It certainly does not pay to rip off Medicaid. News of individuals facing heavy prison sentences continues to role in. And, to be quite honest, we’re only too happy to report about it. Healthcare fraud is costing our nation millions of dollars and even worse, it’s taking advantage of insurance programs that have been put in place to help honest Americans recover from illnesses and injuries. Needless to say, it is money that shouldn’t be going to waste.
In one of the most recent incidents of Medicaid fraud leading to prison time, Paul Mil of Springfield, New Jersey was sentenced to a 54 months sentence after pleading guilty to committing health care fraud, money laundering and tax evasion. As reported by Alana Stramowski on HomeHealthCareNews.com, the 67 year-old owner of People Choice Home Care Inc. fraudulently bilked Medicaid out of a whopping $7 million!
Mil was not alone in his criminal activity. Along with HHCH Health Care Inc. owner, Irina Krutoyarsky, he submitted numerous false documents to the New Jersey Board of Nursing claiming that various home health aides had completed required training and testing. In reality, these individuals were actually paying to obtain fraudulent certificates. Both Mil and Krutoyarksy also billed Medicaid for services that were never rendered to their patients.
Stramowski details just how heinously falsified the duos claims were. “Home health aides at HHCH routinely falsified records that claimed they had visited patients and provided health care services, but that wasn’t the case,” she explains, “The home health aides really had other jobs, were on vacations out of the country, or were in other parts of the state during the times they claimed to be with patients.”
The fraudulent actions didn’t stop there. Mil and Krutoyarsky recruited people with absolutely no medical training or experience to visit patients in their homes. This included individuals who not only had no home health certifications, but no status in the United States either. As you may have guessed, Medicaid was billed for these so-called services as well. The duo made the claim, of course, that duly certified home health aides were making the home visits.
You may be wondering what Mil and Krutoyarksy did with the millions of dollars they stole from Medicaid. They purchased real estate and personal property, Stramowski informs us. “In addition to all of these schemes, between 2007 and 2011, Mil cheated the IRS out of approximately $918,000 in taxes due and owing,” she reveals, pointing out that Mil has been ordered to forfeit $7 million and well as six homes and properties in the New Jersey and New York areas. In addition, he will be serving three years of supervised release once his four and half year prison stint is complete.
At Allegiant Experts, we’re big believers in harsh sentencing for fraudsters. As we’ve stated in the past, the importance of minimizing fraud in the healthcare industry cannot be overstated. And our team is definitely committed to helping the cause! Please don’t hesitate to contact us if you have any questions about how our clinical experts can help your legal battle against those who commit fraud. Call us at 407-217-5831.