The Nassau County District Attorney recently charged Joseph Golyan, a Great Neck gastroenterologist, with collecting Social Security and other government benefits over a four-year period, while simultaneously billing Medicare for care he was providing to Medicare beneficiaries. He allegedly collected over $100,000 in disability benefits, while billing Medicare over $700,000, during the relevant period. The
Fraud and Abuse
The Latest Refinements to DOJ’s White Collar Enforcement Policy
Last month, the head of the Criminal Division of the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), Matthew R. Galeotti, issued a Memorandum outlining DOJ’s enforcement priorities and policies for prosecuting white-collar crime, identifying three core tenets to guide prosecutors: “(1) focus; (2) fairness; and (3) efficiency.”
Among the areas of focus listed, the Memorandum identified as…
PA Nursing Home Companies to Pay $15 Million for Healthcare Fraud
Two Pennsylvania nursing home operators were recently sentenced in federal court to pay more than $15 million in restitution in a healthcare fraud case. Comprehensive Healthcare Management Services, the operator of Brighton Rehabilitation and Wellness Center, and the affiliated operator of Mount Lebanon Rehabilitation and Wellness Center were convicted of making false statements in connection…
FBI Warns Consumers of Discount Medical Scams
On April 30, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) released a Public Service Announcement warning consumers about fraudulent discount medical scams. These scams typically involve deceptive offers for health insurance plans that, in reality, provide little to no legitimate coverage. Scammers are contacting people through text messages, phone calls, or emails falsely claiming to represent…
COVID-19 Pandemic Fraud Enforcement Efforts Overview
Jeff Kaiser’s article, “COVID-19 Pandemic Fraud Enforcement Efforts Overview,” was published in the LexisNexis legal research tool, Practical Guidance.
In the article, Jeff offers a comprehensive overview of enforcement efforts related to COVID-19 pandemic fraud.
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Seventh Circuit Rejects Extension of AKS to Marketing Companies Without Evidence of Intent to Induce Referrals
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit recently rejected an effort by the federal government to extend the federal Anti-Kickback Statute (AKS) to a marketing company in the absence of influence by the company over decision makers.
Mark Sorensen, the owner of SyMed Inc., a durable medical equipment (DME) distributor, had been convicted…
FCA Case Against Insurers Alleges Kickbacks and Discriminatory Practices
On May 1, a whistleblower filed a complaint under the federal False Claims Act (FCA) against Aetna, Elevance Health (formerly Anthem) and Humana alleging that the insurers paid hundreds of millions of dollars in illegal kickbacks to induce brokers including GoHealth, eHealth and SelectQuote (the “Brokers”) to steer beneficiaries to their Medicare Advantage plans. While…
Genetic Testing Marketing Companies and Executives Settle Medicare Fraud Allegations for $6 Million
The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania announced on April 23 that Genexe, LLC (doing business as Genexe Health) and its parent company, Immerge, Inc., along with two of their executive officers/owners, Jason Green and Jason Gross, collectively agreed to pay $6 million to settle claims that they violated the False Claims…
Lab Co-Owners Acquitted in Alleged COVID-19 Testing Scheme
A Florida jury recently found two laboratory co-owners of Innovative Genomics LLC (“IGX”) not guilty in connection with an allegedly fraudulent COVID-19 testing scheme.
The Government alleged that from November 2019 through June 2023, the co-owners conspired to defraud Medicare and the Health Resources and Services Administration COVID-19 Uninsured Program by billing healthcare benefit plans…
In trend, court limits drug rebate AKS charges to easier ‘but-for’ standard
An article in the March 10 issue of Part B News, “In trend, court limits drug rebate AKS charges to easier ‘but-for’ standard,” discussed a recent ruling on the False Claims Act (FCA) implications of the federal Anti-Kickback Statute (AKS). Rivkin Radler’s Jeff Kaiser was quoted in the article.
“Every time a…
