Arent Fox LLP
04/19/2024 | News release | Distributed by Public on 04/19/2024 08:01
Canadian Man Sentenced for Operating $175 Million Psychic Mass-Mailing Fraud Scheme
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Canadian Man Sentenced for Operating $175 Million Psychic Mass-Mailing Fraud Scheme
On April 15, Patrice Runner, a Canadian and French citizen, was sentenced to 10 years in prison in the Eastern District of New York for operating a psychic mass-mailing fraud scheme that defrauded more than 1.3 million victims in the United States of a collective $175 million. The sentence follows Runner's June 2023 conviction by a federal jury of conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud, conspiracy to commit money laundering, and multiple counts of mail fraud and wire fraud.
According to the US Department of Justice (DOJ), the evidence at trial demonstrated that Runner operated a mass-mailing fraud scheme from 1994 through November 2014, in which he sent letters to millions of US consumers purporting to be individualized, personal communications from well-known "psychics" Maria Duval and Patrick Guerin, who in truth had no role in the operation. The letters claimed that the recipient could achieve great wealth and happiness with assistance of the "psychics" in exchange for a fee. Recipients who responded to an initial letter were subsequently flooded with dozens of additional follow-up letters to procure additional business. Runner and his co-conspirators allegedly targeted elderly and more vulnerable individuals, renting and trading mailing lists with other mail fraud schemes to identify potential victims. Some victims made dozens of payments amounting to thousands of dollars as a result of the fraudulent letters. To perpetrate the scheme and conceal his involvement, Runner allegedly used a series of shell companies registered in Canada and Hong Kong while living in multiple foreign countries, including Switzerland, France, the Netherlands, Costa Rica, and Spain. Runner was extradited to the United States from Spain in December 2020 to face federal charges.
Four other co-conspirators previously pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit mail fraud in connection with this mass-mailing fraud scheme.
Read the press release here.
Mississippi Man Charged in $70 Million Medicare Fraud Scheme
Last week, an indictment was unsealed in Tampa charging Joel Rufus French with conspiracy to defraud the United States and to pay and receive illegal health care kickbacks, conspiracy to commit health care fraud and wire fraud, and conspiracy to commit money laundering. The indictment alleges that French participated in a $70 million fraud scheme to pay kickbacks and bribes to doctors in exchange for orders for medically unnecessary durable medical equipment (DME).
French allegedly managed multiple DME companies without disclosing his role to Medicare and, along with co-conspirators, allegedly paid illegal kickbacks and bribes to doctors to obtain orders for orthotic braces that were then billed to Medicare, even though the DME was not medically necessary, provided as billed, or eligible for Medicare reimbursement. French also allegedly generated and sold doctors' orders for orthotic braces to suppliers and brokers in exchange for millions in kickbacks and bribes. The indictment also claims that French participated in a scheme to launder proceeds of the fraud.
If convicted, French faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison on the conspiracy to commit wire fraud and health care fraud count, as well as on the conspiracy to commit money laundering count. In addition, French faces a maximum penalty of five years in prison on the conspiracy to defraud the United States and to pay and receive illegal health care kickbacks count.
Read the press release here.
Colorado Man Pleads Guilty in $15 Million Global Prize Notice Fraud Scheme
On Friday, April 12, John Kyle Muller pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud in connection with a prize notice fraud scheme that defrauded thousands of consumers across the United States and abroad.
According to court documents, between 2012 and 2018, Muller and his co-conspirators mailed millions of fraudulent prize notices claiming that recipients had been individually selected to receive a large cash prize in exchange for a $20 to $50 fee. Instead of receiving the cash prize as promised, victims received a "report" describing sweepstakes opportunities or a trinket of minimal value. If a victim responded to one fraudulent mailing, Muller and his co-conspirators would inundate them with additional fraudulent mailings. Muller and his co-conspirators also provided victims' contact information to others participating in mass-mailing fraud schemes. Muller and his co-conspirators ultimately defrauded victims, many of whom were elderly, of $15 million.
Read the press release here.