A physician currently based in Ohio has been charged in a $14 million Medicare and Tricare fraud scheme in Washington.
Thomas Andrew Webster, MD, was involved in a scheme in which a marketing company allegedly obtained Medicare and Tricare beneficiaries' information via telemarketing. The company is accused of then using the beneficiaries' information to create fake medical records reflecting physician visits and orders for medical equipment that never occurred.
Dr. Webster, who at the time lived and was licensed in Washington, allegedly signed the fraudulent medical documentation and physician orders, according to a Dec. 4 news release from the Justice Department.
These orders were then sold to durable medical equipment companies that used the orders to bill Medicare and Tricare falsely and fraudulently for DME the beneficiaries did not want or need. The activity occurred between May 2021 and September 2023.
Medicare and Tricare paid over $13.7 million for the DME that was allegedly fraudulently ordered and referred by Dr. Webster. Dr. Webster also allegedly received $839,565 from Medicare and Tricare for fraudulent telemedicine visits that never took place.
Dr. Webster is charged with one count of conspiracy to violate the Anti-Kickback Statute, which carries a maximum of five years in federal prison.