A federal jury on Monday convicted a former New Orleans area hospice director of health care fraud, agreeing that he schemed over six years to overbill the government while collecting $47 million in reimbursements from Medicare, according to U.S. Attorney Duane Evans’ office.

Dr. Shiva Akula, 67, operated Canon Healthcare LLC, with offices in Louisiana and Mississippi. Federal prosecutors claimed he submitted invoices totaling $62 million to Medicare between January 2013 and December 2019. The jury convicted Akula on all 23 counts he faced after a five-day trial before U.S. District Judge Lance Africk.

Prosecutors argued that Akula overbilled Medicare for general inpatient services for hospice patients, for which he was paid $600 more per patient, per day for months. More fraudulent billing came from wrongfully billed hospice home visits, according to prosecutors.

The jury also convicted Akula on multiple counts related to manipulating Medicare billing codes. Between 2013 and August 2014, he also submitted more than 1000 fraudulent claims related to medically unnecessary or already provided services. 

Akula faces a maximum ten years in prison and a fine of $250,000. Africk, who was nominated to the federal bench by President George W. Bush, set a Feb. 21 sentencing date. 

“Health care fraud schemes such as these profoundly impact our nation, not only because of the monetary loss triggered by the fraud, but also by the damaging erosion of public trust,” Evans said in a statement. 

The investigation involved the FBI, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General, and the Louisiana Department of Justice, according to Evans’ office.