Joe White, former hospital CFO, pays $4.5 million over EHR fraud
The former CFO led Shelby to attest to meaningful use requirements for the 2012 reporting period, netting nearly $800,000 for the hospital.
The Shelby Regional Medical Center in Center, Texas closed in 2013 (Google image)
Joe White, former chief financial officer of the Shelby Regional Medical Center in Texas, agreed this week to pay $4.5 million in restitution after he pleaded guilty to fraudulently attesting to meaningful use of electronic health records, according to a KXXV report.
White pleaded guilty to fraud charges in November. The former CFO led Shelby to attest to meaningful use requirements for the 2012 reporting period, netting nearly $800,000 for the hospital under the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services EHR program.
[Also: Running list of notable 2015 healthcare frauds]
In reality, the hospital, whose owner Tariq Mahmood was convicted in July 2014 of conspiracy to commit healthcare fraud, was mostly using paper records. To pull off the fraud, White directed employees to input data from paper records into the EHR, faking the meaningful use process.
Shelby closed in 2013.
Six Texas hospitals operated by Mahmood were paid $16.8 million in meaningful use incentives for fiscal years 2011 and 2012, the original complaint claimed.
Twitter: @HenryPowderly
