Massive fraud case involving Missouri hospital brings criminal charge to ex-CEO

A former top executive of a Missouri hospital has been charged in a massive billing fraud scheme that came to light in 2017 as a result of a state audit.

David Lane Byrns, the ex-chief executive of Putnam County Memorial Hospital, a 15-bed federally designated critical access hospital in Unionville, Missouri, was accused in federal court in Kansas City of one charge of conspiracy to commit health care fraud.

Byrns, according to an 11-page charging document filed on Friday, was part of a scheme to submit fraudulent claims for reimbursement on laboratory tests to insurance companies on behalf of the hospital in Unionville from patients who never visited the facility or had any connection to it.

According to the docket, Byrns’ case will be transferred from Kansas City to a federal court in Florida for plea and sentencing on the charge. Justin Johnston, a Kansas City attorney representing Byrns, was not available for comment Monday afternoon.

Read more: https://www.kansascity.com/news/local/crime/article235633372.html