Bay Area Home Health Agency Owner Sentenced To Two Years In Prison For Health Care Fraud

Press Release

Defendant Submitted False Claims for Medicare Payment and Attempted to Thwart FBI Investigation

SAN FRANCISCO - Veronica Katz was sentenced today to two years in federal prison and ordered to pay $543,634.34 in restitution for committing health care fraud. The sentence was handed down by the Honorable James Donato, U.S. District Judge.

Katz, 36, of San Francisco, was indicted by a federal grand jury on Oct. 17, 2023, along with two co-defendants. Katz pleaded guilty on Apr. 18, 2024, to one count of health care fraud. Katz was the owner and operator of HealthNow Home Healthcare and Hospice (HealthNow), a home health agency that provided in-home medical care to patients in the Bay Area. HealthNow billed Medicare and private insurance companies for in-home medical care. In the course of operating HealthNow, Katz submitted false documentation to Medicare in order to obtain reimbursements in violation of Medicare's rules and regulations.

According to Katz's plea agreement, she participated in a scheme to defraud Medicare that took a number of forms, including using the identities of licensed medical practitioners on electronic medical records and billing information without the practitioners' knowledge or consent; directing certain individuals to prepare "Start of Care" (SOC) forms even though the individuals were not Registered Nurses (RNs), as required by Medicare; manipulating electronic patient medical records in order to make it appear as if RNs had completed the patient SOCs; and billing Medicare for physical therapy services that Katz knew had not been provided.

In addition, Katz admitted that she took steps to thwart law enforcement's investigation into HealthNow. In October 2019, Katz met with one of her HealthNow employees, who informed Katz that Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) agents had questioned the employee regarding the company's billing practices and SOC assessments. Katz instructed the employee to lie to the FBI and falsely state that the employee had been trained and supervised by an RN in the course of conducting SOC assessments.

The announcement was made by United States Attorney Ismail J. Ramsey, FBI Special Agent in Charge Robert K. Tripp, and Steven J. Ryan, Special Agent in Charge for the Office of Inspector General of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS-OIG).

In addition to the term of imprisonment and restitution, Judge Donato also sentenced Katz to a three-year period of supervised release and ordered her to pay a $50,000 fine. Defendant will begin serving her sentence on Jan. 6, 2025.

Co-defendant Vennesa Herrera pleaded guilty on Aug. 30, 2021, to conspiracy to commit health care fraud and health care fraud, and will be sentenced on Mar. 17, 2025. Co-defendant Simon Katz's trial is scheduled for May 12, 2025.

Assistant United States Attorney Christiaan Highsmith is prosecuting the case with the assistance of Helen Yee and Mark DiCenzo. The prosecution is the result of a lengthy investigation by the FBI, HHS-OIG, and the California Department of Public Health.

Updated December 9, 2024