Author: CorruptionLedger
Credit company Jaracanda Finance hit with infringement notices over its repayment calculator
A Brisbane-based digital lender has been slapped with two infringement notices by ASIC for its false and misleading repayment estimate calculator. The corporate watchdog took action against Jaracanda Finance, which offered loans up to $15,000, typically for 12 to 36 months, because it was concerned that the credit licensee’s repayment estimate calculator: used an annual percentage rate that was significantly less than the rate that applied to most consumers who entered a credit contract with Jacaranda, and was advertising…
North Korea fires ballistic missile, South Korean military says
Saturday’s move by North Korea comes ahead of upcoming US-South Korea joint drills in Washington next week.
Ex-ad agency chief admits guilt as Tokyo Olympic bribery trial opens
A trial looking into widespread bribery at the Tokyo Olympic organizing committee began Friday with a former head of a major ad company admitting to the charges. Shinichi Uneo, 69, who formerly headed ADK Holdings, quietly told the Tokyo District Court the allegations were accurate. In Japan, a trial continues even if a suspect admits guilt. Three prosecutors took turns reading their opening statement during a two-hour session. Ueno is accused of paying nearly 15 million yen to Haruyuki Takahashi,…
The Federal Reserve Acts on BSA Failures Related to PPP Loan Fraud
On January 24, 2023, the Federal Reserve Board (“FRB”) assessed a second-tier[1] civil penalty of $2.3 million against New York-based Popular Bank (or the “Bank”) for unsafe and unsound practices related to six Paycheck Protection Program (“PPP”) loans. According to the FRB, the Bank processed and funded these loans despite detecting significant indicia of fraud……
Russia surrounds Bakhmut as Ukraine sends in troops
Ukraine faced its toughest week so far this year on the eastern front, where its defenders lost more ground to Russian forces but committed enormous resources to holding Bakhmut, a coal-mining town that has acquired emblematic importance to both sides. Russian troops have been launching probing attacks on a wide front in Donetsk, half of which they now occupy. But their main effort has been to take Bakhmut, whose eastern outskirts they hold. “[We are] storming house by house, square metre by square metre. Hard…
Norwegian Intelligence Service: Russia deploys ships carrying tactical nuclear weaponry in the Baltic
Russia began deploying ships with tactical nuclear weaponry in the Baltic Sea for the first time in the past 30 years, the Norwegian Intelligence Service reported Tuesday in its annual report. The document was published on the same day Moscow denied an alleged plan to destabilize neighboring Moldova, which closed its airspace in response, at a time when experts, including the report’s authors, fear a possible escalation of the war in Ukraine. In the 72-page document, the Norwegian Intelligence Service…
Unconfirmed reports of a fire in Moscow near Scientific Research Institute of Precision Instruments
There have been unconfirmed reports today of a fire that broke out in Moscow near the Scientific Research Institute of Precision Instruments, a manufacturer “various radio engineering equipment and software-hardware complexes that meet the highest requirements of the Russian aerospace industry,” according to their web site. Videos were posted to TikTok, Twitter and Reddit. Twitter video can be found using #RussiaFire. fire near the Precision Equipment Research Institute in Moscow. This enterprise is part of Roskosmos. I don’t…
Russian forces bombard Ukraine’s Bakhmut in major new offensive
The eastern Ukrainian city of Bakhmut endured heavy artillery fire on Monday as the NATO chief backed reports from local officials that a major new Russian offensive had begun, days before the first anniversary of Moscow’s invasion. Ukrainian defenders, who have already held out for months, were braced for new ground attacks, Ukrainian military officials said. Positions in Bakhmut have been fortified and only people with a military role were being allowed in, a deputy battalion commander said. Any civilians…
With criminals in the ranks, can London’s police force ever recover public trust?
London, United Kingdom – The Metropolitan Police Force’s Commissioner, Sir Mark Rowley, is certainly banking on the expectation that it can. Many would say it’s an almost insurmountable task. But the alternative is unthinkable. The force is the first port of call for law enforcement and prevention of crime in the United Kingdom’s capital – with unique responsibilities and challenges. But a series of revelations of criminals within its ranks has badly damaged its reputation and called attention to its shocking…
US House Republicans request documents in Biden family probe
Republicans in the United States House of Representatives have continued their investigation into the family of Democratic President Joe Biden, making their first official requests for documents related to his son’s and brother’s foreign business pursuits. “If President Biden is compromised by deals with foreign adversaries and they are impacting his decision making, this is a threat to national security,” James Comer, chairman of the House Committee on Oversight and Accountability, said in a statement on Thursday. Accusing the Biden…
Ex-vice president Pence subpoenaed in special counsel probe: AP
An anonymous source tells the Associated Press that Pence has been subpoenaed in ongoing investigations into Donald Trump. Former United States Vice President Mike Pence has been subpoenaed by the special counsel overseeing investigations into efforts by then-President Donald Trump and his allies to overturn the results of the 2020 election, according to a person with direct knowledge of the event. The subpoena to Pence was served in recent days as part of the investigation by special counsel Jack Smith,…
Cerespo Co and Fuji Creative Corp: 4 more arrested over Tokyo Olympics bid rigging
Prosecutors arrested a former operations executive at the Tokyo Olympics organizing committee and three others on Wednesday over bid-rigging allegations, as yet another corruption scandal surfaces in the wake of the global sports event. Tokyo prosecutors arrested the former executive, Yasuo Mori, on suspicion he played a leading role in rigging bids for contracts related to games test events in violation of the anti-monopoly law. They also arrested Koji Hemmi, a former executive at Japanese ad giant Dentsu Inc, and…
Da Jiang Innovations: World’s largest drone maker is unfazed — even if it’s blacklisted by the U.S.
The world’s biggest drone maker DJI found itself embroiled in the Russia-Ukraine conflict last year. In March, three weeks after Russia’s invasion began, a Ukrainian minister called out DJI on Twitter for being complicit in the war. DJI is just one of many tech companies that has found its products used on the battlefield. The Russian military allegedly used its drones on the battlefield. It includes the Mavic 3 drone, and Aeroscope, a drone-detection platform that enables users to identify…
Meik Medical Equipment and Supply: Convicted of Health Care Fraud
A federal jury convicted two men today for engaging in a scheme to defraud Medicare Advantage and Medicaid managed care plans of over $3.8 million. According to court documents and evidence presented at trial, Ikechukwu Udeokoro, 47, of North Bergen, New Jersey, owned Meik Medical Equipment and Supply (Meik), a durable medical equipment supplier that was located in the Bronx, New York. Ayodeji Fasonu, 56, of Bridgeport, Connecticut, was Meik’s manager. Through Meik, Udeokoro and Fasonu billed Medicare Advantage and Medicaid managed care plans for hundreds of expensive patient support systems that were never provided to patients or caregivers. These support systems included large devices that were designed to assist with lifting immobile patients and patients in nursing homes. In reality, Udeokoro and Fasonu provided patients with recliner chairs that had a seat lift feature. Between December 2010 and February 2014, Udeokoro and Fasonu fraudulently billed Medicare Advantage and Medicaid managed care plans more than $3.8 million and were paid approximately $2.4 million.
Associate of Sanctioned Oligarch Indicted for Sanctions Evasion and Money Laundering
A federal court in New York unsealed an indictment today charging a citizen of the Russian Federation and legal permanent resident of the United States, with participating in a scheme to make over $4 million in U.S. dollar payments to maintain four real properties in the United States that were owned by Viktor Vekselberg, a sanctioned oligarch, as well as to attempt to sell two of those properties.
Twenty-Three Individuals Charged in $61.5 Million Medicare Fraud Schemes
Court documents were unsealed this week charging 23 Michigan residents for their alleged involvement in two illegal schemes to defraud Medicare of more than $61.5 million by paying kickbacks and bribes and billing Medicare for unnecessary medical services that were never provided. “As alleged, the defendants and their co-conspirators repeatedly paid illegal bribes and kickbacks so they could submit claims for medically unnecessary home health services throughout the Detroit metropolitan area, exposing patients to needless physician services and drug testing…
