The following is a news release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office (Idaho). | Ryan Hatch in front of the America Health Urgent Care in Rexburg in 2021. EastIdahoNews.com file photo

IDAHO FALLS — AmeriHealth and its owners, Ryan and Alban Hatch, consented to a $2 million judgment against them in U.S. District Court after admitting to violations of the False Claims Act, announced U.S. Attorney Josh Hurwit today. The fraud scheme involved using vulnerable or inexperienced medical staff to submit or cause to be submitted false claims to federal health care programs like Medicare, Medicaid, and Tricare. Through the agreement to pay $2 million, the defendants also resolved, without admitting, additional allegations that they violated the Controlled Substances Act, the Anti-Kickback Statute, and fraudulently obtained Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans.

According to a Complaint filed by the United States in December 2023, AmeriHealth hired vulnerable, compromised, and inexperienced medical staff who were then pressured into providing unnecessary and worthless care, which resulted in false claims being submitted to federal health care programs. For example, owners Ryan and Alban Hatch ordered a hungover and impaired practitioner to provide medical care to unsuspecting patients. The Complaint also alleged that they pressured practitioners to prescribe controlled substances, entered into an unlawful kickback scheme with a third-party laboratory, and falsely certified information in order to obtain forgiveness of a PPP loan worth more than $750,000.

“Fighting health care fraud is about ensuring safety for patients and families as well as protecting taxpayer funds,” said U.S. Attorney Hurwit. “That’s why health care fraud enforcement has been, and will continue to be, a priority for my office. We will not tolerate individuals and companies sacrificing public safety through fraudulent schemes or illegal practices.”

“Providers who cheat federal health care programs and put financial gain before the needs of patients must be rooted out at every turn,” said Steven J. Ryan, Special Agent in Charge with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Inspector General (HHS-OIG). “HHS-OIG will continue to work with our law enforcement partners to address this kind of abuse, and will not stop protecting American patients, communities, and taxpayers from such conduct.”

“This settlement demonstrates that OIG will bring individuals to justice that knowingly provided false information to gain access to the Paycheck Protection Program and subsequent loan forgiveness,” said SBA OIG’s Western Region Special Agent in Charge Weston King. “I want to thank the Department of Justice and our law enforcement partners for their collaboration, support, and pursuit of justice for taxpayers.”

This matter was investigated jointly by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Idaho, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of the Inspector General, the Small Business Administration, and the Drug Enforcement Administration. Additional assistance was provided by the Idaho Board of Pharmacy, the Idaho State Department of Health and Welfare, and the Idaho Division of Occupational and Professional Licenses.