North Carolina doctor pleading guilty to federal crimes, fraud

By KevinMarcilliat, In Federal Crimes, 0 Comments

A former North Carolina physician has pleaded guilty in connection with federal allegations of health care fraud. The man, who had been an owner of Northcross Medical Center in the Charlotte area, was an internal medicine physician. The 55-year-old man was accused of federal crimes after he apparently used his medical center to defraud the Medicare and Medicaid programs. Official reports show that the man was also accused of tax evasion, dodging as much as $800,000 in tax debt.

Authorities say that the man and others at his practice were engaged in submitting false claims for procedures from 2009 to 2013. Most of those claims related to hemorrhoidectomies and other similar procedures. In many cases, those services were never provided, but the federal government compensated the center because of their filings through Medicare and Medicaid. Further, it appears that many of the man’s patients did not even qualify for the treatments that they were supposedly receiving.

Courtroom documents also show that the man was accused of committing tax fraud in 2009 and 2010 by hiding millions of dollars in personal income by claiming that they were business expenses. That money was used to purchase a massive home on a lake in North Carolina. As a result, the man has agreed to pay back $6.2 million in civil settlement money, which is the largest judgment ever against a single physician in that area. The man will be sentenced later for the criminal charges in connection with the matter.

Defendants who are charged with federal crimes may have different courtroom needs as compared to those facing less severe criminal allegations. For example, this man was facing both criminal and civil allegations in connection with the federal crimes. These defendants may require special assistance to help them decide on appropriate courses of action, including plea decisions and other courtroom choices.

Source: U.S. Attorney’s Office – Western District of North Carolina, “Huntersville Physician Pleads Guilty To Health Care Fraud And Tax Fraud And Agrees To Pay $6.2 Million To Settle Civil Fraud Claims,” June 25, 2014

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