Palisade Man Indicted for Defrauding Health Care Programs for Nuclear Weapons Workers and Miners

DENVER—Anthony Paul Breaux, age 33, of Palisade, Colorado, made his initial appearance in U.S. District Court in Denver this afternoon where he was advised of the heath care fraud and money laundering charges pending against him. Today’s court appearance was the result of an indictment returned by a federal grand jury in Denver on September 1, 2011.

According to the indictment, in October 2009, Breaux created and was acting as a registered agent for Honor-Bound Healthcare Providers, a Colorado Corporation. Breaux owned 100 percent of Honor-Bound, and was in the business of providing home health care services to patients in Colorado, Oregon, Arizona, and elsewhere.

Part of Honor-Bound’s patients were nuclear weapons workers or miners, millers, and transporters. In order to be reimbursed for providing medical services to these individuals, Breaux billed Energy Employees Occupational Illness Compensation Program (EEOICP) or Radiation Exposure Compensation Act (RECA). EEOICP is a health care benefit program that provides lump-sum compensation and health benefits to eligible Department of Energy nuclear weapons workers. RECA provides coverage to eligible uranium miners, millers, and transporters. Coverage is extended under both acts to certain eligible survivors with lump-sum compensation that would have otherwise been payable to the workers.

From June 2010 until June 2011, Breaux, doing business through Honor-Bound, allegedly knowingly and willfully executed and attempted to execute a scheme to defraud these health care benefit programs, by submitting and causing to be submitted bills for payment, knowing those bills already had been paid. In other cases the defendant submitted invoices for services never provided. He obtained payments on the claims in part by submitting false supporting documentation. In total, the fraud the defendant allegedly perpetrated is over $3.5 million.

Breaux also allegedly knowingly engaged in monetary transactions, or money laundering, of criminally derived property of a value greater than $10,000, which had been derived from specified unlawful activity. The indictment includes a notice of forfeiture, which states that upon conviction of one or more of the offenses, the defendant shall forfeit to the United States all of his interest in property, real or personal, that constitutes or is derived, directly or indirectly, from the gross proceeds traceable to the commission of the said violations.

“Congress established compensation programs for the men and women who worked in our nuclear weapons complexes and those who worked in dangerous mines,” said U.S. Attorney John Walsh. “To steal money from these funds is criminal, and the person responsible will be prosecuted vigorously by this office.”

“The EEOICP program was designed to provide compensation to persons who have become ill as a result of work at nuclear weapons facilities. The indictment alleges that the defendant submitted numerous false claims for medical services that had not been provided. The Office of the Inspector General will continue to work with the U.S. Attorney’s Office to combat fraud against Department of Labor programs,” said David Wickersham, Special Agent in Charge for the Dallas Region of the U.S. Department of Labor’s Office of Inspector General, Office of Labor Racketeering and Fraud Investigations.

“IRS - Criminal Investigation provides financial investigative expertise in our work with our law enforcement partners,” said IRS - Criminal Investigation Special Agent in Charge Sean Sowards. “Pooling the skills of each agency makes a formidable team as we investigate allegations of wrong-doing. This indictment demonstrates our collective efforts to enforce the law and ensure public trust.”

“The FBI takes health care fraud very seriously and worked collaboratively with the U.S. Department of Labor - Office of Inspector General, the Internal Revenue Service - Criminal Investigation, and the United States Attorney’s Office on this investigation,” said FBI Denver Special Agent in Charge James Yacone. “This investigation revealed fraud being committed against a federal health care program in excess of three million dollars. The FBI will continue to aggressively investigate violations regarding the healthcare system.”

If convicted of health care fraud and aiding and abetting, Breaux faces not more than 10 years in federal prison and a fine of up to $250,000. If convicted of money laundering, the defendant faces not more than 10 years in federal prison and a fine of up to $250,000 or alternatively a fine not more than twice the amount of the criminal derived property, or both, for each of the 48 counts.

This case was investigated by the Department of Labor Office of the Inspector General (DOL OIG), the Internal Revenue Service - Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI), and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).

The defendant is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Jaime Pena and Tonya Andrews.

The charges contained in the indictment are allegations, and the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until found guilty.