Grimy Times Exclusive:
Manhattan U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara and New York State Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli announced charges against JOSEPH L. JUNKOVIC for allegedly engaging in a scheme to defraud the New York State Department of Health (NYSDOH) out of more than $700,000 dedicated to providing cancer screening services to low-income New Yorkers.
JUNKOVIC allegedly used a not-for-profit corporation, Cancer Service Network, Inc. (CSN), that he controlled, to obtain more than $25 million in federal and state funding to administer cancer screening services, and then billed the NYSDOH for thousands of hours that he did not in fact work.
According to the allegations in the Complaint unsealed today in Manhattan federal court, from April 2008 through September 2011, JUNKOVIC used CSN to obtain more than 18 separate contracts with NYSDOH, totaling more than $25 million, to provide cancer screening services for indigent New Yorkers.
The Comptroller’s Office, which performed an audit of JUNKOVIC’s invoices to NYSDOH, conservatively estimates that from April 2008 through May 2011, JUNKOVIC defrauded NYSDOH’s cancer services program out of more than $700,000.
JUNKOVIC, 48, of the Bronx, New York, is charged with one count of mail fraud, which carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison, and one count of theft of U.S. government property, which carries a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison.
JUNKOVIC was arrested at his residence this morning and will be presented in Manhattan federal court before U.S. Magistrate Judge Ronald L. Ellis this afternoon.
“By diverting over $700,000 intended for low-income New Yorkers to his own pocket, Joseph Junkovic allegedly cheated the Department of Health and cynically exploited individuals in need of potentially lifesaving services,” said Manhattan U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara.
New York State Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli stated, “As alleged, Mr. Junkovic willfully exploited impoverished clients to finance his globe-trotting, gambling and lavish shopping sprees. Working with U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara, we were able to expose this scam and plan to restore more than $700,000 to state coffers.”
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- Christopher Ferguson, Scheme to Inflate Order Numbers, New York 2023 · Washington
Key Facts
- State: New York
- Category: Public Corruption|Fraud & Financial Crimes
- Source: DOJ Press Release â†â€â€
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