The Justice Department and the State of Illinois filed a complaint in intervention on Aug. 17 alleging that a Chicago-area podiatry practice and its billing companies knowingly submitted fraudulent claims to Medicare and Medicaid, netting more than $5.2 million in improper payments.
The complaint names Foot & Ankle Health Care Center, European Foot & Ankle Surgical Care, their owner Vadim Goshko, DPM, and billing companies Atlantic Wave Holdings and Atlantic Wave II as defendants, according to an Aug. 18 Justice Department news release.
The lawsuit alleges the defendants continued billing Illinois Medicaid for podiatry services performed by Dr. Goshko after he had already been terminated from the Medicaid program, listing other physicians as the treating providers instead. The complaint also alleges Dr. Goshko failed to disclose his Medicaid exclusion to Medicare, which later revoked his billing privileges after learning of it.
The case originated as a whistleblower lawsuit filed by PayrHealth, which acquired the billing company in December 2020, discovered the alleged scheme, cut ties with the defendants and reported the conduct to federal officials, according to the release.
The government is seeking treble damages and civil penalties under the federal and Illinois False Claims Acts.
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