A Florida man has been charged for allegedly participating in a Medicare kickback and telemedicine fraud scheme that affected beneficiaries in southeast Georgia.
Officials say Patrick Wolfe, 48, of Belleair Beach, Fla., is accused of conspiring to pay kickbacks for “leads,” which were in actuality signed orders from physicians and nurse practitioners. Then the orders were billed to Medicare Part B and Medicare This is another in a long line of charges in a continuous investigation into fraud that hurts every taxpayer and steals money earmarked for those who need it to meet their healthcare issues,” said Chris Hacker, Special Agent in Charge of FBI Atlanta. “The FBI and our fellow federal partners will not rest until everyone involved in wrongdoing is brought to justice.”Part C using his company. Wolfe is the operator of Wilmington Island Medical Inc., which does business as WI Medical Inc
“This is another in a long line of charges in a continuous investigation into fraud that hurts every taxpayer and steals money earmarked for those who need it to meet their healthcare issues,” said Chris Hacker, Special Agent in Charge of FBI Atlanta. “The FBI and our fellow federal partners will not rest until everyone involved in wrongdoing is brought to justice.”
The financial total for orders facilitated through this scheme is alleged to be in the millions of dollars, according to officials.
Wolfe was the twenty-fifth defendant investigated as part of the “Operation Brace Yourself” and “Operation Double Helix.” These two operations have yielded prosecution against eight physicians, two nurse practitioners, three operators of different telemedicine companies, two brokers of patient data and several owners of durable medical equipment companies.
The Medicare and Medicaid beneficiaries whose identities were used as part of the scheme are located throughout the country, including throughout the Southern District of Georgia.
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