Man, son plead guilty of Medicare fraud

A Hilton Head Island man and his son have pleaded guilty to Medicare fraud in federal court in West Virginia.

Charles Eugene "Charlie" Gwinn, 63, of Hilton Head, and his son, Charlie W. "Eric" Gwinn, 34, of Richmond, Va., each face up to 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine when they are sentenced Jan. 12, according to a news release from the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of West Virginia.

The convictions stem from an investigation conducted by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Inspector General. At the hearing, Charles Gwinn, a former owner of Group II Medical Supports LLC, a company near Beckley, W.Va., admitted and stipulated that he was responsible for fraudulently billing Medicare for $57,588.69, the news release said.

Eric Gwinn, a former employee of his father's company, admitted he was responsible for fraudulently billing $23,792.79 to Medicare, the release said.

Previously, Group II entered a corporate plea regarding more than $10 million in fraudulent billing.

The plea resulted in a $2.2 million civil settlement with the United States.