September 11, 2023
A Las Vegas healthcare staffing govt faces new fraud costs after beforehand being indicted for conspiring to repair the wages of nurses, the US Lawyer’s Workplace for the District of Nevada introduced.
On Sept. 6, a federal grand jury in Las Vegas issued a superseding indictment with the brand new costs.
The chief, Eduardo Lopez of Las Vegas, was indicted in March on one depend of conspiring to repair the wages of nurses within the Las Vegas area, in violation of the Sherman Act, in keeping with the workplace. The superseding indictment nonetheless alleges conspiracy to repair wages however provides counts claiming Lopez hid the federal government’s investigation into him in order that he might promote his firm for $10 million.
Lopez bought his healthcare staffing firm for greater than $10 million in December 2021 and falsely represented to the client that federal legislation enforcement was not investigating him or his firm, in keeping with the workplace. Nonetheless, it cited court docket paperwork that indicated Lopez knew he was below investigation and that FBI particular brokers had questioned him, served him with a grand jury subpoena and seized his cellphone.
The earlier indictment targeted on simply the wage-fixing allegations. Lopez held govt positions at three completely different dwelling well being businesses the place he oversaw recruiting, hiring, retention and task of nurses and different healthcare workers, in keeping with the workplace. Lopez and different unnamed co-conspirators allegedly agreed to suppress and remove competitors for the companies of nurses between March 2016 and Could 2019. Particularly, they’re charged with taking part in a collection of conferences to repair wages of nurses.
Violating the Sherman Act carries a most penalty of 10 years in jail and a $1 million tremendous for people, which will be elevated to twice the achieve derived from the crime or twice the loss suffered by victims if both quantity is bigger than the statutory most. Wire fraud violations have a most penalty of 20 years in jail.
