Florida Man Pleads Guilty to $73 Million Medicare Kickback Scheme
A Florida man has pleaded guilty to his role in a massive $73 million Medicare kickback scheme that exploited temporary amendments to telehealth restrictions enacted during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Leonel Palatnik, 42, of Aventura, Florida, pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to offer kickbacks and one count of paying a kickback in the Southern District of Florida.
According to court documents, Palatnik, as a co-owner of Panda Conservation Group LLC, conspired with other co-owners and Michael Stein, the owner of 1523 Holdings LLC, to pay kickbacks to Stein in exchange for his work arranging for telemedicine providers to authorize genetic testing orders for Panda’s laboratories.
The scheme involved a sham contract for purported IT and consultation services to disguise the true purpose of these payments. 1523 Holdings then exploited temporary amendments to telehealth restrictions enacted during the pandemic by offering telehealth providers access to Medicare beneficiaries for whom they could bill consultations.
In exchange, these providers agreed to refer beneficiaries to Panda’s laboratories for expensive and medically unnecessary cancer and cardiovascular genetic testing.
Palatnik is scheduled to be sentenced on November 9 and faces a maximum penalty of 15 years in prison.
The case is part of the COVID-19 Health Care Fraud coordinated law enforcement action on May 26 against 14 defendants in seven judicial districts.
Key Facts
- State: Florida
- Category: Healthcare Fraud
- Source: DOJ Press Release â†â€â€
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