What Happened
Bradley J. Harris, 39, former head of Novus and Optimum Health Services, a hospice agency in the Northern District of Texas, was sentenced in January 2022 to 13 years and 3 months in federal prison and ordered to pay $27,594,875.52 in restitution after pleading guilty to conspiracy to commit healthcare fraud and healthcare fraud. He admitted that from 2012 to 2016 he billed Medicare and Medicaid for services not provided and used blank, pre-signed controlled substance prescriptions left by physicians to issue Schedule II drugs to hospice patients without physician input. Three codefendant doctors received sentences ranging from over five to 13 years.
“he used blank, pre-signed controlled substance prescriptions to doll out potent drugs without physician input”
Related Guidance
- 15 Red Flags of Drug Diversion — Behavioral and transactional indicators of diversion.
- Investigation Playbook — How to investigate suspected diversion inside an organization.