DME Employee Gets 33 Months in Prison for Medicare Fraud

Government Alleged $600,000 in False Medicare Claims for Enteral Nutrition Products

A 57-year-old former employee of a durable medical equipment (DME) company will spend the next 33 months in prison after pleading guilty to a conspiracy to commit healthcare fraud.  He was also ordered to pay more than $300,000 in restitution to the Medicare program.

The defendant admitted that he agreed with a co-defendant to submit false and fraudulent claims to Medicare.  He also accepted kickbacks from the co-defendant to direct business to the co-defendant's DME company and to sign DME orders for the company.

In return for cash payments, the defendant would sign “JRoy MD” on prescription pads, DME information forms, and certificates of medical necessity for enteral nutrition products.  The documents contained false information about the patients' medical conditions.  For example, some of the documents falsely stated that the patients required tube feeding when they did not.

A co-defendant in the case is already serving a three-year prison term for his role in the conspiracy.  Because the co-defendant is not a U.S. citizen, he will be referred to the Citizenship and Immigration Services (CIS) for deportation when he completes his sentence.

Medicare fraud investigations can have very serious consequences.  You must get expert advice and begin to plan your defense as soon as you know that you are under investigation.  Sometimes criminal charges can be avoided if you act immediately.

To arrange a free and confidential consultation with an experienced Medicare fraud defense lawyer, call John Howley, Esq. at (212) 601-2728, or click here to reach our offices via email.

John Howley, Esq.
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(212) 601-2728