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February 5, 2019

Two doctors from the Florida-based Fishman & Sheridan Eye Care Specialists clinic have agreed to pay a combined $157,312.32 to settle their liability under the False Claims Act. Drs. Craig D. Fishman and Jeffrey A. Sheridan were outed in a qui tam complaint filed by former business partner Dr. Michael Pennachio and office manager Sharon Drake, which alleged that from 2011 to 2017, Fishman and Sheridan knowingly billed Medicare for blepharoplasty and ptosis repair surgeries that were purportedly performed on the same patients, even though they are mutually exclusive eyelid repair surgeries. For exposing the fraud, Pennachio and Drake will receive a relator's share of $26,000. USAO MDFL

Tagged in: FCA Federal, Healthcare Fraud, Medical Billing Fraud, Medicare, Provider Fraud, Whistleblower Case, Whistleblower Rewards,

February 4, 2019

Compounding pharmacy Pentec Health, Inc., which sells a drug Proplete for nutrition support for patients with end stage renal disease, has agreed to pay $17 million to settle claims under the False Claims Act.  Pentec was alleged to bill federal healthcare programs for product wasted during the compounding of Proplete, and for Proplete that was not medically necessary or was not actually received by patients, routinely waiving patient copays and deductibles to induce the prescription of the drug.  Pentec also entered into a corporate integrity agreement and will be excluded from participation on federal healthcare programs.  The case was initiated by whistleblower Jean Brasher, a former employee of Pentec, who will receive an undisclosed share of the settlement. USAO EDPA

Tagged in: Compounding Pharmacy Fraud, FCA Federal, Lack of Medical Necessity, Pharma Fraud, Whistleblower Case,

February 1, 2019

Ali Jama, co-owner of Alpha Star Health Care Inc., was sentenced to 18 months in prison for health care fraud and tax fraud schemes against Medicare and Medicaid. Jama billed the government for services performed by unqualified individuals with criminal backgrounds who were prohibited from providing direct care. Jama also billed for services provided by untrained home health aides and provided false documents and false records for his taxes to reduce his company’s tax liability from approximately $680,000 to $81,000. Jama has been ordered to forfeit $300,000 and pay $392,000 in restitution to Medicaid. He must also pay the IRS $311,000 in restitution. DOJ

Tagged in: Criminal Proceedings, Healthcare Fraud, Home Health and Hospice, Improper Medical Personnel, Medicaid, Medicare, Tax Fraud,

January 29, 2019

Two doctors and a health clinic owner in the Houston area have each been sentenced to decades in prison following their convictions for Medicare fraud. In one case involving three defendants—clinic owner Ann Shepherd, doctor John Ramirez, and Yvette Nwoko—Medicare paid over $17 million in fraudulent claims resulting from false certifications related to services not medically necessary or properly provided. Defendants Shepherd was sentenced to 30 years in prison, and ordered to pay $20 million; Ramirez was sentenced to 25 years in priosn and ordered to pay $26 million; Nwoko awaits sentencing. In a second case, related case, doctor Anh Do was sentenced to three years in prison and ordered to pay almost $2 million in restitution on similar charges. DOJ 1; DOJ 2

Tagged in: Certifications, Criminal Proceedings, Healthcare Fraud, Improper Medical Personnel, Lack of Medical Necessity, Medicare,

January 28, 2019

Ademola O. Adebayo, of Odessa, FL, was convicted for his role in a massive compounding pharmacy fraud scheme through which he submitted false and fraudulent claims for compounded drugs and other prescription medications that were not medically necessary, never provided, or both. The evidence established that in his role as the pharmacist at A to Z Pharmacy, now-defunct, Adebayo conspired to submit or cause the submission of claims that often amounted to several thousands of dollars for a single tube of pain or scar cream. When the fraud was uncovered, Adebayo became the straw owner of Havana Pharmacy & Discount in Miami, where Adebayo and his co-conspirators continued the fraud. Adebayo personally benefited from the fraud and received $1.5 million. DOJ

Tagged in: Compounding Pharmacy Fraud, Healthcare Fraud, Lack of Medical Necessity, Medicare, Other Government Health Programs,

January 28, 2019

East Cost Stepping Stones, Inc., a behavioral services provider based in Jacksonville, Florida, has agreed to pay $360,000 to resolve allegations under the False Claims Act.  The company was alleged to have falsely billed TRICARE for applied behavioral analysis therapy services for children with autism by misrepresenting the services provided and who provided them, failing to document services as required, and fabricating and altering medical records.  USAO MDFL

Tagged in: FCA Federal, Healthcare Fraud, Medical Billing Fraud, Provider Fraud,

January 22, 2019

Walgreens Co. will pay the U.S. and the State of Wisconsin $3.5 million to settle a case under the False Claims Act alleging that the retail pharmacy routinely dispensed stimulant medications to Wisconsin Medicaid beneficiaries without first verifying that the prescribing physician ordered the medication for medically appropriate treatment, such as treatment for attention deficit disorder. The case was initiated by unidentified whistleblowers, who will receive a share of the settlement to be determined. USAO EDWI

Tagged in: FCA Federal, FCA State, Lack of Medical Necessity, Medicaid, Pharma Fraud, Whistleblower Case, Whistleblower Rewards,

January 15, 2019

New York has reached a $9 million settlement with Diamond Braces, a chain of dental offices, and its principal Oleg Drut, DDS, for false claims Diamond made to NY's Medicaid program for orthodontic procedures that were performed by personnel who were not certified to perform the work they did as required by NY state law.  NY

Tagged in: Improper Medical Personnel, Medicaid, Medical Billing Fraud, Provider Fraud,

December 21, 2018

Providence, Rhode Island-based Professional Ambulance, Inc., will pay $300,000 to resolve claims that it billed Medicare and Medicaid for ambulance services that were not medically necessary.  Specifically, the company transported dialysis patients, who require regular trips to and from a treatment facility, but many of whom were not eligible to travel by ambulance because they were sufficiently mobile.  USAO RI

Tagged in: Ambulance, Lack of Medical Necessity,

December 20, 2018

Pain specialist Dr. Jonathan Daitch, a principal in Ft. Myers-based Advanced Pain Management Specialists, P.A., has agreed to pay more than $1.7 million to resolve allegations that he violated the False Claims Act.  Dr. Daitch caused Medicare and Tricare to be billed for medically-unnecessary urine drug testing performed at Advanced Pain's in-house laboratory.  In addition, Daitch received kickbacks for anesthesia services.  A co-owner of Advanced Pain, Dr. Michael Frey, previously agreed to pay $2.8 million to settle similar claims.  USAO MD Fla

Tagged in: Anti-Kickback and Stark, FCA Federal, Healthcare Fraud, Lack of Medical Necessity, Provider Fraud,

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