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LEGAL NEWSLINE

Thursday, March 28, 2024

Nursing home settles False Claims Act lawsuit with New York, feds

Eschneiderman

NEW YORK (Legal Newsline) - New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman and U.S. Attorney Loretta Lynch announced settlement agreements on Wednesday with a New Rochelle nursing home that allegedly submitted inflated claims to the state's Medicaid program.

Ralex Services Inc., doing business as Glen Island Center for Nursing and Rehabilitation, allegedly submitted more than 62,000 false claims to the New York Department of Health between April 2002 and November 2006. Ralex allegedly falsely represented the degree of care required by many Glen Island residents, exaggerated residents' required treatments and attempted to cover up their fraudulent submissions through falsified medical records.

“Safeguarding public health care dollars is of critical concern, and my office will investigate—and prosecute—all allegations of impropriety by health care providers who obtain Medicaid funds to which they have no right,” Schneiderman said. “We must care for our most vulnerable New Yorkers and at the same time protect our taxpayer dollars. Today we are saying: There is one set of rules for all nursing home providers -- and my office is here to make sure those rules are followed.”

Under the terms of the agreements, Ralex and Leah Friedman, the company's owner, must return $2.2 million to Medicaid. Since Medicaid is a program jointly funded by federal and state governments, New York will receive $1,320,000 of the total restitution.

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