On May 2 a New Orleans federal jury found that Psalms 23 DME, LLC—its Biblical name notwithstanding–was part of a fraud scheme that illegally billed Medicare $3.2 million.
In 2013 the government indicted Psalms 23 owner Tracy Brown and a colleague for a fraud scheme that involved billing Medicare for wheelchairs and other DME that wasn’t medically necessary or wasn’t delivered or both. The scheme included paying marketers to find physicians to write false prescriptions and paying the physicians, as well. According to the indictment, Psalms 23 submitted $3.2 million in false bills and received about $2 million.
The jury convicted Tracy on 18 counts: nine of health care fraud, seven of paying illegal kickbacks, one of conspiracy to commit fraud, and one of conspiracy to pay illegal kickbacks. According to press reports, the Department of Justice says that sentencing is scheduled for August 10.
Psalms 23 famously opens with the line, “The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.” Tracy put those last four words into action.
The case is United States v. Tracy Richardson, No. 2:13-cr-00243-SRD-DEK (E.D. La. 2016).
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