Manager of Broward Halfway House Pleads Guilty to Kickback Scheme

Butler Moultrie admitted to conspiracy to commit health care fraud

The manager of a Broward County halfway house could be in more trouble than his tenants after he pleaded guilty for his role in a $1.9 million Medicare kickback scheme on Monday, according to the Department of Justice.

Butler Moultrie, 46, admitted to one count of conspiracy to commit health care fraud by referring alcohol and drug addicts at his halfway house to a phony mental health provider, American Therapeutic Corporation, even though they showed no signs of mental health problems, prosecutors said. Moultrie is set to be sentenced in February and faces a maximum of 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine.

According to court documents, the ATC paid kickbacks to for the fraudulent referrals in a scheme involving managers and operators of halfway houses and assisted living facilities, patient brokers and even patients who attended treatment programs that were unnecessary and illegitimate in exchange for payment. 

Moultrie funneled his Medicare beneficiaries to the ATC to take part in partial hospitalization programs although no doctors prescribed such treatment and none was given, the Justice Department said.

The investigation is part of the Medicare Strike Force, which also announced the sentencing of Fort Lauderdale halfway house managers Robert and Nikki Jenkins to 24 and 15 months in prison, respectively. In total, the ATC billed Medicare for over $200 million in medically unnecessary services.

The name of Moultrie's attorney wasn't immediately known.
 

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