Home Care Boss Jailed in US Antitrust Shock after $13 Million Scam That Robbed Nurses
By SCM Staff Writer
LAS VEGAS – A crooked Las Vegas home healthcare boss is facing a lengthy spell behind bars after being sentenced for a massive wage-fixing conspiracy that robbed hardworking nurses of their fair pay.
Eduardo “Eddie” Lopez of Las Vegas was yesterday slapped with 40 months in prison and ordered to pay back a staggering $13 million in fines, restitution, and forfeitures following his conviction.
Lopez was found guilty of leading a conspiracy to fix the wages of home healthcare nurses in the Las Vegas area between March 2016 and May 2019.
The Shocking Price of Greed
The US Justice Department hailed the case as their “first ever wage-fixing conviction,” sending a strong message to bosses who exploit their staff.
Assistant Attorney General Abigail A. Slater slammed the crime, stating: “Wage-fixing is a brazen crime rightly punished by a lengthy period of incarceration… The Defendant — a convicted antitrust criminal — profited at the expense of his employees and the unwitting buyer of his home healthcare company.”
The scandal deepened when Lopez was also convicted on five counts of fraud for deliberately hiding the government’s antitrust investigation from the company that bought his staffing firm for a whopping over $10 million.
A federal district court in Nevada laid down the law on the greedy entrepreneur:
40 MONTHS in custody; $550,000 in criminal fines; $2,496,101 in criminal restitution to the defrauded purchaser; $10,459,000 forfeited from the fraudulent sale.
Attorney General Pamela Bondi celebrated the sentence, vowing to fight for the victims.
“We will continue to tirelessly fight for the innocent, like the hardworking nurses harmed in this case,” she said.
FBI Director Kash Patel hit out at the scammer, saying: “The victims here are the hardworking nurses, who suffered loss of wages while they tirelessly cared for and helped Americans.”
