Showing posts with label Dr. Jay Palmer. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Dr. Jay Palmer. Show all posts

Sunday, April 01, 2012

Medicaid Fraud Penalties Are Unbalanced (that was the nicest word I could use)

Here is the perfect example of how the 1% stay there, and the %99 stay put as well.  Being the 1% has a whole lot of perks!

Quanah, Texas Dentist Sentenced
KAUZ-TV: NewsChannel 6 Now | Wichita Falls, TX

Posted: Mar 28, 2012 8:58 PM CDT

A Quanah dentist pleaded guilty Wednesday, March 28, to Medicaid Fraud. Dr.

Jay Parmer was sentenced to 10 years probation. He was ordered to pay a fine of $5,000 to Hardeman County, and ordered to make restitution in an amount of $158,000 to the State of Texas Medicaid program.

Law enforcement launched an investigation into Dr. Parmer billing practices in 2009. At the time, Parmer filed a complaint against his former office manager for theft.

During that investigation, she told police Parmer fraudulently billed for work he had not actually completed. On July 20, 2010, Parmer's former office manager pleaded guilty to the thefts.

The Texas Department of Public Safety executed a search warrant in August 2009 on Parmer's office in Quanah. DPS seized patient records and computers used for billing purposes.

Parmer operated offices in Quanah and Vernon, Texas.

Just two days prior, Dr. Richard Malouf who has “allegedly” stole hundreds of millions paid the government $1.2 million dollars to leave him alone.

Dentist settles fraud case, pays $1.2 million, takes CIA

In case you're wondering why OIG just entered a Corporate Integrity Agreement with the All Smiles Dental Center in Texas, here's a recap of the Medicaid fraud case:

All Smiles was a success story, and its founder Richard Malouf was rich; his $10 million French-style chateau put him on D magazine's "100 Most Expensive Homes in Dallas" list. Life was good -- you can watch a video of Malouf backup-dancing for a Michael Jackson impersonator at the All Smiles Christmas party here.

But the feds claimed Malouf got rich in part through Medicaid fraud. The Texas Medicaid Fraud Control Unit (MFCU) and the FBI pursued charges that Malouf "caused 'unbundled' and other improper claims to be submitted to the Texas Medicaid program for orthodontic-related items and services between 2004 and 2007."

Back in 2010, Malouf repaid $46,000 in claims to Texas Medicaid and agreed to an 18-month Medicaid claims moratorium.

Last week, Malouf settled the legal case. He admits no wrongdoing but will pay a whopping $1.2 million settlement fee to Texas and the U.S.

The CIA requires All Smiles to put in a Compliance Officer and do training, special claims reviews, etc.

But Malouf won't have to worry about any of that: He sold the company last year. And we suspect he's still pretty rich.