Yesterday, Joseph Williams, the 41 year old owner of Avondale Manors Retirement Home in Pompano Beach Florida, pleaded guilty to Conspiracy to Commit Health Care Fraud. Williams, who was also involved with Diversified Marketing Group Inc, admitted in court his role in providing Medicare patients in return for a kickback.

The Medicare Scam involved American Therapeutic Corporation(ATC) with Williams receiving $30 per-day per-patient for each Medicare recipient he provided for their mental health care. ATC allegedly offered mental health treatments, which were often not preformed or preformed on people that did not need them.

ATC, who is also associated with the American Sleep Institute(ASI) paid a number of local assisted living facilities for patient information, knowing that the patients did not qualify for the treatment, according to court records. In addition to paying kickbacks to doctors, some patients also received kickbacks as well, which amounted to over $200 million in Medicare Fraud, prosecutors say.

In addition to being involved with the American Therapeutic Corporation and American Sleep Institute medicare scams, Williams also admitted to preforming Medicaid Fraud at his own facility, paying kickbacks to half-way houses and other businesses to receive Medicaid Account Numbers.

Williams, as part of his plea agreement with prosecutors, admitted to his role in this scam, which was responsible for over $2 million in fraudulent claims to Medicare and Medicaid. He is scheduled to be sentenced on February 8th, 2012, where he could face up to $500,000 in fines and 20 years in prison.

As part of the ATC and ASI scams, a number of owners and operators of assisted living facilities, which includes doctors, patients, and therapists have been charged or are awaiting trial.