Beneficiaries from nursing homes were a target of a group filing false claims in what authorities call the largest Community Mental Health Center services fraud case.
Seven people charged in Baton Rouge, LA, allegedly billed $225.6 million in false claims, according to the Department of Justice. The employees at Shifa Community Health Center and Serenity Center allegedly recruited beneficiaries at nursing homes, hospitals and homeless shelters, for partial hospitalization programs. While they billed for group therapy, specifically education and recreational psychotherapy, the services were not provided to the beneficiaries, the DOJ said.
The case is the largest of its kind ever prosecuted by the Medicare Fraud Strike Force. A total of 107 people were charged Wednesday in Medicare fraud schemes involving $452 million in false billing. The charges are based on alleged fraud schemes involving home health care, mental health services, psychotherapy, physical and occupational therapy, durable medical equipment (DME) and ambulance services.
