30 Nissan - 6 Iyar, 5768                        May 5-11, 2008 - THE JEWISH OBSERVER, LOS ANGELES-286th Web Ed.

U.S. JOINS 'WHISTLEBLOWER' CASE AGAINST BEVERLY HILLS-BASED RADIOLOGY CLINIC Cont'd from Home Page The complaint filed recently in United States District Court in Los Angeles accuses The Oaks Diagnostics, Inc. (doing business as Advanced Radiology of Beverly Hills), its owner, Ronald Grusd, M.D., and internal medicine practitioner Earl Fernando, M.D. of defrauding federal health care programs. The lawsuit alleges that the defendants engaged in a scheme to fraudulently bill Medicare for unnecessary tests performed at Advanced Radiology. As part of the alleged scheme, an Advanced Radiology employee recruited Medicare beneficiaries to undergo diagnostic tests at Advanced Radiology even though the beneficiaries did not need the tests. Unnecessary tests allegedly were also performed on patients allegedly referred by Fernando. The complaint alleges that Advanced Radiology submitted claims to Medicare for unnecessary diagnostic services rendered to 438 Medicare beneficiaries and that Medicare paid Advanced Radiology more than $600,000 for these services. Under the False Claims Act, the United States may recover three times the amount of its losses plus penalties. Recently, an Advanced Radiology employee allegedly involved with the scheme, Nordelyn Lowder, pleaded guilty to one count of health care fraud in connection with the fraud scheme. Lowder admitted that she received more than $500,000 over a four-year period in exchange for referring patients to Advanced Radiology. Lowder is scheduled to be sentenced by United States District Judge Florence-Marie Cooper on June 2, at which time she faces a maximum statutory penalty of 10 years in federal prison. The "whistleblower" lawsuit was originally filed in 2003 by a former Advanced Radiology employee under the qui tam provisions of the False Claims Act, which allows a private party to file an action on behalf of the United States and receive a portion of the recovery. The United States first filed a notice of intervention on Feb. 12. In April 2008, the government filed its lawsuit which takes the place of the original qui tam complaint filed in 2003. This case was investigated by the Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Inspector General, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

PBS TO AIR ESAPE FROM AUSCHWITZ PBS will air "Escape from Auschwitz" on Thursday, May 8, and Monday, May 12. The death factory at Auschwitz was a closely guarded secret of the Third Reich - until two men, Rudolph Vrba and Alfred Wetzler, escaped to tell the world about the Nazi atrocities. Escape from Auschwitz reveals the story of their escape and explores the controversial decision by the head of the Hungarian underground not to make their report public. In Chapter 1, learn about Vrba’s and Wetzler’s experience at Auschwitz and the methods used by the Nazi’s to deport the Jews of Eastern Europe to the death camps. In Chapter 2 learn about the great escape performed by Vrba and Wetzler as well as how the news of Auschwitz was received when they reached safety. In chapter 3, learn about the suppression of the report on Auschwitz, the difficulties publicizing the report to other countries, and how it’s eventual release led to the single. HILLSIDE MEMORIAL PARK TO HOST 2008 MOTHER’S DAY REMEMBRANCE SERVICE Cont'd from Home Page The Mother’s Day celebration will include a prayer and candle lighting ceremonies, live music, and a performance by cantors Marcelo and Mariana Gindlin. Notes and prayers, written in honor of remembered mothers, will also be taken by Hillside to be placed in the sacred Western Wall of Jerusalem.  Throughout the day, the Kaplan String Quartet will perform on the grounds to enhance visitor experiences, and an on-site florist will provide added convenience. In the spirit of tzedakah, Hillside will be accepting contributions of canned and packaged dry food, eyeglasses, hearing aids and cell phones for the Hillside Chesed Project. The "Mother’s Day Remembrance Service" will be performed by Rabbi Michelle Missaghieh of Temple Israel of Hollywood and is open to the public at Hillside Memorial Park and Mortuary, located at 6001 W. Centinela in Los Angeles.