Strauss Ventures LLC d/b/a The Grand Health Care System and its 12 affiliated skilled nursing facilities paid $21.3 million after falsifying medical records and billing Medicare for therapy services that were unreasonable, unnecessary, unskilled, or did not occur as billed.

The Grand Health Care System (New York) — 12 SNFs, $21.3M Therapy Billing Fraud (2024)

Outcome: Strauss Ventures LLC, doing business as The Grand Health Care System, and its 12 affiliated skilled nursing facilities in New York paid $21.3 million under the False Claims Act after billing Medicare for therapy services that were unreasonable, unnecessary, unskilled, or did not occur as billed, while company supervisors falsified medical records to support the fraudulent claims.

Strauss Ventures LLC operated a network of 12 skilled nursing facilities through The Grand Health Care System brand in New York's Northern District. The organization systematically billed Medicare for rehabilitation therapy services — physical therapy, occupational therapy, and speech-language pathology — at levels that were not supported by residents' actual medical needs. Critically, company supervisory officials "falsified information in medical records" to create documentation appearing to justify the inflated therapy claims.

This is the paradigmatic SNF therapy fraud pattern: facilities inflate therapy minutes in the MDS (Minimum Data Set) assessments to qualify for higher Medicare reimbursement tiers, then create false documentation to support those claims. The $21.3 million settlement was reached July 10, 2024. As part of the resolution, a Corporate Integrity Agreement was implemented requiring ongoing compliance monitoring across all 12 facilities.

Primary Source: OIG Enforcement Record