Two Johnson County men charged in national health care fraud investigation

WASHINGTON — Two Johnson County, Kansas men are charged in a national health care fraud investigation.

Brett Blackman, 39, and Gregory Schreck, 49, were charged with conspiracy to commit health care fraud and wire fraud conspiracy to pay and receive kickback’s and conspiracy to defraud the United States and make false statements.

This operation allegedly resulted in $2 billion in false and fraudulent claims to Medicare and other government insurance programs.

The U.S. attorney in Miami announced criminal charges against 14 people in this case.

As alleged in the indictment, Blackman and Schreck owned, controlled, or operated DMERx, which was an internet-based platform that the suspects programmed to generate false and fraudulent doctors’ orders in exchange for illegal kickbacks and bribes.

Gary Cox, 77, of Arizona, was the CEO of the company that operated DMERx prior to a corporate acquisition, and Blackman was the CEO and Schreck a vice president of the company that operated it after the acquisition.

The bulk of the fraud appears to have been conducted through telemedicine schemes. According to the DOJ, individuals in the U.S. and abroad engaged in an operation that targeted elderly and disabled people through advertisements and the mail, connecting them with offshore staff who upsold unnecessary equipment and prescriptions.

These included “orthotic braces, prescription skin creams, and other items that were medically unnecessary and ineligible for Medicare reimbursement.”

A software program was used by the telemarketers for kickbacks and bribes to telemedicine companies in exchange for doctors’ orders for Medicare beneficiaries, according to the indictment that came from the Southern District of Florida