Two medical supply company owners were sentenced to 151 months in prison Dec. 15 for a $27 million fraud scheme that involved paying kickbacks and bribes in exchange for signed doctor's orders for supplies used to submit false claims to Medicare.
Leah Hagen, 50, of Arlington, Texas, and Michael Hagen, 54, a citizen of Austria and an Arlington resident, owned and operated two durable medical equipment companies, Metro DME Supply and Ortho Pain Solutions.
The false claims the defendants made to Medicare were in excess of $59 million. The Justice Department said the defendants transferred millions of dollars overseas to purchase a home in Spain, among other things. The defendants signed sham contracts through their supply companies disguising payments as marketing and business process outsourcing to conceal payments, according to the Justice Department.
The defendants were convicted July 8 following an eight-day trial on charges of conspiracy to defraud the U.S. and to pay and receive health care kickbacks and conspiracy to launder money.
The defendants are also required to pay $27.1 million in restitution.