Articles Analysis Essay on Scam, Identity Theft and Fraud

On June 21, 2015, news about nurses and doctors who were busted for engaging in Medicare Fraud totaling to $712 million took the headlines by storm. According to the Article published by the British Medical Journal, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), arrested 46 nurses and doctors in connection to a Medicare fraud that is termed as the biggest of its kind. The article appeared on the internet on June 21, 2015: 2:50 PM ET, and was authored by Dyer, O. according to Dyer, the total number of people that were arrested in connecting to the case was 243, and resided in a total of 17 cities. They were accused of defrauding Medicare of $712 million worth of planned patient care that was unnecessary or never given. Attorney General Lynch explained that owners of a Miami based mental health care center billed millions of dollars for treatment sessions that merely involved moving patients to various locations.

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Four people were charged for marketing a glucose monitor and supplying the devices to patients who never ordered for them or needed them. They then billed the devices and acquired a total of over $22 million. In other charges relating to the same case, some fraudsters would visit homeless shelters where they would give money to people after sharing their Medicare patient numbers.

Over the past few years, the health sector has suffered numerous fraudster cases. Most of these cases result from the lack of awareness of the victims. The medics also take advantage of the patients who have little or no information concerning their Medicare rights and insurance. The part that I find very interesting about this story and which is quite ironical, is the fact medical professionals are defrauding the government through their patients, yet they should be on the frontline to ensure quality care to their patients at affordable rates. The article relates to y topic since it is a report of a fraud case that involves American citizens. It contains detailed information concerning when, how and who committed the fraud.

Reference: Dyer, O. (2015). Hundreds are arrested for Medicare fraud totaling $712 m. BMJ: British Medical Journal (Online), 350.

On January 30, 2014, at 4:58 PM, the Reuters Online Journal published news about a banking fraud on their Business News page. The headlines of the news read, "U.S. seeks $2.1 billion from Bank of America (BAC.N) in a fraud case." Nate Raymond, the author of the article, wrote that the United States government raised the amount it sought in penalties from the BAC.N to 2.1 billion dollars following findings by the Jury that the bank had engaged in fraudulent activities over sales of defective mortgages by its Countrywide unit. In October 2013, the federal jury had found the BAC.N and Mairone Rebecca, who is a former executive at Countrywide, answerable for fraudulent charges in the civil court case. The case involved the erroneous mortgage loaning procedure at Countrywide, which was purchased by the Bank of America in 2008 July, known as "Hustle."

In the court proceedings, the government contended that the loan repayment program offered by Countrywide remunerated personnel for the magnitude of the loans they processed, rather than the quality. They also eliminated several checklists that purposed to ascertain that the borrowed loans were sound. Both Mairone and Bank of America denied the charges pressed against them, with the bank saying that it considered applying for an appeal.

The bank's spokesperson said that the claim bore no connection to the countrywide initiative that ran for various weeks before the bank acquired the company. During the trial, the government provided evidence that indicated that Countrywide earned a total of $165.2 million after selling out the loans. The government pleaded with the judge to penalize the offenders for their bad faith and culpability, and discourage executives of financial institutions who would involve themselves in such mortgage schemes that are fraudulent.

In this particular case, the accused was the Bank of America while the victim was the United States government. It is interesting to find out that the fraudulent exercise had been going on for a while, right under the noses of the FBI and the United States government. Such a similar case should not have proceeded to such a level had everyone done their part as watchdogs. This article relates to my topic since it addresses an issue relating to fraud.

Retrieved from https://www.reuters.com/article/us-bankofamerica-hustle/u-s-seeks-2-1-billion-from-bank-of-america-in-fraud-case-id

According to ArsTechnica, an Indian news and business website, 24 people were sentenced to an Indian based phone scam case. The article detailing the news was updated on July 24, 2018, and was authored by Cyrus Farivar. In the article, Cyrus explained that 24 persons pleaded guilty to charges of participation in a cell-phone scam that involved the U.S. Immigration Services officials and fake Internal Revenue Service. The accused were given sentences ranging from 4-21 years. The original accusation was presented in the October of 2016. It was a case against 60 persons and included accusations of conspiracies to take part in wire fraud, imposture of a United States officer, money laundering and identity theft.

When the victims failed to pay up, the callers threatened heavy fines, deportation, and arrest. Other related scams involved bogus United States government grants and fake payday loans, according to information provided by the criminal complaint. The leading criminal was Patel Miteshkumar, who received a 20 years sentence. According to confidential information given by the Department of Justice, he was a leader of a team who assisted to launder and receive the earnings of the fraudulent scheme. A few weeks ago, another group of 21 defendants headed by an Indian by the name Patel was sentenced in a Houston federal court.

In a press statement, Attorney General Jeff Sessions claimed that the tough sentences that were imposed indicate a successful termination of one of its kind large-scale prosecution that targeted the India call scam industry. He further added that the case was a representation of one of the outstanding victories in the efforts to stem out victimization of the United States public that was easily vulnerable.

It is worth noting that the Department of Justice has initiated a website with an aim of providing detailed information about the case to members of the public and the victims. This is commendable as it shows that the department is committed to educate its citizens and prevent the occurrence of the same. This article closely relates to my course material since it provides an in-depth analysis of a case involving a scam. I consider the article to be relevant since it provides awareness of phone scam to prevent potential victims from falling into a similar trap.

Retrieved from https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2018/07/24-people-have-now-been-sentenced-in-india-based-phone-scam-case/

On September 9, 2017, the Identity Guard posted three different cases of identity theft for internet users to reads from their website. One thing I liked about this particular article is that it is more educative in comparison to other blogs. From reading this article, a reader or an anonymous internet user can get insight on how to avoid becoming a victim of similar cases of identity theft. The author starts by enlightening the reader that identity theft does not affect the same person in the same way twice, but there is much to learn from others' experiences with fraud or theft.

For convenience purposes, I chose to review the case that had the title "Colorado Man with Skimmers Arrested." according to the article, Fox News 21 reported an incident that involved a man by the name Alberto Brioso from Colorado. Alberto was in possession of various card-skimming equipment in his house. After a thorough search by police, they discovered a gas pump skimmer, electronic card recorder and ATM skimmers in the house. They also found other similar equipment in his car. Alberto was also accused of engaging in the illegal money laundering business. The author continues his awareness by explaining that skimming as used in this case, is a method through which identity thieves steal data from a victim's card. To carry out this process, the perpetrator replaces the genuine card readers with machines that the victim mistakes for a legitimate card slot and provides sensitive information unknowingly.

After the victim swipes the card, the skimming machine secretly records the information for use in criminal activities. The discovery of these machines in Alberto's home suggested that he was a criminal either planning to engage in the heinous act or one who had already done it. In this case, the perpetrator is Alberto bust since the case does not specify any victim, the victim could be an uninformed and unsuspecting card holder. This article is educative and relates to my course content since it addresses identity theft, which is an issue of concern. What really fascinates me about this case is the level of dedication, craftiness, and creativity that criminals engage in to defraud innocent citizens.

Retrieved from https://www.identityguard.com/news-insights/3-recent-cases-identity-theft/