In a courtroom in Pennsylvania, Pennsylvania Supreme Court Justice Kevin Dougherty was present for the federal sentencing of his brother, John Dougherty, a former Philadelphia labor leader. John Dougherty was being sentenced for bribing a City Council member and stealing nearly $600,000 from the union he ran. Kevin Dougherty was convicted in December of embezzlement, conspiracy, and other counts. Prosecutors argued for a lengthy prison term, while supporters of John Dougherty testified about his charitable works and union advocacy. U.S. District Judge Jeffrey L. Schmehl is expected to hand down the sentence later today. [4f1f9284]
Meanwhile, in the ongoing NYC bribery scandal, five people have been charged for attempting to bribe a juror in one of the largest pandemic aid fraud cases in the US. The attempted bribe disrupted the trial of seven Minnesota defendants accused of stealing over $40 million from a federal program meant to feed children during the pandemic. The bribe, which amounted to $120,000 in cash, was handed to a relative of the juror. The juror promptly reported the incident to the police, and the bag of cash was given to authorities. The FBI is currently investigating the attempted bribe and has conducted raids on the homes of several defendants.
So far, a total of 70 people have been charged in connection with the fraud scheme, with 18 of them having pleaded guilty. The defendants are accused of exploiting lax rules during the pandemic to carry out various fraudulent activities, including producing fake invoices, running shell companies, laundering money, committing passport fraud, and accepting kickbacks. The fraud scheme involved over $250 million in federal funds, of which only $50 million has been recovered. The funds came from the US Department of Agriculture and were administered by the state through partners, including the nonprofit Feeding Our Future. The state education department has faced criticism for its inadequate oversight of the federal program, which allowed the theft to occur.
In addition to these ongoing cases, three executives from a Chicago-based health technology company, Outcome Health, have been sentenced for a scheme that defrauded clients, lenders, and investors of about $1 billion. The executives deceived clients, auditors, lenders, and investors by lying about revenue to obtain customers or financing. Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Nicole Argentieri led the DOJ's Criminal Division in this case. Attorney General Merrick Garland oversees the Justice Department. [a8a4db43]