Brooklyn Park home care provider admits to scamming Medicaid
Published: 2010-07-20 19:16:09By: PAUL WALSH | Minneapolis Star Tribune | April 21, 2010
A Brooklyn Park home health-care provider for low-income clients pleaded guilty to paying kickbacks to lure referrals to his company as part of a scheme to obtain hundreds of thousands of dollars in fraudulent Medicaid reimbursements.
Patrick D. Osei, owner of Advance Home Health, admitted Tuesday in federal court in Minneapolis that he submitted claims to the federal Department of Health and Human Services for personal care assistance services that were never provided.
The estimated losses due to Osei's actions totaled between $200,000 and $400,000.
According to the U.S. attorney's office, the fraud included claims for one client of 5,352 hours of care from October 2007 to late September 2009, when fewer than five hours were provided. Medicaid paid Advance $84,497.54 for the claim. That client was paid $800.
Sentencing for Osei has yet to be scheduled. He faces a maximum penalty of five years in prison.