The owner of nine medical brace companies has pleaded guilty in federal court for his role in a Medicare scam that resulted in more than $1.2 billion in losses, according to Law360.
Albert Davydov pleaded guilty Nov. 13 by videoconference before U.S. District Judge Kevin McNulty to an indictment charging him with conspiring to violate the Anti-Kickback Statute, according to the Department of Justice. As part of his plea agreement, Mr. Davydov admitted that $16 million in kickbacks were paid as part of the scheme.
Mr. Davydov was one of 24 defendants charged in April 2019 for his alleged participation in the overarching $1.2 billion healthcare fraud scheme. According to federal prosecutors, the complex scam began with telemarketers calling Medicare beneficiaries and getting them to accept free or low-cost durable medical equipment braces, regardless of medical necessity. The call centers would allegedly transfer Medicare beneficiaries to telemedicine companies for consultations with physicians, who allegedly prescribed the orthopedic braces to patients whom they had never met. The call centers would sell the prescriptions to DME companies, which shipped the braces to beneficiaries, billed Medicare and paid kickbacks to physicians, according to prosecutors.
Mr. Davydov received and completed the physicians’ orders and billed Medicare and private insurers for the braces. He concealed his ownership of the medical equipment companies by falsely reporting to Medicare that various straw owners owned the companies, according to the Justice Department.
As part of his plea deal, Mr. Davydov agreed to pay back $16.58 million, according to court documents. His sentencing is scheduled for March 25. He faces a maximum of five years in prison, according to the Justice Department.
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