A federal court has sentenced Dr. John Thropay, a former medical director for several hospice companies, to 37 months in prison for his involvement in a $2.8 million hospice fraud scheme.

Among the companies for which Thropay worked was Blue Sky Hospice, located in Van Nuys, California. Between 2014 and 2016, he allegedly certified patients for hospice care who were not eligible, according to the U.S. Justice Department. In many cases, the patients did not have the terminal illnesses with which they were reportedly diagnosed.

“In 2015, Thropay was listed as the attending provider for more hospice claims paid by Medicare than any other provider in the nation,” the Justice Department indicated in a press release. “Thropay was convicted at trial in the Central District of California of one count of conspiracy to commit health care fraud and four counts of health care fraud on Feb. 15.”

The FBI and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of the Inspector General investigated the case, which was prosecuted by Assistant Deputy Chief Niall M. O’Donnell and Trial Attorney Eric C. Schmale from the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, Fraud Section.

The Fraud Section is spearheading the Justice Department’s Health Care Fraud Strike Force Program, which operates in 27 federal districts. Since March 2007, the program has resulted in criminal charges against more than 5,400 defendants who collectively committed $27 billion in health care fraud.