hungrycollegek
06-21-2018, 09:48 AM
A longstanding advocate of bringing professional basketball to Louisville has resigned abruptly from a new NBA effort, citing concerns with the group's chairman.
Louisville attorney J. Bruce Miller issued a lengthy letter to the media on Thursday morning, saying he felt he had no choice but to resign after he learned that a company headed by Louisville Basketball Investment & Support Group chairman Joe Steier was embroiled in a medical fraud lawsuit. In the letter, Miller claims he was never informed about the case.
Miller also claims the Louisville Basketball Investment & Support Group, led by hall-of-famer Dan Issel, breached a consulting agreement he signed with its board of directors.
Steier is CEO of Louisville-based Signature Healthcare Inc., and we reported last week that Signature agreed to pay more than $30 million to the federal government and the state of Tennessee to settle allegations that it defrauded Medicare and Tennessee's Medicaid program.
The U.S. Department of Justice announced earlier this month that it reached an agreement with Signature Healthcare to settle a civil lawsuit first filed in 2015.
The Justice Department claims in the release that Signature violated a federal law called the False Claims Act by knowingly submitting claims to Medicare for unnecessary rehabilitation services, billing Medicare for rehab services it didn't provide and overbilling for services it did provide. The release also alleged that Signature submitted forged documents that specified patients' need for skilled nursing services to Tennessee’s Medicaid program.
In his resignation letter, Miller said he learned of the case on June 6 when the news release was issued by the Justice Department, which he called a "startling shock," noting the case was filed nearly a year before the NBA to Louisville initiative was formed.
"In my capacity as a co-founder of the LLC and as a member of the Kentucky Bar Association for 52 1/2 years, it is my opinion that Kentucky law required honesty and forthright communication between LLC partners," Miller said in the letter.
A representative for the Louisville Basketball Investment & Support Group said the organization would be issuing a statement soon.
After he learned of the case, Miller said he sent an email to Steier, urging him to sign a sworn affidavit that there are no other active or federal court cases or "existing threats" of similar types of lawsuits against Signature Healthcare.
Miller claims in the letter that he never received the affidavit or a response from Steier.
"In my opinion, this situation is so bizarre that it will severely damage any continuing efforts the LLC would hope to undertake and will be highly likely to disqualify any eventual NBA membership application by the Louisville market area as long as a high-ranking official associated with Signature Healthcare were a minority owner," Miller states in the letter.
Miller has been working on bringing an NBA franchise to Louisville ever since the dissolution of the ABA's Kentucky Colonels in the 1970s, and he helped bring former Kentucky Wildcats and Denver Nuggets star Dan Issel into the fold as president.
The group includes a collective of Louisville investors who have said they need to attract a majority investor and owner who could help generate at least $1.4 billion to start an NBA franchise in Louisville. The organization has raised at least $3 million for startup costs and is trying to sync its efforts with Seattle's pursuit of a team.
Article was just posted in Louisville Business First. Author: Martin Finley
Signature Healthcare has been in a lot of fiscal trouble around town. They've had to renegotiate on leases, layoffs at a time when our local economy is really strong, and a lot of question marks regarding their actual financial state (bankruptcy rumors not too long ago). It doesn't surprise me one bit. Honestly my hope is that Junior Bridgeman would come into play and take the place of Joe Steier. What are your thoughts? Does this mean the end for Louisville being in contention for an NBA franchise?
Louisville attorney J. Bruce Miller issued a lengthy letter to the media on Thursday morning, saying he felt he had no choice but to resign after he learned that a company headed by Louisville Basketball Investment & Support Group chairman Joe Steier was embroiled in a medical fraud lawsuit. In the letter, Miller claims he was never informed about the case.
Miller also claims the Louisville Basketball Investment & Support Group, led by hall-of-famer Dan Issel, breached a consulting agreement he signed with its board of directors.
Steier is CEO of Louisville-based Signature Healthcare Inc., and we reported last week that Signature agreed to pay more than $30 million to the federal government and the state of Tennessee to settle allegations that it defrauded Medicare and Tennessee's Medicaid program.
The U.S. Department of Justice announced earlier this month that it reached an agreement with Signature Healthcare to settle a civil lawsuit first filed in 2015.
The Justice Department claims in the release that Signature violated a federal law called the False Claims Act by knowingly submitting claims to Medicare for unnecessary rehabilitation services, billing Medicare for rehab services it didn't provide and overbilling for services it did provide. The release also alleged that Signature submitted forged documents that specified patients' need for skilled nursing services to Tennessee’s Medicaid program.
In his resignation letter, Miller said he learned of the case on June 6 when the news release was issued by the Justice Department, which he called a "startling shock," noting the case was filed nearly a year before the NBA to Louisville initiative was formed.
"In my capacity as a co-founder of the LLC and as a member of the Kentucky Bar Association for 52 1/2 years, it is my opinion that Kentucky law required honesty and forthright communication between LLC partners," Miller said in the letter.
A representative for the Louisville Basketball Investment & Support Group said the organization would be issuing a statement soon.
After he learned of the case, Miller said he sent an email to Steier, urging him to sign a sworn affidavit that there are no other active or federal court cases or "existing threats" of similar types of lawsuits against Signature Healthcare.
Miller claims in the letter that he never received the affidavit or a response from Steier.
"In my opinion, this situation is so bizarre that it will severely damage any continuing efforts the LLC would hope to undertake and will be highly likely to disqualify any eventual NBA membership application by the Louisville market area as long as a high-ranking official associated with Signature Healthcare were a minority owner," Miller states in the letter.
Miller has been working on bringing an NBA franchise to Louisville ever since the dissolution of the ABA's Kentucky Colonels in the 1970s, and he helped bring former Kentucky Wildcats and Denver Nuggets star Dan Issel into the fold as president.
The group includes a collective of Louisville investors who have said they need to attract a majority investor and owner who could help generate at least $1.4 billion to start an NBA franchise in Louisville. The organization has raised at least $3 million for startup costs and is trying to sync its efforts with Seattle's pursuit of a team.
Article was just posted in Louisville Business First. Author: Martin Finley
Signature Healthcare has been in a lot of fiscal trouble around town. They've had to renegotiate on leases, layoffs at a time when our local economy is really strong, and a lot of question marks regarding their actual financial state (bankruptcy rumors not too long ago). It doesn't surprise me one bit. Honestly my hope is that Junior Bridgeman would come into play and take the place of Joe Steier. What are your thoughts? Does this mean the end for Louisville being in contention for an NBA franchise?