SPOKANE, Wash. – An eastern Washington man has agreed to an over $200 thousand Medicare fraud settlement, the U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Washington said Wednesday.
Justin Leland agreed to pay $224,620 to settle allegations he participated in a scheme to bill Medicare for medically unnecessary durable medical equipment.
According to court documents, Leland registered US Professional Medical Supply LLC with the Washington Secretary of State in June of 2018. Leland also obtained a National Provider Identifier as a durable medical equipment and medical supply company.
Durable medical equipment is supplies ordered by a healthcare provider for a patient’s everyday or extended use. This includes oxygen equipment, wheelchairs, crutches, or diabetic testing strips.
In September of 2019, Leland submitted about 400 durable medical equipment billing claims to Medicare from his company, which all listed Leland as the provider and were ordered by doctors who received kickbacks in exchange for the equipment.
Medical paid out $112,310 for these claims.
Investigators learned patients received calls from telemarketers, provided brief statements to the callers, never actually saw a provider, and received equipment they did not actually need.
“This settlement puts durable medical equipment suppliers on notice that they will be held accountable if they attempt to defraud the United States,” stated U.S. Attorney Vanessa Waldref. “These schemes compromise patient care and result in payment for services that are not medically necessary. Such services not only drive-up medical costs for everyone, but in some instances may even prove harmful to patients.”
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