On September 29, the Department of Justice announced that Thomas O’Lear, President of Portable Radiology Services (PRS), was sentenced to 15 years in prison and ordered to pay approximately $2M in restitution following his conviction for fraudulently billing Medicare, Medicaid, and Medicaid Managed Care Organizations for services that were not provided, and then acting to cover up the scheme and commit identity theft.
PRS provided portable x-ray services to individuals living in long-term care facilities. Evidence presented at trial showed that O’Lear submitted fraudulent claims for portable x-ray services provided to patients who were already deceased or who were in the hospital at the time O’Lear billed for providing the service in a nursing home, and for additional images not actually taken. Additionally, O’Lear falsified medical records—including using the same x-ray images for multiple patients—to cover up the fraud. O’Lear’s scheme ultimately led to $3.7M in fraudulent bills and $2M in payments.