Los Angeles Criminal Defense Attorney Blog

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

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 11, 2013

Yuck. Were Your Los Angeles Sex Crime Charges as Disturbing as This Teacher’s?

by Michael Kraut

Whether you were arrested in a Manhattan Beach bathroom on lewd conduct charges or charged with some other sex crime in Los Angeles, you nevertheless still think of yourself as a pretty decent guy (or girl) who made a misjudgment.

You almost certainly resent being categorized among other more serious sex offenders. To that end, you want to do everything possible, legally speaking, to prevent the “sex offender” label from following you around forever, a la the scarlet letter A on Hester Prinne’s chest.

That drive makes sense. After all, consider this Southern California lewd conduct case (that’s equal parts sad and disturbing) as an object lesson.

Published on: March 6, 2013

Fighting Medicare Fraud in Los Angeles Pays Off, Big Time, for Federal Government

by Michael Kraut

A new study shows that the federal government’s vigorous campaign against Medicare fraud in Los Angeles and beyond is paying off — big time.

Over the last three years, the government has returned $7.90 for every $1 invested into the anti-fraud mission. This marks the highest ever return for the Health Care Fraud and Abuse Control Program, a nearly two decade old program, and federal officials are crowing about the numbers. Kathleen Sebelius, the secretary of Health & Human Services, said “our historic effort to take on the criminals who steal from Medicare and Medicaid is paying off. We are gaining the upper hand in our fight against healthcare fraud.”

The antifraud initiative is a collaboration between the Department of Justice and HHS. The Obama administration has lent lots of help to soup up this program and deliver more results. Over the past four years, federal officials recovered nearly $15 billion from scam artists, executives, doctors, pharmaceutical companies, vendors, and others who masterminded or acted complicit with fraudulent schemes. That’s nearly double the amount recovered over the previous four-year period.

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 27, 2013

Analysis of Two Instructive Los Angeles Theft Cases

by Michael Kraut

If you stand accused of a charge like grand theft or petty theft in Los Angeles, pay attention to the following analysis of two recent news stories: their lessons could prove valuable as you construct your defense.

Our first case concerns 36-year-old Veronica Niko of Lancaster, who recently pled guilty to Los Angeles identity theft and tax fraud in federal court. The former L.A. County worker allegedly stole $357,000; she could face 15 years behind bars. The Internal Revenue Service accuses Niko of stealing the SSN numbers and names of 64 people while working for the City of Lancaster. She then used that information to submit false refund claims to the Internal Revenue Service. Niko conspired with her husband and three other people, two of whom have trials pending. Niko’s husband and one other person have pled guilty to the conspiracy charges, and both await sentencing.

This real life Los Angeles identity theft case comes at a relatively ironic time — just as Universal Pictures’ “Identity Theft” is hitting the theaters.

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.

Published on: February 14, 2013

Political World Roiled, as Medicare Fraud Raid Targets Senator Menendez’s Close Friend

by Michael Kraut

A raid on the clinic of Dr. Salomon Melgen — the culmination of a long Medicare fraud investigation — has roiled the political world.

Dr. Melgen is a close friend of New Jersey Sen. Robert Menendez, who flew on the eye doctor’s private jet to the Dominican Republic on three separate occasions. Those acts earned Menendez a slap on the wrist from the Senate Ethics Committee. (Menendez responded by reimbursing the doctor $50,000 for the trips.)

A right wing website, The Daily Caller, has accused Menendez of having relationships with under-aged prostitutes during those trips to the Dominican Republic, allegations the senator strongly denies. According to a spokesperson for his office “all those allegations… of engaging in prostitution are absolutely false… Senator [Menendez] has known Melgen for years, and his travel on Melgen’s plane on three occasions has been reported and reimbursed required by the rules.”

Published on: February 12, 2013

At Least Your Los Angeles Petty Theft Charges Won’t Results in Your Public Execution (Hopefully!)

by Michael Kraut

As someone who was recently been arrested for petty theft in Los Angeles, you’re feeling pretty depressed and terrified. Will you go to jail? Will you be stuck with a criminal record? Will you get fired from your job or get expelled from school? And so forth.

These fears are all reasonable. If you take a less than strategic approach to your petty theft defense, pretty serious punishments can await you. Fortunately, however, you were arrested for petty theft in Southern California and not in Iran.

According to a recent news report, two men who robbed a man with a machete at a market were just publicly hanged for their crime in front of a huge crowd. An Iranian judge accused Alireza Mafiha and Mohammed Ali Sarvari of “waging a war against God” and sentenced them to hang in public. Amnesty International says that Iran executes more people, annually, than almost any country on Earth. Although capital punishment is legal in the Golden State, it’s usually reserved for extreme situations, i.e. for people who commit extremely violent crimes, such as murder. But it’s never, ever used to deal with a petty theft.