Kickback for Medicaid Referrals

Owner of Personal Care Assistance Company Pleads Guilty to Paying a Kickback for Medicaid Referrals


April 21, 2010 - Patrick Daniel Osei, owner of Advance Home Health, pleaded guilty today in federal court in Minneapolis to offering and paying out a kickback to induce referrals to his company, all in an effort to obtain Medicaid reimbursements. Appearing before United States District Court Judge Joan N. Ericksen, Osei, age 50, of Brooklyn Park, specifically pled guilty to one count of illegal remuneration. He was indicted on October 20, 2009.

In his plea agreement, Osei admitted that on November 8, 2007, he offered and paid a kickback in the form of cash to someone for referring others to Osei’s company, Advance Home Health, in Brooklyn Park. Those referrals were for Personal Care Assistance (“PCA”) paid by Medicaid, which provides medical care and services to low-income people who meet certain income and eligibility requirements. Medicaid is a federal program administered in Minnesota by the State Department of Human Services. Osei also admitted he submitted claims to the Department of Human Services for PCA services not actually provided. The estimated loss due to Osei’s actions is between $200,000 and $400,000.

For his crime, Osei faces a potential maximum penalty of five years in prison. Judge Ericksen will determine his sentence at a future date, yet to be scheduled.

This case is the result of an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services-Office of Inspector General. It is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney David M. Genrich.

According to the Justice Department, health care fraud investigations have been growing, and the Department has formed a senior-level task force to tackle the problem nationwide. The Health Care Fraud Prevention and Enforcement Action Team, represented by the Departments of Justice and Health and Human Services, will look at how to share more effectively real-time intelligence data on health care fraud patterns as well as critical information about health care services, pharmaceuticals, and medical devices. In 2008, the Justice Department filed criminal charges in 502 health care fraud cases involving 797 defendants.

In Minnesota, the U.S. Attorney’s Office is also participating in a task force with the Minnesota Attorney General Office’s Medicaid Fraud Control Unit that focuses on home health care fraud. The task force includes the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services-Office of Inspector General, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Internal Revenue Service, and other federal, state and local law enforcement partners.