Federal Jury Finds HealthSplash Founder Guilty

So, a federal jury in South Florida has convicted Brett Blackman, he’s the founder and owner of the healthcare software company HealthSplash. They found him guilty for his part in what prosecutors describe as a Medicare fraud conspiracy, and they say it led to more than $1 billion in false claims. Federal officials are calling this case one of the biggest healthcare fraud operations in Florida, kind of since ever. 

And per the U.S. Department of Justice, Blackman and his associates ran an online platform that churned out fake doctors’ orders and prescriptions, for unnecessary medical equipment. Prosecutors said the plan aimed at elderly Americans along with other federal healthcare beneficiaries, using misleading advertisements, spam mailers and also offshore call centers that kind of kept ringing.

How the Fraud Scheme Worked

Authorities said the operation sort of centered on an internet based platform tied to DMERx, which is a company HealthSplash picked up in 2017. On that platform, investigators claim it helped generate fraudulent prescriptions for medical devices like orthotic braces, wheelchairs, pain creams, and other durable medical equipment that a lot of patients honestly did not need.

They explained that telemarketers reached out to hundreds of thousands of Medicare beneficiaries, and they persuaded people to take medical products. After someone said yes, doctors connected to the scheme allegedly signed prescription orders, but without doing proper clinical checks, or sometimes not even speaking with the patient at all. 

Prosecutors also said the business used pretend contracts, and it played with records to slip past Medicare audits and keep billing government healthcare programs. Officials estimated the conspiracy led to more than $1 billion in false claims sent to Medicare, and other federal healthcare benefit programs.

Strong Reaction From Federal Authorities

Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche described the fraud operation as “cold” , and also “calculated,” saying the defendants exploited elderly Americans for gain. Federal officials said the whole scheme took taxpayer money, meanwhile it weakened the public confidence in government healthcare programs, not just once but in general.

More than a few agencies joined the investigation, including the FBI, the Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General, the Department of Veterans Affairs Office of Inspector General, and the Defense Criminal Investigative Service, all together.

Growing Crackdown on Healthcare Fraud

The conviction shows up right as the Justice Department keeps ramping up its work against healthcare fraud throughout the United States. Officials, not too long ago, rolled out wider enforcement moves aimed at questionable healthcare groups and unlawful invoicing arrangements.

Blackman was found guilty on several counts, including conspiracy to commit healthcare fraud, wire fraud, and kickback related offenses. He’s now looking at the chance of a very long time in custody, because a few of the charges come with penalties reaching as much as 20 years behind bars.