California Department of Health Care Services assisted with investigation
“State and federal investigators work to protect programs supported by taxpayer money by investigating those who commit fraud in order to line their own pockets. Their work often goes unnoticed, but we very much appreciate their investigative efforts and the assistance they provide to prosecutors.”
– CSLEA President Alan Barcelona
FRESNO- On March 11, 2024, Travis Gober, 45, of Hanford, was sentenced to 19 months in prison for committing health care fraud and aggravated identity theft by submitting more than $1 million in fraudulent claims for sleep studies to Medicare.
According to court records, Gober owned the VIP Sleep Center, which operated sleep clinics in Fresno and Tulare Counties. Sleep clinics perform diagnostic sleep studies on patients to identify disorders like sleep apnea and narcolepsy.
From October 2019 through September 2021, Gober caused the VIP Sleep Center to submit thousands of claims totaling nearly $1 million to Medicare for sleep studies that were not actually performed on patients. The claims also falsely stated that the patients had been referred for the sleep studies by physicians with whom Gober had previously worked. This was done because Medicare will not pay for a sleep study unless the patient was referred by a physician.
Gober committed this fraud, at least in part, to try to payoff financial debts and address other financial difficulties that his brother, Jeremy Gober, had caused the VIP Sleep Center and him to incur without his knowledge or consent.
This case is the product of an investigation by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and the California Department of Health Care Services.
Travis Gober’s brother, Jeremy Gober, was previously charged with, and has pleaded guilty to, health care fraud and aggravated identity theft related to other sleep clinics in the Central Valley. Jeremy Gober is scheduled to be sentenced on May 20, 2024.
