Four Plead Guilty in Health Care Fraud Conspiracy
Alleged Fraudulent Billings Exceed $4 Million
BROOKLYN, NY - August 27, 2015 —Earlier today, Jeffrey Suh, Kang Young Chung, Sophia Lin, and Emily Shim pleaded guilty to conspiring to commit health care fraud in connection with a $4 million health care fraud scheme.
Today’s guilty pleas were announced by Kelly T. Currie, Acting United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York, Scott J. Lampert, Special Agent-in-Charge, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of the Inspector General, Office of Investigations’ New York Region (HHS-OIG), and Diego Rodriguez, Assistant Director-in- Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation, New York Field Office (FBI).
The defendants were charged as part of a nationwide Medicare Fraud takedown in June 2015.
According to court filings and facts presented during the plea proceeding, from approximately December 2010 through June 2013, the four defendants at Plaza Medi Group, Inc. and New Plaza Group, Inc., located in Flushing, NY, submitted more than $4 million in false claims to Medicare for physical therapy, occupational therapy and chiropractic services that were not medically necessary, were often not provided, and otherwise did not qualify for reimbursement.
“Clinic owner Jeffrey Suh and his employees defrauded Medicare for personal financial gain, and they now will be held to account for their crimes,” stated Acting United States Attorney Currie. “Health care fraud prevention is a priority of the Department of Justice and this office. We are committed to preserving the resources of the Medicare program for truly needy recipients.”
The fraud scheme that Mr. Suh and his employees engaged in was motivated by nothing more than greed,” said HHS-OIG Special Agent-in-Charge Lampert. “HHS-OIG and its law enforcement partners will continue to aggressively pursue to the fullest extent of the law those who seek to unlawfully enrich themselves by victimizing participants of the Medicare program.”
“Public health insurance programs, such as Medicare, incur staggering financial losses when their programs are exploited. Today, the defendants in this scheme have admitted to their illegal behavior and will now be held accountable for the error of their ways as they face the due process of law,” stated FBI Assistant Director-in-Charge Rodriguez.
Today’s guilty pleas took place before United States Magistrate Judge Steven M. Gold. When sentenced, the defendants face up to 10 years in prison, as well as restitution to reimburse Medicare for the false claims paid, fines and forfeiture of $2,808,190 for Suh, $2,183,012 for Chung, $272,641 for Lin, and $115,136 for Shim.
The government’s case is being prosecuted by the Office’s Business and Security Fraud Unit. Assistant United States Attorneys Sylvia Shweder and Whitman Knapp are in charge of the prosecution, with assistance provided by Assistant United States Attorney Karin Orenstein of the Office’s Civil Division, which is responsible for the forfeiture of assets.
The Defendants:
JEFFREY SUH
Age: 55
Bay Side, New York
KANG YOUNG CHUNG
Age: 42
Woodside, New York
SOPHIA LIN
Age: 34
Rocky Point, New York
EMILY SHIM
Age: 40
Flushing, New York
E.D.N.Y. Docket No. 15-CR-300 (CBA)
U.S. Attorney’s Office
Eastern District of New York
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