In case you’re asking that query, the reply is sure. Fraud is a severe crime on the federal or state stage and might result in a prolonged jail sentence, a excessive effective or each.
In truth, a Houston man was simply sentenced to 21 months in federal jail and ordered to pay $11 million in restitution after being convicted of conspiracy to defraud the federal authorities.
That sentence stemmed from a plea deal for the crime of conspiracy to defraud the federal authorities. It’s referred to as a white-collar crime on the premise of being a non-violent offense involving things like fraud, theft, bribery, embezzlement or associated crimes.
In keeping with the Houston Chronicle and Becker’s Hospital Evaluate, Syed Rizwan Mohiuddin, 57, was sentenced at a listening to on January 18, 2024, by U.S. District Choose Keith Ellison.
Switching to at least one responsible plea enabled deal
In 2018, Mohiuddin pleaded not responsible to five federal fraud costs towards him, together with conspiracy, wire fraud, financial institution fraud and financial transactions in criminally derived property.
Nevertheless, as a part of the plea deal made in September 2023, 4 of the 5 costs have been dropped, and Mohiuddin pleaded responsible solely to the conspiracy cost, in response to the U.S. Lawyer’s Workplace for the Southern District of Texas.
The plea deal additionally offered that Mohiuddin, who’d been CEO and as soon as majority proprietor of United Memorial Medical Middle, serve 3 years of supervised launch (probation) upon his launch from jail.
$8 million mortgage was based mostly on fraudulent information
He and an unnamed co-defendant reportedly obtained an $8 million mortgage in 2010 on the premise of fraudulent information (a lien on 6 acres of property at 5000 Richmond Avenue). The co-defendant’s identify was redacted, and lots of filings within the case stay sealed.
In keeping with the indictment, the co-defendant then reportedly created a checking account for the fund and transferred $6.9 million of it into one other account, this time for Think about Hospitality, a enterprise created and owned by Mohiuddin.
The federal prosecutors’ case was supported by info offered by Constancy Nationwide Monetary, a title insurance coverage firm that has sought funds from Mohiuddin over a number of allegations of fraud.
Mohiuddin reportedly paid $6.1 million in 2022 to settle a chapter case after Constancy Nationwide Monetary compelled him to start out chapter proceedings. However Constancy and different insurance coverage corporations declare that Mohiuddin nonetheless owes greater than $30 million, in response to courtroom information.
As prosecutors in 2018 asserted, Mohiuddin “participated in quite a few different fraudulent mortgage transactions” related to the fees.
Hospital additionally ordered to pay
Individually, United Memorial Medical Middle has been ordered to pay greater than $2 million to settle allegations that Mohiuddin profited from a billing scheme.
The hospital reportedly obtained tens of millions of {dollars} when it overcharged the federal authorities for affected person care through the COVID-19 pandemic and likewise double-billed the federal government for COVID-19 checks, in response to a March 2022 whistleblower’s criticism.
Mohiuddin was accused of making the most of the alleged billing scheme at United Memorial Medical Middle, a Northside hospital that had a number of areas in Houston. The hospital finally misplaced its Medicare contract and closed most of its operations after federal and state surveyors discovered security deficiencies that positioned sufferers in jeopardy.
What are my rights in a white-collar crime case?
In case you or a liked one in Texas faces such a cost or another cost for a so-called white-collar crime, you could be questioning what constitutional rights you’ve got when combating prison costs, ideally with assist from a expert prison protection lawyer.
Your constitutional rights in prison defenses embody your 4th Modification proper to guard you from unlawful searches and seizures by legislation enforcement authorities who lack possible trigger to take action.
In addition they embody your fifth Modification proper to stay silent and never incriminate your self when questioned, both by legislation enforcement authorities upon arrest or by prosecutors at trial. You even have a fifth Modification proper towards double jeopardy, which implies you can’t be tried twice for a similar crime.
Nonetheless, extra rights embody your sixth Modification proper to illustration by an legal professional, proper to a speedy trial, proper to a public jury trial and proper to confront witnesses, and your eighth Modification proper for cheap bail from jail to be set when you await trial, and your proper to be free from receiving merciless and weird punishment.
Get an skilled Houston-area white-collar protection lawyer
Individuals residing in Houston, The Woodlands, Conroe, Katy, Sugar Land or elsewhere within the Houston space should get a talented and skilled Houston-area white-collar prison protection lawyer to guard their authorized rights.
In addition to fraud, theft, embezzlement and bribery, white-collar prison offenses can embody:
- Conspiracy
- Antitrust violations
- Mental property theft
- Financial institution fraud
- Mail fraud
- Wire fraud
Such offenses can result in costs on the federal stage or the state stage. Our legislation agency can battle in your authorized rights in each arenas.
Certainly, Houston’s Neal Davis Legislation Agency has years of expertise in white-collar crime protection, whether or not in a federal courtroom or a state courtroom in Texas. Such expertise has concerned standing up for defendants who confronted costs comparable to fraud or theft, which has usually led to getting a cost dropped or diminished in pre-trial settlement agreements.
If a case does go to trial, our educated legislation agency employs defenses and methods that may shield your authorized rights and work towards a positive verdict in your behalf.
Contact us at the moment on the award-winning Neal Davis Legislation Agency—a agency that’s well known for its talent in dealing with white-collar prison protection—to rearrange a personal session in your case.
