RALEIGH, N.C. — North Carolina Attorney General Josh Stein announced Wednesday that he reached a $500,000 settlement to resolve allegations that Dr. Kwadwo Gyarteng-Dakwa and the HEAG Pain Management Center, PA of Durham, submitted false claims to Medicaid and Medicare.
Wednesday's settlement is part of 'Operation You’ve Got Nerve,' an ongoing effort by the Attorney General’s Medicaid Investigations Division (MID) to find and take action against providers billing Medicaid fraudulently for nervous system testing.
“Health care providers cannot administer unnecessary tests to rip off the Medicaid program,” said Attorney General Josh Stein. “Operation You’ve Got Nerve has won back more than $850,000 for North Carolina taxpayers, and my office will continue our work to hold accountable those who commit Medicaid fraud and waste resources.”
According to the release, between January 2011 and October 2016, the defendants allegedly submitted false or fraudulent claims for nerve conduction studies (NCS) when the testing services were not medically reasonable or necessary. As a result, they were reimbursed for funds that they were not entitled to.
The federal and North Carolina False Claims Acts authorize the governments to recover triple the money falsely obtained, plus substantial civil penalties for each false claim submitted.
The civil claims resolved by the settlement are allegations only, and there has been no judicial determination or admission of liability, the release state. The defendants have also entered into an integrity agreement with the Office of Inspector General for the United States Department of Health and Human Services.
The investigation and prosecution of the case were conducted by the United States Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of North Carolina and the Medicaid Investigations Division of the North Carolina Attorney General’s Office.
