FRESNO - A federal grand jury returned a 12-count indictment today against T, 42, of Hanford, charging him with health care fraud and aggravated identity theft, Acting U.S. Attorney Phillip A. Talbert announced. According to court documents, Gober owns and controls VIP Sleep Center, a sleep disorder clinic that operated out of Fresno and Visalia. Sleep disorder clinics perform diagnostic tests to identify ailments like sleep apnea and narcolepsy.

Between January 2015 and September 2021, Gober caused VIP Sleep to bill Medicare for sleep tests the company did not actually perform. Each of these claims also listed a provider who had purportedly referred the patient to VIP Sleep even though the provider had not done so. In total, Gober caused VIP Sleep to submit more than $10 million in false and fraudulent Medicare claims.

This case is the product of an investigation by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Vincente A. Tennerelli and Melanie L. Alsworth are prosecuting the case.

If convicted, Gober faces a maximum statutory penalty of 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine on the health care fraud charges and a mandatory two years in prison on the aggravated identity theft charges. Any sentence, however, would be determined at the discretion of the court after consideration of any applicable statutory factors and the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, which take into account a number of variables. The charges are only allegations; the defendant is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.