A Detroit-area doctor this week pleaded guilty for her role in a home health fraud scheme that bilked Medicare out of more than $7 million.
The doctor, Adelina Herrero of Ann Arbor, Michigan, pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit health care fraud.
From April 2010 to April 2013, Herraro and others agreed she would refer Medicare patients whom she had never seen nor treated to two home care agencies: Advance Home Health Care Services Inc. and Perfect Home Health Care Services LLP, according to court documents. Both agencies were owned by co-conspirators in the scheme.
As the referring doctor in the fraud, Herrero signed medical documents such as plans of care and home health certifications for the patients whom she had never seen. The conspiring home care agencies then used the documents to bill Medicare for services not provided or necessary.
Medicare ultimately paid $1.21 million in false claims due to Herrero’s documentation as part of the larger scheme to bilk $7 million from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.
Sentencing is yet to be scheduled in the case.
Written by Elizabeth Ecker
Companies featured in this article:
Advance Home Health Care Services Inc., Perfect Home Health Care Services LLP