Prema Thekkek / Paksn Inc. — Nursing Facility Kickbacks
Nursing Facilities Enter Consent Judgment for Physician Kickback Scheme
Source: U.S. Department of Justice
TL;DR: Nursing Facilities Enter Consent Judgment for Physician Kickback Scheme This case resulted in a Consent Judgment resolution and demonstrates the impact of whistleblower protections in recovering funds from fraud.
Summary
Prema Thekkek, Paksn Inc., and six skilled nursing facilities agreed to enter into a consent judgment to resolve allegations that they caused false claims to Medicare by paying kickbacks to physicians for referrals. DOJ alleged that, from 2009 through 2021, the defendants used purported medical directorship agreements as vehicles for remuneration tied to expected referral volume, including allegations that physicians were selected, paid, or terminated based on admissions. DOJ reported the matter originated with a whistleblower complaint by a former operations executive and included a Corporate Integrity Agreement with physician-relationship review.
Our Take
Nursing facility kickback cases are often visible internally because referral capture requires coordination—contracts, tracking, and constant relationship management. Insiders often have the most probative evidence: medical director agreements that don't match actual duties, payment records, admissions tracking tied to particular physicians, and messages linking stipends to "patients delivered." A recurring pattern is when the business can articulate a monthly "cost per referral" far more clearly than it can describe the contracted medical services.
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Notice
The summaries above are based on publicly available information released by the U.S. Department of Justice and are provided for informational purposes only. They do not constitute legal advice, investigative findings, or allegations by Disclosure Strategy. Our commentary reflects general, experience-based observations about how False Claims Act matters commonly arise and is not a statement about any party's liability.