Source: https://www.fda.gov/regulatory-information/electronic-reading-room/gil-isachi-notice-opportunity-hearing-nooh-31814
Timestamp: 2019-06-18 10:04:38
Document Index: 643170953

Matched Legal Cases: ['§ 1347', '§ 1035', '§ 335', '§ 335', '§ 335', '§ 335', '§ 10', '§ 335']

Gil, Isachi, Notice of Opportunity for Hearing (NOOH) 3/18/14 | FDA
Gil, Isachi, Notice of Opportunity for Hearing (NOOH) 3/18/14
Isachi Gil/95705-004
DOCKET No. FDA-2013-N-1018
Dear Ms. Gil:
This letter is to inform you that the Food and Drug Administration ("FDA" or "the Agency") is proposing to issue an order debarring you for a period of six years from providing services in any capacity to a person that has an approved or pending drug product application. FDA bases this proposal on a finding that you were convicted of twelve felony counts under federal law for conduct involving health care fraud and false statements related to health care matters. This letter also offers you an opportunity to request a hearing on this proposal.
On May 24, 2011, you were found guilty of twelve felonies. On September 28, 2011, the United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida entered judgment against you for five counts of health care fraud in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1347, and seven counts of false statements related to health care matters in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1035(a)(2). The underlying facts supporting this conviction are as follows.
You were a registered nurse employed by a nursing staffing company and local home health agencies. As a registered nurse in the home health field, it was your duty to provide skilled nursing services to patients and maintain proper documentation of all treatments provided to patients.
From on or about March 14, 2007, and continuing through on or about July 15, 2009, in the Southern District of Florida, you knowingly and willfully executed a scheme to defraud Medicare, a health care benefit program. You knowingly and willfully submitted and caused the submission of false and fraudulent claims to Medicare, seeking reimbursement for the cost of various home health services that you knew you had not provided. Specifically, you falsified and caused Medicare beneficiaries to falsify weekly visit/time record sheets which indicated that you provided skilled nursing services to Medicare beneficiaries two times per day, seven days a week when you did not provide these services with such frequency. You falsified daily blood sugar/insulin log sheets indicating that you had administered insulin injections and provided various other medical services to Medicare beneficiaries on particular dates when you did not provide these services. You created false weekly visit/time records claiming to be providing skilled nursing services to two separate Medicare beneficiaries at the same time and you caused local home health agencies to submit false and fraudulent claims to Medicare by falsely representing that home health services had been provided to home health eligible Medicare beneficiaries.
Section 306(b)(2)(B)(ii)(I) of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act ("FD&C Act" or ''the Act") (21 U.S.C. § 335a(b)(2)(B)(ii)(I)) permits FDA to debar an individual if it finds that the individual has been convicted of a felony under Federal law which involves bribery, payment of illegal gratuities, fraud, perjury, false statement, racketeering, blackmail, extortion, falsification or destruction of records, or interference with, obstruction of an investigation into, or prosecution of, any criminal offense, and it finds, on the basis of the conviction and other information, that such individual has demonstrated a pattern of conduct sufficient to find that there is reason to believe the individual may violate requirements under the Act relating to drug products.
The conduct that forms the basis of your conviction occurred in the course of your profession, the practice of nursing. In the course of this practice, you had legal and professional obligations to ensure that you kept accurate medical records for each patient and to ensure that you submitted accurate claims for services you provided. Instead, you submitted and caused to be submitted false weekly visit/time record sheets and false daily blood sugar/insulin log sheets. In addition, you caused local home health agencies to submit false and fraudulent claims to Medicare. You engaged in this conduct repeatedly over a period of more than two years. Your convictions indicate that you knowingly and willfully disregarded your legal and professional obligations to keep accurate medical records and to submit accurate claims for the services you provided.
Having considered the conduct that forms the basis of your conviction and the fact that this conduct occurred in the course of your profession and showed a disregard of the obligations of your profession and the law, FDA finds that you have demonstrated a pattern of conduct sufficient to find that there is reason to believe that, if you were to provide services to a person that has an approved or pending drug application, you may violate requirements under the Act relating to drug products. Accordingly, the Agency finds that you are subject to debarment under section 306(b)(2)(B)(ii)(I).
The maximum period of debarment for each offense under section 306(c)(2)(A)(iii) of the Act (21 U.S.C. § 335a(c)(2)(A)(iii)) is five years, and the Agency may determine whether debarment periods all run concurrently or consecutively in the case of a person debarred for multiple offenses. Section 306(c)(3) of the Act (21 U.S.C. § 335a(c)(3)) provides six factors to be considered by the Agency in determining the appropriateness and length of your debarment. The factors applicable here include: (1) nature and seriousness of the offense involved, (2) nature and extent of management participation in this offense, (3) nature and extent of voluntary steps to mitigate the impact on the public and (4) prior convictions under the Act or involving matters within the jurisdiction of FDA.
You were convicted of twelve felony counts of health care fraud and making false statements related to health care matters. As described in detail above, you submitted and caused to be submitted false weekly visit/time record sheets and false daily blood sugar/insulin log sheets. In addition, you caused local home health agencies to submit false and fraudulent claims to Medicare for home health services that you knew you had not provided.
Your actions have the potential for causing significant loss of public confidence in the healthcare system. Accordingly, FDA considers the nature and seriousness of your conduct as an unfavorable factor.
There is nothing in the record addressing the nature and extent of any management participation in the offenses. Accordingly, this factor is not applicable here.
Rather than taking any actions to mitigate the impact of your offenses on the public, you continued your scheme over a period of years. Accordingly, the Agency considers your failure to take effective voluntary steps to mitigate the offenses you committed to be an unfavorable factor.
Based on the findings discussed above, FDA has concluded that the unfavorable factors cumulatively outweigh the favorable factors and that debarment is appropriate. Accordingly, FDA proposes to issue an order under section 306(b)(2)(B)(ii)(I) of the Act (21 U.S.C. § 335a(b)(2)(B)(ii)(I)) debarring you for a period of six years from providing services in any capacity to a person having an approved or pending drug product application. You were convicted of five counts of health care fraud and seven counts of false statements related to health care matters, Federal felony offenses. Based on the factors discussed above, FDA proposes that each felony offense be accorded a debarment period of three years. In the case of a person debarred for multiple offenses, FDA shall determine whether the periods of debarment shall run concurrently or consecutively (21 U.S.C. 335a(c)(2)(A)). FDA has concluded that the three-year period of debarment for each of the 12 offenses of conviction need not be served consecutively, which would result in a period of debarment of 36 years. Rather, FDA has concluded that the three-year periods of debarment for felony counts 1-4 and 6 shall run concurrently, and the three-year periods of debarment for counts 7-13 shall run concurrently, resulting in a total debarment period of six years.
Your request for a hearing, including any information or factual analyses relied on to justify a hearing, must be identified with Docket No. FDA-2013-N-1018 and sent to the Division of Dockets Management, Food and Drug Administration, 5630 Fishers Lane, Room 1061, Rockville, MD 20852. You must file four copies of all submissions pursuant to this notice of opportunity for hearing. The public availability of information in these submissions is governed by 21 CFR § 10.20(j). Publicly available submissions may be seen in the Division of Dockets Management between 9 a.m. and 4 p.m., Monday through Friday.
This notice is issued under section 306 of the Act (21 U.S.C. § 335a) and under authority delegated to the Director, Office of Enforcement and Import Operations within the Food and Drug Administration.