Joe White, the former CFO of Shelby Regional Medical Center, recently pleaded guilty to making a false statement to Medicare on meaningful use. He faces up to five years in prison.
White was the top lieutenant for Tariq Mahmood, M.D., who ran a now-collapsed hospital chain that included Shelby. According to media reports, he rose from maintenance man to CFO under Mahmood. In 2012, he knowingly, falsely made a statement to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) that the chain had adopted EHRs under the regulations of the meaningful use program. Hospitals operated by Mahmood collected $16 million in incentives over a two-year period. Shelby received close to $1 million.
His case was investigated by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services—Office of the Inspector General (HHS-OIG), the Texas Office of the Attorney General—Medicaid Fraud Control Unit (OAG-MFCU), and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).
Mahmood himself was found guilty of altering diagnoses to collect more from Medicare.
