FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE MONDAY, DECEMBER 2, 2002 WWW.USDOJ.GOV CIV (202) 514-2008 TDD (202) 514-1888 WASHINGTON, D.C. Outreach Programs, Inc., and several related entities will pay the United States $600,000 to settle allegations that the Outreach Entities defrauded the Medicare program, the Department of Justice announced today. The Outreach Entities are providers of physical, occupational, and speech therapy services.
The settlement resolves allegations that from 1995 through 2001 the Outreach Entities falsely billed Medicare for therapy services in excess of those for which the patients were entitled, provided services outside the state in which the facilities were certified to operate, manipulated a sample of records provided to government auditors, and falsified information in patient and other internal administrative records.
Robert McCallum, Assistant Attorney General for the Department of Justice's Civil Division, stated, "Those who defraud our federal programs, such as Medicare, unlawfully divert precious funds and resources. This settlement demonstrates the Department's commitment to fighting fraud and abuse wherever we find it." "This case underscores the Department of Justice's commitment to protect Medicare and other federal programs from fraud and abuse," Marcos Daniel Jimenez, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, said. "I commend the hard work of the attorneys in my office and in the Commercial Litigation Branch of the Department of Justice who worked on this case, as well as the assistance of the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Inspector." The settlement resolves a lawsuit filed by two whistleblowers in December 2000, under the civil False Claims Act. The case was handled jointly by the Civil Division of the Department of Justice and the United States Attorney's Office for the Southern District of Florida, with assistance from the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the United States Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Inspector General, Office of Investigations. 02-699
Source: US Department of Justice
