Online resource packed with regulatory news and expert guidance, tips & tools pertinent to professionals across the post-acute care continuum.
A Texas home health agency owner is accused of fraudulently billing Medicare for more than $10 million, according to a release by the U.S. Department of Justice’s Southern District of Texas. Okorie Oko, 63, of Fresno, was arrested Thursday, April 28, 2022, and faces a five-count indictment, along with patient recruiter Henry C. Dobbins, 57, […]
Federal prosecutors claim five South Florida home health agencies are linked to an alleged scheme involving kickbacks and bribes in exchange for Medicare referrals for services the patients did not need and, in many cases, never received, according to a release from the Department of Justice’s Southern District of Florida. On Friday, Ernesto Espinosa, 71, […]
The OIG is alerting the public about fraud schemes related to COVID-19. Scammers are using telemarketing calls, text messages, social media platforms, and door-to-door visits offering COVID-19 tests, HHS grants, and Medicare prescription cards in exchange for personal details, including Medicare information. The OIG recommends the following in order to protect yourself from these scams: […]
Prosecutors in the Southern District of Florida recently announced charges in two investigations of alleged kickbacks for home health referrals. Those charged where among more than 50 defendants in health care fraud cases in the district in the last six weeks, according to a news release. “South Florida is ground zero for health care fraud. […]
To help struggling businesses needing immediate access to cash during the COVID-19 pandemic, Congress introduced the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) as part of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act in 2020. Some companies, however, didn’t use the PPP loan funds as Congress intended. Because of a broad range of associated fraud, the […]
A Burbank, Calif., home health agency owner is accused of misappropriating nearly $230,000 in federal assistance granted to businesses during the pandemic, according to a U.S. Department of Justice release Wednesday, May 26. Petros Hannesyan, 36, owner of Hollywood Home Health Services in Los Angeles, was charged with theft of government property and wire fraud. […]
A payroll company in upstate New York suddenly shuttered in September, leaving some home care companies and their staff scrambling, according to an article from Spectrum News. The company, MyPayrollHR, had 4,000 clients, among them home care company Visiting Angels. When the payroll company shut down, a financial services company that worked with MyPayrollHR started […]
A New Jersey local official has admitted to accepting bribes in exchange for referring patients who needed home health care aides. Myrtha Nicolas, 61, of Jersey City, N.J., pleaded guilty to one count of extortion under color of official right, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office, District of New Jersey. According to a release from […]
The OIG reports that Medicare improperly paid $1.9 million to ambulance providers for transport from hospitals to SNFs from 2014 to 2016. As a result of this former study, the OIG released an updated report on September 11 regarding hospital-to-SNF transfer billing practices. The OIG audited 99 ambulance providers from 2015 to 2017 and found […]
A patient recruiter was found guilty of one count of conspiracy to pay and receive health care kickbacks and three counts of receipt of health care kickbacks, according to the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ). Between 2009 and 2017, Dominic Trumbo, 45, of Lexington, Ky., owner of Trumbo Consulting Agency, participated in an illegal kickback […]