Periodically, we review the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services enforcement action docket. There are literally tens of thousands of healthcare providers across the country. Most participate in the Medicare or Medicaid health programs. The government periodically audits a small percentage of these providers each year. When a significant problem is uncovered, the government can […]
Employment Specialists of Maine Settles False Claims Suit
[Post updated through 2021] Employment Specialists of Maine, known locally as ESM, is a private community rehabilitation provider in Maine. It provides services for many Maine residents struggling with intellectual disabilities. The company relies heavily on funding from the federal Medicaid program as well as state tax dollars. Earlier this year ESM settled charges that […]
Seattle MD Faces Medicare Fraud Charges
A Seattle physician has been charged with Medicare fraud. Published reports claim Bruce Chen was falsely billing for visiting patients. While that may sound more like an oversight or paperwork error, the government says some of the patients allegedly seen by Chen were dead while at other times he wasn’t even in the United States. […]
Feds Take Ambulance Company Owners For A Ride – Health Care Fraud
Earlier this month, a federal judge in Philadelphia sentenced Aleksandr N. Zagorodny, 40, to 78 months in prison for a health care fraud scheme involving MedEx Ambulance, Inc. He was the former president of the business. His brother, Sergey Zagorodny, 36, was sentenced to 5 years in prison for his involvement in the health care […]
Wisconsin Lawyer & Physician Sanctioned in Medicaid Fraud Case
A Wisconsin lawyer and physician have both been admonished for their actions in a Medicaid fraud case (whistleblower suit) pending in a Milwaukee federal court. The lawyer on the case, Rebecca Geitman, was ordered to pay attorneys fees of $26,000. Those sanctions and fee awards unfortunately threaten to overshadow the larger and important legal issues […]
No Show Doctor Convicted of Medicare Fraud – Whistleblower Post
New York physician Gustave Drivas was convicted of federal Medicare fraud following a trial in a Brooklyn federal court. He faces 20 years when sentenced later this summer. Medicare fraud costs taxpayers billions each year. Thankfully many of these crimes are solved by whistleblowers. According to court records, Drivas was affiliated with a clinic in […]