A former procurement director of a hospital in Florida has pled guilty in a federal district court to a federal conspiracy charge, admitting that he accepted kickbacks from vendors and a consultant in exchange for awarding them lucrative government contracts.
From 2005 through 2015 the defendant worked as the Corporate Procurement Officer and Director of Materials Management at a Florida hospital. As the Procurement Director, one of the defendant’s responsibilities was to decide which vendors would provide goods and services to the hospital where he was employed, including healthcare products, linens, compression sleeves, and printer repair services.
During his change of plea hearing, the defendant admitted to accepting approximately $427,000 in kickback payments ($150,000 of it in cash) from two vendors and a consultant for two additional vendors in exchange for awarding them the hospital’s goods and services contracts. In 2015, the defendant steered kickback payments to designated bank accounts in order to conceal the illegal activity.
The defendant’s hearing is scheduled for August 12, 2021, in Florida. He faces up to five years in prison.
Issue:
All members of the healthcare team should be knowledgeable of what may be considered an illegal kickback. Confirm that all staff are aware that a violation can be illegal, whether it is intentional or not intentional. A kickback, or failure to report a kickback, can result in fines and other sanctions, including placement on the OIG’s List of Excluded Individuals and Entities.
Discussion Points:
- Review your policy and procedure for preventing and reporting an anti-kickback statute violation. Update your policies and procedures as needed.
- Train all staff on the Anti-Kickback Statute and what can be considered a kickback. Include information on how to report concerns and suspected violations, and that prompt reporting is mandatory. Document that the trainings occurred and place in each employee’s education file.
- Periodically audit to ensure that staff are aware of what should be done if they suspect an illegal kickback has occurred, whether intentionally or unintentionally. Additional information is available in the Med-Net Corporate Compliance and Ethics Manual, Chapter 1, Compliance and Ethics Program, CP 2.3 General Legal Duties and Antitrust Laws.
