Welcome to Gaia! :: View User's Journal | Gaia Journals

BOSTON, Oct. 16 /PRNewswire/ -- A Norton man was convicted infederal court on Tuesday, October 14, 2003, of mail fraud involving anOhio hospital.

United States Attorney Michael J. Sullivan and Kenneth W. Kaiser,
Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation in New
England, announced that JACK MALAMUT, age 57, formerly of 285 east Main
Street, Norton, Massachusetts, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge
Reginald C. Lindsay to seven counts of mail fraud.




At the plea hearing, the prosecutor told the Court that, had the
case proceeded to trial, the Government's evidence would have
proven that MALAMUT was the owner of Ultra Medical Equipment
Corporation, a company located in Randolph, Massachusetts which bought
and sold new and used medical equipment. Beginning sometime in 2001,
MALAMUT engaged in a scheme which also allegedly involved the former
Director of Materials Management for Genesis Health Care Systems,
located in Zanesville, Ohio. As part of the scheme, MALAMUT would send
phoney invoices to Genesis indicating that he had provided medical
equipment to Genesis. The Director, Lawrence A. Cook, would then
present the invoices for processing. Checks for payment from Genesis
would be mailed to MALAMUT in Massachusetts for the equipment which in
fact was never delivered. MALAMUT and Cook then shared in the proceeds
from the fraud. According to documents filed in the case, the loss to
Genesis was approximately $270,000.


Judge Lindsay scheduled sentencing for January 4, 2004. MALAMUT,
who is currently incarcerated, faces up to 5 years' imprisonment,
to be followed by 3 years of supervised release and a fine of up to
$250,000 for each count.


Lawrence A. Cook, age 45, of 4050 Kings Court, Zanesville, Ohio,
was charged earlier this year by criminal complaint with mail fraud for
his role in the scheme. Those charges are still pending.


U.S. Attorney's Office and the FBI wish to acknowledge the
work of Detective Sergeant Ric Roush of the Zanesville, Ohio Police
Department. Detective Roush conducted the initial phase of the
investigation and continued to work with the FBI once the case was
referred to Massachusetts. The cases is being prosecuted by Assistant
U.S. Attorney Nadine Pellegrini, Deputy Chief of Sullivan's Major
Crimes Unit.


CONTACT: Press, Samantha Martin of U.S. Attorney, +1-617-748-3139