“This doctor was operating as a drug dealer in a white coat”
Kentucky Anesthesiologist Sentenced to 100 Months for Unlawful Distribution of Controlled Substances, Health Care Fraud, Conspiracy and Money Laundering Anesthesiologist Jaime Guerrero, 48, of Kentuckiana, Kentucky, was sentenced in federal court in Louisville, Kentucky, to 100 months in prison for his role in the unlawful distribution of controlled substances, including the prescription opioid hydrocodone without…
Read MoreTwo Doctors Convicted of Falsely Certifying ‘Patients’ as Terminally Ill as Part of $8.8 Million Healthcare Fraud Scheme
LOS ANGELES – Two doctors were found guilty today of federal health care fraud charges for falsely certifying that Medicare patients were terminally ill, and therefore qualified for hospice care, when the vast majority of them were not actually dying. Following a two-week trial, the doctors were found guilty of participating in a scheme…
Read MoreDallas Doctor and Three Dallas-Area Home Health Agency Owners Convicted for Running Large-Scale, Sophisticated Health Care Fraud Scheme
DALLAS – Following a six-week-long trial before U.S. District Judge Sam A. Lindsay and less than two days of deliberation, this afternoon a federal jury convicted a Dallas physician and three owners of home health agencies on various felony offenses, including conspiracy to commit health care fraud, stemming from their participation in a nearly…
Read MoreDallas firm that marketed compounded pain creams busted in massive health care fraud, kickback case
The owners of a Dallas firm that marketed pain and scar creams for North Texas drug compounding pharmacies were arrested Tuesday in connection with a large health care kickback scheme that bilked taxpayers out of $65 million, federal authorities said. Richard Robert Cesario, 44, of Plano, and John Paul Cooper, 47, of Southlake, were indicted,…
Read MoreOCR Commences Phase 2 of HIPAA Compliance Audit Program
HIPAA Privacy, Security, and Breach Notification Audit Program As a part of our continued efforts to assess compliance with the HIPAA Privacy, Security and Breach Notification Rules, the HHS Office for Civil Rights (OCR) has begun its next phase of audits of covered entities and their business associates. The 2016 Phase 2 HIPAA Audit Program…
Read More$1.55 Million HIPAA Settlement for Lack of BAA and Risk Analysis Failures
The Department of Health and Human Services’ Office for Civil Rights has announced it has reached a settlement with North Memorial Health Care of Minnesota over alleged HIPAA violations dating back to a 2011 data breach. North Memorial has agreed to pay $1,550,000 to OCR to settle the HIPAA violation charges. Following a PHI breach…
Read MoreHIPAA Compliance Still A Problem for Small Practices
While large healthcare systems have come to grips with HIPAA Rules and have implemented controls to safeguard ePHI from external and internal threats, small practices are still struggling with their compliance efforts, according to a recent survey conducted by NueMD. NueMD surveyed 900 healthcare professionals last month to gain an insight into how small healthcare organizations…
Read MoreSt. Joseph Health Settles Class Action Data Breach Lawsuit
St. Joseph Health System has settled a class action lawsuit filed by two plaintiffs for the breach of 31,800 patient health records that took place in 2012. A settlement of $15 million will be split between patients and attorneys, with $7.5 million going to patients and $7.5 million covering attorneys’ fees and legal costs. All…
Read MoreFederal Jury Convicts Dallas Anesthesiologist on Health Care Fraud Offenses
DALLAS — Following a four-day trial before U.S. District Judge Reed C. O’Connor and approximately three hours of deliberation, a federal jury has convicted Dr. Richard Ferdinand Toussaint, Jr., a licensed anesthesiologist, on all counts of a superseding indictment charging seven counts of health care fraud, announced U.S. Attorney John Parker of the Northern District…
Read MoreOCR Confirms Next Round of HIPAA Compliance Audits Will Be Published in April
Office for Civil Rights deputy director of health information privacy, Deven McGraw, has provided an update on the OCR’s planned HIPAA compliance audits, saying the revised protocol for the long-awaited second round of compliance audits will be published next month. Late last year, OCR Director Jocelyn Samuels announced that the next round of audits would…
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