Romy Macasaet, Jr., owner of Home Bound Healthcare Inc., which was one of the largest home health care and hospice companies in Illinois, admitted to paying kickbacks to medical directors to obtain referrals of Medicare beneficiaries.  According to the Department of Justice, between December 2006 and September 2014, Macasaet paid $789,327 in bribe payments to approximately 20 medical directors.  Macasaet pleaded guilty on September 14, 2016 to one count of violating the Anti-Kickback Statute, which is punishable by up to five years in prison.  His sentencing is scheduled for February 15, 2017.

Macasaet and Home Bound also agreed to pay the United States $6.8 million to resolve civil False Claims Act and Anti-Kickback Statute allegations.  The civil case alleged that Home Bound and its subsidiaries obtained referrals through illegal kickbacks that served as financial inducements for false certifications of home health eligibility and Home Bound improperly submitted those false claims to Medicare for reimbursement.