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United States Attorneys For Southern & Eastern Districts Lead Efforts Locally To Protect Voting Rights
Damian Williams, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, and Breon Peace, the United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York, announced today that Assistant United States Attorneys (“AUSAs”) will lead the efforts of their Offices in connection with the Justice Department’s nationwide Election Day Program for the upcoming November 5, 2024, general election.
In their capacity as District Election Officers (DEOs), AUSAs David Kennedy (Southern District) and Erik Paulsen (Eastern District) are responsible for overseeing the Districts’ handling of Election Day complaints of voting rights concerns, threats of violence to election officials or staff, and election fraud, in consultation with Justice Department Headquarters in Washington, D.C.
U.S. Attorney Damian Williams said: “Free, fair, and accessible elections are critical to democracy, and every voter in the Southern District of New York deserves to cast their vote with confidence in the integrity of our electoral process. We encourage anyone who finds their civic voting protections subject to any attempted undue interference to please contact the numbers below.”
U.S. Attorney Breon Peace said: “A free election is the cornerstone of our democracy and every citizen in the Eastern District of New York must be able to vote and have their votes counted fairly and without interference, discrimination or threat of violence.”
Federal law protects against such crimes as threatening violence against election officials or staff, intimidating or bribing voters, buying and selling votes, impersonating voters, altering vote tallies, stuffing ballot boxes, and marking ballots for voters against their wishes or without their input.
It also contains special protections for the rights of voters, and provides that they can vote free from interference, including intimidation, and other acts designed to prevent or discourage people from voting or voting for the candidate of their choice. The Voting Rights Act protects the right of voters to mark their own ballot or to be assisted by a person of their choice (where voters need assistance because of disability or inability to read or write in English).
In order to respond to complaints of election fraud or voting rights concerns during the voting period that ends on November 5, 2024, and to ensure that such complaints are directed to the appropriate authorities, the U.S. Attorneys said that their Offices will be available to receive complaints at the following numbers through Tuesday, November 5, 2024: (646) 369-4739 (for Manhattan, Bronx, Dutchess, Orange, Putnam, Rockland, Sullivan, and Westchester counties) and (718) 254-6790 (for Brooklyn, Queens, Staten Island, Nassau, and Suffolk counties).
Complaints about possible violations of the federal voting rights laws can be made directly to the Civil Rights Division in Washington, DC by phone at 800-253-3931 or by complaint form at https://civilrights.justice.gov/
In addition, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (“FBI”) will have special agents available in each field office and resident agency throughout the country to receive allegations of election fraud and other election abuses on Election Day. The local FBI field office can be reached by the public at (212) 384-1000.
Complaints about possible violations of the federal voting rights laws can be made directly to the Civil Rights Division in Washington, DC by phone at 800-253-3931 or by complaint form at https://civilrights.justice.gov/
Orange County Supreme Court Upholds Town Of Monroe’s Rejection Of Village Of Seven Springs Petition To Form A New Village
The Orange County Supreme Court has dismissed the lawsuit brought by the Village of Seven Springs Petitioners, determining that the proceeding is moot based on recent amendments to the NYS Village Law and based on deficiencies in the Incorporation Petition identified by Supervisor Anthony Cardone when he rejected the Seven Springs Incorporation Petition.
The Court also rejected a claim against the Town Supervisor, determining that the Supervisor acted properly in rejecting the Village Petition for failing to utilize the legally required method (metes and bounds) for describing proposed Village boundaries.
Supervisor Anthony Cardone said, “I am pleased that the Court has upheld the actions of the Town in this matter and confirmed the authority of a Town Supervisor to reject a facially deficient village incorporation petition. This village incorporation petition was plainly deficient on its face and the Seven Springs Petitioners’ prolonged litigation was nothing more than a house of cards doomed to failure.”
Town Attorney Brian Nugent of Feerick Nugent MacCartney, PLLC said: “The court’s decision was on point in determining that the Seven Springs claims were without merit.”
Prior to changes to state law, New York allowed the formation of a new village with little more than a referendum and a population of at least 500 residents. The law was amended to requires a population threshold of 1500. Also, the law subjected future village proposals to greater scrutiny, including requiring a study to measure the potential impact on local taxes, government finances, and services. And, a state commission now has to decide whether to allow a village referendum to proceed. That panel would conduct two separate studies of feasibility and impact.
Medicaid-Enrolled Transportation Company Stole More Than $2.1 Million In Fraudulent Scheme
The owners of DYD Universe, Inc. (DYD), a New York Medicaid-enrolled transportation company, have pleaded guilty for their roles in a scheme that stole more than $2.1 million from Medicaid and paid illegal kickbacks to Medicaid recipients.
Damir Yuldashev, 64, his son Daler Yuldashev, 38, and Daler’s mother Nigina Iskandarova, 60, all of Monroe, New York, admitted that from April 2018 to March 2023, they stole more than $2.1 million from Medicaid by submitting fraudulent claims for services that they knowingly did not provide and toll charges that they knew were not incurred.
The owners also admitted to paying illegal kickbacks to Medicaid recipients in exchange for providing DYD with their confidential Medicaid identification in order to carry out the scheme. As a result of the pleas, Damir Yuldashev will be sentenced to two to six years in prison and, along with Daler Yuldashev, must pay back over $2.1 million to Medicaid. Daler Yuldashev and Nigina Iskandarova will be sentenced to probation, and all three defendants will be permanently banned from being providers in all government-funded health programs.
“Stealing taxpayer funds that are meant to provide health care for low-income New Yorkers is unacceptable,” said Attorney General Letitia James. “Instead of providing vulnerable patients with the transportation services they needed to get them to their appointments, these individuals exploited Medicaid recipients to carry out their fraud.”
Medicaid recipients who lack access to transportation can use approved transportation providers to travel to and from covered medical services. These providers receive reimbursements from Medicaid for the rides they provide. From April 2018 to March 2023, Daler and Damir Yuldashev billed Medicaid for fictitious trips and added fake tolls to their trips to inflate their costs. DYD’s claims often added toll charges from $15 to as much as $50 when the trip did not actually incur any tolls at all. As a result of their scheme, DYD illegally overcharged Medicaid more than $2.1 million.
To carry out their scheme, the defendants paid Medicaid recipients to sign up with DYD and use fake addresses or drive themselves to their appointments, allowing DYD to either inflate or submit entirely false claims for transportation to Medicaid. These payments were illegal and undermined the businesses of other transportation providers in the Hudson Valley. Some passengers were paid thousands of dollars each to take rides that allowed DYD to collect tens of thousands of dollars in fees per passenger.
All three defendants pleaded guilty in Orange County Court.
As part of their sentence, Damir and Daler Yuldashev must pay $2,127,624 to Medicaid in restitution for their crimes. If they fail to pay restitution as ordered by the Court at sentencing, Damir and Daler Yuldashev will be required to serve additional time in state prison. As a result of their convictions, each defendant is also permanently excluded from being a provider in all government-funded health programs, including Medicaid and Medicare.
