Crown Medical Solutions and its owners, Michelle and Philanzo King, have agreed to pay $825,000 to resolve allegations that they violated the False Claims Act by billing Medicare for unnecessary durable medical equipment.
Crown supplied durable medical equipment such as knee braces, heel stabilizers and back braces. From November 2017 through April 2019, Crown and the Kings billed Medicare for DME that was not medically necessary or not properly prescribed by a physician, according to the Justice Department. The settlement is based on the defendants’ ability to pay.
The case originated as a whistleblower lawsuit filed by Karen Martinelli under the False Claims Act’s qui tam provisions; she will receive about $123,750 of the settlement. The claims resolved by the settlement are allegations only, and there has been no determination of liability. The matter was handled by the Justice Department’s Commercial Litigation Branch and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Georgia.
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