The OIG (Office of Inspector General ) is responsible for enforcement of the DHHS laws including Medicare Fraud. Their mission statement is to " Protect the Integrity of the DHHS ( Department of Health and Human Services ) programs.
In the beginning we were reaching out to everyone we could, trying to get representation. In an odd phone call my brother was speaking to an agent with the DEA ( Drug Enforcement Agencey ) regarding the missing medication and the false records. During the conversation, it was suggested that my brother contact the OIG. The DEA agent had a connection at the OIG and passed the information on to my brother.
During this time I was reaching out to the NC State Medical Examiners Office in regards to having an autopsy done. The Medical Examiners guidelines states that an autopsy is to be preformed if a patient dies in a medical facility, from something other than they are being treated for. Mom's situation fit into that category, and there were no tests done at Pardee Hospital. The cause of death was listed as acute coronary arrhythmia , with no contributing cause. The death certificate was signed by a Dr. Larry Joe Russell. Dr. Russell had never actually seen Mom but he was listed as her doctor. A Dr. Boleman was the ER doctor who saw Mom the morning she passed.
My brother had made contact with the OIG office and he requested we send him all our information and any evidence we had collected. We spent a great deal of time assembling a packet for him to review. My brother put the packet in the mail and notified the agent, David Lange that it was on the way. Agent Lange said he would review the packet and would be in touch.
It seemed that agent Lange was really interested in Dr. Russell and all the stuff he had his hands in. When we started our search Dr. Russell was involved in at least six separate offices, a lab , an oxygen supplier , a sleep clinic and Hendersonville Health and Rehabilitation. He was also supervising a Dr. who was in trouble for over prescribing, and another physicians assistant who was reprimanded by the NC Medical Board for operating an office without a license . I guess there is something to be said about the friends you keep.
Agent Lange confirmed that he had received the information, and would begin his review. Again we experienced a sense of relief. The authorities were finally willing to do their job. After some time my brother contacted Agent Lange to pass on some more current information. Much to our surprise the agent said that his office was understaffed and he had spoken to the FBI agent that we had contacted. He stated that he was going to leave this in the hands of the FBI. We later discovered that he had never even contacted the FBI, and had made no effort to do his job.
Every time we start to believe there may be some hope that the Federal and State authorities are going to actually do their job, another disappointment. Still there is no way to get around the influence of the wealthy owners of the nursing homes and pharmacies.
My brother and I have made a promise to never give up. As I said before, there is information that can prove that Mom's life was lost to a lack of care. It is clearly indicated in documentation that is easily accessible to anyone in law enforcement. Anyone with a family member in the supposed care of a SanStone operated facility, they will lie cheat and steal whatever they can. Maybe through the lack of care they are getting paid for or simply charging for medication that is unnecessarily prescribed, or not even administered. All of this can be verified by simple review of records and a little investigating.
More to come, next post: the NC Board of Nursing , and the NC Medical Board
Sunday, March 13, 2016
Saturday, March 5, 2016
The Quest continues, Chapter two - The FBI
After being told by the NCDHSR that there was no where else we could go, we kept trying anyway. My brother had read an article about the H.E.A.T. task force , a combination of FBI and agents from the Inspector General (OIG). I attempted to contact the FBI from one angle, and my brother from another. My brother was successful at setting up a meeting at the Asheville NC office of the FBI.
The agent we met with was not even aware of the H.E.A.T. taskforce, but was willing to hear our story.
An agent met us in the lobby of the Federal Building in Asheville and escorted us to the waiting area of the FBI office. After several minutes, another agent led us into a small windowless office with his desk and two chairs. There were two cameras in the corners opposite where we sat, and two doors, one to the lobby, and one to another area in the back.
The conversation began with the agent stating that very few people ever get past the lobby, and that our accusations were very serious. My brother had spoken to him on the phone and given him the short story. We proceeded to present the evidence we had collected, medical records, sworn witness statements and other documents we had acquired. At the time of our initial meeting, I had not yet received the copy of the NCDHSR report of their investigation that had been requested through the FOIA ( freedom of information act ). These records were held up by the CMS for over one year, they would have been seriously incriminating at the time.
There were letters from Alfreda Walker of the CMS ( centers for medicare and Medicaid services ) in response to my contact with Congressman Heath Shuler. There was a signed sworn account of Mom's fall from her roommate. My brothers wife presented a spreadsheet of inconsistencies in the medical records and other information we had collected. Letters from the NC Medical Board and the NC Board of Nursing.
The combination of documents presented indicated plenty of indications that there were laws being broken. There was evidence of Medicare fraud, stolen drugs, fraudulent medical records, perjury, kickbacks, racketeering and manslaughter. The meeting lasted for two hours and was very intense.
The agent was extremely certain that there was more than enough to begin an investigation. He indicated that we should avoid contacting Dr. Russell, Hendersonville Health and Rehabilitation, and the NCDHSR or Gail Maloney!
When we left the FBI office, it seemed like we could finally rest and let the authorities do their job. I remember my brother and I hugging outside the Federal Building in tears.
The agent kept in touch for a year or so, and we met one other time with the initial agent and another agent, Andy Romanello. Agent Romanello treated us in an adversarial fashion, he was also unaware of a Federal law that we alleged was being violated. Although we presented him with documentation, he refused to look at the file. The meeting lasted over an hour and agent Romanello never even looked at the evidence we presented.
The initial agent has been transferred to another division of the DOJ and we have never heard from agent Romanello. That is where things were left with the FBI. It is entirely possible that they are still investigating our allegations. Believe me there is plenty of information to indicate that there are still laws being broken. The problem is that the Federal authorities don't seem to have the time or the staff to thoroughly investigate. If you consider the amount of money taken in by the nursing home industry, it would be hard to get around their influence. There is certainly no chance that a private citizen has a chance.
Mom died in November of 2011, and we have been after truth and justice since then. After all we have been through we have not given up. There is still contact with a Congressman, CMS and the OIG.
More to come, next chapter will be the OIG , (Office of the Inspector General )
The agent we met with was not even aware of the H.E.A.T. taskforce, but was willing to hear our story.
An agent met us in the lobby of the Federal Building in Asheville and escorted us to the waiting area of the FBI office. After several minutes, another agent led us into a small windowless office with his desk and two chairs. There were two cameras in the corners opposite where we sat, and two doors, one to the lobby, and one to another area in the back.
The conversation began with the agent stating that very few people ever get past the lobby, and that our accusations were very serious. My brother had spoken to him on the phone and given him the short story. We proceeded to present the evidence we had collected, medical records, sworn witness statements and other documents we had acquired. At the time of our initial meeting, I had not yet received the copy of the NCDHSR report of their investigation that had been requested through the FOIA ( freedom of information act ). These records were held up by the CMS for over one year, they would have been seriously incriminating at the time.
There were letters from Alfreda Walker of the CMS ( centers for medicare and Medicaid services ) in response to my contact with Congressman Heath Shuler. There was a signed sworn account of Mom's fall from her roommate. My brothers wife presented a spreadsheet of inconsistencies in the medical records and other information we had collected. Letters from the NC Medical Board and the NC Board of Nursing.
The combination of documents presented indicated plenty of indications that there were laws being broken. There was evidence of Medicare fraud, stolen drugs, fraudulent medical records, perjury, kickbacks, racketeering and manslaughter. The meeting lasted for two hours and was very intense.
The agent was extremely certain that there was more than enough to begin an investigation. He indicated that we should avoid contacting Dr. Russell, Hendersonville Health and Rehabilitation, and the NCDHSR or Gail Maloney!
When we left the FBI office, it seemed like we could finally rest and let the authorities do their job. I remember my brother and I hugging outside the Federal Building in tears.
The agent kept in touch for a year or so, and we met one other time with the initial agent and another agent, Andy Romanello. Agent Romanello treated us in an adversarial fashion, he was also unaware of a Federal law that we alleged was being violated. Although we presented him with documentation, he refused to look at the file. The meeting lasted over an hour and agent Romanello never even looked at the evidence we presented.
The initial agent has been transferred to another division of the DOJ and we have never heard from agent Romanello. That is where things were left with the FBI. It is entirely possible that they are still investigating our allegations. Believe me there is plenty of information to indicate that there are still laws being broken. The problem is that the Federal authorities don't seem to have the time or the staff to thoroughly investigate. If you consider the amount of money taken in by the nursing home industry, it would be hard to get around their influence. There is certainly no chance that a private citizen has a chance.
Mom died in November of 2011, and we have been after truth and justice since then. After all we have been through we have not given up. There is still contact with a Congressman, CMS and the OIG.
More to come, next chapter will be the OIG , (Office of the Inspector General )
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