Spouse of Former Home Health Agency CEO Convicted of Fraud

SAN FRANCISCO—A man was convicted of conspiracy to commit healthcare fraud in connection with a scheme to submit fraudulent claims to Medicare and falsify medical records.  The jury’s verdict follows a six-day trial.

According to court documents and evidence presented at trial, Simon Katz, 43, currently of Boca Raton, Florida, and his wife, Veronica Katz, the former CEO of HealthNow Home Healthcare, agreed to defraud Medicare by having unqualified medical professionals provide care for home health patients outside their authorized scope of practice. Katz and his wife allegedly billed Medicare for services never provided, submitted false documents to California Department of Public Health (CDPH) inspectors to maintain the ability to bill Medicare and furthermore instructed former employees to lie to the FBI and federal law enforcement to conceal their fraudulent activity.

As part of the conspiracy, from October 1, 2018, when HealthNow began submitting fraudulent documents to deceive CDPH inspectors, through November 2020, HealthNow received more than $3 million in payments based on HealthNow’s claims. Katz in turn received $300,000 from HealthNow during that same time period.

In addition, trial evidence showed Katz took steps to thwart the law enforcement investigation into HealthNow. In October 2019, Katz and his wife met with one of HealthNow’s former employees, who informed them that FBI agents had questioned her regarding HealthNow’s billing practices and patient medical assessments. Katz instructed the employee to lie to the FBI and falsely state that the employee had been trained and supervised by a registered nurse in the course of conducting patient assessments.

Simon Katz is the fourth defendant convicted in connection with this investigation. Co-defendant Veronica Katz pleaded guilty to healthcare fraud on April 18, 2024, and was sentenced on December 9, 2024, to two years in prison and ordered to pay restitution of $543,634.34 to Medicare and pay a $50,000 fine. Vennesa Herrera pleaded guilty on Aug. 30, 2021, to conspiracy to commit healthcare fraud and healthcare fraud. She is scheduled for a status hearing on August 3, 2026. Pharadja Andrews pleaded guilty on August 30, 2021 to conspiracy to commit healthcare fraud. She is scheduled for a status hearing on August 3, 2026.