A federal jury convicted a previous CEO of a wellbeing clinic for defrauding the Louisiana Medicaid Program in excess of numerous decades.
According to court docket documents and evidence introduced at demo, Victor Clark Kirk, 73, of Baton Rouge, Louisiana, was the CEO of St. Gabriel Health and fitness Clinic Inc. (St. Gabriel), a Louisiana nonprofit corporation that presented overall health care providers to Medicaid recipients and some others. St. Gabriel was a federally certified health middle (FQHC) that contracted with the Iberville Parish University Board to present medical services inside of the college district. As a FQHC, St. Gabriel could provide principal care solutions to students as very well as providers connected to the diagnosis and therapy of psychological sicknesses – presented that these kinds of companies were medically needed – amongst other specifications.
Evidence at demo confirmed that St. Gabriel practitioners, at Kirk’s direction, supplied character progress and other instructional programs to entire school rooms of college students during regular course intervals. Kirk then triggered the fraudulent billing of these packages to Medicaid as group psychotherapy. To facilitate the fraudulent plan, Kirk directed that St. Gabriel practitioners falsely diagnose pupils with psychological well being issues. From 2011 via 2015, Kirk prompted in excess of $1.8 million in fraudulent statements for purported group psychotherapy expert services.
Kirk was convicted of conspiracy to commit well being care fraud and five counts of overall health treatment fraud. He is scheduled to be sentenced on Jan. 12, 2023, and faces a maximum penalty of 10 yrs in jail per count. A federal district court docket decide will ascertain any sentence just after contemplating the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory elements.
Assistant Lawyer Basic Kenneth A. Well mannered, Jr. of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division U.S. Lawyer Ronald C. Gathe, Jr. for the Center District of Louisiana Special Agent in Cost Douglas A. Williams, Jr. of the FBI New Orleans Industry Office Director Jodi Edmonds LeJeune of the Louisiana Medicaid Fraud Command Device (MFCU) and Acting Specific Agent in Charge Jason Meadows of the Section of Overall health and Human Products and services, Workplace of the Inspector Common (HHS-OIG) manufactured the announcement.
The FBI, MFCU, and HHS-OIG investigated the circumstance, which was brought as aspect of the Gulf Coastline Strike Drive, supervised by the Criminal Division’s Fraud Portion and the U.S. Attorney’s Workplace for the Center District of Louisiana.
Assistant Main Justin M. Woodard and Trial Lawyer Kelly Z. Walters of the Legal Division’s Fraud Segment and Assistant U.S. Legal professional Kristen L. Craig for the Center District of Louisiana are prosecuting the situation.
The Overall health Care Fraud Strike Pressure is portion of a joint initiative involving the Office of Justice and HHS to emphasis their attempts to avert and prevent fraud and enforce present-day anti-fraud guidelines all over the nation. Considering the fact that its inception in March 2007, the Overall health Treatment Fraud Strike Power, which maintains 16 strike forces functioning in 27 districts, has billed virtually 4,000 defendants who have collectively billed the Medicare program for much more than $14 billion. In addition, the HHS Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Expert services, operating in conjunction with HHS-OIG, are using actions to increase accountability and lessen the existence of fraudulent companies.