Guilty Verdicts Revived in Kickback Case

The 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has ruled against two men challenging their verdicts in a bribery and kickback case involving a north Mississippi hospital.

Raymond Shoemaker and Lee Garner were indicted by a federal grand jury in Sept. 2011 on allegations they carried out a conspiracy to wrongly reward Mr. Garner and enrich Mr. Shoemaker through a kickback and bribery scheme, according to a Sun Herald report.

Raymond Shoemaker is a former administrator of Batesville, Miss.-based Tri-Lakes Medical Center, and Lee Garner is the former owner of Guardian Angel Nursing which supplied nursing staff to Tri-Lakes.

Mr. Garner was accused of paying Mr. Shoemaker to use his influence over the ordering of nursing services at Tri-Lakes to increase the use of Mr. Garner's nurse staffing business. Mr. Shoemaker was charged with accepting $268,000 from 2005 to 2007 from Mr. Chandler as part of the conspiracy, according to the report.

Both men were found guilty on all counts brought against them, but in August 2012, their convictions were overturned by U.S. District Judge Neal Biggers who said the government erred in relying on the alleged actions of David Chandler who acted as a middleman between Mr. Shoemaker and Mr. Garner. Judge Biggers said the prosecutors had failed to show Mr. Chandler had any decision-making authority over Tri-Lakes, according to the report.

Prosecutors appealed the acquittals, and a 5th Circuit panel of judges vacated the acquittals. "We conclude that evidence of the agreement between Garner, Shoemaker and Chandler to bribe Shoemaker was sufficient to support the convictions," the panel said.

Mr. Shoemaker and Mr. Garner will now await sentencing for their crimes.

More Articles on Kickbacks:

14th Physician Pleads Guilty to Taking Bribes in $100M Fraud Scheme
Feds Re-Charge Physician in Sacred Heart Kickback Case
WPAHS to Pay $1.5M to Settle Kickback Allegations 

 

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