Creative Litigation Fails Because Crime Does not Pay
Post 5109
See the full video at https://lnkd.in/gWgSsVgE and at https://lnkd.in/g9ng3A3M, and at https://zalma.com/blog plus more than 5100 posts.
Prisoner Acting as His Own Lawyer Misses Prerequisite to His Suit
In this pro se prisoner case brought under 42 U.S.C. § 1983, United States Magistrate Judge Bradley W. Rath’s Report and Recommendation recommends that Defendants Sheriff John Ledbetter, Geneva Drummond, and VitalCore’s Motions for Summary Judgment be granted, that Plaintiff Monnie Villarreal’s Motion to Amend be denied as moot, and that the Court dismiss this case without prejudice for failure to exhaust administrative remedies.
In Monnie Villarreal v. Vitalcore, et al. No. 1:24-cv-99-HSO-BWR, United States District Court, S.D. Mississippi, (June 18, 2025) the District Judge adopted Magistrate Judge’s Report and Recommendation as the opinion of the Court.
BACKGROUND
Plaintiff Monnie Villarreal (“Plaintiff”) pled guilty to conspiracy to commit insurance fraud in the Circuit Court of Jackson County, Mississippi, and was sentenced to serve five years in the custody of the Mississippi Department of Corrections (“MDOC”). In 2024 Plaintiff violated the terms of his post-release supervision, and was ordered to serve the remainder of his sentence in MDOC custody, where he remained until his release in December 2024.
Plaintiff’s allegations stem from two incidents, an alleged denial of medical care and a purported failure to protect Plaintiff from violence at the hands of another inmate.
Plaintiff asserted that Defendants VitalCore and Nancy Unknown committed “attempted murder” by depriving him “of [a] proper dosage of insulin[,]” by not allowing him “to see a license[d] doctor[,]” and by forcing him to “live with high blood sugar.”
Plaintiff accused Sheriff Ledbetter and Drummond of “negligence and cruel punishment.” He asserts that he was assaulted by another inmate with a “broken wooden mop handle” on April 21, 2024, and that Drummond refused to answer his calls for help. Plaintiff filed three grievances during his incarceration at JCADC, all of which were submitted through the normal JCADC grievance system.
The Magistrate Judge recommended that Plaintiff’s claims be dismissed without prejudice for failure to exhaust administrative remedies under the Prison Litigation Reform Act. The Report and Recommendation highlighted that under the PLRA, “[e]xhaustion of administrative remedies through the prison grievance system is a prerequisite for lawsuits filed under § 1983.” Because Plaintiff had not filed any grievances related to the alleged incidents through the ARP, the Magistrate Judge found that Plaintiff had not exhausted his administrative remedies as to either of his claims.
DISCUSSION
Since exhaustion is a threshold issue that courts must address to determine whether litigation is being conducted in the right forum at the right time, judges may resolve factual disputes concerning exhaustion without the participation of a jury.
Plaintiff was not a pretrial detainee facing a new conviction but was instead a post-conviction inmate serving out the remainder of his sentence.
The JCADC Inmate Handbook required Plaintiff to use the JCADC grievance system and then the ARP grievance system before filing a lawsuit. The ARP was available to Plaintiff, and he has never maintained or argued that he used it to report the complained-of incidents.
CONCLUSION
It was ordered and adjudged that Defendants Sheriff John Ledbetter, Geneva Drummond, and VitalCore’s Motions for Summary Judgment were granted, and Plaintiff Monnie Villareal’s claims were dismissed without prejudice as to all Defendants for failure to exhaust administrative remedies.
ZALMA OPINION
Insurance fraud perpetrators are well known for their “Chutzpah” (Yiddish for unmitigated gall) and even when convicted and allowed to run free he violated the terms of his release and was incarcerated to serve the remainder of his sentence. He sued, in pro se, the Sheriff who ran the jail and others claiming many vicious actions against his person and health only to find he had failed to use the administrative remedies available to him so his suit was dismissed proving that no matter how creative his pleading crime does not pay.
(c) 2025 Barry Zalma & ClaimSchool, Inc.
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Insurance Expert May Not Testify to Speculative and Contains Unsupported Conclusions.
Posted on September 18, 2026 by Barry Zalma
See the full video at and at https://rumble.com/v7fmifw-expert-may-only-testify-to-what-experience-supports.html
In Michele A. Over, and The Estate Of Paul R. Over v. State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Company, and State Farm Fire And Casualty Company, Civil Action No. 23-cv-02243-PAB-STV, United States District Court, D. Colorado (September 14, 2026) Michele and Paul Over sued State Farm Fire and State Farm Auto over hail-damage and stolen-vehicle claims.
The operative dispute concerned State Farm Auto’s motion to exclude or limit opinions from plaintiffs’ insurance-industry expert, Aaron Castillo. Castillo.
Law
The proponent of expert testimony must establish by a preponderance of the evidence that an expert is qualified and that the opinions are helpful, sufficiently grounded, and reliably derived and applied. Experience-based opinions must explain how the...
150 Months in Prison for Tax Fraud
Post 4846
Posted on September 17, 2026 by Barry Zalma
See the full video at https://lnkd.in/g8rh3JBX and https://lnkd.in/gmkdy-9C, In United States Of America v. Thomas Addaquay, Nos. 25-10609, 25-10611, United States Court of Appeals, Eleventh Circuit (September 9, 2026) the Eleventh Circuit affirmed all challenged convictions, the 150-month aggregate sentence, and the challenged $4,123,474.55 restitution award.
FACTS
In United States Of America v. Thomas Addaquay, United States Of America v. Thomas Addaquay, Nos. 25-10609, 25-10611, United States Court of Appeals, Eleventh Circuit (September 9, 2026) the Eleventh Circuit affirmed all challenged convictions, the 150-month aggregate sentence, and the challenged $4,123,474.55 restitution award.
FACTS
Thomas Addaquay controlled United Consolidated Accounting and Business Services (UC), nominally a check-cashing business.
The government proved a three-stage tax-refund scheme that converted the resulting refund checks into usable funds through ...
Major Fraud Perpetrator Asserts Fifth Amendment Privilege to Avoid Prosecution
Post 5489
Posted on September 14, 2026 by Barry Zalma
Fraudster Refuses to Answer Questions About His Alleged Fraud
See the full video at https://lnkd.in/gvicAMDr and at https://lnkd.in/gvicAMDr
In Great American Insurance Co. v. Gemstone Property Management, LLC, et al., No. 23-cv-9100 (LJL), United States District Court, S.D. New York (September 8, 2026) Great American Insurance Company alleged that it was defrauded through a scheme in which Subin Associates, LLP recruited individuals to stage construction-site injuries, arranged unnecessary medical treatment and litigation funding, and pursued fraudulent personal-injury claims.
Luis Manuel Garcia Salcedo, resulted in a $6 million settlement. Non-party Jose Hernandez allegedly worked as an assistant manager at Subin, operated Hernandez Associates, and owned litigation-funding companies that shared office space with Subin and provided services to its clients.
After Great American ...
Claims of Res Judicata and Procedural Default Defeats Habeas
Post 5543
Posted on November 13, 2026 by Barry Zalma
A Health Insurance Fraud Conviction Rested On Knowingly Submitting Materially False Or Misleading Claim Information With Specific Intent To Defraud.
A Health Insurance Fraud Conviction Rested On Knowingly Submitting Materially False Or Misleading Claim Information With Specific Intent To Defraud.
In Tariq Mustafa Abdulaziz v. Commissioner Of Correction, No. CV 26-5002432-S, Superior Court of Connecticut, Judicial District of Tolland, Habeas Docket (October 29, 2026) Tariq Mustafa Abdulaziz submitted 114 claims for in-home, face-to-face services purportedly provided to thirty program participants during four one-week periods. The department paid Neurostrategies, Inc., $13,650.
FACTS
The defendant waived his right to a jury trial and elected a trial to the court, D'Addabbo, J. Trial occurred over the course of eight days in August, 2022. The state presented testimony from ten witnesses and introduced thirty-three exhibits into ...
Theft of Confidential Information
Post 4581
Posted on November 12, 2026 by Barry Zalma
In People Center, Inc. v. Deel, Inc., et al., No. 25-cv-02576-CRB (LJC), United States District Court, N.D. California (November 7, 2026) People Center, doing business as Rippling, and Deel compete in payroll and human-resource management software. Rippling alleges that Deel and its executives recruited Rippling employee Keith O’Brien, based in Ireland, to disclose confidential information and trade secrets.
THE IRISH SUIT
Rippling sued O’Brien in Ireland and Deel in the United States. O’Brien subsequently retained separate counsel, supplied an affidavit describing the alleged espionage, and entered into a Cooperation Agreement with Rippling. In exchange for his cooperation, Rippling agreed to provide financial assistance, indemnification, and conditional dismissal of the Irish proceedings. The agreement also permitted renewed proceedings or a monetary judgment upon a material breach.
The Irish proceedings against O’Brien were dismissed...
A Proposed Amended Complaint That Includes New Factual Allegations to Remedy Pleading Deficiencies
Posted on November 11, 2026 by Barry Zalma
After Dismissal Fraud Victim May Amend Complaint After Dismissal
Post 4580
If A Proposed Amendment Is Not Clearly Futile, Then Denial Of Leave To Amend Is Improper
In John Hancock Life & Health Insurance Company v. Caring Connections LLC, Arthur Feldheim, and Blime a/k/a Vera Feldheim, Civ. No. 25-7574 (MAS)(JBD), United States District Court, D. New Jersey (November 6, 2026) John Hancock sued Caring Connections LLC, Arthur Feldheim, and Blime a/k/a Vera Feldheim on June 5, 2025, asserting thirteen claims, including fraud, breach of contract, and aiding and abetting fraud.
On March 26, 2026, this Court entered an order granting Caring Connections’ motion to dismiss and granting in part and denying in part the Feldheims’ motion to dismiss. The dismissed claims were dismissed without prejudice, and John Hancock timely sought leave to amend.
They also argued that the New ...
