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SATURDAY, JUNE 15, 2024 webbmartingroup.com Compass is a real estate broker licensed by the State of California and abides by Equal Housing Opportunity laws. Lic. #01991628. All material presented herein is intended for informational purposes only and is compiled from sources deemed reliable but has not been verified. Changes in price, condition, sale or withdrawal may be made without notice. No statement is made as to accuracy of any description. All measurements and square footage are ap- proximate. If your property is currently listed for sale this is not a solicitation.EExperts in Representing Buyers & SellersOpen Sunday 1-3pm1561 Gaywood Drive, AltadenaOffered at $3,850,000In Escrow501 Woodland Drive, Sierra MadreOffered at $1,098,000Jan Greteman 626.975.4033lic #01943630Judy Webb-Martin 626.688.2273lic #00541631Katie Orth 626.688.0418lic #00942500 VOLUME 18 NO. 24VOLUME 18 NO. 24 FORMER SIERRA MADRE PHARMACIST SENTENCED FOR $1M HEALTH CARE FRAUD SCHEME SIERRA MADRE PARCEL TAX MAY APPEAR ON NOVEMBER BALLOT In a recently released statement from the Sierra Madre City Clerk Laura Aguilar, sufficient qualified signatures have been gathered to "forward the initiative measure to the City Council for consideration. Additionally, the results have been verified and certified by the Los Angeles County Clerk." The effort to gather signatures via petition was circulated to Sierra Madre voters between March 2024 and May 2024. Sierra Madre residents James Walsworth and Theodore Seraf are proponents of the citizen’s initiative ballot measure, AS reported previously in the Mountain Views News, ( https://mtnviewsnews.com/v18/htm/ n10/index.htm): "Proponents of the tax state, "Protecting the citizens of Sierra Madre is the highest purpose of the City’s government. Fast emergency response times and crime prevention are necessary to maintain the high standard of living that Sierra Madre residents have historically enjoyed. Without an adequately funded Police and Fire Department, the City and its citizens are unnecessarily placed at risk from crime, property damage, slow 9-1-1 response times, and myriad public safety issues. The City’s general fund has historically been insufficient to fund a properly staffed Police and Fire Department, leading to myriad public safety ills. In order to avoid any public safety issues in the future, this measure would create a separate, special fund which will allow the City to properly fund its Police and Fire Departments, allowing the departments to offer competitive pay packages to officers as compared to other municipalities, improve recruitment efforts, and maintain fully staffed and functioning departments. Setting up and funding this special set aside fund will allow the City to protect its citizens and maintain the high standard of living enjoyed by Sierra Madre residents." Now that the signatures supporting the initiative have been verified, the City Clerk will prepare a comprehensive report to the City Council outlining all options. The target date to present this report is June 25, 2024. The Council will meet at 5:30 pm in a public meeting. On Tuesday, the US Department of Justice issued a press release regarding the disposition of the case involving Paul Mansour, former local pharmacist. He was sentenced to two years in prison for submitting false and fraudulent claims to Medicare for prescription drugs that were never dispensed to beneficiaries. According to court documents, Paul Mansour, 56, of Sierra Madre, was a pharmacist who co-owned Mansour Partners Inc., doing business as Best Buy Drugs (Best Buy). From January 2017 to July 2022, Mansour created fake patient profiles in the Best Buy pharmacy’s digital filing system using fictitious names, dates of birth, and addresses. Mansour added fraudulent prescriptions to the fake patient profiles and then submitted false and fraudulent claims to Medicare for those prescriptions in the name of actual Best Buy patients. In doing so, Mansour billed Medicare for fraudulent prescriptions that were never dispensed to beneficiaries. Mansour pleaded guilty on April 5, 2023, to one count of health care fraud. Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Nicole M. Argentieri, head of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division; Acting Assistant Director in Charge Krysti Hawkins of the FBI Los Angeles Field Office; and Special Agent in Charge Timothy DeFrancesca of the Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General’s (HHS-OIG) Los Angeles Regional Office made the announcement. The FBI and HHS-OIG investigated the case. In court documents made public after sentencing, it was revealed that Mansour is required to make full restitution of the funds taken. The court found that, "..the defendant's economic circumstances allow for restitution payments pursuant to the following schedule: full payment of $1,038,411.96 no later than 60 days after the date of sentencing" He has also been ordered to pay a fine of $100,000 within the same time frame. Mansour was sentenced to 24 months in prison to be followed by 3 years of supervised release. He is to surrender to the Bureau of Prisons 'at or before noon on August 30, 2024. Trial Attorney Matthew R. Belz of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section prosecuted the case. The Fraud Section leads the Criminal Division’s efforts to combat health care fraud through the Health Care Fraud Strike Force Program. Since March 2007, this program, currently comprised of nine strike forces operating in 27 federal districts, has charged more than 5,400 defendants who collectively have billed federal health care programs and private insurers more than $27 billion. In addition, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, working in conjunction with HHS-OIG, are taking steps to hold providers accountable for their involvement in health care fraud schemes. More information can be found at www.justice.gov/criminal-fraud/ health-care-fraud-unit. MVNews Under Contract! 535 Auburn Ave., Sierra Madre$1,298,000 ©2024 Coldwell Banker Real Estate LLC. Coldwell Banker® is a registered trademark licensed to Coldwell Banker Real state LLC. An Equal Opportunity Company, Equal Housing Opportunity. Owned by a subsidiary of NRT LLC. Broker does not guarantee the accuracy of square footage, lot size, or other information concerning the condition or features of property provided by seller or obtained from public records or other sources, and the buyer is advised to independently verify the accuracy of that information through personal inspection and with appropriate professionals. If your property is currently listed for sale, this is not intended as a solicitation. 626.484.8135Barbara.Rogers@camoves.comwww.Barbara.Rogers.comCRE#01169115RBarbara Rogers626.278.0187Eileen.Benson@camoves.comwww.EileenBenson.com CRE#01880650BEileen Benson AFTERNOON BEAR ACTIVITY Sierra Madre, CA – June 13, 2024 – Between the hours of approximately 12:30 pm and 2:15 pm, the Sierra Madre Police Department responded to five reports of bear activity that required an emergency response. All five reports involved a bear intruding into a structure, including four homes and one garage. All locations were in the northeastern part of the City. There are no reports of injuries at this time, and only one of the structures was occupied. Subsequent to receiving the fifth report (approximately 2:15 p.m.), Sierra Madre Police Department officers reported that they were able to divert a bear into the wildland north of Sierra Madre’s residential neighborhoods. There have been no additional reports of bear activity since then. The Department of Fish and Wildlife was notified as soon as possible and has indicated that a representative is traveling to Sierra Madre. The City would like to remind residents and visitors to call 911 anytime they feel threatened by wildlife or wildlife enters a home. For more information, please contact Management Analyst James Carlson at (626) 836-6636. Sierra Madre Legal Notices Pg.15 ARCADIA $2,388,0004 Unit Apartment BldgSIERRA MADRE $2,850 / MO2 Beds, 1 Bath, 700sf, Back HouseBALDWIN HILLS $1,349,0003 Beds, 2 Bath, 1,752sf, Home626.355.1451c21village.comLIC# 02119245Serving the Community since 1980FOR LEASEFOR SALEFOR SALE | |||||||||||||||||||||
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Mountain Views News 80 W. Sierra Madre Blvd. #327 Sierra Madre, Ca. 91024 Office: 626.355.2737 Fax: 626.604.4548 www.mtnviewsnews.com |