Oglethorpe and Three Executives Agree to Pay $32 Million to Settle FCA Case

Posted June 11, 2026

By the Constantine Cannon Whistleblower Team

According to a recent DOJ press release, Oglethorpe, Inc., a company that operates psychiatric hospitals, and three of its executives have agreed to pay $32 million to settle a False Claims Act case alleging a failure to return Medicare overpayments in connection with patient admissions at Oglethorpe facilities.[1] The DOJ partially intervened in the case prior to the settlement announcement.

Oglethorpe owned and operated psychiatric and substance abuse treatment facilities in Florida, Louisiana, and Ohio, including three facilities in Ohio doing business as “Ridgeview Behavioral Hospital,” “Georgetown Behavioral Hospital,” and “The Woods at Parkside.”[2]

What Were the Allegations Against Oglethorpe?

As described in the DOJ’s press release, the FCA case alleged that the defendants “knowingly failed to return to Medicare overpayments that Oglethorpe’s own consultants had identified . . . related to beneficiaries who had been admitted to [Ridgeview, Georgetown, and The Woods] even though they did not qualify for inpatient psychiatric care.”[3] In particular, the relators’ First Amended Complaint included the following allegations, as to which the government intervened:[4]

allegations that the defendants hired an advisor called “The Fox Group, LLC,” whose “findings generally corroborated [a relator’s] findings that Defendants routinely failed to properly document purported patient treatments, resulting in the inability to justify the medical necessity of patients’ treatments”;[5]
allegations that The Fox Group prepared “a mock report of a sample of ten claims that were to be paid,” that “[a]ll ten of the sample admission claims . . . were wrong,” and that The Fox Group estimated that “all funds received from a federal healthcare plan would be subject to refund”;[6]
allegations that “Defendants also retained BHM Healthcare Solutions (‘BHM’),” that “BHM performed a review of 100 patient charts,” and that “within this small sample, sixty-two certifications/records were missing for forty-eight patients”;[7]
allegations that, in connection with an effort to address the missing certifications/records, an Oglethorpe employee “admitted that he had essentially manipulated [a psychiatrist] . . . to backdate the signatures on the certifications so that they appeared as though they were signed on the proper re-certification dates for each of the forty-eight patients,” and that the employee “further admitted” that he “filled out the forms and ‘came up with the dates’ for the treatments so that [the psychiatrist] could sign them”;[8] and
allegations that, “of the sixty-two certifications, thirty-seven of them were on dates where [the psychiatrist] was not present in the hospital” and was “on vacation or working at another hospital at the time many of the certifications were allegedly signed.”[9]

Impact of Oglethorpe’s Prior Corporate Integrity Agreement

According to the DOJ’s press release, Oglethorpe had already entered into a Corporate Integrity Agreement with the federal government in 2021, following an earlier FCA settlement with the DOJ, but before the May 2022 filing of this FCA case.[10] “As a result of violating that Corporate Integrity Agreement, the defendants agreed to enter into a voluntary exclusion agreement with HHS-OIG under which they will be excluded from Medicare, Medicaid, and all federal health care programs for a period of 10 years beginning in July 2026.”[11]

Were Whistleblowers Involved?

As with many False Claims Act cases alleging healthcare fraud, this case was initiated by whistleblowers (called relators). In this case, the four relators (represented by different lawyers) were former Oglethorpe employees: a registered nurse, a former Chief Fiscal Officer; a former Regional Director of Operations, and a former Director of Financial Operations.[12] Under the qui tam (or whistleblower) provisions of the False Claims Act, private parties may file lawsuits on behalf of the government and receive a share (up to 30%) of the monetary recovery. In this case, according to the DOJ’s press release, the relators’ share of the recovery had not been decided as of the date of the release.

Comments on the Case

DOJ Assistant Attorney General Brett A. Shumate commented: “Healthcare fraud has negative impacts for taxpayers and patients alike. This settlement reflects the Department’s commitment to protecting taxpayer money and ensuring that Medicare payments are consistent with the coverage and payment rules for those services.”[13]

According to Constantine Cannon attorney Ginger Buck: “Healthcare fraud continues to be a primary focus of DOJ enforcement efforts. Under the False Claims Act, whistleblowers can come forward and file a lawsuit alleging fraud against the government, and the whistleblowers may be eligible for an award of up to 30% of the government’s monetary recovery. This sends a powerful signal, encouraging whistleblowers to aid government enforcement efforts by coming forward and bringing misconduct to light.”

Our Firm Represents Health Care Fraud Whistleblowers

Our firm has significant experience representing whistleblowers, including by litigating fraud cases brought under the False Claims Act. If you think you might have a case, please contact us to speak with an experienced member of the Constantine Cannon whistleblower team for a free, confidential consultation.

Speak Confidentially With Our Whistleblower Attorneys

[1] https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/oglethorpe-inc-and-top-executives-agree-pay-32m-resolve-false-claims-act-allegations (press release).

[2] https://www.justice.gov/opa/media/1442456/dl (Settlement Agreement).

[3] https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/oglethorpe-inc-and-top-executives-agree-pay-32m-resolve-false-claims-act-allegations (press release) (emphasis added).

[4] “The allegations as to which the United States intervened include those set out in [the] following paragraphs of The First Amended Complaint by Relators . . . : 71-76 and 96-118.” https://www.justice.gov/opa/media/1442456/dl (Settlement Agreement).

[5] United States ex rel. Treloar v. Olgethorpe, Inc., No. 5:22-cv-238 (M.D. Fl.), ECF No. 25 (1st Am. Compl.) ¶¶ 96-97.

[6] Id. ¶ 99 (emphasis omitted).

[7] Id. ¶¶ 104-106.

[8] Id. ¶¶107-110.

[9] Id. ¶ 111 (emphasis omitted).

[10] https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/oglethorpe-inc-and-top-executives-agree-pay-32m-resolve-false-claims-act-allegations (press release); https://www.justice.gov/opa/media/1442456/dl (Settlement Agreement).

[11] https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/oglethorpe-inc-and-top-executives-agree-pay-32m-resolve-false-claims-act-allegations (press release).

[12] https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/oglethorpe-inc-and-top-executives-agree-pay-32m-resolve-false-claims-act-allegations (press release); https://www.justice.gov/opa/media/1442456/dl (Settlement Agreement).

[13] https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/oglethorpe-inc-and-top-executives-agree-pay-32m-resolve-false-claims-act-allegations (press release).

Tagged in: False Claims Act, Healthcare Fraud, Medicare, qui tam,