Mississippi Couple Charged With Receiving $1.7 Million in Health Care Kickback Scheme

NEW ORLEANS – U.S. Attorney Peter G. Strasser announced that a Mississippi couple, KIMBERLY HOMRIGHAUSEN, age 42, and RICHARD HOMRIGHAUSEN, age 35, were charged on January 22, 2019, with conspiracy to pay and receive kickbacks related to compounded medications paid for by TRICARE, a federally funded health care benefit program that serves United States military personnel and their families.

As alleged in the bill of information, the defendants paid kickbacks to TRICARE beneficiaries to induce them to obtain compounded medications, costing TRICARE a total of approximately $9 million.  According to the bill of information, the defendants received a total of about $1.7 million in kickbacks for referring the beneficiaries.  If convicted, each defendant faces up to five years’ imprisonment.

U.S. Attorney Strasser reiterated that the bill of information is merely a charge and that the guilt of the defendants must be proven beyond a reasonable doubt.

U.S. Attorney Strasser praised the work of the Defense Criminal Investigative Service, the Department of Homeland Security - Homeland Security Investigations, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the United States Postal Service - Office of Inspector General, and the Department of Veterans Affairs - Office of Inspector General in investigating this matter. Assistant United States Attorney Chandra Menon is in charge of the prosecution.