In a notable crack-down on Medicare fraud schemes, a Ft. Lauderdale man, Kevin Karl Wills, Jr., has admitted to his role in a conspiracy to defraud Medicare by falsely billing for COVID-19 test kits, a plan that manipulated the vulnerabilities of a healthcare system under pandemic strain the U.S. Attorney's Office reported.
Wills, 48, along with his unnamed co-conspirator, orchestrated a fraudulent operation that pushed marketers to illegally gather personal information of Medicare beneficiaries; this was to introduce these individuals to medical service providers, who would bill Medicare for COVID-19 tests supplied to the beneficiaries but this act, one muddied with the thirst for illicit profit, paid dividends only if Medicare reimbursed the claims.
As laid out in the plea agreement, this operation led to roughly 152,000 fraudulent claims, allowing Wills to pocket a total of about $652,312 in illegal kickbacks. While Wills's sentencing is pending, he has agreed to forfeit this sum back to the government. Adding to this fraudulent mix were Jacksonville's SWL Services owners Courtney Shauta’ Lewis and Latania Renee Smith-Washington, who also pleaded guilty and are awaiting their sentencing in early December.
The damage to Medicare, to the tune of approximately $14.4 million, is a stark reminder of the cost of greed; all arrested parties are seeing their actions catch up with them, for Wills's scheduled date in front of justice is still to come, while marketer Noel Gary Beres has his sentencing slated for late April next year. This extensive investigation by the Health and Human Services–Office of Inspector General and the FBI was brought to prosecution by Arnold B. Corsmeier, with Jennifer Harrington managing the forfeiture process.
