IOS / Balsiger et. al Civil Action

INTERNATIONAL OUTSOURCING SERVICES, THOMAS C. BALSIGER, BRUCE A FURR, STEVEN A FURR, LANCE A FURR, WILLIAM L.BABLER; OVIODIO H. ENRIQUEZ, DAVID J. HOWARD, JAMES C. CURRY and HOWARD R. MCKAY

DEFENDANTS

U.S. CIVIL ACTION – EASTERN DISTRICT of WISCONSIN

PLAINTIFFS:

BEIEDORF, INC., BRISTOL-MEYERS, SQUIBB COMPANY, COMMONWEALTH BRANDS INC., ENERGIZER BATTERY INC., GENERAL MILLS INC. GEORGIA PACIFIC CONSUMER PRODUCTS, LP, DIXIE CONSUMER PRODUCTS LLC, HORMEL FOODS CORPORATION, THE J.M SMUCKER COMPANY, JOHNSON & JOHNSON, KELLOGG COMPANY, KIMBERLY CLARK GLOBAL SALES INC., KRAFT FOOD GLOBAL INC., LAND O LAKES, INC., LORRILARD TOBACCO COMPANY, MCCORMICK & COMPANY, INC., NESTLE USA, INC., NESTLE PURINA PETCARE COMPANY, PEPSICO INC., THE PROCTOR & GAMBLE DISTRIBUTING LLC, S.C.JOHNSON & SONS, INC., CONOPCO, INC. D/B/A UNILEVER.

On October 4, 2007 the plaintiffs filed a 29 page Civil Complaint action against the defendants for violations of the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act, 18 USC sec. 1961 et seq (RICO) as well as Common Law Fraud, Failure to Disclose and Unjust Enrichment.

The complaint details the Defendants scheme. It complains that IOS is the largest coupon clearinghouse for retailers. IOS and its predecessors have been in business since 1961.IOS has processed hundreds or millions of coupons annually and on behalf of major retailers.
The complaint further states that “although the defendants scheme was multi-faceted, at its most fundamental level it involved simple augmenting the substantial volumes of properly redeemed coupons that IOS received from certain of its major retailer clients with other coupons that IOS acquired and then fraudulently submitting the entire batch as if all of the coupons had been redeemed legitimately by consumers at the designated retailer.”

“Through this scheme the defendants induced manufacturers, including Plaintiffs to pay hundreds of millions of dollars pursuant to invoices that the defendants knew were fraudulent.”

The defendants were civil charged with;
Count 1 – Federal Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act, , Title 18 USC - 1962 (all Defendants)
Count ll – Federal Racketeer Influence And Corrupt Organizations Act – Title 18 –USC – 1962d (all defendants)
Count lll – Common Law Fraud ( Defendants IOS and Balsiger)
Count lV – Common Law Conspiracy to Defraud ( All Defendants)
Count V – Common Law Unjust Enrichment ( All Defendants)
Specific details of each act and the details of the scheme and various defendants’ roles and non-defendants role in this scheme can be found in our link to this site.

The IOS saga continues…

This is a Civil Action, while the Criminal Action is Pending…
All Defendants are presumed innocent. The claims and actions by the Plaintiffs is an effort to recover hundreds of millions (estimated at $150,000,000) in assets from the defendants.

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Grocery Store & Food Stamp Fraud

GROCERYSTORE FRAUDS CONTINUE

MIDDLE-EASTERN SCAM –

STEALING FROM AMERICA


Recent history of small grocery stores throughout the nation has proven to be a bastion for criminal fraud against business, multi-national corporations and even the Federal Government.
Like many before them, now comes Mohamad Issa, a grocery store manager from Miami, which has been arrested and charged with alleged numerous counts of fraud and money laundering. This is the result of a Joint Task Force of Florida Department of Law Enforcement, Local Police and Federal Agencies investigation into Food Stamp Fraud.

The case in point is the laundering of Food stamps, by cashing them for patrons, keeping half and paying out half to the food stamp recipient. What a price for cash! This problem has ongoing for the past 20 years in small mom & pop grocery stores, mostly owned by Middle Eastern or Latin controlled storefronts.

The problem is more than just fraud. It points to a system that fails to address Food Stamp recipients who are mostly on the lower economic spectra of America’s society, therefore, if it looks like cash and can be converted into cash, it will become cash.

Mohamad Issa and his associate Jehad Hassan found an easy “get rich quick” scheme by converting Food Stamps into cash, transacting them with the front of a Grocery Store in a low income community, where cash rules, as street money. It’s a community that doesn’t know about 401K’s or retirement planning. Mostly it’s based on daily survival, week to week paychecks to live and a community flooded by illegal drug trade, and petty criminal behavior.

It’s reported by FDLE (Florida Department of Law Enforcement) that more than a dozen food stamp recipients transacted more than $4.2 million in cash, transacting and keeping half of the proceeds, paying out the difference in cash, rather than the food stamp being used to purchase food. This is a national problem. Seen before in communities throughout America, often seen in the local bodega, grocery store or Arab Minim-Mart, these transactions often go undetected. Another government hand-out program, meant for good, but inundated by fraud.

During the late 1980’s storefronts operating in Florida, Madison, Wisconsin, Philadelphia and New York, all managed by middle eastern grocery store owners were processors of food stamp cash transactions, a good method to gather cash, without reporting the money.

In this particular fraud, the storefronts are located in Liberty City, Miami, Florida, an inner city low income community. The location is the same community where Adnan Bahhur and his family and associates ran a $186 million dollar coupon fraud operation during the 1980’s. Bahhur’s operation involved numerous storefronts within Liberty City, and his associates around the United States. In all, 72 store owners were arrested in a sting operation in 1989. During that investigation, Bahhur used the identity of PLFP, PLO (Palastian Liberation Organization), and his uncle George Habash, the leader of the PLFP (Peoples Liberation Front for Palestine). It was determined that approximately $186 million was diverted as a result of the fraud operation.

In this current case some 20 years after Bahhur, agents allege that the stores falsified its records to show inflated and phony food purchases that it deducted from customers electronic food stamp cards. This is a type of credit card that allows for purchasing of food. It is supplied by the government and is a national food program.

The transactions split the money between the store owners and the customers. The amounts transacted were between $40 to $200. At times, it’s alleged the money was transferred from the store’s bank account to employee personal bank accounts or withdrawals as cash. This scheme took place from 2003 through 2006. The investigation began in 2006.

The storefronts in question are; Gina’s Supermarket, Miami Florida and Diamond’s Grocery located at 6600 NW 22 Ave., Miami, and Florida. The principles are Mohamad Issa, Jehad Hassan and Nassar Hassan.

It is my experience that alleged criminal behavior as found in these stores often finds coupon fraud and other criminal activity taking place within the grocery storefronts. Who’s checking the storefront history for coupon transactions? It’s difficult to monitor such behavior when a corporation such as IOS is itself through its officer alleged to be participants in coupon fraud.

What makes this matter similar, is the same behavior that other middle–eastern storefronts during the 1990’s like that owned and operated by Zion Isa a Abu Nidel operative, with close ties to Hamas and then dictator Saddem Hussein. Isa operated storefronts in the Mid-West and participated in adulteration of baby foods, coupon fraud and food stamp fraud. The saga continues!

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