JACKSON – A local doctor with a private, family medical practice on Bailey Avenue in Jackson, has plead guilty to count one of violating the anti-kickback statute. Dr. Earnest Rankin, 64, appeared before Judge Tom S. Lee and stipulated that he and a co-conspirator conspired with each other to receive kickbacks from Longwind Products and Services, a supplier of wheelchairs.
Rankin said Medicare beneficiaries were recruited to receive Certificates of Medical Necessity from him, as a doctor, and he would then refer the beneficiaries to Longwind for a power wheelchair.
Rankin said he issued those certificates when, in fact, the beneficiaries were not medically eligible to receive a Medicare-funded power wheelchair.
Rankin received a kickback for each Longwind wheelchair and has agreed to make full restitution to Medicare. He is scheduled to be sentenced on Sept 15, 2011, and faces up to five years in prison.
This case was investigated jointly by the FBI and the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Mississippi. Daniel McMullen, Special Agent in Charge (SAC) of the Jackson Field Office of the FBI stressed the importance of this cooperative effort, stating, “More than ever, law enforcement agencies are realizing success as they combine their resources and work together to investigate and prosecute abuse of vital federal programs.”
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