Spotlight on Districts
Eastern District of Kentucky
Friday, May 17, 2019- One Convicted And Two Sentenced As Part Of U.S. Attorney’s Elder Justice Initiative. All three cases highlight efforts by the Department of Justice and federal and state investigative agencies to combat elder financial exploitation. “The Department, and our Office, work in partnership with other law enforcement agencies to hold accountable those individuals that victimize elderly citizens,” said United States Attorney Robert M. Duncan, Jr. “These prosecutions underscore our commitment to seeking justice on behalf of this vulnerable population.”
Northern District of Georgia
May 9, 2018- Atlanta - Paul James Marshall has been sentenced to federal prison after stealing nearly $3 million from more than a dozen, mostly elderly, investment clients. “This defendant stole the life savings of retirees and seniors to fund his lavish lifestyle instead of investing his client’s money as promised,” said U.S. Attorney Byung J. “BJay” Pak. “Marshall’s sentencing will be little solace to the dozen victims who lost their life savings due to his greed and callous concern for their well-being,” said David J. LeValley, Special Agent in Charge of FBI Atlanta. Paul James Marshall, 53, of Atlanta, Georgia, was sentenced by U.S District Judge Leigh Martin May to six years, nine months in prison to be followed by two years of supervised release, and ordered to pay restitution in the amount of $2,892,982.52. Marshall was convicted of wire fraud on November 16, 2017, after he pleaded guilty.
Western District of Washington
February 27, 2018 - A Seattle man who sold heroin and meth in downtown Seattle while armed with a handgun was sentenced today in U.S. District Court in Seattle to six years in prison, announced U.S. Attorney Annette L. Hayes. JUSTIN GARRETT HARRISON, 37, used his 85-year-old grandmother’s condominium home to store and sell heroin and methamphetamine. Judge John C. Coughenour sentenced HARRISON for being a felon in possession of a firearm, possession of heroin with intent to distribute and possession of a firearm in connection with a drug trafficking crime. Judge Coughenour ordered four years of supervised release to follow the prison term.
Middle District of Tennessee
January 27, 2017 – Franklin Insurance Agent Sentenced to Prison for Stealing over $100,000 from Elder Client – Scott Rolin, 56, of Franklin, Tenn., and former insurance agent, was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge Waverly D. Crenshaw, Jr., to 18 months in prison, followed by 3 years of supervised release, for stealing over $100,000 from his elderly client, announced United States Attorney David Rivera.
"Rolins used his position of trust to exploit a vulnerable woman and steal her life savings,” said United States Attorney Rivera. “It is my hope that the sentenced imposed today sends a clear message that victimization of elderly citizens will be thoroughly investigated, swiftly prosecuted and fairly punished.”
District of Kansas
On November 18, 2016, the District of Kansas Elder Justice Task Force held a meeting with representatives from the United States Attorney’s Office for the District of Kansas, the Federal Bureau of Investigations, the Kansas Attorney General’s Office, the State Long Term Care Ombudsman, the Office of the Inspector General for the Department of Health and Human Services, Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, Johnson County District Attorney’s Office, Sedgwick County District Attorney’s Office, North Central Flint Hills Area Agency on Aging, and the United States Department of Justice. The meeting focused on state and local responses to elder abuse, neglect, and exploitation with presentations by the Johnson County District Attorney’s Office, Sedgwick County District Attorney’s Office, and the Kansas Attorney General’s Office Medicaid Fraud & Abuse Division and Fraud and Abuse Litigation Division. Participants also discussed the newest version of the Department of Justice’s Elder Justice Website.
Western District of Kentucky
On November 16, 2016, the Western and Eastern Districts of Kentucky Elder Justice Task Force held a meeting in Frankfort, Kentucky with all stakeholders present. The topics discussed included the many projects being handled by the Elder Justice Initiative, focusing on failure of care in skilled nursing facilities, and the resources available on newest version of the Department of Justice’s Elder Justice Website. The Task Force expects to hold a comprehensive training meeting in Lexington, Kentucky in the Spring of 2017.
District of Maryland
On September 13, the District of Maryland Elder Justice Task Force held a training event in Glen Burnie, Maryland. The Task Force was created to bring together federal, state and local prosecutors, law enforcement, and agencies that provide services to the elderly, to coordinate and enhance efforts to pursue nursing homes that provide grossly substandard care to their residents. Attendees included representatives from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Maryland, the Department of Health and Human Services, the Maryland Attorney General’s Office, the Maryland Medicaid Fraud Control Unit, the Long Term Care Ombudsman program, and the Baltimore police office. Following opening remarks by U.S. Attorney Rod Rosenstein, the training featured presentations about state and federal enforcement options, identifying problem facilities in failure of care investigations, failure of care case studies, financial exploitation of elders, and prosecutions conducted by the Maryland Medicaid Fraud Control Unit.
District of Kansas
Upon the announcement of the task forces, the USAO for the District of Kansas worked closely with the Kansas Medicaid Fraud Control Unit to identify partners for the task force. Meetings were held with individual representatives for state agencies and local law enforcement. The District of Kansas Elder Justice Task Force held its first formal meeting on August 22 in the Kansas City, Kansas.
The District of Kansas task force members currently include representatives from Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General Office of Investigations, FBI, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, the Kansas Attorney General’s Medicaid Fraud and Abuse Unit and Adult Abuse, Neglect and Exploitation Unit, the Kansas Department for Aging and Disability Services, the Kansas Department for Children and Family Services Prevention and Protection Services, the State Long Term Care Ombudsman, the Johnson County District Attorney’s Office.
The task force is working to produce outreach and education materials and to review complaints, civil monetary penalties, and specific complaints in an effort to identify targets and schemes for investigation and enforcement.