A Riverside man has admitted to his role in an elaborate $10 million Medicare kickback scheme that targeted elderly cancer patients.
Adam Wayne Owens, 44, pleaded guilty last week in U.S. District Court in New Jersey to one count of conspiracy to violate the federal anti-kickback statute, which prohibits health care providers from advising patients for financial gain.
Owens, who owned several California companies, was indicted by a federal grand jury in 2022.
From November 2018 to January 2020, prosecutors allege, he participated in a kickback and bribery scheme with a clinical laboratory in Florida and affiliated businesses that arranged for at-home cancer genetic tests.
Information was not available about where Owens’ companies were located. Several alleged co-conspirators are from New Jersey.
Owens and co-conspirators generated patient leads by making cold calls and using other means to identify and target elderly Medicare beneficiaries throughout the U.S., the indictment states. Personal and medical information about the Medicare beneficiaries was then sent to the Florida lab, which sent testing kits to the beneficiaries, according to a plea agreement.
After receiving qualified patient leads, the testing companies allegedly had telemedicine health care providers contact the Medicare beneficiaries. However, the health care providers did not give the beneficiaries treatment for any symptoms or conditions. Rather, they provided prescriptions for cancer genetic tests, regardless of medical necessity, the indictment alleges.
After testing companies obtained prescriptions generated through the lead process, the testing kits were sent to the beneficiaries, who would then complete the kits and return them to the Florida lab, according to the indictment.
Once the tests were completed and returned, Owens’ co-conspirators submitted claims for reimbursement to Medicare, receiving kickback payments ranging from $1,700 to $2,000 for each test, according to prosecutors.
To conceal the scheme, the testing companies allegedly wired various kickback payments to a shell company in New Zealand, which then transferred the funds to bank accounts controlled by Owens in the U.S., prosecutors allege.
Related Articles
Former California EDD employee admits filing pandemic-related claims for dead people in $768,000 fraud
Employee of California post office, son sentenced for stealing more than $5 million in money orders
Fremont: Three charged in scheme to steal from victims by cloning EBT cards
Auto dealers battle a growing problem: synthetic identity fraud
Keep yourself and your money safe from these four scams
Owens further attempted hide his deception by submitting false invoices from one of his marketing companies to the New Zealand company to make it appear he was being paid for legitimate services, when in reality he was being compensated for the number of cancer genetic tests Medicare reimbursed, prosecutors said.
Conspiracy to violate the federal anti-kickback statute is punishable by a maximum potential penalty of five years in prison and a fine of $250,000, or twice the gain or loss from the offense, whichever is greatest.
Information was not immediately available regarding when Owens will be sentenced.
