Doctor Accused of Collecting $6 Million in Telemedicine Fraud Scheme

New technology creates new opportunities. Some of which are good, while others are not. Telemedicine has become increasingly popular among patients who want to speak with a doctor, but have no need for an in-person examination. Virtual appointments also make it possible or physicians to help more patients. Spurred on by the COVID pandemic and subsequent lockdowns, telemedicine now plays a vital role in this country’s healthcare system.

Along with its advantages, telemedicine has made it easier for some unscrupulous medical providers to engage in certain types of fraud. A recent example is the case of Dr. Tommie Robinson, an Alabaman who agreed to plead guilty in a federal case stemming from a multi-million-dollar telemedicine kickback scheme.

For a period of more than two years, Robinson allegedly collaborated with a company to create unnecessary orders from Medicare beneficiaries. Though Robinson never actually saw, or spoke with, the patients, he authorized approximately $6 million in durable medical equipment and genetic testing. Some of the specific items included hospital beds, power wheelchairs, oxygen supplies and tests to assess someone’s cancer risk. Robinson apparently received a kickback for each bogus order that he approved. 

Tracing suspect medical authorizations can be much more difficult when the order is supposedly based on a telemedicine appointment. With in-person visits, a doctor can see fewer patients in a day, and they need to live relatively close to the doctor’s office. However, as is alleged in this case, a company can reach out to Medicare recipients anywhere and fulfill an order for equipment based on a physician’s representation that he completed an online visit with them.

Dr. Robinson’s pending guilty plea marks another high-profile enforcement action in the federal government’s ongoing crackdown on telemedicine abuse and genetic testing fraud. Even diligent investigators cannot come close to stopping all of the schemes designed to misappropriate money from government health insurance programs such as Medicare, Medicaid and Tricare. This is why whistleblowers with inside knowledge of fraudulent activity are so important. 

If you are aware of misconduct such as rubber-stamped equipment orders or improper payments to doctors, reporting what you know could result in a whistleblower award. Under the False Claims Act, individuals who provide information that leads to a recovery of government funds can collect a share of that money. Kardell Law Group is highly experienced in whistleblower claims where clients have obtained substantial sums for their honesty and diligence.