15 South Florida residents have been indicted in connection with a fraud and bribery scheme involving employees and vendors of the U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs (VA) Medial Centers in Miami and West Palm Beach.

The VA employees and vendors named in the indictment are:

• Clinton Purvis, 52, of West Palm Beach
• Christopher Young, 44, of West Palm Beach
• Kenneth Scott, 59, of Riviera Beach
• Robert Johnson, 62, of West Palm Beach
• Waymon Melvon Woods, 58, of Miami
• Don Anderson, 59, of Port St. Lucie
• Jose Eugenio Cuervo, 53, of Miramar
• Donnie Shatek Hawes, 35, of Cutler Bay
• Robert Lee James Harris, 44, of Miami Gardens
• Eugene Campbell, 60, of Miami Gardens
• Jorge Flores, 45, of Delray Beach
• Earron Starks, 49, of Hallandale Beach
• Carlicha Starks, 40, of Hallandale Beach
• Robert Kozak, 73, of Boca Raton
• Lisa M. Anderson, 48, of Delray Beach

 

The charges listed include conspiracy to commit health care fraud, health care fraud, bribery, and making false statements.

According to court documents, the named VA medical center employees are accused of using government credit cards to order medical supplies through corrupt vendors in exchange for cash bribes and kickback payments.

“It is a very sad day when public employees are alleged to have violated their duty to provide honest services to the VA, a federal agency that furnishes critical medical services to our military veterans,” said U.S. Attorney Ariana Fajardo Orshan for the Southern District of Florida.

The charged employees worked in the logistics departments of the West Palm Beach and Miami VA Medical Centers, and were responsible for ensuring that the hospital supplies were purchased and received.

Purvis, Johnson, and Scott of the West Palm Beach VA are accused of ordering supplies from complicit vendors that were either fake or inflated. The vendors would then invoice the VA for the orders and the three VA employees would authorize the payment of VA funds. In exchange, the employees would allegedly kickback a portion of the proceeds. The indictment claims they gave a portion of the proceeds to Young, who would falsely enter the vendor’s supplies as having been received in the VA computer system.

At the Miami VA center, Anderson, Campbell, Cuervo, Harris, Hawes, and Woods allegedly received cash bribe payments to place orders for hospital supplies with companies owned by Flores, Earron, and Starks.

As a result of the two alleged schemes, the defendants defrauded the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs out of millions of dollars for unfulfilled or inflated purchase orders.

“These charges do not reflect the hard work and integrity of the hundreds of thousands of law abiding VA employees through the United States . . . We will continue to protect our federal programs, combat public corruption, and ensure that our veterans receive the care and quality services that they are owed,” said Orshan.

South Florida Fraud Attorney

If you are involved in a fraud case, then you should hire an attorney. Contact Brian Silber, P.A. to set up a free initial consultation and work with one of South Florida’s most experienced fraud attorneys.

Source: 12.11.19 15 individuals charged in to defraud two south florida VA hospitals.pdf