Lake Zurich man accused of Medicare scheme
A Lake Zurich CEO was arrested Thursday for billing Medicare for as much as $1.2 million in fraudulent or nonexistent treatment for the elderly, the U.S. attorney's office said.
Henry Smilie, 54, CEO of Chicago-based Home Physician Services LLC, faces charges that his company, which arranges for in-home visits for elderly and homebound patients, carried on the scheme between February 2012 and July 2014.
Medicare paid Home Physician Services for Care Plan Oversight, the billing code for doctor supervision of treatment of a home-health patient, the affidavit says. However, the patients were not confined to their homes and were not qualified to receive in-home services.
Former employees cooperating with federal agents told investigators that Smilie regularly instructed them to illegally document their interactions at in-home visits, including extending the length of visits unnecessarily to bill the largest amount to Medicare, as well as giving unnecessary treatments, among other things.
If convicted, Smilie could face a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison, a $250,000 fine and mandatory restitution.