HOUSTON—Gwendolyn Kay Frank, 43, of
Houston, has entered a plea of guilty to conspiracy to violate the
Anti-Kickback Statue for her role in role in the $45 million City Nursing
health care scandal, United States Attorney Kenneth Magidson announced today.
The Anti-Kickback Statute prohibits
referring beneficiaries to business that bill federal health care programs in
return for payments. According to the plea agreement, Frank referred at least
28 Medicare beneficiaries to the owner of City Nursing in return for $24,500.
City Nursing then billed Medicare for approximately $1,051,392 worth of
services for those individuals which were not provided and received $712,052 in
payments from Medicare and Medicaid.
Frank is the second recruiter to plead
guilty to conspiracy to violate the Anti-Kickback Statue this month and one of
a growing list of individuals convicted in the Houston-based City Nursing
health care fraud conspiracy. Floyd Leslie Brooks, 45, of Houston, pleaded
guilty earlier this month. The owner of City Nursing, Umawa Oke Imo, was
convicted in May 2011 and sentenced to more than 27 years in federal prison for
his role in the health care fraud conspiracy which included making cash
payments to both Medicare beneficiaries and recruiters bringing Medicare
beneficiaries to City Nursing.
Frank was permitted to remain on bond
pending her sentencing hearing, set for September 14, 2012. At that time, she
faces up to five years in prison and a $250,000 fine.
This case has been investigated by the
FBI, Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigations, the Department of Health
and Human Services-Office of Inspector General and the Texas Attorney General’s
Office-Medicare Fraud Control Unit. Assistant United States Attorney Julie
Redlinger is prosecuting the case.
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