MEDICARE FRAUD AND ABUSE

U.S. v. St. Luke's Subacute Care Hosp. Inc., No. 04-10231 (9th Cir. May 5, 2006)

The United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit affirmed the conviction and 78-month sentence of the owner and chief executive officer (CEO) of a nursing facility stemming from his acts of Medicare fraud. The CEO was indicted on charges of submitting false cost reports, creating false nursing logs, and providing false statements to Medicare auditors. A jury returned a guilty verdict on all counts and the CEO appealed, claiming there were various errors in the jury instructions. However, the circuit court found no such errors and affirmed the CEO's conviction, as well as the nursing home's five-year probation sentence.