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Former CT Physician Pays $300K To Settle False Claims Act Allegations Former CT Physician Pays $300K To Settle False Claims Act Allegations
Former CT Physician Pays $300K To Settle False Claims Act Allegations A former physician in Connecticut has reached an agreement with the federal government to pay $300,000 for issuing and approving invalid prescriptions. Philippe Chain agreed to the civil settlement to resolve the allegations that he violated the False Claims Act, U.S. Attorney John Durham said. Chain, who currently has a practice in Florida, previously practiced medicine in Connecticut. He also worked for CallMD, a telemedicine company in Nevada that involved him prescribing compound medications to TRICARE beneficiaries. Durham said that “TRICARE is the federal health care program for act…

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by Zak Failla
News
Woman Admits ATM Skimming Activity That Victimized CT Banks Woman Admits ATM Skimming Activity That Victimized CT Banks
Woman Admits ATM Skimming Activity That Victimized CT Banks A 61-year-old woman has admitted in federal court to her role in skimming from ATM machines in Connecticut and other states. Cleveland resident Maya Florina Luzia DeSteffano, also known as Maya-Luisa Pastorella or “Maria” pleaded guilty in Hartford federal court to conspiracy and identity theft charges stemming from ATM skimming activity that defrauded banks. Between February and June in 2017, a bank in Connecticut reported 35 incidents of ATM skimming incidents in Stratford, Monroe, Trumbull, Greenwich, Fairfield and elsewhere in Connecticut. U.S Attorney John Durham said that as part of…

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by Zak Failla
News
CT Romanian National Admits To Role in Nationwide ATM Skimming Activity CT Romanian National Admits To Role in Nationwide ATM Skimming Activity
CT Romanian National Admits To Role in Nationwide ATM Skimming Activity A Romanian national is facing decades in prison after admitting to stealing hundreds of thousands of dollars by skimming ATM machines in Connecticut and around the country. George Dragusin, also known as “Georgio Anderini” and “Einstein,” 63, a citizen of Romania, pleaded guilty today in Hartford federal court to conspiracy and identity theft charges related to ATM skimming activities that defrauded banks from coast to coast. U.S. Attorney John Durham said that between February and June in 2017, People's United Bank locations in Connecticut experienced 35 incidents of ATM skimming at their …

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by Zak Failla
News
681 Measles Cases In 22 States Breaks Record 681 Measles Cases In 22 States Breaks Record
681 Measles Cases In 22 States Breaks Record The measles outbreak that has spread throughout the nation has reached the highest level in 25 years, officials announced this week. In total, there have been 681 measles cases reported in 22 states this year, according to health officials. Between Jan. 1 and Monday, April 21, the Centers for Disease Control said that there have been 626 individual cases confirmed, an increase of 71 in the past week. The CDC said that this is the second-highest number of cases reported since measles was eliminated in 2000, second only to 667 cases that were reported in 2014. In the coming weeks, health offi…

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by Zak Failla
News
90 New Measles Cases Reported This Week Nationally, CDC Says 90 New Measles Cases Reported This Week Nationally, CDC Says
90 New Measles Cases Reported This Week Nationally, CDC Says The measles outbreak is on course to be the worst in decades with 90 more cases reported nationally in the past week - the largest jump of the year - according to new numbers from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Between Jan. 1 and April 11 this year, there have been 555 individual cases of measles confirmed in 20 states, the second highest total reported in the country since measles was eliminated as an endemic disease in 2000. The World Health Organization reported this week that there were more than 110,000 measles cases worldwide in the first three months of 2019, an…

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by Zak Failla
Lifestyle
Connecticut Property Tax Rate Among Nation's Highest, New Study Says Connecticut Property Tax Rate Among Nation's Highest, New Study Says
Connecticut Property Tax Rate Among Nation's Highest, New Study Says Homeowners in New York and Connecticut paid some of the highest property taxes in the country last year, according to a brand new report. ATTOM Data Solutions released its 2018 property tax analysis for more than 87 million homes, announcing that single-family homeowners last year paid a total of $304.6 billion, up from $293.4 billion in 2017. The average was $3,498 per home, according to the report, which made for an effective tax rate of 1.16 percent. According to ATTOM, the report analyzed property tax data collected from county tax assessor offices nationwide at the state, metro and cou…

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by Zak Failla
Politics
Connecticut Sues To Block Trump Administration's Abortion 'Gag Rule' Connecticut Sues To Block Trump Administration's Abortion 'Gag Rule'
Connecticut Sues To Block Trump Administration's Abortion 'Gag Rule' New York Attorney General Letitia James announced that the state is one of 21 to file a lawsuit against President Donald Trump’s administration new measure that restricts access to abortion and other reproductive health services. A coalition of 21 State AttorneysGeneral announced that they will be challenging the constitutionality of the Trump administration’s new “gag rule” which alters the Title X family planning program. According to James, the rule relates to funding for Title X, the only federal grant program that funds family planning programs to help patients access contraception, ca…

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by Zak Failla
Lifestyle
NY, CT Income Inequality Levels Among Highest In Nation NY, CT Income Inequality Levels Among Highest In Nation
NY, CT Income Inequality Levels Among Highest In Nation Are we reliving the "Great Gatsby" era? A new study cites five states where the top 1 percent have exceeded 1928's 23.9 percent share of income: According to an Economic Policy Institute (EPI) study of the new "gilded age," these are the top states with the widest income disparities: New York: 31 percent Florida: 28.5 percent Connecticut: 27.3 percent Nevada: 24.8 percent Wyoming: 24 percent Unequal income growth since the 1970s has buoyed the fortunes of the top 1 percent of income earners, widening income inequality in every state, the study from the Economic Policy …

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by Jon Craig
Business
CT Still Has Highest Personal Income, But With Little Growth CT Still Has Highest Personal Income, But With Little Growth
CT Still Has Highest Personal Income, But With Little Growth Connecticut ranked 44th nationally in income growth in 2017, an annual increase of just 1.5 percent.In contrast, New York and New Jersey reported annual personal income growth of 2.5 percent, the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis said. BEA estimates released on Thursday, March 22 found Connecticut's average income of more than $71,000 per resident still is tops nationwide. Nationwide, earnings increased 3.1 percent in 2017 and was the leading contributor to growth in personal income in most states, including the five fastest growing states—Washington, Idaho, Nevada, Utah, and Arizona, accord…

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by Jon Craig