A Florida clinic executive and a Veterans Affairs employee have been sentenced to prison for a kickback arrangement that directed veterans and their families to a private clinic.
Laurent Cassagnol received six months in prison and was ordered to forfeit $175,172. Heriberto Rivera received 13 months and must forfeit $515,542. The orders represent the proceeds the court found each man obtained from the offence.
Court records show that Rivera, who ran Family Integrative Medicine of Orlando, paid Cassagnol to steer patients from the VA Community Care Program toward the clinic for acupuncture, chiropractic adjustments and other services. Cassagnol worked as an advanced medical support assistant and served as a point of contact between veterans and the VA system.
The Justice Department said the arrangement generated more than $14 million in claims to the VA and its community-care programme, of which more than $11 million was paid. The sentences dispose of the criminal cases at the trial level, subject to the defendants’ ordinary appellate rights. Read the official sentencing announcement.
