Two doctors were found guilty of federal health care fraud charges for falsely certifying that Medicare patients were terminally ill, and therefore qualified for hospice care, when the vast majority of them were not actually dying.
LOS ANGELES, California – Sri Wijegoonaratna, 61, of Anaheim, and Boyao Huang, 43, of Pasadena, were found guilty of participating in a scheme related to the Covina-based California Hospice Care (CHC).
Between March 2009 and June 2013, CHC submitted approximately $8.8 million in fraudulent bills to Medicare and Medi-Cal for hospice-related services, and the public health programs paid nearly $7.4 million to CHC.
The two doctors were found guilty of seven counts of health care fraud, with Wijegoonaratna facing a statutory maximum sentence of 10 years in federal prison for each count and Huang facing five years in federal prison for each count.
United States District Judge S. James Otero is scheduled to sentence the two defendants on August 15.
The investigation into California Hospice was conducted by the United States Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Inspector General. Four other defendants who were named in a federal grand jury indictment in September 2014 have pleaded guilty to health care fraud charges and are pending sentencing.
The evidence at trial showed that Wijegoonaratna also recruited patients into the scheme and received tens of thousands of dollars in kickbacks.
By the time the scheme was shut down in June 2013, Medicare and Medi-Cal paid millions of dollars for medically unnecessary hospice-related services.
Related Federal Cases
- Shawn Bashir, Healthcare Fraud, Illinois 2025 · Illinois
- Bolademi Adetola, Medicare Fraud, California 2013 · Louisiana
- Evans Oniha, Health Care Fraud, California 2011 · Florida
- Geisinger Community Health Services, Medicare Fraud, Pennsylvania 2017 · California
- Akorn Operating Company LLC, False Medicare Claims, Illinois 2024 · Illinois
Key Facts
- State: California
- Category: Healthcare Fraud
- Source: DOJ Press Release â†â€â€
ðŸâ€Â’ Get the grimiest stories delivered weekly. Subscribe free →
MORE FEDERAL CRIME NEWS
Healthcare FraudHealthcare FraudHealthcare FraudHealthcare Fraud