A New Orleans hospice owner was sentenced to 20 years in prison after a federal jury found him guilty for orchestrating a scheme that billed Medicare for $84 million in fraudulent claims.
Shiva Akula, MD, 68, of New Orleans, was found guilty on all 23 charges of healthcare fraud against him, according to a May 16 Justice Department news release. He was the owner of Canon Healthcare, a hospice facility with offices in New Orleans, Baton Rouge and Covington, La., as well as Gulfport, Miss.
The charges against Dr. Akula included overbilling for hospice patients for general inpatient services to fraudulently maximize reimbursement from Medicare and manipulating CPT codes.
Between 2013 and 2019, Canon billed Medicare $84 million in fraudulent claims, of which Medicare paid $42 million, according to the release. Dr. Akula was ordered to repay the $42 million to Medicare.