Two Novus Medical professionals Sentenced to Mixed 23 Many years in Prison for Healthcare Fraud | USAO-NDTX

Two doctors who helped a neighborhood hospice agency scam Medicare were being sentenced nowadays to a mixed 23 many years in prison for healthcare fraud, declared U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Texas Chad E. Meacham.

In May well, a federal jury located Novus Wellness Expert services Professional medical Administrators Dr. Mark E. Gibbs and Dr. Laila Hirjee, alongside with Novus RN Tammie Tiny, guilty of conspiracy to commit health care fraud and other expenses. Right now, Chief U.S. District Decide Barbara M.G. Lynn sentenced Dr. Gibbs to 13 several years in federal prison and purchased him to shell out $27,978,903 in restitution she sentenced Dr. Hirjee to 10 decades in federal jail and requested her to spend $16,253,281 in restitution. The judge also sentenced Ms. Minor to 33 months in federal jail. 

In accordance to proof presented at demo, the defendants served Novus CEO Bradley Harris defraud Medicare by, amongst other points, illegally admitting people who have been not suitable for hospice and publishing materially bogus claims for hospice expert services.

Mr. Harris, who pleaded responsible prior to trial, testified from his previous staff members.

He told the jury that in its place of relying on the expertise of licensed health-related professions, he and Novus nurses established which individuals would be admitted to or discharged from hospice treatment, as properly as which prescription drugs and dosages they would receive.

They relied on Novus medical doctors, together with Dr. Gibbs and Dr. Hirjee, to certify that they experienced examined these patients facial area-to-experience, when no this sort of examinations experienced happened, Mr. Harris testified.

Witnesses also testified that Dr. Hirjee and Dr. Gibbs engaged in the prescription of Agenda II managed substances, this kind of as morphine, hydromorphone, and fentanyl, by pre-signing blank C2 prescriptions and providing these to Brad Harris and others at Novus to let them prescribe controlled substances with out any health practitioner oversight.

As Director of Operations Melanie Murphey testified on working day five of demo, “I was the doctor.”

Mr. Harris and the nurses applied pre-signed prescription pads, well prepared by Dr. Gibbs, Dr. Hirjee, and other Novus physicians, to dispense prescription drugs like morphine to clients.  When Medicare suspended payment to Novus more than problems about billing, Mr. Harris, Dr. Gibbs, and other individuals moved people and staff members to a new hospice company and ongoing to invoice Medicare for hospice services.

In overall, Medicare and Medicaid compensated the Novus entities around $40 million bucks for hospice expert services prior to the companies have been shut down.

“These doctors authorized Bradley Harris – an accountant with no clinical abilities – to dispense controlled substances like candy, with minimal to no health-related oversight,” reported U.S. Legal professional Chad Meacham. “They claimed to have experienced fingers-on practical experience with hospice sufferers, when in fact, they’d entrusted life-or-dying health care decisions to untrained businesspeople. We are satisfied to know they will invest the up coming decade behind bars.”

“The defendants violated their Hippocratic Oath as doctors and rather centered on lining their pockets at the price of affected individual safety. This scenario highlights the relevance of extensively investigating any grievance of health care fraud,” reported FBI Dallas Particular Agent in Charge Matthew DeSarno. “We inspire the general public to aid us establish, investigate, and prosecute this crime. If you suspect wellness treatment fraud, report it to the FBI at tips.fbi.gov, 1-800-Phone-FBI, or make contact with your overall health insurance policy company.”

Quite a few of their codefendants – Novus CEO Brad Harris, his wife, Novus Vice President of Affected person Providers Amy Harris, Novus Director of Operations Melanie Murphy, Novus Clinical Director Charles Leach, Novus Medical Director Reziuddin Siddique (deceased), Novus Vice President of Advertising and marketing Samuel Anderson, Novus Director of Advertising Slade Brown, Novus RN Jessica Really like, Novus triage RN Patricia Armstrong, Novus LVN Taryn Stewart, and Ali Rizvi, the owner of a independent physician home visit organization – pleaded responsible to different offenses prior to demo. Really like was sentenced 102 months, Stuart was sentenced to 96 months, Armstrong was sentenced to 84 months, Dr. Leach was sentenced to 57 months, and Anderson was sentenced to 33 months.  The remaining defendants are dealing with statutory maximums of in between two and 14 yrs in federal prison.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Dallas Industry Business office, the U.S. Office of Well being & Human Services Office of Inspector Normal (HHS-OIG), and the Texas Attorney General’s Medicaid Fraud Management Unit carried out the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Donna Strittmatter Max and Marty Basu are prosecuting the scenario with Assistant U.S. Attorneys Stephen Gilstrap, Gail Hayworth, and Brian McKay.