HARRISBURG, Pa. — A Cumberland County man has agreed to pay $900,000 to the U.S. government to resolve civil liability for his alleged violations of the False Claims Act, U.S. Attorney John C. Gurganus announced Friday.
Rodney L. Yentzer is accused of submitting false claims to Medicare through a group of pain clinics he managed between 2017 and 2019, Gurganus said.
Those clinics, known as Pain Medicine of York, issued false claims to Medicare for presumptive and definitive Urine Drug Tests that were not medically reasonable or necessary, nor were they used to aid in the diagnosis and treatment of patients, according to Gurganus.
Additionally, Gurganus said, Yentzer agreed to be excluded from all federal health care programs for 22 years. The exclusion means that no federal health care program payment may be made, either directly or indirectly, for any items or services furnished by Yentzer or at the direction or on the prescription of Yentzer.
“Civil enforcement is an important tool to recover funds when providers cause improper claims to the Medicare program,” said Maureen Dixon, Special Agent in Charge for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of the Inspector General. “HHS-OIG will continue to work with the U.S. Attorney’s Office to ensure the integrity of the Medicare Trust Fund.”
Yentzer pleaded guilty in March to Health Care Fraud, Money Laundering, and Theft of Public Money for defrauding Medicare, Medicaid, and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services between 2016 and 2020 in a matter related to this case, Gurganus said.
Yentzer is awaiting sentencing for the guilty pleas.