On February 6, 2020, Jai Vijay of Sacramento, pleaded guilty to conspiring with
the owners of home health care agencies and a hospice agency to pay and receive
illegal kickbacks in exchange for Medicare beneficiary referrals.
According
to court documents, Jai Vijay’s wife, Anita Vijay, worked as the social
services director at a skilled nursing and assisted living facility in
Sacramento. In her role, Anita Vijay assisted Medicare beneficiaries in
selecting home health care and hospice agencies following their discharge from
the facility.
Anita Vijay used her position to steer Medicare beneficiaries to
home health agencies in Folsom and El Dorado Hills and a hospice agency in
Folsom. In exchange for the beneficiary referrals, the agencies’ owners paid
Jai Vijay and Anita Vijay illegal cash kickbacks.
In
his plea agreement, Jai Vijay admitted that the agencies’ owners paid him and
his wife kickbacks in exchange for the referral of approximately 60
beneficiaries. Medicare paid the agencies approximately $400,000 for services
they purportedly provided to the beneficiaries. Because the agencies obtained
the beneficiary referrals by paying kickbacks, they should not have received
any reimbursement from Medicare.
U.S.
District Judge Troy Nunley is scheduled to sentence Jai Vijay on April 30. He
faces a maximum statutory penalty of five years in prison and a fine of
$250,000 or twice the gross loss or gain. The actual sentence, however, will be
determined at the discretion of the court after consideration of any applicable
statutory factors and the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, which take into
account a number of variables.
