Courts

(WNY News Now) A former certified registered nurse practitioner has been sentenced for defrauding Medicaid and fueling the opioid crisis through fraudulent Oxycodone prescriptions.HARRISBURG Joseph G. Sapp, 56, a former certified registered nurse practitioner from western Pennsylvania, was sentenced to 11.5 to 23 months in jail, followed by eight years of probation, for his involvement in a large-scale prescription fraud scheme.The Office of Attorney General Michelle Henry announced that Sapp pleaded guilty to multiple charges, including possession with intent to deliver, Medicaid fraud, and forgery. Investigators uncovered that Sapp had written fraudulent prescriptions for thousands of Oxycodone pills, filling them at pharmacies in Westmoreland, Allegheny, Fayette, and Washington coun...

(WNY News Now) – A North Carolina man has admitted guilt in a scheme that deceived hundreds of U.S. companies, accumulating over $860,000 in fraudulent payments.ROCHESTER, N.Y. — Nicholas Scarantino, a 30-year-old from North Carolina, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit mail fraud, a charge that could lead to a maximum of 20 years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000. Chief U.S. District Judge Elizabeth A. Wolford accepted Scarantino’s plea on charges stemming from a mail fraud scheme that affected hundreds of companies nationwide, including several in New York.Scarantino was the owner of Direct Chemicals, a California-based business, through which he orchestrated the fraudulent activity. According to Assistant U.S. Attorney Richard A. Resnick, Scarantino, along with others, mailed th...

(WNY News Now) – New York’s Attorney General and DEC secure penalties and enforce restoration after contractor’s illegal parking lot construction threatens vital Carlls River wetlands.NEW YORK – New York Attorney General Letitia James and New York Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) Interim Commissioner Sean Mahar today announced that they have secured over $121,000 in penalties from contractor Anthony Labriola and his two affiliate companies – ALAC Realty, LLC and ALAC Contracting Corp. –for illegally building a construction vehicle parking lot and storage facility on a protected area along the Carlls River in West Babylon, Suffolk County. Labriola and his companies removed trees and vegetation to build the storage areas, leveling a protected “buffer area” adjacent to wetlands ...

(WNY News Now) – An Orchard Park man received a probation sentence after pleading guilty to stealing $100,000 in cash and merchandise from his employer, a local jewelry store, over nearly a year.Buffalo, N.Y. – Erie County District Attorney Michael J. Keane announced that Jason T. Badagliacca, 38, was sentenced to five years of probation by Erie County Court Justice Kenneth F. Case. The former inventory manager admitted to embezzling approximately $100,000 from his employer, a jewelry store, between September 2021 and August 2022.According to investigators, Badagliacca manipulated business records to cover up the thefts, which involved both merchandise and cash. Authorities reported that he took precious stones and jewelry, selling them independently, and pocketed payments from customers w...

(WNY News Now) – An Orchard Park man received a probation sentence after pleading guilty to stealing $100,000 in cash and merchandise from his employer, a local jewelry store, over nearly a year.Buffalo, N.Y. – Erie County District Attorney Michael J. Keane announced that Jason T. Badagliacca, 38, was sentenced to five years of probation by Erie County Court Justice Kenneth F. Case. The former inventory manager admitted to embezzling approximately $100,000 from his employer, a jewelry store, between September 2021 and August 2022.According to investigators, Badagliacca manipulated business records to cover up the thefts, which involved both merchandise and cash. Authorities reported that he took precious stones and jewelry, selling them independently, and pocketed payments from customers w...