U.S. v. Nagelvoort

Record contained sufficient evidence to support convictions of defendants-hospital owner and hospital’s chief executive officer under charges of conspiracy to violate Anti-Kickback Statute, 8 USC section 1320a-7b(b)(2)(A), as well as violations of said Statute, stemming from scheme in which defendants offered contracts to physicians to perform work for hospital with understanding that no such work would actually be performed in exchange for physicians referring patients to hospital. While there are certain “safe harbors” under Statute’s regulations that protect defendant’s from liability for payments made pursuant to hospital contracts, instant contracts did not qualify for safe harbor treatment, where, as here, instant physicians testified that subject contracts took into account value or volume of referrals for services paid under federal health care program. Record also showed that defendants knowingly violated Anti-Kickback Statute, where each defendant played significant roles in creation and oversight of subject contracts, and where defendants had been informed about provisions of Anti-Kickback Statute from their legal counsel. Also, Dist. Ct. did not err in admitting against one defendant co-conspirator statements about events that took place after said defendant had quit hospital, since said defendant did not take any step in addition to quitting hospital to disavow conspiracy so as to establish his effective withdrawal from conspiracy.