Pope denounces gay marriage lobby to US bishops

Associated Press, By Nicole Winfield, Mar 9, 2012

VATICAN CITY (AP) -- Pope Benedict XVI waded deep into U.S. campaign politics Friday, urging visiting U.S. bishops to beef up their teaching about the evils of premarital sex and cohabitation, and denouncing what he called the "powerful" gay marriage lobby in America.

Pope Benedict XVI smiles during his

weekly  general audience in St. Peter's 

Square at the Vatican, Wednesday,

 March 7, 2012. (AP Photo/ 

Alessandra Tarantino)

As debate over health care coverage for birth control rages in the United States, Benedict said there was an urgent need for Catholics in America to discover the value of chastity - an essential element of Christian teaching that he said had been subject to unjust "ridicule."

Benedict has long championed traditional marriage between man and woman, as well as opposition to premarital sex and fidelity within marriage. But his strong comments to visiting U.S. bishops took on particular significance given the culture wars that have erupted in the U.S. this campaign season.

U.S. bishops are currently locked in an election year battle with the Obama administration over federal funding for birth control.

In addition, bishops have been at the forefront of the campaign against same-sex marriage, with at least five U.S. states scheduling ballot measures on the issue in coming months. Cardinal Timothy Dolan, the head of the U.S. conference of bishops and archbishop of New York, unsuccessfully lobbied against the legalization of gay marriage in his state.

The 84-year-old pope acknowledged his comments might sound anachronistic or "countercultural," particularly to the young. But he told bishops to not back down in the face of "powerful political and cultural currents seeking to alter the legal definition of marriage."

"Sexual differences cannot be dismissed as irrelevant to the definition of marriage," he said.

He also denounced what he called the failure of priests and bishops to instruct Catholics in core church teachings on human sexuality, saying many Catholics seem unaware that living together outside of marriage was "gravely sinful, not to mention damaging to the stability of society."

The entire Christian community, he said, must recover an appreciation of the virtue of chastity.

"Young people need to encounter the church's teaching in all its integrity, challenging and countercultural as that teaching may be; more importantly they need to see it embodied by faithful married couples who bear convincing witness to truth," he said.

Benedict said a weakened appreciation for traditional marriage and the widespread rejection of responsible sexuality had led to "grave social problems bearing an immense human and economic cost." He didn't elaborate on what the cost was.

Groups of visiting U.S. bishops have been traveling to Rome for the past several months as part of bishops' regular once-every-five-year visits with the pope and senior Vatican officials.

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(Religions – Zionism - March 1, 2012 - Matthew Channelled by Suzanne Ward)

9. It can be no other way—simply, this is the physics that governs life in this universe. As Earth continues apace into successively higher planes, nothing with low vibrations in any form—physical bodies, subversive plans, theft, dishonesty, unjust laws and imprisonment, bigotry, cruel customs and deeds—can survive.

10. Moving on, no, it will not be quite like religions being “totally discarded and replaced by universal laws in the Golden Age.” When the truths come forth that science and spirit are one and the same and that religious dogmas were originated by early leaders of church and state to control the masses, people whose consciousness has risen beyond the constraints of third density will adhere to the spiritual aspects of their respective religions and the devised, controlling aspects will fall by the wayside.

11. One of the truths to come forth is that Zionism, which by dark intent has been made synonymous with Judaism, actually is a bellicose political movement within the Illuminati, and its aim for more than six decades has been to create conflict and instability in the entire Middle East. Zionists, who have wielded powerful influence within and behind major governments and their military forces, do NOT represent the Jewish peoples in Israel or anywhere else. And, like all other Illuminati factions, they have been committed to that cabal’s goal of global domination.

12. Although Semites are of diverse national origins and religions, the Zionists have been successful in convincing many that “anti-Semitic” is exclusively prejudice against the Jewish peoples and opposition to Israel’s right to defend itself from its “enemies.” By means of that blatant distortion, they obtained not only world sympathy, but also massive defense funding from Israel’s allies, most especially the United States, all of which served to increase the Illuminati’s vast profits from their industrial-military machine.

13. In addition to controlling the masses through dogmatic teachings, religions have served the dark purpose of divisiveness to such an extent that it resulted in centuries of trauma and bloodshed. Witness the Crusades, wars between Catholics and Protestants, pogroms against Jews, executions of “blasphemous” individuals who refused to “recant.”  (Read More …)

"Matthew preparing us for the Golden Age." -  Jan 19, 2012 (Channelled by Suzy Ward)


"Perceptions of God" – June 6, 2010 (Kryon channeled by Lee Carroll) (Subjects: Quantum Teaching, The Fear of God, Near-death Experience, God Becomes Mythology, Worship, Mastery, Intelligent Design, Benevolent Creator, Global Unity.... etc.) (Text version)

“.. For centuries you haven't been able to think past that box of what God must be like. So you create a Human-like God with wars in heaven, angel strife, things that would explain the devil, fallen angels, pearly gates, lists of dos and don'ts, and many rules still based on cultures that are centuries old. You create golden streets and even sexual pleasures as rewards for men (of course) - all Human perspective, pasted upon God. I want to tell you that it's a lot different than that. I want to remind you that there are those who have seen it! Why don't you ask somebody who has had what you would call a near-death experience? 


"Recalibration of Free Choice"–  Mar 3, 2012 (Kryon Channelling by Lee Caroll) - (Subjects: (Old) Souls, Midpoint on 21-12-2012, Shift of Human Consciousness, Black & White vs. Color, 1 - Spirituality (Religions) shifting, Lose a Pope “soon”, 2 - Humans will change react to drama, 3 - Civilizations/Population on Earth,  4 - Alternate energy sources (Geothermal, Tidal (Pedal wheels), Wind), 5 – Financials Institutes/concepts will change (Integrity – Ethical) , 6 - News/Media/TV to change, 7 – Big Pharmaceutical company will collapse “soon”, (Keep people sick), (Integrity – Ethical)  8 – Wars will be over on Earth, Global Unity, … etc.)  - New !   

‘Kony 2012′ Campaign Against Uganda Warlord Takes Over Internet

ABC News, Mar 7, 2012

If you logged onto Facebook at any point today, you may very well have found friends and others sharing “Kony 2012,” a 30-minute YouTube film on the Ugandan warlord Joseph Kony.

The nonprofit charity Invisible Children Inc. uploaded the video Monday to bring attention to Kony and the rebel group Lord’s Resistance Army, which has terrorized central Africa for several years. The YouTube video currently has more than 7 million views.

The hashtag #stopkony has been trending worldwide on Twitter.

Image Credit: invisiblechildren.com

On its Facebook page, Invisible Children says it “uses film, creativity and social action to end the use of child soldiers in Joseph Kony’s rebel war and restore LRA-affected communities in Central Africa to peace and prosperity.”

The charity came about after three Southern California filmmakers returned from Africa and released a documentary on the children forced to fight under Kony’s leadership.

In October, President Obama sent 100 troops to Uganda to help regional forces battle the LRA and capture or kill Kony.

During that announcement, he said that for more than two decades the LRA had been responsible for having “murdered, raped, and kidnapped tens of thousands of men, women, and children in central Africa” and continues to “commit atrocities across the Central African Republic, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and South Sudan that have a disproportionate impact on regional security.”

On April 20, the group is asking supporters to cover their hometowns with posters calling for Kony to be brought to justice. On its website, supporters can sign a petition and contribute to the cause by buying T-shirts, posters and bracelets.

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African dictators warned: 'Your time is up'

Joseph Kony, leader of the Lord's 

Resistance Army. Photograph: STR/AP

.

Nuclear Duck - Bibi Netanyahu ft. Daffy Duck & Duck Sauce (Video)

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BIBI -Shake Shake (Noy Alooshe Remix) - Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, the dance remix

"The End of History" – Nov 20, 2010 (Kryon channelled by Lee Carroll)

(Subjects: Abraham, Isaac, Ishmael, Muhammad, Jesus, God, Jews, Arabs, EU, US, Israel, Iran, Russia, Africa, South America, Global Unity,..... etc.) (Text version)

".. If an Arab and a Jew can look at one another and see the Akashic lineage and see the one family, there is hope. If they can see that their differences no longer require that they kill one another, then there is a beginning of a change in history. And that's what is happening now. All of humanity, no matter what the spiritual belief, has been guilty of falling into the historic trap of separating instead of unifying. Now it's starting to change. There's a shift happening. ... "

More corporate crime charges coming: Attorney General Holder

Reuters, by Aruna Viswanatha, WASHINGTON, Tue Mar 6, 2012

U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder delivers a national security speech

 regarding the Obama administration's ongoing counter terrorism efforts

during  his visit to the Northwestern University School of Law in Chicago, 

March 5, 2012. (Credit: Reuters/Jeff Haynes)

(Reuters) - The Justice Department plans to take action in the coming months against individuals involved in corporate fraud, Attorney General Eric Holder said on Tuesday, adding that fines against companies are not enough of a deterrent.

"We're gonna make some news with regard to holding individuals responsible for things we tend to think of as corporate crimes," Holder said at a meeting of state attorneys general in Washington.

The comments came in response to a question from Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli about individual prosecutions in Medicare fraud cases, but Holder said the remarks applied "more generally" to corporate fraud.

In the corporate fraud area, the Justice Department has received especially sharp criticism for not bringing more cases against entities and individuals who played a role in the 2007-2009 financial crisis.

Federal judges in recent months have also criticized other enforcement agencies for bringing cases against corporations while limiting any action against individual employees who may have been responsible for the conduct.

In the most notable example, U.S. District Judge Jed Rakoff in November threw out Citigroup's proposed $285 million settlement with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission over the sale of toxic mortgage debt, and called the fine "pocket change" for the company.

Holder echoed that sentiment on Tuesday and said: "Especially when you look at the securities field, there have been far too many repeat offenders."

"It can't simply be that you make billions of dollars and then you pay hundreds of millions of dollars in penalties. That's not a disincentive," he said.

The remarks come as a new federal-state working group gets under way to investigate the pooling and sale of home loans that contributed to the financial crisis.

The group, which President Barack Obama announced during his State of the Union address in January, has held meetings and is moving forward with its investigations, Holder said.

The department has sent 16 civil subpoenas in its investigation, Holder said, five more than had been revealed during a January press conference.

Reuters reported last week those subpoenas appeared to overlap with previous investigations undertaken by the SEC, suggesting that the Justice Department was treading on cases the SEC has struggled to bring for years.

A Justice Department spokeswoman said last week the working group is "marshaling parallel efforts" and "pooling resources" to investigate those responsible for misconduct.

(Reporting By Aruna Viswanatha; Editing by Tim Dobbyn)

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116 Resignations from World Banks 3/2/12

We Interrupt Your Regularly Scheduled Lives For A Life Changing Newsflash! – Mar 5, 2012 (Channelled through Greg Giles)

“…  All your life you have waited for the good news, and that day has finally come. Very soon you will witness large-scale mass arrests all ov...er the world of many men and women who you have come to know as our world's political and financial leaders. These arrests will reach high into the U.S. Government and include many members of the financial and banking worlds. Many of these names you will immediately recognize, though some you may not immediately recognize, but all have actively taken part in serious crimes against the people, leaving our nations bankrupt why they looted our hard earned money. …”

Peres to tell AIPAC: Israel not 'rushing into war' with Iran

The Israeli president will also thank Obama for the assistance he has given Israel during the three-and-a-half years of his presidency.

Haaretz, by Barak Ravid, 4 Mar 2012

WASHINGTON, D.C. - President Shimon Peres will meet with President Barack Obama in the U.S. capital on Sunday. Peres will also tell delegates of pro-Israel lobby AIPAC that Israel is not rushing into a war with Iran.

President Shimon Peres (Photo: GPO)

Ahead of his meeting with the American leader, Peres will deliver a speech to AIPAC in which he will express his support for, and faith in, the friendship between Israel and the United States. He will also thank Obama for the political and security assistance he has given Israel during the three-and-a-half years of his presidency to date. 

Sources close to Peres told Haaretz on Saturady that the Israeli president's speech will focus mainly on the debt that Israel owes the U.S., the American people and Obama for the close ties between the two countries.

Peres will tell delegates attending the AIPAC conference that Israel should "get back to the basics" of the Israeli-American relationship, and that "sometimes it does no harm to say 'Thank you'." Peres will conclude his speech by saying he is "confident that the United States will always stand by Israel."

Peres will also dedicate a large portion of his speech to Iran, telling delegates that "Israel is not rushing into war. We are a country that always seeks out peace and peace is always our preferred option, but our enemies should make no mistakes. We have fought six wars that were forced upon us and we have won them all. If another war is forced upon us, we will fight it and we will win it."

Peres will also talk about the importance of renewing negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians. Peace, he will say, is not just in Israel's interest, it is "a moral duty for the Jewish people."

Immediately after Peres' speech, Obama will take to the podium. The American leader is not expected to unveil any new initiative on the Iranian issue. Instead, he will reiterate a message he has been relaying for several months - that the United States will not allow the Islamic Republic to become a nuclear-armed power. Obama is expected to focus on the series of measures that his administration has taken to tighten security cooperation with Israel.

Sources close to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, meanwhile, do not believe that Obama's speech will include anything dramatic on the Iranian issue, but, rather, that it will stress the severity of the threat posed by a nuclear-armed Iran and the United States' commitment to thwarting Tehran's aspirations on this front.

Netanyahu, who began his North America trip on Friday in Canada, told the Canadian prime minister, Stephen Harper, that the international community should not allow what he called "Iran's relentless pursuit of nuclear weapons" to succeed.

Binyamin Netanyahu said to Barack Obama: 'When it comes

 to security, Israel has the sovereign right to make its own 

decisions.' Photograph: Saul Loeb/AFP/Getty Images

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AIPAC Works for the 1 Percent

(Religions – Zionism - March 1, 2012 - Matthew Channelled by Suzanne Ward)

9. It can be no other way—simply, this is the physics that governs life in this universe. As Earth continues apace into successively higher planes, nothing with low vibrations in any form—physical bodies, subversive plans, theft, dishonesty, unjust laws and imprisonment, bigotry, cruel customs and deeds—can survive.

10. Moving on, no, it will not be quite like religions being “totally discarded and replaced by universal laws in the Golden Age.” When the truths come forth that science and spirit are one and the same and that religious dogmas were originated by early leaders of church and state to control the masses, people whose consciousness has risen beyond the constraints of third density will adhere to the spiritual aspects of their respective religions and the devised, controlling aspects will fall by the wayside.

11. One of the truths to come forth is that Zionism, which by dark intent has been made synonymous with Judaism, actually is a bellicose political movement within the Illuminati, and its aim for more than six decades has been to create conflict and instability in the entire Middle East. Zionists, who have wielded powerful influence within and behind major governments and their military forces, do NOT represent the Jewish peoples in Israel or anywhere else. And, like all other Illuminati factions, they have been committed to that cabal’s goal of global domination.

12. Although Semites are of diverse national origins and religions, the Zionists have been successful in convincing many that “anti-Semitic” is exclusively prejudice against the Jewish peoples and opposition to Israel’s right to defend itself from its “enemies.” By means of that blatant distortion, they obtained not only world sympathy, but also massive defense funding from Israel’s allies, most especially the United States, all of which served to increase the Illuminati’s vast profits from their industrial-military machine.

13. In addition to controlling the masses through dogmatic teachings, religions have served the dark purpose of divisiveness to such an extent that it resulted in centuries of trauma and bloodshed. Witness the Crusades, wars between Catholics and Protestants, pogroms against Jews, executions of “blasphemous” individuals who refused to “recant.”  (Read More …)

"Matthew preparing us for the Golden Age." -  Jan 19, 2012 (Channelled by Suzy Ward)

Some Sponsors Rush Away From Limbaugh’s Show

ABC News, Mar 3, 2012

  (Image Credit: Ethan Miller/Getty Images)

                                                 

Four sponsors have severed ties with Rush Limbaugh’s radio show after the outspoken host called law student Sandra Fluke a “slut” and a “prostitute.”

National advertisers LegalZoom, Quicken Loans and Sleep Number along with West Coast ad buyer The Sleep Train announced this week they were pulling all advertisements.

“We don’t condone negative comments directed toward any group. In response, we are currently pulling our ads from Rush with Rush Limbaugh,” Sleep Train wrote on Twitter.

Sandra Fluke, a Georgetown Law Student, was thrust into the spotlight this week after Limbaugh called her a “slut” for her stance on a new insurance mandate that requires employers to cover the cost of contraception.

“What does it say about the college co-ed Sandra Fluke, who goes before a congressional committee and essentially says that she must be paid to have sex, what does that make her? It makes her a slut, right? It makes her a prostitute,” Limbaugh said Wednesday.

The radio host’s comments caused customers to lobby advertisers to pull their money from the show or risk losing business.

The California-based Sleep Train has enjoyed a relationship with Limbaugh since it opened its first store in 1985.

Founder Dale Carlsen told the Sacramento Bee in 2006 that Limbaugh was introduced to him through an ad sales representative.

“The ad guy said, ‘Now he’s a little bit controversial, but he needs a bed, would you take care of him?’ ” Carlsen said. “I needed every sale that I could get at that time, so I said, ‘Yeah, bring him in and I’ll take care of him.’ ”

Not only did advertisers feel the heat, bit Limbaugh’s shot at Fluke has been drawn into presidential politics. President Obama called Fluke Friday to make sure she was okay, Fluke said.

The three Republican candidates have been less eager to discuss Limbaugh, a favorite of conservatives.

When asked about Limbaugh today, Newt Gingrich criticized Obama’s phone call to Fluke.

“I think the president will opportunistically do anything he can,” Gingrich said after a rally at the Back Porch Saloon. “I think the most important use of language in the last week has been the president’s apology to religious fanatics, and I want to stay focused on what the president has said, and I think what he said was inexcusable and is exactly the wrong policy at a time of life and death, and playing political games is irrelevant as far as I’m concerned.”

Mitt Romney was more measured in his response.

“I’ll just say this, which is, it’s not the language I would have used,” Romney told an Ohio crowd.

Rick Santorum called Limbaugh’s comments “absurd,” but said Limbaugh was just being an entertainer.

Sandra Fluke said President Obama told her that her

parents "should be proud"

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Limbaugh apologizes to law student for insult

MP questions Santorum's forced euthanasia claims

(Photo: YouTube/rightwingwatch.org)

.

Some Wall Streeters Facing Tough Times On Just $350,000 A Year

MSNBC News, by msnbc.com staff, Mar 1, 2012

Pity the poor investment bankers.

Facing a sharp decline in revenue from banking and trading, many Wall Street firms have trimmed 2011 discretionary pay, according to a Bloomberg News report, and that has translated into shrinking paychecks and widespread unease.

Wall Street types like Andrew Schiff, director of marketing for broker-dealer Euro Pacific Capital, are feeling the pain.

Schiff told Bloomberg that his reduced bonus means his $350,000 salary doesn’t cover his family’s private-school tuition, a Kent, Conn., summer rental and the upgrade they would like for his 1,200-square- foot Brooklyn duplex.

“I feel stuck,” Schiff told Bloomberg. “The New York that I wanted to have is still just beyond my reach.”

Cue the tiny violins.

Across Wall Street, smaller bonus checks are making upscale lifestyles harder to maintain, Bloomberg reports, based on interviews with bankers, accountants, therapists, advisers and headhunters.

At Goldman Sachs and Barclays Capital, the cuts were at least 25 percent, Bloomberg said, while Morgan Stanley has capped cash bonuses at $125,000.

However, Bloomberg also notes that median household income in 2010 was $49,445, according to the U.S. Census Bureau — lower than the previous year and less than 1 percent of Goldman Sachs CEO Lloyd Blankfein’s $7 million restricted-stock bonus for 2011.

Richard Scheiner, a 58 year-old real-estate investor and hedge-fund manager, told Bloomberg that he spends about $500 a month to park one of his two Audis in a garage and at least $7,500 a year each for memberships at the Trump National Golf Club and a gun club in upstate New York.

He also pays $17,000 a year on food, health care, boarding and a daily dog-walker (who charges $17 each per outing) to look after a labradoodle named Zelda and a rescued bichon fries named Duke.

But to make ends meet he has sold two motorcycles he doesn’t use and makes do with his Porsche 911 Carrera 4S Cabriolet, which he called “the Volkswagen of supercars,” Bloomberg said.

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Exclusive: Undercover Grandma Catches Medicare Fraud on Tape

ABC News, By Megan Chuchman (@megcourtney) and Brian Ross (@brianross), March 1, 2012

In the wake of an ABC News undercover investigation, federal authorities in Texas are investigating how an active 82-year-old grandmother was diagnosed as homebound, with a range of ailments that she did not have, including Type 2 diabetes, opening the door to potentially tens of thousands of dollars in Medicare payments for home health care, supplies and equipment she did not need.

A hidden camera recorded the undercover grandmother's visit to a doctor in McAllen, Texas, where she told the doctor and nurses she exercised regularly and, other than some hypertension and arthritis, was in excellent health.

Doris Ace, grandmother to ABC News

 producer Megan Chuchmach, went

undercover  as part of an ABC News 

investigation in McAllen, Texas.

"I've really enjoyed good health all my life, God's been good to me," the doctor was told by Doris Ace, the grandmother of ABC News producer Megan Chuchmach.

Yet the official certification sent to Medicare for home health care services indicate she was homebound and suffered from two internal infections, incontinence and needs "assistance in all activities, unable to safely leave home, severe sob," an abbreviation for shortness of breath.

Mrs. Ace had specifically told the doctor and her nurses she did not suffer from incontinence or shortness of breath.

On a patient referral form for home health care service, signed by the doctor, our undercover grandmother was also wrongly diagnosed with type 2 diabetes, even though she was not given a blood test which doctors say is the only way to authoritatively diagnose diabetes.

The overall diagnosis of the undercover grandmother's health could have provided the justification for what could be tens of thousand dollars a year worth of unneeded treatment and medical supplies and equipment, federal investigators said in an interview to be broadcast tonight on ABC News' "World News with Diane Sawyer" and "Nightline".

"That's fraud," said Tim Menke, senior adviser for investigations in the Inspector General's office at the Department of Health and Human Services.

"Our Medicare system is an honor system," said Menke after viewing the files and the ABC News undercover tape of the doctor's office visit. "And there's not much honor left in the system when you see things like that."

McAllen is considered a hotbed of Medicare fraud by the Inspector General's office which has already brought cases against a number of doctors and health care agencies and has many others under investigation.

"The fraud indicators are off the charts," said Menke of McAllen and surrounding towns in the Rio Grande Valley. "We have ten of the top physicians who have billed nearly $200 million in one specialty last year alone."

Nationwide, the Inspector General's office estimates that $60 billion dollars of taxpayer money is lost to unchecked Medicare fraud every year.

"We've seen it in Miami, Detroit and now in McAllen and it's very, very common," he said.

"They're lying in order to steal from you and me and the taxpayers," he added.

The McAllen doctor, Dr. Padmini Bhadriraju declined to comment to ABC News but denied any wrongdoing through her lawyer.

The lawyer, John Rivas, said the doctor acknowledged an "error" in the diabetes diagnosis for ABC News' undercover grandmother on the patient referral form but said, "this section was filled out by someone other than Dr. Bhadriraju," even though he confirmed the doctor did fill out the majority of the form and signed it in her handwriting.

Her signature served as certification that "my clinical findings support that this patient is homebound."

The doctor's lawyer said neither the doctor nor others in her office knew who filled in the incorrect diabetes diagnosis.

Rivas also said the doctor played no role in the official certification form sent to Medicare, although records show she billed Medicare for the review of the form and its plan of care.

"The records provided by ABC News do not support any allegations of fraud. It would be irresponsible journalism to air a story on Medicare/Medicaid fraud using this referral as an example when there is clearly no evidence of fraud," he added in a letter to ABC News.

ABC News ended the undercover investigation before any medical supplies or equipment could be billed to Medicare based on the false diagnosis.

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Dozens charged in massive U.S. auto insurance fraud scheme

English.news.cn   2012-03-01

            

NEW YORK, Feb. 29 (Xinhua) -- A total of 36 people were charged on Wednesday in New York City with defrauding automobile insurers out of more than 275 million U.S. dollars in accident benefits.

According to an indictment released in U.S. District Court in Manhattan, the racketeering and money laundering ring used phony clinics that billed insurers for unnecessary treatments.

New York law requires vehicles registered in the state to carry no-fault insurance providing as much as 50,000 U.S. dollars per person to cover injuries sustained in auto accidents.

FBI agents and police detectives around the New York City area began taking the suspects into custody early Wednesday morning and suspects will face charges that include racketeering, health care fraud, money laundering, insurance fraud and wire fraud.

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