Lancaster doctor convicted of Medicare kickback conspiracy
LOS ANGELES (KABC) -- A federal jury on Thursday found a Lancaster doctor guilty of conspiracy for his role in a Medicare kickback conspiracy involving a Los Angeles-area home health agency.
Kanagasabai Kanakeswaran, 65, was convicted of one count of conspiracy to pay and/or receive kickbacks for Medicare referrals and four counts of receiving kickbacks for Medicare referrals.
According to evidence presented at a six-day trial, from 2008 to 2016, Kanakeswaran and others engaged in a conspiracy to refer Medicare patients to Star Home Health Resources, a home health agency in La Verne in exchange for illegal kickback payments.
Kanakeswaran received cash kickback payments, as well as kickback payments by check through a company Kanakeswaran owned called Digital Perfection Corporation, according to a press release from the U.S. Department of Justice.
The owners and operators of Star submitted claims to Medicare based on the Medicare beneficiaries that Kanakeswaran referred to Star, and Medicare paid approximately $4.1 million based on those claims, the evidence showed.
The case was investigated by HHS-OIG and the FBI.
Sentencing was scheduled for Jan. 7, 2019.
