Kansas physician Gautam Jayaswal, MD, has admitted to his role in a telemedicine fraud scheme.
Dr. Jayaswal pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit healthcare fraud for ordering millions of dollars' worth of unnecessary genetic tests and orthotic braces for thousands of patients, according to a May 9 news release from the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of Missouri.
Dr. Jayaswal was contracted as a telemedicine physician through a variety of companies from 2017 to 2021. During that time, he fraudulently ordered one or more orthotic braces for 1,433 patients, defrauding Medicare out of an estimated $1.3 million.
In addition, Dr. Jayaswal ordered medically unnecessary genetic testing for 2,061 patients, which resulted in $14.7 million in Medicare payments, the release said.
Dr. Jayaswal has been ordered to pay back the money and faces up to five years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000.