TOPEKA, KAN. – A Kansas man was indicted Wednesday on one count of theft occurring on federal property. U.S. Attorney Barry Grissom announced in a media release today.

 The indictment alleges that on July 4, 2013, Jason H. Carmichael, 41, Wichita, stole a construction trailer containing construction equipment belonging to Image Flooring Concepts Inc.

The theft took place on Fort Riley, which is a federal military installation.

If convicted, he faces a maximum penalty of five years in federal prison and a fine up to $250,000. U.S. Army Criminal Investigation Command investigated. Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Robin Graham is prosecuting.

AMY TAXIN, Associated Press

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Immigrant advocates have filed a lawsuit over concerns that federal immigration agents could use state driver’s license databases to track down people for deportation.

The National Immigration Law Center sued the Department of Homeland Security in federal court in on Wednesday demanding records detailing how federal immigration agents access and use driver’s license data.

The lawsuit comes after immigrant advocates in Maryland received reports that immigration agents arrested several people with prior deportation orders after apparently identifying them with help from driver’s license and vehicle information.

It also comes two weeks before California starts issuing driver’s licenses to immigrants living in the country illegally.

A message was left for the Department of Homeland Security seeking comment.

TOPEKA, KAN. – A Tulsa woman who used the Internet to market what she called her “secret sauce” to cancer victims in Kansas and elsewhere was indicted Wednesday on 13 counts of wire fraud, U.S. Attorney Barry Grissom reported in a media release on Wednesday.

A federal grand jury returned a 13-count indictment against Maureen Long, 64, Tulsa, Okla. The indictment alleges Long’s Internet-based business, Camelot Cancer Care, Inc., preyed on people who were desperately seeking cures for cancer by selling them infusions of drugs that were misbranded and not approved for treating cancer.

Long, who was not a physician, a nurse or any other kind of licensed medical professional, used her Web site and email to create the false impression she was running a legitimate medical clinic. She sold clients drugs that the Food and Drug Administration – she called it the “Federal Death Administration” — had not approved for treating cancer.

Eleven Kansas residents paid more than $128,000 total for Long’s treatments. Residents of Kansas towns including Lenexa, Spring Hill, Hartford, Prairie Village, Hesston, Ottawa and Mt. Hope were among the victims. They had been diagnosed with illnesses including ovarian cancer, esophageal cancer, rectal and lymph cancer, non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, cervical cancer, non-small cell lung cancer, brain tumor and breast cancer.

The indictment also alleges Long:

Falsely claimed that Camelot had a 60 percent success rate resulting in either remission of cancer or stopping a tumor’s growth.
Marketed something she called the “DMSO Protocol,” which was supposed to consist of DMSO, Vitamin C and Vitamin B-17 (also known as Amygdalin or Laetrile). A forensic chemical analysis of some of the products, however, found neither DMSO nor Laetrile.
Distributed marketing materials claiming the infusion she sold would cut through malignancy “like a scythe through a wheat field.”
Charged $12,000 or more for a first round of treatment and $3,600 for each subsequent round.
Instructed clients to forego traditional treatments of radiation and chemotherapy.

If convicted, Long faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in federal prison and a fine up to $250,000 on each count. The Food and Drug Administration investigated. Assistant U.S. Attorney Tanya Treadway is prosecuting.

By KHI News Service

TOPEKA — Jeff Gragg recently joined Topeka-based Blue Cross Blue Shield of Kansas as vice president of information services and chief information officer (CIO).
In his new role, Gragg oversees the company’s technology division, which encompasses computer information systems and training, voice/data communications, duplicating and mailing services, disaster and workplace recovery, audit compliance and project management.

Gragg has 33 years of systems and technology experience in a variety of industries. Most recently, he served as senior vice president of information technology and CIO for Hostess Brands, Kansas City, Mo. He previously served as CIO and senior vice president of e-commerce and demand planning for Carhartt Corporation, Dearborn, Mich.; executive director of solutions delivery and director of IT retail channels for Hallmark Cards Corporation, Kansas City, Mo.; and director of merchandising systems for Payless ShoeSource Inc., Topeka.

In addition, as the owner of Wheat Plains Group Consulting he has consulted with several organizations on issues related to e-commerce, IT strategic planning, and large project justification and management.

Salina Post

SALINA – Law enforcement authorities in Salina are investigating three additional reports of counterfeit money.

Police say a woman received a counterfeit twenty-dollar bill last week as payment for babysitting. She took it to the bank and they indicated it was a fraudulent bill.

Another woman told police she was in possession of a counterfeit ten-dollar bill she said she received in change from Burger King on Monday.

She attempted to use the bill it at Burger King on Tuesday. Employees told her it was counterfeit.

On Tuesday night, police reported a man tried to purchase several items with a ten-dollar bill at a local convenience store.

The clerk believed the bills were counterfeit and returned them.

Police are looking for the man described as a white male, approximately 60 years old, five foot three inches tall and 150 pounds.

All counterfeit money collected by the police is then transferred to the Secret Service. They handle all counterfeit money cases.

SALINA, Kan. (AP) — The Kansas governor’s office insists that the public doesn’t have the right to know who it’s considering to fill two new positions on the Saline County Commission.

The Salina Journal reports Gov. Sam Brownback’s office on Monday rejected the newspaper’s third request for the names of candidates the governor has interviewed for the posts. Voters in November expanded the governing body from three members to five.

The Journal contends the public has the right to know who is being considered to fill 40 percent of its commission positions. Brownback press secretary Eileen Hawley says the governor isn’t required to disclose the names of the candidates because it’s a personnel matter.

Journal editor and publisher M. Olaf Frandsen says the newspaper will fight for disclosure “as long as it takes.”

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, the U.S. Senator Jerry Moran (R-Kan.) released the following statement in response to Alan Gross being released from a Cuban prison:

“For five years, Alan Gross and his family have endured pain and profound injustice amid his detainment in Cuba. Today, news of Alan’s release brings great relief to his loved ones and to every American who has called for his freedom. I admire Alan’s strength and that of his wife Judy, who has worked tirelessly for years to free Alan and reunite her family.”

Sen. Moran is the author of a December 2012 unanimously passed Senate resolution (S. Res. 609), which called on Cuba to immediately and unconditionally release Alan Gross.

Alan Gross was arrested on December 3, 2009, and after a two-day trial, was given a 15-year prison sentence by Cuban authorities for facilitating communications between Cuba’s Jewish community and the rest of the world. Mr. Gross was in Cuba working as a sub-contractor for the United States Agency for International Development, helping a small, peaceful, non-dissident community. He was doing the type of work he had done his whole career in international development – helping others in need.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Federal regulators are accusing Sprint Corp. of illegally billing its wireless customers tens of millions of dollars in unwanted charges for text message alerts and other services.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau said Wednesday it has sued the telecom company over billing for unauthorized charges, a practice known as “cramming.” The agency said Sprint failed to oversee third-party companies, allowing illegal charges to be put on customers’ bills.

The bureau said the charges ranged from one-time fees of 99 cents to $4.99, to monthly subscriptions costing $9.99 a month. It said Sprint received up to 40 percent of the revenue from the charges.

The Wall Street Journal reported that the Federal Communications Commission is expected to fine Sprint a record $105 million for the alleged violations.