Written by Imperial Valley News
13 February 2009 |
“The defendants hatched a scheme to bilk Medicare out of more than a million dollars,” Attorney General Brown said. “They stole the identities of people on Medicare and made claims for procedures that were never performed.”
Two of the defendants - a husband and wife - owned and operated Balboa Therapy Center in San Diego. From July 2005 to June 2006, they, along with an accomplice, paid unsuspecting seniors at retirement homes $100 to obtain their insurance information and sign their names on blank medical forms.
The couple then paired the seniors’ signatures and Medicare insurance numbers with provider ID numbers from licensed physicians to submit fake claims. None of the claimed procedures were performed, and the physicians listed on the claims had no idea their names were being used to perpetrate the scheme.
When some senior citizens began to receive receipts and other forms from Medicare indicating that they had been treated at Balboa Therapy Center, they contacted the California Department of Justice (DOJ). The DOJ’s Bureau of Medi-Cal Fraud and Elder Abuse began an investigation that led to criminal charges against the following defendants in San Diego Superior Court:
• Sanjay Patel, 41. Patel and his wife, Leena Patel, owned Balboa Therapy Center. They were arrested in Connecticut just before they attempted to flee the country for India.
• Leena Patel, 36.
The defendants, who are being held at Hartford County Jail in Connecticut, are being charged with thirteen criminal counts including grand theft, identity theft, health benefits fraud, receiving stolen property and money laundering. If convicted, they could face over twelve years in prison.
• Sanjay Patel, 41. Patel and his wife, Leena Patel, owned Balboa Therapy Center. They were arrested in Connecticut just before they attempted to flee the country for India.
• Leena Patel, 36.
The defendants, who are being held at Hartford County Jail in Connecticut, are being charged with thirteen criminal counts including grand theft, identity theft, health benefits fraud, receiving stolen property and money laundering. If convicted, they could face over twelve years in prison.
To report fraud or abuse, call the Bureau of Medi-Cal Fraud and Elder Abuse’s hotline at (800) 722-0432.
Abridged
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