The 49 defendants were not actually in custody, however, because of diplomatic immunity. The diplomats were charged in Manhattan Federal Court for allegedly underreporting their income in order to qualify for the welfare.
U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara’s office uncovered the scam
From Russia,
with fraud.
Russian diplomats, their spouses living in New York City and their associates bilked American taxpayers out of $1.5 million in a Medicaid fraud scheme that lasted for nearly a decade, the feds said Thursday.
The 49 accused scammers underreported their income in order to qualify for benefits while blowing cash on luxury vacations, jewelry, concert tickets, rented limousines, chartered helicopters and clothes, prosecutors said.
"Diplomacy should be about extending hands, not picking pockets in the host country," Manhattan U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara said at a press conference. "The scam exploited a weakness in the Medicaid system, and the charges expose shameful and systemic corruption among Russian diplomats in New York."
Their lavish spending allegedly included tens of thousands of dollars in purchases at the Apple, Bloomingdale's, Tiffany & Co., Jimmy Choo and Burberry stores.
In one instance, Andrey Artasov said he made just $34,800 a year but with his wife spent more than $48,000 in 2008 on items that included Apple products and Swarovski jewelry, authorities said.
Prosecutors say the defendants worked or had a spouse working at the Russian Mission to the United Nations, the Russian Federation Consulate General in New York and the Trade Representation of the Russian Federation in the USA's New York office.
The scheme began in 2004 and continued until this year, the feds said.
Bharara declined to comment on how authorities busted the scheme but it appeared that conspirators not named in the complaint may have cooperated with the feds.
None of the defendants are in custody, thanks to diplomatic immunity, although 11 still reside in the U.S. and six still represent Russia here.
Bharara said he expects the U.S. State Department to request that Russia waive diplomatic immunity for the alleged fraudsters.
If Russia refuses, as is likely, the State Department could request that the defendants still in the U.S. leave the country.
The diplomats were charged in a 62-page Manhattan Federal Court complaint that says they submitted bogus applications for medical benefits covering pregnancies, births and childcare.
“The United States government values its long-standing relationship with foreign diplomats," Venizelos said. "Unfortunately, some Russian officials in New York allowed these defendants to take advantage of that relationship. Motivated by greed and the purchase of high-end luxury items, these defendants allegedly perpetrated a fraud to illegally obtain Medicaid benefits to which they were not entitled.”
The most senior defendant is a current or former counselor, Bharara said.
The Consulate General didn't answer its phone Thursday. The Trade Representation declined to comment, while the Mission to the U.N. didn't immediately return a request for comment.
The State Department didn't immediately comment.
Russia's Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov "we are bewildered" that the U.S. announced the charges before first coming to the Russian government.
"It's not clear why the relevant agencies have considered it possible to make these accusations public before discussing them through diplomatic channels," he said, according to the Interfax news agency in Moscow.
Ryabkov said he could not comment on the case itself "until we receive a clear explanation of the charges against our citizens from the U.S. authorities."
0 comments:
Post a Comment