Louisiana hospice facility owner sentenced in Medicare fraud case

Bella Dardano
1 min read
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NEW ORLEANS (WGNO) — A Louisiana hospice facility owner convicted of Medicare fraud was sentenced on Wednesday, May 15.

According to the Office of U.S. Attorney Duane A. Evans, 68-year-old Shiva Akula was sentenced by a judge to 240 months in prison, three years of supervised release and $2,300 in mandatory fees for 23 counts of health care fraud.

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Court documents state Akula oversaw Canon Healthcare, LLC, which had locations in New Orleans, Baton Rouge, Covington and Mississippi.

The documents state Akula was convicted on Nov. 6, 2023, of overbilling hospice patients for General Inpatient Services and manipulating Medicare billing codes.

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On Wednesday, Evans’ office reported that it was revealed at Akula’s sentencing that Canon had made more than $84 million in fraudulent Medicare claims between 2013 and 2019 and was paid about $42 million by Medicare for those claims.

Evans said it was ordered that Akula must pay back the $42 million to Medicare.

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