A Michigan podiatrist was sentenced to seven years in prison for a scheme that resulted in nearly $2 million in fraudulent claims being submitted to Medicare.
Kenneth Mitchell, DPM, 61, owned a podiatry practice and had previously been suspended by Medicare for suspicious billing practices, according to a May 4 Justice Department news release. After being suspended, Dr. Mitchell created a new company and convinced another physician to enroll in the Medicare program and place her name on corporate and banking related documents relating to the business.
Dr. Mitchell submitted almost $2 million in claims to Medicaid falsely stating the other physician provided services to patients, according to the release. After his indictment and the new company's loss of billing privileges, Dr. Mitchell forged at least one signature on a fraudulent letter to HHS to impede the investigation and contradict the government's case against him.