Lancaster Doctor Convicted for Medicare Kickback Conspiracy

A doctor in Lancaster has been convicted by a federal jury of participating in a Medicare fraud scheme. Dr. Kanagasabai Kanakeswaran, an internist, on Thursday was found guilty of conspiracy to pay or receive kickbacks for referring Medicare patients to Star Home Health Resources Inc., a home health agency based in La Verne. Kanakeswaran received the payments in cash and through checks paid to a company he owned. Medicare paid around $4.1 million to Star based on claims for patients that Kanakeswaran had referred between 2008 and 2016, according to a news release from the Department of Justice. Kanakeswaran is one of 14 medical professionals who were charged last July in the Central District of California for their involvement in the Star scheme, which cost Medicare $147 million in total. Kanakeswaran is scheduled for sentencing on Jan. 7. He faces up to 25 years in federal prison.