Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt announced that Kansas-City-area contractor Brian S. Pummell will pay back over $26,000 in restitution to Missourians who paid Pummell for work he never performed. “Protecting consumers is an important duty of the Attorney General’s Office, and the dedicated investigators, hotline operators, and attorneys in the Consumer Protection Section of my […]
Tag: attorneys
Quick ruling expected from Missouri Supreme Court on Medicaid Expansion
Missouri’s Medicaid expansion lawsuit case is now in the hands of the seven-member state Supreme Court. The court heard about 35 minutes of oral arguments Tuesday morning in Jefferson City. This case will likely come down to the definition of “appropriation.” Cole County Circuit Judge Jon Beetem ruled in June that Missouri’s August Medicaid expansion […]
Kansas man sentenced in Missouri to 12-years in prison for Payday Loan fraud and tax evasion
A Kansas man was sentenced in federal court for engaging in two separate fraud schemes related to millions of dollars in false payday loan debt and for tax evasion totaling more than $8 million. “After raking in millions of dollars from the victims of his fraud scheme, the defendant lied repeatedly and used every trick […]
Fate of Missouri Medicaid expansion in the hands of the state Supreme Court
(Missouri Independent) – After an eight-year fight over Medicaid expansion, the arguments are over. The question of whether 275,000 people will receive state-paid health care coverage is in the hands of the Missouri Supreme Court. Oral arguments took place Tuesday in an expedited appeal. The seven judges must decide whether Medicaid eligibility will expand, as directed by the […]
Audio: Missouri Supreme Court to hear Missouri Medicaid expansion lawsuit case this morning
The Missouri Supreme Court will hear oral arguments Tuesday morning, July 13, 2021, in Jefferson City in one of the biggest cases the court has faced in recent memory: Missouri’s Medicaid expansion lawsuit case. Oral arguments will begin Tuesday at 11 a.m. Cole County Circuit Judge Jon Beetem ruled in late June that […]
Coalition of Attorneys General files suit against Google for alleged anti-competitive actions in relation to app store
Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt joined a coalition of 37 attorneys general in filing a lawsuit against Google for alleged unlawful antitrust actions. The suit, filed on Thursday, alleges exclusionary conduct relating to the Google Play Store for Android mobile devices and Google Billing. The coalition of attorneys general accuses Google of using its dominance […]
Judge appoints new prosecutor in perjury case against Eric Greitens investigator
(Missouri Independent) – A St. Louis circuit judge has approved attorney Gerard Carmody’s motion to withdraw as the special prosecutor in the case of an ex-FBI agent charged with perjury and evidence tampering during the 2018 criminal investigation of former Missouri Gov. Eric Greitens. Johnson County Prosecutor Robert Russell will take Carmody’s place in the […]
Audio: October execution date set for convicted triple killer Ernest Lee Johnson
A convicted triple killer from Columbia is set to be executed in October at the state’s maximum-security prison in Bonne Terre. The Missouri Supreme Court has scheduled an October 5 execution date for 60-year-old Ernest Lee Johnson. The Supreme Court scheduled the execution date on Tuesday. He’ll be executed by lethal injection at the southeast […]
Missouri Supreme Court: State can’t charge attorney fees for Sunshine Law requests
(Missouri Independent) – In a win for transparency advocates, the Missouri Supreme Court ruled Tuesday that government agencies cannot charge for time attorneys spend reviewing public records that are requested under the state’s Sunshine Law. In a 6-0 decision, the judges ruled that a lower court erred by siding with Gov. Mike Parson in a lawsuit […]
Audio: Missouri Supreme Court to hear oral arguments in Missouri Medicaid expansion lawsuit case in July
Missouri’s high-profile Medicaid expansion lawsuit case will go before the state’s highest court in July. The attorney for the three women suing Missouri over Medicaid expansion says the Missouri Supreme Court will hear oral arguments in the case on July 13 in Jefferson City. The same two attorneys who argued the case in […]
Judge strikes down Missouri Medicaid expansion as unconstitutional
The push to expand Medicaid eligibility in Missouri was dealt another blow on Wednesday, as a Cole County judge ruled the voter-approved initiative was unconstitutional because it didn’t include a way to pay for 275,000 new enrollees. Plaintiffs, which include three people who would have been eligible for Medicaid on July 1 if the expansion […]
Kansas City man sentenced to 10 years, without parole, for illegal firearm
A Missouri, man was sentenced in federal court today for illegally possessing a firearm. Kenneth E. Barbee Jr., 34, of Kansas City, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Roseann Ketchmark to 10 years in federal prison without parole. On Sept. 23, 2020, Barbee was found guilty at trial of being a felon in possession of […]
Missouri Attorney General joins letter urging Congress to restore Hyde Amendment to prohibit taxpayer funding of abortions
Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt and 21 other state attorneys general wrote to congressional leaders on Monday, urging Congress to keep the Hyde Amendment in the 2022 budget. The amendment prohibiting the use of federal funds for abortions was not included in the Biden Administration’s budget. The Hyde Amendment has been included in federal budgets […]
Audio: Missouri Public Defender System prepares to hire 53 new attorneys, biggest staffing increase since around 1989
If Gov. Mike Parson does not make changes to the Missouri Public Defender System’s next budget, the office is on track to get its largest staffing increase since about 1989. Director Mary Fox tells Missourinet 53 new public defenders would be hired statewide. “This is going to make a huge difference in terms […]
Judge rejects effort to add plaintiffs to Missouri Medicaid expansion lawsuit
(Missouri Independent) – A trial to determine whether Missouri must expand Medicaid coverage as mandated by a 2020 initiative will take place Friday as scheduled, Cole County Circuit Judge Jon Beetem ruled Tuesday. The ruling against adding new plaintiffs to the case came a day after Beetem heard arguments over whether two people who would become eligible for Medicaid […]
Attorney General says Missouri lawmakers can refuse to fund Medicaid expansion
(Missouri Independent) – Missouri lawmakers were not obligated to fund Medicaid expansion, and the courts cannot force the state to pay the medical bills of people who would be eligible under an initiative that amended the state constitution, the state attorney general’s office argued in documents filed Monday in Cole County Circuit Court. The filing from Attorney […]
Missouri Attorney General files civil suit against St. Louis County illicit massage business
Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt filed a civil lawsuit against an illicit massage business, Royal Day Spa, located in St. Louis County. This lawsuit is the fifth filed by Attorney General Schmitt as part of his Office’s Hope Initiative to combat human trafficking in illicit massage businesses. “Human trafficking is a scourge on our society […]
Three Russian men, one U.S. citizen indicted for $11 million tax fraud conspiracy
Three Russian men and a naturalized U.S. citizen have been indicted by a federal grand jury for their roles in a conspiracy to use stolen identities to file thousands of fraudulent tax returns and send much of the illegal proceeds to their co-conspirators in Russia. Alexander Pavlov, 37, and Dmitrii Shenke, 35, citizens and residents […]
Prosecutions and convictions lead to barring of four Individuals from participating in government healthcare Services
Due to prosecutions and convictions obtained by the Missouri Attorney General’s Medicaid Fraud Control Unit, four Missouri providers were added to the Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General’s exclusion list, meaning that they are excluded from participating in all government healthcare programs. “My Office’s Medicaid Fraud Control Unit works tirelessly to root out, […]