2023-10-23 DOJ SDNY press_release 117 KB 4,177 chars

Former Executive Convicted At Trial Of Mail Fraud And Money Laundering

Caption: United States v. Damian Williams, et al.

summary

Shawn Rains, a former high-ranking executive at OrthoNet, was convicted of mail fraud and money laundering for stealing over $4 million from the company.

paragraph

Shawn Rains, a former executive at OrthoNet, a healthcare claims processing company, was convicted of conspiracy to commit mail fraud, mail fraud, and conspiracy to commit money laundering. Rains and co-conspirator Joseph Maharaj stole over $4 million from the company between 2009 and 2017 by creating fake vendors and submitting fake invoices. Rains faces up to 20 years in prison for each of the three counts, with sentencing scheduled for January 31, 2024.

narrative

Shawn Rains, a former high-ranking executive at OrthoNet, a healthcare claims processing company, was convicted by a federal jury on October 20, 2023, of conspiracy to commit mail fraud, mail fraud, and conspiracy to commit money laundering. Rains and co-conspirator Joseph Maharaj orchestrated a scheme that stole over $4 million from the company between 2009 and 2017. The scheme involved creating fake vendors, submitting fake invoices for non-performed work, and laundering the proceeds by converting payments to cash and dividing them among themselves. Maharaj pleaded guilty in March 2023 and is scheduled for sentencing in December 2023. Rains faces up to 20 years in prison on each of the three counts, with sentencing set for January 31, 2024. The FBI investigated the case, and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York prosecuted it. The conviction is a result of the outstanding work by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the prosecution team led by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Stephanie Simon, Benjamin Klein, Jim Ligtenberg, and Jamie Bagliebter.

Enriched metadata

Scheme: corporate-fraud (95%)
Court: Southern District of New York
Outcome: convicted · 2024-01-31

Classified corporate-fraud(confidence 95%). EDGAR detection: forms 10-K/10-Q/8-K· recall 56% / precision 8%. detection rule →

Extracted insights

Dollar amounts 1

$4.00M $4 million $1M–$10M

Entities 10

person damian williams
person fake invoices
person fake vendors
person federal jury
person it up amongst themselves
person joseph maharaj
company over $4 million from a white plains company
scheme_term rains of fraud and money laundering
person shawn rains
scheme_term to conspiracy to commit mail fraud

Triples 17

Damian Williams Announced a federal jury found Shawn Rains guilty of three counts — conspiracy to commit mail fraud, mail fraud, and conspiracy to commit money laundering
Federal Jury Found Guilty Shawn Rains
Shawn Rains Steal over $4 million from a White Plains company
Shawn Rains Create fake vendors
Shawn Rains Submit fake invoices
Shawn Rains Charge their company for work that was never done
Shawn Rains Disguise the proceeds of the fraud
Federal Jury Convict Rains of fraud and money laundering
Shawn Rains Conspire with Joseph Maharaj and others to create fake vendors
Shawn Rains Sign invoices approving payment for the fake work
OrthoNet Send payments to the fake vendors
Shawn Rains Convert the money to cash to hide the source of the fraud proceeds
Shawn Rains Split it up amongst themselves
Joseph Maharaj Plead Guilty to conspiracy to commit mail fraud
Joseph Maharaj Be Scheduled to be sentenced before Judge Román on December 4, 2023
Shawn Rains Conspire with Joseph Maharaj and others to create fake vendors
Damian Williams Thank the Federal Bureau of Investigation for their outstanding work on the investigation

View original DOJ press releasejustice.gov

Extracted body text (4,177c)

Press Release Former Executive Convicted At Trial Of Mail Fraud And Money Laundering Monday, October 23, 2023 Share FacebookLinks to other government and non-government sites will typically appear with the “external link” icon to indicate that you are leaving the Department of Justice website when you click the link. XLinks to other government and non-government sites will typically appear with the “external link” icon to indicate that you are leaving the Department of Justice website when you click the link. LinkedInLinks to other government and non-government sites will typically appear with the “external link” icon to indicate that you are leaving the Department of Justice website when you click the link. Email For Immediate Release U.S. Attorney's Office, Southern District of New York Damian Williams, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, announced that on October 20, 2023, a federal jury found SHAWN RAINS guilty of three counts — conspiracy to commit mail fraud, mail fraud, and conspiracy to commit money laundering — in connection with a scheme to steal over $4 million from a White Plains company where he was formerly a high-ranking executive. The defendant was found guilty following a two-week trial before U.S. District Judge Nelson S. Román. Sentencing is scheduled for January 31, 2024, before Judge Román. U.S. Attorney Damian Williams said: “Shawn Rains, a former executive at a White Plains healthcare claims processing company, betrayed the trust of his employer by stealing millions of dollars. Rains was the ringleader of a scheme in which he and his co-conspirators created fake vendors, submitted fake invoices, charged their company for work that was never done, and then disguised the proceeds of the fraud. A federal jury has now convicted Rains of fraud and money laundering. This verdict should remind those in positions of trust that if you engage in fraud, we will catch you and hold you accountable.” According to the Indictment, statements made in public court proceedings and filings, and the evidence at trial: SHAWN RAINS was an executive at OrthoNet, a healthcare claims processing company based in White Plains, New York. Between approximately 2009 and 2017, RAINS and JOSEPH MAHARAJ, another OrthoNet executive, designed and executed a scheme to defraud OrthoNet of over $4 million and to launder the fraud proceeds. RAINS conspired with MAHARAJ and others to create fake vendors that purported to do work on behalf of OrthoNet. RAINS, MAHARAJ, and their co-conspirators then signed invoices approving payment for the fake work, and OrthoNet sent payments to the fake vendors. RAINS, MAHARAJ, and their co-conspirators then converted the money to cash to hide the source of the fraud proceeds and split it up amongst themselves. On March 22, 2023, MAHARAJ pled guilty to conspiracy to commit mail fraud. He is scheduled to be sentenced before Judge Román on December 4, 2023. * * * RAINS, 57, of Le Bouscat, France, was convicted of (i) one count of conspiracy to commit mail fraud, which carries a maximum term of 20 years in prison; (ii) one count of mail fraud, which carries a maximum term of 20 years in prison; and (iii) one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering, which carries a maximum term of 20 years in prison. MAHARAJ, 42, of Goldens Bridge, New York, was convicted of one count of conspiracy to commit mail fraud, which carries a maximum term of 20 years in prison. The statutory maximum sentences in this case are prescribed by Congress and are provided here for informational purposes only, as any sentencing of the defendants will be determined by Judge Román. Mr. Williams thanked the Federal Bureau of Investigation for their outstanding work on the investigation. The case is being prosecuted by the Office’s White Plains Division. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Stephanie Simon, Benjamin Klein, Jim Ligtenberg, and Jamie Bagliebter are in charge of the prosecution, with the assistance of Paralegal Specialist Shannon Becker. Contact Nicholas Biase (212) 637-2600 Updated October 23, 2023 Topic Financial Fraud Component USAO - New York, Southern Press Release Number: 23-366

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