United States of America vs Gehrke
An Arizona couple has admitted to orchestrating a massive health care fraud scheme, resulting in over $1.2 billion in false claims to Medicare and other insurers for unnecessary wound care products.
According to court documents, Alexandra Gehrke, 39, and her husband, Jeffrey King, 46, both from Phoenix, operated two companies—Apex Medical LLC and Viking Medical Consultants LLC. They employed untrained sales representatives to identify elderly patients, including those in hospice care, with wounds at any stage. These representatives were directed to order large-sized amniotic wound grafts, regardless of the actual wound size, to maximize insurance reimbursements. In return, Gehrke's companies received over $279 million in kickbacks from the graft distributor, part of which was used to pay the sales representatives. King's company then arranged for nurse practitioners to apply the grafts.
South Florida healthcare compliance attorney Robyn Sztyndor provides expert consulting services to ensure other healthcare providers and representatives don’t find themselves entwined in similar regulatory charges. Ms. Sztyndor lends her expertise in navigating the complex regulatory and compliance aspects surrounding healthcare fraud allegations that allograft marketing representatives, healthcare providers, and other industry professionals must comply with. Ms. Sztyndor also provides expert consulting services on billing, coverage, and coding compliance within the wound care industry.