[nfbmi-talk] i suggest similar for vr mcb funds etc

[joe harcz Comcast]

This does by implication go to VR, IL and other funding that is being diverted ormisappropriated from MCB etc. And it goes to why transparency of programs needs to be so robust and accessible.

Joe Harcz

Michigan official in fraud probe

January 09, 2012

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United Press International

 

A grand jury is investigating the chief executive of Wayne County, Mich., and whether funding for mental illnesses was spent elsewhere, federal officials

said.

 

The announcement, reported Monday by The Detroit News, is part of a wide examination of Robert Ficano's administration, and follows allegations in lawsuits

from two former directors of the Detroit-Wayne County Community Mental Health Agency that money intended for those with developmental disabilities was

spent on staff for Ficano.

 

What began as a federal investigation of a $200,000 severance package to a former economic development director has grown into grand jury probes of alleged

kickbacks in a county-affiliated insurance program, a suicide-prevention contract to the ex-husband of a Ficano supporter, a $300 million county jail construction

project and millions of dollars in information technology contracts.

 

The diversion of mental health funds could constitute fraud, said Richard Visingadri, who received a $200,000 lawsuit settlement in 2007 after he was fired

by the mental health agency. Mohamed Okdie, who served on the mental health board from 1994 to 2008, said prosecutors would have plenty to investigate,

and alleged Ficano used Medicaid money on unrelated projects and to counteract gaps in the general fund.

 

 

Source:

http://insurancenewsnet.com/article.aspx?id=325086