Florida Resident Sentenced on Health Care Fraud ChargesPublished: 2009-08-13 00:00:15Author: American Chronicle | July 19, 2009Geoffrey Ramseur, 52, of Rockledge, Florida (formerly of Northville,
Michigan), was sentenced yesterday to 20 months in prison and ordered
to pay restitution in the amount of $121,000.00 after having been
convicted on health care fraud charges, announced United States
Attorney Terrence Berg.
Mr. Berg was joined in the announcement
by Special Agent Andrew G. Arena, Federal Bureau of Investigation,
Detroit Field Division.
On November 7, 2008, Ramseur pleaded
guilty to conspiracy to commit mail fraud against Blue Cross/Blue
Shield of Michigan ("BC/BS-MI") before Judge Denise Page Hood.
According
to court records, during 2002-2004, Ramseur was a chiropractor who
conducted business in Detroit, Farmington Hills, and Southfield. He was
a registered care provider with BC/BS-MI and was authorized to treat
patients and to seek payment from BC/BSMI for the services provided.
Ramseur would submit billings to BC/BS-MI electronically for services
alleged performed upon patients, and it would send payments to Ramseur
via checks mailed through the United States Postal Service.
It
was the object of the Ramseur´s conspiracy to send false bills to
BC/BS-MI for fictitious chiropractic services that were never provided
to the alleged "patients." Ramseur would bill BC/BS-MI for chiropractic
services regarding patients whom he had not treated. In billing
BC/BS-MI for the services, Ramseur falsely represented to BC/BS-MI that
the chiropractic services had, in truth and in fact, been provided to
the patients involved, and the Ramseur was entitled to payment for the
services.
Ramseur would pay employees of Bing Steel (Detroit)
and Veltri Metal Products Inc. (Royal Oak) to obtain their Social
Security Numbers ("SSN") and a copy of their BC/BS-MI cards so that
Ramseur could then fraudulently bill BC/BS-MI for alleged treatment of
the employees. Ramseur would pay each employee approximately $100.00 to
$200.00 in cash for the use of their SSN and BC/BS-MI membership
identification.
Bing Steel provided health care coverage for its union workers through
BC/BS-MI. For the time period of October 2, 2002, through April 24,
2004, Ramseur billed BC/BS-MI approximately $855,030.00, which
allegedly represented treatments he provided to 175 Bing Steel
employees, their spouses or dependents (in the form of 17,115 patient
services). BC/BS-MI paid Ramseur $419,010.86 for these alleged services.
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