Florida Criminal Attorney Blog
A Columbus doctor has been indicted as part of the nation’s largest health-care fraud enforcement action by the federal government, according to reports.
The 44-year-old Columbus podiatrist was indicted on June 19 in the Southern District of Florida and charged with one count of conspiracy to defraud the United States and receive health-care kickbacks and three counts of receiving health-care kickbacks.
The man’s charges are part of a broader investigation by the Medicare Fraud Strike Force and includes 601 defendants across 58 federal districts, including 76 doctors, as well as nurses and other licensed medical professionals. They are accused of participating in health-care fraud schemes involving approximately $2 billion in false billings.
According to the man’s indictment, he allegedly received kickback payments from PGRX, a Weston, Fla.-based business that recruited and paid doctors to prescribe compounded medications for TRICARE and private commercial insurance beneficiaries.
During the course of the conspiracy, the man and his co-conspirators allegedly signed false medical director and speaker agreements in order to conceal that PGRX was paying the defendant for writing prescriptions, according to the indictment. As a result of these prescriptions, TRICARE made payments to Atlantic Pharmacy, a pharmacy located in the Southern District of Florida.
Medicare fraud is classified as a felony as well as a federal crime that carries some pretty steep penalties, both criminal and civil. The monetary liabilities can be huge. The possibility of being held accountable for Medicare, Medicaid, Tricare, and other health care fraud means you need to be proactive in your defense strategy and seek expert legal help right away. You could be branded a criminal and lose everything you have worked so hard to create in your career as a medical professional.
Regardless of how organized your practice and its operations are, the chances of being audited by Medicare are quite real, especially if you have a successful practice and submit high volume claims to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS). Keep this in mind: according to government statistics, claims of approximately $50 billion per year are considered suspicious and subject to Medicare fraud investigation.
Our Florida Medicare Fraud Defense Attorneys at Whittel & Melton can help you with your defense against Medicare fraud charges. Call us today at 866-608-5529 or contact us online to discuss your case. All initial consultations are free and confidential.