A River Hills man has been handed a 21-month prison sentence for his role in a healthcare kickbacks scheme, as announced by Richard G. Frohling, Acting United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Wisconsin. Last Friday, Justin Drew Hanson was given the sentence after being convicted of violating the Anti-Kickback Statute, and he is also facing a substantial financial penalty, including a $2.2 million restitution payment to Medicaid and Medicare, along with a $75,000 fine.
According to the U.S. Attorney's Office, Hanson, partnered with Mohammed Kazim Ali, executed a kickback scheme through their Milwaukee-area clinical laboratory, Noah Associates, that began back in 2017. The duo paid over $400,000 in kickbacks to secure urine drug tests referrals for Medicaid and Medicare patients. These tests, which racked up more than $2.2 million in government payments to their company, were neither ordered by a physician nor medically necessary according to the prosecution.
At his sentencing, U.S. District Judge J.P. Stadtmueller highlighted the gravity of Hanson's offenses, stressing his manipulation and breach of trust within the Medicaid and Medicare programs. Hanson's actions were characterized as stealing from every taxpayer in the United States. The announcement also conveyed the offender's exclusion from future Medicaid and Medicare programs and the closure of Noah Associates. Co-defendant Ali received a 15-month sentence earlier in the year after likewise pleading guilty to paying healthcare kickbacks.
"Mr. Hanson’s kickbacks resulted in Medicaid and Medicare – and taxpayers – repeatedly paying for unnecessary services," Acting U.S. Attorney Frohling stated, as reported by the U.S. Attorney's Office. The case, investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Office of Inspector General, Department of Health and Human Services. Special Agent in Charge of the FBI Milwaukee Field Office Michael Hensle emphasized the bureau's relentlessness in pursuing such criminals who waste taxpayer money.
Following Hensle's remarks, Special Agent in Charge Mario M. Pinto of the HHS-OIG highlighted the organization's focus on preserving the integrity of the nation's healthcare system and protecting taxpayer funds. "The kickback scheme in this case undermined the public’s trust in our nation’s health care system and can interfere with impartial medical decision-making," Pinto remarked in the press release. The prosecution of the case was managed by Assistant United States Attorneys Michael Carter and Julie Stewart.
