Danville, Va.-based Piedmont Infusion Services and its owner, Jacob Patterson, agreed to pay $310,000 to resolve allegations that they violated the False Claims Act and the Virginia Fraud Against Taxpayers Act by submitting false bills to Medicare and Medicaid, according to a July 26 statement from the U.S. attorney's office.
From 2013 through the beginning of 2018, Patterson and Piedmont Infusion Services falsely and knowingly billed Medicare and Medicaid for high-level office visits that did not occur. In addition to falsely billing for non-existent visits, Patterson and Piedmont Infusion Services also knowingly and fraudulently double-billed Medicare Part B for medications already billed to Medicare Part D.
The claims against Piedmont Infusion Services were initially brought under the qui tam, or whistleblower, provisions of the False Claims Act by a former employee.