Mohammad Kazkaz, Health Care Fraud, Michigan 2024

The indictment alleges that Mohammad Kazkaz, 54, of Farmington Hills, Michigan, was the owner and operator of Centre HRW, a psychotherapy agency in Farmington Hills, Michigan. Kazkaz offered and provided kickbacks and bribes to Ziad Khalel, who was a patient recruiter, as an inducement to refer Medicare beneficiaries to Centre HRW for psychotherapy services, even though such services were medically unnecessary and were never rendered.

Khalel would require the recruited Medicare beneficiaries to sign blank Centre HRW sign-in sheets to allow Kazkaz to submit claims to Medicare, through Centre HRW, for psychotherapy services that were never provided. As a result of the false and fraudulent claims submitted to Medicare, Centre HRW billed Medicare more than $11 million and Medicare made payments to Centre HRW in an amount more than $5.3 million.

Mohammad Kazkaz is also charged with six counts of money laundering for engaging in monetary transactions exceeding $10,000 including transferring more than $1.4 million dollars in fraudulent health care fraud proceeds to a national restaurant chain.

Joining in the announcement were James A. Tarasca, Special Agent in Charge of the Detroit Field Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation and Mario Pinto, Special Agent in Charge, United States Department of Health and Human Services – Office of Inspector General (HHS-OIG).

Charged as members of the conspiracy in the indictment are Kazkaz, Khalel, Dr. Mustafa Hares, 76, of West Bloomfield, Michigan, Geraldine Letman, MSW, 70, of Phoenix, Arizona, and Gamela Ali, 33, of Dearborn, Michigan.

‘My office is committed to prosecuting any individual, especially medical professionals, who exploits Medicare, a taxpayer-funded program that provides essential services to seniors and disabled individuals,’ stated U.S. Attorney Ison.

‘The payment of kickbacks to induce referrals for medical services in Federal health care programs, as well as billing for services not rendered, can undermine the trust we place in our nation’s providers and results in costly reductions to our federal health care programs,’ said Special Agent in Charge Mario M. Pinto of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General (HHS-OIG).

An indictment is only a charge and is not evidence of guilt. All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.

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