A federal court in New Jersey Jan. 31 sentenced physician Daisy Deguzman to six months in prison and six months of home detention for accepting illegal kickbacks in exchange for referring patients to an outpatient diagnostic medical imaging facility, federal prosecutors said (United States v. Deguzman). Judge Clare C. Cecchi of the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey in Newark also ordered Deguzman to serve two years of supervised release, pay a $20,000 fine, and forfeit $23,595. Deguzman pleaded guilty in June 2012 to one count of violating the federal health care anti-kickback statute. She was arrested in December 2011, along with 12 other physicians and a nurse practitioner, all of whom were charged in separate complaints with accepting kickbacks from Orange Community MRI LLC (OCM) in Orange, N.J., in exchange for referring Medicare and Medicaid patients and patients with private insurance to the facility for diagnostic imaging. One of the facility’s executives was also charged in connection with his participation in the scheme. He and a total of eight of the health care providers have pleaded guilty. Deguzman is the first to be sentenced. The other defendants await trial. Cash for Referrals Federal prosecutors allege that […]
A federal court in New Jersey Jan. 31 sentenced physician Daisy Deguzman to six months in prison and six months of home detention for accepting illegal kickbacks in exchange for referring patients to an outpatient diagnostic medical imaging facility, federal prosecutors said (United States v. Deguzman).
Judge Clare C. Cecchi of the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey in Newark also ordered Deguzman to serve two years of supervised release, pay a $20,000 fine, and forfeit $23,595.
Deguzman pleaded guilty in June 2012 to one count of violating the federal health care anti-kickback statute. She was arrested in December 2011, along with 12 other physicians and a nurse practitioner, all of whom were charged in separate complaints with accepting kickbacks from Orange Community MRI LLC (OCM) in Orange, N.J., in exchange for referring Medicare and Medicaid patients and patients with private insurance to the facility for diagnostic imaging.
One of the facility’s executives was also charged in connection with his participation in the scheme. He and a total of eight of the health care providers have pleaded guilty.
Deguzman is the first to be sentenced. The other defendants await trial.
Cash for Referrals
Federal prosecutors allege that OCM generated monthly reports that showed, for each patient, the date of service, the type of test performed, the referring physician, and the kinds of insurance to be billed.
Starting in 2010, the facility began making monthly cash payments to Deguzman for each Medicare or Medicaid beneficiary she had referred to the facility for an MRI or CT scan the month before, according to the government.
Federal prosecutors said Deguzman received three payments from a cooperating government witness during the course of the investigation, including $1,700 in cash in October 2011 for her September referrals, $1,130 in November 2011 for her October referrals, and $1,000 in December 2011 for her November referrals.
