Kala Sloan, the vice president of two Raleigh, N.C.-based medical equipment companies, has pleaded guilty to falsifying physician orders to bill Medicare $50 million, according to a Justice Department report.
Between 2014 and 2021, Carolina Rehab Products and Blue File DMC allegedly billed Medicare $50 million for durable medical equipment.
According to evidence presented in court, in many cases, the company billed Medicare without supporting physician orders and without shipping the equipment. As vice president, Ms. Sloan allegedly knowingly submitted forged documents to prevent Medicare auditors from discovering the false billings.
In October 2020, Cigna conducted an audit of claims from Carolina Rehab Products and found the company did not have physician's orders to justify billing. Ms. Sloan then allegedly prepared blank prescription templates to forge the prescriptions and deceive auditors.
Tanya Parrish Grant, Ms. Sloan’s co-conspirator and CEO of the companies, pleaded guilty to healthcare fraud in July of 2022.
Ms. Sloan pleaded guilty to making false healthcare writings and aiding and abetting. She faces a maximum of five years in prison.