Fourth Circuit Appeal Challenges Six-Year Sentence in $10 Million Medicaid Fraud Case

Fourth Circuit Appeal Challenges Six-Year Sentence in $10 Million Medicaid Fraud Case

A former physician assistant, Colby Edward Joyner, has asked the US Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit to overturn his six-year prison sentence for health care fraud and related offenses, arguing that evidentiary rulings at trial prevented a fair defense and improperly influenced the jury’s verdict and the loss calculation used at sentencing.

In a reply brief submitted on October 7, Joyner contends that the district court suppressed critical defense evidence, including written policies of his former employer, telemedicine company MedCare Staffing, which he argues would have shown that others shared responsibility for the alleged scheme. He further argues that the court improperly quashed subpoenas for four defense witnesses based on potential Fifth Amendment concerns without permitting tailored questioning to assess their ability to testify. According to Joyner, these rulings misled the jury into believing he acted alone and allowed the prosecution to criticize the defense’s lack of corroborating evidence.

A jury convicted Joyner in June 2023 of one count of health care fraud and six counts of making false statements related to health care matters. The government alleged he submitted prescriptions and genetic testing orders and billed a substantial portion to Medicaid. Joyner challenges the intended loss calculation, asserting he lacked access to laboratory pricing and could not have known the total potential value of the tests.

The case is USA v. Joyner, No. 24-4565 (4th Cir.).

UK Wine Executive Pleads Guilty in $99 Million Wire Fraud Conspiracy

On October 7, James Wellesley, former CFO and operations manager of a United Kingdom (UK) wine company, pled guilty in the US District Court for the Eastern District of New York to one count of wire fraud conspiracy in a scheme that defrauded investors of nearly $99 million.

According to court documents, from 2017-2019 Wellesley served as chief financial officer and operations manager of Bordeaux Cellars Ltd. and Bordeaux Cellars London Ltd. He and co-defendant Stephen Burton, the company’s founder and chief executive officer, allegedly brokered interest-bearing loans to purported high-net-worth wine collectors, represented as being secured by valuable wine collections. The government alleges the companies were in fact operating as Ponzi schemes. The collateralized wine did not exist or was misrepresented, the borrowers were fictitious, and investor funds were used for personal expenses and to pay earlier investors.

Wellesley was extradited to the United States in July after UK courts authorized his transfer. In denying his initial challenge, a High Court judge noted that approximately $24.3 million of losses were tied to US investors versus $14.3 million to UK investors, with 71 of 141 investors based in the United States and only 21 in the UK Wellesley was arraigned on wire fraud and money laundering charges following extradition.

The case is US v. Stephen Burton et al., No. 1:22-cr-00079 (E.D.N.Y.).

Former Olympic Sprinter Sentenced for Doping Conspiracy and COVID-19 Loan Fraud

On October 7, a federal court sentenced former Olympic sprinter Dewayne Barrett to 18 months’ imprisonment for his role in a doping scheme and for fraudulently obtaining COVID-19 business loans.

According to the government, Barrett used the identities of more than 70 individuals in 2020 and 2021 to apply for approximately $3 million in Small Business Administration loans, successfully securing $1.8 million. The government alleges that Barrett received roughly $2,000 per approved loan. Although the defense cited pandemic-related financial hardship arising from the collapse of Barrett’s personal training business, the court rejected that justification, calling it a “crime of greed over an extended period of time.”

The 18-month sentence is less than the 30-month term prosecutors originally sought. Wright pleaded guilty in April and is scheduled for sentencing in December.

The case is US v. Barrett et al., No. 1:23-cr-00623 (S.D.N.Y.).