A former home health care worker pleaded guilty last week to his part in a $24.7 million fraud scheme that billed for home heath care services that were not not necessary or were not provided.
Clarence Cooper of Detroit pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit health care fraud for his role as a marketer of beneficiary information.
In the conspiracy, Cooper and others defrauded home health companies by selling Medicare information obtained from Detroit-area Medicare beneficiaries knowing the would bill Medicare for services and fail to provide them, according to court documents. The information was sold at $200 to $300 per beneficiary, the documents show. The information was in turn used to bill Medicare for more than $1 million in home health care services.
Cooper was part of a larger scheme amounting to more the total near $25 million billing for services including home health care, psychotherapy and others.
The maximum penalty he faces is 10 years in prison and a fine of $25,000.
Written by Elizabeth Ecker
