Related Federal Cases
- New Orleans Business Owner and Doc Sentenced for $34M Medicare Fraud · Louisiana
- Louisiana Nursing Home Owner Hit With Exclusion Due to Squalid Conditions, Deaths · Louisiana
- Memphis Pimp ‘Nino’ Admits to New Orleans Sex Trafficking · Louisiana
- New Orleans Woman Sentenced for Tax Fraud · Louisiana
- Orleans School Board Member Ira Thomas Charged with Bribery · Louisiana
New Orleans Business Owner Sentenced for $3.3 Million Medicare Scam
A New Orleans business owner has been sentenced to 80 months in prison for her role in a massive Medicare scam. Tracy Richardson Brown, 46, was found guilty of directing the scheme, which defrauded the government of over $3.3 million.
According to prosecutors, Brown, who owned and operated Psalms 23 DME LLC (Psalms), paid patient recruiters for the names and billing information of Medicare beneficiaries in and around New Orleans. The evidence presented at trial showed that Brown used this information to cause Psalms to bill Medicare for power wheelchairs, accessories, and various knee, elbow, and back braces supposedly provided to these beneficiaries. However, the vast majority of these patients did not need, and often did not receive or even want, this equipment.
The evidence at trial demonstrated that Brown caused Psalms to bill Medicare for more than $3.3 million in claims, a vast percentage of which were fraudulent, and Medicare paid Psalms approximately $2 million on these claims. At her sentencing, Judge Stanwood R. Duval Jr. of the Eastern District of Louisiana stated that the sentence was based, in part, upon Brown’s use of elderly people to commit a “reprehensible crime.”
Brown was also ordered to pay $2,004,391.63 in restitution. The FBI and HHS-OIG investigated the case, with Fraud Section Trial Attorney William Kanellis and Assistant U.S. Attorney Patrice Sullivan of the Eastern District of Louisiana in New Orleans prosecuting the case. Assistant Attorney General Leslie R. Caldwell of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division and U.S. Attorney Kenneth A. Polite of the Eastern District of Louisiana made the announcement.
Tracy Richardson Brown’s sentencing brings an end to a five-day trial, during which the prosecution presented evidence of her scheme. The evidence showed that Brown used patient recruiters to obtain Medicare beneficiaries’ information and then billed the government for unnecessary medical equipment. This scheme has left a trail of financial devastation, with Medicare paying out millions of dollars in fraudulent claims.
Brown’s sentence serves as a warning to those who would seek to exploit the system for personal gain. The Justice Department will continue to work tirelessly to root out Medicare scams and bring those responsible to justice.
Key Facts
- State: Louisiana
- Category: Fraud & Financial Crimes|White Collar Crime
- Source: DOJ Press Release â†â€â€
ðŸâ€Â’ Get the grimiest stories delivered weekly. Subscribe free →
MORE FEDERAL CRIME NEWS
US NewsUS NewsUS NewsUS News