March 9 (UPI) — A Texas man who schemed his way into nearly $60 million in fraudulent medical claims for unnecessary medical equipment was order to pay millions in restitution, forfeit cars and properties, and spend 90 months in jail.
Patrick Cassells, 65, of Fulshear, Texas pleaded guilty in June 2024 to one count of conspiracy to commit health care fraud.
On Friday, he was sentenced to jail, in addition to paying $25.4 million in restitution and giving up four vehicles and three properties in Houston, the Department of Justice announced.
Cassells owned and operated three companies that supply patients with durable medical equipment such as knee, back, shoulder and wrist braces.
On paperwork to enroll in Medicare, Cassells lied about who owned and operated one of the companies while working with other people who sent him fake medical paperwork for orthotic braces and other…
PAYROLL & HR CONTROLS (PREVENTING “GHOST” SCHEMES)
Payroll fraud is often the hardest to detect because it “looks” like a normal business expense.
- Segregation of Duties (SoD): The person who adds new employees to the system must not be the same person who approves the monthly pay run.
- Mandatory Vacation Policy: Require all financial and HR staff to take 5–10 consecutive days of leave annually. Fraud often surfaces when the perpetrator isn’t there to “hide” the trail.
- Ghost Employee Audit: Perform a quarterly “Headcount Reconciliation” where managers must physically verify every name on their payroll list exists.
- Self-Pay Blocking: Ensure the payroll software has a hard-coded block preventing administrators from editing their own salary or bank details.