Navy doctor indicted in pay fraud case

[IgD]

Navy doctor indicted for falsely marrying her former corpsman to give him healthcare benefits and to claim a married housing allowance (?)

From Wavy.com: http://www.wavy.com/dpp/military/three-indicted-in-navy-pay-fraud-case

NORFOLK, Va. (WAVY) - Three people were indicted by a Norfolk federal grand jury in a Navy healthcare pay fraud case where the suspects are accused of entering into fraudulent marriages to get benefits.

Jeanette F. Shimkus, 57, of Chesapeake, and Jeffrey H. Marshburn, 51, and Kristopher Graham-Marshburn, 45, of Hampton, were indicted on June 9 on charges of conspiracy, false statements, theft of government property, false statements relating to healthcare benefits, and tampering with a witness, according to a news release from the U.S. Attorney's Office.

According to the indictment, Shimkus and Jeffrey Marshburn entered into a fraudulent marriage so that Shimkus, an active duty Navy doctor, could receive additional pay, Basic Allowance for Housing from the Navy as a married officer, and so that Marshburn could receive TRICARE healthcare benefits as a Navy dependant.

According to the indictment, Shimkus unlawfully received at least $27,000 in additional pay and Marshburn filed at least $20,000 in healthcare claims that TRICARE paid.

Graham-Marshburn, a retired USN Corpsman, who served with Shimkus onboard USS WASP in 2003, is also charged with entering into a fradulent marriage with a Florida woman.

According to the indictment, Graham-Marshburn received at least $75,000 in unlawful BAH, and the Florida woman and her son filed at least $125,000 in healthcare claims that TRICARE paid.

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[orbitsurgMD]

Navy doctor indicted for falsely marrying her former corpsman to give him healthcare benefits and to claim a married housing allowance (?)

From Wavy.com: http://www.wavy.com/dpp/military/three-indicted-in-navy-pay-fraud-case

NORFOLK, Va. (WAVY) - Three people were indicted by a Norfolk federal grand jury in a Navy healthcare pay fraud case where the suspects are accused of entering into fraudulent marriages to get benefits.

Jeanette F. Shimkus, 57, of Chesapeake, and Jeffrey H. Marshburn, 51, and Kristopher Graham-Marshburn, 45, of Hampton, were indicted on June 9 on charges of conspiracy, false statements, theft of government property, false statements relating to healthcare benefits, and tampering with a witness, according to a news release from the U.S. Attorney's Office.

According to the indictment, Shimkus and Jeffrey Marshburn entered into a fraudulent marriage so that Shimkus, an active duty Navy doctor, could receive additional pay, Basic Allowance for Housing from the Navy as a married officer, and so that Marshburn could receive TRICARE healthcare benefits as a Navy dependant.

According to the indictment, Shimkus unlawfully received at least $27,000 in additional pay and Marshburn filed at least $20,000 in healthcare claims that TRICARE paid.

Graham-Marshburn, a retired USN Corpsman, who served with Shimkus onboard USS WASP in 2003, is also charged with entering into a fradulent marriage with a Florida woman.

According to the indictment, Graham-Marshburn received at least $75,000 in unlawful BAH, and the Florida woman and her son filed at least $125,000 in healthcare claims that TRICARE paid.

I want to know how exactly they define a "fraudulent marriage". It would seem to me that one is either married or not. Now calling a "marriage" a relationship of convenience for the financial benefit of the parties hardly makes for fraud, most people hope for some financial benefits, whether they get them or not. So the U.S. Government plans to plumb reasons for being married, in a country where 50% of marriages end up in divorce court.

Slow day at the office?

Living apart? Ask any married servicemember on deployment about that. Never intending to live together or present oneself as married save for obtaining employment benefits? It seems that the indictment then is based on not having decided to pursue and enjoy all aspects of the marriage, and never intending to. I think it is a little strange, but is that really a crime?

Seriously, it seems to me the only crime here is one of bigamy, by the individual who appears by the story to be married to two people at once, and not even in the kind of secretly fun Big Love kind of way, either.

And for Tricare benefits and enhanced BAH. That is almost laugh-out-loud funny.

 

[haujun]

According to JAG if a soldier stole more than $500 from GOV (BAH etc) then it is a felony. I don't think that is funny. I am sure these days GOV will be more closely examining BAH and other military benefits to cut costs.

 

[AF M4]

Usually happens with immigrants who are trying to get green cards. Here you go:

http://www.cis.org/marriagefraud

Enjoyed this anecdote from the web page:

USCIS had approved the petition despite the fact that the petitioner had only been in Hungary for 72 hours, had no previous U.S. passport (and had thus never been out of the country before), and that the Nigerian had never been to the United States. The Nigerian claimed that they met in a chance encounter on the street and freely acknowledged that she had entered Hungary illegally and claimed asylum, supposedly based on a fear of circumcision in Nigeria (despite the fact that she was easily 20 years past the normal circumcision age). We later confirmed with the Hungarian authorities that her asylum claim had been rejected shortly before she claimed to have met her American fiancé. Curious to know how the American petitioner would explain making his first overseas trip to Hungary for just a weekend, I called the number listed on the petition. Our conversation went something like this:

"I went to Budapest because I heard it was a chill place," he said, in response to my question.
"Where did you hear that?" I asked.
"Umm," he said stalling for time, "from my landlord."
"Is he Hungarian?"
"No, he's Nigerian," he said, inadvertently revealing the probable connection between himself and the supposed fiancé.
"I can see in the computer that this was your first passport," I said. "Have you ever taken any vacations before?"
"I've been down to the Jersey Shore, Orlando."
"So one day you just decided to jet off to Hungary for a long weekend by yourself? How soon did you fall in love with your fiancé after arriving?"
"Pretty much the first day," he said.
"So what was the rush to get back to the Bronx, if you had just fallen in love?" I asked.
"Had to get back to work!" he exclaimed.

I informed him of the penalties for filing a fraudulent marriage or fiancé petition — the Immigration Marriage Fraud Amendments Act of 1986 provides a maximum penalty of five years imprisonment and a $250,000 fine for any "individual who knowingly enters into a marriage for the purpose of evading any provision of the immigration laws," but, like most con-artists, he tried to stick to his absurd story. Most fraud perpetrators know that marriage fraud is extremely difficult to prove and few are ever punished.

Bolding and underlining are mine. Seems like an odd kind of accusation to take the trouble to go after someone for, unless they bought out ad space on a billboard next to the base bragging of their malfeasance or something.

 

[IgD]

The Navy doctor could be facing double jeopardy: federal court then courts martial. They must have put her on legal restriction or something. Sounds like a very difficult thing to face!!

 

[Gastrapathy]

There have been quite a few of these prosecutions over the past several years. I think they pretty much have to get turned in by someone who knows them.

 

[Apollyon]

As a person familiar with the US military but not a member, I can think of a few things outside the box (as it were): first is, if one of them is gay. The husband of the doctor, well, it doesn't say if he is a veteran (which is doubtful, if it was known when the article was written).

Besides gay, though, another would be committed relationships with other people. That would raise a red flag, as it is incongruous to have one person, and then to marry another.

The living apart, alone, as pointed out above, is not such an issue.

 

[haujun]

I can understand younger soldiers engaging BAH fraud, but I just can't imagine a 57 y/o military physician doing this when you are at age you should be thinking about retiring from military...

 

[IgD]

It is important to remember she is innocent until proven guilty.

The way the news report reads she was indicted by federal court while on active duty. I wonder if that is true, why wouldn't they go the UCMJ route first?

 

[orbitsurgMD]

It is important to remember she is innocent until proven guilty.

The way the news report reads she was indicted by federal court while on active duty. I wonder if that is true, why wouldn't they go the UCMJ route first?

Consider the possibility that .mil lawyers looked at the evidence and took a pass.

 

[JAZZEYE]

This type of taking advantage of law to gain something is very common in many forms.
Hell...GE has taken advantage of tax laws and claimed a 3.2 billion dollar benefit...is that legal ?
As long as fierce lobbying for tax breaks and a maze of shelters through innovative accounting allow it to concentrate its profits offshore.

 

[pgg]

The real question is why on earth does the military choose to pay its employees different rates based on whether or not they're married or have dependents?

What other company or institution offers pay scale A to hitched employees and pay scale B to the single employees? There may be different costs if there are insurance benefits extended to family members, but not actual $-on-the-paycheck differences.

Maybe there'd be less fraud if the military simply paid everyone fairly and equally. (I'd settle for on time.)

 

[backrow]

The real question is why on earth does the military choose to pay its employees different rates based on whether or not they're married or have dependents?

What other company or institution offers pay scale A to hitched employees and pay scale B to the single employees? There may be different costs if there are insurance benefits extended to family members, but not actual $-on-the-paycheck differences.

Maybe there'd be less fraud if the military simply paid everyone fairly and equally. (I'd settle for on time.)

They sure could save a lot of money by simply paying everyone the "single" rate. Gotta be careful what one asks for

Heck, why pay certain people more? We're all sailors/airmen/soldiers, why should I get paid more just because I chose a certain job I kid, I kid. But it's a similar argument.

 

[pgg]

They sure could save a lot of money by simply paying everyone the "single" rate. Gotta be careful what one asks for

I've long given up any hope or fear that they would ask for or listen to my opinion on policy matters.

Here's an even more horrific thought: they'd save a bunch more money by not paying physicians in payback periods any bonuses at all. No ASP/VSP/ISP/BCP ... after all, it's not like those doctors can quit. And 90%+ of them leave when their ADSOs are up anyway.

Heck, why pay certain people more? We're all sailors/airmen/soldiers, why should I get paid more just because I chose a certain job I kid, I kid. But it's a similar argument.

No, I don't think it's similar at all.

Walmart pays the door greeters and managers different salaries. They're differently qualified people doing different jobs. They don't pay married greeter #1 more than unmarried greeter #2 because they assume greeter #1 needs to live in a bigger house ... which is what the military does.

I'm not really complaining; I'm married so I get the extra cheese.

But I'm just saying that maybe if the military treated everyone fairly in this regard, and pay was based exclusively on position and experience, there'd be one less reason for people to defraud the system.

 

[Gastrapathy]

But I'm just saying that maybe if the military treated everyone fairly in this regard, and pay was based exclusively on position and experience, there'd be one less reason for people to defraud the system.

And one less reason for young sailors to marry ginormous women with IBS.

 

[usnavdoc]

This is kind of interesting to me. I was on the wasp in 2003 with my marines floating over to Afghanistan. I remember Shimcus. Not so impressive!..lol

 

[IgD]

We have an update from the Virginian Pilot:

http://hamptonroads.com/2011/07/retired-sailor-partner-admit-marriage-scam-0

Retired sailor, partner admit marriage scam

Two men pleaded guilty Monday to arranging three phony marriages, including one with a Navy doctor, so they and their wives could get more pay and health care benefits and so they could conceal their sexual orientations from the Navy.

The men, long-time live-in boyfriends, received tens of thousands of dollars in benefits they weren't entitled to.

Charges against the Navy doctor, Cmdr. Jeanette F. Shimkus of Chesapeake, are pending. According to the indictment, she needed to conceal her lesbian relationship in order to name her girlfriend as a beneficiary to her life insurance...

 

[Apollyon]

Hey, I was right!

 

[pgg]

I'll stand by for the articles about how it was just a response to the unfair policy of not covering same sex couples under dependent benefit programs.

Such hypothetical articles would have a point.


But it all goes back to the original absurdity - the military shouldn't be paying married people more than unmarried people. Bad policy reaps what it sows.

 

[pgg]

Your argument makes sense for officers, but less-so for the enlisted. Young men join the military, at least in part, for the support that it provides them in terms of living expenses.

BAH and BAS are not "pay" in the military sense, they are entitlements. Entitlements vary based on individual circumstances. If you accept the military's interpretation that BAH is intended to provide you housing, and BAS is intended to provide you food, then it actually makes a lot of sense to increase this when you have dependents. And remember, BAS/BAH don't increase because you get married, they increase because you have dependents. A single father gets extra BAH, as does an unmarried woman whose parents meet criteria to be considered her dependents.

I can tell you that my young enlisted guys frequently re-enlist specifically because BAH provides their families a measure of security that they don't think they could replicate in the civilian world. It is a very effective retention tool.

I don't entirely disagree with you, and I have certainly been happy to take the higher pay my own dependents brought.

These days, with the kind of jobs that are open to high school grads (even 4-year military veterans), it's the military that provides the measure of security. Zeroing in on a (relatively small) difference between BAH and BAH w/dep as the key retention factor seems a little off to me.

Somehow other organizations and industries manage to pay people enough to retain their talent without throwing a few extra $ at the single moms and married guys.


And why isn't the extra cheese proportional to the number of dependents? Surely the single mom with 4 kids, a disabled mother, and a Alzheimers-ridden grandmother needs more housing help than the DINK of equal rank?

Maybe the military should just pay people by rank and time in service, +/- adjustments for MOS, instead of delving into social engineering? Because at the end of the day, what's really happening is the military is saying "If you get married we'll pay you more tax-free money."

 

[pgg]

My solution is simple: Reduce BAH if you get married, and start giving a monthly pornography ration.

Excellent idea, that kind of vision deserves flag rank.

 

[Apollyon]

(3) Tricare is an incredible deal. Say what you want about milmed, but there is no better health plan in America.

Except for reimbursement to providers (worse than Medicaid). This leads to providers in areas with lots of retirees declining to take it, thus limiting options for enrollees.

 

[pgg]

Except for reimbursement to providers (worse than Medicaid). This leads to providers in areas with lots of retirees declining to take it, thus limiting options for enrollees.

True, but this problem is not so bad that care is unavailable for Tricare beneficiaries.

Tricare may be a cheap reimburser, but it's endlessly unlimited health insurance that won't ever drop you, and that's worth a lot.

 

[Apollyon]

True, but this problem is not so bad that care is unavailable for Tricare beneficiaries.

Tricare may be a cheap reimburser, but it's endlessly unlimited health insurance that won't ever drop you, and that's worth a lot.

Oh, I completely agree - my point was just that there is a down side, and it is extreme in some cases. "Fayette-nam" is one place that comes to mind.

 

[Apollyon]

The Camp Lejeune area has a glut of Tricare network docs. I actually get promotional mail from them. Is Fayetteville not like that? I just figured most large bases were this way, with the smaller locations not having as many.

I may be out of time - this was 8 years ago. Sounds like they turned it around. At the time, no one was taking it.

 

[a1qwerty55]

Such hypothetical articles would have a point.


But it all goes back to the original absurdity - the military shouldn't be paying married people more than unmarried people. Bad policy reaps what it sows.

Simplistic thinking.

Individuals have fewer expenses that families. The family allowances don't cover the added cost of a family.

So why do this? Society and the military has a vested interest in functional families not to mention that we don't want our soldiers distracted by having families struggling to survive. It also is a recruitment incentive. If you are worried about fairness - don't be - no one is getting rich off the married BAH/BAS. If you think you are going to retain people who aren't all alternate lifestylers you actually have to pay them enough to have a family. The alternate lifestylers do just fine since each pulls the single BAH/BAS rate which is more than what a family gets anyway.

 

[Gastrapathy]

Simplistic thinking.

Individuals have fewer expenses that families. The family allowances don't cover the added cost of a family.

So why do this? Society and the military has a vested interest in functional families not to mention that we don't want our soldiers distracted by having families struggling to survive. It also is a recruitment incentive. If you are worried about fairness - don't be - no one is getting rich off the married BAH/BAS. If you think you are going to retain people who aren't all alternate lifestylers you actually have to pay them enough to have a family. The alternate lifestylers do just fine since each pulls the single BAH/BAS rate which is more than what a family gets anyway.

Incentivizing dependents is a horrible idea. Yes, its way more expensive to get married and have kids. But, if you are 19, it looks like marriage is a great idea: 1) get to move out of the barracks and 2) get paid way more money. That is enough to get them to run off with the first girl/boy who looks at them twice. Then the kids follow shortly thereafter and the .mil has yet another young family to support.

Paying people different amounts of money for the same work is inequitable. Don't worry about fairness? Thats pretty simplistic too. The military is not social services. Its a job.

 

[Gastrapathy]

That would be very painful to deal with.

The group I moonlight with won't take Tricare anymore. Too painful. Not only does Tricare pay poorly, most of the time, we don't pay at all.

Its convenient for me because I don't run into the rules about caring for Tricare patients out in town.

 

[haujun]

Paying people different amounts of money for the same work is inequitable. Don't worry about fairness? Thats pretty simplistic too. The military is not social services. Its a job.

This sort of complaint came from KATUSA (Korean, ROK soldiers assigned to U.S. military) who did exactly same jobs as U.S. Army soldiers, but got paid about $10 per month. I remind them they are ROK soldier.

As for the military is not social services...I don't know about this one. Given that it is all volunteer military and frequently draw its population from 1% popuation who may not be known for cream of crop (some may speculate bottom rung of the social ladder... and who are motivated for these social benefits (steady pay, BAS, BAH etc). Also every one who has a same rank and years of service get paid exactly same even though YOUR PRODUCTIVITY may be different(higher). Productivity does not matter. Now I know whay my paperwork get screwed as the pay does not matter if the work is good or bad.

It (U.S. Military) may be last real social institution.