Podiatrist Sentenced for Fraudulently Billing Medicare Nearly $2M Under False Identity

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May 05, 2023

UNBELIEVABLE!  Many times when I see Press Releases from the Department of Justice (DOJ) a couple thoughts go through my head…. “If only they had a better compliance program in place that conducted audits and monitored potential issues, this might not have cost them $XX millions of dollars.” Or, I think … “Wow!  That was BOLD!”  This is one of those times that I pull out the BOLD thought and add on a “slap my head” emoji!

A Michigan podiatrist (Dr. Kenneth Mitchell), who had previously been suspended by Medicare for suspicious billing practices, was sentenced to seven years in prison for submitting nearly $2M in false claims.  (You might think… seven years in prison is pretty steep for $2M in false claims, when many other organizations have been fined much more than that and never had jail time.  So, hold on… there’s more…)  Some of the findings by the OIG that lead to the seven-year jail sentence:

  • Orchestrating health care fraud conspiracy
  • Falsifying records
  • Identity theft
  • After first suspension, created another entity and had another physician put her name on the corporate and banking records
  • Falsely billed under the other physician’s name for services never provided by the other physician
  • After being indicted, Mitchell created false statements, forged signature on a false letter to DHHS (Department of Health and Human Services), and impeded an ongoing investigation

See the entire press release: https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/podiatrist-sentenced-fraudulently-billing-medicare-nearly-2m-under-false-identity

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