North Carolina Telemarketing Company and Owner Agreed to Pay $347,000 for Allegedly Violating the Civil Monetary Penalties Law and Be Excluded for 10 Years for Unsolicited Calls to Beneficiaries and Receipt of Remuneration in Exchange for Referrals

A telemarketing company and its owner agreed to pay $347,000 for allegedly violating the Civil Monetary Penalties Law and provisions of the Civil Monetary Penalties Law applicable to physician self-referrals and kickbacks. The telemarketing company and its owner also agreed to be excluded from participating in Federal health care programs for a period of ten years under 42 U.S.C. § 1320a-7(b)(7). OIG alleged that the telemarketing company, in connection with their contract with a durable medical equipment (DME) company, made unsolicited telephone calls to Medicare beneficiaries to obtain orders for the furnishing of DME that Medicare would pay for. OIG alleged that the DME company in turn used the information to submit claims to Medicare for DME allegedly provided to beneficiaries. OIG contends that the telemarketing company knew or should have known that they were causing the submission of false or fraudulent claims because they obtained the orders for the DME through telephone solicitations prohibited by the Social Security Act's DME Telemarketing Provisions. OIG also contends that the telemarketing company solicited or received remuneration in the form of monetary payments in return for referring individuals for the provision of DME that would be paid for by Medicare.

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