Two men who are the founders of an Edinburg hospice and a related business have paid to resolve allegations they submitted claims to Medicare that resulted from unlawful referrals, U.S. Attorney Ryan K. Patrick announced in a news release.
Federal authorities began to look into the duo, who founded Allstate Hospice LLC and Verge Home Care LLC, a home health agency, in 2016 and found that Onder Ari, 49, of Edinburg, and Sedat Necipoglu, 48, of McAllen, offered compensation to physicians who were responsible for a significant majority of their patient referrals.
Specifically, the men provided physicians with monthly payments following medical directorship agreements with Allstate and Verge. Those payments were in excess of fair market value for the services the physicians actually provided, according to the release from the Southern District of Texas U.S. Attorney’s Office.
“Ari and Necipoglu also sold interests in Allstate to five different physicians which ultimately netted them substantial quarterly dividends. They also provided physicians other gifts and benefits, such as travel and tickets to sporting events,” the release stated.
In short, federal anti-kickback statutes prohibit offering or paying remuneration to induce the referral of items or services Medicare, Medicaid and other federally funded programs cover.
Specifically, the Stark Law and the Anti-Kickback Statute are intended to ensure the best interests of the patient and that improper financial incentives do not compromise medical decision-making.
They and their companies have now paid $1,847,279.36 following the investigation.
FBI Special Agent in Charge Christopher Combs, of the San Antonio Division, said the agency was committed to eliminating “improper relationships and inducements that can corrupt the integrity of physician decision-making and increase health care costs.”
The FBI and DHHS-OIG conducted the investigation along with the USAO. Assistant U.S. Attorney Brad Gray handled the matter.
