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California Healthcare Provider Intercare Health Systems Agrees to $10 Million Consent Judgment for Medicare and Medi-Cal Fraud Scheme
Los Angeles, California – In a shocking case of healthcare fraud, Intercare Health Systems Inc., formerly doing business as City of Angels Medical Center, has agreed to a $10 million consent judgment for a Medicare and Medi-Cal fraud scheme in Los Angeles.
The U.S. government and the state of California obtained the consent judgment against Intercare Health Systems in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California. The consent judgment resolves a civil lawsuit filed against Intercare by the United States and California.
The government’s complaint alleged that City of Angels paid ‘recruiters’ employed at homeless shelters in the skid row area of Los Angeles to deliver their homeless clients by ambulance to the hospital for medical treatment regardless of whether their clients in fact needed or requested such treatment.
City of Angels would then bill the Medicare and Medi-Cal programs for a variety of medical services allegedly rendered to the homeless patients, many of which were not medically necessary. This scheme violated the False Claims Act.
The complaint further alleged that payments City of Angels made to its recruiters constituted illegal inducements, or kickbacks. This scheme violated the federal Anti-Kickback Statute, which prohibits certain types of remuneration intended to induce the referral of patients for health services paid for by the federal government.
Former owners of Intercare Health Systems, Robert Bourseau and Rudra Sabaratnam, entered into $10 million consent judgments in January 2010.
Intercare Health Systems, formerly City of Angels Medical Center, has agreed to pay $10 million as part of the consent judgment.
The investigation and civil lawsuit were handled collaboratively by the Justice Department’s Civil Division, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Central District of California, the Attorney General’s Office of the State of California and the Office of Inspector General of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
This resolution is part of the government’s emphasis on combating health care fraud. One of the most powerful tools in that effort is the False Claims Act, which the government has used to recover more than $2.7 billion since January 2009 in cases involving fraud against federal health care programs.
Defendant: Intercare Health Systems Inc.
Criminal Charges: Medicare and Medi-Cal fraud scheme
City and State: Los Angeles, California
Exact Date: Not specified
Sentence or Outcome: Agreed to $10 million consent judgment
Dollar Amounts: $10 million fine
Key Facts
- State: California
- Category: Fraud & Financial Crimes
- Source: DOJ Press Release â†â€â€
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