A federal appeals court has affirmed the conviction and 15-year prison sentence of a home hospice owner found guilty of Medicare fraud.

Matthew Kolodesh was convicted in October 2013 for submitting fraudulent Medicare claims for hospice care through Home Care Hospice Inc.from 2003-2008. He also was found guilty of paying nurses and physicians to fake patient records and obtain referrals. Kolodesh was sentenced to 176 months in prison with a restitution order of $16.2 million in May 2014.

Although he appealed everything, including the prosecution evidence, the court found no reversible error in the trial court’s actions; the restitution amount was reasonably calculated based on government estimates of HCH’s claims for the duration of the fraud, and the length of his sentence was based on minimum sentencing guidelines, according to the appeals court’s May 28 ruling.