Stupid people of the week

Legendary curves

Haines City police captain among 10 indicted in Veterans Affairs fraud scheme

A captain with the Haines City [Florida] Police Department was arrested on Thursday as part of a Veterans Affairs fraud scheme, according to officials.

The police department said Captain Gabriel Garcia, who was hired back in November 2007, was arrested following an investigation led by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, the Office of the Inspector General and the FBI.

Federal prosecutors said Garcia was arrested alongside 10 other people after a federal grand jury returned a 49-count indictment for defrauding the government to obtain Veterans Affairs disability benefits.

From 2020 to 2025, one of the defendants, Puerto Rican resident Ángel Carrer-Rivera, used his position as a VA employee to access the Veterans Benefits Management System and assign particular claims to VA employees that he supervised, according to court documents.

During this time, prosecutors said he also communicated with co-defendant, Puerto Rican resident Richard Rivera-Maitin, about what false medical conditions should be claimed by specific veterans to get fraudulently obtained disability benefits.

Together, the pair and various veterans caused fraudulent claims for lifetime VA disability benefits to be submitted and approved based on false medical conditions, officials said.

By doing this, prosecutors said the defendants “financially enriched themselves and caused a substantial financial loss to the United States.”

Federal prosecutors said Carrer-Rivera and Rivera-Maitin charged and received payments for facilitating the approval of VA disability applications based on false information. The veterans who participated in the scheme fraudulently received VA disability benefit payments, according to federal investigators.

Garcia, according to prosecutors, was one of the veterans who fraudulently received a 100% disability rating.

The other defendants who are also facing charges include Victor Garcia-Soto, Brenda Garcia (who is the mother of the Haines City police captain), Randolph Báez, José Torres-Rosado, Eladio Pagán, Ignacio Ramos-Class and Félix Arroyo-Rivera.

Source; Fox 13

‘Wrong organ was removed’: Surgeon faces lawsuit over alleged kidney removal error

A Minnesota woman in her 80s is now living with stage 5 kidney disease after a surgeon allegedly removed her kidney during what was supposed to be a routine spleen removal procedure, according to a recently filed lawsuit.

Wendy Rappaport of Plymouth, Minnesota, went to Abbott Northwestern Hospital in March 2022 for treatment of a spleen condition. However, the surgery took an unexpected turn when the surgeon removed her left kidney instead of her spleen, the court documents filed on May 16 claimed.

“The wrong organ was removed,” Rappaport’s attorney Aaron Lawrence told ABC News.

“This never should have happened. We hope that Allina takes responsibility for this negligence instead of blaming the victim,” he said, referring to the Minneapolis-based Allina Health System, of which Abbott Northwestern is a part.

According to the lawsuit, Rappaport was admitted to the hospital on March 24, 2022, for concerns about a possible spleen abscess or rupture. After undergoing initial tests and consulting with doctors, she was scheduled for spleen removal surgery on March 28, 2022.

The lawsuit alleged that Dr. Devon Callahan performed the surgery and instead of removing the spleen, the surgeon removed Rappaport’s healthy left kidney. The legal documents also claimed that the doctor’s post-operative note indicated he had removed an intact spleen.

ABC News reached out to Callahan for comment but has not yet received a response.

The lawsuit stated that Rappaport remained hospitalized for nearly two months until May 25, 2022.

Rappaport’s post-procedure diagnoses included “splenic abscess, left nephrectomy (left kidney removal), respiratory failure, left pleural effusion, and diastolic heart failure,” the court documents stated.

She has since been diagnosed with stage 5 chronic kidney disease, for which she now requires regular dialysis treatment, according to the court documents.

Chronic kidney disease is diagnosed in stages, 1-5. Stage 5 is one of the most advanced stages, at which point the kidneys are close to failure or have completely failed, according to the Cleveland Clinic. After this point, those affected may require dialysis or kidney transplant — at which point they would enter what is termed “end stage” kidney disease.

Rappaport is suing Callahan and Allina Health for the alleged medical mistake.

“While we will not discuss details of a patient’s care due to privacy laws, the court filings don’t accurately reflect the full picture of the patient’s condition, or the life-saving medical care provided,” Allina Health said in a statement to ABC News. “We intend to vigorously defend, in court, the care that was provided.”

The lawsuit seeks monetary damages exceeding $50,000 — though Rappaport’s legal team noted that this figure is just a procedural requirement under Minnesota law, and the actual amount sought will be higher.

“We are seeking fair compensation that exceeds $50,000,” Lawrence explained, clarifying that Minnesota court rules prevent them from specifying the exact amount in their initial complaint.

Source; Yahoo!

Former OC police officer charged with stealing thousands in workers’ comp, faking disability

A former Westminster police officer has been charged with pretending to be disabled — all while dancing and drinking at a music festival, skiing, and even running a 5K.

Nicole Brown faces serious prison time for allegedly stealing hundreds of thousands of dollars in fraudulent workers’ compensation payments after telling her department she was unable to work due to an injury she suffered while on duty in March 2022.

She’s accused of collecting more than $600,000 tax-free, including all medical bills.

Kimberly Edds, the public information officer for the Orange County District Attorney’s Office, said, “For a police officer to engage in that kind of behavior, it’s absolutely disgusting.”

“She suffered a small abrasion to her head. She went to the emergency room that day,” Edds said. “The doctor cleared her without any restrictions on duty. She took a couple days off after that, and then told her department that she had been diagnosed with a traumatic brain injury by a doctor who put her on temporary disability.”

The DA’s office launched an investigation after Brown was caught dancing and drinking at the Stagecoach country music festival.

“People who knew that she was on full disability witnessed her behaving in a way that was not consistent with what she was telling her department,” Edds said. “She was engaged in an incredibly active lifestyle where she was running, skiing, going to Disneyland, doing all these things that she said she could not do while she was working as a police officer.”

Brown’s stepfather, Peter Gregory Schuman — a licensed attorney practicing workers’ compensation defense for insurance carriers — is charged with helping his stepdaughter orchestrate the fraud.

“He was representing her at some of the meetings with the department and her case manager, where he was describing what she was prohibited from doing. She was acting like she couldn’t look at a screen. She was in a dark room. Meanwhile, she was pursuing a master’s in organizational leadership, where it was completely online,” she said.

Brown is now charged with 15 felonies, including making a fraudulent statement to obtain compensation and making fraudulent insurance benefit claims.

Her stepfather is also charged with conspiring and soliciting someone in an unlawful act.

If convicted, Schuman faces up to eight years behind bars. For Brown, if she’s found guilty, she faces up to 22 years in prison.

Source; ABC7

I Had My Tesla Cybertruck on Cruise at 82 MPH and A GA State Patrol Gave Me a Ticket For Going 89 MPH, Says Anything Over 85 Is a ‘Super-Speeder’ Fine

Was this Tesla Cybertruck targeted by the Georgia State Patrol?

“I was given a ‘super-speeder’ ticket in Georgia. The State Patrol officer said I was going 89 mph when my Tesla Cybertruck was on cruise control at 82 mph. Now, I risk losing my license.”

Brantley May says that in a Tesla Cybertruck Owner’s Facebook post. He thinks the Georgia State Patrol unjustly targeted him for speeding excessively in his Tesla Cybertruck. Check out his story, and let us know what you think.

First, imagine driving your Tesla Cybertruck on a rural interstate highway in Georgia, and you have your cruise control set at 82 miles per hour. However, the speed limit is 70 miles per hour.

You spot a State Patrol car ahead of you in the left lane, and it’s going the same speed as you are. The officer pulls into the right lane to let you pass him. After you pass him, he returns to the left lane, turns his lights on, and pulls you over.

Now, the State Patrol officer says you are going 89 miles per hour and gives you a “super-speeder” ticket, anything over 85 miles per hour. However, your cruise was set at 82 mph. You risk losing your license if you don’t pay the ticket and the extra fine.

Was the Patrol officer’s radar malfunctioning, or was this a case of a Tesla Cybertruck being unfairly targeted by the Georgia State Patrol? Brantley’s story certainly raises some questions.

Here is what Brantley says.

“I’m driving through Georgia, and this officer gave me a ticket for going 89 miles per hour, but we are going the same speed. I will show you what happens in my dash cam video.”

“The Georgia State Patrol car brakes and slows to leave the passing lane. So, I thought, okay, that’s nice, he’s getting out of the passing lane, and I’m on cruise control by the way. It’s set at 82 miles per hour. So, I’m maintaining the same speed. I’m not speeding up or changing speeds.”

“Soon after, the officer turned his lights on and pulled me over. So, the officer is behind me, my Cybertyruck is on autopilot, and I still have it on cruise control, at 82 miles per hour. ”

“He comes up to my window, and the officer tells me I was going 89 miles per hour, and anything in Georgia over 85 miles per hour is considered a ‘super-speeder’ fine.”

“I said, No, I was on cruise control, going 82 miles per hour, being honest, so I was going 82, but he refuted that and said no, you were going 89 mph. He explained that my super-speeder fine means paying an additional fine since I was doing an excessive speed.”

“If I don’t pay it, my license will be suspended, and a warrant will be out for my arrest. So, I’m like sheesh, okay.”

Brantley Calculated His Speed Using His Dash Cam Video

“So, what I did, was to just calculate how fast I was going using the video footage from my truck. So, I calculated my speed based on the 40-foot distance between the end of each white divider line on the highway from end to end and how long it takes to travel between them.”

“I passed the first line that’s 40 ft, the second 80 ft, and the third line 120 ft. It took exactly one second. If you do the math, 120 feet in one second is 81.8 miles per hour. So, I was only going 82 miles per hour.”

Does Brantley Pay the Fine or Fight It In Court?

“Now, I have to drive back up to Georgia to present my case or I can just pay the ticket or have my license suspended and a warrant out for my arrest.”

What is the speed limit in Georgia on a rural interstate divided highway?

The speed limit in Georgia is 70 miles per hour on a rural interstate, 65 miles per hour on an urban interstate or a multi-lane divided highway, and 55 miles per hour in all other areas.

Brantley was driving his Tesla Cybertruck on a rural interstate highway, so he was going 12 miles per hour over the legal speed limit. He admits to that. However, he was going 82 miles per hour.

What is a “super-speeder” fine in Georgia?

The super speeder fine in Georgia is an extra $200 penalty added to speeding tickets. This fine is assessed in addition to any other fines and court costs related to the initial speeding violation. Super speeders are drivers exceeding 75 mph on a two-lane road or 85 mph on any other road or highway. So, the officer was being truthful with Brantley.

However, the officer’s radar did not calculate his speed correctly, or Brantley was targeted because he was driving a Tesla Cybertruck. What do you think?

Conclusion

The Georgia State Patrol baited Branley. The officer pulled over to let the Cybertruck pass him. This was Branley’s first mistake. He should have slowed to the legal speed limit, 70 miles per hour, and pulled into the slower traffic lane.

Branley’s second mistake was to pass the officer, not slow down, and he maintained his speed, which was 12 miles per hour over the speed limit. Any State Patrol officer will think you are either flagrantly disobeying the speed limit or not paying attention to what’s happening around you.

Passing a State Patrol officer when speeding is just asking for trouble. Arguing with him was his third mistake after he passed the officer and did not even attempt to slow down.

Does Brantley have a case where he can prove he wasn’t going 89 miles per hour?

He probably does, but it will take a day in court, hiring an attorney, and paying the extra court costs. Brantley should bite the bullet and pay the additional $200 super-speeder fine and $150 for going 19 mph over the posted speed limit. So, he’ll have a $350 speeding ticket plus the additional court costs related to the initial speeding violation.

So, it was an expensive lesson for Brantley.

The Georgia State Patrol officer claims Brantley was speeding at 89 miles per hour, a significant violation leading to a ‘super-speeder’ ticket. However, Brantley insists his cruise control was set at 82 mph. The stakes are high, with Brantley risking his license and being arrested if he doesn’t pay the fine.

In the Facebook post comments, Mark Gabriel Martinez says, “Scenarios like this are just better not to push your luck with law enforcement (even though you were going with the flow of traffic or above the speed limit a bit). I’d slow down to the speed limit or less than 4 mph above. Not worth the trouble and wasted money.”

Source; Torque News

Category: Crime, Police, Stupid Criminals, WTF?