COVID-19: Long Island Pharmacist Charged With Hoarding, Price Gouging Of N95 Masks COVID-19: Long Island Pharmacist Charged With Hoarding, Price Gouging Of N95 Masks
Covid-19: Long Island Pharmacist Charged With Hoarding, Price Gouging Of N95 Masks A Long Island pharmacist is facing charges for alleged price gouging of personal protective equipment during the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. Federal officials charged Suffolk County resident Richard Schirripa - also known as “the Mask Man” - with violating the Defense Production Act by hoarding and price gouging N95 masks; making false statements to law enforcement; committing healthcare fraud; and committing aggravated identity theft.  Schirripa, of Fort Salonga, had been wanted and turned himself in to authorities on Tuesday, May 26. Schirripa is accused of buying a…
COVID-19: Westchester, Suffolk Can Resume Elective Surgeries; Horse Racing Tracks To Reopen COVID-19: Westchester, Suffolk Can Resume Elective Surgeries; Horse Racing Tracks To Reopen
Covid-19: Westchester, Suffolk Can Resume Elective Surgeries; Horse Racing Tracks To Reopen Horse racing tracks across New York State and Watkins Glen International Racetrack will be allowed to open without fans amid the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. Those openings will be effective as of Monday, June 1. The state will issue guidance on how they can open safely reopen in the coming week. Gov. Andrew Cuomo also announced at his news briefing on Saturday, May 16 that two more counties -- Westchester and Suffolk -- are now eligible to resume elective surgeries and ambulatory care.  Cuomo previously announced that the state will allow elective outpatient treatments…
Fairfield County Substance Abuse Treatment Provider Pays $295K For Improper Billing Fairfield County Substance Abuse Treatment Provider Pays $295K For Improper Billing
Fairfield County Substance Abuse Treatment Provider Pays $295K For Improper Billing A substance abuse treatment center with locations in Fairfield County has agreed to pay nearly $300,000 to settle allegations of improper billing over the course of several months. Connecticut Counseling Centers (CCC), which operates methadone clinics in Danbury and throughout Connecticut, will pay the state and federal government $295,211 in a settlement involving overpaying for drug testing, U.S. Attorney John Durham announced. According to Durham, CCC is a healthcare organization that provides outpatient substance abuse and mental health services in Connecticut, with clinics located in F…
CT Husband/Wife Physicians Pay Nearly $5M To Settle False Claims Act Allegations CT Husband/Wife Physicians Pay Nearly $5M To Settle False Claims Act Allegations
CT Husband/Wife Physicians Pay Nearly $5M To Settle False Claims Act Allegations Two doctors in Connecticut will pay out nearly $5 million to settle a claim that they defrauded the Medicaid program. Middletown resident Crispin Abarientos, and his wife, Antonieta Abarientos, have reached a civil settlement with the federal and state governments in which they will pay $4,927,903 to resolve allegations that they violated the federal and state False Claims Acts. Crispin Abarientos and his wife owned and operated Middlesex Rheumatology in Middletown, which specialized in the diagnosis and treatment of arthritis, autoimmune diseases, and related conditions, U.S.Attorney John …
Trump Administration Cancels $8 Billion Healthcare Grant For New York, Cuomo Says Trump Administration Cancels $8 Billion Healthcare Grant For New York, Cuomo Says
Trump Administration Cancels $8 Billion Healthcare Grant For New York, Cuomo Says President Donald Trump’s administration is canceling an $8 billion healthcare grant that had been awarded to New York six years ago, drawing the ire of Gov. Andrew Cuomo. Cuomo said that healthcare funding for New York which was previously granted in 2014 had been canceled by the president’s administration.  The $8 billion was earmarked to allow the state to transition healthcare services from primarily hospital driven to more of a community-based healthcare system. “If there's one area that you'd think should be beyond politics, it's healthcare,” Cuomo said. “And what the federal gov…
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Maloney: FY 2021 Budget A 'No Go' For Hudson Valley Workers, Families, Seniors Maloney: FY 2021 Budget A 'No Go' For Hudson Valley Workers, Families, Seniors
Maloney: FY 2021 Budget A 'No Go' For Hudson Valley Workers, Families, Seniors Cuts to students loan programs, wiping out the Students Loan Forgiveness Program and 8 percent less for the Department of Education has State Rep. Sean Patrick Maloney worried for "hard-working New York families." This week, the Democrat from Cold Spring detailed in a statement how President Trump's fiscal year 2021 budget proposal is a "no-go" for citizens of Hudson Valley. In it, Maloney addresses concerns over cuts to federal funding for Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security, among others. “The president’s budget shows his willingness to put his campaign promises before the needs …
22-Year-Old From Hudson Valley Running For State Senate 22-Year-Old From Hudson Valley Running For State Senate
22-Year-Old From Hudson Valley Running For State Senate An upstart 22-year-old from the area announced his intention to run for the New York State Senate. Rockland resident Matthew Weinberg, a Republican, is the latest candidacy to throw his hat into the ring for the New York State Senate District 38 seat that has been held by Democratic Sen. David Carlucci since 2010. Carlucci will be challenging for the retiring Nita Lowey’s seat in New York’s 17th congressional district.  In a statement, Weinberg, of Suffern, cited "disunity within his district, depressed property values due to some of the highest property and school taxes in the nation,…
Man Who Admitted Killing Family, Dog Faced Fraud Probe In Connecticut Man Who Admitted Killing Family, Dog Faced Fraud Probe In Connecticut
Man Who Admitted Killing Family, Dog Faced Fraud Probe In Connecticut The 44-year-old father of three from Connecticut accused of killing his wife, children and family dog in Florida was reportedly being accused by federal investigators for insurance fraud over the span of several years. Anthony Todt, of Colchester, Connecticut, reportedly confessed to killing his family in Celebration, Florida, last month after being taken into custody by Osceola Sheriff’s deputies. Deputies were called to a residence in Florida on Monday, Jan. 13, to the home that the Todt family was leasing. A man - now identified as Todt - was seen taken away in handcuffs, and officials …
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Cuomo Cites Concerns About Divisive Nation, Rise In Hate Crimes During State-Of-State Speech Cuomo Cites Concerns About Divisive Nation, Rise In Hate Crimes During State-Of-State Speech
Cuomo Cites Concerns About Divisive Nation, Rise In Hate Crimes During State-Of-State Speech Gov. Andrew Cuomo's annual State-of-the-State speech took on national and global themes on Wednesday, Jan. 8. In addition to unveiling nearly three dozen initiatives, which can be accessed by clicking here, Cuomo cited concerns about racism and discrimination, calling them "a growing fear and division that is an American cancer." Recognizing that racism and discrimination are not new, he labeled them a virus in our society. "If we do not defeat it, it will defeat us," Cuomo said. "Hate and discrimination have no place in New York." Additionally, Cuomo said New York will build upo…
‘Hit & Run’ Dentist With Offices In Passaic, Hudson, Union Gets License Pulled, $517,000 Fine ‘Hit & Run’ Dentist With Offices In Passaic, Hudson, Union Gets License Pulled, $517,000 Fine
‘Hit & Run’ Dentist With Offices In Passaic, Hudson, Union Gets License Pulled, $517,000 Fine An oral surgeon who needlessly pulled teeth and exorbitant payments from patients in Passaic, Hudson, Union and Monmouth counties had his license yanked and was fined more than $500,000, state authorities announced Tuesday. Andrew Maron, 58, had been prohibited from practicing in New Jersey since the state filed negligence, gross negligence and professional misconduct charges against him in 2015. Still, he continued to practice in New York, authorities said. New Jersey authorities said they pursued Maron after receiving complaints from no fewer than 17 patients, including a 93-year-old Medi…
Paramus Man Who Owned WNY Pharmacy Pleads Guilty To Fraud, Bribery Paramus Man Who Owned WNY Pharmacy Pleads Guilty To Fraud, Bribery
Paramus Man Who Owned WNY Pharmacy Pleads Guilty To Fraud, Bribery A Paramus man who owned a now-closed pharmacy in West New York admitted bribing a psychiatrist and defrauding public and private insurers in a scheme involving high-priced medications, the U.S. Attorney said Monday.  Eduard Shtindler, 36, carried out the bribery scheme for five years beginning in 2012. Schtindler, the owner of the shuttered Empire Pharmacy, sent employees to deliver the payments -- sometimes in the form of $100 bills stuffed into pill bottles -- to the Hudson County psychiatrist in exchange for steering patients to Empire.  Schintdler was heard on a recording refe…
Four Who Operated Queens Medical Clinic Convicted For Illegally Distributing Oxycodone Four Who Operated Queens Medical Clinic Convicted For Illegally Distributing Oxycodone
Four Who Operated Queens Medical Clinic Convicted For Illegally Distributing Oxycodone Four people who operated a pill mill in Queens that sold millions of oxycodone pills to customers who came out from all five boroughs. John Gargan, 63, of Manhattan, and Loren Piquant, 38, of the Bronx, were convicted after a two-week trial of narcotics distribution conspiracy. Two others, Queens residents Dante Cubangbang, 51, and Michael Kellerman, previously pleaded guilty to narcotics, health care fraud, and money laundering charges in connection with their participation in the oxycodone distribution scheme at that same clinic.  Between 2018, Cubangbang, a doctor, and Gargan…