JACKSONVILLE MEDICAL CLINIC ADMINISTRATOR
AND OFFICE MANAGER SENTENCED ON HEALTH CARE FRAUD

Jacksonville, Florida - Yesterday United States District Judge Virginia M. Hernandez Covington sentenced Robert C. Brown of Jacksonville, age 64, and Laurette C. Hunter formerly of Jacksonville, age 43, on charges of conspiring to commit health care fraud, conspiring to make false statements in connection with a health care matter, conspiring to commit mail fraud, and twenty-four individual charges relating to allegations that they worked together to fraudulently bill private insurance companies. Brown was sentenced to eight years' and three months' imprisonment and Hunter to five years' and two months' imprisonment.

A jury convicted the defendants on August 22, 2006, after an eight-day trial. Evidence at trial showed that Brown was the owner and acting administrator of RCB Inc. Medical Clinic, a local walk-in clinic in Jacksonville. Hunter worked at RCB as the office manager. From March of 2002 until September of 2004, Brown and Hunter conspired to fraudulently bill private insurance companies for patient services never performed by RCB. Many of the alleged patients were billed for services everyday, for extended periods of time, for services ranging from injections to diagnostic tests when, in fact, the procedures were never performed by doctors at RCB. Additionally, Brown directed Hunter and another RCB employee to perform medical tests on themselves in order to create test result printouts to support the false claim forms submitted to the private insurance companies. In total, the private insurance companies reimbursed RCB almost $2 million dollars for false claims.

The case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and was tried by Assistant United States Attorney Susan Humes Raab.