Oklahoma Doctor Agrees to Pay $580,000 to Settle Allegations of Submitting False Claims to Medicare

Monday, August 28, 2017

Oklahoma City, Oklahoma – Dr. Gordon P. Laird has agreed to pay $580,000 to settle civil claims stemming from allegations that he violated the False Claims Act by submitting false claims to the Medicare program, announced Mark A. Yancey, United States Attorney for the Western District of Oklahoma.

Laird is a physician licensed in the State of Oklahoma. He is a former owner and employee of the companies Blackwell Feet Plus, LLC, and Feet Plus, LLC, which later did business as Prevention Plus.

The United States alleges Laird caused false claims to be submitted to the Medicare Program for services he did not provide or supervise. First, the United States alleges that in 2011, he allowed Prevention Plus to use his National Provider Identifier numbers (NPIs) to bill Medicare for evaluation and management physical therapy services that he did not provide or supervise. Second, the United States alleges that in December 2011, he separated from Prevention Plus, did not provide any additional services for Prevention Plus, and deactivated his NPIs associated with Prevention Plus. However, Laird reactivated his NPIs associated with Prevention Plus around March 2012 so Prevention Plus could use them to bill Medicare for services in January and February 2012 that he did not perform or supervise.

To resolve these allegations, Laird agreed to pay $580,000. In reaching this settlement, he did not admit liability, and the government did not make any concessions about the legitimacy of the claims. The agreement allows the parties to avoid the delay, expense, inconvenience, and uncertainty involved in litigating the case.

This case was investigated by the United States Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Inspector General, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Assistant United States Attorneys Scott Maule and Ronald R. Gallegos prosecuted the case.

Oklahoma City Mother and Son Sentenced to Prison for $770,000 Fraud Against Medicaid

Friday, July 7, 2017

Oklahoma City, Oklahoma – DEBORAH A. GRAY, 51, and KEITH B. GRAY, II, 27, both of Oklahoma City, were sentenced to prison this week by United States District Judge David L. Russell for submitting false claims to Medicaid for behavioral health counseling, announced Mark A. Yancey, United States Attorney for the Western District of Oklahoma, and Mike Hunter, Attorney General for the State of Oklahoma. Deborah Gray, who was sentenced on Thursday, will serve 37 months in federal prison. Keith Gray, who was sentenced today, will serve 12 months and one day in federal prison. Both will serve three years of supervised release after imprisonment. The Court also ordered the Grays to pay $769,578.38 in restitution to Medicaid.

On July 6, 2016, the Grays were indicted on 151 counts of health care fraud. The indictment alleged that from October 2011 through May 2014, Deborah Gray owned and operated DAG Counseling Services, PLLC, which held itself out as providing behavioral health counseling services to Medicaid-eligible children. Keith Gray was a DAG Counseling employee. According to the indictment, the Grays devised and executed three schemes to defraud Medicaid through DAG Counseling. First, they caused to be submitted to Medicaid claims for “targeted case management services” for periods when children were actually being transported between home or school and the DAG Counseling offices, in violation of Medicaid regulations. Second, they submitted or caused to be submitted to Medicaid claims for one-on-one “psychosocial rehabilitation services” that exceeded the billing maximum of 90 minutes per child per day, also in violation of Medicaid regulations. Finally, they submitted or caused to be submitted to Medicaid claims for one-on-one “psychosocial rehabilitation services” that (a) were not actually provided, (b) were actually provided in groups of two or more children, or (c) were provided for less time than was billed to Medicaid.

Both defendants pled guilty on January 4, 2017, to one count of executing each of the three schemes.

“I commend and appreciate the work of our Medicaid Fraud unit, the FBI, and the United States Attorney,” stated Oklahoma Attorney General Mike Hunter. “The sentences in this case should send a message that fraud against our children and our taxpayers will not be tolerated.”

Reference is made to the indictment and other public filings for further information.

Medicaid is funded jointly by the federal government and the State of Oklahoma and administered by the Oklahoma Health Care Authority. This case is the result of a cooperative federal and state investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Oklahoma Attorney General’s Office’s Medicaid Fraud Control Unit. It was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Amanda Maxfield Green and Oklahoma Assistant Attorney General Lory Dewey.