Healthcare Compliance Perspective:
It is essential that all current employees and vendors of Skilled Nursing Facilities receive and acknowledge the “Our Compliance Plan” and Code of Conduct, which instructs all employees and contractors to disclose any financial interest or relationship with any members of their immediate family. A financial relationship with immediate family members may present a conflict of interest and must be disclosed to the Compliance Officer to determine if a conflict exists and if so, how it should be resolved.
The former CEO and Chief Operating Officer for a company operating dozens of Indiana nursing homes, will plead guilty for their involvement in a multimillion dollar kickback scheme that operated from January 2009 to September 2015.
The pair were indicted in 2016 with two other associates including the brother of the former CEO, and both are also pleading guilty for their roles in the scheme that netted $16 million. The plea agreements call for many of the 32 counts that the four men were charged on to be dismissed. Even with the plea agreements, the men are expected to spend many years in prison.
The ex-CEO will plead guilty to conspiracy to commit mail fraud, money laundering, wire and healthcare fraud along with the ex-Operations Chief. The former CEO’s brother’s guilty plea also involved conspiracy to commit mail, wire and healthcare fraud. The brother worked for an accounting firm that prepared cost reports for the healthcare companies the scheme defrauded.
Shell companies were used to falsify and inflate the cost of goods and services, and allowed the men to hide the kickbacks during the six-years the scheme was being operated.
The money the men netted from the scheme was used to purchase lavish items-like jewelry, gold bars, fancy cars and vacation homes.
The former CEO issued a statement about his plea agreement through his law firm saying, “he is deeply sorry for having taken advantage of my relationships and positions for the sake of personal financial gain.”
