WASHINGTON — A federal jury in South Florida convicted the founder and owner of a health care software company in a Medicare fraud conspiracy that prosecutors said involved more than $1 billion in fraudulent claims.
The U.S. Department of Justice said Brett Blackman, 42, of Johnson County, Kansas, was convicted for his role in operating a platform that generated false doctors’ orders and prescriptions to defraud Medicare and other federal health care benefit programs.
According to court documents and evidence presented at trial, Blackman and his co-conspirators targeted hundreds of thousands of Medicare beneficiaries to get them to accept medically unnecessary orthotic braces and other items.
Prosecutors said they then arranged for purported telemedicine doctors to sign fraudulent prescription orders so co-conspirators could bill Medicare for the equipment.
Blackman owned and was CEO of HealthSplash, which acquired Power Mobility Doctor Rx, also known as DMERx, in 2017.
The DOJ said DMERx was an internet-based platform used to generate false and fraudulent doctors’ orders for durable medical equipment and prescriptions.
As part of the scheme, prosecutors said Blackman and his co-conspirators connected pharmacies, medical equipment suppliers and marketers with telemedicine companies that accepted illegal kickbacks and bribes in exchange for signed doctors’ orders created through the DMERx platform.
Prosecutors said Blackman and others took a cut in exchange for referrals.
The fraudulent orders falsely claimed doctors had examined and treated Medicare beneficiaries, when prosecutors said doctors were paid to sign orders without meaningful interaction with patients. In some cases, officials said there was no interaction at all.
The DOJ said medical equipment suppliers and pharmacies involved in the scheme billed Medicare and other insurers for more than $1 billion. Medicare and other insurers paid more than $450 million based on those claims.
A jury convicted Blackman of conspiracy to commit health care fraud and wire fraud, conspiracy to pay and receive health care kickbacks, and conspiracy to defraud the United States and make false statements in connection with health care matters.
Blackman faces up to 20 years in prison for the health care fraud and wire fraud conspiracy conviction, five years for the kickback conspiracy conviction and five years for the conspiracy to defraud the United States.
His sentencing is scheduled for Aug. 26.
The case was investigated by HHS-OIG, the FBI, VA-OIG and the Defense Criminal Investigative Service.
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