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CHATSWORTH — The defense in the Brandon McInerney murder trial tried to diffuse the prosecution’s claim that Silver Strand Locals are a gang by putting a longtime Silver Strand resident on the stand Tuesday afternoon.

David Wentworth proudly said that as a resident of the Oxnard community he considers himself a Silver Strand Local. He testified that Silver Strand Local is nothing more than the locals identifying themselves and that it is not a gang as the prosecution has been arguing.

“My community is getting besmirched by this accusation that we have a gang or something,” he said.

Wentworth testified in the 14th day of the murder trial of Brandon McInerney. M

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WASHINGTON The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday undercut states’ negotiating clout with Indian tribes, effectively upholding a decision that the state of California overreached when it sought to compel general fund payments in exchange for casino approvals.

The court’s decision not to hear California’s appeal is an immediate victory for the San Diego-area Rincon Band of Luiseo Indians. The tribe wants to add hundreds of slot machines to its existing Harrah’s Rincon Casino & Resort, north of Escondido.

More broadly, the court’s decision not to hear the case leaves intact a 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals opinion that makes it harder for states to demand certain payments from tribes.

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WASHINGTON – Two defendants who co-owned and operated two Brooklyn,N.Y.,-area pharmacies were arrested today on health care fraud charges for their alleged participation in a scheme to defraud Medicare Part D that resulted in more than $3 million in fraudulent billings, announced the Department of Justice, FBI and the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and its Office of Inspector General (OIG). 

Luba Balyasny, 46, and Alla Shrayber, 40, are each charged with conspiracy to commit health care fraud in a criminal complaint unsealed today in the Eastern District of New York.  Balyasny and Shrayber, both of Brooklyn, are licensed pharmacists in New York State who co-owned and operated Monica’s Pharmacy and L & A Pharmacy.   

According to court documents, from January 2007 through December 2009, Balyasny and Shrayber allegedly defrauded the Medicare Part D program by systematically submitting false claims through their pharmacies for certain prescription medications that were not purchased by their businesses and were never dispensed to Medicare beneficiaries.  The complaint alleges that the inventory at both pharmacies for certain prescription medications did not match the pharmacies’ Part D reimbursement claims.  According to court documents, the pharmacies submitted prescription drug claims totaling approximately 869,698 units of prescription medications without any supporting drug purchase invoices.  The shortfall allegedly resulted in approximately $3 million in false and fraudulent claims paid by Medicare Part D, Part D Plans and beneficiaries for prescription drugs that were never purchased or dispensed.   

If convicted, Balyasny and Shrayber face a maximum sentence of 10 years in federal prison.  A complaint merely contains allegations and defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty at trial.

Today’s charges were announced by Assistant Attorney General Lanny A. Breuer of the Criminal

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From The Am Law Litigation Daily

After the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in April in AT&T Mobility v. Concepcion that class action plaintiffs couldnt escape individual consumer arbitration clauses by invoking a California statute, defense lawyers quickly predicted that companies would use the decision to swat down employee class actions as well. But a handful of recent decisions show that Concepcions reach has limits when it comes to employee class actions. The latest evidence comes from an unlikely source: a ruling by San Francisco federal district judge Edward Chen granting a motion by OMelveny & Myers to compel arbitration with a former employee.

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Jury selection in the Warren Jeffs trial began in San Angelo, Texas on Monday despite claims from the fundamentalist leader that doing so impinged upon his religious and other constitutional rights.

The trial, which is set to last two to three weeks, stems from the 2008 raid of the Yearning for Zion ranch in nearby Eldorado, where prosecutors allege men associated with the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (FLDS), under the guise of Jeffs, forced young girls into polygamous marriages and sexual relationships.

This portion of the Warren Jeffs trial focuses on allegations that the FLDS leader sexually assaulted two underage girls–one 12 years old, and another under the age of 17, reports the Associated Press.

Charges that he engaged in bigamy, or polygamy, are expected to be tried in October.

As recent as last week, Jeffs has attempted to delay his trial by arguing that moving forward would impinge upon the religious freedom of FLDS members who consider him a prophet, reports the Salt Lake Tribune.

He’s also attempted to earn a change of venue by claiming that San Angelo residents have been checking anti-FLDS books out of the library, notes the AP.

In any high-profile case, jury selection will be contentious, as it’s difficult to find citizens who have not been exposed to biased information concerning the defendant.

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