A California has been sentenced Wednesday to 15 months in prison for his role in a conspiracy that involved bribing drug-addicted individuals to enroll in drug rehabilitation centers as part of a multistate patient scheme, officials stated.
Kevin M. Dickau, 35, from Tustin, California, admitted to directing recruiters to offer bribes to drug addicts and then receiving referral fees from the rehabilitation centers.
He pleaded guilty via videoconference before U.S. District Judge Peter G. Sheridan to one count of conspiracy to commit health care fraud.
Several other conspirators, many of whom had previously pleaded guilty, were involved in the scheme: Peter Costas, Seth Logan Welsh, John C. Devlin, Akikur Mohammad, Lauren Philhower, and Anastasia Passas.
Dickau, Welsh, and Devlin operated a marketing company in California that orchestrated the scheme across multiple states, including New Jersey, Maryland, and California.
They paid recruiters to bribe individuals addicted to heroin and other drugs, encouraging them to enter drug rehabilitation centers.
Once these individuals agreed to enroll in rehabilitation programs in exchange for bribes, the conspirators facilitated cross-country travel to these centers in California and other states.
The marketing company had nationwide contracts with drug treatment facilities, typically receiving a referral fee between $5,000 and $10,000 per patient. Recruiters, such as Costas, received about half of that fee.
This scheme resulted in millions of dollars in losses for health insurers.
Additionally, Judge Sheridan sentenced Dickau to three years of supervised release.
The case was investigated by the FBI.