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HOT JOBS IN EVANSVILLE
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Men’s basketball takes on SIU on Saturday in Carbondale
Aces and Salukis meet up at 7 p.m.
On Saturday evening, the University of Evansville men’s basketball team is back on the road to face Southern Illinois in a 7 p.m. game inside SIU Arena in Carbondale
– The game will be available on ESPN3 and the Purple Aces Radio Network presented by Learfield
Setting the Scene
– The game will mark the first meeting of the season between the teams; they will complete the season series at the Ford Center on February 27 in UE’s final home game of the season
– Evansville has won four of the last five road games against the Salukis; the only loss in that span came last season when UE dropped a 65-63 decision
Last Time Out
– Indiana State jumped out to an 8-1 lead on Wednesday and never trailed as they defeated the Purple Aces by an 85-62 final in Terre Haute
– Dainius Chatkevicius tied his career mark with 12 points; he also posted 12 in last season’s game at Duke
– K.J. Riley had 11 points while going 5-for-6 from the line while Marty Hill scored 10
Takeaways from Indiana State
– Despite the loss, the Aces were able to take some positives away from the game; for the third contest in a row, UE finished with a positive assist-to-turnover ratio as a team, posting 11 assists and 9 turnovers
– Evansville battled to the finish against ISU, being outscored by just one (46-45) in the second half
– Walk-ons Devan Straub and Jared Chestnut made late contributions; Straub connected on the second triple of his career while Chestnut notched his first assist
Putting it together
– Marty Hill has recorded at least nine points in 11 consecutive games including a 10-point outing at Indiana State
– He has connected on at least one 3-pointer in 13 of the last 14 contests
– Hill has been on fire from outside, hitting 26 of his last 66 attempts from long range in the last 13 games
– In the home win over Drake, Hill scored 24 points while hitting five out of seven 3-pointers in 39 minutes; it was his top effort at UE, surpassing his 16-point outing at Arkansas State
Scouting the Opponent
– Southern Illinois comes into the first meeting of the season against the Purple Aces with an even 12-12 mark
– On Wednesday, the Salukis dropped a 65-59 game at Missouri State to fall to 5-6 in MVC play, but are 3-2 in their last five games
– Armon Fletcher is one of five double figure scorers for SIU and leads the way with 14.4 points per game; he is also their top rebounder with 5.5 per contest
– Just behind Fletcher are Kavion Pippen and Aaron Cook, who average 11.9 and 11.2 PPG, respectively
Medicaid thief loses appeal of ‘vulnerable victim’ convictions
Katie Stancombe for www.theindianalawyer.com
A woman who defrauded a technology illiterate physician out of more than $80,000 lost her appeal Thursday when the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals found the woman took advantage of the doctor’s “remarkable” computer illiteracy for personal financial gain.
In January 2015, Dr. Farzana Khan hired Anastacia Vann Maclin to handle the business component of her medical practice, Iliana Psychiatric Associates. A few months after her hire, Maclin used Khan’s username and password to log into the Medicaid system and redirect Iliana’s Medicaid reimbursements from Khan’s business account to Maclin’s personal bank account. Maclin also changed the reimbursement method from paper checks to electronic fund transfers.
Maclin further enrolled Iliana in Medicaid’s electronic incentive program without Khan’s knowledge or permission, causing a one-time bonus of $21,250 intended for health care providers who digitized their paperwork to be deposited in Maclin’s personal account. In total, Maclin stole more than $80,000 from Khan between April 2015 and July 2016.
Upon discovering the missing funds, Khan fired Maclin and filed a police report. A grand jury returned a two-count indictment against Maclin for stealing Medicaid reimbursements and the incentive check in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 669.
Before trial, the district court granted Maclin’s motion in limine to preclude witnesses from mentioning that Khan had an adult child with severe autism. Thus, when a prospective juror stated she knew Khan and knew the doctor had a “home for autism,†the juror was excused. But Maclin filed a motion for mistrial claiming the statement was prejudicial in light of the ruling on the motion in limine. Her motion was denied.
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Maclin was found guilty of both counts, and her second motion for mistrial was denied when the court found the prospective juror’s fleeting statement could not have produced prejudicial sympathy. Maclin also received a sentencing enhancement because Khan was a “vulnerable victim†on the basis of her computer illiteracy. Khan testified Maclin knew the doctor did not understand how to use a computer, did not bank electronically, did not send her own emails and did not even use ATMs.
The court also noted Maclin was still paying restitution for a prior offense in which she did “basically, the same thing to another physician.†Thus, she was sentenced to 15 months’ imprisonment.
In its affirmation of the district court’s decision, the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals first found the prospective juror’s statement did not implicate Maclin’s guilt and was entirely unrelated to the crimes Maclin was charged with. It further found in United States of America v. Anastacia V. Maclin, 18-2158, that the vulnerable victim enhancement was supported by the fact that Khan was remarkably computer illiterate, to the point that she totally entrusted the business aspect of her practice to Maclin.
“Maclin used that knowledge to defraud Dr. Khan using the electronic billing system,†Judge William J. Bauer wrote. “The district court noted that Dr. Khan was intelligent, and that it was a ‘close call’ but concluded that ‘literally — in 15 years, I have never seen somebody so technologically unsophisticated as this victim to the point where she literally has never used e-mail even. She doesn’t have the ability to check her accounts.’â€
The 7th Circuit Court additionally found that Maclin’s enhanced sentence was not inappropriate considering the gravity of the case and “considering Maclin stole a substantial sum of money from Dr. Khan while still paying restitution for an almost identical crime.â€
ADOPT A PET
These cute girls come as a “leashed set!†They are a bonded pair of Dachshund mixes who must be adopted together. They get distressed when separated. Believe it or not, they were found as strays, and then no one ever came to claim them! The adoption fee for both of these girls – spayed, vaccinated, and microchipped – is $235. Contact Vanderburgh Humane at (812) 426-2563 or visit www.vhslifesaver.org for adoption details!
Balanced attack lifts Eagles to dominating win at UIndy
Ten different players scored for University of Southern Indiana Women’s Basketball Thursday evening as the Screaming Eagles cruised to a 78-43 Great Lakes Valley Conference road win over host University of Indianapolis.
The Eagles (15-6, 8-3 GLVC) essentially put the game away in the final 15 minutes of the opening half as they used a 36-12 run to turn an early one-point advantage into a comfortable 44-19 halftime cushion. Eight different players scored for the Eagles in the opening period, with six different players scoring at least five points apiece.
USI held the Greyhounds (8-13, 2-9 GLVC) to just six first-half field goals, while forcing 13 first-half turnovers as it jumped out to the 25-point halftime lead.
The Eagles, who snapped a two-game losing streak, extended their lead to as much as 40 points early in the fourth quarter before settling on the 35-point win.
Ball security
USI did a much better job of taking care of the ball Thursday evening as it finished with 20 assists and just 14 turnovers. The Eagles entered Thursday’s game after committing a total of 68 turnovers in the previous two games.
Defense stymies Hounds
The Eagles’ defense created havoc for UIndy throughout the game as USI forced the Greyhounds into 25 turnovers while holding them to just 25.5 percent (14-55) shooting and 8.3 percent (2-24) from three-point range.
Balance
USI had four players in double-figures in the scoring column and seven players with at least six points Thursday night. The Eagles had rebounding contributions from 10 different players and assists from nine different players.
Leaders
Sophomore forward Imani Guy (Columbus, Indiana) had 14 points and nine rebounds to lead USI, while sophomore guard Kennedy Williams(Marshall, Illinois) added 14 points. Freshman forward Ashlynn Brown (Perrysburg, Ohio) chipped in a career-high 12 points, while senior guard Alex Davidson (Salem, Indiana) contributed 11 points.
St. Vincent Evansville Birth Announcements for February 5, 2019
Emily and Brandon Wilson, Evansville, daughter, Cecilia Grace, January 26
Ariel Oestreicher and Jakob Lute, Evansville, daughter, Helena Grace, January 26
Amanda and Jeremy Allen, Chandler, IN, son, Grayson Scott, January 28
Alisha and Daniel Lawson, Owensville, IN, son, Grayson Levi, January 28
Georgina Maciel and Clayton Sanders, Evansville, son, Henry Clayton, January 29
Ruth and Benjamin Nyarko, Newburgh, son, David Ebo Seklenam, January 29
Sara and Tim Bryant, Evansville, daughter, Jayanna Kaylee Sue, January 29
Amy and Kenneth Wells, Evansville, son, Aiden Jeremiah, January 29
Autumn and Derek Meadows, Claremont, IL, daughter, Chloe Jo, January 30
Megan and Franklin Kincaid, Evansville, son, Finn Robert, January 30
Amber Fairchild and Ricky Burress, Evansville, son, Ricky Wayne, January 31
Paige Overstreet, Evansville, son, Frankie Christopher Reese, February 1
Jessica and Shane Kneer, Evansville, son, Blake Owen, February 1
“READERS FORUM” JANUARY 8, 2019
We hope that today’s “READERS FORUMâ€Â will provoke honest and open dialogue concerning issues that we, as responsible citizens of this community, need to address in a rational and responsible way?Â
HERE’S WHAT WE KNOW TODAY.
The potential Democratic candidate for the Mayor of Evansville will not be filing today. We are told If this individual decides to run for Mayor of Evansville he shall ask the Democratic party officials to select him as their Mayoral candidate in a political caucus in the near future.
WHAT’S ON YOUR MIND TODAY?
Todays“Readers Poll†question is: Are you looking forward to going to arena football games at the Ford Center?
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FOOTNOTE:  Any comments posted in this column do not represent the views or opinions of the City-County Observer or our advertisers.