United States v. Sunny Robinson
505 F. App'x 385
5th Cir.2013Background
- Robinson owned Memorial Medical Supply (MMS), which provided durable medical equipment to Medicare beneficiaries.
- Indictment alleged he paid kickbacks to Lisa Jones and Shirley Chavis in exchange for Medicare beneficiary information.
- Robinson was convicted by jury on conspiracy to commit health care fraud, aiding and abetting health care fraud, conspiracy to violate the Anti-Kickback Statute, and paying kickbacks in violation of the AKS.
- Sentenced to 97 months in prison with concurrent three-year terms of supervised release.
- On appeal, Robinson challenged the AKS and its safe-harbor provision as vague and sought exemption under the safe harbor.
Issues
| Issue | Plaintiff's Argument | Defendant's Argument | Held |
|---|---|---|---|
| Whether the AKS and safe harbor are unconstitutionally vague as applied. | Robinson argues vagueness must fail. | Government contends not vague; safe harbor not needed to understand conduct. | Not unconstitutionally vague as applied. |
| Whether the safe harbor applies to exempt Robinson’s conduct. | Safe harbor should cover bona fide employee arrangement. | Jones/Chavis not bona fide employees; no control by Robinson. | Safe harbor does not apply; not a bona fide employment relationship. |
Key Cases Cited
- Nationwide Mut. Ins. Co. v. Darden, 503 U.S. 318 (1992) (general common law of agency; control factors determine employee status)
- United States v. Miles, 360 F.3d 472 (5th Cir. 2004) (AKS prohibits kickbacks for referrals to Medicare)
- Holder v. Humanitarian Law Project, 130 S. Ct. 2705 (2010) (statutory vagueness and notice principles)
- United States v. Girod, 646 F.3d 304 (5th Cir. 2011) (de novo review of acquittal and vagueness challenges)