Pennsylvania drug treatment firm co-founder sentenced for fraud scheme
PHILADELPHIA - A New Jersey man who co-founded a Pennsylvania-based drug rehabilitation firm that made millions through a wide-ranging fraud scheme has been sentenced to three years in federal prison and must pay more than $9 million in restitution.
Jason Gerner, 46, of Shamong, will also forfeit $444,983 and must serve three years of probation once he's freed from prison under the sentence imposed Monday. He had pleaded guilty in August 2019 to conspiracy to commit healthcare fraud and conspiracy to commit money laundering.
Gerner, who overcame a longtime painkiller addiction, helped launch the now-defunct Liberation Way in 2015. Authorities have said the firm lured vulnerable patients into a cycle of ineffective treatment.
Gerner admitted accepting kickbacks from lab operators and illegally buying insurance for dozens of patients so the firm could profit from frequent, medically unnecessary, and expensive drug screenings.
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