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July 17, 2020
Posted on Author By dmcantor Categories 400 Theft / Fraud Crime Victories, 43 Fraudulent Schemes Reduced, 45 Theft Reduced, 47P Benefits Fraud Victories, Case Victories

State v. Mr. W (DMC No. 14179)

Mr. W had gone through a divorce and his ex-wife lived with their child in California. He would have the child over Christmas break and in the summers. He applied for benefits through AHCCCS (Arizona Health Care Cost Containment System) for healthcare and for SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program) for food stamps. He included his daughter as a full time dependent and resident and part of those benefits. Over time, he received more than $10,000 in benefits.

An Investigator for AHCCCS began looking through the case and called Mr. W. He told the Investigator that his child did live with him, however, he could not remember the name of the grade school the child attended. The Investigator then called the mother who confirmed that the child lived with her year-round, except for summers and during the Christmas break. Ultimately, Mr. W was charged with 8 Counts of Unlawful Use of Food Stamps/Benefit Fraud, 2 Counts of Fraud Schemes and 2 Counts of Theft. Cost of the actual loss and investigation came to a grand total of $11,521.

Once we became involved in the case, we began having Mr. W repay the government all of the money that they had lost. We informed the Prosecutor of this and we also sent over a mitigation package. That mitigation package included letters from family, friends and coworkers, totaling 40 in number. Due to the great amount of community support, combined with a lack of any real criminal history, the Prosecutor agreed to extend an offer for Attempted Fraudulent Schemes as a Class 6 Undesignated Felony which allowed Mr. W to earn a Misdemeanor. It also included Probation with zero days in jail. Initially, Mr. W was facing well over a decade in prison if convicted on all charges and sentenced to the maximum consecutive punishment.

July 17, 2020
Posted on Author By dmcantor Categories 400 Theft / Fraud Crime Victories, 43 Fraudulent Schemes Reduced, 45 Theft Reduced, 47P Benefits Fraud Victories, Case Victories

State v. Mr. W (DMC No. 14191)

Mr. W worked as a Banquet Captain for the Omni Hotel Management Corporation for years. For a period of 117 weeks, he collected Unemployment Benefits as if he was unemployed. When he would get work, he was supposed to report any earnings he received. He only reported earnings 17 times out of the 117 weeks, and all of those earnings were underreported. He was ultimately contacted by an Investigator, and he claimed that he only had sporadic work, when in reality, he was working full time. He never sent a letter of explanation, which they had requested.

Ultimately, Mr. W was charged with 35 Counts of False Statements in order to obtain benefits (Benefits Fraud), 1 Count of Fraudulent Schemes and Artifices and 1 Count of Theft. If he was convicted of all counts and given the maximum, he could have spent more than 80 years in prison.

After Mr. W became our client, we contacted the Assistant Arizona Attorney General handling the case and we worked out a restitution plan. In exchange for fully paying back all of the amount of the loss plus interest (just over $2 6,000), the Prosecutor agreed to dismiss all but 3 Counts of False Statements and offered a Class 6 Undesignated Offense, with a possibility of it being designated as a Misdemeanor on the date of Sentencing. At Sentencing, we were able to show the Judge that Mr. W was remorseful and appreciated the wrongfulness of his actions. In addition, we showed that he had a lack of criminal history, that he had good character, had performed prior good acts, and that he had cooperated and behaved appropriately during the pre-trial and pre-sentencing period of the case. The Judge agreed with us and immediately designated Mr. W’s case as a Misdemeanor on the date of Sentencing.

July 17, 2020
Posted on Author By dmcantor Categories 400 Theft / Fraud Crime Victories, 47B Racketeering (RICO) / Illegally Conducting an Enterprise (State Charge) Victories, 47F Money Laundering (State Charge) Victories, 800 Miscellaneous Crime Victories, Case Victories

State v. Mr. K (DMC No. 13071)

For a 1 ½ year period, the Drug Enforcement Agency conducted an undercover investigation of various drug trafficking organizations. This particular organization was known for trafficking large amounts of money, marijuana, methamphetamine and cocaine. All of which was imported from Mexico into the United States. Using wire taps and other undercover activities, the DEA observed Mr. K at a high level hotel in Chicago, Illinois exchanging money.

Subsequently, a traffic stop was conducted and Mr. K was found to have a duffel bag containing $84,900 in his possession. Ultimately, indictments of 43 co-conspirators were handed down, of which Mr. K was one. During the investigation with Mr. K, he accepted responsibility and admitted that on five or six other occasions, he went to Mexico and trafficked in money. This was due to severe financial hardship as a result of many years of drought in his home state which affected his farming business.

Due to his cooperation with the Prosecutor, combined with an extensive amount of mitigation, we were able to secure an offer that would allow the Judge to potentially sentence Mr. K to no jail time at all. He was facing 4.5 years minimum if he were to have gone to Trial and been convicted on all counts. Ultimately, Mr. K plead to a reduced charge of Conspiracy to Commit Money Laundering and received Probation with zero days in jail.

July 17, 2020
Posted on Author By dmcantor Categories 400 Theft / Fraud Crime Victories, 43 Fraudulent Schemes Reduced, 45 Theft Reduced, 47J Forgery Victories, 47P Benefits Fraud Victories, Case Victories

State v. Ms. K (DMC No. 13282)

Ms. K was in the Air Force from 1981 through 2001 and received an Honorable Discharge. She was initially rated at 90% service-connected disability for various medical conditions from 2001 to 2003. Then from 2006 until 2014, she was rated at 100% medically disabled. She had vowed that she was unemployable.

Just prior to 2007, she applied to the Veteran’s Administration for increased compensation based on her unemployability. She stated that she formerly was employed by a large airline as an Operational Manager but had recently become 100% unemployed. The VA approved her for $2,560 a month from that point forward. From approximately January 1, 2007 to February 1, 2014, she received a total of $90,579 in Disability Benefits.

What she failed to do was update the VA that she had gained employment from late December of 2006 through February 7, 2014 and was working fulltime. Because of this Benefits Fraud, she was subsequently charged with 1 Count of Fraudulent Schemes, 1 Count of Theft, and 3 Counts of Forgery.  If we would have proceeded to Trial and lost on all 5 Counts, she could have received up to 68 years in prison.

We were able to use significant mitigation to Ms. K’s benefit. We were able to show the Prosecutor that she had no prior felony convictions, that she was a single-parent mother and was an active member in the Baptist Church, and she had a fairly- outstanding military career that left her somewhat disabled mentally (which may have played a part in her crime). She cooperated fully in the investigation and truly had remorse. Ultimately, we negotiated a deal that could have allowed the Judge to have sentenced Ms. K up to 9 months in jail. In the end, the Judge sentenced her to Probation with 6 months of jail and the ability to be released daily for work under the Work Furlough Program.

July 17, 2020
Posted on Author By dmcantor Categories 1900 Federal Court Victories, 400 Theft / Fraud Crime Victories, 47P Benefits Fraud Victories, Case Victories

U.S. v. Mr. F (DMC No. 12941)

Mr. F came to our office and retained our services in December of 2013. He had been employed by the Maricopa Integrated Health System (MIHS) in the Facilities Operations Department as a Supervisor of General Maintenance. The FBI had received a tip that, beginning on January 1, 2012 and continuing through December of 2013, Mr. F had been using his position in authority to obtain goods from vendors who contracted with the MIHS. Initially, it was thought that he had usurped $62,000 of the government’s money as follows: $7,300 in false billing for groundskeeping and concrete work; $14,900 for appliance purchases; $9,800 for HVAC tools; $5,200 for lumber purchases; $600 for paint; $18,900 in construction supplies; $4,100 from Home Depot; and $980 in goods purchased from other retailers.

The allegation was that Mr. F had developed a pattern of living beyond his means and that he was remodeling his home with government money. Because we began cooperating with the government almost immediately, over the course of the next 2 years and 3 months, we were able to trace back all of the money (which now totaled $119,600), which also helped the government fix the leaks within the system. Ultimately, it was agreed that Mr. F would plead guilty to Conspiracy to Commit Theft Concerning Programs Receiving Federal Benefits under 18 U.S.C. 371. He ultimately received a sentence of Probation with zero days in jail. Initially, he was facing over 5 years of prison time.

July 17, 2020
Posted on Author By dmcantor Categories 400 Theft / Fraud Crime Victories, 43 Fraudulent Schemes Reduced, 45 Theft Reduced, 47N Embezzlement Victories, Case Victories

State v. Ms. N (DMC No. 14416)

Ms. N. was employed as an Office Manager for a corporation from 2005 to 2014. She was caught fraudulently distributing 401(k) profit share distribution, which belonged to other employees, into her personal 401(k) account. That amount totaled $6,600. While she was being terminated, she admitted to the Theft. After a complete and thorough accounting was done by the corporation, it was determined that other amounts were also missing. In addition to the 401(k) money, she submitted fraudulent expense reimbursements between 2010 and 2014, which totaled $146,600. Lastly, as for two terminated employee 401(k) amounts, which were misappropriated, these totaled $12,100. Although all losses totaled $158,820, the corporation had to reimburse $165,400 into accounts due to their costs and gains.

We were able to work with the Prosecutor to show extensive mitigation that Ms. N had regarding her life. She was the youngest of two children and experienced a traumatic upbringing. She grew up in significant poverty, and her father was a former Vietnam Marine with PTSD, who was severely alcoholic and was physically and verbally abusive to both her and her mother. She began working at 16 in order to provide for herself and the family. She also was periodically homeless. Eventually, she gave birth to her first daughter when she was 19-years old, and then had three children before she was hired by the corporation.

Her first day on the job, she was a single mother to three and was only being paid $35,000 per year. Shortly after being hired, her mother died, and Ms. N was now responsible to pay all of the funeral costs and other expenses left behind by her mother. Although, none of this is an excuse to steal, it was mitigation. A few months later her father passed away from stage 4 lung cancer approximately one week after this investigation had begun. In addition, her only prior criminal conviction was for a misdemeanor DUI.

Ultimately, the Prosecutor agreed to a plea which included probation with 1 year of prison. Originally, she was facing much higher/longer prison time due to the fact that there were multiple offenses committed on different dates, and the total amount of loss was above $100,000.

July 17, 2020
Posted on Author By dmcantor Categories 400 Theft / Fraud Crime Victories, 47F Money Laundering (State Charge) Victories, Case Victories

State v. Mr. L (DMC No. 14379)

Mr. L was traveling on the I-40 when he was pulled over by a DPS officer who claimed he was following too closely to another vehicle. He was ultimately stopped and the van was found to have been rented to our client, who was the front seat passenger. Although all three individuals in the van spoke Spanish, they were asked to sign a Consent to Search form that was in both English and Spanish. Ultimately, the Officers discovered large empty duffel bags with empty Ziploc bags. They also tested the seats and found they did not have the proper density.

After physically removing the back panel off the seats, they located bundles of US currency which totaled just over $403,000. All three individuals were arrested, and Mr. L was charged with Money Laundering. During the defense of the case, we were able to show that the prior conviction out of Florida did not qualify as actual convictions, and that these were not to be used against our client. Because the fact pattern of the stop was very similar to other cases we have handled, and because the location was very similar to other stops, we began inquiring into the identity of any possible informants.

We worked with the Prosecutor, who then agreed to reduce the charges to a Class 6 Open/Misdemeanor Facilitation with Probation and no additional jail, as long as there was a stipulated forfeiture of the $403,000 and there would be no further discovery into the identity of any possible informants.  Other issues included the fact that other Officers initially testified that there were no informants, but this appeared to be somewhat questionable. Ultimately, Mr. L was facing mandatory prison due to the amount being laundered was above $100,000, he instead received probation, which he successfully completed. He now only has a Misdemeanor conviction on his record.

July 17, 2020
Posted on Author By dmcantor Categories 400 Theft / Fraud Crime Victories, 47A Mortgage Fraud Victories, 47J Forgery Victories, Case Victories

State v. Mr. R (DMC No. 13798)

A DPS Detective on the Mortgage Fraud Task Force was researching the names used by individuals to purchase two specific properties which totaled $650,000 in value. He pulled up the MVD database and utilized their facial recognition system to show that the names given with purchases per MVD records, did not match faces that were on their licenses in the database. Also, different dates of birth and social security numbers were used. He then compared those images with pictures of our client on Facebook and he found that there was a match.

He then researched the mortgage documents from the mortgage company and analyzed the Residential Loan Applications. He discovered that Real Estate Agent, conspiring with the Loan Officer, then made contact with a Loan Processor and our client (who is the buyer of the purchases/two mortgages). He discovered that these were actual “straw purchases” that were being facilitated by way of forgery and fraud on the various banking institutions that loaned the money for the residential purchases.

We were able to show the Prosecutor that our client’s only connection to this scheme was that he used a false identity to purchase the houses. Although this could still be charged as Forgery, we proved he did not have the required mental state relating to Fraud Schemes to show that he “knowingly obtained any benefit by using the fraudulent name.” The Prosecution agreed to reduce the charges to Securing the Proceeds of an Offense, which carried with it probation and zero days in jail. Originally, our client was facing mandatory prison due to the fact that the amount of the Fraud Scheme was above $100,000.

July 17, 2020
Posted on Author By dmcantor Categories 400 Theft / Fraud Crime Victories, 45 Theft Reduced, 47N Embezzlement Victories, Case Victories

State v. Ms. W (DMC No. 15290)

Ms. W worked for the Hayden Police Department in Gila County. She was in charge of taking cash pertaining to vehicle impounds, issuing receipts and releasing the vehicles. The Hayden Police Department alleged that money from 30 Impound Hearings, at $150 each, were missing and there were no receipts. All 30 of these impound fees were paid in cash by various citizens, totaling $4,500.

According to detectives, various witnesses claimed that they were told by Ms. W that they must pay in cash. Ultimately, a warrant was issued for charges regarding 8 Counts of Fraudulent Schemes and Artifices. After we were retained, we had the warrant quashed and had the case set to a Case Management Conference. After speaking with the Prosecutor on the case, we informed them that they did not have the following information which would be necessary for a successful prosecution: no clean copy of the Authorization for Release of Impound Vehicle covering the section of the towing and charging checkbox area; no copies of the tow sheets and citations for two particular cases; no copy of the citation in one of the departmental reports; and no copy of the Authorization for Release of Impound Vehicles without Post-it notes covering up vital information. Ultimately, the Prosecutor filed a Motion to Dismiss without Prejudice regarding these charges, which left Ms. W. with a clean record.

July 17, 2020
Posted on Author By dmcantor Categories 400 Theft / Fraud Crime Victories, 47F Money Laundering (State Charge) Victories, 600 Drug Crimes Victories, 82A Possession/Paraphernalia Dismissals, Case Victories

State v. Mr. K (DMC No. 14721)

Mr. K was driving on the I-40 when a Mohave County Sheriff’s Deputy stated that he was following a truck too closely. He also claimed he was traveling 80 in a 70 miles per hour zone. After Mr. K was pulled over, the Deputy had a dog circle his vehicle. The Deputy claimed the dog alerted to drugs. Eventually, Mr. K stated he had money in the car. As the Deputy began searching the car, he was about to cut off the locks to a toolbox when Mr. K said “you can’t do that.“ A search warrant was never obtained because they couldn’t get one at that time.

Once the locks were cut off the toolbox, $20,000 in cash was found inside. Mr. K told Officers that it was investors’ money for dirt bikes that were in San Diego. After the locks were cut, Mr. K asked multiple times “is this legal.” Because the money was all twenty-dollar bills wrapped in Ziploc baggies, Mr. K was arrested for Money Laundering and Possession of Drug Paraphernalia. When Officers began questioning him, he stated “do I need a lawyer because I don’t want to incriminate myself.” He also said “I believe I should talk to a lawyer.” However, Officers continued to question him relentlessly.

We ultimately filed a Motion to Dismiss for both Illegal Search and Seizure, and Violation of Right to Counsel. These Motions were filed on September 21, 2017.  By October 10, 2017, the Prosecutor filed a Motion to Dismiss all charges.

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