Whistle Blower Case - National Cardio in Orange County Settles Lawsuit for 3.6 Million – Fraudulent Billing Medicare, TriCare and Health Insurance Carriers

This is an interesting company whereby the patient would wear the device and send it to National Cardio who would interpret the information and bill for the services provided. The 2 whistle blowers in this case get about 1/2 a million for their efforts. With the new wireless devices that use blue tooth and other wireless technologies, it may seem that businesses like this will either change their methodologies and devices in time, in which case new technology would make it more difficult to create the type of fraud this company was accused of as information will be “real time” instead of sending a device via FedEx to the labs/offices for reporting. BD

An Orange County company that provided heart monitoring services has agreed to pay $3.6 million to settle a lawsuit in which the company is accused of defrauding government healthcare programs, the U.S attorney’s office said Thursday.

The lawsuit alleged that National Cardio Labs LLC; the company’s manager, Adrienne Stanman; and Stanman’s husband, Robert Parsons, a former manager, defrauded Medicare, TRICARE, and health insurance carriers contracted through the federal government, according to the U.S. attorney’s office.

National Cardio Labs, based in Santa Ana, Aliso Viejo and Irvine, was operating as an independent diagnostic testing facility that received, analyzed and printed out data from heart monitors and other medical devices, authorities said.

Stanman and Parsons, both from Laguna Niguel, are accused of knowingly submitting false healthcare claims for cardiac and blood pressure diagnostic testing to the federal health insurance programs between January 1998 and February 2004.

The lawsuit was dismissed and the settlement finalized on May 13. Stanman, Parsons and National Cardio Labs paid the federal government almost $2.3 million, and agreed to the government keeping an additional $584,000 that had been seized by the FBI as part of an asset forfeiture action, the U.S. attorney’s office said. The defrauders must pay the balance of $720,000 by July 21.

The whistleblowers, named as James Cast and Stanton Crowley, will receive $1,115,614 from the settlement, according to the U.S. attorney’s office.

Orange County firm accused of defrauding federal healthcare programs settles case for $3.6 million | L.A. NOW | Los Angeles Times