From The Tribune staff reports
BIRMINGHAM — An Athens man has been charged with 15 counts of health care fraud.
According to the United States Department of Justice, Joshua D. Creasy, 44, of Athens, operated One Love Hearing Concepts, practice with multiple storefront locations that provided hearing aids and other hearing solutions.
The filed records state that Creasy schemed to defraud insurers into paying for medically unnecessary hearing aids. For example, Creasy provided free products to induce beneficiaries to allow One Love to bill their insurance for hearing aids. He also billed insurance for hearing aids that beneficiaries never received. In some cases, insurance was billed for hearing aids for individuals who never visited a One Love location or those who came in but said they did not want or need the hearing aids.
Creasy has agreed to plead guilty to the charges. A change-of-plea hearing has not yet been scheduled. In a plea agreement, Creasy stipulated that he will pay a forfeiture of $1,000,000 and pay restitution to the victims in the amount of $1,500,000.
The maximum penalty for each count of health care fraud is ten years in prison.
