THREE SENTENCED FOR ROLES IN $29 MILLION MEDICARE FRAUD CONSPIRACY

FROM:  U.S. JUSTICE DEPARTMENT
Tuesday, April 21, 2015
Operator of Detroit Adult Day Care Center and Two Home Health Care
Company Owners Sentenced in $29 Million Medicare Fraud Conspiracy

The former operator of a Detroit adult day care center and two former owners of Detroit-area home health care companies were sentenced to prison today for their roles in a $29 million Medicare fraud scheme.

Assistant Attorney General Leslie R. Caldwell of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, U.S. Attorney Barbara L. McQuade of the Eastern District of Michigan, Special Agent in Charge Paul M. Abbate of the FBI’s Detroit Field Office, Special Agent in Charge Lamont Pugh III of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General (HHS-OIG) Chicago Regional Office and Special Agent in Charge Jarod Koopman of Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI) made the announcement.

Felicar Williams, 51, of Dearborn, Michigan, was sentenced to five years in prison and ordered to pay $2,431,018 in restitution, representing the amount paid by Medicare for Williams’ fraudulent claims.  Abdul Malik Al-Jumail, 54, and Jamella Al-Jumail, 25, both of Brownstown, Michigan, were sentenced to 10 years in prison and four years in prison respectively.  Both were also ordered to pay $8,389,541 and $589,516 in restitution, respectively, the amounts paid by Medicare for their fraudulent claims.  The sentences were imposed by U.S. District Judge Denise Page Hood of the Eastern District of Michigan in Detroit.

All three defendants were convicted on Sept. 30, 2014, after a 12-week jury trial in the Eastern District of Michigan.  Williams was convicted of conspiracy to commit health care fraud and conspiracy to receive health care kickbacks.  Abdul Malik Al-Jumail and Jamella Al-Jumail were each found guilty of conspiracy to commit health care fraud.  Abdul Malik Al-Jumail was also found guilty of conspiracy to pay and receive health care kickbacks.  Jamella Al-Jumail was also found guilty of destroying documents in connection with a federal investigation.

According to the evidence at trial, Williams billed Medicare, through her company, Haven Adult Day Care Center LLC, for psychotherapy services that were not actually provided.  The evidence demonstrated that, in some instances, Williams billed Medicare for services purportedly provided to patients who were already deceased.  Williams also sold the private medical information of her patients to Abdul Malik Al-Jumail so that he could use it to submit fraudulent claims to Medicare.  

The evidence further showed that Abdul Malik Al-Jumail obtained patients by paying unlawful kickbacks to Williams and others, and caused claims to be submitted to Medicare for home health services, including physical therapy, that were never delivered.  Like her father, the evidence demonstrated that Jamella Al-Jumail billed Medicare for home health services and physical therapy that were not actually provided.  The evidence at trial also showed that, the day her father was arrested, Jamella Al-Jumail told an employee to retrieve falsified patient medical records from their company, which she and others later burned.

The case was investigated by the FBI, HHS-OIG and the IRS, and was brought as part of the Medicare Fraud Strike Force, under the supervision of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Michigan.  The case was prosecuted by Trial Attorneys Christopher Cestaro, Brooke Harper and William Kanellis of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section, and Assistant U.S. Attorney Patrick Hurford of the Eastern District of Michigan.

Since its inception in March 2007, the Medicare Fraud Strike Force, now operating in nine cities across the country, has charged nearly 2,100 defendants who have collectively billed the Medicare program for more than $6.5 billion.  In addition, the HHS Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, working in conjunction with the HHS-OIG, are taking steps to increase accountability and decrease the presence of fraudulent providers.

TWO DETROIT-AREA RESIDENTS CHARGED IN HOME-HEALTH KICKBACK SCHEME

FROM:  U.S. JUSTICE DEPARTMENT

Tuesday, September 30, 2014

Two Defendants Charged in Connection with Detroit-Area Home Health Kickback Scheme

Two Detroit-area residents were arrested today on charges related to a Medicare fraud scheme in which they are alleged to have referred Medicare beneficiaries to home health care agencies in exchange for kickbacks.

Assistant Attorney General Leslie R. Caldwell of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, U.S. Attorney Barbara L. McQuade of the Eastern District of Michigan, Special Agent in Charge Paul M. Abbate of the FBI’s Detroit Field Office, Special Agent in Charge Lamont Pugh III of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General (HHS-OIG) Chicago Regional Office, and Acting Special Agent in Charge Jarod Koopman, of the Internal Revenue Service - Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI) Detroit Field Office, made the announcement.

Sophia Eggleston, 52, of Farmington Hills, Michigan, and Sekne Ali, 48, of Dearborn, Michigan, were charged in a four-count indictment, unsealed today, with conspiracy to violate the Anti-Kickback Statute and substantive violations of the Anti-Kickback Statute.   The indictment alleges that both defendants recruited Medicare beneficiaries to two home health agencies in Oakland County, Michigan – Prestige Home Health Services Inc. and Royal Home Health Care Inc. – and were paid kickbacks for the patient referrals.  Both agencies purported to provide in-home health care services to Medicare beneficiaries.

The charges contained in an indictment are merely accusations, and a defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.

This case was investigated by the FBI, HHS-OIG and IRS-CI and was brought as part of the Medicare Fraud Strike Force, under the supervision of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Michigan.  This case is being prosecuted by Trial Attorneys Niall M. O’Donnell and James P. McDonald of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section.

Since its inception in March 2007, the Medicare Fraud Strike Force, now operating in nine cities across the country, has charged nearly 2,000 defendants who have collectively billed the Medicare program for more than $6 billion.  In addition, the HHS Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, working in conjunction with the HHS-OIG, are taking steps to increase accountability and decrease the presence of fraudulent providers.

UNLICENSED DOCTOR, OTHERS CONVICTED IN $14.9 MILLION MEDICARE FRAUD

FROM:  U.S. JUSTICE DEPARTMENT 

Wednesday, April 30, 2014

Detroit-Area Physical Therapist, Physical Therapy Assistant and Unlicensed Doctor Convicted in $14.9 Million Medicare Fraud Scheme

A federal jury in Detroit today convicted a physical therapist, physical therapy assistant and unlicensed doctor for their participation in a nearly $15 million Medicare fraud scheme.

Acting Assistant Attorney General David A. O’Neil of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, U.S. Attorney Barbara L. McQuade of the Eastern District of Michigan, Special Agent in Charge Paul M. Abbate of the FBI’s Detroit Field Office and Special Agent in Charge Lamont Pugh III of the Detroit Office of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General’s (HHS-OIG) Office of Investigations made the announcement.

Shahzad Mirza, 43, a physical therapist; Jigar Patel, 30, a physical therapy assistant; and Srinivas Reddy, 38, a foreign medical school graduate without a license to practice medicine were each found guilty of one count of conspiracy to commit health care fraud in connection with a scheme perpetrated from approximately July 2008 through September 2011 at Detroit area companies Physicians Choice Home Health Care LLC (Physicians Choice), Quantum Home Care Inc. (Quantum), First Care Home Health Care LLC (First Care), Moonlite Home Care Inc. (Moonlite) and Phoenix Visiting Physicians.  In addition, Mirza and Patel were each found guilty of two counts of health care fraud in connection with the submission of false claims to Medicare for home health services, and Reddy was found guilty of three counts of health care fraud in connection with the submission of false claims to Medicare for home health services and physician home visits.  Patel was found guilty of one count of money laundering in connection with his laundering of the proceeds of the fraud through his company MI Healthcare Staffing.

The defendants were charged in a superseding indictment returned Feb. 6, 2012.  Three other individuals charged in the indictment remain fugitives.

According to evidence presented at trial, Physicians Choice, Quantum, First Care and Moonlite operated a fraudulent scheme to bill Medicare for home health care services that were never provided.  The home health care companies paid kickbacks to recruiters who in turn paid Medicare beneficiaries cash and promised them access to narcotic prescriptions.  The conspirators created the company Phoenix Visiting Physicians, which employed unlicensed individuals, including Reddy, to visit patients and provide them with narcotic prescriptions as well as obtain the information necessary to fill out paperwork to refer them for medically unnecessary home health care services.

Evidence presented at trial showed that beneficiaries pre-signed medical paperwork that was provided to Patel and other physical therapist assistants to fill in with false information purporting to show that the care was provided, when it was not.  Patel, registered physical therapist Mirza and others would sign this paperwork as though they had provided services.  In the course of the conspiracy, Patel incorporated his own staffing company, MI Healthcare Staffing, through which he laundered proceeds of the fraud from home health care companies and a shell company owned and operated by his co-conspirators.

Physicians Choice and the related companies were paid nearly $15 million in the course of the conspiracy.

Sentencing for all three defendants has not yet been scheduled.

The investigation was led by the FBI and HHS-OIG, and was brought by the Medicare Fraud Strike Force, a joint effort of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Michigan.  The case was prosecuted by Assistant Chief Catherine K. Dick and Trial Attorneys Matthew C. Thuesen and Rohan A. Virginkar of the Fraud Section.

Since its inception in March 2007, the Medicare Fraud Strike Force, now operating in nine cities across the country, has charged more than 1,700 defendants who have collectively billed the Medicare program for more than $5.5 billion. In addition, HHS’s Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, working in conjunction with HHS-OIG, is taking steps to increase accountability and decrease the presence of fraudulent providers.

DETROIT AREA PHYSICIAN PLEADS GUILTY FOR ROLE IN $7 MILLION MEDICARE FRAUD

FROM:  U.S. JUSTICE DEPARTMENT 
Tuesday, April 1, 2014
Physician Pleads Guilty for Role in Detroit-area Medicare Fraud Scheme

A Detroit-area physician pleaded guilty for her role in a $7 million health care fraud scheme.

Acting Assistant Attorney General David A. O’Neil of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, U.S. Attorney Barbara L. McQuade of the Eastern District of Michigan, Special Agent in Charge Paul M. Abbate of the FBI’s Detroit Field Office and Special Agent in Charge Lamont Pugh III of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General (HHS-OIG) Chicago Regional Office made the announcement.

Adelina Herrero, 72, of Ann Arbor, Mich., pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Paul D. Borman in the Eastern District of Michigan to one count of conspiracy to commit health care fraud.   Sentencing will be scheduled at a later date.

According to court documents, beginning in approximately April 2010 and continuing through approximately April 2013, Herrero and others agreed that she would refer Medicare beneficiaries whom she had never seen or treated to Advance Home Health Care Services Inc. (Advance) and Perfect Home Health Care Services LLP (Perfect), which were both owned by co-conspirators.   Herrero signed medical documents, such as home health care certifications and plans of care for these beneficiaries, falsely certifying that they were under her care and that they required home health care.   Advance, Perfect and other home health agencies then used Herrero’s false documents to support their claims to Medicare for home health services — including physical therapy services — that were never rendered and/or not medically necessary.   Herrero knew the medical documents she signed for her co-conspirators would be used to support false claims to Medicare.   Herrero admitted that in exchange for signing the home health care documents, she accepted kickback payments from a co-conspirator.

The false and fraudulent claims to Medicare arising from Herrero’s conduct total approximately $1,382,208 in billings for home health services and physician services, of which Medicare paid $1,321,372.

This case is being investigated by the FBI and HHS-OIG and was brought as part of the Medicare Fraud Strike Force, under the supervision of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Michigan.  This case is being prosecuted by Special Trial Attorney Katie R. Fink and Trial Attorney Patrick J. Hurford of the Fraud Section.

Since its inception in March 2007, the Medicare Fraud Strike Force, now operating in nine cities across the country, has charged more than 1,700 defendants who have collectively billed the Medicare program for more than $5.5 billion. In addition, HHS’s Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, working in conjunction with HHS-OIG, are taking steps to increase accountability and decrease the presence of fraudulent providers.

STORE OWNER SENTENCED FOR SELLING CUTTING AGENTS TO DRUG DEALERS

FROM:  U.S. JUSTICE DEPARTMENT 
Wednesday, February 19, 2014
Former Detroit Liquor Store Owner Sentenced for Tax Fraud and for Selling Cutting Agents to Drug Dealers

Bashar Saroki, a resident of Southfield, Mich., was sentenced today in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan to serve 30 months in prison to be followed by one year of supervised release, the Justice Department and the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) announced.  Previously, Saroki pleaded guilty to filing a false 2009 tax return and offering drug paraphernalia for sale.

According to court documents, Saroki controlled and operated Golden Star Party Store, a liquor store that was located in Detroit.  From 2007 through 2011, Saroki sold more than $1 million worth of a variety of cutting agents to local narcotics dealers out of Golden Star Party Store and from his residence.  Narcotics dealers used these cutting agents to dilute the potency and increase the quantity of the narcotics they sold to customers.  Saroki also filed a false tax return for 2009 that reported very little income despite the significant proceeds from the sale of cutting agents.

Assistant Attorney General Kathryn Keneally for the department's Tax Division commended the efforts of special agents of IRS-Criminal Investigation, who investigated this case, and Tax Division Trial Attorneys Kenneth C. Vert and Yael T. Epstein, who prosecuted the case.

DETROIT HOME HEALTH AGENCY OWNER SENTENCED FOR ROLE IN MEDICARE FRAUD SCHEME

FROM:  JUSTICE DEPARTMENT
Friday, January 24, 2014
Home Health Agency Owner Sentenced for Role in $11 Million Detroit Medicare Fraud Scheme

A home health agency owner who participated in a Medicare fraud scheme that totaled almost $11 million was sentenced in Detroit today to serve 120 months in prison.

Acting Assistant Attorney General Mythili Raman of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Michigan Barbara L. McQuade, Special Agent in Charge Robert D. Foley III of the FBI’s Detroit Field Office and Special Agent in Charge Lamont Pugh III of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General (HHS-OIG) Chicago Regional Office made the announcement.

Chiradeep Gupta, 39, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Denise Page Hood in the Eastern District of Michigan.  In addition to his prison term, Gupta was sentenced to serve three years of supervised release and was ordered to pay more than $10 million in restitution, jointly and severally with his co-defendants.

On Oct. 26, 2012, Gupta, a physical therapist and part-owner of All American, a home health care company located in Oak Park, Mich., was found guilty at trial of one count of conspiracy to commit health care fraud, one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering and three substantive counts of money laundering.

According to evidence presented at trial, Gupta and his co-conspirators caused the submission of false and fraudulent claims to Medicare through All American and Patient Choice, another Oak Park-based home health care company, which purported to provide skilled nursing and physical therapy services to Medicare beneficiaries in the greater Detroit area.

The evidence showed that Gupta and his co-conspirators used patient recruiters, who paid Medicare beneficiaries to sign blank documents for physical therapy services that were never provided and/or medically unnecessary.  The owners of Patient Choice and All American paid physicians to sign referrals and other therapy documents necessary to bill Medicare.  Physical therapists and physical therapist assistants provided through contractors, including two owned by Gupta, would then create fake medical records using the blank, pre-signed forms obtained by the patient recruiters to make it appear as if physical therapy services had actually been rendered, when, in fact, the services had not been rendered.

According to evidence presented at trial, Gupta provided to Patient Choice and All American physical therapists and physical therapist assistants who created fake patient files using blank, pre-signed forms obtained by patient recruiters to make it appear as if the physical therapy services billed to Medicare had actually been provided.  Gupta also doctored and directed the doctoring of fake patient files.  The evidence at trial showed that Gupta laundered the proceeds of the fraud through multiple shell companies.

This case was investigated by the FBI, HHS-OIG and the Internal Revenue Service and was brought as part of the Medicare Fraud Strike Force, under the supervision of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Michigan. This case was prosecuted by Deputy Chief Gejaa Gobena, Assistant Chief Catherine Dick and Trial Attorney Niall O’Donnell of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section.

Since its inception in March 2007, the Medicare Fraud Strike Force, now operating in nine cities across the country, has charged more than 1,700 defendants who have collectively billed the Medicare program for more than $5.5 billion.  In addition, HHS’s Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, working in conjunction with HHS-OIG, is taking steps to increase accountability and decrease the presence of fraudulent providers

CHEERLEADERS FOR DETROIT: U.S. GOVERNMENT LEADERS PAY A VISIT

FROM:  U.S. DEPARTMENT OF LABOR 
Pulling Together on Detroit's Road to Recover

Residents of the Detroit area hit hard by the loss of manufacturing jobs during the 2007-2009 recession know adversity. But they also know that American innovation and a willingness to pull together are a powerful one-two punch in getting Detroit back on its feet. That was the message Secretary of Labor Thomas E. Perez and Secretary of Education Arne Duncan brought to the city on Dec. 12 for a series of events focused on efforts to cultivate and integrate federal, state, city, philanthropic and private-sector support to restore Detroit's economic greatness. The two Cabinet officials visited Macomb Community College in Warren, Mich., which was recently selected to lead a nearly $25 million Trade Adjustment Assistance Community College Career Training grant. The grant will help Macomb and seven other Michigan schools enhance and expand their training programs through the launch of the Michigan Coalition for Advanced Manufacturing. The secretaries also traveled to the Northwest Activities Center in Detroit for the kickoff of the Hire Detroit! campaign. Organized by the Detroit Employment Solutions Corporation and MichiganWorks, the event brought together workforce professionals, employers, and local, state and federal leaders to raise awareness of Detroit's workforce needs and encourage employers to hire. One employer — Detroit Manufacturing Systems — has relied heavily on the resources of the local workforce system to hire their 750 employees since 2012. Perez visited DMS later in the day to talk to employees involved in making parts for Ford vehicles.

DENSCO CORPORATION EXECUTIVE PLEADS GUILTY TO PRICE FIXING BID-RIGGING CONSPIRACY OF U.S. AUTO PARTS

FROM:  DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE
Thursday, April 26, 2012
DENSO Corporation Executive Agrees to Plead Guilty to Automobile Parts Price-Fixing and Bid-Rigging Conspiracy Executive Agrees to Serve 14 Months in U.S. Prison
WASHINGTON – An executive of Japanese-based DENSO Corporation has agreed to plead guilty and to serve 14 months in a U.S. prison for his role in a conspiracy to fix prices and rig bids for heater control panels (HCPs) installed in U.S. cars, the Department of Justice announced today.

According to the one-count felony charge filed today in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan in Detroit, Makoto Hattori, along with co-conspirators, engaged in a conspiracy to rig bids for and to fix, stabilize and maintain the prices of HCPs sold to a customer in the United States and elsewhere. HCPs are located in the center console of an automobile and control the temperature of the interior environment of a vehicle.

According to the charge, Hattori participated in the conspiracy from at least as early as July 2005, until at least July 2008. During the conspiracy, Hattori was an assistant manager in the Toyota Sales Division at DENSO from July 2005 until December 2006, and a manager in the Toyota Sales Division from December 2006 until at least July 2008.  According to the plea agreement, which is subject to court approval, Hattori has agreed to serve 14 months in a U.S. prison, to pay a $20,000 criminal fine and to cooperate with the department’s ongoing investigation.

“The Antitrust Division remains committed to holding executives accountable for engaging in illegal conduct that directly impacts the pocketbooks of American consumers and businesses,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General Sharis A. Pozen in charge of the Department of Justice’s Antitrust Division. “Criminal antitrust enforcement remains a top priority and the division will continue to work with the FBI and our law enforcement counterparts to root out this kind of cartel conduct that results in higher, non-competitive prices.”

According to court documents, Hattori and co-conspirators carried out the conspiracy by agreeing, during meetings and conversations, to allocate the supply of HCPs on a model-by-model basis and to coordinate price adjustments requested by an automobile manufacturer in the United States and elsewhere. The department said that Hattori and the co-conspirators sold HCPs at non-competitive prices and engaged in meetings and conversations for the purpose of monitoring and enforcing adherence to the agreed-upon bid-rigging and price-fixing scheme.

Including Hattori, nine individuals and five companies have been charged in the department’s ongoing investigation into price fixing and bid rigging in the auto parts industry.  Furukawa Electric Co. Ltd, DENSO Corporation and Yazaki Corporation have pleaded guilty and been sentenced to pay a total of more than $748 million in criminal fines.  G.S. Electech Inc. and Fujikura Ltd have agreed to plead guilty and await sentencing.  Additionally, seven of the individuals - Junichi Funo, Hirotsugu Nagata, Tetsuya Ukai, Tsuneaki Hanamura, Ryoji Kawai, Shigeru Ogawa and Hisamitsu Takada – have been sentenced to pay criminal fines and to serve jail sentences ranging from a year and a day to two years each.  The remaining two individuals, Hattori and Norihiro Imai, have agreed to plead guilty and await sentencing.

Hattori is charged with price fixing in violation of the Sherman Act, which carries a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison and a $1 million criminal fine for individuals. The maximum fine for an individual may be increased to twice the gain derived from the crime or twice the loss suffered by the victims of the crime, if either of those amounts is greater than the statutory maximum fine.

ATTORNEY GENERAL ERIC HOLDER'S TASK FORCE ON CHILDREN EXPOSED TO VIOLENCE PUBLIC HEARING

FROM:  U.S. DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE
Tuesday, April 24, 2012
Attorney General Eric Holder’s Task Force on Children Exposed to Violence Holds Final Public Hearing in Detroit New DOJ Study Reveals School Officials More Likely to Learn of Child Victimization than Police or Medical Authorities
At the final hearing of Attorney General Eric Holder’s National Task Force on Children Exposed to Violence in Detroit, officials from the Justice Department and the city of Detroit underscored efforts to keep kids safe and prevent youth violence. The task force is a key part of Attorney General Holder’s Defending Childhood Initiative to prevent and reduce children’s exposure to violence.

At the hearing, Acting Associate Attorney General Tony West announced the release of a new Justice Department research bulletin showing that 46 percent of victimized children were known to school, police or medical authorities. The bulletin, Child and Youth Victimization Known to Police, School, and Medical Authorities draws from the National Survey of Children’s Exposure to Violence sponsored by the Office of Justice Programs’ Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention with support from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

“While more children are reporting violence to authorities, many continue to endure the pain of victimization in silence,” said Acting Associate Attorney General West.  “Through the work of the Attorney General’s task force, we hope to find more ways to identify those children in need and make sure they have access to effective prevention and treatment options.”

The task force is co-chaired by Joe Torre, chairman of the board of the Joe Torre Safe At Home Foundation, and Robert Listenbee, Jr., chief of the Juvenile Unit of the Defender Association of Philadelphia.  Co-chair Listenbee, a Detroit-area native, highlighted the urgency and opportunity of the task force’s work.

“I grew up just 20 miles outside of Detroit in Mt. Clemens, Michigan. During my high school years, violence was commonplace,” said Listenbee. “Similar violence still occurs in cities and towns across the country, but today we know so much more about how to address it.   The resounding message this task force has heard is that we can – and must – change the norm of violence in children’s lives.”

During the opening session, Detroit Police Chief Ralph Godbee discussed the police department’s work with youth.   He was joined by Lawnya Sherrod, a former Detroit gang member turned community organizer, who highlighted her work to get youth out of gangs and to help them graduate from high school and become productive, successful members of the community.

In a panel discussion about successful programs, Wayne County Child and Family Services Director Tadarial Sturdivant described his agency’s efforts to reform the juvenile justice system through a program called First Contact.

“[The program] creates an opportunity to collaborate with the Detroit Police Department and offer services at the street level to support the patrol officer who has first contact with the juvenile,” said Sturdivant. “As an alternative to arrest and detention, [the department] will convey youth to the Juvenile Assessment Center for stabilization, parental contact, brief assessment, transportation home, and referral for voluntary services.”

In a panel about public-private partnerships, Dr. William Bell, President and CEO of Casey Family Programs, discussed the need to meet the “overwhelming circumstances” of violence against children “with deliberate and intentional action.” Bell outlined concrete steps that every city in America could take to build “communities of hope” to reverse these violent trends.

Mary Lee, Deputy Director of PolicyLink, described how place influences many child outcomes. “ Just by knowing his or her zip code, a young person’s health, life expectancy, success in school, adult income¯all of these can be predicted,” noted Lee in her testimony, which described ways to improve the places children live to improve long-term outcomes.

The task force is composed of 13 leading experts, including practitioners, child and family advocates, academic experts and licensed clinicians, who will identify promising practices, programming and community strategies to prevent and respond to children’s exposure to violence.   Their findings will inform their final report to the Attorney General in late 2012, which will present policy recommendations and serve as a blueprint for preventing and reducing the negative effects of such violence across the United States.

EXPORT-IMPORT BANK EXPANDS PRESENCE TO FOUR MAJOR U.S. CITIES

The following excerpt is from a Export-Import Bank e-mail:

EXPORT-IMPORT BANK OF THE UNITED STATES TO ESTABLISH FULL-TIME PRESENCE IN ATLANTA, DETROIT, MINNEAPOLIS, SEATTLE
Financing for U.S. exporters with focus on small business    

 

Detroit, Mich. – Today at the Detroit Economic Club, Fred P. Hochberg, the chairman and president of the Export-Import Bank of the United States (Ex-Im Bank), announced that Ex-Im Bank will establish a new full-time presence in four U.S. cities by this summer. Bank staff, which are currently being recruited for the new positions, will be based in Atlanta, Detroit, Minneapolis, and Seattle. This will provide local small business exporters with enhanced access to Ex-Im Bank products and services. 

“Ex-Im Bank wants to provide small businesses access to export financing for their export sales,” said Chairman Hochberg. “Exports are a true bright spot in our economic recovery, and having additional field staff in four cities will help ensure that more U.S. businesses are reaching international markets.” 

“More Michigan exports mean more Michigan jobs,” said U.S. Senator Debbie Stabenow, a member of the President’s Export Council under both Presidents Bush and Obama. “Helping Michigan small businesses reach new markets is absolutely one of the best ways to strengthen our economy. There is still a lot of work to be done, but with our auto industry coming back, Detroit welcoming the country’s first-ever satellite patent office and now this new export center, good news is happening in Michigan."

“Last month, I joined President Obama during his visit to Everett when he highlighted the importance of the Export-Import Bank,” said Seattle Mayor Mike McGinn. “We welcome their new office in our city, the opening of which is evidence of Seattle’s resilient economic force in our region. With more than 95 percent of the world's consumers living outside the United States, it is vital that Washington businesses - both large and small - explore international markets.”

“Growing local jobs by expanding exports is one of our key regional economic development strategies,” said Minneapolis Mayor R.T. Rybak. “Before now, the Export-Import Bank was the only member of the Federal export team that we were missing here in Minneapolis–Saint Paul. We asked the Obama Administration to fill that gap, and they listened. Now expert advisors on export financing tools and export order insurance will be right here for easy access by Minneapolis–Saint Paul companies. Exports support more than 117,000 jobs in our region, and the Export-Import Bank full-time presence in Minneapolis will only help us grow that number.” 

About Ex-Im Bank:

Ex-Im Bank is an independent federal agency that helps create and maintain U.S. jobs by filling gaps in private export financing at no cost to American taxpayers. In the past five years, Ex-Im Bank has earned for U.S. taxpayers $1.9 billion above the cost of operations. The Bank provides a variety of financing mechanisms, including working capital guarantees, export-credit insurance and financing to help foreign buyers purchase U.S. goods and services.

Ex-Im Bank approved $32.7 billion in total authorizations in FY 2011 -- an all-time Ex-Im record. This total includes more than $6 billion directly supporting small-business export sales -- also an Ex-Im record. Ex-Im Bank's total authorizations are supporting an estimated $41 billion in U.S. export sales and approximately 290,000 American jobs in communities across the country."