Health Care Company Agrees to $1.41 Million Settlement of FCA Claims

DOJ News

Tenet Healthcare Agrees to $1.41 Million Settlement of FCA Claims

Tenet Healthcare Corporation and its affiliated hospital, Desert Regional Medical Center, settled False Claims Act allegations for $1.41 million. A whistleblower alleged that from 2014 to 2017, the hospital implanted cardiac monitors that were medically unnecessary and sought reimbursement from Medicare for the costs.

The Assistant Attorney General of DOJ’s Civil Division commented that “Providers that bill for unnecessary services and devices contribute to the soaring cost of health care. The Department of Justice holds accountable those providers that impose unnecessary treatments upon patients and pass the inflated costs on to federal health care programs.”  The whistleblower will receive $240,789 as his share of the DOJ recovery.

The DOJ press release is here.
 

Former Pharmacy Employee Pleads Guilty to Kickback Conspiracy

New Jersey resident Zachary Ohebshalom pleaded guilty to participating in a multi-million-dollar kickback conspiracy involving a physician who treated former US Postal Service employees for work-related injuries.

The physician allegedly prescribed hundreds of federal employees expensive, topical pain creams that were medically unnecessary in exchange for kickbacks from the Fair Lawn Pharmacy, and in turn, was reimbursed millions of dollars in benefits from the federal workers’ compensation program.

For his role in the conspiracy, Ohebshalom faces a maximum sentence of five years in prison and a fine of $250,000 or twice the gross gain or loss derived from the offense, whichever is greater.

The USAO press release is here.

Chicago Jury Convicts Physician of Medicare Fraud

After a five-day trial, a federal jury convicted Dr. Omar Garcia on six counts of health care fraud. Dr. Garcia was found guilty based on allegations that, from 2011 to 2015, he authorized medically unnecessary percutaneous allergen tests for patients who were Medicare beneficiaries.  He faces a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison on each count.

The USAO press release is here.