Latest news with #MassachusettsU.S.Attorney'sOffice
Yahoo
7 days ago
- Business
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Former Mass. state sen. pleads guilty to stealing gun from constituent, lying to police
Former Massachusetts State Senator Dean Tran has pleaded guilty to charges connected to stealing a gun from a constituent and lying to police about it, the state attorney general's office announced Tuesday. On Monday, the 49-year-old Fitchburg resident pleaded guilty to larceny of a firearm, misleading law enforcement in a criminal investigation and filing an application for a license to carry containing false information, the attorney general's office said in a press release. Tran is a Republican who served as a Fitchburg city councilor from 2005 to 2017 and represented the Worcester and Middlesex District from 2017 to 2021. In June 2019, Tran 'used his position of trust as a public official to take advantage' of a constituent by convincing her to sell him her late husband's firearm collection in exchange for $1,500, the attorney general's office said. The constituent soon changed her mind about parting with the guns, and Tran returned them to her. But within days, Tran returned to the constituent's home when she was there alone and stole a Colt .45 pistol that was part of the collection, the attorney general's office said. When interviewed by police about the theft, he tried to mislead investigators by giving conflicting stories about what happened. Tran also made false statements on his application to renew his firearms license in May 2019, the attorney general's office said. When Tran was first charged in the case in 2022, he also faced charges of larceny over $250 from a person over 60, obtaining a signature by false pretenses with intent to defraud and stealing by confining or putting a person in fear. These charges were dropped in exchange for a guilty plea, the attorney general's office said. Tran's jury trial on the charges was set to begin Monday. Instead, he was sentenced to six months in state prison on each of the three charges, but this time will be served concurrently with the federal prison sentences he is in the process of serving time for already, the attorney general's office said. In November 2023, Tran was arrested and charged with 25 counts of wire fraud and three counts of filing a false tax return. He was accused of fraudulently applying for pandemic unemployment benefits and hiding more than $50,000 in income from his paid consulting job from tax authorities, among other misdeeds. In September 2024, a federal jury convicted Tran on 23 of the charges against him. In February, a judge sentenced him to a year and a half in prison, two years of supervised release and to pay over $50,000 in restitution and fines, according to the Massachusetts U.S. Attorney's Office. Boston 15-year-old charged in knife assault on MBTA bus driver 2 men arrested in connection with shooting near University Park in Worcester Central Mass. man now facing manslaughter charge in connection with brother's death Mass. grandfather's online pain medication search spiraled into an international drug operation Man in critical condition after shooting near Brockton shopping plaza Read the original article on MassLive.
Yahoo
22-05-2025
- Yahoo
Mass. couple to plead guilty to Ponzi scheme that conned dozens out of a total of $3.2 million
A Randolph couple has agreed to plead guilty to charges related to allegations that they ran a Ponzi scheme in which dozens of people were conned out of a total of more than $3.2 million, the Massachusetts U.S. Attorney's Office announced Wednesday. Milendophe Duperier, 33, and Vanessa Joseph, 26, have agreed to plead guilty to one count each of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, the U.S. Attorney's office said in a press release. In a Ponzi scheme, fraudsters solicit money from individuals with false promises of investing it in a particular venture that will generate high returns with little or no risk, according to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Instead, the fraudsters use money from new investors to pay old ones while pocketing some of the funds. In the case of Duperier and Joseph, Duperier posed as an investment advisor, soliciting money from individuals and advising them that their funds would be invested in the securities markets, while Joseph pretended to be his business partner, according to the U.S. Attorney's office. Between early 2018 and December 2022, the couple is alleged to have defrauded dozens of investors by instead using the money to pay for personal expenses such as luxury cars, mortgage debts and credit card payments. Duperier and Joseph covered their tracks by using funds from new investors and small business loans to pay back purported returns to existing investors, the U.S. Attorney's office said. Duperier is also accused of making false statements and excuses to investors — some of whom entrusted him with their life savings — to explain why he had not made promised interest payments or could not return their original investment. The charge of conspiracy to commit wire fraud provides for a sentence of up to 20 years in prison, three years of supervised release and a fine of up to $250,000 or twice the gross gain or loss from the offense — whichever is greater. The couple's plea hearings have yet to be scheduled. Man found guilty of killing Mass. couple in drunken driving crash from 2021 Agreement reached in lawsuit over Souza-Baranowski Correctional Center assault Ex-Harvard Medical School morgue manager pleads guilty in stolen body parts case Former Mass. preschool teacher charged in connection with physically abusing students Mass. man faces slew of charges after multiple hit-and-run crashes Read the original article on MassLive.
Yahoo
21-05-2025
- Yahoo
Georgia woman gets decade in prison for smuggling 12 lbs. of meth to Mass. in dog food bag
A Georgia woman has been sentenced to a decade in prison for smuggling 12 pounds of meth to Massachusetts by hiding it in a large dog food bag, the Massachusetts U.S. Attorney's Office announced Tuesday. In January 2025, 28-year-old Brooke Logan Paniagua pleaded guilty to conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine, possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine and possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking offense in connection with the incident, the U.S. Attorney's office said in a press release. Paniagua worked for a drug trafficking organization that brings illegal substances into the U.S. from Mexico, the U.S. Attorney's office said. Federal investigators began investigating her in September 2022 after the organization informed a confidential source that a woman would be transporting 12 pounds of meth from Georgia to Massachusetts. Paniagua called the source to coordinate a meeting time and location at which the source would buy the drugs from her, explaining that the meth was hidden inside a 50-pound bag of dog food, the U.S. Attorney's office said. When she arrived at the location, she notified the source, but she was soon intercepted by police. Investigators found a large, partially opened back of dog food with five plastic containers filled with 12.3 pounds of 97% pure meth in Paniagua's car, the U.S. Attorney's office said. They also discovered a .22-caliber handgun loaded with eight rounds in her back pocket during a search of her person. On May 14, a federal judge sentenced Paniagua to 10 years in prison and four years of supervised release, the U.S. Attorney's office said. `All Access PD: Grand Rapids' episode 7, how to stream tonight for free Mass. lawyer to plead guilty to embezzling millions from relatives, business associate Assumption University student agrees to plead guilty to cyber-extorting companies Boston man charged in connection with sexual assault in the North End Police ID Belmont man in connection with hatchet assault in road rage incident Read the original article on MassLive.
Yahoo
25-04-2025
- Yahoo
Mass. man pleads guilty to having over 340,000 digital files of child sexual abuse material
A Western Massachusetts man has pleaded guilty to having over 340,000 digital files of child sexual abuse material, the Massachusetts U.S. Attorney's Office announced Thursday. Turner Falls resident Edward Dunphy, 79, pleaded guilty to possession of child pornography in federal court in Boston after previously being indicted by a grand jury, the U.S. Attorney's office said in a press release. Dunphy was identified as a suspect through an investigation of peer-to-peer file-sharing networks, the U.S. Attorney's office said. During a May 2023 search of his home, over 340,000 digital files of child sexual abuse material were found on his computer and external hard drives. Dunphy is set to be sentenced July 30, the U.S. Attorney's office said. The charge of possession of child pornography provides for a sentence of 10 to 20 years in prison, five years to life of supervised release and a fine of up to $250,000. Man, 21, accused of planting surveillance camera in Williams College gym bathroom Suffolk DA blasts judge for dismissing case of man detained by ICE midtrial Ashland man found with child sex abuse material at Logan Airport, feds say Allston woman likely killed by baseball bat or sword identified Nigerian man pleads guilty to $10M pandemic unemployment fraud scheme
Yahoo
26-02-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
RegalCare at Worcester among nursing facilities cited in Medicare and Medicaid fraud case
A New Jersey skilled-nursing management company, with a location on Oriol Drive in Worcester, is being accused of billing Medicare and Medicaid for unreasonable and unneccessary services. The allegations against RegalCare Management are outlined in a complaint filed by the Massachusetts U.S. Attorney's Office and the state Attorney's General's Office. RegalCare at Worcester, 25 Oriol Drive, is one of 19 skilled nursing facilities reviewed by the agencies. The complaint alleges that "RegalCare systematically caused Medicare to be billed for the highest level of skilled rehabilitation therapy services at RegalCare's facilities in Massachusetts and Connecticut, despite patients not clinically needing those services," according to a news release from the office of U.S. Attorney Leah B. Foley. The complaint references RegalCare owner Eliyahu Mirlism, company executive, Hector Caraballo and Stern Therapy Consultants, which works with RegalCare. The facilities in the complaint provide transition care to patients following a hospital stay. Government programs, notably Medicare and Medicaid, reimburse such facilities, based on submitted claims. A request for comment from RegalCare was not immediately answered. This article originally appeared on Telegram & Gazette: RegalCare at Worcester cited in Medicare and Medicaid fraud case
