Thomas Farese, Health Care Fraud, New Jersey 2021
New Jersey residents are reeling after five individuals were charged and two others pleaded guilty in a massive $93 million durable medical equipment and genetic cancer screening kickback fraud scheme.
Thomas Farese, a 78-year-old man from Delray Beach, Florida, has been charged with conspiracy to commit health care fraud, along with Pat Truglia, a 53-year-old man from Parkland, Florida, Domenic J. Gatto Jr., a 46-year-old man from Palm Beach Gardens, Florida, and Nicholas Defonte, a 72-year-old man from Toms River, New Jersey, and Christopher Cirri, a 63-year-old man from Toms River, New Jersey.
Brian Herbstman, a 46-year-old man from Jackson, New Jersey, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit health care fraud and to violate the Anti-Kickback Statute. He is scheduled to be sentenced on August 31, 2021. Sean Hogan, a 48-year-old man from Old Bridge, New Jersey, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to engage in money laundering, also scheduled to be sentenced on August 31, 2021.
According to documents filed in the cases, each of the defendants played a role in defrauding health care benefit programs by offering, paying, soliciting, and receiving kickbacks and bribes in exchange for completed doctors' orders for durable medical equipment, namely orthotic braces.
The defendants concealed their ownership of the DME companies by using straw owners, who were falsely reported to Medicare as the owners of the companies. The call centers paid illegal kickbacks and bribes to telemedicine companies to obtain DME orders for beneficiaries of Medicare and other federal health care programs.
The charge of conspiracy to commit health care fraud is punishable by a maximum potential penalty of 10 years in prison and a fine of $250,000, or twice the gross profit or loss caused by the offense, whichever is greater. The defendants caused losses to Medicare, TRICARE, and CHAMPVA of approximately $93 million.
The scheme involved Farese, Truglia, Gatto, and their conspirators having financial interests in multiple DME companies, which paid kickbacks to suppliers of DME orders, including Cirri, Defonte, and Truglia. In exchange for DME orders, the DME companies fraudulently billed Medicare, TRICARE, CHAMPVA, and other health care benefit programs.
Key Facts
- State: New Jersey
- Category: Fraud & Financial Crimes
- Source: DOJ Press Release â†â€â€
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