Dive Brief:
- Five former counselors at Progressive Counseling Services in Virginia Beach, VA have been convicted this week of collecting nearly $2.5 million in fraudulent healthcare reimbusements.
- The five were each found guilty of at least one felony. However, the jury was unable to reach a verdict on 45 of the 58 counts in the case.
- The U.S. Attorney's Office has not responded to requests for comment on the verdict or questions about whether to expect a new trial.
Dive Insight:
The five guilty verdicts do not fuly resolve the case, among the latest in the crackdown on frauduent healthcare billing.
Federal officials are still searching for Baffour E. Opoku, the owner of Progressive Counseling Services, and are offering a reward of $5,000 for information that leads to his arrest. In addition, five more former employees have entered plea agreements with prosecutors; three of them have already been sentenced while two are still awaiting their sentencing.
The indictment against the group says they submitted bills to Medicaid for services they never performed and received $2.48 million in improper reimbursements.