Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healey
November 5, 2019
Transportation firm owner receives 1 year in jail over $19M Medicaid fraud
The former owner of Winchendon transportation company Rite Way has been sentenced to one year in prison and fined $4.2 million after pleading guilty to charges related to millions in Medicaid fraud, according to the Massachusetts Attorney General's Office.
Michael Davini, age 59, of Rindge, N.H., pleaded guilty in Worcester Superior Court on Thursday to charges of larceny over $250 (2 counts), Medicaid false claims (2 counts), and kickbacks (1 count). His company, Rite Way LLC, pleaded guilty to Medicaid false claims (2 counts). The company was registered out of Winchendon in its corporation filings with the Massachusetts Secretary of the Commonwealth.
Davini has been sentenced to one year in the House of Corrections followed by a five-year probationary term, which includes a two and a half-year suspended sentence. During his probation, Davini is prohibited from involvement in federal or state healthcare programs.
Davini was also ordered to pay restitution totaling approximately $4.2 million.
Rite Way was a non-emergency transportation service before it ceased operation in 2015.
According to the attorney general, between April 2011 and September 2015, Davini fraudulently and repeatedly billed MassHealth for transportation services never provided, including claims for individuals who were hospitalized in inpatient settings, no longer used the company’s services, or were deceased on the claimed dates of service. Investigators found Rite Way provided non-emergency wheelchair van transportation provided to ambulatory individuals and paid cash kickbacks to MassHealth members to recruit others to use its transportation services.
The attorney general estimated the total amount of the fraud at $19 million.
WBJ Web Partners
Most Recent
Most Recent
0 Comments