Report on Medicare Compliance 29, no. 5 (February 10, 2020)
◆ David Laufer, the former chief of the Prosthetics and Orthotics Department at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in Bethesda, Maryland, was charged with making false statements, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Maryland said[1] Feb. 5. The indictment alleges that Laufer didn’t report financial benefits he got from Person B and Company B, which provided prosthetics and orthotics materials to Walter Reed, in exchange for payments from the government. His job required him to disclose outside income above a certain amount. Laufer also allegedly lied to federal agents about receiving gifts and money from vendors doing business with his department.
◆ A Richmond Hill, Georgia, man who claimed to be a whistleblower has been charged in federal court with falsely accusing a former acquaintance of patient privacy violations, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Georgia said[2] Jan. 8. Jeffrey Parker, 43, allegedly “engaged in an intricate scheme” in which he told the Department of Justice (DOJ) that a former acquaintance, who worked at a hospital, had violated HIPAA privacy provisions. “As part of the scheme alleged, Parker created email addresses using the names of real individuals and pretended to be these individuals to make it appear as if the acquaintance committed a crime. He sent these communications to the hospital where the acquaintance worked, to the DOJ, and to the FBI,” the U.S. attorney’s office alleged. “Parker then claimed to have received threatening messages in retaliation for blowing the whistle, and FBI agents took steps to ensure his safety and quickly investigate the alleged crime. After an FBI agent interviewing Parker found inconsistencies in his story, Parker admitted the statements he made and emails he sent were false.”