Courtesy of the Department of Labor & Industries

TUMWATER — The owner of a Vancouver chiropractic clinic has repaid the Department of Labor & Industries (L&I) nearly $90,000 resulting from fraudulent billing.  

Clinic owner Dr. Lucas Homer recently paid the full restitution amount of $88,846 to settle a case involving improper billing practices.

Claimed to be providing care for family member in Washington while living in Louisiana
 
OLYMPIA — The Attorney General’s Office filed charges Monday in Kitsap County against a women who collected roughly $9,500 from the state’s Medicaid program to care for her family member in Kitsap County while the woman was living in Louisiana.
 

This special to the Bellingham Herald was published November 20, 2013.

By Washington Attorney General Bob Ferguson

You might reasonably assume that the federal government regulates and tests most of the chemicals found in our children’s toys, household products, and other consumer goods to make sure they are safe. They do not. In response, states like Washington stepped up with stronger chemical safety state laws to protect consumers and the environment from the impacts of toxic chemicals.

Pair left elderly Washington in-home patient without proper healthcare services for several months while claiming payments in North Carolina

Courtesy of the Department of Revenue 

SEATTLE – Nov. 21, 2013   The owner of a King County landscaping business pleaded guilty to stealing $112,572 in sales tax she collected from customers from 2006 through 2011.

SPOKANE — The Attorney General’s Office (AGO) has filed a lawsuit against an Internet based company in Colville, Wash. for violations of the Consumer Protection Act.

The company, Western By Design, LLC, goes by the name of ‘1880 Western Wear.’ They are an online retailer that sells western clothing wear and apparel.

The AGO sued them for:

SEATTLE — Attorney General Bob Ferguson today announced a major breakthrough in the fight against ‘mobile cramming’ — unauthorized third-party charges that appear on mobile telephone bills. Cramming on cell phones and landlines is estimated to cost Americans $2 billion per year.

Courtesy of the Washington State Dept. of Labor and Industries 

 TUMWATER — The owner of a foreign-language interpreter service pleaded guilty Monday in a scheme that authorities say cost Washington state hundreds of thousands of dollars.

Philip Ward, 41, of Mountlake Terrace, pleaded guilty in Thurston County Superior Court to three counts of first-degree theft.  Ward’s wife, Kitzia Huerta, 37, pleaded guilty in October to one count of first-degree theft in the same case.

Award recognizes attorneys with exceptional achievements early in their careers

OLYMPIA - Attorney General Bob Ferguson has selected six assistant attorneys general to receive the 2013 William V. Tanner Award for outstanding achievements early in their careers.  Ferguson established the new award this year in honor of the youngest Attorney General in state history.

Award recognizes extraordinary contributions to furthering justice in Washington

OLYMPIA — Attorney General Bob Ferguson has honored Senior Counsel Andy Fitz with the Attorney General’s 2013 Steward of Justice Award. The award recognizes assistant attorneys general who further the cause of justice through exceptional legal work and extraordinary contributions to the people of Washington.