News

No travel leeway for man accused of health-care fraud

Posted November 27, 2007 10:00 pm

Dean Olsen

A federal judge on Tuesday denied Rickey Weir's request that he be allowed to leave Sangamon County so he can consult with his Chicago lawyers on health-care fraud charges.

Even though the Springfield man has complied with the home confinement and other terms of his release from jail after posting $1 million bail, U.S. District Judge Jeanne Scott said the conduct that led to Weir's arrest Sept. 19 justifies strict control of his travels.

"His behavior raised a lot of questions as to his intent to leave," she said.

Weir, who prosecutors alleged was preparing to flee the country for Nigeria before his arrest, didn't show any emotion in the courtroom after Scott's decision, though one of his lawyers, Ralph Meczyk, expressed disappointment.

A federal grand jury charged Weir - the former business manager for his estranged wife's medical practice, Cardinal Respiratory - with 16 felony counts of mail fraud and health-care fraud on Sept. 11.

If convicted, he could be sent to prison for more than a decade.

The indictment alleges that Weir, 60, overbilled Medicare, Medicaid, private insurance companies and individual patients in a scheme he masterminded that resulted in at least $800,000 in undeserved revenue for the practice from 1997 through March 2007.

Federal prosecutors also charged Weir's wife, Dr. Janet Despot, with a misdemeanor in the case. She has pleaded guilty but is still practicing medicine and could be sentenced in January. She has told court officials that she would agree to pay $2.8 million in federal fines and compensation to victims of the overbillings.

Meczyk said it would be a bother, and more expensive for Weir, if Weir's legal team had to travel from Chicago to Springfield to meet with him. Weir's trial is scheduled for May.

Meczyk argued that Weir wouldn't flee if the terms of his bond were relaxed, because Weir doesn't want to lose the $1 million he posted, and Weir wouldn't want to leave his three young children, who are living with Despot.

And despite the statements of U.S. Attorney Patrick Hansen, Meczyk said Weir never prepared to leave the country for Nigeria. Meczyk said Weir's dealings with Nigerians were "part of a scam that was run out of Nigeria."

Hansen told the judge that federal officials previously told Weir he was being scammed financially by people in Nigeria, but Hansen added that prosecutors still believe Weir was preparing to flee the United States for the African nation.

Documents filed by Hansen said "'suspicious activity reports' filed by financial institutions indicate that Weir has transferred over $300,000 to Nigeria, London and Taiwan. … It is unknown where any of these funds are currently held, potentially leaving the defendant with nearly $1,000,000 at his immediate disposal should he flee the country."

Hansen said Weir disregarded a court order in a related federal civil case, and Hansen still considers Weir a "flight risk."

"Mr. Weir has had the government chasing his tail for the past year and a half," Hansen said. "He makes his own rules."

The prosecutor said federal officials searched Weir's home last week and seized a computer, but Hansen wouldn't say why officials sought the search warrant or why they wanted the computer. Court records concerning the warrant have been sealed.

During the search, several counterfeit checks were found, Hansen told the judge.

"What Rickey Weir was up to we don't know," he said.

Meczyk has said Weir's car could be equipped with a global-positioning system tracking device during visits to Chicago that would be pre-approved by court officials.

But Scott said such a tracking system "can be foiled," and court officials don't have the resources to track Weir outside Sangamon County.

"It simply isn't worth the risk," she said.

Scott did modify the terms of Weir's home confinement to allow him a three-hour window every Sunday afternoon to spend time outside his home with his children. Weir lives in a house connected to the couple's Lake Springfield home.

Dean Olsen can be reached at (217) 788-1543 or dean.olsen@sj-r.com.

Article Categories
News