Two Dallas doctors have been sentenced to serve time in federal prison for committing health care fraud.
In May, Novus Health Services Medical Directors Dr. Mark Gibbs and Dr. Laila Hirjee were found guilty of conspiracy to commit health care fraud and other charges. On Dec. 2, Chief U.S. District Judge Barbara M.G. Lynn sentenced Gibbs to 13 years in federal prison and ordered him to pay over $27 million in restitution. Hirjee was sentenced to 10 years in federal prison and was ordered to pay more than $16 million in restitution.
“These doctors allowed (Novus CEO) Bradley Harris, an accountant with no medical expertise, to dispense controlled substances like candy, with little to no medical oversight,” U.S. Attorney Chad Meacham said, according to CBS Dallas-Forth Worth. “They claimed to have had hands-on experience with hospice patients, when in fact they’d entrusted life-or-death medical decisions to untrained businesspeople.”
Novus received approximately $40 million dollars from Medicare and Medicaid before the company was shut down, according to CBS.
FBI Dallas Special Agent in Charge Matthew DeSarno said the case emphasized the importance of taking Medicare fraud claims seriously.
“The defendants violated their Hippocratic Oath as doctors and instead focused on lining their pockets at the expense of patient safety," DeSarno told CBS. "This case highlights the importance of thoroughly investigating any complaint of health care fraud.”
