United States v. Greber case brief

United States v. Greber case brief summary
760 F.2d 68, cert. denied, 474 U.S. 988 (1985)

CASE SYNOPSIS

Following a jury trial in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, defendant was convicted on 20 of 23 counts in an indictment charging violations of mail fraud, Medicare fraud, and false statement statutes. Post-trial motions were denied, and defendant appealed.

CASE FACTS
On appeal, defendant argued that payments made to a physician for professional services in connection with tests performed by a laboratory could not be the basis of Medicare fraud. Defendant insisted that absent a showing that the only purpose behind the fee was to improperly induce future services, compensating a physician for services actually rendered could not be a violation of 42 U.S.C.S. § 1395nn(b)(2).

DISCUSSION

• The court concluded that the district court correctly instructed the jury. 
• If the payments were intended to induce the physician to use his organization's services, the statute was violated, even if the payments were also intended to compensate for professional services. 
• The court held that materiality was an essential element of 18 U.S.C.S. § 1001, and further held that the record contained enough evidence to support the district judge's ruling that the certifications to Medicare were material. 
• The court rejected defendant's contention that the issue of materiality should have been submitted to the jury.

CONCLUSION
The court affirmed the judgment. If one purpose of payment made to defendant was to induce future referrals, the Medicare statute was violated. The record contained enough evidence to support to the district judge's ruling that the certifications to Medicare were material.


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