A lawsuit against Saad Enterprises, Inc., a health care company with locations in Mobile and Spanish Fort, will be settled for $3 million.
Saad is accused of violating the False Claims Act by filing false claims for hospice care for 21 patients in Alabama who were not terminally ill.
"Respectful and appropriate end-of-life care is the crux of the hospice benefit under Medicare," said principal deputy assistant Attorney General Brett A. Shumate of the Justice Department's Civil Division. "The Department will hold accountable those who exploit this benefit for their own gain."
The civil lawsuit, filed by Melissa Wolff and Whitney Sims, former Saad employees-turned whistleblowers, alleges false claims were filed between 2013 and 2020. Saad offers at-home and inpatient hospice care. Its inpatient facility is located in Mobile.
"Caring for terminally ill people is a responsibility the United States and the Medicare program take seriously," said acting U.S. Attorney Keith A. Jones for the Southern District of Alabama. "Patients and taxpayers deserve not to be cheated, and the Department of Justice will continue to protect them."
Wolff and Sims will receive $540,000 as part of the settlement.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Nina Herring for the Southern District of Alabama and trial attorney Rory Skaggs of the Civil Division handled the matter.
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