NEW ORLEANS, LA – U.S. Attorney Peter G. Strasser announced that KIMBERLY HOMRIGHAUSEN, age 44, and RICHARD HOMRIGHAUSEN, age 37, were sentenced on January 7, 2021 by United States District Judge Barry W. Ashe for conspiracy to pay and receive kickbacks related to compounded medications paid for by TRICARE, a federally funded health care benefit program that serves United States military personnel and their families. At their guilty pleas, the defendants admitted to paying kickbacks to TRICARE beneficiaries to induce them to obtain compounded medications, costing TRICARE a total of approximately $9 million. To conceal the kickbacks, the defendants created a purported non-profit that paid off the beneficiaries under the guise of “grants” to thank them for their military service.
Judge Ashe sentenced RICHARD HOMRIGHAUSEN to two years’ imprisonment, KIMBERLY HOMRIGHAUSEN to one year and one day imprisonment and 3 years of supervised release for both defendants. Judge Ashe also ordered both defendants to pay restitution in the amount of $1,754,518—the amount of money they obtained through the scheme.
“The Defense Criminal Investigative Service and our investigative partners are committed to seeking out and fully investigating companies that utilize improper billing to deprive military families of precious resources,” said Special Agent in Charge Cynthia A. Bruce, DCIS, Southeast Field Office. “Billing healthcare programs for medically unnecessary medications not only undermines the viability of those programs, it exploits all citizens.”
U.S. Attorney Strasser praised the work of the Defense Criminal Investigative Service, the Department of Homeland Security – Homeland Security Investigations, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the United States Postal Service – Office of Inspector General, and the Department of Veterans Affairs – Office of Inspector General in investigating this matter. Assistant United States Attorney Chandra Menon was in charge of the prosecution.