Medicare fraud

MISSOULA, Montana—A Whitefish physician accused in connection with alleged schemes to defraud government health programs admitted on Wednesday to falsely billing Medicare and other health programs in a telemedicine scheme that resulted in more than $39 million in false billing, the U.S. Attorney’s Office said.

LOS ANGELES—A Ventura County physician who worked for two Pasadena hospices pleaded guilty to defrauding Medicare out of more than $3 million by billing the public health insurance program for medically unnecessary hospice services.

Victor Contreras, 68, of Santa Paula, pleaded guilty to one count of health care fraud.

TOLEDO, Ohio—Ankita Singh, 42, formerly of Maumee, Ohio, was sentenced to 26 months in prison by U.S. District Judge Jack Zouhary, for her role in a durable medical equipment (DME) scheme that defrauded the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Medicare Program. She was also ordered to pay restitution in the amount of $4,470,931.02, serve two years of supervised release and pay a special assessment fee of $600.

NASHVILLE—United States Attorney Henry C. Leventis announced criminal charges against four defendants in connection with alleged schemes to defraud Medicare. The charges stem from schemes to bill Medicare for medically unnecessary genetic tests, durable medical equipment, and medications that were procured through kickbacks used to obtain doctors’ orders and patient information.

The following individuals have been charged in the Middle District of Tennessee:

TAMPA, Florida—United States Attorney Roger B. Handberg announced criminal charges against nine individuals in connection with alleged schemes to defraud programs entrusted for the care of the elderly and disabled, and to obtain controlled substances through fraud. The charges filed in the Middle District of Florida (MDFL) are part of the Department of Justice’s 2024 National Health Care Fraud Enforcement Action.

LOS ANGELES—Five individuals were arrested in Los Angeles on criminal charges related to their roles in a years-long scheme to defraud Medicare of more than $15 million through sham hospice companies and then to launder the fraud proceeds.

CINCINNATI, Ohio—Sharon Romaine Ward, 52, formerly of West Chester, pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court to fraudulently billing more than $8.5 million to Medicare, Medicaid and Veterans Affairs home health care programs between 2015 and 2021.

MIAMI—A Miami federal district judge sentenced a fugitive to 87 months in prison followed by three years of supervised release for his role in a multimillion-dollar conspiracy to commit money laundering. The judge also ordered him to pay $3,709,860 in restitution.

ALBANY, New York—Fraud costs Medicare an estimated $60 billion per year according to the New York StateWide Senior Action Council.

It costs Medicare beneficiaries time, stress, their medical identities and potentially their health. It costs families, friends and caregivers in worry and lost work when helping their loved ones recover from falling victim to Medicare fraud.

NEW ORLEANS—U.S. District Judge Lance Africk sentenced Shiva Akula, age 68, of New Orleans, to 240 months of imprisonment, three years of supervised release and $2,300 in mandatory special assessment fees, in relation to an extensive health care fraud scheme orchestrated by Akula. In November 2023, a federal jury convicted Akula of all 23 counts of his underlying indictment.

LEXINGTON, Kentucky—A Lexington doctor, Amr Mohamed, 55, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Karen Caldwell to two years in prison for a kickback conspiracy.

NEW YORK—Damian Williams, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, announced that Manishkumar Patel pled guilty  in connection with a $50 million health care fraud and kickback scheme involving the sale of fraudulent prescriptions for durable medical equipment (DME), among other medical supplies, to suppliers, pharmacies and laboratories who obtained payment for those fraudulent prescriptions from Medicare. Patel pled guilty before U.S. Magistrate Judge Ona T.

BOSTON—The owner of Expansion Media (Expansion) and Hybrid Management Group (Hybrid) plead guilty on April 3 in connection with a $110 million telemedicine fraud scheme involving medically unnecessary durable medical equipment (DME), including orthotics such as back and knee braces. 

COLUMBIA, South Carolina—Andrew Chmiel, 48, of Mt. Pleasant, was sentenced to nine years in federal prison for his role in a nearly $100 million scheme related to the payment of kickbacks and bribes in exchange for medically unnecessary durable medical equipment (DME) orders.  

SAN DIEGO—Anthony Duane Bell Sr. and his son, Anthony Duane Bell Jr., were sentenced in federal court to 65 months and 12 months and one day, respectively, for their roles in fraudulently receiving more than $21 million in Medicare payments and lying to cover it up.  

SPOKANE, Washington—Vanessa R. Waldref, the United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Washington, announced that Thomas Andrew Webster, M.D., age 51, of Sylvania, Ohio, pled guilty to conspiring to accept kickbacks in connection with a fraudulent telemarketing and medical supply scheme throughout Washington and in other states. District Judge Mary K. Dimke accepted Webster’s guilty plea and set sentencing for June 26 in Spokane, Washington. 

BOSTON—The owner of Expansion Media (Expansion) and Hybrid Management Group (Hybrid) has been charged and has agreed to plead guilty in connection with a $110 million telemedicine fraud scheme involving medically unnecessary durable medical equipment (DME), including orthotics such as back and knee braces. 

WASHINGTON—A federal jury convicted a California man for his role in a scheme to defraud Medicare by billing $2.8 million for hospice services that patients did not need.

WASHINGTON—A man was sentenced today to nine years in prison for orchestrating a nearly $2.8 million health care fraud and wire fraud conspiracy and engaging in money laundering, aggravated identity theft and witness tampering.

GREENVILLE, South Carolina—Jeffrey Brooks, 40, of Clarence Center, New York, was sentenced to more than seven years in federal prison after pleading guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit health care fraud. In addition to Brooks’ criminal conviction, last year, Brooks paid $850,000 in a civil settlement to resolve allegations that he provided kickbacks and caused false claims to be submitted in violation of the federal False Claims Act.

KANSAS CITY, Missouri—A Columbia, Missouri physician has been indicted by a federal grand jury for making false statements relating to Medicare orders.

Jerry Joseph Bruggeman, 52, was charged in a 13-count indictment returned by a federal grand jury in Kansas City, Missouri, on Tuesday, Jan. 23.