For people who have bad backs, electric nerve stimulators can do wonders for a fairly low price. (Back surgery costs quite a bit more and doesn’t always guarantee relief.) An article published in the Austin Business Journal tells how the owner of a Texas medical equipment company got away with more than $800,000 by illegally billing for electronic nerve stimulator supplies that were never delivered to patients as reported. (The government was pretty sore over the criminal activity and decided to take back what belonged to its honest taxpayers.)
The story reports that over a two-year period of time, the woman submitted numerous fraudulent bills for reusable adhesive pads used with electrical nerve stimulators to the Department of Labor’s (DOL) Office of Workers Compensation Program. (As you might guess, none of the supplies were delivered to patients as claimed.) The ruse was uncovered after a suspicious beneficiary inquired about a paper statement showing the DOL was billed for medical supply items that were not received.
The 37-year-old pleaded guilty to one count of health care fraud for the intended loss of more than $1 million. She was sentenced to three years in prison to be followed by supervised release for another three years. The fraudster also will have to pay a hefty restitution bill totaling $846,171.
After being trapped in a jail cell for a couple of years on a not-so-comfortable prison mattress, this woman may wish she had an electrical nerve stimulator and a few reusable adhesive pads for her own use. This is definitely a sticky situation she has gotten herself into and it looks like she will be stuck in jail for quite some time.
The post Sticky Situation appeared first on Fraud of the Day.