SHG helps clients by leveraging an expert team of investigators, healthcare compliance experts and medical professionals that work together and understand the complex world of healthcare regulation. This is accomplished with services such as litigation support, investigative support, expert testimony and more.
Case Background: United States vs. Dr. Rifai
Safe Harbor Group is pleased to announce a full acquittal of all federal healthcare fraud charges brought against a mutual client, Dr. Rifai, in federal court in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania. We have helped achieve this full exoneration for Dr. Rifai by assisting his legal team, led by respected and talented defense attorney Mr. Paul Hetznecker.
On November 8th, 2022, Dr. Rifai was indicted by The United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania and charged with 4 counts of Medicare Fraud. The indictment alleged that Dr. Rifai took advantage of the Medicare system by charging nursing home patients for add-on services such as psychotherapy and Chronic Care Management, which were alleged to have never been rendered to patients.
At face value, this indictment paints a horrible picture of healthcare fraud allegations against a talented psychiatrist who has never committed a crime in his life. Under normal circumstances, this indictment would cause some attorneys – those who have never navigated the complicated legal issues regarding federal healthcare charges – to encourage a plea deal rather than face a potentially harsh sentencing by a federal judge. Such a serious indictment would have caused most healthcare providers to simply give up the fight and plea as charged for fear of not prevailing at trial. Luckily for Dr. Rifai, with SHG’s litigation support, these were not normal circumstances under which fear trumps good strategy and knowledge. These were extraordinary circumstances in which SHG’s expertise and support took full command of the trial stage, allowing for judicial victory.
From the start, Dr. Rifai maintained his innocence and decided to fight not only for his freedom and reputation, but also for his patients. Dr. Rifai reached out to SHG for help and SHG answered the call.
Safe Harbor Group’s Comprehensive Investigation Approach
Members of SHG’s expert team, including senior compliance expert Michael Staples, CMBI, and Investigator Marc Caudel were assigned to assist and went straight to work.
SHG takes a comprehensive approach to cases like Dr. Rifai’s to assess the entire situation so that SHG can become an equitable partner to the practitioner’s legal team in order to build a strong case for the defense.
This process can include, but is not limited to:
● A complete assessment of the medical practice’s compliance to ensure alignment with standards of care and regulatory guidelines.
● Interviews of current and previous employees
● A detailed review of medical and billing records
● Interviews of current and previous patients
● Partnering with a provider’s legal team to provide expert guidance, assist with interviewing witnesses and preparing for testimony.
Through this process, the compliance and litigation support services offered by SHG’s healthcare compliance experts assisted in the full acquittal of Dr. Rifai on all charges.
We’d like to express gratitude for our senior healthcare compliance experts, who provided litigation support services that assisted with the clearing of this provider’s name and reputation.
SHG is pleased to have assisted yet another health care practitioner in proving his innocence. Dr Rifai is a talented psychiatrist who spent his professional career helping patients in rural areas where the need for quality psychiatric care is significant. Now that Dr. Rifai has been acquitted, he can continue deploying excellent care to his community with out fear of government persecution
Expert Support for Healthcare Practitioners and Attorneys
If you are a healthcare practitioner facing allegations of healthcare fraud, or an attorney that needs litigation support to prevail in a complicated federal healthcare matter, contact Safe Harbor Group today. Our experts include former healthcare fraud investigators, state medical board investigators, certified billing and coding auditors, and former DEA investigators who all have the experience and knowledge to help strengthen your case.
