Ex-Hospital Execs Pay Big Fine In Skid Row Scam
Recruited homeless for unnecessary medical treatments: Prosecutors
They were accused of recruiting the homeless on Skid Row for unnecessary medical treatments and then fraudulently billing the Medicare and Medi-Cal systems. Now the two former hospital executives must pay a $10 million fine to the federal government.
The fine is the result of a settlement in a civil lawsuit. Former Downtown L.A. resident Robert Bourseau and Dr. Rudra Sabaratnam of Brentwood are currently awaiting sentencing after pleading guilty to criminal charges in the case.
The two men are former owners of the City of Angels Medical Center. It operated in Echo Park and has since come under new management.
Federal prosecutors say the men paid “recruiters” at homeless shelters on Skid Row to deliver homeless people by ambulance to the hospital in Echo Park.
Prosecutors say the homeless people would be kept in hospitals for unnecessarily long stays, treating them for minor, often nonexistence ailments. The government was then billed for the expense of these stays.
A former senior executive of City of Angels Medical Center and two of the “recruiters” have also pleaded guilty to charges in connection with the scheme.
