Martin Joseph O’Brien Agreed to Be Excluded for 5 Years for Repeatedly Employing an Excluded Individual

ME 2016 Behavioral Health

OIG False Claims Excluded Individual

Penalty

Outcome

Official websites use .gov A .gov website belongs to an official government organization in the United States.

Details

Martin Joseph O’Brien Agreed to Be Excluded for 5 Years for Repeatedly Employing an Excluded Individual — Settlement

Outcome: Official websites use .gov A .gov website belongs to an official government organization in the United States.

Official websites use .gov A .gov website belongs to an official government organization in the United States.

Secure .gov websites use HTTPS A lock ( Lock A locked padlock ) or https:// means you’ve safely connected to the .gov website. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites.

On January 30, 2023, in connection with the resolution of his False Claims Act liability, Martin Joseph O’Brien (O’Brien), Lewiston, Maine, agreed to be excluded under 42 U.S.C. 1320a-7(b)(7) for 5 years. In December 2016, O’Brien entered into a settlement agreement, on behalf of a substance abuse treatment program that he owned, to resolve the company’s liability under the False Claims Act for continuing to employ an excluded individual and using MaineCare reimbursements to pay her salary and benefits after the company became aware that she had been excluded from participation in all Federal health care programs. The investigation revealed and OIG alleged that O’Brien knowingly submitted or caused to be submitted to MaineCare false claims for reimbursement for services provided by that same excluded individual in that he continued to employ her after the December 2016 settlement, despite knowing that she remained excluded from participation in all Federal health care programs, and continued to pay her from MaineCare reimbursements. Senior Counsel John O’Brien represented OIG.

HHS Office of Inspector General

How Crucible Prevents This

Crucible's automated OIG-LEIE exclusion screening runs monthly against the full employee roster, flagging matches immediately and enforcing hiring workflow gates that prevent onboarding excluded individuals. Crucible's billing compliance controls enforce documentation-to-claims reconciliation, requiring clinical attestation before claims submission and flagging billing patterns that deviate from documented care delivery.

Source: Martin Joseph O’Brien Agreed to Be Excluded for 5 Years for Repeatedly Employing an Excluded Individual

Don't let this happen to your organization. See how Crucible works.

See How Crucible Works