Reinaldo Wilson and Jean Wilson, the owners of telemedicine companies Advantage Choice Care and Tele Medcare, were charged in an indictment unsealed Feb. 4 for allegedly spearheading a $56 million healthcare fraud scheme, according to the Department of Justice.
The husband and wife duo from Richmond Hill, Ga., allegedly agreed to receive and solicit illegal kickbacks and bribes from pharmacies, medical brace suppliers and patient recruiters for instructing physicians to order medically unnecessary braces for Medicare beneficiaries between March 2017 and April 2019, according to the indictment.
Mr. and Mrs. Wilson were arrested on Feb. 4 and were each charged with one count of conspiracy to defraud the U.S. and to pay and receive healthcare kickbacks, one count of conspiracy to commit healthcare fraud and wire fraud, three counts of receiving healthcare kickbacks and one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering.
DOJ claimed that Mr. and Mrs. Wilson used their telemedicine companies, which had locations in Bayonne, N.J., Boca Raton, Fla, and Richmond Hill, to recruit and hire healthcare providers to order the braces for Medicare beneficiaries. The company owners allegedly paid the providers illegal kickbacks and bribes to order the braces, which were either medically unnecessary, ineligible for Medicare reimbursement and/or not provided as represented, according to the indictment.
DOJ further alleged that Mr. and Mrs. Wilson were among individuals who transferred the brace orders to co-conspirator suppliers to support in excess of $56 million in false and fraudulent claims to Medicare and that Medicare paid the brace suppliers in excess of $28 million for said claims.
As of Feb. 5, Mr. Wilson was being held pending a bail hearing scheduled for Feb. 11, and Mrs. Wilson has been released and will appear for a bail hearing on Feb. 11 as well, according to the report.