Compliance Today (January 2021)
A Houston-area physician was sentenced to seven years in prison for healthcare fraud that resulted in the deaths of multiple patients due to opioid overdoses, as well as the death of an entire family in a car accident involving one of the patients.
The physician, Rezik Saqer, prescribed powerful opioid painkillers to vulnerable patients and then required they undergo unnecessary and expensive procedures that he then charged to healthcare providers. According to a Department of Justice news release,[1] Saqer made fraudulent claims of at least $14 million. He was ordered to pay restitution of $5 million, along with the prison sentence.
Healthcare fraud is a huge problem, and the recent Sackler case[2] demonstrates a renewed vigor to hold responsible parties accountable for the opioid addiction crisis.
1 U.S. Department of Justice, “Houston-Area Physician and Anesthesiologist Sentenced to 84 Months in Prison for Role in Health Care Benefit Scheme,” news release, October 9, 2020, https://bit.ly/2TGg50c.
2 U.S. Department of Justice, “Justice Department Announces Global Resolution of Criminal and Civil Investigations with Opioid Manufacturer Purdue Pharma and Civil Settlement with Members of the Sackler Family,” news release, October 21, 2020, https://bit.ly/37uLgno.
[View source.]
