The salesman is clutch to the success of any operation. Show the feature. Create the need by showing advantages and benefits. Close the sale. A good salesman creates the want inside the buyer they themselves didn’t know they had. John Alan Robson knew how to create such a need in buyers, to the point that they were willing to commit fraud for him. He was a 100% commission salesman who marketed to doctors’ offices and health care facilities. And he was selling fraudulent prescriptions.
From 2014 through 2018, Robson was part of a multi-million dollar scheme to pay medical providers with kickbacks to issue medically unnecessary prescriptions. Among the medically unnecessary items Robson marketed were topical creams for specialty pharmacies from Global Compounding Pharmacy and Watson Rx Solutions. With those fraudulent prescriptions, Robson would order these unnecessary goods and services, which were billed to Medicare.
Robson also marketed electro-diagnostic testing, specifically, nerve conduction testing, for a company called QBR, or Diagnostic Referral Community. Robson received per-patient payments from QBR for manipulating medical providers to order fraudulent tests from QBR. Robson manipulated in the paperwork the kickbacks to be disguised as hourly payments for the ordering physician’s time and staff’s time.
Over a dozen defendants in this case have been convicted. Every single player in this scheme is held responsible including the sales guy. On February 9, 2024, Robson pleaded guilty to Medicare fraud and offered to return $1 million in fraudulently obtained commissions. But that won’t be enough though. He is facing up to ten years in prison.
Great job by the Department of Health and Human Services.
Today’s Fraud of The Day is based on article “Trussville man pleads guilty to multi-million-dollar health care fraud conspiracy” published by Tribune Interactive on February 9, 2024
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – Another individual has pleaded guilty in a series of related cases involving multi-million-dollar health care fraud conspiracies, announced U.S. Attorney Prim F. Escalona, Federal Bureau of Investigation Special Agent in Charge Carlton L. Peeples, and U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Inspector General, Special Agent in Charge Tamala E. Miles.
John Alan Robson, 40, of Trussville, pleaded guilty yesterday to health care fraud conspiracy. According to the plea agreement, Robson was a sales representative who marketed to doctors’ offices various health care products and services, including topical prescription creams from specialty pharmacies, durable medical equipment (DME), and electro-diagnostic testing. Robson was paid fees for the prescriptions, DME, and tests he generated from doctors.
