A former owner of a Miami home healthcare company has admitted that he and others paid kickbacks and bribes to patient recruiters to help them fraudulently bill Medicare $30 million, the U.S. Justice Department announced Thursday.
Ramon Regueira, a former owner of Nation's Best Care Home Health Corp., pleaded guilty Thursday for his role in the scheme before U.S. District Judge Cecilia M. Altonaga in Miami. Regueira admitted that he and others operated the company for the purpose of billing Medicare for physical therapy and home healthcare services that were not medically necessary or not provided, according to the plea agreement signed Thursday.
Attempts to reach Regueira's attorney, Oscar Arroyave, were not immediately successful Thursday afternoon.
Regueira admitted that he and others paid kickbacks and bribes to patient recruiters who provided the company with patients, prescriptions, plans of care and certifications for medically unnecessary therapy and home health services that were used to fraudulently bill Medicare.
The company submitted about $30 million in claims for services that were not provided or not medically necessary and Medicare paid about $21 million for the claims between 2007 and 2011.
Sentencing is scheduled for Jan. 21.
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