The conviction of two company officials of a nationwide home health firm on charges of defrauding Medicare of more than $1 million is being hailed as an important victory in the fight against health fraud.
Robert "Jack" Mills was found guilty of conspiracy, mail fraud, making false statements, obtaining Medicare funds illegally through kickbacks, witness tampering and money laundering. His wife, Margie Mills, was convicted on two counts of making false statements.The Millses were chief officers of ABC Home Health Services Inc., a Georgia-based home health-care company with offices throughout the country.
Prosecutors said the couple billed Medicare repeatedly for services never rendered and then lied to cover up their actions. The couple will be sentenced at a later date.
The convictions send "a clear message to would-be con artists that getting caught committing health-care fraud carries a stiff price," said Sen. Bill Cohen, R-Maine, a long-time advocate of tougher health-fraud laws.
Federal officials recently targeted home care as one of the areas in health care where rip-offs of government programs are most prevalent.