Former Calif. hospital execs to pay $10M to settle lawsuit over ‘recruiting’ homeless patients
By APMonday, January 25, 2010
Ex Calif hospital execs to pay $10M to settle suit
LOS ANGELES — The former owners of a Los Angeles hospital have agreed to pay $10 million to settle a lawsuit over paying recruiters to bring in homeless people for unnecessary medical treatment.
The U.S. attorney’s office said Monday that federal and state prosecutors settled their case against Robert Bourseau and Dr. Rudra Sabaratnam, former owners of the City of Angels Medical Center.
Prosecutors allege the two defrauded Medicare and Medi-Cal out of millions of dollars.
Both men have pleaded guilty to criminal charges for paying kickbacks to recruiters and agreed to pay $4.1 million in restitution. Dante Nicholson, the hospital’s former senior vice president, also pleaded guilty and faces up to 10 years in prison.
Bourseau will be sentenced on Feb. 22, and Sabaratnam on April 5.
