18 U.S. Code § 1347 - Healthcare Fraud
18 U.S. Code § 1347 - Health Care Fraud is a federal statute that prohibits various forms of healthcare fraud. It outlines the specific actions that constitute healthcare fraud and the potential penalties for those found guilty.
If you or someone you know is being charged with healthcare fraud, a successful prosecution will result in excessive fines and up to 10 years in prison. Our goal at Hedding Law Firm is to provide you with a strong legal defense and strive to achieve the best possible outcome for your case.
With a combined 75 years of experience, our federal criminal defense lawyers at the Hedding Law Firm are confident in our ability to assist you in your healthcare fraud case.
Healthcare fraud is a white-collar crime committed by consumers or providers. It occurs when someone intentionally falsifies information to receive healthcare benefits or money from healthcare insurance providers.
A consumer can be charged with federal healthcare fraud by filing false claims for services and medications, forging bills and/or receipts, altering bills and/or receipts, or using someone else's insurance.
A provider can be charged with healthcare fraud by billing for services never performed, misrepresenting surgeries performed, misrepresenting the necessity of surgeries, tests, and procedures, billing patients more than the co-pay amount, or billing for non-covered services as covered services.
Healthcare fraud is rampant, and authorities are on top of it. They're arresting doctors, lawyers, patients—anybody they deem is cheating the government out of money related to health care benefits.
The government spends millions of dollars every month on health care costs, and anybody they believe is trying to cheat the government will be punished.
Remember, healthcare fraud is a source of income for state and federal governments. So, if somebody is involved in a healthcare fraud scheme in Los Angeles or anywhere in the country, the authorities will be on top of it.
I know the feds have a particular healthcare fraud branch in the Long Beach area covering Los Angeles. Of course, the state has different investigative agencies related to healthcare fraud. They also have specially trained prosecutors assigned to healthcare fraud cases.
Seeking a Lesser Charge or Case Dismissal
So, the first thing that I've learned in handling many healthcare fraud cases—and I've been doing this for twenty-five years—is that there's usually more to a healthcare fraud case in Los Angeles than meets the eye. In other words, the authorities don't always have the correct information.
Sometimes, they need more information and need to realize what's going on. As a criminal defense attorney, I point that out to the prosecutors, who are lawyers like me on the other side of a healthcare fraud case. I also litigate the case, damage the prosecution's case, and either get the case dismissed or mitigated down to something lesser. It just depends on the facts and circumstances surrounding the case.
Sometimes, the authorities don't know everything about a healthcare fraud case. There's more to learn, and there's more information that can be damaging to a criminal defendant. We will want to take precautions to deal with that as soon as possible.
Just burying your head in the sand and hoping for the best is not the best strategy when you're charged with healthcare fraud in Los Angeles. Without proper legal representation, you could be facing severe penalties, including hefty fines and a lengthy prison sentence.
The strategy should be to get an attorney who has experience in this area, who knows the court where your case is pending, and who knows what it's going to take to either win the case—if that's the best strategy—or mitigate it down to something lesser, preserving your rights, your freedom, and your reputation.
Determining Best Strategy Against Healthcare Fraud Charges
However, the first thing you would like to do is meet with the attorney and decide on your strategy. The strategy is not the same in every healthcare fraud case. You don't just do the same thing. It's not a cookie-cutter approach. It's not a do-it-yourself project.
It's a situation where you get an attorney who knows what they're doing. You sit down with that attorney. You give him all the details about your healthcare fraud case and tell them what happened. Then, the attorney will be able to determine how to defend you best.
Putting a spin on the case, not giving all the details, and leaving out crucial facts, hoping they will help you, is just foolish. Trust me; those details are out there.
The police and prosecutors will figure them out by talking to witnesses and conducting investigations. If your attorney has that information from the beginning, they will be able to combat and defuse some of the arguments that the police and prosecutors will make and best defend you.
So, take control of your situation. Make the call. Let's sit down. Let's develop a strategy and handle your case correctly from the beginning so that you achieve the best possible result. If you or someone you know is facing healthcare fraud charges, contact us immediately so we can begin working on your criminal case.
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