Woman faked chiropractic services for a prostitution ring
- A woman in San Pedro, Calif., has been charged with running a prostitution ring posing as a chiropractic business and charging millions to the insurance of local dockworkers.
- Sara Victoria, 46, was charged in federal court with one count of conspiracy to commit health care fraud and one count of aggravated identity theft.
- Victoria is accused of owning and operating three businesses in Wilmington and San Pedro that offered chiropractic services and acupuncture treatments, as well as “sexual services,” according to the U.S. Department of Justice.
- Victoria was allegedly aware of the health insurance plan of dockworkers and others working in the shipping industry that covered all chiropractic services with no deductible.
Railroad union officials meet with fed regulators to avoid a strike
- Rail carriers and union officials met with Labor Secretary Marty Walsh in Washington, D.C., to try and reach an agreement to avoid a possible freight rail strike.
- It would be the first national rail strike in 30 years if the sides can’t find some middle ground.
- A national rail strike could be disastrous for the U.S. economy if it shuts down cargo shipments, which could lead to $2 billion in costs per day
- However, most of the 12 railroad unions have reached tentative deals with rail companies.
OSHA releases final report on the death of a fireman
- OSHA issued its final public incident report outlining errors made during the December fire that took the life of Sterling, Ill., firefighter, Lt. Garrett Ramos.
- Sterling and Rock Falls paid a combined $36,000 in fines for “lapses” in each department’s policies and procedures, lapses that contributed to the death of Ramos.
- Ramos died from asphyxia caused by inhalation of products of combustion due to a structure fire, the OSHA report said.
- The only difference between the initial report and the final report, which “was produced as a learning tool for firefighters in Illinois and nationwide,
Labor Dept. secures $1.8M for 478 construction workers
- The U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts has approved the distribution of $1.8 million from court-ordered real estate sales and additional funds to 478 workers.
- These employees were employed by Force Corp., AB Construction Group Inc., Juliano Fernandes and Anderson dos Santos.
- After an investigation, Fernandes, and dos Santos had misclassified the affected employees as independent contractors, the department obtained a 2016 consent judgment and order.
- The defendants withheld $1,179,842.55 in back wages and ordered them to pay an equal amount in liquidated damages, plus interest.