Two brothers who waited six years to claim a $5 million New York scratch-off lottery prize have been charged with scamming the ticket off the real winner.

Andy N. Ashkar, 34, of Camillus, and Nayel N. Ashkar, 36, of Cicero, were arrested Tuesday, accused of conspiring to falsely claim the big prize as their own, authorities announced.

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In a news release, Onondaga County District Attorney William J. Fitzpatrick said the real winner bought the ticket at the Green Ale Market, a convenience store in Syracuse owned by the Ashkars’ parents, in October 2006 -- only to be swindled out of it shortly thereafter:

“It is alleged that Andy Ashkar falsely informed this person that he had won $5,000 on said ticket, when in reality said ticket was a $5,000,000 winner. Andy Ashkar allegedly gave the rightful winner $4,000 for his ‘winning’ ticket, keeping $1,000 as a ‘fee.’

"It is further alleged that Andy Ashkar then conspired with his brother Nayel to illegally claim the $5,000,000 from the NYS Lottery Division, even going so far as to inquire if they could ‘avoid the press conference required’ if they accepted less money.”

According to prosecutors, the brothers, who are Palestinian immigrants, tried to cash in on the prize on March 1 at state lottery offices in Schenectady. The prize would have expired March 12.

They were told a security check had to be completed before the winnings could be distributed.

Lottery officials, suspecting something was amiss, then “planted” a story that was picked up by the media about the brothers and the $5 million ticket. They also notified the district attorney’s office about their suspicions.

The press release issued by the state lottery on Oct. 16 was unusual in that it disclosed a lot more information than customary about the purported winners. Usually, the lottery waits to announce a winner’s identity at a press conference.

“Nobody put a fast one over on us,” John Lammers, the enterprise editor of The Post-Standard of Syracuse, told The New York Times.  “We were suspicious of this from the get-go. Something was going on.

“We put it on the front page because of all the red flags, and our readers got it immediately.”

In a follow-up Oct. 21 story, the Post-Standard noted that the brothers still hadn’t scheduled a press conference, as required by lottery rules to collect their winnings. They hadn’t responded to phone calls and emails from lottery officials to set it up, lottery spokeswoman Carolyn Hapeman told the newspaper at the time.

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Lottery officials said it’s routine for the lottery’s security unit to investigate for possible fraud whenever the winner is someone related to the owner of the outlet that sold the winning ticket.

“It’s part of our routine procedure to put that on retailer hold, where our investigators contact the folks who presented the winning ticket, and also the people from the store,” Hapeman told the Post-Standard.

She called the six-year lapse before claiming such a big prize “highly unusual.”

In the lottery’s Oct. 16 press release, officials said Andy Ashkar delayed redeeming the ticket until March of this year “out of concern that the winning ticket could negatively influence his life if he did not plan properly before being publicly introduced. Most notably, Ashkar said he did not want the winning ticket to influence his engagement and subsequent marriage. The younger brother also said that during that time, he decided to share his winnings with his brother, Nayel, to show his appreciation for all that Nayel had done for him during his life.”

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Fitzpatrick, the DA, said the story was put out by the lottery’s security division in an attempt to have the real winner come forward.

The actual winner has since come forward and is cooperating with authorities, Fitzpatrick said.

Both Ashkar brothers work as managers at separate central New York auto dealerships, according to The Associated Press. Calls to phone numbers listed for the brothers went unanswered Wednesday morning, as did a call to the convenience store owned by their parents.

The brothers are charged with attempted second-degree grand larceny and fourth-degree conspiracy. Andy Ashkar also is charged with first-degree criminal possession of stolen property.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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As the first of what could be a million or more undocumented young immigrants applies for deportation relief this week under a new Obama administration policy, government, law enforcement and legal officials are warning them not to fall victim to unscrupulous immigration “consultants” ready to scam them.

So-called “notarios” operating in Spanish-speaking communities, some hiding under the guise of travel agencies, translation services and other businesses, are offering to help undocumented immigrants navigate the process of applying for relief under the Obama program, known as Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals or DACA.

Notarios can charge hefty fees for services that are unnecessary or that they are not legally authorized to provide, officials say.

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“Don’t Get Scammed!” reads a consumer advisory posted by the American Immigration Lawyers Association, which has held conference calls with U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services officials about notario fraud.

The association has also established a website, stopnotariofraud.org, aimed at keeping immigrants from being victimized. The website warns in bold letters: “Notarios will take your money and your dreams!”

“It’s pervasive,” says Josh Deere, a Colorado immigration attorney with the firm Hanes Hrbacek & Bartels. “We talk to people almost every day who have at one point or another had contact with or hired these people who are unlicensed.”

Nevada Attorney General Catherine Cortez Masto is among a host of public officials who have warned about the proliferation of immigration services scams as the new deferral policy goes into effect Wednesday.

“Notarios cannot make eligibility decisions for those seeking advice on their immigration status,” Masto said in a press release last month. “Receiving the wrong advice can hurt you. Be wary of the often unscrupulous notaries and those, especially non-licensed attorneys offering help with immigration services.”

Chasing a 'dream': Immigrant youth seek legal status

What's in a word
The Spanish word “notario” has different meanings in different parts of the world. In some Latin American countries, “notario” refers to a lawyer with special credentials. In Hispanic communities in the U.S., unlicensed, underground notarios have been peddling legal services or offering to help fill out the application forms for young undocumented immigrants seeking a reprieve and work permits under the new Obama policy.

People who need help with immigration issues should be careful before paying money to anyone who is neither an attorney nor an accredited representative of a recognized organization,” Masto said. “Scammers exploit the word ‘notario.’”

In New York, Gov. Andrew Cuomo plans to set aside $600,000 for a legal team of immigration lawyers who will help undocumented immigrants who apply under the new policy. It’s part of a state plan aimed at shielding illegal immigrants from fraud.

“I think there is going to be a great deal of fraud, and these young people are going to need a great deal of help responding with the kinds of documents the federal government is going to require from them,” New York Secretary of the State Cesar A. Perales, was quoted as saying in The New York Times.

“It became clear to us that this was going to be a golden opportunity for scammers.”

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“Immigration consultants run rampant throughout the immigrant community. New immigrants get confused and believe that an American Notary has the same power and place in our society as that of a Notario in their country,” New Jersey-based immigration lawyer Moses Apsan recently wrote. “The immigrant believing that a Notario is the same as a licensed lawyer, hires the Notario and in many cases, find themselves in legal  ‘hot water.’”

In a  follow-up telephone interview, Apsan added: "I’m really worried that they’re all going to take advantage of these kids and get them to lie or submit phony documents."

The DACA program, announced by Obama in June, provides temporary deportation relief and work permits to young undocumented immigrants who meet certain criteria. Unlike the better-known DREAM Act, legislation that has never passed Congress, DACA does not offer a path to citizenship.

The Migration Policy Institute estimates that as many as 1.76 million people could be eligible for an extra two years in the U.S. under the new DACA policy. Each applicant must pay a $465 filing fee to the government.

Misspeak?
The potential for fraud in the immigrant communities has even caused a rift between politicians and lawyers.

Earlier this month, Sen. Dick Durbin and Rep. Luis Gutierrez, both Illinois Democrats who have been longtime advocates of immigration reform, put out a video – with Spanish and English versions – outlining who would qualify for deferred status. In the video, they told constituents to be wary of notario fraud.

“Do not hire a lawyer or pay a notario,” Durbin stated in the video. “… Virtually everyone will be able to go through the process without a lawyer.”

NBC Latino: Tips on filing a successful deferred action application

Lawyers quickly blasted the lawmakers’ message as misguided and doing a disservice to the class of people they are ostensibly trying to help.

Karin Wolman, a New York immigration attorney, said the video perpetuated “a dangerous source of confusion” between unscrupulous notaries and trained, licensed attorneys.

“This is a one-shot opportunity. Applicants must get it right on the first try, or else they face a discretionary denial that is final and cannot be reviewed,” she wrote in a blog post. 

Durbin and Gutierrez pulled the video after receiving a torrent of complaints from immigration attorneys and others.

“I think it became clear that he overstepped the bounds of common sense,” Wolman said of Durbin.

The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services website (www.uscis.gov/avoidscams) includes tips on filing forms, reporting scams and finding accredited legal services.

The agency will begin accepting Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals applications on Wednesday.

The requirements for applicants:

1. Were under the age of 31 as of June 15, 2012.

2. Came to the United States before reaching your 16th birthday.

3. Have continuously resided in the United States since June 15, 2007, up to the present time.

4. Were physically present in the United States on June 15, 2012, and at the time of making your request for consideration of deferred action with USCIS.

5. Entered without inspection before June 15, 2012, or your lawful immigration status expired as of June 15, 2012.

6. Are currently in school, have graduated or obtained a certificate of completion from high school, have obtained a general education development (GED) certificate, or are an honorably discharged veteran of the Coast Guard or Armed Forces of the United States.

7. And have not been convicted of a felony, significant misdemeanor, three or more other misdemeanors, and do not otherwise pose a threat to national security or public safety.

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SALEM, Ore. -- A 25-year-old woman who duped the state of Oregon into giving her a $2.1 million tax refund pleaded guilty Tuesday and was sentenced to 5 1/2 years in prison. 

Krystle Marie Reyes, of Salem, entered guilty pleas to one felony count of tax evasion and three counts of felony fraud. She had faced eight felony charges.

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Reyes' court-appointed lawyer, Gale Rieder, said her client faced "overwhelming" evidence, The Oregonian reported.

Rieder said her client "wanted to take responsibility for what she'd done."

"She's remorseful and saddened by the impact on her family," the lawyer said. "She has no criminal history."

$2.1M tax refund, $150K shopping spree: Alleged scammer charged

The woman received the refund on a debit card and spent about $150,000 before twice reporting the card lost or stolen. At that point the ruse was discovered. The state has recovered about $1.9 million of the money.

An Oregon Department of Revenue spokesman said Tuesday that the findings of an internal agency audit would be released Wednesday.

Reyes filed an electronic tax return in late January via Turbo Tax, erroneously reporting earnings of more than $3 million, authorities have said. Her request for a $2.1 million refund was initially red-flagged by an automated system.

1999 Dodge Caravan
The Oregonian quoted from a 24-page search warrant affidavit regarding what happened next. 

The return was set aside for review by processing staff and managers for potential fraud. But "some time later," the affidavit said, a Revenue employee overrode the flagged payment and the refund was issued.

By policy, three agency employees are required to verify the override, the newspaper said. However, according to the affidavit, no one responsible for reviewing the return opened the file to look at it or looked at the W-2 form Reyes filed.

Reyes previously worked at retirement facilities or senior care homes and reported income of less than $15,000 per year in 2009 and 2010, records show.

Before her June 6 arrest, Reyes' spending spree included about $1,800 in cash to buy a 1999 Dodge Caravan and spending $851 on tires and wheels.

The affidavit says other purchases included a queen-sized air mattress, a deep fryer, an air conditioner and a cream and gray floral rug. She bought a sofa and recliner with brown leather trim.

Andrew Campbell, a senior assistant state attorney general who filed the charges against Reyes, declined to comment on Tuesday's plea deal.

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The letter warned the recipient that she still hadn't responded to that great offer from "US Airlines" of two free airline tickets, and time was running out. Call the toll-free number now! it urged.

Fortunately, Red Tape reader Mary McNamara ignored it and passed it on to me. But somebody must be calling the enclosed toll free number, because the "great airline ticket giveaway" just won't go away. Complaints about it can be found across the web from a couple of days ago, and from at least two years ago.

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Let's take care of the basics first. There is no airline called "US Airlines" -- you're thinking of U.S. Airways. That’s no accident; that’s a technique. A variation of the letter is from "American Airways," a bastardized version of American Airlines. Call the number, and you don't get two free airline tickets; you get invited to a 90-minute presentation where you will be encouraged to join a travel club.

 

In the words of travel expert and consumer advocate Chris Elliot: "I have yet to find a travel club that is legitimate."

I called the toll free number and was told I had to travel from Seattle to Portland to attend a meeting before I could receive my free tickets. But the operator, who identified himself as Josh, gave me the option of calling a friend or relative in the Chicago area and sending that person on my behalf to a meeting there. Thanks to their generous referral program, he said, I'd get free tickets just for talking a (soon to be former) friend into attending.

To save yourself the trouble of calling and listening to the pitch, someone recorded their call and posted it on YouTube.

Elliot, by the way, also received one of these free airline ticket letters recently, and wrote about it on his blog.

The free ticket letter offering has been around for at least two years, and inspired a lot of complaints in April 2011. It is such a nuisance that U.S. Airways had to post a "scam alert" on its website.

A representative to the airline told me that she's worked in the company's public relations department for seven years, and the free ticket letter "just kind of resurfaces from time to time." She reiterated, with a heavy sigh, that the airline was in no way affiliated with the offer.

Why would such an offer persist for years, despite all the warnings about it?

"People don't pay attention to details," said Elliot, also the author of the book, “Scammed.”  "US Airlines could exist, and the victims are quickly seduced by the offer. In other words, this thing is still around because it works."

When I asked "Josh" for more details, he said he was working for a company named Universal Travel Deals. The point of the 90-minute meeting -- he called it a "meet and greet" -- was to drum up business for local travel agencies, he said.

"Hopefully, to get people to book travel through them, rather than through those websites, like Travelocity or Expedia," Josh said. 

There are also complaints about Universal Travel Deals in various consumer sites online. When I called the number for a firm named Universal Travel Deals in a Chicago suburb called Tinley Park, a woman who answered confirmed her company was managing free airline ticket offers. When I said I was a reporter, she took my name and number and said she'd have someone return my call. I’m still waiting.

Elliot said he's seen various telephone numbers come and go for the offer, which is a sign that something is wrong.

"The numbers have changed, which suggests to me that they may be moving from state to state," he said. "That's a common tactic to stay a step ahead of state regulators. My guess is this isn't a big enough fish for the Feds to get involved. Either that, or the FTC hasn't received enough complaints about it."

Do letter recipients ever end up with free airline ticket vouchers? That’s unclear, but this much is certain: nothing is really free in this world, and certainly not airline tickets. Letter recipients never get anything just by calling. They have to attend sales meetings, which, according to the few stories posted online by people who claim they’ve attended, exact their own costs.

If you receive an offer like this, please do three things.

1) Read it carefully. It's good practice to find the misleading elements, such as names like "US Airlines."

2) Throw it out and ignore it

3) Complain to your state attorney general and the Federal Trade Commission so someone actually takes a close look what's going on. (Here's a handy contact list for state attorneys general).

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PORTLAND, Ore. -- An Oregon woman was charged Wednesday with duping the state into giving her a $2.1 million tax refund that allowed her to go on a short-lived spending spree — an alleged scam that has prompted embarrassed state revenue officials to review how they process tax returns.

Krystle Reyes, 25, of Salem, filed an electronic return in January via Turbo Tax, reporting erroneous earnings of $3 million, authorities said. Her request for a $2.1 million refund was initially red-flagged by an automated system, but a subsequent manual review by Oregon revenue department workers OK'd the refund. Turbo Tax then loaded the full amount onto a debit card for Reyes.

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Authorities say she spent $150,000 of the funds before reporting the card lost or stolen, at which point the ruse was discovered. The state has recovered roughly $1.9 million of the funds.

Reyes was arrested June 6, and now faces eight felony charges. In addition to tax evasion and theft charges, she is accused of computer crime and methamphetamine possession. She is scheduled to be arraigned on July 5.

Attempts by The Associated Press to reach Reyes, who is no longer in custody, have been unsuccessful and it was not clear if she has an attorney. Officials also have not released the allegedly falsified tax return because of confidentiality laws pertaining to tax matters.

Andrew Campbell, a senior assistant attorney general who filed the charges, has not responded to AP's requests for interviews.

A list of what Reyes purchased during the spending spree has not been provided, but police said video surveillance showed her swiping the debit card at various stores in the Salem area. Despite being a millionaire for a few months, Reyes paid $2,000 cash to buy a 1999 Dodge Caravan, the vehicle she had been seen driving in the month before her arrest.

'Human error'
The Revenue Department, which processes $7 billion in tax returns, is understaffed because of budget cuts and has an old computer system. But agency spokesman Derrick Gasperini said neither of those issues was to blame for what he described as a "human error."

The agency plans to release more details about its apparent blunder in the coming days, and how it plans to prevent a recurrence. There has been no evidence linking Reyes to anyone inside the agency, but officials want to make sure its internal controls limit the possibility of collusion.

"Catching this one, we all are concerned — here at the agency as well as the public — about 'is this part of a larger scheme, and who's involved in that larger scheme and does it involve anyone inside our walls?" Gasperini said.

State Sen. Ginny Burdick, D-Portland, the chairwoman of the Senate Revenue and Finance Committee, has said she plans to hold a hearing on the matter this summer.

"I'm not on a witch hunt, but I'm just very, very concerned that something this flagrant could have gotten through the process," she said. "We need to understand why it happened and what is going to be done differently."

State Rep. Vicki Berger, R-Salem, co-chair of the House Revenue Committee, told the Oregonian when Reyes was arrested that the revenue department "had some explaining to do."

"Is this is an anomaly? If so, let's make sure it never happens again," she said. "Or do we have a systematic problem in the way the Department of Revenue treats this and other transactions?"

Following the arrest, the agency reexamined the returns of 108 people who received a refund of at least $50,000 during the current processing season, and no new instances of fraud were uncovered.

According to the Oregonian, the state reported $559 million in delinquent taxes in 2010, primarily from unpaid personal and corporate income taxes.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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James M. Woosley, former Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) intelligence chief, pleaded guilty on Tuesday to an elaborate scam over several years involving false travel expense reports totaling nearly $600,000.

Woosley must surrender more than $180,000 he made in a scheme that also included several other ICE employees and contractors, federal prosecutors said.

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The former federal employees all pleaded guilty to submitting false receipts and vouchers for reimbursement of travel expenses and time worked, according to court documents. 

“Today James Woosley became the fifth — and highest-ranking — individual to plead guilty as part of a series of fraud schemes among rogue employees and contractors at ICE,” said U.S. Attorney Ronald Machen said in a statement. “He abused his sensitive position of trust to fleece the government by submitting phony paperwork for and taking kickbacks from subordinates who were also on the take.”

Sentencing was scheduled for July 13. Woosley could serve 18 to 27 months in prison, and faces a potential fine.

 

Four others previously pleaded guilty in the case, including Lateisha Rollerson, 38, whom Woosley had groomed to become an employee, at times lived with him and later went on to become his personal assistant. As part of her plea agreement in March, Rollerson was ordered to forfeit $295,000 gained in the fraud.

Also convicted were Ahmed Adil Abdallat, William J. Korn and Stephen E. Henderson, all close associates of Woosley who also took part in falsifying travel documents, according to court records.

The fraud began when Henderson, an ICE contractor, asked Rollerson to make up fake hotel receipts for travel, which were approved by Woosley, and submitted online through the federal government's voucher system.

From that point in June of 2008 to October of 2010, Rollerson submitted numerous fraudulent travel receipts, with a portion of the money kicked back to Woosley and other employees.  Woosley used some of the money to buy a boat, according to court records.

In September of 2008, Woosley and his assistant came up with a scheme to live in a rental house in the tony Washington suburb of Alexandria, Va., rent free, court records show. Rent on the house was paid for by having Korn, who was based in Tucson, Ariz., submit false claims for temporary duty expenses at a hotel lodging rate. The hotel lodging rate was some $3,000 more per month than the rent on the home. Henderson as well as Woosley’s sons also at times lived in the house.

In another prong of the scheme, ICE employee Abdallat, who had a long association with Woosley and was based in El Paso, Texas, traveled to Washington, D.C., on extended temporary duty at Woosley’s request. He stayed in a private residence with his girlfriend but submitted fraudulent travel bills for hotel stays of more than $115,000, according to court documents. Some of that money was kept by Abdallat, but more than half went to Woosley, Rollerson and Woosley’s son.

 

According to a Washington Post, Woosley spent 28 years working in federal law enforcement, primarily with the Immigration and Naturalization Service, which later became ICE, then a division of the Department of Homeland Security.

In 2009, Woosley was named the head of ICE intelligence effort. At one point in his career he served as ICE’s interim director for Intelligence.

 

Woosley was relieved of his position in February, 2011.

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A 25-year-old woman was indicted Tuesday on fraud and larceny charges for posing as a terminally ill bride to scam donations for a dream wedding and honeymoon on Aruba.

An Orange County grand jury indicted Jessica Vega, a former resident of New York's Montgomery County, according to New York State Attorney General Eric Schneiderman’s office. Vega is charged with six felonies and one misdemeanor.

“By pretending to have a terminal illness, Vega inexcusably took advantage of the community's hearts and minds, and profited off of their generosity,” Schneiderman said in a statement. “Our office will hold this individual accountable for fleecing the public through lies and deception.” 

According to the indictment, Vega accepted thousands of dollars in donated services and goods after claiming in 2010 that she was dying of leukemia.

Her story was so convincing that the Times Herald-Record, in Middletown, N.Y., published an article on Vega's wedding wish, which newspaper officials say helped raise even more donations for the then-23-year-old who said her dream was to marry Michael O'Connell, father of her daughter, before she died.

They married in May 2010 and the couple spent their honeymoon in Aruba. Four months later, O'Connell told the Times Herald-Record that Vega was faking cancer, the newspaper reported.

Read 2010 story, view images, about the hoax

The couple divorced, and O'Connell moved to Virginia, the newspaper reported. He told a Times Herald-Record reporter that he later helped her join him there to help turn her life around. They have two children.

“She's a good mom, and that's all that counts at the end of the day,” O'Connell told the Times Herald-Record. “I want my kids to have their mother back.”

She's being held in county jail on $10,000 bail. If convicted, she faces up to four years in prison.

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DALLAS — The owner of a Texas-based medical service provider is among seven people indicted in what authorities say is the largest health care fraud scheme in U.S. history, bilking Medicare and Medicaid of nearly $375 million.

The federal indictment alleges Dr. Jacque Roy, who owns Medistat Group Associates in DeSoto, of leading a scheme that billed Medicare for home health services that were not medically necessary or were not done.

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The indictment alleges that from January 2006 through November 2011, Roy or others in the scheme certified more Medicare beneficiaries for home health services and had more patients than any other medical practice in the U.S.

Roy, 54, and the other defendants, who have been taken into custody, were expected to appear Tuesday afternoon before a judge in Dallas federal court. Others charged in the scheme include owners and employees of health care businesses.

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services also announced the suspension of an additional 78 home health agencies associated with Roy based on credible allegations of fraud against them.

U.S. Attorney Sarah Saldana said that Roy used the home health agencies as "his soldiers on the ground to go door to door to recruit Medicare beneficiaries."

“Dr. Roy and his co-conspirators, for years, ran a well-oiled fraudulent enterprise in the Dallas area, making millions by recruiting thousands of patients for unnecessary services and billing Medicare for those services,” according to the indictment. “One defendant allegedly paid recruiters $50 for each beneficiary the recruiters could deliver from a Dallas-area homeless shelter.”

A person answering calls at Medistat in DeSoto declined to speak with msnbc.com.

Health care fraud is estimated to cost the government at least $60 billion a year, mainly in losses to Medicare and Medicaid.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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A New Jersey man who skipped town after he was accused of bilking money from nuns was captured in Las Vegas on Monday, the Philadelphia Daily News reported.

In November, Adriano Sotomayor, 54, was indicted by federal prosecutors on 13 counts of mail fraud. He allegedly scammed more than $439,000 from the Dominican Sisters of the Rosary of Fatima and others between May 2009 and June 2011 through a bogus will scheme, according to the FBI.

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The Dominican Sisters of the Rosary of Fatima operates out of Puerto Rico and has members in cities in the Philadelphia-South Jersey area.

Sotomayor allegedly persuaded an elderly nun that she had been named a beneficiary in a will of an estate estimated at $2.1 million, the indictment said.

He reportedly was able to lure the nun by telling her the man notifying her of the will was a priest, and the person leaving the will was a parishioner.

Sotomayor, according to prosecutors, induced the nun to send him $255,379 from May 30, 2009 to February 4, 2010 by telling her she needed to pay taxes and other fees associated with the bogus will.

He also allegedly targeted other victims as well with a similar scam. Some of the money was sent by wire transfers to Atlantic City casinos, according to prosecutors.

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