Pre-Filing Investigations

Published on: April 15, 2013

The Deeper (And Far Less Petty) Roots of Your Los Angles Petty Theft Charge

Maybe you’ve personally been hit with a misdemeanor Los Angeles petty theft charge. Or maybe you’re the parent or friend of someone who recently got arrested for shoplifting or stealing small amounts of jewelry.

In either case, you might be extremely tempted to treat this situation as a “one-time event” — a cautionary tale that you can look back on, in 20 or 30 years, and laugh about with your friends at the Country Club. After all, it’s not like you committed grand theft in Los Angeles or hurt someone while driving under the influence of alcohol or engineered a complex Southern California Medicare or MediCal scheme.

You made one mistake — perhaps motivated by peer pressure or just by a strange impulse — and you want to fight the charges and put this ugly event behind you.

Published on: April 10, 2013

After Your Los Angeles Medicare Fraud Arrest: Are You on the Flywheel or the “Doom Loop”?

by Michael Kraut

Ever since authorities began investigating you for Medicare fraud in Southern California, you’ve been overwhelmed, uncertain, and scared for your reputation and your family’s future.

Life, it seems, has taken an unexpected and decidedly unwelcome turn.

Given your hectic state of affairs, you might be laboring under some false assumptions about the trajectory of your life and welfare. In other words, all the legal chaos may bias you into believing that things are “getting worse” or “will get worse” for you.

Published on: April 8, 2013

Disturbing Los Angeles Lewd Conduct News: Did CA Doctor Really Try to Meet Up with a 13 Year Old for Sex?

by Michael Kraut

Los Angeles sex crime news can be extremely disconcerting, whether you’re a parent of young children, a concerned citizen, or even a “fellow” Los Angeles lewd conduct defendant.

As we’ve emphasized before on this blog, the spectrum of sex crime defendants is vast. Just because a police officer arrested you at a bathroom for having consensual sexual relations doesn’t mean you’re anywhere “at the same level” as some other sex offenders.

In that context, let’s consider the sad story of 53-year-old hand surgeon, Dr. Raymond Severt, a doctor from Santa Rosa who faces felony charges for texting a local girl sexually explicit messages. According to allegations, he text messaged a 13-year-old girl from nearby Novato and arranged a meeting with her. To his surprise, he wound up meeting up with local police instead, who arrested him and charged him with attempted lewd and lascivious acts with a child under the age of 14. He also faces a battery of misdemeanors, including attempt to contact a minor with the intent of committing a sexual offense and attempting to annoy or molest a child under age 18.

Published on: April 1, 2013

Los Angeles Petty Theft Cases Can Get Quite Strange. (But This Story Out of Wisconsin Has to be One of the Strangest Yet of 2013)

by Michael Kraut

Los Angeles petty theft cases are often curious — not just because of the legal complexities and the “drama” — but also because of the fascinating “stuff” people choose to steal.

For instance, in 2012, it suddenly became very popular for people to steal bottles of Tide and then sell the detergent on the black market.

Because of the diversity of items that people steal — and the diversity of schemes pulled off — every theft defense case is different.

Published on: March 29, 2013

Very Weird Case Out of New York — Will Your Los Angeles Medicare Fraud Case Be As Bizarre?

by Michael Kraut

Even “straightforward” Los Angeles Medicare fraud schemes often become surprisingly dynamic.

Perhaps you and an associate billed the state or federal government for wheelchairs that you never delivered to patients. Or maybe you constructed a scheme to collect Social Security numbers and patient data and then use that information to purchase pharmaceuticals to sell to a third market supplier.

Even the most carefully wrought, well-protected plans have a funny way of coming undone and leading to surprises not only for investigators but also for defendants themselves.

Published on: March 18, 2013

Not a Good Situation: 35-year-old Mom Hit with Nearly a Dozen Lewd Conduct Charges and Could Face Life Behind Bars

by Michael Kraut

The trickiest things about facing a Los Angeles lewd conduct charge (or sex crime charge anywhere) is breaking the news to friends and family.

A criminal charge is always embarrassing and unpleasant to discuss. But some charges are worse than others. Consider, for instance, the very serious charges facing 35-year-old Courtney Reschke. She stands accused of making illegal sexual contact with eight different teenage boys. All told, she faces 20 criminal counts, including 11 lewd conduct charges. In the state of Idaho, a lewd conduct charge with a minor can be punished by a lifetime behind bars.

Here’s the sordid story, courtesy a local Idaho TV station, KBOI.

Published on: March 14, 2013

Time is Running Out to Build Your Los Angeles Lewd Conduct Defense

by Michael Kraut

Not to alarm you, but every second that ticks by, your Los Angeles lewd conduct defense gets harder and harder.

Whether police arrested you for fornicating in a bathroom on a Santa Monica beach, or you have been investigated for internet-related Los Angeles sex crime charges, time is against you. This ticking clock ticks down in a non-linear fashion, too. That’s an important and poorly appreciated point.

Let’s explore this further — you need to understand this.

Published on: March 4, 2013

Physician Collects $4 Million for Whistleblowing Medicare Fraud. Los Angeles Defendants, Take Note!

by Michael Kraut

As a defendant (or soon-to-be defendant) in a Los Angeles Medicare fraud case, you’re deeply confused and concerned about how your situation will play out.

Maybe the government will overwhelm you with powerful evidence and testimonies. Or maybe surprising witnesses will come forward to “blow the whistle” on your activities.

Sometimes, blowing the whistle can pay off significantly. Consider a case out of Tampa, Florida, where a local physician, Dr. Alan Freedman, just collected $4 million for his part in blowing the whistle on an illicit kickback arrangement between Florida Pathology Laboratory and a dermatologist. The scheme apparently ran for over 15 years. Dr. Steven Wasserman, the dermatologist implicated, settled his case by paying over $26 million.

Published on: February 25, 2013

No More Los Angeles Lewd Conduct Charges for Terminator III Star, Nick Stahl

by Michael Kraut

This is a follow up on our recent post regarding Terminator III actor Nick Stahl’s Los Angeles lewd conduct case.

If you recall from our report several months ago, the young actor got arrested after a police officer saw him committing a “lewd act” at a private booth in an adult store in Hollywood. The same squad that busted Stahl for Hollywood lewd conduct also nabbed comedian Fred Willard. Based on lack of sufficient evidence, prosecutors are dropping the charges against Stahl, per reports from TMZ.com.

The actor has been embroiled in troubles over the past year or so. After going through rehab, Stahl went missing multiple times.

Published on: February 20, 2013

What You Must Do Before You Build a Defense to Los Angeles Medicare Fraud Charges

by Michael Kraut

Whether you’ve been charged with Medicare or Medi-Cal fraud in Los Angeles — or any other fraud or white collar crime in Southern California — you’re at high risk of making a vital mistake that could complicate your case before you begin.

That mistake is this: You might fail to identify, with crystalline clarity, exactly what you and your associates did before, during and after the federal or state investigation.

That sounds like a bit strange.