A federal jury convicted a Lancaster doctor of conspiracy for his role in a Medicare kickback scheme involving a Los Angeles-area home health agency.
Dr. Kanagasabai Kanakeswaran, 65, was found guilty of one count of conspiracy to pay and/or receive kickbacks for Medicare referrals and four counts of receiving kickbacks for Medicare referrals. The jury rendered its verdicts following a six-day trial.
Kanakeswaran owned and operated a medical clinic located at 1601 West Avenue J , Suite 202, in Lancaster California.
According to evidence presented at trial, from 2008 to 2016, Kanakeswaran and others engaged in a conspiracy to refer Medicare patients to Star Home Health Resources (Star), a home health agency located in La Verne, in exchange for illegal kickback payments.
Kanakeswaran received kickback payments in cash, as well as through checks payable to a company Kanakeswaran owned, Digital Perfection Corporation. According to the grand jury indictment, he would be paid between $100 and $700 per patient that he referred to Star.
As a result of the conspiracy, the owners and operators of Star submitted claims to Medicare based on the Medicare beneficiaries that Kanakeswaran referred to Star, and Medicare paid approximately $4.1 million based on those claims, the evidence showed.
Kanakeswaran is scheduled to be sentenced by United States District Judge Philip S. Gutierrez on January 7. At that time, Kanakeswaran will face a statutory maximum penalty of 25 years in federal prison.
The Medical Board of California records reflect that he is currently still licensed to practice medicine, and there are no disciplinary actions pending against him. He is reported to be a graduate of the University of Colombo Faculty of Medicine, and was admitted to practice in 1979.
This case was investigated by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Office of Inspector General and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Assistant United States Attorney Alexander F. Porter of the Major Frauds Section and DOJ Trial Attorney Claire Yan of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section are prosecuting the case.