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New Orleans Business Owner Sentenced to 80 Months for $3.3M Fraud Scheme
A New Orleans business owner has been sentenced to 80 months in prison for her role in a $3.3 million Medicare fraud scheme.
Tracy Richardson Brown, 46, was sentenced to 80 months in prison by U.S. District Judge Stanwood R. Duval Jr. for directing the scheme. Brown, who owned and operated medical equipment supply company Psalms 23 DME LLC, was also ordered to pay $2,004,391.63 in restitution.
On April 30, 2016, Brown was convicted on 18 counts of health care fraud, conspiracy and related charges. Evidence introduced at the five-day trial showed that Brown paid patient recruiters for the names and billing information of Medicare beneficiaries in and around New Orleans.
The evidence presented at trial also 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, according to the evidence presented at trial, the vast majority of these patients did not need, and often did not receive or even want, this equipment.
The FBI and HHS-OIG investigated the case. Fraud Section Trial Attorney William Kanellis and Assistant U.S. Attorney Patrice Sullivan of the Eastern District of Louisiana in New Orleans prosecuted the case. Brown’s sentence was based, in part, upon her use of elderly people to commit a ‘reprehensible crime,’ according to Judge Duval.
Brown used Medicare claims to defraud the system, causing Psalms to bill Medicare for more than $3.3 million in claims, a vast percentage of which were fraudulent. Medicare paid Psalms approximately $2 million on these claims.
The case serves as a reminder of the importance of holding accountable those who commit Medicare fraud. The sentence imposed on Brown should serve as a deterrent to others who would seek to exploit the system for their own gain.
Key Facts
- State: Louisiana
- Category: White Collar Crime|Fraud & Financial Crimes
- Source: DOJ Press Release â†â€â€
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