Four office workers at a Buena Park (Calif.) surgery center were sentenced Thursday to prison terms on tax-evasion convictions and ordered to pay millions in restitution, according to an Orange County Register report.
Prosecutors said the case may be connected to the largest medical fraud scheme in the country. According to the report, the personnel were connected to Unity Surgical Outpatient Center, which recruited healthy people for unneeded surgeries that generated $145 million in billings to payors.
The four defendants — which include a lawyer, an accountant and two medical administrators — will go to trial next year on 100 felon fraud charges. There will be no time added to the defendants' sentences if they plead guilty to fraud counts on Jan. 3.
Unity administrator Dee Francis received six years in prison, while fellow administrator Rosalinda Landon received five years and four months. Accountant Andrew Harmen also received five years and four months, and Unity lawyer Roy Dickson received two years and eight months. All were ordered to pay restitution ranging from $41,000 to $1.1 million
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Prosecutors said the case may be connected to the largest medical fraud scheme in the country. According to the report, the personnel were connected to Unity Surgical Outpatient Center, which recruited healthy people for unneeded surgeries that generated $145 million in billings to payors.
The four defendants — which include a lawyer, an accountant and two medical administrators — will go to trial next year on 100 felon fraud charges. There will be no time added to the defendants' sentences if they plead guilty to fraud counts on Jan. 3.
Unity administrator Dee Francis received six years in prison, while fellow administrator Rosalinda Landon received five years and four months. Accountant Andrew Harmen also received five years and four months, and Unity lawyer Roy Dickson received two years and eight months. All were ordered to pay restitution ranging from $41,000 to $1.1 million
Related Articles on Coding, Billing and Collections:
Establish Normal Coding Routine to Avoid ICD-10 Productivity Drop
GAP Report: $27B Awarded as EHR Incentive Payments in 2011
What EFTs Mean to Healthcare Providers