Miami-Area Man Charged For Role in $63 Million Health Care Fraud Scheme

[nitpicker]

https://www.justice.gov/usao-sdfl/pr/miami-area-man-charged-role-63-million-health-care-fraud-scheme

Department of Justice
U.S. Attorney’s Office
Southern District of Florida

Friday, June 9, 2017

Miami-Area Man Charged For Role in $63 Million Health Care Fraud Scheme

A Miami-area man was charged in an indictment unsealed today for his alleged participation in a $63 million health care fraud scheme involving a now-defunct community mental health center located in Miami.
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Samuel Konell, 69, of Boca Raton, Florida, was charged in an indictment filed in the Southern District of Florida with one count of conspiracy to commit health care fraud and wire fraud, one count of conspiracy to defraud the United States and receive health care kickbacks, one count of receiving health care kickbacks and one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering. Konell was arrested this morning and appeared this afternoon before U.S. Magistrate Judge Patrick A. White of the Southern District of Florida.

The indictment alleges that from approximately January 2006 through June 2012, Konell accepted kickbacks in exchange for referring Medicare beneficiaries to Greater Miami Behavioral Healthcare Center, Inc. (Greater Miami) to serve as patients so that Greater Miami could bill Medicare for mental health treatment purportedly provided to those beneficiaries. The indictment further alleges that Konell knew that the beneficiaries he referred to Greater Miami did not need, qualify for nor receive such treatment. In addition, the indictment alleges that Konell and co-conspirators took steps to disguise the true nature of the bribes and kickbacks Greater Miami paid to Konell and other patient brokers.

According to the indictment and other court documents, Konell and his co-conspirators caused the submission of false and fraudulent claims to Medicare for mental health treatment purportedly provided by Greater Miami in an amount exceeding $63 million.

To date, 11 individuals have pleaded guilty for their role in the scheme, including the owner of Greater Miami, three administrators and seven patient brokers.
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