Related Federal Cases
- McKenzie Marie Earley, $10M Wire Fraud, C.D. California, 2023 · Pennsylvania
- Bruce Choi, COVID-19 Relief Fraud, Los Angeles CA, 2023 · Pennsylvania
- Irina Segal, Medicare Fraud, Philadelphia PA, 2023 · Pennsylvania
- Frank Hamilton Sentenced to 5.5 Years for SBA Scam, California, 2023 · Alabama
- Amy Evangelista, Tax Return Fraud, Lathrop CA, 2023 · Alabama
LOS ANGELES – Federal Prison Sentence Handed Down in $3.4M Medicare Fraud Scheme
Simon Hong, 55, of Brea, has been sentenced to 63 months in federal prison for his role in a $3.4 million Medicare fraud scheme. The scheme involved billing for occupational therapy services that were not medically necessary and not provided.
According to court documents, Hong operated a rehabilitation clinic in Walnut and hid his ownership in the name of a ‘straw’ or nominee owner in an effort to execute and conceal the fraudulent scheme. Hong admitted to billing Medicare for occupational therapy services when no such services were provided to the Medicare beneficiaries.
Instead, the Medicare beneficiaries received acupuncture and massage services, which were not reimbursable by Medicare. Hong further admitted that he directed co-conspirator therapists to falsify medical records to make it appear as if the services billed had been actually provided and funneled 87 percent of the proceeds from Medicare to himself.
Through this scheme, Hong admitted that he and his co-conspirators billed Medicare approximately $3,454,485 from October 2009 until December 2012 in false claims and received approximately $2,407,857.
Hong was charged by indictment on June 16, 2016, along with Grace Hong, 51, of Brea, and Keith Canlapan, 38, of West Covina. Canlapan pleaded guilty to one count of conspiring to commit health care fraud, and Grace Hong is scheduled for trial March 21.
United States Attorney Eileen M. Decker emphasized that this type of fraudulent conduct is a burden on the entire health care system, drives up costs for patients, and compromises the delivery of services to people who legitimately need care.
Hong was also sentenced in January to over 10 years in prison in a separate case. The 63-month sentence imposed today by Judge George H. Wu will run concurrently to the sentence imposed by Judge Carter.
HHS-OIG investigated the case. The Criminal Division’s Fraud Section Trial Attorney Niall M. O’Donnell and Former Fraud Section Trial Attorney Blanca Quintero prosecuted the case.
Key Facts
- State: California
- Category: Fraud & Financial Crimes
- 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