WASHINGTON—The owner and operator of a Broward County, Florida-area halfway house pleaded guilty today for his role in a Medicare fraud kickback scheme that funneled patients through a fraudulent mental health company, announced the Department of Justice, the FBI, and the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).
Barry Nash, 69, pleaded guilty before U.S. Magistrate Judge Barry L. Garber in Miami to one count of conspiracy to commit health care fraud. Nash was the owner and operator of Starter House, a halfway house operating in Broward County.
Nash admitted that, in exchange for illegal health care kickbacks, he agreed to refer Medicare beneficiaries who resided at Starter House to American Therapeutic Corporation (ATC) for purported intensive mental health treatment called partial hospitalization program (PHP) services, and to the American Sleep Institute (ASI), a company related to ATC, for purported sleep treatment. Nash knew that ATC and ASI would fraudulently bill Medicare for the PHP treatment and sleep studies that his referrals would purportedly receive.
According to court documents, ATC’s principals paid kickbacks to owners and operators of assisted living facilities and halfway houses and to patient brokers in exchange for delivering ineligible patients to ATC and ASI. In some cases, the patients received a portion of those kickbacks. Throughout the course of the ATC conspiracy, millions of dollars in kickbacks were paid in exchange for Medicare beneficiaries who did not qualify for PHP services. Ultimately, ATC and ASI billed Medicare for more than $200 million in medically unnecessary services.
According to the plea agreement, Nash’s participation in the fraud resulted in more than $959,901 in fraudulent billing to the Medicare program. At sentencing, scheduled for March 8, 2012, Nash faces a maximum of 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine.
ATC, its management company Medlink Professional Management Group Inc., and various owners, managers, doctors, therapists, patient brokers and marketers of ATC, Medlink and ASI, were charged with various health care fraud, kickback, money laundering and other offenses in two indictments unsealed on Feb. 15, 2011. ATC, Medlink and nine of the individual defendants have pleaded guilty or have been convicted at trial. Other defendants are scheduled for trial April 9, 2012, before U.S. District Judge Patricia A. Seitz.
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