Galatis Gets 7 Years, Loses $850K Home in Medicare Scam

BOSTON – Michael Galatis, 63, of Natick, is headed to federal prison after a jury found him guilty of bilking Medicare out of millions. Yesterday, U.S. District Court Judge Douglas P. Woodlock sentenced Galatis to 92 months incarceration, three years of supervised release, a $50,000 fine, and $7 million in restitution. The feds aren’t just taking his freedom; they’re seizing his $850,000 house, built on the backs of vulnerable seniors.

Galatis, a registered nurse himself, ran At Home VNA (AHVNA), a Waltham-based home health agency that served as a front for a massive fraud. From 2006 to 2012, Galatis and his crew submitted over $27 million in bogus claims to Medicare, pocketing more than $20 million. The scheme wasn’t about providing care; it was about finding healthy Medicare recipients and exploiting the system.

The scam was simple, yet brazen. Galatis directed AHVNA nurses to target seniors in apartment buildings, luring them into receiving unnecessary home visits. Nurses were trained to manipulate assessment forms, falsely claiming patients were homebound and in desperate need of skilled care. A complicit physician, Dr. Spencer Wilking, rubber-stamped these fraudulent orders without examining the vast majority of patients. Even when primary care doctors protested – stating patients didn’t *need* home health – Galatis ignored them, continuing to bleed Medicare dry.

The scheme continued even after Medicare tightened regulations in 2011, requiring physician face-to-face assessments. Galatis simply had Dr. Wilking sign off on claims without any actual patient contact. The proceeds weren’t hidden; they were used to purchase Galatis’s now-forfeited Natick home, bought outright with stolen funds. This wasn’t a mistake; it was calculated greed.

Galatis was convicted in December 2014 of conspiracy to commit health care fraud, ten counts of health care fraud, and seven counts of money laundering following a grueling 16-day trial. His co-conspirator, AHVNA clinical director Janice Troisi, is set to face trial on July 27, 2015. Dr. Wilking, who already pleaded guilty to health care fraud in February 2014, awaits sentencing on September 22, 2015. The investigation was a joint effort by the U.S. Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General, the FBI, and the IRS Criminal Investigation.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys David S. Schumacher and Lisa A. Schlatz of U.S. Attorney Carmen M. Ortiz’s Health Care Fraud Unit spearheaded the prosecution, with assistance from the New England Benefit Integrity Support Center. This case sends a clear message: exploiting Medicare and the vulnerable elderly will be met with swift and severe consequences. Galatis thought he could get away with it. He was wrong.