U.S. attorney: Baton Rouge health care company to pay $1.7 million to settle fraud complaint

Charter Home Health, a Baton Rouge-based health care company, settled a civil fraud complaint Friday by agreeing to pay $1.7 million to the U.S. government and entering into a Corporate Integrity Agreement, according to acting U.S. Attorney Corey Amundson.

Wandell Rogers and Allison Williams, officers of Charter Home Health, are accused of paying for patient referrals between 2006 and 2013, which violates Medicare's anti-kickback provision, Amundson said.

Amundson said one woman, Veronica Green, who was paid by the company for referrals, was convicted of Social Security benefit fraud because she hid the referral payments in order to continue collecting Social Security benefits of $152,627.

Amundson said the Corporate Integrity Agreement promotes compliance with the statutes, regulations, program requirements and written directives of Medicare and all other federal health care programs.

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