Chicago woman convicted of taking bribes in Rosner fraud scheme

A Chicago woman convicted Tuesday of taking bribes in exchange for referring elderly patients to a Skokie healthcare company is the 11th defendant convicted in the Rosner Home Healthcare fraud scheme.

Jenette George, 62, was convicted Tuesday by U.S. District Judge John Darrah of two counts of violating the federal Medicare and Medicaid Anti-Kickback Statute, and one count of conspiracy to violate the statute, according to the U.S. Attorney’s office.

Between January 2008 and July 2012, Rosner officials paid kickbacks and bribes to doctors, marketers, medical office employees and nurses to refer patients to the company, according to federal prosecutors. The referrals enabled Rosner to bill Medicare for home healthcare treatments it subsequently provided.

George, a marketer who operated the Ttenej Senior Referral Agency, received about $500 from Rosner for each patient she referred to Rosner, prosecutors said.

She is the 11th person convicted in a federal investigation into the bribes-for-referrals scheme at Rosner, which was based in north suburban Skokie but has since closed.

George faces up to 15 years in prison when she is sentenced Aug. 10.