(HOUSTON) - James Earl Dunn Jr., 39, former owner and operator of Rehab Specialist Inc. (RSI), has been sentenced to 33 months confinement in federal prison by United States District Judge Lee Rosenthal for submitting more than $300,000 in fraudulent claims against the government, United States Attorney Tim Johnson announced today. The sentence was handed down late yesterday evening.
Dunn received contracts from the Texas Department of Assistive and Rehabilitative Services (DARS), formerly known as the Texas Rehabilitation Commission, from funds awarded by the U.S. Department of Education, to provide vocational rehabilitation training to individuals with mental and physical disabilities.
Indicted in May 2007, Dunn pleaded guilty Aug. 12, 2008, to one count of submitting fraudulent claims against the government acknowledging in his plea agreement that during the years 2001 to 2003 he had fraudulently obtained federal vocational rehabilitation funds through DARS by claiming that he was providing employment training and coaching to clients with disabilities when, in fact, the clients were not receiving such training.
"Dunn knowingly and willfully abused his position of trust to steal funds that were supposed to be used to provide needed education and vocational rehabilitation to disabled adults. That is unacceptable,” said Mary Mitchelson, acting Inspector General of the U.S. Department of Education. “I’m proud of the work of Office of Inspector General Special Agents, the Texas Department of Assistive and Rehabilitative Services and the U.S. Attorney's Office for holding this man accountable for his fraudulent actions.”
Dunn, who has been on bond, has been permitted to remain on bond pending the issuance by the court of an order to surrender to a Bureau of Prisons facility to be designated in the near future.
The investigation was conducted by special agents with the U.S. Department of Education Office of Inspector General and the DARS Investigations Unit. This case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Quincy L. Ollison.
Dunn received contracts from the Texas Department of Assistive and Rehabilitative Services (DARS), formerly known as the Texas Rehabilitation Commission, from funds awarded by the U.S. Department of Education, to provide vocational rehabilitation training to individuals with mental and physical disabilities.
Indicted in May 2007, Dunn pleaded guilty Aug. 12, 2008, to one count of submitting fraudulent claims against the government acknowledging in his plea agreement that during the years 2001 to 2003 he had fraudulently obtained federal vocational rehabilitation funds through DARS by claiming that he was providing employment training and coaching to clients with disabilities when, in fact, the clients were not receiving such training.
"Dunn knowingly and willfully abused his position of trust to steal funds that were supposed to be used to provide needed education and vocational rehabilitation to disabled adults. That is unacceptable,” said Mary Mitchelson, acting Inspector General of the U.S. Department of Education. “I’m proud of the work of Office of Inspector General Special Agents, the Texas Department of Assistive and Rehabilitative Services and the U.S. Attorney's Office for holding this man accountable for his fraudulent actions.”
Dunn, who has been on bond, has been permitted to remain on bond pending the issuance by the court of an order to surrender to a Bureau of Prisons facility to be designated in the near future.
The investigation was conducted by special agents with the U.S. Department of Education Office of Inspector General and the DARS Investigations Unit. This case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Quincy L. Ollison.
SOURCE: USAO News Release: "FORMER VOCATIONAL REHABILITATION PROVIDER SENTENCED TO PRISON FOR FRAUDULENT CLAIMS AGAINST THE GOVERNMENT"
30 comments:
It is shocking to hear that another individual who shared the same passion I do could actually commit such a serious crime. Instead of helping these people with disabilities James Earl Dunn Jr. took from them great opportunities that could have included on the job training, work etiquette, and further coaching needed to enable the person with disabilities for a new job or for the return of their current job. Also, what makes this crime even more severe is that James knew his wrong doing and also was aware that the type of career field he was currently in was that of assisting others that had trouble assisting themselves. How selfish of James to take what is to date known of 300,000 instead of helping others who could have been productive with that money and used it for self enhancement and self efficacy skills.
I can’t help but wonder if James will get away with stealing from not only the state, The Texas Department of Assistive and Rehabilitative Services, but more so the people with disabilities that were expecting assistance from Rehab Specialist Incorporation. After all, these people with disabilities were promised training to prepare and help them integrate themselves back into society and to start living more fulfilling lives. Another issue is that people will judge what he did and assume that others who are in the Rehabilitation field will too make the same wrong decisions. It will be up to us, future Rehabilitative workers to make sure that the community is very aware of the fact that this hopefully will be the first and the last time a person in the Rehabilitative Counseling field ever commits such a heinous crime.
Amy G.
I agree with you Amy. How is it that Dunn could have plotted such a devious plan and steal all this money. To think of all this money that Dunn stole that could have actually been put to work and to serve its real purpose in helping all those people with disabilities to either further their education and/or training. I don't understand why it took so long for the state agencies to find this out. Where are all these audits that are supposed to be happening to avoid such crimes as this? Now how is Dunn going to repay this money back after he serves his 33 months in jail? And why, if he is sentenced is he still out on bond? I know that in some cases they compromise with the defendant and try to freeze or sell his assets to regain some of the money that is stolen, but nothing is mentioned. This is certainly a story I will keep up with because I am curious to find out what the holdup is. I also want to find out what prison the judge is going to select for Dunn and what justification is going to be used. Dunn certainly deserves no mercy or leniency for his actions. He stole more than money, he stole the integrity that many vocational rehabilitation personnel strive to achieve in order to fulfill a committment to help persons with disabilities in overcoming societal barriers.
Norfy G.
It was very displeasing to read about James Earl Dunn Jr. in his stupidity, and how he can put the agency, The Texas Department of Assistive and Rehabilitative (DARS) into a bad name in a matter of seconds. We as future Rehabilitation Counselors for DARS may have to pay for it in the long run. The consumers come to this agency with their full faith in us counselors to assist and guide them in their need. People may think we might have the same intentions as Mr. Dunn. The only thing to do is do what we love and have a passion for, to help people with disabilities and give them opportunities. Also, I can’t help but wonder is where are the audits I know Norfy asked the same question. I am pretty sure the state of Texas is asked the something. Every agency has some type of audits to perform to make sure everything is in tact. I too will follow and keep up with this story. I would like to know what Dunn will be sentence and what will The Texas Department of Assistive and Rehabilitative to keep their rep. clean.
Erika P.
Although we will always know that there will be people in every kind of profession who will cheat their way to the top or will corrupt something that is supposed to be good to others within our society, it still amazes me that someone in the rehabilitation field chose to do such a thing too. It seems as if no matter how much we are taught through undergraduate and graduate level courses to practice good etiquette skills through all aspects of our jobs, there will be those few who will not put ethics into their own work. It is a shame that people not take ethics into consideration when practicing. Not only does this affect how people with disabilities or consumers will perceive rehabiliation professionals, but also makes people like me, who are getting into the field of rehabilitation, be more cautious of my colleagues and other professionals I will work with in the future. The point of rehabilitation professionals, aside from all the theories and rules and regulations we must follow, is to help people in need, specifically those with disabilites. The U.S. and our government have come a long way in assisting and advocating for those people with disabilites through out the past 3 decades. These indivuduals who need help whether it be psychologically, physically, socially, medically, or just need some guidance, come to rehabiliation professionals assuming genuine and honest help, but to have a healthy and capable person knowingly abuse an opportunity that could have helped many individuals find jobs and get on with their lives accept government funded money on his behalf and not use it for the good of society or what it was inteded for is plain wrong and immoral.
Heather B. Foundations of Rehab Online Course
Posted at 4:35pm on Sep. 9th 2009
I am glad this man James Earl Jones was caught. He is one of many that abuses the fund that are suppose to use the money they get to help people with disabilities. I hope this sends a clear message to other people doing the same kind of abuse. I cannot understand why greedy folks like James Earl Jones get into a helping profession only to steal what can be used to help the client. Mr. Jones had a chance at helping many people with disabilities become more independant but because of his money hungry greed it was not done. It suprises me how so many people get away with this kind of fraud. DARS should have a better way of finding out if their money is really being used the way it should.i jusy keep thinking of all the money that James stole and wonder if he even feels bad about it. I hope the punishment fits thr crime and he does not get off that easily and that James is never let near another helping profession again ever. This is a horrific crime that I hope people including myself can learn a big lesson from.
I just can't understand how he could take 300,000 without anyone noticing before it getting this big.Was not anyone mointering James spending? How can a person get away with so much fraud.I aree with Amy that people will start to judge anyone in the rehabilitive
I am glad this man James Earl Jones was caught. He is one of many that abuses the fund that are suppose to use the money they get to help people with disabilities. I hope this sends a clear message to other people doing the same kind of abuse. I cannot understand why greedy folks like James Earl Jones get into a helping profession only to steal what can be used to help the client. Mr. Jones had a chance at helping many people with disabilities become more independant but because of his money hungry greed it was not done. It suprises me how so many people get away with this kind of fraud. DARS should have a better way of finding out if their money is really being used the way it should.i jusy keep thinking of all the money that James stole and wonder if he even feels bad about it. I hope the punishment fits thr crime and he does not get off that easily and that James is never let near another helping profession again ever. This is a horrific crime that I hope people including myself can learn a big lesson from.
I just can't understand how he could take 300,000 without anyone noticing before it getting this big.Was not anyone mointering James spending? How can a person get away with so much fraud.I aree with Amy that people will start to judge anyone in a helping field. It is up to us to be honest and change the stigma. ELDA G.
September 9, 2009 8:34 PM
As a rehabilitation professional you should be trustworthy not unscrupulous. I am glad that this crime was not just simply let go. This vocational rehab provider needs to be punished for stealing funds that were not meant for his personal use which I’m assuming is what happened. As a rehab provider you are entrusted to look out for your clients. It is sad that something like that could happen in a field which requires you to genuinely care for your clients. How can you even properly do your job when you are engaging in fraudulent activity? I think that DARS’ reputation will be tarnished in someway. Maybe the agency needs to put into place a system to prevent this kind of activity from happening because $300,000 is a large amount of money for no one to notice immediately. I am sure that more than one person is notified when an agency such as DARS receives funds. I think that this should serve as an example for those who are thinking of engaging in such activities, they will not go unpunished.
I think it is very unfortunate that Mr. Dunn chose to do what he did. I do not ever like to judge people because I would not like to be judged myself. I am sure he is embarrassed for himself and his family. His actions are disgraceful. What is always disappointing in cases like this is that most of the time these people that provide services such as Mr. Dunn did are usually "good" people. In other words, they do not put on a false face for others. Who knows why he chose to use this money other than for the purposes it was meant to be used. Sometimes people get caught up in the act of making "easy money." But the truth is that easy money truly does not exist. One has to work hard for his paycheck. Unfortunately, not everyone can win the lottery. I feel for both the consumers who lost out in this scheme, and like I mentioned earlier, I also feel for Mr. Dunn's family. It is not their fault that they now have to go through this. I say this because I had a very close relative who was indicted for Medicaid fraud a few years back. The charges were later dropped; however, the emotional pain it caused my family was debilitating. And of course I felt anguish for the people who were taken advantaged of, if that ended up being the case. This is just a sad story - for all involved.
Vanessa C. (6345)
The general sense I am getting from these comments is shock that "one of us" could do something unethical. I don't mean to sound rude or insensitive, but just because you choose to enter the field of rehabilitation does not mean you are any less susceptible to temptation.
In the pharmacy field, for example, it is common for pharmacists to abuse prescription drugs due to the easy access. There is even a program devoted to helping these individuals.
It is dangerous to be so idealistic about the field you are entering into and the people who you will be working with. I think this story is a good example of that.
Sylvia Morales
I have no words to describe what I feel but I will give it a shot. I am appalled, horrified, and disgusted to say the least that an individual who is hired to provide a vital service to a population that is in great need of quality service would submit for payment and commit fraud in that manner. The worse aspect about this situation is the fact that ultimately the consumers lost. They lost the opportunity offered by the state agency (DARS) that was willing to aid them in becoming employed. I suggest all the cases be reinstated and all consumers be given an equal opportunity to succeed. I have always heard that many express the need for vendors that will provide effective and thorough service because of the shortage of vendors in this area but I am glad I have never heard a story of this magnitude before. What I do hope is that the funds be used appropriately and that proper screening of vendors is done on a regular basis to avoid this from happening again. Gloria P.
Wow, This article got my attention since I can not believe that their is people like Dunn doing this kinds of things. But it should not surprise me since I use to work at a bank and something similar happend. But their is a huge difference since in Dunn's situation their is people with disabilities that were expecting the help. Instead of helping this people he was taking advantange of his position. What else can I said to this is very sad to hear things like this. I personally sometimes get very disappointed by this situations, but I aways think possitive about tings.
Ivette Martinez
It is very sad that people such as James Earl Dunn Jr. are only motivated by money. The rehabilitation field has to do with being empathetic with clients and to provide the services that will benefit people the most. Dunn clearly does not fits this description which tells me he should have been working in another field. Dunn definitely went overboard with the fraud taking away funds from those who need them the most. People with disabilities often face many issues which makes them much more vulnerable than the general population. The Texas Department of Assistive and Rehabilitation (DARS) is now dealing not only with a lick in the system but rather with a matter of reputation. It is difficult enough for people with disabilities to request services; now, considering the resent fraud people will be much more discourage to take the step. Honestly, a sentence of 33 months sounds generous for what he did; he not only toke the money but he restricted the lives of many people with disabilities who could have benefited in that time period.
Mariana G.G.
Let's not be naive. Those of us who are CRC's or LPC's or otherwise certified or licensed should have had our eyes opened by the number of our colleagues who have had their certifications or licenses suspended or withdrawn by illegal or unethical actions. Mr. Dunn's actions are not the first and won't be the last. We all need to be aware of the actions of our colleagues and help keep one another honest and ethical. I can't help but think that his unscrupulous and illegal actions did not escape the notice or even possibly the complicity of a state agency employee. Where was the oversight? Someone had to sign off on the purchase order. Someone had to verify that the work that he claimed to have done was really done. As I understand it, he was to have placed persons in jobs. Where was the follow up? Where is the state agency accountability? No question that Mr. Dunn is a thief and has stolen resources from disabled Texans. However, I am wondering if others were either in cahoots or asleep at the wheel. If we are responsible for spending the resources of Texas taxpayers, we need to be sure that those resources are wisely used.
My applause to the special agents who investigated Mr. Dunn and to Mr. Ollison who prosecuted this case. It is hard to stomach that an individual working in such a helping profession would take so much money from those individuals who need that money for vocational training. To take the trust of individuals and use it so negatively is wrong in so many ways. It disgusts me to know that people can become so greedy and unethical and just flat out not worry or care about the individuals they hurt in the process. I agree with M. Mitchelson that this is completely “unacceptable”, and I feel that anyone willing to pull of something like this should be willing to face the consequences that follow these actions and that no remorse should be shown for them just as they did not show any remorse for the individuals that they were depriving of services.
A. Arellano
It’s crazy to hear that one man could steal so much money. I especially can’t believe he’s out in bond. What money did he use to get himself out in bond? I am pleased to hear this man James Earl Jones was caught. He is not the only one that abuses the funds that is given to them to help people with disabilities. I have to agree with Heather that there will always be corrupted people in all kinds of professions. You mostly hear it when it comes to political affairs but it’s everywhere. It’s sad to say it’s always the good people who suffer at the end. What really gets to me is the people who trusted him, they are probably feeling really disappointed and just cant understand why he would do such a thing. James Earl is suppose to be someone they trusted and someone they can look up to for help. It’s a shame that James took that money and for what? So he could lose everything he worked so hard for or feel embarrassed or ashamed. I can’t imagine doing such a thing and then James having to be in court and looking at the people he hurt. Especially his own family!
Tanya :o)
This is shocking! I cannot understand how an individual could have the heart to do that, but sometimes individuals will just do anything for money. I sometimes make the assumption that individuals who are working in rehab are doing things for the good of the person, but in this case I am certainly wrong. Individuals with disabilities need these services and it sad that they were not getting the services they needed.
Ruby Q.
Wow! It is unbelievable to read about a person committing fraudulence at the Texas Department of Assistive and Rehabilitative Services (DARS). I mean you hear about this all the time in small or large business that people get greedy with money and they commit fraud. It is just sad for me to hear that it is being done in a place where its purpose it to help persons with disabilities not hurt them. Even though he did not hurt them ina physical manner he took their money and could have enabled them to be successful in life. He took the chance of persons with disabilities to receive needed education or vocational rehabilitation.
Crystal Sanchez
Unfortunately, this does not surprise me. After I have spent the past 5 years in the mental health field, I have seen many practitioners abuse their power. And I hate to disagree with many of you out there, but many of the practitioners who I know are not in the helping profession for their passion about helping people, but they’re in it for the passion of the mighty dollar. Albeit, the mental health field does not really allow for such high incomes, but with the right tweek, you could make a pretty buck if you play your hand right. I am a Medicaid provider, and I have found it very easy to submit claims, that if you’re not careful, you could submit false claims because of its simplicity. In any profession, it is imperative to maintain the fullest sense of ethically performing our everyday duties to void being caught up in the ever entangling net that is greed.
--Elizabeth C.P.
Wow! How can you through away your career like that? Abuse your position to steal funds that were supposed to be used for individuals who were disabled is very unethical. I mean here you have a person who had an established business including contracts with the Texas Department of Assistive and Rehabilitative Services and its all thrown down the drain due to his greediness. I don't understand how can a person like James Earl Dunn Jr. could do such a thing. People like him think that they can probably get away with it but in the end it catches up to them. All of those hours of studying, hard work, exams, mid-terms, finals, internships, practicums, and so on just went to waste. How can someone recover their reputation with something like that. Especially when you claimed that you were providing employment trainings to clients who had disabilities when they were not receiving such trainings. Because of him it sometimes make other rehabilitative counselors or vocational counselors look bad and probably make clients wonder if they are providing them with adequate trainings.
Sylvia Garza
I agree with many of the replies to this topic. “Shocking, Wow, Amazing” are all true but we must remember this (fraudulent charging) happens every day. I could easily name several people that have done this same thing here in the valley. Honestly, I don’t think the state of Texas or DARS is doing such a great job about auditing every agency that they fund which provides services to people with disabilities. I feel that many of these agencies are given a lump sum of money and checked on a year later. We shouldn’t be surprised with this because after all, many doctors everywhere do it to. What I am trying to say is that the state or DARS need to be more cautious about funding. We always hear “limited funding” but this is going on. It may seem difficult for the state to do but when it comes to money, especially within the past few years, we hope they would be more careful before nodding their heads and printing a check.
Joseph G.
James Earl Dunn Jr. is a horrible man for doing what he did and it disgusts me knowing that there are people like him that have no heart. He has made a bad reputation for the Texas Department of Assistive and Rehabilitative (DARS) and it saddens me to know that people come in good faith and hope to “us” counselors and then they be taken advantage of. He took advantage of so many people and excuse my language but it “sucks” that these people come for help in assistance in getting a job or for other such things. I hope he gets a severe punishment because I would like to show these people that we as counselors have passion for what we do and are not like that horrible man. There are actually many of us that have a passion and love of being a counselor and I hope people see that……..
Elizabeth G (REHS 6345)
Really, where do these people come from??? These field is about helping people with a disability to succeed in life and giving them the confidence and training to do so. How can someone just completely take advantage of these individuals who actually want to better their lives. It is said to know that there are actual people who would want to do such a thing to others. I mean, come on, why did we even get into this field to began with? Did James Earl Dunn Jr. actually forget everything he learned? Did he forget about our Code of Ethics? Obviously he must have missed a few classes.
I think that by causing such a crime to these individuals and cheating them from their goals and accomplishments in there life. By doing this to them just sets them back on their goals. Some people may even lose faith on the whole purpose of Rehabilitational Counselors. What a stain this James Dunn has left for us in this field of Rehabilitative Services.
In Houston? wow, the nerve he had to deprive people of their services... its disgusting. Its now making sense how it was once so easy to do such illegal things. I can't even imagine doing that now without feeling guilty about thinking about thinking about that. In fact it has never even crossed my mind. I am recently going through training to my new employment and the policies and procedures are very detailed and yet give leeway at the same time. But our agency is constantly being monitored, especially for the probationary period, and anything you say or do can easily be reported. so again, I can't even imagine how Mr. Dunn got away with stealing even more than a dollar from the government. He couldnt' have possibly thought he was going to get away with it too long.
This makes me sick. I mean to work all those years to get to a position to where you are at and then to abuse it. Well this is just a travesty for the clients, the governement, and the profession. These few cases make the profession look greedy and untruthful.
It is so embarrasing that people who commit to helping people with disabilities actually commit these crimes. Sadly he's not the only one to abuse of his power. Even in the RGV valley medical doctors are commiting the same crimes. It's unthinkable that people actually abuse of their power and of the people that trust them. I hope these convictions are a proof that no one can get away from justice.
--Melchora Gracia--
case should lead the way for further investigations as a means of preventing this sort of situations to happen again. Of course, it is not good to pretend or belief that this is a one in a million situation. By ignoring the possibilities will actually do more harm to those who need the services. That's why it is very important to have further investigations or better yet, there should be improvements in the existing system in order to assure that the funds provided are actually destined to those originally intended to. Jmes Dunn deserves more than 33 months of confinement because he is a criminal who played with people's lives and hopes of getting a better future.
A.Huerta
Unfortunately, fraud is committed all the time, especially where large amounts of money are involved. The sad part about this incident was the fact that the money was supposed to be used for vocational rehab and training purposes. Mr. Dunn cheated many clients out of a basic necessity and the good thing is that his bad deed did not go unnoticed and he will have to pay with incarceration. Federally funded programs should have more restrictions and check how funds are used, to prevent fraud and abuse cases. Agencies that receive funding should provide the government a spending plan and present where the grant money is going. It would not be a bad idea to have consumers fill out a survey to see how satisfied they are with services and provide feedback to the government too, to cut down on spending or increase funding in required areas. Money is indeed the root of all evil, for some people like Mr. Dunn.
C. Cardona
I think this sentencing sends a message that fraud in the medical system is not acceptable. Certainly this is a problem across the medical field and not just in the area of rehabilitation. Many see the government funding as an endless pot of money that no one is watching too closely over. I think this case shows that both DARS and the federal government are watching and there is accountability in the disbursement of government funds.
Cindy V.
It is embarrassing that individuals like this one steal from the government when moneys are allocated to the most needy people. I am glad the government together with the education agency conducted the investigation. this man deserves to be punished for what he did. I am thinking that he probably did not realize that someone will one day find out if you are not providing the services you say you are providing. this was not only unethical, but illegal. the ultimate proof many times is that no progress is seen with these PWDs who are not trained and therefore can not perform any jobs and as a consequence are unable to contribute to society.
Leila Flores
I was shocked after I read this article. I can't believe how there could be someone who is supposed to help people with disabilities take advantage of his position. I am glad he was caught and did not continue stealing money from DARS for services never given to the clients. I suppose this person will loose his license for ever and I hope it is a good lesson for him and not do it again.
The truth was going to come out eventually and it was better late than never even though he had already a good amount of money. I also don't think 33 months in jail are enough to pay what he did. Hopefully like I said he does not get back his license.
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