Mass. man accused of defrauding New Hampshire program that helps veterans at risk of suicide
A Massachusetts man is accused of using a fake identity as a doctor to defraud a nonprofit health care provider and federal program of thousands aimed at reducing suicide rates among veterans.
Prosecutors allege David Duren, also known as Dawud Hakiem Duren, 48, then used the stolen money on a cruise, landscaping and sending payments to models on a website.
Duren was indicted on wire fraud and federal program fraud charges, U.S. Attorney Jane Young said in a statement on Tuesday. He was scheduled to appear in federal court in Concord on Tuesday.
According to the charging documents, Duren was a program manager for a nonprofit health care provider in Nashua. He was in charge of overseeing a program funded by a $750,000 Staff Sergeant Fox Suicide Prevention Grant.
The grant was awarded by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs to provide treatment and services to veterans at risk of suicide, Young said.
At Duren’s recommendation, the health care provider hired a company called “E3 Foundation” to provide services funded by the Staff Sergeant Fox grant, Young said. E3 Foundation was in turn purportedly led by a “Dr. Michael Rapp.”
“However, unbeknownst to the health care provider, Duren controlled E3 Foundation and was pretending to be ‘Dr. Michael Rapp’ on emails and calls,” Young said.
Duren fraudulently obtained almost $50,000 in Staff Sergeant Fox program funds and tried to obtain an additional $25,000 before being caught, Young said.
“He used a website called ‘Invoice Generator’ to create fake invoices. Duren and E3 Foundation also did not provide the services and products that he billed for,” Young said. “Instead, Duren misused the Staff Sergeant Fox program funds on personal purchases, including landscaping, a Royal Caribbean cruise, and payments to models on OnlyFans.com.”
The charge of wire fraud provides for a sentence of up to 20 years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000 or twice the gross gain or loss, whichever is greater. The charge of federal program fraud provides for a sentence of up to 10 years in prison and a fine of $250,000.
This is a developing story. Check back for updates as more information becomes available.
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