TRENTON
- Attorney General Paula T. Dow and Acting
Insurance Fraud Prosecutor Ronald Chillemi
announced that The Center for Lymphatic Disorders,
LLC, and its office manager have been sentenced
for defrauding Medicare and Medicaid of millions
of dollars.
According
to Acting Insurance Fraud Prosecutor Chillemi,
Farah Iranipour Houtan, 54, of Egg Harbor
Township, N.J., was sentenced on Thursday
(Nov. 10) to three years of probation by
Superior Court Judge Bernard E. DeLury Jr.
in Atlantic County. Judge DeLury also ordered
Houtan to serve 200 hours of community service.
Houtan’s sentence was based on her
guilty plea to third-degree health care
claims fraud. Also Thursday, The Center
for Lymphatic Disorders, LLC was ordered
to pay a $50,000 fine. The Center for Lymphatic
Disorders, LLC, which is no longer in business,
had its primary location in Egg Harbor.
In pleading guilty on Sept. 29, Houtan,
the office manager for CLD and aunt of Dr.
Khashayar Salartash, an owner of The Center
for Lymphatic Disorders, admitted that between
January 2004 and June 2007, she recklessly
billed the Medicaid and Medicare programs
for services that were not provided to patients.
As a result of Houtan’s fraudulent
submission of health care claims, Medicaid
and Medicare reimbursed CLD $3 million to
which it was not entitled.
In
a parallel civil proceeding, Dr. Salartash
entered into a consent agreement requiring
him to pay $3 million in restitution to
the Medicaid and Medicare programs related
to the fraudulent acts committed by Houtan
and CLD. The consent order was entered on
Sept. 29 before Judge DeLury. As a result
of its plea, CLD has been barred from participation
in the Medicaid program.
Acting
Insurance Fraud Prosecutor Chillemi and
Deputy Attorney General Oriana Nadraga represented
the state at the sentencing. Acting Insurance
Fraud Prosecutor Chillemi appeared before
Judge DeLury Jr. to take the guilty pleas
and enter the consent order.
The
matter was investigated by the Medicaid
Fraud Control Unit of the Office of the
Insurance Fraud Prosecutor, the United States
Department of Health and Human Services
Office of the Inspector General, and the
Federal Bureau of Investigation. Acting
Insurance Fraud Prosecutor Chillemi, Assistant
Attorney General Louise Lester, Deputy Attorney
General Nadraga, Sgt. Joseph Jaruszewski,
Analysts James Reilly and B’leia Williams,
Auditor Kim Geis, and Legal Assistant Mona
Patel investigated the matter for the State.
The investigation started after analysts
contracted by Medicare to monitor billing
identified unusual billing submitted by
The Center for Lymphatic Disorders, LLC.
The
Medicaid Program is funded by the state
and federal governments. The State of New
Jersey administers the Medicaid Program
through the Division of Medical Assistance
and Health Services and the Office of the
Insurance Fraud Prosecutor’s Medicaid
Fraud Control Unit, which investigates both
criminal and civil Medicaid fraud and abuse.
Acting
Insurance Fraud Prosecutor Chillemi noted
that some important cases have started with
anonymous tips. People who are concerned
about insurance cheating and have information
about a fraud can report it anonymously
by calling the toll-free hotline at 1-877-55-FRAUD,
or visiting the Web site at www.NJInsurancefraud.org.
State regulations permit a reward to be
paid to an eligible person who provides
information that leads to an arrest, prosecution
and conviction for insurance fraud.
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