July 18, 2013 — The fight against Medicare fraud is a tough one, and the Justice Department relies on whistleblowers as allies in this fight. The False Claims Act’s qui tam provisions permit insiders to file suit on behalf of the government and to share in any recovery. Insiders, like employees of health care companies, are in a unique position to become informants on unethical health care companies.
Latay Medical Services Owner Gets Five Years in Prison
Bolademi Adetola , owner of Latay Medical Services, has been sentenced to five years in prison for her part in an $8.4 million health care fraud scheme involving durable medical equipment (DME), according to the Justice Department. She also was sentenced to three years of supervised release. She was ordered to pay a total of $4,555,198 in restitution—the same amount she received on the $8.4 million in false claims she submitted to Medicare. She was convicted in March of health care fraud and conspiracy to commit health care fraud.
The evidence at trial showed that, through Latay Medical Services, Ms. Adetola fraudulently billed Medicare for millions of dollars in DMEs that were either not medically necessary or were not actually provided to patients. From 2005 to 2009, Ms. Adetola paid kickbacks for fraudulent DME prescriptions, such as hospital beds and power wheelchairs.
The testimony at trial established that Medicare beneficiaries were promised free recliner sofas, but instead received power wheelchairs that they neither wanted nor needed. Ms. Adetola even billed Medicare, according to the evidence at trial, for DMEs that were purportedly delivered to Medicare beneficiaries who had died before the time of service.
Tipsters Help Federal Authorities Battle Medicare Fraud
Informants who collaborate with authorities are the best defense against rampant Medicare and Medicaid fraud. It’s important, though, that tipsters learn about their rights before approaching authorities. The Medicare fraud lawyers with Waters & Kraus provide skilled representation to whistleblowers every day. Contact us by email or phone our False Claims Act attorneys at 855.784.0268 to learn more about our qui tam practice.
