Former WellCare Executives Found Guilty of Healthcare Fraud

A jury found the former CEO and CFO of WellCare Health Plans guilty of healthcare fraud Monday, according to a Wall Street Journal report.  

A federal jury in Tampa, Fla., convicted former CEO Todd Farha and former CFO Paul Behrens on two counts of healthcare fraud. Mr. Behrens was also found guilty for two counts of making false statements related to healthcare matters, according to the report.

William Kale, former vice president of WellCare's Harmony Behavioral Health, was also convicted of two counts of healthcare fraud. Peter Clay, WellCare's former vice president of medical economics, was found guilty of making false statements to a law enforcement officer, according to the report.

The convictions stem from a federal criminal lawsuit that alleged the former WellCare executives engaged in a scheme to defraud Florida's Medicaid program from summer 2003 through fall 2007.

The maximum penalty for each of the healthcare fraud counts is 10 years in prison, and the maximum penalty for all other counts is five years in prison.

A date for sentencing has not been set, according to the report.

More Articles on Healthcare Fraud:

Updated Fraud Self-Disclosure Protocol: 5 Considerations for Healthcare Providers
10 Recent Investigations, Lawsuits and Settlements Involving Hospitals
CMS: More Than 14k Providers Kicked Out of Medicare Since 2011

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