Do you know how easy it is to infiltrate, expose, and compromise any type of health care agency? Identity theft can easily happen right under your nose, so the best defense is a good offense. Know your rights and know how you can protect your business by performing an employee criminal background check for prospective employees during the hiring process. Unfortunately, as crime statistics for identity theft continue to soar, an employee criminal background check is more important than ever before for corporations and physician’s offices of any size.

Any employee can be a potential thief, so an employee criminal background check should be conducted on every new hire, whether it is a full time in home caregiver or a temporary /transitional caregiver. As the aging baby boomers discover it is better to have in-home care, and now economy continues to recover, more agencies are hiring more employees, it’s important to know the “do’s and don’ts” of an employee criminal background check. An employee criminal background check ensures that you are protected from identity theft predators or opportunistic criminals masquerading as enthusiastic job applicants. There are many things to consider when performing an employee criminal background check, including the components, laws, and processes necessary to ensure a new employee can be trusted with sensitive information.

What’s Included in an Employee Criminal Background Check?

Every employee background check also includes a thorough employee criminal background check. Some of the information is public and some is private, but all of the information is important in assessing a job applicant. Although the type of information checked varies from state to state and county to county, an employee criminal background check can include:

• Credit, driving, criminal, education, medical, drug test, court, military, and bankruptcy records
• Social Security Number
• Vehicle registration
• Property ownership
• Past employment
• Professional and personal references

All of this information is invaluable, but one aspect that is often overlooked is the credit report. A poor credit rating makes the average applicant a higher risk for identity theft. Additionally, research shows that one in four disputes over information on an employee criminal background check is connected to identity theft issues, so take every precaution to thoroughly evaluate every prospective employee’s credit and criminal records.

Are There Employee Criminal Background Check Laws?

Yes! They vary by state, but the Federal Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) set national standards for performing an employee criminal background check. The law only applies to an employee criminal background check conducted by a consumer reporting agency, which is a firm that administers the employee criminal background check on your behalf. If you decide to perform an employee criminal background check in-house, make sure you follow your state’s background check laws carefully. Remember: Employees have rights, too!

According to the FCRA, some information cannot be reported in an employee criminal background check:

• Accounts in collection longer than seven years
• Paid tax liens beyond seven years
• Bankruptcies after ten years
• Arrest records, civil suits, and civil judgments after seven years

Employee Criminal Background Check: An Overview

Follow this employee criminal background check “cheat sheet” to safeguard your company from identity thieves and potential criminals in the workplace:

• Who: Every employee!
• What: A comprehensive employee criminal background check that abides by all applicable laws
• When: Before an employee is hired
• Why: To protect your business and your employees!
• How: Either in-house or by a consumer reporting agency

If you have questions or need assistance performing an employee criminal background check, don’t hesitate to the contact the experts! It can save your business from disaster. Contact Linda Vincent at 310-831-4400 or connect with her at linda@theidentityadvocate.com

Department of Justice Press Release

For Immediate Release
January 20, 2011 U.S. Department of Justice
Office of Public Affairs
(202) 514-2007/TDD (202) 514-1888

Two Owners of Houston Health Care Company Plead Guilty to Alleged $5.2 Million Medicare Fraud Scheme

WASHINGTON—Two owners of a Houston health care company pled guilty today in connection with an alleged $5.2 million Medicare fraud scheme, announced the Departments of Justice and Health and Human Services (HHS).

Clifford Ubani, 52, and Princewill Njoku, 51, each pled guilty before U.S. District Court Judge Nancy Atlas in Houston to one count of conspiracy to commit health care fraud, one count of conspiracy to pay kickbacks and 16 counts of payment of kickbacks to Medicare beneficiary recruiters.

According to court documents, Ubani and Njoku were owners and operators of Family Healthcare Group (Family Group), a home health care company. Family Group purported to provide skilled nursing to Medicare beneficiaries. According to court documents, Ubani and Njoku hired co-conspirators to recruit Medicare beneficiaries for the purpose of filing claims with Medicare for skilled nursing that was medically unnecessary and/or not provided. Ubani and Njoku admitted that they paid kickbacks to the recruiters for their referrals.

Ubani and Njoku previously pled guilty to conspiracy to commit health care fraud related to their ownership of another Houston health care company, Family Healthcare Services (Family Services). Family Services submitted approximately $1.1 million in fraudulent claims to Medicare for the costs of durable medical equipment.

At sentencing, scheduled for July 19, 2011, Ubani and Njoku each face a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison for each health care fraud conspiracy count, five years in prison for each kickback conspiracy count and five years in prison for each kickback count.

Today’s guilty pleas were announced by Assistant Attorney General of the Criminal Division Lanny A. Breuer; U.S. Attorney José Angel Moreno of the Southern District of Texas; Special Agent-in-Charge Richard C. Powers of the FBI’s Houston Field Office; Special Agent-in-Charge Mike Fields of the Dallas Regional Office of HHS Office of Inspector General (HHS-OIG), Office of Investigations; and Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott.

This case is being prosecuted by Trial Attorneys Charles D. Reed and Laura Cordova, and Assistant Chief Sam S. Sheldon of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section. The case was brought as part of the Medicare Fraud Strike Force, supervised by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Texas and the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section.

Since their inception in March 2007, Medicare Fraud Strike Force operations in seven districts have obtained indictments of more than 850 individuals who collectively have falsely billed the Medicare program for more than $2.1 billion. In addition, HHS’s 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 the Health Care Fraud Prevention and Enforcement Action Team (HEAT), go to: www.stopmedicarefraud.gov

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