Want details about how the VRS agencies defrauded the government out tens of millions of dollars? Read the details at the link below. It goes into detail. More than just the overview that was published a couple of weeks ago.
What do you think should happen to the owners of these agencies? What about the Terps? What about the deaf people who made the fraudulent calls?
At the very least, terps should receive all back pay with interest and also some sort of letter (perhaps from US D of J?) stating that there is no evidence of any personal involvement in the scam. This might help against the "Viable Curse". BTW, anyone heard about Snap!VRS or gotten work there?
ReplyDeleteThe Deaf individuals knowingly and willingly involved in the fraud should be prosecuted just as if they were hearing.
On a related note, does anyone have any news regarding developments since the 15th? That was supposedly the big day. I was out of town for most of the intervening time and have heard nothing. I googled but got nothing there either.
Viable executives arraigned
ReplyDeleteDeaf-services company's president, others plead not guilty to charges
by Kevin James Shay
John T.C. Yeh, president of Rockville deaf-services company Viable, along with three other company executives, pleaded not guilty Monday in a New Jersey federal court to charges that include conspiracy to defraud the government.
A jury trial is scheduled for Feb. 22, with pretrial motions due Jan. 11, according to court documents. A motion hearing is slated for Feb. 8.
In mid-November, federal authorities charged the Viable executives and leaders of six other companies nationwide in a six-count indictment. Charges include conspiracy to defraud the federal government out of tens of millions of dollars, submitting false claims and mail fraud.
The executives fraudulently billed the Federal Communications Commission about $390 an hour to interpret calls between deaf and hearing people, federal prosecutors said. The calls, generally referred to as "r calls," "rest calls" or "run calls," were illegitimate calls often made by friends or relatives that would be billed to the FCC's video relay service fund, officials said.
Authorities called Viable the central company in the alleged scheme, directly linked via business arrangements to five of the six other companies involved.
Other Viable executives who also pleaded not guilty this week are vice president of corporate strategy Joseph Yeh, a brother of John Yeh; assistant vice president for business development Anthony Mowl; and human relations manager Donald Tropp.
Stanley Reed, a principal with Lerch, Early and Brewer in Bethesda who is representing Joseph Yeh, said this week that his client is "presumed innocent," and he was waiting to read discovery materials from the government before commenting further.
Reed's areas of practice include white collar crime, complex civil litigation and professional responsibility.
Paul Kemp, a partner in the Rockville office of Venable, is representing John Yeh. He could not be reached this week for comment.
Kemp's areas of practice include white collar crime, commercial litigation and SEC investigations.
Reed and Kemp have worked on cases together for many years, Reed said.
Attorneys for Mowl and Tropp could not be reached this week for comment.
Viable has been under a cloud since a June visit by federal investigators. The company also has been hit with lawsuits in federal and state courts by employees seeking back payment of wages.
Didn't John Yeh visit the NYC ofice at DHIS and stand in front of all the interpreters and say outright that Viable would be processing fraudulent calls? And didn't Josh say that if interpreters did not want to do fraud calls thay didn't have to work VRS?
ReplyDeleteSo my question is:
What should happen to the interpreters (and there were LOTS of them) that were in that meeting, were told they were committing fraud, and continued to commit fraud?
Should they lose their certification? Should they be charged? Should their names be released to the public? What are your thoughts?
I know for a while the USPS, FBI, FCC, and IRS investigated the situation at Viable, not only at the Viable Rockville HQ, but also at the Viable Contract Call Centers. Many of the involved interpreters voluntarily provided this information during the investigation.
ReplyDeleteThe feds decided who to charge and who not to. This was based on the testimony of interpreters as well as other forms of evidence. For RID to revoke certification, they would have to prove those interpreters actually did contribute to this fraud. We know it happened, but there is no way to check exactly who did and did not commit fraud. Yes, the CA's all have agent ID's, but many times management would log in as that CA.
At this point, I think as professionals, our goals should be to enhance ethical and legal training, so we as those on the front lines, have more resources to combat this type of illegal activity. This will show that we will not accept this type of behavior again, and that we cannot hide behind the excuse that we didnt know, or we didnt know who to tell.