According to a press release from the Department of Justice. the owner of two telemedicine companies was sentenced today to 7 years in prison and ordered to pay $27.9 million in restitution for his role in a scheme to fraudulently bill Medicare for unnecessary durable medical equipment.
According to court documents and statements made in court, Reinaldo Wilson, 57, formerly of Richmond Hill, Georgia, owned and operated two telemedicine companies located in Bayonne, New Jersey between 2017 and 2019. Through these companies, Wilson and others paid illegal kickbacks to medical providers to sign orders for orthotic braces for Medicare beneficiaries, even though the beneficiaries did not need the braces. Wilson and others illegally sold the signed orders to purported marketing companies that often re-sold the orders to brace companies, which in turn submitted claims for the unnecessary braces to Medicare. Wilson and his co-conspirators at marketing companies cajoled beneficiaries into accepting as many braces as possible. Providers working for Wilson’s telemedicine companies signed orders for four or more orthotics a piece for over 3,000 beneficiaries, and more than 40 beneficiaries received orders for 10 or more orthotics. Wilson also attempted to conceal his crimes by creating a new telemedicine company and convincing a member of his church that it was an investment opportunity. He took $20k from this member and had her open the company and bank accounts in her name, which he then took control of.
During the conspiracy, Wilson and others submitted over $56 million in false and fraudulent claims to Medicare, of which Medicare paid over $27.9 million.
Jeffrey Newman, JD MBA, is a whistleblower lawyer whose firm represents healthcare fraud whistleblowers and whistleblowers reporting violations of export controls, tariff evasions, money laundering, and other kinds of WB cases. Mr. Newman and his staff also represent many physician whistleblowers in healthcare fraud cases. Whistleblower laws in the U.S. allow individuals anywhere with information about export control violations or tariff fraud to reveal the information under The False Claims act . The Firm’s website is www.JeffNewmanLaw.com. Attorney Newman can be reached at Jeff@Jeffnewmanlaw.com or at 978-880-4758. FOR OTHER ARTICLES LIKE THIS and WHISTLEBLOWER INFO PLEASE SEE http://JeffNewmanLaw.com
