Ex-WellCare general counsel gets six months in U.S. prison

[Eugene]

Source: Reuters

#HEALTH NEWS NOVEMBER 22, 2017 / 1:48 PM / UPDATED 16 HOURS AGO

Ex-WellCare general counsel gets six months in U.S. prison

Nate Raymond
3 MIN READ

(Reuters) - A former general counsel of insurer WellCare Health Plans Inc was sentenced on Wednesday to six months in prison for making a false statement to Florida’s Medicaid program as part of what prosecutors called a $35 million healthcare fraud scheme.

Thaddeus Bereday, who was indicted in 2011 along with four other former WellCare executives, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge James Moody in Tampa, Florida, after pleading guilty to a false statement charge in June, according to court records.

Bereday, 52, was also sentenced to three years of supervised release during which he must spend one year in home confinement, prosecutors said. He was also ordered to pay a $50,000 fine.

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Prosecutors said Farha and others engaged in a scheme to file false Medicaid expense reports to Florida’s healthcare administration, overstating the amount the company’s subsidiaries spent on mental health services for Medicaid patients.

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Read more: https://www.reuters.com/article/us-wellcare-health-court/ex-wellcare-general-counsel-gets-six-months-in-u-s-prison-idUSKBN1DM2GC

[Faux pas]

1. Only 6 months???!!!

Why bother? Sheesh.

[brewens]

2. No shit. And fined 50 large. Wanna bet his cut of the 35 million makes that fine a joke?

Maybe he can run for governor if Scott decides to retire. It is really like the mob guys. Take the fall and the penalty is just cost of doing business.

[Irish_Dem]

3. I know, if you or I had defrauded the govt of $35 million, would we just get 6 months in jail? nt