The owner and administrator of Texas-based Merida hospice and home health entities have been named in a multimillion-dollar whistleblower lawsuit. Rodney Mesquias and Henry McInnis, both 51, and formerly from Harlingen, were convicted of criminal healthcare fraud and conspiracy charges following a lengthy trial. The civil complaint alleges Mesquias and McInnis conspired to violate the civil False Claims Act by submitting false and fraudulent claims to Medicare for medically unnecessary hospice and home health services. It also alleges they paid illegal kickbacks to Merida medical directors for patient referrals and created false patient medical records in support of the false and fraudulent claims. These included hospice and home health certifications that were material to Medicare payments. Mesquias and McInnis are currently in the custody of the Bureau of Prisons serving 240 months and 180 months, respectively, for their criminal convictions. Mesquias also has been ordered to pay $120 million in restitution to the Medicare program.
