Florida
Agency sues company linked to congressional Democrat, saying company won’t give back $5.8M
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) — A Florida state agency is suing a company owned by the family of U.S. Rep. Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick, saying the company overcharged the state by nearly $5.8 million for work done during the pandemic and won’t give the money back.
The lawsuit comes at the same time that a congressional ethics investigation concluded the South Florida Democrat may have violated U.S. House rules and federal law with her campaign activities and how she has used her congressional office. The House Ethics Committee hasn’t acted on the report.
The lawsuit was filed Dec. 30 in state court in Tallahassee by the Florida Division of Emergency Management. The agency claims that it made a series of overpayments to Trinity Healthcare Services, based in Miramar, after hiring Trinity in 2021 to register people for COVID-19 vaccinations. The agency says it discovered the problem after a single $5 million overpayment drew attention.
“Trinity took advantage of the state of emergency the entire country was encountering due to the COVID-19 pandemic and knowingly processed an invoice more than 100 times its typical invoice size,” the suit says.
Lawyer Gabriel Imperato, who represents the company, declined to comment on the lawsuit when contacted by the Sun-Sentinel of Fort Lauderdale.
Cherfilus-McCormick was the CEO of Trinity at the time. She was elected to Congress in 2022 in the 20th District representing parts of Broward and Palm Beach counties in a special election after Rep. Alcee Hastings died in 2021. Cherfilus-McCormick won the primary in the heavily Democratic district by five votes. She was reelected without opposition in November.
In a report from the Office of Congressional Ethics released on Jan. 2, the agency found that Cherfilus-McCormick’s income in 2021 was more than $6 million higher than in 2020, driven by nearly $5.75 million in consulting and profit-sharing fees received from Trinity Healthcare Services. The House Ethics Committee hasn’t acted on the report.
During the 2021-2022 campaign cycle, Cherfilus-McCormick reported loaning her campaign millions of dollars.
The ethics report found that there was reason to believe that Cherfilus-McCormick made nearly $270,000 in unreported payments to a Florida state political action committee in 2021 and 2022 for campaign work. The report found that Cherfilus-McCormick may have also improperly accepted in-kind contributions.
The report also found that Mark Goodrich, whom the report described as Cherfilus-McCormick’s campaign manager, improperly produced videos and mailers that Cherfilus-McCormick sent out using her congressional office.
Cherfilus-McCormick has said the report doesn’t mean she has done anything wrong.
North Carolina
Appeals court revives ex-NC State athlete’s lawsuit against school in sexual abuse case
RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — A federal appeals court has reversed the dismissal of a former N.C. State athlete’s lawsuit alleging he was sexually abused by the Wolfpack’s former director of sports medicine under the guise of treatment.
The Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals vacated a district court’s dismissal of the April 2023 lawsuit from “John Doe 2” against the school citing improper touching by Robert Murphy Jr. That followed similar lawsuits filed in August 2022 and February 2023.
Tuesday’s decision sends the case back to district court.
That court’s 2023 dismissal of claims against N.C. State in all three lawsuits ruled the school didn’t receive “actual notice” of abuse. The first lawsuit alleged former men’s soccer coach Kelly Findley told a senior athletics official in February 2016 that he suspected Murphy was “engaging in contact ... consistent with grooming behavior,” but that there was no follow-up action by the school.
The appeals court determined that was “objectively” an allegation qualifying as notification. However, it noted the lower court never determined whether the appropriate official was notified, sending that question back as well.
Former soccer player Benjamin Locke’s first lawsuit continued with Murphy as a named defendant. The Associated Press typically doesn’t identify those who say they have been sexually assaulted or abused unless the person has spoken publicly, which Locke has done.
New York
AG: Text messaging scammers stole $2 million in cryptocurrency from victims
NEW YORK (AP) — Scammers stole millions of dollars in cryptocurrency from people seeking remote work opportunities as part of an elaborate scheme, according to New York’s attorney general.
Attorney General Letitia James said Thursday that she’s filed a lawsuit in order to recover more than $2 million that she said was stolen from New Yorkers and others around the country.
James said the unknown network of scammers used unsolicited text messages to target people looking for remote work.
They told victims that the job involved reviewing products online in order to help generate “market data,” James’ office said. But in order to begin earning money, victims were told they had to open cryptocurrency accounts and had to maintain a balance equal to, or greater than, the price of the products they were reviewing.
The victims were assured they would get their investments back plus commission, but the funds simply went into the scammers’ crypto wallets, James’ office said. The product reviews were also conducted on a website set up as part of the scheme.
The suit cites seven victims, identified by pseudonyms, residing in New York, Virginia and Florida. One New York victim lost over $100,000, according to the suit. A Florida woman lost over $300,000.
“Deceiving New Yorkers looking to take on remote work and earn money to support their families is cruel and unacceptable,” she said in a statement. “Scammers sent text messages to New Yorkers promising them good-paying, flexible jobs only to trick them into purchasing cryptocurrency and then stealing it from them.”
James’ suit seeks to return the stolen funds.
Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz said her office’s cryptocurrency unit traced over $2 million in stolen crypto and identified the digital wallets where the coins were being held. Then, working with James’ office, they were able to have the currency frozen until they could be returned to victims.
“Work scams that prey on those seeking legitimate employment not only rob victims of their hard-earned money but also shatter their trust in the job market,” she added.
Arizona
Prosecutors seek death penalty after 2-year pause in executions
PHOENIX (AP) — Prosecutors in Arizona are seeking to execute a prisoner in what would mark the state’s first use of the death penalty after a two-year pause. The Arizona Attorney General’s Office asked the state Supreme Court on Friday to issue a warrant for the execution of Aaron Brian Gunches, who pleaded guilty to murder in 2007.
The court had issued a death warrant for Gunches nearly two years ago, but the sentence wasn’t carried out because the state’s Democratic attorney general agreed not to pursue executions during a review of the state’s death penalty protocol.
The review ended in November when Democratic Gov. Katie Hobbs dismissed the retired federal magistrate she had appointed to examine execution procedures.
In Friday’s filing, prosecutors said the state is prepared to carry out the execution and that Gunches has waived a state post-conviction review of his case and failed to start a federal constitutional review.
Gunches, who isn’t a lawyer but is representing himself, had asked the court last week to skip legal formalities and schedule his execution earlier than authorities had planned, saying his death sentence was “long overdue.” The state Supreme Court later rejected his request.
The Associated Press left a phone message on Friday with Emily Skinner, a death penalty lawyer who is serving as Gunches’ advisory counsel.
Gunches pleaded guilty to a murder charge in the 2002 shooting death of Ted Price, his girlfriend’s ex-husband, near the Phoenix suburb of Mesa.
Arizona, which has 111 prisoners on death row, last carried out three executions in 2022 following a nearly eight-year hiatus brought on by criticism that a 2014 execution was botched and because of difficulties obtaining drugs for execution.
Since then, the state has been criticized for taking too long to insert an IV for lethal injection into a condemned prisoner in 2022.
Washington
Navy vet cleared of conspiracy charges in Jan. 6 case is sentenced to time served
WASHINGTON (AP) — A retired Navy intelligence officer who was cleared of the most serious charges in his U.S. Capitol attack trial alongside Oath Keepers founder Stewart Rhodes avoided additional time behind bars when he was sentenced on Friday.
Thomas Caldwell was acquitted by a jury in Washington’s federal court of seditious conspiracy and two other conspiracy offenses in one of the most serious cases brought by the Justice Department in the Jan. 6, 2021, attack. And one of two counts he was found guilty on at trial was dismissed in light of a U.S. Supreme Court ruling last year.
Prosecutors had alleged at trial that Caldwell helped coordinate “quick reaction force” teams prosecutors said the Oath Keepers stationed outside the capital city to get weapons into the hands of extremists if they were needed. The weapons were never deployed, and lawyers for the Oath Keepers said they were only there for defensive purposes in case of attacks from left-wing activists.
But Caldwell, who didn’t enter the Capitol, took the witness stand and played down messages he sent leading up to Jan. 6, including one floating the idea about getting a boat to ferry “heavy weapons” across the Potomac River. Caldwell said he was never serious about it, calling it “creative writing.”
His lawyer noted at trial that Caldwell was a disabled veteran who sometimes uses a cane to walk, telling jurors he “couldn’t storm his way out of a paper bag.” Attorney David Fischer argued that there was no plot to attack the Capitol, saying his client wasn’t even planning to go to the building until Trump’s speech on the Ellipse urging his supporters to “fight like hell.”
Prosecutors had sought four years in prison for Caldwell on his remaining obstruction of justice offense conviction for deleting messages after the riot. Prosecutors described him in court papers as “an avid and willing participant in an unprecedented crime.”
Caldwell’s attorney told U.S. District Judge Amit Mehta in court documents that his client’s acquittal on the conspiracy charges and “military service that resulted in a lifetime of debilitating injuries” call for a sentence of time served. He spent more than 50 days behind bars after his 2021 arrest.
“Mr. Caldwell was cleared of the four most serious counts and sentenced to no additional jail time by a highly respected federal judge,” Fischer said in an email. “Obviously, he should be considered for a pardon by President Trump.”
Trump has suggested he will pardon at least a large portion of the than 1,500 people who have been charged with federal crimes in the largest investigation in Justice Department history.
Rhodes, the Oath Keepers founder, is among 14 defendants who were convicted of seditious conspiracy for what prosecutors said were violent plots to keep Trump in power. Rhodes is serving an 18-year prison sentence.
Agency sues company linked to congressional Democrat, saying company won’t give back $5.8M
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) — A Florida state agency is suing a company owned by the family of U.S. Rep. Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick, saying the company overcharged the state by nearly $5.8 million for work done during the pandemic and won’t give the money back.
The lawsuit comes at the same time that a congressional ethics investigation concluded the South Florida Democrat may have violated U.S. House rules and federal law with her campaign activities and how she has used her congressional office. The House Ethics Committee hasn’t acted on the report.
The lawsuit was filed Dec. 30 in state court in Tallahassee by the Florida Division of Emergency Management. The agency claims that it made a series of overpayments to Trinity Healthcare Services, based in Miramar, after hiring Trinity in 2021 to register people for COVID-19 vaccinations. The agency says it discovered the problem after a single $5 million overpayment drew attention.
“Trinity took advantage of the state of emergency the entire country was encountering due to the COVID-19 pandemic and knowingly processed an invoice more than 100 times its typical invoice size,” the suit says.
Lawyer Gabriel Imperato, who represents the company, declined to comment on the lawsuit when contacted by the Sun-Sentinel of Fort Lauderdale.
Cherfilus-McCormick was the CEO of Trinity at the time. She was elected to Congress in 2022 in the 20th District representing parts of Broward and Palm Beach counties in a special election after Rep. Alcee Hastings died in 2021. Cherfilus-McCormick won the primary in the heavily Democratic district by five votes. She was reelected without opposition in November.
In a report from the Office of Congressional Ethics released on Jan. 2, the agency found that Cherfilus-McCormick’s income in 2021 was more than $6 million higher than in 2020, driven by nearly $5.75 million in consulting and profit-sharing fees received from Trinity Healthcare Services. The House Ethics Committee hasn’t acted on the report.
During the 2021-2022 campaign cycle, Cherfilus-McCormick reported loaning her campaign millions of dollars.
The ethics report found that there was reason to believe that Cherfilus-McCormick made nearly $270,000 in unreported payments to a Florida state political action committee in 2021 and 2022 for campaign work. The report found that Cherfilus-McCormick may have also improperly accepted in-kind contributions.
The report also found that Mark Goodrich, whom the report described as Cherfilus-McCormick’s campaign manager, improperly produced videos and mailers that Cherfilus-McCormick sent out using her congressional office.
Cherfilus-McCormick has said the report doesn’t mean she has done anything wrong.
North Carolina
Appeals court revives ex-NC State athlete’s lawsuit against school in sexual abuse case
RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — A federal appeals court has reversed the dismissal of a former N.C. State athlete’s lawsuit alleging he was sexually abused by the Wolfpack’s former director of sports medicine under the guise of treatment.
The Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals vacated a district court’s dismissal of the April 2023 lawsuit from “John Doe 2” against the school citing improper touching by Robert Murphy Jr. That followed similar lawsuits filed in August 2022 and February 2023.
Tuesday’s decision sends the case back to district court.
That court’s 2023 dismissal of claims against N.C. State in all three lawsuits ruled the school didn’t receive “actual notice” of abuse. The first lawsuit alleged former men’s soccer coach Kelly Findley told a senior athletics official in February 2016 that he suspected Murphy was “engaging in contact ... consistent with grooming behavior,” but that there was no follow-up action by the school.
The appeals court determined that was “objectively” an allegation qualifying as notification. However, it noted the lower court never determined whether the appropriate official was notified, sending that question back as well.
Former soccer player Benjamin Locke’s first lawsuit continued with Murphy as a named defendant. The Associated Press typically doesn’t identify those who say they have been sexually assaulted or abused unless the person has spoken publicly, which Locke has done.
New York
AG: Text messaging scammers stole $2 million in cryptocurrency from victims
NEW YORK (AP) — Scammers stole millions of dollars in cryptocurrency from people seeking remote work opportunities as part of an elaborate scheme, according to New York’s attorney general.
Attorney General Letitia James said Thursday that she’s filed a lawsuit in order to recover more than $2 million that she said was stolen from New Yorkers and others around the country.
James said the unknown network of scammers used unsolicited text messages to target people looking for remote work.
They told victims that the job involved reviewing products online in order to help generate “market data,” James’ office said. But in order to begin earning money, victims were told they had to open cryptocurrency accounts and had to maintain a balance equal to, or greater than, the price of the products they were reviewing.
The victims were assured they would get their investments back plus commission, but the funds simply went into the scammers’ crypto wallets, James’ office said. The product reviews were also conducted on a website set up as part of the scheme.
The suit cites seven victims, identified by pseudonyms, residing in New York, Virginia and Florida. One New York victim lost over $100,000, according to the suit. A Florida woman lost over $300,000.
“Deceiving New Yorkers looking to take on remote work and earn money to support their families is cruel and unacceptable,” she said in a statement. “Scammers sent text messages to New Yorkers promising them good-paying, flexible jobs only to trick them into purchasing cryptocurrency and then stealing it from them.”
James’ suit seeks to return the stolen funds.
Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz said her office’s cryptocurrency unit traced over $2 million in stolen crypto and identified the digital wallets where the coins were being held. Then, working with James’ office, they were able to have the currency frozen until they could be returned to victims.
“Work scams that prey on those seeking legitimate employment not only rob victims of their hard-earned money but also shatter their trust in the job market,” she added.
Arizona
Prosecutors seek death penalty after 2-year pause in executions
PHOENIX (AP) — Prosecutors in Arizona are seeking to execute a prisoner in what would mark the state’s first use of the death penalty after a two-year pause. The Arizona Attorney General’s Office asked the state Supreme Court on Friday to issue a warrant for the execution of Aaron Brian Gunches, who pleaded guilty to murder in 2007.
The court had issued a death warrant for Gunches nearly two years ago, but the sentence wasn’t carried out because the state’s Democratic attorney general agreed not to pursue executions during a review of the state’s death penalty protocol.
The review ended in November when Democratic Gov. Katie Hobbs dismissed the retired federal magistrate she had appointed to examine execution procedures.
In Friday’s filing, prosecutors said the state is prepared to carry out the execution and that Gunches has waived a state post-conviction review of his case and failed to start a federal constitutional review.
Gunches, who isn’t a lawyer but is representing himself, had asked the court last week to skip legal formalities and schedule his execution earlier than authorities had planned, saying his death sentence was “long overdue.” The state Supreme Court later rejected his request.
The Associated Press left a phone message on Friday with Emily Skinner, a death penalty lawyer who is serving as Gunches’ advisory counsel.
Gunches pleaded guilty to a murder charge in the 2002 shooting death of Ted Price, his girlfriend’s ex-husband, near the Phoenix suburb of Mesa.
Arizona, which has 111 prisoners on death row, last carried out three executions in 2022 following a nearly eight-year hiatus brought on by criticism that a 2014 execution was botched and because of difficulties obtaining drugs for execution.
Since then, the state has been criticized for taking too long to insert an IV for lethal injection into a condemned prisoner in 2022.
Washington
Navy vet cleared of conspiracy charges in Jan. 6 case is sentenced to time served
WASHINGTON (AP) — A retired Navy intelligence officer who was cleared of the most serious charges in his U.S. Capitol attack trial alongside Oath Keepers founder Stewart Rhodes avoided additional time behind bars when he was sentenced on Friday.
Thomas Caldwell was acquitted by a jury in Washington’s federal court of seditious conspiracy and two other conspiracy offenses in one of the most serious cases brought by the Justice Department in the Jan. 6, 2021, attack. And one of two counts he was found guilty on at trial was dismissed in light of a U.S. Supreme Court ruling last year.
Prosecutors had alleged at trial that Caldwell helped coordinate “quick reaction force” teams prosecutors said the Oath Keepers stationed outside the capital city to get weapons into the hands of extremists if they were needed. The weapons were never deployed, and lawyers for the Oath Keepers said they were only there for defensive purposes in case of attacks from left-wing activists.
But Caldwell, who didn’t enter the Capitol, took the witness stand and played down messages he sent leading up to Jan. 6, including one floating the idea about getting a boat to ferry “heavy weapons” across the Potomac River. Caldwell said he was never serious about it, calling it “creative writing.”
His lawyer noted at trial that Caldwell was a disabled veteran who sometimes uses a cane to walk, telling jurors he “couldn’t storm his way out of a paper bag.” Attorney David Fischer argued that there was no plot to attack the Capitol, saying his client wasn’t even planning to go to the building until Trump’s speech on the Ellipse urging his supporters to “fight like hell.”
Prosecutors had sought four years in prison for Caldwell on his remaining obstruction of justice offense conviction for deleting messages after the riot. Prosecutors described him in court papers as “an avid and willing participant in an unprecedented crime.”
Caldwell’s attorney told U.S. District Judge Amit Mehta in court documents that his client’s acquittal on the conspiracy charges and “military service that resulted in a lifetime of debilitating injuries” call for a sentence of time served. He spent more than 50 days behind bars after his 2021 arrest.
“Mr. Caldwell was cleared of the four most serious counts and sentenced to no additional jail time by a highly respected federal judge,” Fischer said in an email. “Obviously, he should be considered for a pardon by President Trump.”
Trump has suggested he will pardon at least a large portion of the than 1,500 people who have been charged with federal crimes in the largest investigation in Justice Department history.
Rhodes, the Oath Keepers founder, is among 14 defendants who were convicted of seditious conspiracy for what prosecutors said were violent plots to keep Trump in power. Rhodes is serving an 18-year prison sentence.
