A former sleep clinic order has been sentenced to 19 months in prison after submitting nearly $1 million in fraudulent claims for sleep studies to Medicare, U.S. Attorney Phillip A. Talbert announced Monday.

Travis Gober, 45, of Hanford, owned VIP Sleep Center, which operated clinics in Fresno and Tulare counties. From October 2019 through September 2021, Gober submitted thousands of claims through VIP Sleep Center for sleep studies which were not carried out on patients.

The claims falsely stated that patients had been referred for the studies by physicians that Gober had previously worked with.

It was revealed that Gober submitted the claims because Medicare will not pay for sleep studies unless the patient was referred by a physician.

Gober committed fraud, in part, to settle financial issues caused by his brother, Jeremy Gober, according to a news release from Talbert’s office.

Jeremy pleaded guilty to health care fraud and aggravated identity theft related to other Central Valley sleep clinics. His sentencing is scheduled for May 20.

Travis Gober’s case was investigated by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General, as well as the California Department of Health Care Services and the FBI.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Joseph Barton is prosecuting the case.