Federal prosecutors on Wednesday charged the owners of two telemedicine companies with defrauding Medicare in a $56 million bribery and kickback scheme involving orthotic braces.
Reinaldo Wilson and Jean Wilson of Richmond Hill, Ga., were each charged with six counts in the indictment. The husband and wife owned Advantage Choice Care and Tele Medcare and used the companies to solicit kickbacks and bribes from patient recruiters, pharmacies and brace supplies, according to the U.S. Department of Justice. They would then hire providers to order medically unnecessary braces for Medicare beneficiaries.
The companies had locations in Bayonne, N.J.; Boca Raton, Fla.; and Richmond Hill.
The scheme involved more than $56 million in fraudulent Medicare claims from March 2017 to April 2019, prosecutors said.
The Wilsons were each charged for conspiracy to defraud the U.S., conspiracy to commit healthcare fraud, receiving kickbacks and conspiracy to commit money laundering.
