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Former Tenet Healthcare Executive Charged in $400M Kickback Scheme
A former senior executive of Tenet Healthcare Corporation has been charged with his alleged role in a $400 million scheme to defraud, victimizing the U.S. government, the Georgia and South Carolina Medicaid Programs, and prospective patients of Tenet hospitals.
John Holland, 60, of Dallas, was charged in an indictment filed on Jan. 24 in the Southern District of Florida with one count of mail fraud, one count of health care fraud and two counts of major fraud against the United States. Holland made an initial appearance today, Feb. 1, at 2:00 p.m. EST before U.S. Magistrate Judge Edwin G. Torres of the Southern District of Florida.
According to the indictment, Holland formerly served as a senior vice president of operations for Tenet Healthcare Corporation’s Southern States Region and as chief executive officer of North Fulton Medical Center Inc. in Roswell, Georgia. The indictment alleges that from approximately 2000 through 2013, Holland engaged in a scheme to defraud the United States, and the Georgia and South Carolina Medicaid Programs, by causing the payment of bribes and kickbacks in return for the referral of patients to North Fulton Medical Center Inc. and other Tenet hospitals in the Southern States Region, including Atlanta Medical Center Inc., Spalding Regional Medical Center Inc. and Hilton Head Hospital.
From approximately 2007 through 2013, Tenet maintained and operated an affiliated billing center located in Boca Raton, Florida, that assisted in processing, for payment, Medicaid billings for these hospitals. Holland took affirmative steps to conceal the scheme including by circumventing internal accounting controls and falsifying Tenet’s books, records and reports. These kickbacks and bribes helped Tenet bill the Georgia and South Carolina Medicaid Programs over $400 million, and Tenet obtained more than $149 million in Medicaid and Medicare funds based on the resulting patient referrals, the indictment alleges.
According to the allegations, to effectuate the scheme, Holland, among other things, made false and fraudulent statements to HHS-OIG in connection with Tenet’s 2006 Corporate Integrity Agreement (the CIA), in which he falsely certified to HHS-OIG that Tenet was in compliance with the terms of participation in the Medicare and Medicaid Programs, and the terms of the CIA, when in fact he knew that Tenet was paying for illegal patient referrals. Holland’s certifications were included as part of Tenet’s yearly annual reports that were mailed to the HHS-OIG monitor located in Miami Lakes, Florida.
“These charges underscore our continued commitment to holding both individuals and corporations accountable for their fraudulent conduct,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General Kenneth A. Blanco. “We will follow the evidence where it takes us, including to the corporate executive ranks.”
“Medicaid patients have the right to seek healthcare without fearing that care is tainted by bribes and illegal kickbacks,” said Special Agent in Charge for FBI’s Atlanta Division David J. LeValley. “Not only did patients suffer because of these alleged actions, but this kind of alleged abuse threatens to drive up the cost of healthcare for everyone. The FBI is committed to ensuring that federal laws related to the healthcare industry are enforced.”
Holland’s scheme, which allegedly spanned over a decade, resulted in the U.S. government, the Georgia and South Carolina Medicaid Programs, and prospective patients of Tenet hospitals being victimized. The indictment alleges that these kickbacks and bribes helped Tenet bill the Georgia and South Carolina Medicaid Programs over $400 million, and Tenet obtained more than $149 million in Medicaid and Medicare funds based on the resulting patient referrals.
Key Facts
- State: Georgia
- Category: White Collar Crime|Fraud & Financial Crimes
- Source: DOJ Press Release â†â€â€
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