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by Matthew Russell Lee, Patreon Book Substack

SDNY COURTHOUSE, Nov 4 – Rolando Chumaceiro ran and ostensibly owned a no-fault medical clinic at 2767 Southern Boulevard in the South Bronx.

 But he was only pretending to own it, as a doctor, while engaged in a health care fraud and money laundering conspiracy, and selling fentanyl.

   On April 5, 2023 U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York Judge Paul G. Gardephe held a change of plea proceeding. Inner City Press went and covered it.  

  Chumareiro pled guilty to three counts, after conferring with his lawyer. There is a plea agreement but its terms, including sentencing guideline agreed to, were not read outloud, as best as Inner City Press could make out. Nor are plea agreements routinely put into the docket, at least at this stage. (The agreed guideline will be quoted in the sentencing memos).

 There was no one but Inner City Press in the courtroom gallery (where, we noted, COVID masks were no longer required).

On November 3, 2023, lead defendant Gulkarov followed suit and pled guilty  to conspiracy to commit bribery, conspiracy to commit healthcare fraud, and aggravated identity theft in connection with his orchestration of a $40 million fraud targeting no-fault automobile insurance companies. The plea deal is for 144 months, with 24 of them mandatory on top of any other sentence.

On December 19, Gulkarov's lawyer was before Judge Gardephe, seeking to withdraw. Judge Gardephe noted the March sentencing, and asked Gulkarov about getting another lawyer. Gulkarov said it would have to wait until after the holidays - the lawyers' holidays, he clarified. He did not know how much they would charge. The Probation Officer will be informed, for the Pre-Sentencing Report, with a letter due in two weeks. The reasons for withdrawal were not put on the record, as privileged.

On January 2, Gulkarov's new retained lawyer filed a notice of appearance: "NOTICE OF ATTORNEY APPEARANCE: Deborah Austern Colson appearing for Alexander Gulkarov. Appearance Type: Retained."

On January 10, Gulkarov's new counsel asked for a 60 day adjournment of sentencing, and for Gulkarov to be approved for medical marijuana, citing (and attaching a photo of) his medical marijuana card and citing an EDNY case.

On January 16 it was granted: "Defendant Gulkarov's sentencing date is adjourned to April 16, 2024 at 2:00 p.m. In addition, Defendant Gulkarov's bail conditions are modified to permit the use of medical marijuana. (Sentencing set for 4/16/2024 at 02:00 PM before Judge Paul G. Gardephe) (Signed by Judge Paul G. Gardephe on 1/12/2024)."

  Jump cut to June 20, 2024 - Gulkarov was sentenced, and got 12 years in prison.

Back on December 1, co-defendant Albert Aronov also pled guilty, sentencing set for April 11, 2024.

Filed on March 28, but only put in the public docket on April 8, Aronov is asking for probation. The Pre-Sentencing Report describes him logging into NYPD computers and taking photos of confidential motor vehicle accident reports with a pre-paid burner phone, then emailing the photos to Gulkarov.

The sentencing submission, labeled "to be filed under seal," says that the burner phone was "to facilitate an affair he was having with another woman."

On June 4, Judge Gardephe asked: "ORDER as to Albert Aronov: In paragraph 123 of the Presentence Report (Dkt. No. 426), the Defendant's mortgage debt is listed among his liabilities, and the Defendant's "Auto Lease Payment" and "Auto Insurance" are listed among his monthly expenses. The Presentence Report does not, however, list the value of the Defendant's home or car among his assets. The Defendant is directed to make a submission by June 11, 2024 disclosing the value of his home and any cars that he owns. (Signed by Judge Paul G. Gardephe on 6/4/2024)."

On June 14 Aronov got six months: " Sentencing held on 6/14/2024 for Albert Aronov. The defendant is sentenced to 6 months imprisonment and two years' supervised release. The defendant is also ordered to pay a fine of $4000."

On May 23, co-defendant Roman Israilov was sentenced to seven years in prison.

On November 4, "Sentencing held on 11/4/2024 for Anthony Dipietro (5) Count 1s,2s,3s,4s,5s. The defendant is sentenced to 3 years imprisonment to be followed by 3 years of supervised release."

 The case is US v. Gulkarov, et al., 22-cr-20 (Gardephe)

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