Criminal Justice Story Archives - West Virginia Public Broadcasting

State Recovers Nearly $1 Million From Check Fraud Scheme

State officials report that more than $1 million was stolen from the Department of Health and Human Resources in a check fraud scheme. Roughly 85% of the stolen funds have been recovered so far.

State officials recovered more than $966,000 from a fraud scheme involving paper checks and a state agency, according to state Auditor JB McCuskey during a Friday press conference.

After the Department of Health and Human Resources (DHHR) sent more than $1 million in checks to a Texas vendor, it was soon intercepted as part of a fraud scheme.

Fraudsters now under investigation used a chemical agent to remove the vendor’s name from the DHHR’s checks and redirect the funds to their own accounts.

Details on the incident — like the individuals responsible, and a timeline on when the fraud and investigation occurred — remain scarce, because McCuskey said the investigation remains ongoing.

So far, approximately 85 percent of the stolen funds have been recovered by McCuskey’s office, alongside investigators with the state treasurer’s office, the U.S. attorney’s office, the governor’s office, the West Virginia State Police and Truist Bank.

Agencies involved in the investigation described the recovery of stolen funds as a success story, but one that points to deeper concerns.

“Unfortunately, in the world we live in, there are a lot of fraudsters. They are very creative,” said Truist Regional President Patrick O’Malley. “It continues to be the number one risk in the banking industry.”

McCuskey said that particular risk to the state comes from the use of paper checks to transfer large amounts of money. These can be more easily redirected by outside parties, he said.

Since taking office in 2017, McCuskey said he has made a concerted effort to reduce the number of paper checks sent by state agencies. On Friday, he urged current state officials to consider opting for electronic forms of payment instead.

“If you haven’t signed up for electronic funds transfer, please do so,” he said. “You’re actually doing yourself a favor. But more than that, you’re doing the taxpayers of West Virginia a favor because it makes our jobs in finding fraud much, much easier.”

United States Attorney for the Southern District of West Virginia Will Thompson said that instances of check fraud have been growing nationwide.

“It’s happening with obviously the state of West Virginia, but it’s also happening in private industry and private individuals,” he said. “I want to make people aware of it.”

Thompson said his office will continue to pursue a criminal investigation into the perpetrators of the fraud. He has not yet provided a timeline for the investigation or said what charges will be filed.

Senate Effort To Raise Indecent Exposure Penalties Causes House Confusion

Members of a House of Delegates committee expressed confusion over a bill modifying indecent exposure penalties in West Virginia, and had extensive debate over additional amendments to the bill.

A bill that would raise penalties for indecent exposure moved swiftly through the West Virginia Senate last month, passing the chamber just two days into this year’s legislative session.

But a West Virginia House of Delegates committee reviewed the bill this week with less certainty than their colleagues across the rotunda.

Senate Bill 160 would allow for stiffer penalties for individuals repeatedly convicted for “indecent exposure for purposes of sexual gratification,” permitting them to be both fined and imprisoned.

The bill prompted more than an hour of debate in the House Judiciary Committee Thursday morning.

Members of the committee widely supported reinforced protections against sexual misconduct.

But Del. Chris Pritt, R-Kanawha, sought to amend the bill to expand definitions of — and penalties for — indecent exposure when a minor was knowingly present.

Pritt said his amendment aimed to address “news across the country” of “sexually explicit” conduct in libraries and schools.

“We’re talking about shows in which individuals are dancing in a manner that is sexually suggestive in front of children at libraries, at schools,” he said. “We’ve all heard about it in the news.”

Pritt did not cite any specific examples of these performances.

Several committee members applauded Pritt’s impulse to reinforce protections for minors, but some expressed concern that his amendment would modify case law cemented in West Virginia courtrooms.

“If we’re applying a different standard than what has historically been applied, we would basically be getting rid of 100 years of case law by switching this,” said Del. Brandon Steele, R-Raleigh, who is an attorney.

The amendment would have changed the bill’s language to include references to “private parts,” defined later in the amendment to encompass body parts such as the “post-puberty female breasts with less than fully opaque covering of any part of the nipple.”

It also specified a wide range of “sexually explicit” acts that would fall into the purview of the new bill, like the “lascivious exhibit of simulated sexual intercourse.”

But opponents said these changes were too far-reaching, and gave too much authority to an individual’s definitions of nudity and sexual conduct.

They worried incidents of sexual dancing at a wedding or wardrobe malfunctions at a beach could fall into the definition of indecent exposure under the amendment.

“This is just getting worse and worse and worse. We are in a hole so deep we need a bigger shovel,” said Del. Rick Hillenbrand, R-Hampshire. “I don’t like the amendment to the amendment, [and] I don’t like the amendment.”

Ultimately, Pritt’s proposal was defeated in a vote of 11 to 11, with 3 members of the committee absent or not voting.

Still, the initial bill itself raised further concerns from lawmakers.

The Senate bill would remove a clause explicitly stating that breastfeeding did not qualify as sexual misconduct under state law.

Committee members suggested that this was because senators felt it was an unnecessary addition to state law, because breastfeeding does not constitute an act of “sexual gratification.”

But lawmakers with legal experience, like Steele, said that removing the explicit breastfeeding exemption could be seen as an effort from lawmakers to authorize prosecution for public breastfeeding.

“I don’t want anybody looking back at this legislative intent and seeing that we removed that language,” he said. “When we cross out language like that, I can see a judge saying, ‘Well, the legislature must have intended to recriminalize this.’”

Steele proposed an additional amendment to reverse the removal of the breastfeeding clause, which passed unanimously.

After extensive debate, the committee ultimately voted in favor of the bill, sending it to the full House for further discussion.

Addressing Diversion In W.Va.’s Criminal Justice System

On this episode of The Legislature Today, host Randy Yohe talks with forensic psychologist Dr. David Clayman and Senate Jails and Prison Committee Co-Chair Sen. Jason Barrett, R-Berkeley, to talk about the diversion of certain persons from the criminal justice system.

On this episode of The Legislature Today, host Randy Yohe talks with forensic psychologist Dr. David Clayman and Senate Jails and Prison Committee Co-Chair Sen. Jason Barrett, R-Berkeley, to talk about the diversion of certain persons from the criminal justice system.

Also, in the House, a bill to help those with dementia and their families heads to the Senate, and a bill on whether authorities should release mugshots has sparked some controversy.

And, we’re now more than a week into the session, and bills have started to move through their respective committees. The Education committees in both chambers are addressing financial issues in the state’s schools. Chris Schulz has the story.

Finally, it was Rural Health Care Day at the Capitol. Many health care providers and health advocacy organizations were at the capitol to discuss challenges and advocate for possible solutions in rural health care. Briana Heaney has more.

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The Legislature Today is West Virginia’s only television/radio simulcast devoted to covering the state’s 60-day regular legislative session.

Watch or listen to new episodes Monday through Friday at 6 p.m. on West Virginia Public Broadcasting.

Federal Funds Support Criminal Justice, Recovery Efforts

During his regular briefing Tuesday afternoon, Gov. Jim Justice announced close to $4 million from two federal funds for criminal justice and substance use programs.

More than $2.5 million will fund 18 projects to address substance use disorders across the state.

The money comes from the U.S. Department of Justice’s Comprehensive Opioid, Stimulant and Substance Use Program (COSSUP), formerly the Comprehensive Opioid Abuse Program (COAP). This program was developed to provide financial and technical assistance to states and local governments to develop, implement or expand comprehensive efforts to identify, respond to, treat and support those impacted by illicit opioids, stimulants and other drugs.

Horizon Behavioral Health will receive the largest individual award of $600,000 to expand and improve substance use, mental health treatment and peer recovery support services. Horizon works in Monongalia, Ohio, Brooke, Hancock, Marshall, Tyler, Wetzel and Tucker counties with individuals suffering from one or more substance use disorders.

The next largest individual award of $500,000 will go to the West Virginia Department of Health and Human Resources (DHHR) to enhance and expand the West Virginia Quick Response Team, Law Enforcement Assisted Diversion and Angel (QLA) Early Intervention Program.

“We’re very, very, very very tickled to have those grants going out,” Justice said.

Justice also announced more than $1 million in Justice Assistance Grant (JAG) program funds to 43 projects statewide.

The Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant (JAG) program is a U.S. Department of Justice project to provide federal justice funding to state and local jurisdictions.

“These funds will be used to assist state agencies, local governments, private nonprofit agencies to improve the criminal justice system,” Justice said.

Special emphasis was placed on multi-jurisdictional projects and statewide projects that seek to create and/or retain jobs in the criminal justice system in West Virginia.

The West Virginia State Police received the largest individual award of $200,667 to combat the war on drugs and reduce incidents of violent crime. The next largest individual award of $72,000 was awarded to the City of Bridgeport for the same purpose.

Misdemeanor Election Crime Has W.Va. Felon On Parole Going Back To Jail

In West Virginia, it’s a crime to participate in elections while serving a sentence for a felony conviction, including any period of probation or parole.

Following a jury trial in July 2023, Fayette County resident Darrell Sharp II was found guilty of unlawful voter registration while on parole for a felony conviction. Fayette County Circuit Court Judge Paul M. Blake, Jr., handed down the maximum sentence of one year in jail and a $1,000 fine.

All states except for Vermont and Maine (and Washington, D.C.) have some form of restriction on voting rights for people with criminal convictions. West Virginia is among thirteen states that restore voting rights after completion of a sentence, including parole. Twenty states restore voting rights after someone is released from prison. Eleven states have policies that vary depending on the crime committed. Only in Virginia are people permanently disenfranchised after conviction of a felony.

Secretary of State Mac Warner said Sharp’s is the first conviction under tougher election fraud laws recently passed by the legislature. Warner said the sentencing sends a significant message.

“This conviction is just one further indication that we are going to continue this push for election integrity and security,” Warner said

West Virginia University Political Science Chair John Kilwein said in Sharp’s case, the punishment doesn’t fit the crime.

“It just doesn’t seem like it should be a high priority,” Kilwein said. “It doesn’t seem like my tax dollars should be supporting that guy in prison for that act.”

Warner said the court considered Sharp’s prior felonies as heinous, and he had attempted election fraud once before.

“I think the sentence was very appropriate,” Warner said. “With the history behind it, he was very intentionally making these efforts to vote and participate when he was not allowed to do so and had been put on notice of that.”

Sharp’s conviction for election law violations is West Virginia’s fourth such in 2023 and the third since July. Kilwein said in a state with 1.8 million people, four cases of voter fraud in the year, so far, is not a glaring problem.

“This smacks of politics that a candidate argues there is voter fraud,” Kilwein said. “Voter fraud is really a non-issue in this country. It is a glaring problem to the MAGA types, to the Fox News types, where they’re constantly told Democrats are trying to steal elections.”

Warner said vote fraud vigilance, no matter the scope, is needed. He said documentation shows that a single illegal vote can possibly sway an outcome.

“In the 2022 election cycle, we had 12 races that were decided by five votes or less,” Warner said. “Sometimes you hear, ‘well, it’s not massive voter fraud,’ or ‘it didn’t change the outcome of the election.’ We’ve had a number of cases here in West Virginia where just one or two votes does change the outcome of an election. And that’s why we take every voting fraud case very seriously.”

As to West Virginia’s restriction on voting rights for people with criminal convictions, Warner said he is pleased with the way things are, and if the legislature wants to change it, it can.

“But I don’t anticipate that with the current legislature because I think they are just as concerned with election integrity as I am,” Warner said.

A W.Va. Unemployment Fraud Task Force Still Under Consideration

One bill likely to be revisited in the upcoming special session would create an unemployment fraud unit within WorkForce West Virginia.

One bill likely to be revisited in the upcoming special session would create an unemployment fraud unit within Workforce WV.

A state audit showed nearly $83 million filed in false unemployment insurance claims during the pandemic. The U.S. Department of Labor laid much of the blame on organized crime using stolen identity information to apply for unemployment benefits in others’ names.

WorkForce West Virginia already investigates unemployment fraud, but SB 543 will create a criminal justice agency within the department. The unit will include supervisory, legal and investigative workers.

Law enforcement officers within the unit will be trained in computer technology specific to unemployment insurance. They can carry handguns and would have subpoena and warrant powers.

The bill passed both the House and Senate but died without concurrence as the legislative session ended.

Acting WorkForce West Virginia commissioner Scott Adkins said he’s been working closely with the U.S. Attorney offices in West Virginia’s northern and southern districts. He said a designated fraud unit will enhance the scope and strength of the state’s criminal cases.

“What my folks will do is put a package together and deliver it with a nice ribbon on it to the county prosecutor,” Adkins said. “We’re going to go after those folks who fraudulently took the unemployment benefits of five, seven or eight thousand dollars.”

Individuals convicted of unemployment insurance fraud in West Virginia may face up to 30 days in prison and up to $1,000 in fines, plus full restitution of the money received illegally.