Former hospital CFO charged $4.4M for MU fraud

Beth Walsh | | Health Exec | EMR/EHR

Charges of Meaningful Use (MU) fraud have led to a $4.4 million fine for a former CFO of a Texas hospital chain, according to KXXV News.

In November 2014, Shelby Regional Medical Center's then-CFO Joe White pleaded guilty to falsely attesting to MU during the 2012 full-year reporting period. White also pleaded guilty to aggravated identity theft for using a worker's name to falsify documents for MU funding, according to the report.

The false statements led Shelby Regional Medical Center and other hospitals owned by Tariq Mahmood to receive nearly $17 million in MU payments. Shelby Regional Medical Center has since closed and Mahmood was convicted last July of conspiracy to commit fraud, healthcare fraud and aggravated identity theft. Mahmood was recently sentenced to 11 years in prison.

White has agreed to pay the $44 million in restitution for his involvement in the fraud. He will be sentenced on May 27 and faces seven years in federal prison.

 

Beth Walsh,

Editor

Editor Beth earned a bachelor’s degree in journalism and master’s in health communication. She has worked in hospital, academic and publishing settings over the past 20 years. Beth joined TriMed in 2005, as editor of CMIO and Clinical Innovation + Technology. When not covering all things related to health IT, she spends time with her husband and three children.

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