Baton Rouge, The. (KLFY) – The former CEO of a Louisiana health clinic was sentenced to more than six years in prison for defrauding Louisiana Medicaid.
Victor Clark Kirk, 73, of Baton Rouge, sentenced to 82 months in federal prison for conspiracy to commit health care fraud and health care fraud Imprisonment and three years of supervised release. U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Louisiana.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office also said he was ordered to pay $1,841,527.31 in restitution to Louisiana Medicaid.
After a six-day trial, a jury unanimously found Kirk defrauding Louisiana Medicaid of more than $1.8 million and causing the children to make incorrect medical diagnoses, the U.S. Attorney’s Office said.
Kirk is CEO of San Gabriel Health Clinic (St. Gabriel), a Louisiana nonprofit that provides health care services to Medicaid beneficiaries, the U.S. Attorney’s Office said.
St. Gabriel operates in local primary and secondary schools, providing routine medical care. Under Kirk’s direction, San Gabriel’s practitioners also provided educational programs to students throughout the classroom during regular school hours, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
For years, Kirk fraudulently billed Medicaid for the programs as group psychotherapy and directed practitioners in San Gabriel to falsely diagnose students with serious mental health disorders, such as Impulse control disorder and attention deficit disorder.
From 2011 to 2015, Kirk made more than $1.8 million in fraudulent claims for so-called group psychotherapy services, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
“Criminals must be punished for their crimes, and Mr. Kirk received justice today,” Louisiana Attorney General Jeff Landry said. “Our office will continue to work with our law enforcement partners to protect our state’s most vulnerable and the taxpayers who fund their benefits.”
“The sentencing of Victor Kirk demonstrates that no one is above the law,” said U.S. Attorney Ronald C. Gathe, Jr. “Healthcare fraud is a serious problem, and I applaud the trial team and all of our partners for their tireless efforts to ensure justice not only for patients, but also for taxpayers.”
The case was investigated by the Louisiana Medicaid Fraud Control Unit, HHS-OIG and the FBI. Assistant Director Justin Woodard, trial attorney Kelly Z. Walters and Assistant U.S. Attorney Kristen Craig prosecuted the case.
