A federal jury indicted a former health clinic executive for defrauding the Louisiana Medicaid program over several years.
According to court documents and evidence presented during the trial, Victor Clark Kirk, 73, of Baton Rouge, Louisiana, was the CEO of St. Gabriel’s Health Clinic Inc (St. Gabriel), a Louisiana nonprofit that provided health care services to Medicaid. recipients and others. was St. Gabriel is a Federally Qualified Health Center (FQHC) that has contracted with the Iberville Parish School Board to provide medical services within the school district. As an FQHC, St. Gabriel To provide primary care services to students as well as services related to the diagnosis and treatment of mental illness – provided these services are medically necessary – among other requirements.
Evidence in the trial showed that St. Gabriel’s practitioners, under Kirk’s guidance, provided character development and other educational programs for entire semesters of students during regular study periods. Kirk then caused fraudulent billing of these programs to Medicaid as group psychotherapy. To facilitate the fraudulent scheme, Kirk instructed St. Gabriel’s practitioners to misdiagnose students with mental disorders. From 2011 through 2015, Kirk caused fraudulent claims in excess of $1.8 million for alleged group psychotherapy services.
Kirk was convicted of conspiracy to commit health care fraud and five counts of health care fraud. He is due to be sentenced on January 12, 2023, and faces a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison for each count. A federal district court judge will determine any ruling after considering US sentencing guidelines and other legal factors.
Assistant Attorney General Kenneth A. Paulette Jr. of the Criminal Division of the Department of Justice; U.S. Representative Ronald Gatti, Jr., from the Central District of Louisiana. Special Agent in Charge Douglas A. Williams Jr. for the FBI in New Orleans; Director Judy Edmunds Legon of the Louisiana Medical Fraud Unit (MFCU); Acting Special Agent Jason Meadows of the Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Inspector General (HHS-OIG) made the announcement.
The FBI, MFCU and HHS-OIG investigated the case, which was filed as part of the Gulf Coast Strike Force, under the oversight of the Criminal Division Fraud Division and the US Attorney’s Office for the Central District of Louisiana.
Assistant Chief Justice Justin M. Woodard and attorney Kelly Z. Walters of the Criminal Division Fraud and Assistant US Attorney Christine L. Craig for the Central District of Louisiana pursued the case.
The Healthcare Fraud Task Force is part of a joint initiative between the Department of Justice and HHS to focus their efforts on preventing and deterring fraud and enforcing existing fraud laws across the country. Since its creation in March 2007, the healthcare fraud strike force, which maintains 16 strike forces operating in 27 counties, has indicted nearly 4,000 defendants who collectively paid Medicare more than $14 billion. In addition, HHS Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, working alongside HHS-OIG, are taking steps to increase accountability and reduce the presence of fraudulent providers.
from San Jose News Bulletin https://sjnewsbulletin.com/ex-health-clinic-ceo-indicted-for-medicaid-fraud-opa/
No comments:
Post a Comment