Criminal Defense Lawyers

If you are charged with health care fraud, then you’re likely going to face severe criminal charges. As soon as you learn about the charges against you, it’s important to contact an attorney to put together a defense to present in court. The attorney will need to understand about health care situations and the statutes surrounding various types of care. There are usually deadlines associated with health care fraud charges along with consequences and challenges that need to be met in a short time.

Once you meet with an attorney, you need to discuss any medical records that are at the forefront of your fraud charges. Your attorney will also need to rely on the cooperation of medical experts and witnesses when the time comes to go to trial. The investigation will likely begin early on in order to gather as much evidence as possible to put together the proper defense.

There are a few ways that you could be charged with health care fraud depending on the circumstances and who is bringing the charges against you. Most of the time, patients or the families of patients will bring civil charges while government agencies will bring criminal charges against you. If you know that you are committing some type of fraud that relates to healthcare, then you could be charged at any time. A common type of fraud occurs when you bill for services that weren’t performed or that weren’t necessary for the patient. You could also separate charges instead of combining them, which often results in more money.

You can be charged with health care fraud if you pay workers in your practice or other people to attract new patients. A misrepresentation of the dates that services were provided as well as offering false details about the provider can result in fraud. Another common way that health care fraud occurs is when prescriptions are billed for and not filled.

Most of the time, fraud charges come after an investigation has been in place for several months or even several years. Someone has likely been paying attention to medical records that have been processed or actions that have been taking place in the practice before submitting all of the evidence to the proper authorities who file the charges. Once all of the information is filed and you are served with the charges against you, then it’s likely that you will be arrested and have to spend time in jail until your court date unless you’re able to bond out of jail. This is when you need to consult with an attorney because you’re going to need to gather all of the documents that you have to show that you didn’t commit any kind of fraudulent activity.

When you go to court, each side will present their evidence. Sometimes, it’s better to negotiate in the early stages after being charged to prevent going to court for a trial. Your attorney will be able to offer advice as to when you should admit guilt and accept a plea deal or if you should continue fighting the health care fraud charges depending on the information that you can provide.