An Arkansas man was sentenced Thursday to 15 years in prison followed by three years of supervised release and ordered to pay just over $29.8 million in restitution for conspiracy to commit healthcare fraud and money laundering.
Billy Joe Taylor pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit healthcare fraud and money laundering on October 27, 2022, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office, Western District of Arkansas.
Taylor and his co-conspirators submitted more than $134 million in false and fraudulent claims to Medicare in connection with diagnostic laboratory testing, including urine drug testing and tests for respiratory illnesses during the COVID-19 pandemic, according to court documents.
The tests were medically unnecessary, not ordered by medical providers, and not provided as represented, the documents added.
Taylor and his co-conspirators obtained medical information and private personal information for Medicare beneficiaries, and then misused that confidential information to submit claims to Medicare for diagnostic tests, the U.S. Attorney’s Office said. According to court documents, Taylor and his co-conspirators altogether received more than $38 million from Medicare as a result of the fraudulent claims.
