Framingham Woman Pleads Guilty To Health Care Fraud, Reports U.S. Attorney

A physical therapist pleaded guilty
earlier this week in federal court to a charge of health care fraud in
connection with her causing Medicare to be billed for at least $55,000
worth of physical therapy she either did not provide or provided
incompletely to patients.


United States Attorney Michael J. Sullivan and Joseph C. Moraski,
Special Agent in Charge of the Department of Health and Human Services,
Office of the Inspector General for New England, announced that HO LING
LAI, age 38, of Framingham, Massachusetts, pleaded guilty on Tuesday, July
18, 2006 before U.S. District Judge Reginald C. Lindsay to a one-count
Information charging her with knowingly and willfully committing health
care fraud.


At the plea hearing, the prosecutor told the Court that, had the case
proceeded to trial, the evidence would have proven that LAI worked as a
physical therapist for three different visiting nurse associations at the
same time. In the course of her employment, LAI purported to be providing
physical therapy to different patients of the different visiting nurse
associations at the same time, on the same day, but in different towns. LAI
knew that the time sheets on which she recorded the times of these visits
would be used to bill the Medicare program, thereby causing it to pay money
for services which were either not rendered or which were rendered in an
incomplete manner. The visiting nurse associations billed the Medicare
program for no less than $55,000 based on LAI's false representations.


Judge Lindsay scheduled sentencing for November 27, 2006 at 2:00 p.m.
LAI faces a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine.
The investigation was conducted by the Department of Health and Human
Services, Office of the Inspector General. It is being prosecuted by
Assistant U.S. Attorney Thomas E. Kanwit of Sullivan's Health Care Fraud
Unit.


U.S. Attorney

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