On an update of a story we brought you in July, a man who owned and operated a telemarketing operation was sentenced to four years in federal prison for health care fraud. The court also ordered him to forfeit his interests in real property as well as a bank account containing nearly $475,000, which were traceable to proceeds of the offense. Restitution of $3.42 million was ordered.
According to court documents, his company targeted the Medicare-aged population to generate orders for durable medical equipment (DME) and cancer genetic (CGx) testing. Call center employees were trained to follow a script of triage questions designed to upsell DME and CGx testing. During the scheme, he bribed numerous doctors, through fraudulent “telemedicine” companies, to sign and to approve thousands of DME and CGx-testing orders, regardless of medical necessity. Read a Department of Justice press release and a story from the Tampa Bay Business Journal.
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