A vast fraud, kickback, and money laundering scheme involving Indiana nursing home chain American Senior Communities (ASC) has led to the indictment of four individuals, including former CEO James Burkhart, 51, of Carmel, and former COO Daniel Benson, 51, of Fishers.
According to the indictment, Burkhart, Benson, and their co-conspirators, Steven Ganote, 42, of North Salem, and Joshua Burkhart, 42, of Fishers, allegedly pocketed millions in kickbacks and fraudulent overcharges, which they spent on vacation homes, private plane flights, golf trips, expensive jewelry, gold bullion, and casino chips.
The thirty-two count indictment charges Burkhart and Benson, along with Ganote and Joshua Burkhart, with one count of conspiracy to commit mail, wire, and health care fraud, along with multiple other counts of mail fraud, wire fraud, and money laundering. Additionally, the indictment charges James Burkhart, Benson, and Ganote with one count of conspiracy to violate the federal Anti-Kickback Statute.
United States Attorney Josh J. Minkler announced the indictment, stating, “These men are alleged to have stolen from the most vulnerable in our society. They took advantage of a system entrusted with the care of this state’s elderly, sick and mentally challenged allowing them to live a lifestyle of gratuitous luxury, fraught with unbridled greed.」
ASC is one of Indiana’s largest nursing home chains, managing the daily operations of approximately 70 senior care facilities throughout Indiana on behalf of the Health & Hospital Corporation of Marion County (Health & Hospital), a public health organization that administers hospitals, like Eskenazi Health, as well as nursing homes. Nearly all of the products and services used by these facilities are paid for with money from Medicare and Medicaid.
Between 2009 and 2015, James Burkhart and his co-conspirators engaged in side deals with outside vendors for their own personal benefit – unbeknownst to, and at the expense of Health & Hospital and ASC’s owners. These side deals often involved intentionally overcharging ASC and Health & Hospital for the products and services the vendors provided and then funneling the overcharged amounts back to themselves through a web of shell companies. For example, the indictment alleges that James Burkhart directed a landscaping vendor to artificially inflate its invoices to ASC by 45%. After James Burkhart had ASC pay the invoices, the landscaping vendor paid the 45% overcharge back to one of James Burkhart’s shell companies, which he then split with the landscaping vendor’s shell company. False and inflated invoices through the landscaping vendor allegedly defrauded ASC and Health & Hospital out of over $2.3 million.
In other instances, the vendors simply paid kickbacks to James Burkhart, Benson, and Ganote in exchange for doing business with ASC. For example, the indictment alleges that the vendor who provided pharmacy services at ASC-managed facilities paid three of Ganote’s shell companies over $5.5 million in two years for purported “marketing” services. Ganote regularly split this money among James Burkhart, Benson, and himself.
Related Federal Cases
- Altoona First Savings Bank CEO Troy Campbell Named to FDIC Advisory Committee · Pennsylvania
- Queens Ghost Gun Kingpin Sentenced to Over Nine Years · Indiana
- NY AGs Crack Down on 37 Robocall Gatekeepers · Indiana
- Len Davis: Federal Habeas Petition Denied · Indiana
- Indiana Narcotics Kingpin Brady Sentenced · Indiana
Key Facts
- State: Indiana
- Agency: DOJ USAO
- Category: Fraud & Financial Crimes
- Source: Official Source ↗
🔒 Get the grimiest stories delivered weekly. Subscribe free →
Browse More
