Hospital contractor admits bribing county worker in Medicaid scam

Posted on 20. Jul, 2010 by Collections Recon in Collection News, Press Releases

BUFFALO – Attorney General Andrew Cuomo announced the criminal conviction and civil settlement involving a Western New York hospital contractor who bribed a county worker as part of an extensive Medicaid scam. With this conviction, Cuomo’s Medicaid Fraud Control Unit (MFCU) has now topped $800 million in court-ordered recoveries.

Deborah Kantor, 55 of Tonawanda, is the owner and operator of H.I.S. Holdings, Inc. (H.I.S.), a debt collection agency that serviced Niagara Falls Memorial Medical Center and other Western New York hospitals. Kantor and H.I.S. bribed Michael Albrecht, a Niagara County Department of Social Services employee, in exchange for Medicaid client identification numbers and his approval of Medicaid applications that had incomplete or false information.

From 2000 to 2007, Kantor and H.I.S. paid Albrecht more than $17,749 in checks and cash as part of the scheme, including $50 for each active Medicaid client identification number that he provided. By obtaining Medicaid client identification numbers and the approval of sub-standard Medicaid applications, Kantor enabled her hospital clients to unknowingly obtain reimbursement from Medicaid for claims that should not have been paid. She benefitted from the scheme by getting a percentage of the fraudulent reimbursements.

The court action also settles a lawsuit filed by the Attorney General’s Office seeking recovery of approximately $725,000 from Kantor, which represents the amount of fraudulent Medicaid benefits the State paid as a result of the scheme.

Kantor pleaded guilty today to one count of Bribery in the Third Degree and three counts of Rewarding Official Misconduct in the Second Degree.

Kantor will be sentenced on all charges related to the scheme on August 12. Albrecht previously pleaded guilty to Attempted Bribe Receiving in the Third Degree, a class E felony, and will be sentenced in September.

Tags: Attorney General Andrew Cuomo, debt collection, H.I.S. Holdings, hospital, Medicaid scam