A former licensed mental health counselor at the defunct health provider Health Care Solutions Network Inc. (HCSN) pleaded guilty today in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., for his role in a $63 million health care fraud scheme.
Acting Assistant Attorney General Mythili Raman of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, U.S. Attorney Wifredo A. Ferrer of the Southern District of Florida, Special Agent in Charge Michael B. Steinbach of the FBI’s Miami Field Office; and Special Agent in Charge Christopher B. Dennis of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General (HHS-OIG) Office of Investigations Miami Office made the announcement.
Ruben Busquets, 50, of Miami, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge William J. Zloch in the Southern District of Florida to one count of conspiracy to commit health care fraud. He faces a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison when he is sentenced on Feb. 20, 2014.
According to court records, Busquets was employed as a licensed therapist at HCSN, a mental health facility that purported to provide Partial Hospitalization Program (PHP) services. A PHP is a form of intensive treatment for severe mental illness. HCSN of Florida (HCSN-FL) operated community mental health centers at two locations. Court records indicate that Busquets was aware that HCSN-FL personnel were routinely fabricating patient medical records. Many of these medical records were created weeks or months after the patients were admitted to HCSN-FL for purported PHP treatment and were utilized to support false and fraudulent billing to government sponsored health care benefit programs, including Medicare and Florida Medicaid. During his employment at HCSN-FL, Busquets and his co-conspirators signed fabricated PHP therapy notes and other medical records used to support false claims to government-sponsored health care programs.
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