Two California men admitted to participating in a conspiracy to broker patients as part of a multi-state patient scheme in which one of them directed recruiters to bribe drug-addicted individuals to enroll in drug rehabilitation and the other paid referral fees from his rehabilitation center in exchange for those patient referrals. Kevin M. Dickau, 32, of Tustin, California, and Dr. Akikur Mohammad, 57, of West Hills, California, each pleaded guilty by videoconference before U.S. District Judge Peter G. Sheridan. Dickau pleaded guilty to an information charging him with one count of conspiracy to commit healthcare fraud. Mohammad pleaded guilty to an information charging him with one count of conspiracy to violate the Eliminating Kickbacks in Recovery Act (EKRA). Three other individuals have previously pleaded guilty for their roles in the scheme: Peter Costas, of Red Bank, New Jersey, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit healthcare fraud in May 2020; Seth Logan Welsh, of Forest Hill, Maryland, and John C. Devlin, of Baltimore, Maryland, pleaded guilty to the same charge on Sept. 8, 2020.
