Lock Haven Resident Charged With Conspiring With Physician For Kickback Payments At Local Nursing Home

HARRISBURG - The United States Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Pennsylvania announced that Paul D. Polen, age 71, of Lock Haven, Pennsylvania was charged by criminal information with one count of conspiracy to engage in theft or bribery concerning programs receiving federal funds between 2002 and 2022. 

According to United States Attorney Gerard M. Karam, the information alleges that Polen, while working at a nursing home in Lock Haven, PA, agreed with an unnamed physician to be paid kickback payments. The nursing home was a recipient of Medicare benefits in excess of $10,000 per year. Under Federal law, it is an offense to embezzle, steal, obtain by fraud, or misapply property worth at least $5,000 from an organization receiving Federal funds in excess of $10,000 in a year.

The physician reported to Polen, who ran the workers’ compensation program for the nursing home. Polen hired the physician for this role on the condition that the physician would have to pay half of his salary from the nursing home to Polen each month, through a company that Polen set up called Paul D. Polen, Inc. Polen made his own wife the president of this company in name only.

The physician agreed to this arrangement, which required, at most, a few hours of work per month from the physician. The physician’s responsibilities also included evaluating Polen’s own workers’ compensation claims, which resulted in Polen working a reduced schedule for the same compensation from the nursing home.

The physician then proceeded to pay Polen between approximately $1,700 and $2,500 per month for a period of about twenty years. In order to conceal these payments, Polen and the physician regularly exchanged payment at the physician’s home rather than at the workplace. In total, it is alleged that Polen and the physician conspired to embezzle, steal, obtain by fraud, and misapply approximately $528,450 from the nursing home.

The case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Ravi Romel Sharma is prosecuting the case. 

The maximum penalty under federal law for conspiracy is five years of imprisonment, a term of supervised release following imprisonment, and a fine. A sentence following a finding of guilt is imposed by the Judge after consideration of the applicable federal sentencing statutes and the Federal Sentencing Guidelines.

Indictments and Criminal Informations are only allegations. All persons charged are presumed to be innocent unless and until found guilty in court.

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