I tell you the dead are not safe from Identity theft. Read the following FBI press release.

Doctor Pleads Guilty to Billing Medicare and Medicaid for Counseling Sessions with Dead Patients
Dr. Williams Claimed $2 Million in Phony Health Treatments, Saying It Was Group Therapy
U.S. Attorney’s Office June 06, 2011

Northern District of Georgia (404) 581-6000

ATLANTA—ROBERT WILLIAMS, 72, of Atlanta, Georgia, pleaded guilty today in federal district court on two counts of health care fraud as part of a scheme to bill for group psychological therapy that WILLIAMS never provided.

United States Attorney Sally Quillian Yates said, “With so many elderly citizens and others who need specialized psychological care, this defendant ignored his duty as a doctor and became a billing machine who claimed to treat patients who were in fact dead. This blatant attempt to rip off the system took funds and care away from real live patients with real problems. Medicare and Medicaid need all the money they can get for legitimate patient care and this physician will get none of that money.”

“This case sends a strong message that Medicare and Medicaid fraud will not be tolerated in Georgia,” said Georgia Attorney General Sam Olens. “At a time when our state budget is heavily strained, every dollar intended for the needy must reach the recipient. We will continue to work with our partners, the U.S. Attorney’s Office, and the FBI, to weed out fraud in Georgia.”

Brian D. Lamkin, Special Agent in Charge, FBI Atlanta Field Office, said, “Dr. Williams had for years, enjoyed a position of trust within the medical and health provider industry. He chose to abandon that trust and instead displayed a level of greed that will not be tolerated. Medicare fraud should be promptly reported to the nearest FBI field office so that the much needed federal health care benefits will be there for those individuals who truly need them.”

According to United States Attorney Yates, the charges, and other information presented in court: WILLIAMS was a licensed physician, practicing in the Atlanta area. From approximately July 2007 through October 2009, he contracted with a medical services company to provide group psychological therapy to nursing home patients in a variety of nursing homes. Under his signature, thousands of claims were submitted to Medicare and Georgia Medicaid seeking reimbursement for group psychological therapy that WILLIAMS purportedly provided to beneficiaries at several nursing homes in the Atlanta area. In many instances, however, WILLIAMS did not actually provide the therapy.

Specifically, from July 2007 through October 2009, Medicare claims data indicated that over 55,000 claims were submitted using WILLIAMS’ provider number for group psychological therapy. Those claims sought reimbursement for over $2,000,000, and ultimately caused Medicare to reimburse WILLIAMS over $750,000. For the same time period, over 40,000 Medicaid claims were submitted by WILLIAMS for group psychological therapy, causing Georgia Medicaid to pay out over $225,000.

An investigation of WILLIAMS’ claims showed that, in many cases, he sought payment for services provided to beneficiaries who were deceased at the time he purportedly rendered the care. In two cases, the patient died over a year before he was allegedly seen by WILLIAMS in the nursing home. Numerous claims were submitted to Medicare and Medicaid for group psychological therapy when the beneficiary was hospitalized at the time of service and, consequently, could not have received care at the nursing home as represented.

WILLIAMS was indicted on February 22, 2011 on 10 counts of health care fraud. Today WILLIAMS pleaded guilty to two of those counts. He could receive a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000 for each count. In determining the actual sentence, the court will consider the United States Sentencing Guidelines, which are not binding but provide appropriate sentencing ranges for most offenders.

Sentencing has been scheduled for August 23, 2011, at 11:30 a.m. before United States District Judge Richard W. Story.

This case is being investigated by special agents of the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Georgia Medicaid Fraud Control Unit.

Assistant United States Attorneys Kurt R. Erskine and Nick Oldham, and Senior Assistant Attorney General Nancy Alstrom from the Georgia Medicaid Fraud Control Unit, are prosecuting the case.

For further information, please contact Sally Q. Yates, United States Attorney, or Charysse L. Alexander, Executive Assistant United States Attorney, through Patrick Crosby, Public Affairs Officer, U.S. Attorney’s Office, at (404) 581-6016. The Internet address for the HomePage for the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Georgia is www.justice.gov/usao/gan.

Are you searching for a new job right now? In these tough economic times, identity thieves are taking advantage of vulnerable job seekers like never before with job identity theft scams. Whether they’re using job search sites like Monster.com to “hook” an unemployed person with a job offer that may be too good to be true, then sending emails requesting bank account information and Social Security numbers, or even creating fake Web sites that don’t match the job description on a jobsite, scammers are relentlessly trying to steal your identity. Fortunately, by paying attention to ID theft warning signs and using tips to prevent ID theft, you can avoid the scammers and land a great job this year.

How to Spot Job Identity Theft Scams
How can you be sure job postings are legitimate and not job identity theft scams? Ask yourself these questions before you apply:

• Does the company have a Web site?: If not, or if the information doesn’t match the company’s description on the jobsite, you should be extremely cautious. Although not all companies have Web sites, most do, and you can get a feeling for the company by visiting the site. Does it look professional? Does it have contact information? Another simple research tool is simply to use Google to see what search results reveal for the company (if they exist!)
• Does the company ask for money to submit an application?: If you’re asked to pay anything before you can get information on the job, it’s probably one of the many job identity theft scams. This is especially prevalent in work-at-home jobs. Just remember that legitimate employers will never charge to hire you.
• Does the company have references?: They work both ways. If you’re unsure whether an employer is legitimate, ask for references. Most companies will be happy to provide you with them.
• Does the company make financial promises?: This is another favorite tactic of job identity theft scams. If a job listing guarantees financial success in a short period of time, you can bet they’re trying to drain your bank account in a short period of time.

Another easy way to spot job identity theft scams is to contact the Better Business Bureau to see whether the company has a high or low rating, and whether any suspicious activity has been reported.

How to Avoid Job Identity Theft Scams
Job identity theft scams are rampant online, so you have to be vigilant. Use common sense and follow these tips to prevent your identity from being stolen by unscrupulous identity thieves posing as employers:

• Social Security number: A common job identity theft scam is asking you to provide your Social Security number before you’ve even had a face-to-face interview. Don’t fall for it. A scammer will ask for your SSN under the guise of needing to perform a background check, but a legitimate employer can’t legally do a background check until after the interview.
• Financial information: Never provide any financial information, such as your bank account, until you’ve been hired. These types of job identity theft scams are made under the pretenses that the employer needs your financial information to perform a credit check. Not true. A legitimate employer can do a credit check with just your name, address, and Social Security number.
• Online forms: Be very careful when completing forms for online job applications. These forms make capturing sensitive information easy for job identity theft scams. If you’re completing an application online, make sure the Web site is both legitimate and secure before providing personal information such as your Social Security number or driver’s license number.
• Email: When communicating with an employer, always ensure the emails originate from the company’s email address, not a personal address. Legitimate companies will always send official communications through their company email address. Many job identity theft scams involve identity thieves using personal email addresses to impersonate representatives from a legitimate employer.

Want to learn more about preventing ID theft and avoiding job identity theft scams?
Contact The Identity Advocate at 310.831.4400 or via email at info@theidentityadvocate.com.

Health and Human Services has establish more patient privacy rules. See article at Employee Benefit News:

http://ebn.benefitnews.com/news/medical-records-privacy-rule-2713970-1.html?ET=ebnbenefitnews:e1658:1666561a:&st=email&utm_source=editorial&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=EBN_inBrief_060111#

Data breaches seem to hit the news every day. If it happens to you be aware that more email “phishing” scams can occur. Your data has been compromised, so never let your guard down!
Here is what the BBB suggests:

* Do not reply to the e-mail or click any links in them.
* NEVER give out personal and/or financial information via e-mail. They may claim to be a representative of your bank, IRS, or police, but these organizations will contact you in a letter.
* Let others know about these scams
* When sending personal information, the transmission should be encrypted. Make sure the the website is secure. One way of doing this is to look for an ‘s’ in the http part of the url. The S stands for secure.
* Grammatical errors and misspelled in these e-mails can be a tip off that it is a scam.
* Never wire money based on any instructions in these e-mails.
* Obtain anti-virus software and run it at regular intervals
* Contact the Federal Trade Commission at their website http://www.FTC.gov or by phone at 1-877-HELP.
Therefore, stay vigilant and mindful that there is always someone ready to take your personal information!

It is tax time again and the IRS wants taxpayers to be protected against identity theft, and has provided 10 safety tips to help people avoid this crime. Here’s what the IRS wants you to know:
1. If you receive a letter or notice from the IRS which leads you to believe someone may have fraudulently used your Social Security Number, respond immediately to the name and address or phone number printed on the IRS notice.
2. If you receive a letter from the IRS that indicates more than one tax return was filed for you, this may be a sign that your SSN was used fraudulently.
3. Another sign that you may be the target of identity theft is an IRS letter indicating you received wages from an employer unknown to you.
4. The IRS has a department which deals specifically with identity theft issues. The IRS Identity Protection Specialized Unit is available if you have been in contact with the IRS about an identity theft issue and have not achieved a resolution.
5. You can contact the IRS Identity Protection Specialized Unit by calling the Identity Theft Hotline at 800-908-4490 Monday through Friday from 8:00 am to 8:00 pm local time (Alaska and Hawaii follow Pacific Standard Time).
6. The IRS Identity Protection Specialized Unit is also available if you believe your identity may be at risk of being stolen due to a lost or stolen purse or wallet or due to questionable activity on your credit card or your credit report.
7. The IRS never initiates communication with taxpayers about their tax account through emails. If you receive an e-mail or find a Web site you think is pretending to be the IRS, forward the e-mail or Web site URL to the IRS at phishing@irs.gov.
8. The IRS has many more resources available to help inform taxpayers about identity theft on the IRS Web site at IRS.gov. On IRS.gov you can access information on how to report scams and bogus IRS Web sites. You can also visit the IRS Identity Theft Resource Page, which you can find by typing Identity Theft Resource Page in the search box on the IRS.gov home page.
9. The Federal Trade Commission is also available to assist taxpayers with identity theft issues. You can reach them at 877-ID-THEFT (877-438-4338).
10. Visit OnGuardOnline.gov for protection tips from the federal government and the technology industry.

Preventing Medical ID Theft: Are You At Risk ?

Preventing medical ID theft has become a hot topic as Americans increasingly hear about the safety of their private medical records as more medical breeches continue to be discovered. Medical ID theft happens when a person uses someone’s identity to obtain medical services or steal money by falsifying claims for medical services. Identity thieves use a person’s Social Security number, insurance information, or other forms of identification to commit the medical ID theft.

Medical ID theft can have a devastating effect on victims, causing collections issues, credit problems, and even bankruptcy. But that’s not all. The type of medical treatment obtained by the identity thief can also prevent the victim from getting medical insurance or medical services themselves because, as far as the insurance company is concerned, the victim now has a “pre-existing” condition.

According to the FTC, medical ID theft accounts for three percent of all ID theft cases, or approximately 250,000 cases per year. Unfortunately, these medical ID theft statistics are expected to grow, especially with the shift to electronic medical records.

Preventing Medical ID Theft: The Unemployed and Uninsured
Due to their difficult circumstances, some groups are at a higher risk for becoming identity thieves. The unemployed and uninsured may use another person’s identity because of a belief that it’s the only way they can receive quality medical care. Since they’re unemployed, they don’t have access to an employer’s healthcare benefits, and they can’t afford to buy medical insurance because they don’t have a job. It’s a vicious cycle, and it can make good people do bad things.

Preventing Medical ID Theft: Illegal Immigration
Illegal immigration also poses a serious threat as medical ID theft continues to rise. When an illegal immigrant steals private information such as an individual’s Social Security number, he or she can obtain identification and numerous services reserved for legal residents. If precautions aren’t taken to prevent medical ID theft, an illegal immigrant can get a passport, driver’s license, bank account, credit card, loan, mortgage, insurance, medical treatment, and many other services.

Preventing Medical ID Theft in Five Steps
Begin preventing medical ID theft by following these five easy steps:
1. Have your Social Security number removed from your insurance records. If your Social Security number is currently on your insurance card, don’t carry your card with you. Keep it in a safe place and only carry a photocopy with all but the last four digits of your Social Security number blacked out.
2. Obtain copies of your credit reports, insurance claims, and medical records. Lock them in a safe or safety deposit box, or place them on a CD or flash drive.
3. Next, regularly review your credit reports, insurance claims, and medical records for suspicious entries, such as a medical treatment that was never performed on you.
4. Immediately address disputes on your explanation of benefits, bills for medical services you never received, or any other charges that could be sent to collections and damage your credit. These need to be investigated and removed from your records.
5. Don’t leave a paper trail. Destroying sensitive information you no longer need is another critical step in preventing medical ID theft, so shred claims that are more than seven years old. Also, ask if your provider’s office performs background checks employees to prevent medical ID theft rings and stolen medical information.

Preventing medical ID theft takes vigilance. Medical ID thieves are doing everything to stay one step ahead of you and the authorities, so use medical ID theft prevention strategies to protect your private information.

Want to learn more about preventing medical ID theft? Contact The Identity Advocate at 310.831.4400 or via email at info@theidentityadvocate.com.
Visit us online at www.theidentityadvocate.com.

Department of Justice Press Release

For Immediate Release
March 29, 2011 U.S. Department of Justice
Office of Public Affairs
(202) 514-2007/TDD (202) 514-1888

Los Angeles Woman Pleads Guilty to Participating in a Medicare Fraud Scheme Using Fraudulent Medical Clinics and Stolen Doctor Identities to Defraud Medicare of More Than $6.2 Million

WASHINGTON—A Los Angeles woman has pleaded guilty to using fraudulent medical clinics and the stolen identities of physicians to defraud Medicare of more than $6.2 million, the Departments of Justice and Health and Human Services (HHS) announced.

Carolyn Ann Vasquez, 46, pleaded guilty yesterday before U.S. District Judge Terry J. Hatter Jr. in the Central District of California. Vasquez admitted that from 2007 to 2008, she conspired with others to use a series of fraudulent Los Angeles-area medical clinics to defraud Medicare. Vasquez admitted that her co-conspirators used the identities and Medicare provider numbers of physicians who both worked and did not work at the clinics to submit false claims to Medicare for reimbursement for services the physicians did not perform and for power wheelchairs, medical equipment and diagnostic tests that the physicians did not order or prescribe. According to court documents, physician assistants recruited to work at the clinics by Vasquez and working at her direction performed these services and prescribed and ordered the wheelchairs, medical equipment, and diagnostic tests.

According to court documents, Vasquez told the physicians she recruited that they would be the medical directors of the clinics, but that if they did not want to work full time, the clinics would hire physician assistants. Vasquez assisted the physicians in obtaining Medicare provider numbers and entering into management agreements that gave Vasquez’s co-conspirators authority to operate and manage the clinics in exchange for 75 percent of the reimbursement payments the physicians received from Medicare.

According to court documents, Vasquez’s involvement in the recruitment of the physicians gave her access to their personal and Medicare information, which Vasquez stole to further the fraud scheme at the medical clinics. Vasquez admitted that in approximately 2007, a physician contacted her about a job at one of the fraudulent medical clinics, but the physician decided not to accept the job. Nevertheless, Vasquez’s co-conspirators printed prescription pads with the physician’s name and Medicare provider number on them. Vasquez admitted that she instructed a physician assistant working at one of the fraudulent medical clinics to use the prescription pads to write fraudulent prescriptions and medical documentation for diagnostic tests, power wheelchairs and other medical equipment in the physician’s name even through Vasquez knew that the physician did not work at the clinic. Vasquez admitted that as a result of her conduct, Medicare was defrauded of approximately $6,268,899.

At sentencing, scheduled for July 11, 2011, Vasquez faces a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine.

According to information contained in court documents in this case, Vasquez pleaded guilty in 1993 to participating in a health care fraud scheme. According to court documents, Vasquez and others used telemarketing or “boiler room” schemes to defraud government-funded health care benefit programs of approximately $41 million.

The guilty plea was announced by Assistant Attorney General Lanny A. Breuer of the Criminal Division; U.S. Attorney André Birotte Jr. for the Central District of California; Tony Sidley, Assistant Chief of the California Department of Justice, Bureau of Medi-Cal Fraud and Elder Abuse; Glenn R. Ferry, Special Agent-in-Charge for the Los Angeles Region of the HHS Office of Inspector General (HHS-OIG); and Steven Martinez, Assistant Director in Charge of the FBI’s Los Angeles Field Office.

The case is being prosecuted by Trial Attorney Jonathan T. Baum of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section. Former Special Trial Attorney Joseph Hudzik participated in the prosecution. The case is being investigated by the FBI.

The case was brought as part of the Medicare Fraud Strike Force, supervised by the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Central District of California. The Medicare Fraud Strike Force operations are part of the Health Care Fraud Prevention & Enforcement Action Team (HEAT), a joint initiative announced in May 2009 between the Department of Justice and HHS to focus their efforts to prevent and deter fraud and enforce current anti-fraud laws around the country.

Since their inception in March 2007, strike force operations in nine districts have charged 1,000 defendants who collectively have falsely billed the Medicare program for more than $2.3 billion. In addition, the HHS Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, working in conjunction with the HHS-OIG, are taking steps to increase accountability and decrease the presence of fraudulent providers.

To learn more about HEAT, go to: www.stopmedicarefraud.gov.

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