Florida man Steven Richardson, the head honcho behind telemedicine companies Expansion Media and Hybrid Management Group, has just copped to a massive $110 million Medicare fraud scheme that saw unsuspecting senior citizens swindled. Richardson, 40, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit health care fraud, the feds announced.
The scam, running rampant from March 2016 through January 2023, involved shuffling Medicare beneficiaries towards unnecessary durable medical equipment, particularly orthotics like back, and knee braces. According to the Justice Department, Richardson and his companies linked up with telemarketing firms that preyed on Medicare cardholders, who were then charged for gear they didn't need.
How'd they pull it off? The deceitful web involved medical staffing companies, particularly one in Massachusetts, that conjured up a roster of doctors and nurses ready to sign off on the orders without laying eyes on the patients. These orders were merely paper shams, part of an elaborate ruse that made it seem like the medical pros had given the green light after thorough exams, when in truth, no such thing had happened.
Richardson's guilty plea could land him up to a decade behind bars with an additional chance of supervised release for three years and a fine that could hit $250,000, or double the ill-gotten gains, whichever pinches more, according to the feds. U.S. District Court Judge Nathaniel M. Gorton is slated to deliver Richardson's fate on July 18, 2024.
The revelation of this fraud comes after relentless digging by various federal bodies, with Acting United States Attorney Joshua S. Levy, and a coterie of officials hailing from government agencies such as Health and Human Services-Office of Inspector General, the FBI, U.S. Postal Inspection Service, Department of Labour, and Defense Criminal Investigation Service. Assistant U.S. Attorneys, part of the Health Care Fraud Unit and Affirmative Civil Enforcement Unit, have been tasked with bringing the case to a close.
