Covington Man Arrested on Health Care Fraud and Conspiracy Charges

NEW ORLEANS—Boyd William Leahy, age 45, was arrested this morning on charges of health care fraud and conspiracy. Boyd Leahy and his wife, Angelina Gaitan Leahy, also age 45, both residents of Covington, Louisiana, were charged in a 17-count indictment for health care fraud and conspiracy to commit health care fraud, announced U.S. Attorney Jim Letten.

According to the charges in the indictment, the Leahys were employed at a sleep clinic in Covington, Louisiana, owned by their friends, two local physicians. The bill of indictment charges that Boyd Leahy, as the office manager for the clinic, and Angelina Leahy, as the part-time billing clerk, conspired to commit health care fraud by creating a rival business entity, Sleep Corp., that the Leahys used to fraudulently bill insurance companies for services which were actually rendered by their employing clinic. When the Leahys received insurance payments on behalf of their rival company Sleep Corp., they kept the proceeds rather than giving them to their friends and employers, whose clinic actually rendered the services. Angelina Leahy then doctored the payment records for their employing clinic to further conceal their fraud.

Additionally, as alleged in the indictment, Boyd Leahy, as office manager of the clinic, used his position to generate extra paychecks for himself and to pay himself more than he was authorized to earn, and he did the same for his wife. Boyd Leahy also added his daughter, his father, and a creditor to his employing clinic’s payroll without authorization, causing paychecks to be issued when none of these individuals had performed any work on the clinic’s behalf. Boyd Leahy also used the employing clinic’s corporate credit card and business checking account to fund personal expenses, trips, and household utilities without the clinic owners’ knowledge or authorization. The total loss sustained by the clinic owners for this fraudulent scheme totals $827,946.

If convicted, Boyd Leahy and Angelina Leahy each face a maximum term of imprisonment of 10 years, a fine of $250,000, and three years of supervised release following any term of imprisonment. The indictment also seeks forfeiture and restitution to the victims.

U.S. Attorney Letten reiterated that the indictment is merely a charge and that the guilt of the defendants must be proven beyond a reasonable doubt.

The case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Office of Inspector General for the United States Department of Health and Human Services.

The case is being prosecuted by Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Juliana Etland.