Munster business owner files for compassionate release because of COVID-19; prosecutors argue the motion should be denied

A Munster business owner serving eight years in federal prison for financial crimes recently filed a motion for compassionate release because of COVID-19, but prosecutors said the motion should be denied.

Jack Weichman, 69, was sentenced on May 7, 2018, to 8 years in the Terre Haute Federal Correctional Institution for bank fraud, concealment of assets, wire fraud and filing false tax return, court records show. He was also ordered to pay $4,128,331 to his victims in the case, according to records.

Weichman, who owned a medical billing operation called MMDS, “stole millions of dollars from his physician clients during a bank fraud scheme,” according to a release from the U.S. attorney’s office.

Weichman hid a $2 million tax debt to the IRS from another bank at a time when he was seeking to renew a loan from that bank, according to the release. He also attempted to discharge $2.3 million of debt from his bankruptcy creditors, according to the release.

The June 22 motion requests to allow Weichman to serve the rest of his sentence at home “in light of the COVID-19 pandemic, which has severely affected” the prison. He has served nearly half his sentence, since his incarceration Sept. 14, 2018, according to the motion.

Weichman suffers from hypertension, prediabetes and peripheral vascular disease, “which thereby makes him highly vulnerable to COVID-19,” according to the motion.

After former Attorney General William Barr issued a directive to release some inmates because of virus concern, Weichman said he requested to serve his sentence at home but it wasn’t granted, according to the motion.

“In light of the deadly threat that COVID-19 poses to Jack Weichman, which was completely unforeseen at the time of his sentencing, he is requesting the court to consider modifying his sentence by placing him on home confinement,” according to the motion.

On July 6, prosecutors responded to the motion stating it should be denied because Weichman has served less than three years of his eight-year sentence; he does not present a medical condition that, according to the CDC guidance, places him at enhanced risk to the current pandemic; and because “he remains a danger to the community,” according to the motion.

The prosecutors outlined that Weichman first filed for home confinement in March 2020, but there was no record of warden’s response. On Sept. 14, 2020, he resubmitted the request, but it was rejected as improperly filed, so he resubmitted Oct. 1, 2020 and was ultimately denied, according to the motion.

“Although defendant is over 65, he has not yet served 50% of his sentence, he did not suffer from a chronic or serious medial condition related to the aging process, and he was not experiencing a deteriorating mental or physical health condition that diminishes his ability to function in a correctional environment,” according to the motion.

Prosecutors stated they obtained Weichman’s medical records, which “do not support defendant’s claim that he suffers from any medical condition that makes him highly vulnerable to COVID-19.” Additionally, prosecutors said he was fully vaccinated against the virus in March.

William Bercaw, Weichman’s employee, was sentenced two years of probation after pleading guilty to wire fraud for money illegally removed from a client’s retirement accounts, court records show.

James Schaefer, another employee, and Ari Weichman, Jack Weichman’s son, pleaded guilty for their roles in providing false information to U.S. Bancorp to secure a loan for MMDS by representing Ari Weichman as the owner and president of MMDS “when in fact he was not,” the release states.

Schaefer and Ari Weichman each pleaded guilty to bank fraud, court records show. Schafer was sentenced to two years of supervised release, while Ari Weichman received two years of probation, according to court records.