraud scheme. In January 2015, Juvier pled guilty to engaging in a health care fraud conspiracy before U.S. Magistrate Judge Frank Maas. Juvier is scheduled to be sentenced at 11:00 a.m. on October 8, 2015, by U.S. District Judge Kimba M. Wood.

Mr. Bharara praised the outstanding efforts of the Department of Health and Human Services-Office of the Inspector General, IRS-Criminal Investigation Division, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation in the investigation. Mr. Bharara also thanked the U.S. Department of Justice’s Tax Division for their assistance in the investigation.

This case is being handled by the Office’s Complex Frauds and Cybercrime Unit. Assistant U.S. Attorney Jonathan Cohen is in charge of the prosecution.

#Medicaid #Fraud #MedicaidMills #HIV

BRONX NEWS: Videos Shows Bad Old Bronx Returning

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Wakefield News: Ban Kids from Getting Soda- Pol Says

Wakefield News: Ban Kids from Getting Soda- Pol Says: Soda Jerk Dim Bulb Pol Wants to Stop Selling Soda to Kids   By Dan Gesslein  BRONX, NEW YORK (BRONX NEWS)- In a city where yo...

Ban Kids from Getting Soda- Pol Says

Soda Jerk

Dim Bulb Pol Wants to Stop Selling Soda to Kids

 By Dan Gesslein 

BRONX, NEW YORK (BRONX NEWS)- In a city where you can buy a hookah at the local bodega to smoke marihuana, one politician wants to ban minors from buying soda.

In the Bronx the smell of pot is everywhere. The smell wafts from the front of apartment buildings and from cars driving by. At least one bodega in every neighborhood proudly displays hookahs in their front windows. Merchants sell with a nod and a wink as it is common knowledge that pot smokers are using them as legal bongs.

Yet despite this Staten Island Assemblyman Matthew Titone believes sugar is the real drug problem in New York. He wants to ban children from being able to buy soda 16 ounces or larger.

“If the adult buys it for the minor, that’s fine. That’s a parent or a guardian making an informed decision,” Titone said.

The career politician equates sugar as being as addictive and as harmful as cocaine and heroine.

Titone said sugar does the same thing to the brain as addictive drugs, including cocaine and heroin.

“People need to be aware of that,” Titone said. “Sugar in large quantities is a dangerous product. Like a gun, it will kill you. It’s just going to take a little longer.”

#SodaBan #Pot #Hookah

Bronx Sports: Dog Days for Slumping #Yankees

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Wakefield News: Tips for surviving heat wave

Wakefield News: Tips for surviving heat wave: Tips for Surviving Heat Wave                              BRONX, NEW YORK (BRONX NEWS)-  With high temperatures and humidity expec...

Tips for surviving heat wave

Tips for Surviving Heat Wave

                            

BRONX, NEW YORK (BRONX NEWS)- With high temperatures and humidity expected to stick with New Yorkers the next few days, Con Edison reminds customers to stay safe, stay comfortable and watch their energy usage. Here are some simple tips.

1. Set your AC to the highest comfortable temperature. Every degree you lower the thermostat drives up your bill by 6 percent.

2. To reduce heat and moisture in your home, run appliances such as ovens, washing machines, dryers and dishwashers in the early morning or late at night when it’s cooler outside.

3. Cook with a microwave, or barbecue.

4. When the AC is running, close doors to keep cool air in and hot air out. Shop owners are reminded not to keep front doors open while running air conditioning inside.  This wastes energy and puts a strain on the grid.

5. Keep shades, blinds and curtains closed. About 40 percent of unwanted heat comes through windows.

6. Use ceiling fans instead of your AC, if possible. Ceiling fans use less energy.

7. Turn off AC units, lights and other appliances when not at home and use a timer or smart technology to turn on your AC before arriving home.

8. Replace old appliances with new energy efficient Energy Star appliances.

Con Edison offers a variety of energy-efficiency programs for this summer. The coolNYC program connects customers with smart technology to control their room air conditioners from their computer or mobile device. Customers whose air conditioners are not Wi-Fi-enabled can buy a smart AC kit or borrow one for free and keep it if they participate in at least three heat events. Customers with Wi-Fi-connected Friedrich Kühl or Frigidaire Cool-Connect units can enroll these Energy Star ACs and earn up to $125 in rewards. Learn more by visiting:www.coolnycprogram.com

Replacing an old air conditioner with a new Energy Star unit can reduce energy usage by 15 percent. Con Edison will pay a $20 rebate to customers who buy a new Energy Star air conditioner.

Customers can report outages and check service restoration status atwww.conEd.com or by calling 1-800-75-CONED (1-800-752-6633).  When reporting an outage, customers should have their Con Edison account number available, if possible, and report whether their neighbors also have lost power.

Customers who report outages will be called by Con Edison with their estimated restoration times as they become available.

#HeatWave #AC

Protest Dominican Republic Immigration Crisis with Haiti

Protest Haiti at Maestro’s

Protest Haiti at Maestro’s

Haiti Immigration Crisis Comes to the Bronx

Angry Demonstrators Protest Visit by Dominican Republic Foreign Minister

By David Greene

BRONX, NEW YORK (BRONX NEWS)- A pair of very vocal and infuriated demonstrators protesting the Dominican Republic's new and controversial policy towards migrant workers of Haiti, came to the Bronx to heckle the Dominican Republic's Foreign Minister, who was invited to speak at breakfast hosted by a local group in Morris Park.

Dahoud Andre of Brooklyn and Bronxite Vilcere Romulus stood on the sidewalk outside of Meastro's catering hall on Bronxdale Avenue on August 7, to protest the visit by Andres Navarro Garcia, who spoke at the breakfast hosted by the New York Hispanic Clergy Organization (NYHCO.)

In a brief statement announcing the breakfast, Senator Ruben Diaz, Sr., a Reverend and President of the NYHCO, explained, "It is a great opportunity for us Hispanic ministers, evangelists and missionaries to hear directly from the Foreign Minister of the Dominican Republic and about the new plan of immigration affecting the Haitian community and other communities that have been established by the administration of President Danilo Medina."

With Haitian flags draped across their shoulders, Andre and Romulus each held up signs, one read, "Boycott Tourism in the Dominican Republic," another demanded, "Full citizenship for Dominicans of Haitian descent," as they chanted slogans about racism to guests as they arrived.

Calling the new policy of the Dominican government, a form of ethnic cleansing, Andre, a host of a local Haitian radio program and a member of the International Campaign to End Apartheid in the Dominican Republic claimed, "It's a very serious issue. It's very sad that you have black politicians in New York who we believe are taking money from the Dominican government to be given this platform to spew lies." 

"From it's inception," Andre continued, "The Dominican Republic has sought to distance itself from it's neighbor in Haiti and blackness."

Andres claims the revolt began when the new legislation was passed, legislation that they claim will affect hundreds of thousands of migrant workers from Haiti and the unrest has escalated after several incidents including the revocation of Citizenship of a Haitian-born Dominican who had been practicing law in the Dominican Republic for 30-years, and the February lynching of a Haitian man in Santiago, the Dominican Republic's second largest city.

Pointing out similarities with the current atmosphere in the United States, Andre explained, "It's the same reality that Dominicans are taking rickety boats to Puerto Rico to eventually get to the U.S., you would have a policy where the children of undocumented immigrants would be thrown out, the Dominican community here would rise up against this."

Asked what he would say to the NYHCO, Ardre added, "As Hispanics they understand the reality of undocumented migrants, like Hispanic migrants in this country and the same way that they would like to see undocumented migrants from the Dominican Republic treated in the United States, is the same way we would like them to treat Haitian immigrants in the Dominican Republic."

Senator Ruben Diaz declined to make a statement on the event or the protest, but his Chief of Staff Ann Noonan stated, "I'm not sure about that... I would just say in regard to the protesters is that everybody has a right to freedom of speech and everyone has a right to do that."

Attempts to reach the Manhattan office of the Consulate of the Dominican Republic were unsuccessful.    

#Haiti #DominicanRepublic #Immigration

Wakefield News: Community's Champion to have Street named After He...

Wakefield News: Community's Champion to have Street named After He...: Community's Champion to have Street named After Her BRONX, NEW YORK (BRONX NEWS)- A woman who fought for her community will be hono...

Community's Champion to have Street named After Her

Community's Champion to have Street named After Her

BRONX, NEW YORK (BRONX NEWS)- A woman who fought for her community will be honored with a street sign.

Longtime Community Board 12 District Manager Carmen Rosa passed away in March after a long battle with cancer.

Mayor deBlasio on Monday signed legislation renaming East 229th Street & White Plains Road "Carmen Rosa Way." The sign bearing Rosa's name will be in front of Community Board 12 where Rosa worked for so long.

A date for the sign unveiling has not yet been scheduled.

Horror enmascarado Bandit Arrestado

BRONX NEWS: Horror Masked Bandit Arrested: Horror Masked Bandit Arrested **UPDATE** Police arrested a suspect in the stickup of a laundromat while wearing a Halloween mask. Detec...

Horror Masked Bandit Arrested

Horror Masked Bandit Arrested

**UPDATE** Police arrested a suspect in the stickup of a laundromat while wearing a Halloween mask. Detectives from the 47th Precinct arrested 36-year-old Jose Muniz and charged him robbery. Halloween Mask Wearing Crook Sticks up Laundromat By Dan Gesslein BRONX, NEW YORK (BRONX NEWS)- Was it Halloween's Michael Myers or Leatherface who stuck up an Edenwald laundromat? A surveillance video captured a Halloween mask wearing bandit as he robbed the clerk at gunpoint. At around 9 p.m. on August 6, the suspect burst into the laundromat at 3960 Laconia Avenue. Wearing a horror mask and brandishing what looked like a semiautomatic weapon, the perp demanded cash. He pushed the clerk behind the counter and rummaged through the till making off with $246 cash. The robber then fled in a grey Jeep Liberty SUV. Anyone with information is urged to call CRIMESTOPPERS at (800) 577-TIPS. The public can also submit their tips by logging onto the Crime Stoppers Website at WWW.NYPDCRIMESTOPPERS.COMor texting their tips to 274637(CRIMES) then enter TIP577. All calls are confidential. #NYPD #HalloweenMask #Stickup

Laundry Horror Caught on Camera