Landmark Medical Defendants Plead Not-Guilty In Orange County. Southern California Radio Station KPCC Publishes FBI Recordings. By Lonce LaMon - September 15, 2014
All fifteen defendants pled not-guilty in the Landmark Medical Management compound medication workers’ compensation fraud case in Orange County Superior Court last Friday morning, September 12th 2014.
This 105 million dollar workers’ compensation medications rip-off scandal involved doctors who were paid over 25 million dollars in kick-backs to prescribe compound cream pain medications. One of the toxic creams is alleged to have caused the death of an infant.
No warnings of the toxicity were given by the doctors or written on the tubes containing the creams. The creams cost about $70 for each vial while the insurance carriers were billed between $1200 and $1800 per vial.
Kareem Ahmed, the owner of Landmark Medical, was there in court room C-45 in his signature dark suit with a white, open-collared shirt. His lawyer, Benjamin Gluck, led the arraignment for all the defendants.
Evette Charbonnet, right, looks dreamy eyed as she gazes towards the judge. Evette, Landmark Medical's marketing manager, is charged with conspiracy to commit a crime and insurance fraud. Her boss, Kareem Ahmed, is at the left background in this photo. Photo by Lonce LaMon, copyright with all rights reserved.
Benjamin Gluck: "We’d like to be arraigned today."
Judge Thomas M. Goethals: "Could one person arraign for everybody?"
There were a few chuckles in the court room when Judge Goethals joked that so many defendants could all agree.
Judge Thomas M. Goethals: "You all agree to have received a copy of the indictment?"
The defendants are:
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Kareem Ahmed
"The senator’s daughter works for me! I swear! I’m not kidding.”
Kareem Ahmed, on the FBI recordings
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Michael Rudolph
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Andrew Jarminski, M.D.
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Evette Charbonnet
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Bruce D. Curnick
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Curtis William Hague
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Eduardo Anguizola, M.D.
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Daniel Alexander Capen, M.D.
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Randy Rosen, M.D.
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Michael Barri, D.C.
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Rahil Khan, M.D.
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Robert J. Villapania, D.C.
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David K. Evans, D.C.
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Arsalan Pourteymour, M.D.
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Craig M. Chanin, M.D.
General time waivers were given from all the defendants for November 7th 2014 as the next hearing date. Gluck announced that the defense wanted to consolidate all the motions. Then he said they, the defense, want to start with demurrers, which are fairly straight forward. Then they want to file a motion on October 17th.
Then deputy district attorney Shaddi Kamiabipour stated, “I am going to request the People be able to reply after October 31st 2014.”
Benjamin Gluck, right foreground, led the defense on Friday, September 12th 2014. Deputy District Attorney Shaddi Kamiabipour is at the left, background in the yellow, turquoise, and dark blue patterned dress. Photo copyright by Lonce LaMon, all rights reserved.
Judge Thomas M. Goethals: "This case is going to generate a lot of paperwork."
Benjamin Gluck: "If people want to file on close of day October 31, 2014, we will reply November 5th."
Thus, on October 31st 2014, will be filed the People’s reply. On November 5th will be the reply to the reply (if any).
A tentative, soft trial date was set for February 2, 2015.
Judge Thomas M. Goethals: "I don’t think it’s a realistic trial date."
Evette Charbonnet, center, hair pulled back, Landmark Medical's marketing manager, sits quietly in court on Friday, September 12th 2014. David Evans, D.C., the owner of Performance Medical Group, is at far left in orange shirt. Evans and Arsalan Pourteymour, M.D. are accused of taking more than $650,000 in kick-backs from Kareem Ahmed. Photo copyright Lonce LaMon. All rights reserved.
But the waiver was again read and the defendants all responded to give up their rights to a trial within 60 days.
Then, Benjamin Gluck jumped down the throat of the Media. What happened on Thursday, September 11th 2014, is radio station KPCC of Southern California published on their web site (www.kpcc.org) some inter-office emails between Kareem Ahmed and his staff and some tape recordings made by the FBI of Ahmed bragging of how he has a senator’s daughter working for him and how he shut down AB 2779, a bill in the state legislature that would have limited reimbursements for compound creams.
Kareem Ahmed, left, doesn't look happy as he leaves the judge's bench area on Friday, September 12th 2014. His attorney, Benjamin Gluck, is in background at Ahmed's left. Photo by Lonce LaMon, copyright with all rights reserved.
Then Ahmed pats himself on the back: “They come to my office and see I have 100 employees or whatever. And I tell them, look I’m creating jobs! You got to make sure this AB 2779 doesn’t go anywhere. So, she calls them. You see what I did to that bill? I did it man! It was published on WorkCompCentral. I’m the one that shut it down!”
Benjamin Gluck: "We are concerned, your honor."
Gluck then went on about how the documents were released by accident, and requested that the court try to keep this material from getting public. He made a request for relief.
Judge Thomas M. Goethals: "Requests without prejudice are denied. I believe in the First Amendment. I try to make documents available. The public pays my salary. I think they have a right to know what’s going on. When I get requests from electronic media, I approve one TV camera without sound.
"I fully recognize both sides’ rights to a fair trial. Electronic media helps balance competing interests. Due process takes precedence over the public’s right to know. And I will intervene to make sure due process rights are protected."
But he made the point, as well, that for him to intervene would be a rare happening. In response to Gluck’s lament that everyone in Orange County was reading and listening now to these tapes of Ahmed boasting of his influence in Sacramento, the judge stated with some humor that probably way fewer people were reading and listening to it than Gluck imagined.
Scott Dekraai, lower right in yellow jail suit, appeared in court room C-45 just before the Landmark Medical case was called. Dekraai murdered 8 people inside and outside of a beauty salon in Seal Beach on October 12, 2011. His spree killing has been called the "deadliest mass killing in Orange County history." Dekraai has pled guilty and now approaches his penalty trial. He could get the death penalty. Photo copyright by Lonce LaMon. All rights reserved.
Judge Goethals made reference to the Scott Dekraai case, which was just heard in his court room prior to this case, and that he’s certain he will find 14 to 16 people when picking a jury (for Dekraai’s penalty trial) who have never heard of this crime committed by Scott Dekraai in October of 2011 which has been called “the deadliest mass killing in Orange County history”.
Judge Thomas Goethals went on in response to Benjamin Gluck:
Judge Thomas M. Goethals: "I will keep your comment in mind. I know you’re concerned with due process and a fair trial. Our community does care what we’re doing here."
As previously stated, the next hearing date for this case will be November 7th 2014.
Journalist Lonce LaMon, lonce@adjuster.com; copyright Lonce LaMon and adjustercom, all rights reserved.
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