Thursday, August 15, 2013
Florida Airline Fuel Supply Company and Its Owner Indicted for Role in Scheme to Defraud Illinois-Based Ryan International Airlines
Florida Airline Fuel Supply Company and Its Owner Indicted for Role in Scheme to Defraud Illinois-Based Ryan International Airlines
WASHINGTON — A Florida-based airline fuel supply service company and its former owner and operator were indicted yesterday on charges of participating in a scheme to defraud Illinois-based Ryan International Airlines, the Department of Justice announced.
A federal grand jury in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida in West Palm Beach, Fla., returned an indictment against Sean E. Wagner and his company Aviation Fuel International Inc. (AFI), an airline fuel supply company. The indictment alleges that Wagner and AFI participated in a conspiracy to defraud Ryan, a charter airline company based in Rockford, Ill., by making kickback payments to Wayne Kepple, a former vice president of ground operations for Ryan, in exchange for awarding business to AFI. Wagner was arrested on July 19, 2013, in Weston, Fla., on a one-count criminal complaint in connection with these charges.
Ryan provided air passenger and cargo services for corporations, private individuals and the U.S. government – including the U.S. Department of Defense and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.
The indictment alleges, among other things, that from at least as early as December 2005 through at least August 2009, Wagner, AFI and others made kickback payments totaling more than $200,000, in the form of checks, wire transfers, cash and gift cards, to Kepple while working at Ryan.
“The conspirators traded contracts for kickbacks and took affirmative steps to hide their illegal scheme, including wiring payments to personal bank accounts and making secret cash payments,” said Bill Baer, Assistant Attorney General in charge of the Department of Justice’s Antitrust Division. “The division will continue to aggressively prosecute companies and individuals that seek to defraud the government and U.S. taxpayers by thwarting the competitive process.”
Wagner and AFI are charged with one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and honest services fraud, as well as two counts of wire fraud and two counts of mail fraud. Each count carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison and a $250,000 criminal fine for individuals and a $500,000 criminal fine for corporations. The maximum fine may be increased to twice the gain derived from the crime or twice the loss suffered by the victims of the crime, if either amount is greater than the statutory maximum fine.
As a result of this ongoing investigation, four individuals have pleaded guilty to date. Three of the individuals have been ordered to serve sentences ranging from 16 to 24 months in prison and to pay more than $220,000 in restitution. The fourth individual, Kepple, pleaded guilty and is currently awaiting sentencing.
The charges are the result of an investigation being conducted by the Antitrust Division’s National Criminal Enforcement Section and the U.S. Department of Defense’s Office of Inspector General with assistance from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida. Anyone with information concerning anticompetitive conduct in the airline charter services industry is urged to call the Antitrust Division’s National Criminal Enforcement Section at 202-307-6694 or visit www.justice.gov/atr/contact/newcase.htm.
WASHINGTON — A Florida-based airline fuel supply service company and its former owner and operator were indicted yesterday on charges of participating in a scheme to defraud Illinois-based Ryan International Airlines, the Department of Justice announced.
A federal grand jury in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida in West Palm Beach, Fla., returned an indictment against Sean E. Wagner and his company Aviation Fuel International Inc. (AFI), an airline fuel supply company. The indictment alleges that Wagner and AFI participated in a conspiracy to defraud Ryan, a charter airline company based in Rockford, Ill., by making kickback payments to Wayne Kepple, a former vice president of ground operations for Ryan, in exchange for awarding business to AFI. Wagner was arrested on July 19, 2013, in Weston, Fla., on a one-count criminal complaint in connection with these charges.
Ryan provided air passenger and cargo services for corporations, private individuals and the U.S. government – including the U.S. Department of Defense and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.
The indictment alleges, among other things, that from at least as early as December 2005 through at least August 2009, Wagner, AFI and others made kickback payments totaling more than $200,000, in the form of checks, wire transfers, cash and gift cards, to Kepple while working at Ryan.
“The conspirators traded contracts for kickbacks and took affirmative steps to hide their illegal scheme, including wiring payments to personal bank accounts and making secret cash payments,” said Bill Baer, Assistant Attorney General in charge of the Department of Justice’s Antitrust Division. “The division will continue to aggressively prosecute companies and individuals that seek to defraud the government and U.S. taxpayers by thwarting the competitive process.”
Wagner and AFI are charged with one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and honest services fraud, as well as two counts of wire fraud and two counts of mail fraud. Each count carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison and a $250,000 criminal fine for individuals and a $500,000 criminal fine for corporations. The maximum fine may be increased to twice the gain derived from the crime or twice the loss suffered by the victims of the crime, if either amount is greater than the statutory maximum fine.
As a result of this ongoing investigation, four individuals have pleaded guilty to date. Three of the individuals have been ordered to serve sentences ranging from 16 to 24 months in prison and to pay more than $220,000 in restitution. The fourth individual, Kepple, pleaded guilty and is currently awaiting sentencing.
The charges are the result of an investigation being conducted by the Antitrust Division’s National Criminal Enforcement Section and the U.S. Department of Defense’s Office of Inspector General with assistance from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida. Anyone with information concerning anticompetitive conduct in the airline charter services industry is urged to call the Antitrust Division’s National Criminal Enforcement Section at 202-307-6694 or visit www.justice.gov/atr/contact/newcase.htm.
Wednesday, August 14, 2013
Warning Letters
Warning Letters from the Federal Drug Administration
Types of Warning Letters on the FDA Website
- General FDA Warning Letters
- Tobacco Retailer Warning Letters21
- Drug Marketing and Advertising Warning Letters22 (and Untitled Letters to Pharmaceutical Companies)
Monday, August 12, 2013
Graying population prompts debate on adequacy of nation's health care labor force
Graying population prompts debate on adequacy of nation's health care labor force
People aged 85 and older make up the fastest-growing age group in the country. Today, there are 3 million men and women in this category; by 2030, there will be more than 8 million.
These demographic changes warn of a coming crisis in the health care labor force: As the population ages, demand for health care services will rise dramatically, but there will be fewer workers aged 16 to 64 to meet that demand."How can we meet the challenges of an aging society? How do we face an aging health care labor force? How can we increase a declining pool of potential health care workers? How will market forces affect the quality and size of the necessary labor pool?" asks Lynn Martin, former secretary of labor and chair of a panel of business executives, policymakers and academics convened by the College of Nursing Nursing Institute at the University of Illinois at Chicago.The panel will meet three times between September and March to launch a national dialogue on the adequacy of the nation's health care labor force in light of the graying population. The panel plans to issue a report by April. The first meeting is Sept. 13 at Blue Cross/Blue Shield of Illinois, 300 E. Randolph St., Chicago.The agenda for the meetings includes demographic trends, the health care needs of the elderly, the adequacy of the education and training of health care professionals and the long-term sustainability of the health care labor force to meet the needs of the elderly."Many policy analysts are talking about getting more nurses into the mix, or more physicians trained as primary care doctors, or more people into the allied health professions," said Mary Jo Snyder, director of the Nursing Institute. "But there has been no interdisciplinary inquiry into the shortages we face in our nation's health care labor force over the long term. The panel has been convened to begin that inquiry.""The issues surrounding the future of the health care labor force require that we move away from thinking about health care labor in terms of nurses or physicians or allied health professionals and that we begin thinking in terms of demographic changes and demands, appropriate levels of care, and appropriate venues for care," said Noreen Sugrue, senior research analyst at the Nursing Institute. "We need to think of health care labor as a team whose components must all be in sync if adequate care is to be delivered."Panel members represent varying viewpoints from academia, the health care industry and the nonprofit sector. In addition to Martin, the members are: Edwin Artzt, chairman emeritus of Proctor and Gamble; Paul Booth, assistant to the president of the American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees; Richard Corlin, president elect of the American Medical Association; Mary Kathryn James, president of the National Federation of Licensed Practical Nurses; Richard Kaplan, professor of law at the University of Illinois; Leslie Margolin, senior vice president for workforce development at Kaiser Permanente; Kweisi Mfume, executive director of the NAACP; Abner Mikva, professor of law at the University of Chicago; Len Nichols, principal research associate at the Urban Institute; Father Michael Place, executive director of the Catholic Health Association; Sara Rix, senior policy advisor at the American Association of Retired Persons; Jim Smith, senior economist at RAND; and Louis Sullivan, president of the Morehouse School of Medicine. Joan Shaver, dean of the UIC College of Nursing, is the convener.Some of the statistics and trends the panel will consider include the following:* Currently, more than 20 percent of people aged 70 and older have unmet health care needs.* In 1998, minorities made up 16 percent of the elderly population. By 2030, they are projected to be 25 percent of the elderly population.* Four percent of persons aged 65 and older live in nursing homes, and the majority of those residents are women. * While life expectancy at age 65 is higher for whites than for African-Americans, at age 85, it is slightly higher for African-Americans than for whites. * The number of white non-Hispanic workers, as a proportion of all workers, is expected to decline from 75 percent (in 1998) to 64 percent in 2025. * By 2025, Hispanics are projected to be 17 percent of the labor force, the second largest group. * If there are not enough health care providers, then family members-historically, women-will fill the gaps. The increased responsibility may mean that these caregivers leave the work force, at a time when the nation will least be able to afford it, or that their productivity in the workplace decreases. * Population estimates suggest that even as the number of elderly is increasing, the nation will experience increased fertility rates, producing more children. Those caught in the middle will be squeezed in terms of finances and other resources while caring for dependents at both ends of the life spectrum."The panel's work on these issues will be the first step in an important public dialogue leading to considered action to ensure that the health care needs of Americans are met in the first half of the 21st century," said Shaver.### Note: Media must register to attend the Sept. 13 opening session (10 - 11 a.m.)The Nursing Institute-at the UIC College of Nursing, one of the top 10 nursing schools in the country-focuses on health care issues, including the labor force, health care delivery, practice and professional development. With 25,000 students, the University of Illinois at Chicago is the largest and most diverse university in the Chicago area and is one of only 88 national Research I universities. Located just west of Chicago's Loop, UIC is a vital part of the educational, technological, and cultural fabric of the entire metropolitan region. It is one of the three main campuses of the University of Illinois, which is internationally renowned for scholarship and innovation. Visit www.uillinois.edu and www.uic.edu for more information.
People aged 85 and older make up the fastest-growing age group in the country. Today, there are 3 million men and women in this category; by 2030, there will be more than 8 million.
These demographic changes warn of a coming crisis in the health care labor force: As the population ages, demand for health care services will rise dramatically, but there will be fewer workers aged 16 to 64 to meet that demand."How can we meet the challenges of an aging society? How do we face an aging health care labor force? How can we increase a declining pool of potential health care workers? How will market forces affect the quality and size of the necessary labor pool?" asks Lynn Martin, former secretary of labor and chair of a panel of business executives, policymakers and academics convened by the College of Nursing Nursing Institute at the University of Illinois at Chicago.The panel will meet three times between September and March to launch a national dialogue on the adequacy of the nation's health care labor force in light of the graying population. The panel plans to issue a report by April. The first meeting is Sept. 13 at Blue Cross/Blue Shield of Illinois, 300 E. Randolph St., Chicago.The agenda for the meetings includes demographic trends, the health care needs of the elderly, the adequacy of the education and training of health care professionals and the long-term sustainability of the health care labor force to meet the needs of the elderly."Many policy analysts are talking about getting more nurses into the mix, or more physicians trained as primary care doctors, or more people into the allied health professions," said Mary Jo Snyder, director of the Nursing Institute. "But there has been no interdisciplinary inquiry into the shortages we face in our nation's health care labor force over the long term. The panel has been convened to begin that inquiry.""The issues surrounding the future of the health care labor force require that we move away from thinking about health care labor in terms of nurses or physicians or allied health professionals and that we begin thinking in terms of demographic changes and demands, appropriate levels of care, and appropriate venues for care," said Noreen Sugrue, senior research analyst at the Nursing Institute. "We need to think of health care labor as a team whose components must all be in sync if adequate care is to be delivered."Panel members represent varying viewpoints from academia, the health care industry and the nonprofit sector. In addition to Martin, the members are: Edwin Artzt, chairman emeritus of Proctor and Gamble; Paul Booth, assistant to the president of the American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees; Richard Corlin, president elect of the American Medical Association; Mary Kathryn James, president of the National Federation of Licensed Practical Nurses; Richard Kaplan, professor of law at the University of Illinois; Leslie Margolin, senior vice president for workforce development at Kaiser Permanente; Kweisi Mfume, executive director of the NAACP; Abner Mikva, professor of law at the University of Chicago; Len Nichols, principal research associate at the Urban Institute; Father Michael Place, executive director of the Catholic Health Association; Sara Rix, senior policy advisor at the American Association of Retired Persons; Jim Smith, senior economist at RAND; and Louis Sullivan, president of the Morehouse School of Medicine. Joan Shaver, dean of the UIC College of Nursing, is the convener.Some of the statistics and trends the panel will consider include the following:* Currently, more than 20 percent of people aged 70 and older have unmet health care needs.* In 1998, minorities made up 16 percent of the elderly population. By 2030, they are projected to be 25 percent of the elderly population.* Four percent of persons aged 65 and older live in nursing homes, and the majority of those residents are women. * While life expectancy at age 65 is higher for whites than for African-Americans, at age 85, it is slightly higher for African-Americans than for whites. * The number of white non-Hispanic workers, as a proportion of all workers, is expected to decline from 75 percent (in 1998) to 64 percent in 2025. * By 2025, Hispanics are projected to be 17 percent of the labor force, the second largest group. * If there are not enough health care providers, then family members-historically, women-will fill the gaps. The increased responsibility may mean that these caregivers leave the work force, at a time when the nation will least be able to afford it, or that their productivity in the workplace decreases. * Population estimates suggest that even as the number of elderly is increasing, the nation will experience increased fertility rates, producing more children. Those caught in the middle will be squeezed in terms of finances and other resources while caring for dependents at both ends of the life spectrum."The panel's work on these issues will be the first step in an important public dialogue leading to considered action to ensure that the health care needs of Americans are met in the first half of the 21st century," said Shaver.
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