Former Naval Officer Sentenced to Prison for Fraudulent Durable Medical Equipment Claims

March 17, 2023

Former Naval officer, Jordan Thomas Broome, has been sentenced to 66 months in prison for submitting fraudulent Durable Medical Equipment (DME) claims of over $2.15M.  Aided by other bad actors (providers who would “robo-sign” prescriptions for DME equipment for patients never seen), Broome illegally obtained over 2,000 Medicare beneficiaries’ personal information and mailed them DME equipment which they never asked for, nor needed.  Read the full Press Release.

In addition to violating the False Claims Act for submitting non-medically necessary claims, we can surmise that this situation potentially violates several fundamental regulations…possibly HIPAA Security & Privacy (data breach with illegally obtained personal information), False Claims Act (writing prescriptions for medically unnecessary DME), and Anti-Kickback Statute (did these bad actor providers receive remuneration for writing medically unnecessary prescriptions for DME?)

“Physicians may violate these laws when, for example:

• they sign a certification as a “courtesy” to a patient, service provider, or DME supplier when they have not first made a determination of medical necessity;
• they knowingly or recklessly sign a false or misleading certification that causes a false claim to be submitted to a Federal health care program; or
• they receive any financial benefit for signing the certification (including free or reduced rent, patient referrals, supplies, equipment, or free labor).

Even if they do not receive any financial or other benefit from providers or suppliers, physicians may be liable for making false or misleading certifications.”

See OIG’s Special Fraud Alert: PHYSICIAN LIABILITY FOR CERTIFICATIONS IN THE PROVISION OF MEDICAL EQUIPMENT AND SUPPLIES AND HOME HEALTH SERVICES