ALEXANDRIA, Va. - A Fairfax-based home health care company and two executives agreed to pay $1 million to resolve claims arising from an alleged kickback scheme designed to obtain referrals for home health and hospice patients.
The United States alleged that from 2012 to 2021, Pro Healthcare Servicing, LLC (Pro Health), its Chief Executive Officer, Erwin Cheng, and its Chief Administrator, Gloria Jiang, both of Ashburn, paid kickbacks to employees at various assisted living facilities and skilled nursing facilities throughout northern Virginia to induce those facilities to refer patients to Pro Health for home health and hospice services. Pro Health then billed Medicare for services rendered to those patients.
The United States further alleged that while Pro Health was engaged in the kickback scheme, the company fraudulently obtained pandemic-relief loans through the Small Business Administration’s Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) and the Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) program by falsely certifying that the company was not engaged in any illegal activity when applying for the loans.
The resolution obtained in this matter was the result of a coordinated effort between the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and the Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General.
The matter was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney William Hochul and former Assistant U.S. Attorney Ilene Albala.
The civil claims are allegations only; there has been no admission of liability.
A copy of this press release may be found on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia.
Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the United States Attorneys