NEW ORLEANS
Two doctors and a registered nurse were sentenced to prison for their roles in connection with a $50 million health care fraud scheme that operated for 10 years in New Orleans, officials said.
U.S. District Judge Sarah S. Vance on Wednesday sentenced Dr. Barbara Smith, 67, of Metairie, Louisiana; Dr. Roy Berkowitz, 69, of Slidell, Louisiana; and Beverley Breaux, 67, of New Orleans, a registered nurse, to six years and eight months; five years and four months and four years and two months, respectively.
Judge Vance also ordered Smith, Berkowitz and Breaux to pay $9.4 million; $4.9 million and $2 million in restitution, respectively.
From 2007 through 2014, the companies in this scheme submitted more than $56 million in claims to Medicare, the vast majority of which were fraudulent, according to authorities.
Medicare paid approximately $50.7 million on these claims.
Evidence at trial indicated that the defendants and others carried out a home health care fraud scheme in and around New Orleans through multiple companies over the course of more than 10 years, according to officials.
Smith and Berkowitz falsely certified that thousands of Medicare recipients were homebound and required nursing or therapy services to be provided in their homes. Breaux falsely certified that these patients were homebound and falsely claimed to have treated patients that she had not seen.
The Advocate website reported that the trio was among 13 people indicted beginning two years ago in a fraud case centered on companies owned and operated by Mark Morad, of Slidell, who plead guilty a year ago and awaits sentencing.
Federal prosecutors said the scheme ran through multiple companies over the course of a decade, with thousands of false Medicare claims submitted and kickbacks paid to people who recruited the phony patients, according to the Advocate.