Telemedicine Company Owner Agrees to Plead Guilty in $110 Million Medicare Fraud Scheme
The owner of the companies Expansion Media and Hybrid Management Group has agreed to plead guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit healthcare fraud for his role in a $110 million fraud scheme that provided unnecessary durable medical equipment (DME) to Medicare beneficiaries. Between March 2016 and January 2023, Steven Richardson, 40, of Parkland, FL, entered into business relationships with telemarketing companies that generated leads by targeting Medicare beneficiaries. Those companies allegedly paid Richardson’s two companies to generate orders for DME such as back and knee braces for Medicare beneficiaries on a per-order basis.
The orders needed to be signed by doctors and nurses who deemed the orthotic devices to be medically necessary. Richardson is alleged to have worked with medical staffing companies to find clinicians willing to review and sign prepopulated orders without having any contact with the Medicare beneficiaries. A signed order indicates that the clinician has performed a legitimate examination of the beneficiary and found the orthotics to be medically necessary. Richardson is alleged to have provided the signed orders to the telemarketing companies, who sold the orders to suppliers of DME. According to the charging documents, Richardson was aware that the DMS suppliers would be billing Medicaid for the orthotic devices, and since the orders were based on false documentation, Richardson knew that the devices were not medically necessary.
Richardson agreed to plead guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit health care fraud, the maximum sentence for which is up to 10 years in jail, plus up to 3 years of supervised release, and a fine of up to $250,000 or twice the gross gain or loss, whichever is greater. The plea hearing has yet to have a date scheduled by the court. The conviction will also see Richardson added to the HHS OIG Exclusions list, which will prevent him from participating in federally funded healthcare programs.
