By: Richard L. Smith
Kevin M. Dickau, a 35-year-old from Tustin, California, has been sentenced to 15 months in prison after pleading guilty to conspiracy to commit health care fraud.
The sentencing was delivered via videoconference by U.S. District Judge Peter G. Sheridan on April 23, 2024.
Following his prison term, Dickau will undergo three years of supervised release.
U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger detailed that Dickau, along with six other individuals who have also pleaded guilty, participated in a multistate patient brokering scheme.
The operation involved bribing drug-addicted individuals with robust private health insurance to enroll in drug rehabilitation programs, thereby generating lucrative referral fees from the rehabilitation centers.
This scheme spanned across New Jersey, Maryland, California, and other states.
Dickau, alongside co-conspirators Seth Logan Welsh and John C. Devlin, managed a marketing company in California which played a central role in the conspiracy.
This company established relationships with drug treatment facilities, including two in California operated by Akikur Mohammad, Lauren Philhower, and Anastasia Passas, who paid referral fees for each patient.
The scheme employed a network of recruiters, including Peter Costas in New Jersey, who were instructed to find and recruit potential patients.
These recruiters offered bribes, sometimes amounting to several thousand dollars, to entice individuals to travel and check into rehab centers.
The recruited patients were often instructed to remain in the facilities long enough to ensure the generation of referral payments.
The involved facilities, having contractual agreements with the marketing company, paid between $5,000 and $10,000 per patient referral, with Dickau and his conspirators sharing the proceeds.
Recruiters like Costas received about half of these referral fees per patient.
This fraudulent activity has resulted in millions of dollars in losses for health insurers, highlighting the significant impact of the scheme on the health care system.