Doctor Pleads Guilty to $1.9 Million Scheme

Former doctor Steven Powell pleaded guilty to health care fraud in connection with a scheme to defraud Medicare by prescribing durable medical equipment (DME) without ever seeing, speaking to, or otherwise examining patients. He agreed to electronically sign orders for DME, such as knee and ankle braces, that he knew were used to submit more than $1.9 million in false and fraudulent claims to Medicare. He received kickbacks in exchange for each doctor’s order he signed authorizing DME that was not medically necessary and not legitimately prescribed. Read a Department of Justice press release.

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