Twenty people, including three physicians, have been charged in Florida for their alleged participation in a $200 million fraudulent Medicare billing scheme, according to a Department of Justice news release.
The 38-count indictment alleges that the defendants, who worked for Miami-based American Therapeutic Corporation and Medlink Professional Management Group, submitted false claims for mental health services administered at ATC facilities. The indictment also alleges that various defendants paid kickbacks to patient brokers and owners and operators of halfway houses and assisted living facilities in exchange for delivering patients to ATC facilities.
The indictments also allege the kickback scheme was supported by a money laundering scheme, where individuals received checks in their own names or in the names of shell corporations they had created. Those checks were allegedly cashed and returned to the medical directors of ATC to fund the kickbacks.
The cases are being investigated by the FBI and HHS Office of Inspector General.
Read the DOJ release on American Therapeutic Corporation.
Read about other charges of healthcare fraud:
–Oklahoma Man Charged for Billing Medicare Nearly $5M for Unprescribed Prosthetics
–Georgia’s St. Joseph’s/Candler Health Pays $2.7M to Settle Medicaid Fraud Allegations
–Criminals Exploiting Medicare Prescription Drug Program With Phony Physician IDs
