by Andrew Murray | November 15th, 2019
The Department of Justice announced the indictment on November 8, 2019. The Press Release states:
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A man and his “marketing company” have been named in a five-count federal indictment for a scheme that paid workers to solicit elderly residents for information used to fraudulently bill government medical programs.
Patrick Siado, of Texas, and his company, Optimus Prime Marketing, LLC, are charged with one count of Conspiracy and four counts of Health Care Fraud, said Bobby L. Christine, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Georgia. The Conspiracy charge carries a penalty of up to five years in prison, while each count of Health Care Fraud carries a penalty of up to 10 years in prison. In addition to substantial fines and penalties, the charges also call for up to three years of supervised release after completion of any prison sentence. There is no parole in the federal system.
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According to the indictment, Siado and his company, along with other companies referenced as unindicted co-conspirators, hired individuals to solicit information and DNA swabs from low-income and elderly residents. The individuals were paid $150 for each “patient,” with the information transmitted to another unindicted co-conspirator company that in turn would submit fraudulent claims to Medicare and Medicaid. Siado and his company would then receive a kickback of from $100 to $575 per test accepted for billing.The indictment states, “Siado knew that his orders were procured through an unlawful kickback relationship, not ordered as medically necessary by the beneficiary’s treating physician, and not payable.” Each of those claims were billed to Medicaid for more than $30,000.
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