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A California man pleaded guilty yesterday to fraudulently obtaining $345,108 in COVID-19 pandemic relief loans from a financial institution and the Small Business Administration (SBA).

Ranjan Rajbanshi, D.D.S., 46, of Bakersfield and Santa Barbara, pleaded guilty today to stealing $500,000 in COVID-19 relief money.

The Department of Justice today announced criminal charges against 18 defendants in nine federal districts across the United States for their alleged participation in various fraud schemes involving health care services that exploited the COVID-19 pandemic and allegedly resulted in over $490 million in COVID-19 related false billings to federal programs and theft from federally funded pandemic programs.

The objectives of this audit were to (1) obtain an understanding of internal controls over compliance for the Provider Relief Fund, assess control risk of noncompliance, and perform tests of those controls unless those controls were deemed to be ineffective, and (2) express an opinion on whether the State complied with federal statutes, regulations, and the terms and conditions of federal awards that may have a direct and material effect on the Provider Relief Fund . The State of Texas complied in all material respects with the federal requirements for the Provider Relief Fund and American...

The objectives of this audit were to (1) obtain an understanding of internal controls over compliance for the Provider Relief Fund, assess control risk of noncompliance, and perform tests of those controls unless controls were deemed to be ineffective, and (2) express an opinion on whether the State complied with federal statutes, regulations, and the terms and conditions of federal awards that may have a direct and material effect on the Provider Relief Fund. The State of Texas complied in all material respects with the federal requirements for the Provider Relief Fund in fiscal year 2021.

The Department of Justice announced today new criminal charges, convictions, and sentences as part of its ongoing initiative to prosecute fraud in connection with various pandemic relief programs under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act, including the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) and the Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) program, as well as other crimes relating to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Tampa, Florida – U.S. District Judge Steven D. Merryday has sentenced Rolanda Wingfield (39, Tampa) to three years in federal prison for access device fraud and aggravated identity theft. As part of her sentence, the court also ordered Wingfield to pay $135,576 in restitution to the various state workforce agencies she defrauded. Wingfield had pleaded guilty on April 26, 2022.

A federal grand jury in Maryland has indicted Ron Elfenbein, M.D., age 47, of Arnold, Maryland, for three counts of healthcare fraud for submitting false and fraudulent claims to Medicare and other insurers for patients who received COVID-19 tests at sites operated by the defendant. The indictment was returned yesterday.

A California man pleaded guilty today in the Central District of California to stealing government funds designed to aid medical providers in the treatment of patients suffering from COVID-19. He also admitted to stealing additional government funds intended to help small businesses during the COVID-19 pandemic.

A California man pleaded guilty today in the Central District of California to stealing government funds designed to aid medical providers in the treatment of patients suffering from COVID-19 and using them for his own personal benefit.

A Michigan woman pleaded guilty today in the Eastern District of Michigan to stealing government funds that were designed to aid medical providers in the treatment of patients suffering from COVID-19 and using them for her own personal expenses.

Over 50 defendants were charged in the Southern District of Florida in the last six weeks, as part of a nationwide federal law enforcement action to combat health care fraud.

The Department of Justice announced today criminal charges against 138 defendants, including 42 doctors, nurses, and other licensed medical professionals, in 31 federal districts across the United States for their alleged participation in various health care fraud schemes that resulted in approximately $1.4 billion in alleged losses.

PRAC Chair Michael Horowitz testified before the Select Committee on the Coronavirus Crisis in a hearing titled “Examining Federal Efforts to Prevent, Detect, and Prosecute Pandemic Relief Fraud to Safeguard Funds for All Eligible Americans” to discuss our work protecting the $5 trillion in pandemic aid from fraud, waste, and abuse.