US v. Booker: Booker ran two companies, one that provided substance abuse treatment and another that provided drug testing services, for which he billed Medicaid. He developed a scheme in which he partnered with two other organizations to provide “patients” who were drug tested (and Medicaid billed as a result) even though such tests were not medically required. Booker was tried and convicted of conspiracy, violating the Anti-Kickback Statute, and money laundering. He was sentenced to 200 months, a light variance from the 210-262-month Guideline range.
On appeal, the Fourth Circuit affirmed Booker’s convictions and sentence. After concluding that there was sufficient evidence to support Booker’s convictions, the court turned to a pair of his arguments regarding evidentiary issues. First, the court concluded there was no error in the district court allowing the Government to question a witness about the results of a state administrative audit of Booker’s companies because Booker (who represented himself) opened the door for such questions during his cross examination of the witness. The court also concluded that even if the audit findings were testimonial there was no Confrontation Clause issue because they were presented to prove that Booker (and others) had notice of the results, not the truth of the results themselves. Second, the court concluded that admission of evidence that Booker deposited $1 million in his personal bank account the same day the same amount was removed from his company’s account was not unduly prejudicial and “highly probative of Booker’s intent or motive to commit Medicaid fraud.”
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