Two Plead Guilty in Texas to Health Care Fraud, Illegal Health Care Kickbacks
Published: 2010-07-20 18:16:39By: Ethiopian Review | April 30, 2010
WASHINGTON—Houston-area residents Doris Vinitski and John Lachman pleaded guilty today in connection with their roles in a durable medical equipment Medicare fraud scheme, the Departments of Justice and Health and Human Services (HHS) announced.
According to court documents, Vinitski, 45, was the owner of Onward Medical Supply, a Houston-area durable medical equipment company. Lachman, 45, operated the day-to-day business for several years, and Vicki Phillips, 53, was a patient recruiter for Onward. Vinitski and Lachman, who is Vinitski’s estranged husband, each pleaded guilty today before U.S. District Court Judge Nancy Atlas of the Southern District of Texas to one count of conspiracy to commit health care fraud. Phillips pleaded guilty on April 21, 2010, to one count of conspiracy to defraud the United States and to paying health care kickbacks.
Onward began billing Medicare for fraudulent durable medical equipment in 2003, according to court documents. Vinitski and Lachman admitted they paid kickbacks, sometimes $1,000 per patient, to recruiters who brought patients to Onward. Lachman and Vinitski then would bill Medicare for durable medical equipment that these patients did not need or never received.
Phillips admitted that she recruited Medicare beneficiaries for the purpose of allowing Onward to submit claims to Medicare for durable medical equipment, including power wheelchairs and orthotic devices. Phillips also admitted she received kickbacks from Onward for each patient she recruited whose claims were reimbursed by Medicare.
Lachman and Phillips are scheduled to be sentenced on Aug. 16, 2010. Vinitski is scheduled to be sentenced on Aug. 17, 2010. Lachman and Vinitski face a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. Phillips faces a maximum penalty of five years in prison and a $250,000 fine.
Seven additional defendants allegedly involved in the scheme—Dr. Howard Grant, Clinton Lee, Michael Kalu Obasi, Darnell Willis, Ju-Ying Cian, Obisike Nwankwo, and John Nasky Okonkwo—are scheduled for trial on May 17, 2010. The charges against these defendants are merely allegations and they are presumed innocent until proven guilty.
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