Arizona
News Archive: 2009 Quick Reference: August 4, 2010 - Scottsdale Doctor Sentenced To 18 Months in Prison for Health Care Fraud – Read More April 9, 2010 - Scottsdale Doctor Pleads Guilty To Health Care Fraud - Read More March 5, 2010 - Parker Physician to Pay Federal Government $430,000 for False Medicare Billings - Read More |  |
Scottsdale Doctor Sentenced To 18 Months in Prison for Health Care Fraud (U.S. Attorney’s Office Arizona)
Phoenix – Stewart C. Mann, 58, of Scottsdale, Arizona, was sentenced on August 2, 2010, by U.S. District Court Judge Frederick J. Martone for Health Care Fraud.
Mann was a medical doctor specializing in internal medicine and pathology who had a private practice in Scottsdale, Arizona. Between March 2005 and January 2009 he billed Medicare Part B for at least $480,000 worth of malignant lesion excisions that were never performed.
“Dr. Mann betrayed his patients, American taxpayers, and his own oath to first do no harm,” said U.S. Attorney Dennis K. Burke.
During visits for unrelated conditions, Mann told several of his patients that they had lesions on their backs that may be, or may become, cancerous and needed to be removed. Mann had these patients come to his office frequently for removals. On each of these visits Mann removed one or more of the purported lesions by curetting or shaving them off rather than excising them. Instead of billing Medicare for shaving or curetting, Mann billed for excisions because they paid more. Mann also falsely diagnosed most of the purported lesions as malignant because he received more money for excisions when malignancy was found. In addition, Mann billed Medicare for malignant lesion excisions on dates when the patients did not even see him. When audited by Medicare, Mann falsified patient records to make it appear that his billings were legitimate.
Judge Martone sentenced Mann to 18 months imprisonment and ordered him to pay $480,000 in restitution to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
The investigation in this case was conducted by the United States Department of Health and Human Services, Office of the Inspector General. The prosecution was handled by Jennifer Levinson and Peter Sexton, Assistant U.S. Attorneys, District of Arizona, Phoenix.
CASE NUMBER: CR-10-460-PHX-FJM
RELEASE NUMBER: 2010-162(Mann)
For more information on the U.S. Attorney’s Office, District of Arizona, visit http://www.usdoj.gov/usao/az/
Scottsdale Doctor Pleads Guilty To Health Care Fraud (U.S. Attorney for the District of Arizona)
Phoenix, Arizona - Stewart C. Mann, 58, of Scottsdale, Arizona, pled guilty Thursday to an Information charging him with one count of Health Care Fraud.
“Dr. Mann violated his oath to ‘first do no harm’ to his patients,” said Dennis K. Burke, U.S. Attorney for the District of Arizona. “His admission of guilt for fraud is the result of the partnership between HHS-OIG and this office to investigate and aggressively prosecute those who scam the Medicare system.”
Mann was charged with, and pled guilty to, one count of Health Care Fraud. Mann was a medical doctor specializing in internal medicine and pathology who had a private practice in Scottsdale, Arizona. During the plea hearing, Mann admitted that between March 2005 and January 2009 he billed Medicare Part B for at least $480,000 worth of malignant lesion excisions that were never performed.
“Dr. Mann put personal greed ahead of providing quality health care services. He took advantage of both his patients and the Medicare program by submitting false claims. The OIG and our team of Special Agents in Arizona will continue to pursue Federal prosecution of any health care provider who uses Medicare patients as pawns to pad their wallets,” said Glenn R. Ferry, Special Agent in Charge for the Los Angeles Region of the Office of Inspector General for the Department of Health and Human Services.
During visits for unrelated conditions, Mann told several of his patients that they had lesions on their backs that may be, or may become, cancerous and needed to be removed. Mann had these patients come to his office frequently for removals. On each of these visits Mann removed one or more of the purported lesions by curetting or shaving them off rather than excising them. Instead of billing Medicare for shaving or curetting, Mann billed for excisions because they paid more. Mann also falsely diagnosed most of the purported lesions as malignant because he received more money for excisions when malignancy was found. In addition, Mann billed Medicare for malignant lesion excisions on dates when the patients did not even see him. When audited by Medicare, Mann falsified patient records to make it appear that his billings were legitimate.
A conviction for Health Care Fraud carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison, a $250,000 fine or both. In determining an actual sentence, Judge Martone will consult the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines, which provide appropriate sentencing ranges. The judge, however, is not bound by those guidelines in determining a sentence.
Sentencing is set before Judge Martone on June 21, 2010 at 2:00 p.m.
The investigation in this case was conducted by the United States Department of Health and Human Services, Office of the Inspector General. The prosecution is being handled by Jennifer Levinson and Peter Sexton, Assistant U.S. Attorneys, District of Arizona, Phoenix.
Parker Physician to Pay Federal Government $430,000 for False Medicare Billings (U.S. Attorney for the District of Arizona)
PHOENIX – Kevin S. Klopfenstein, M.D., a physician practicing in Parker, has agreed to pay the federal government $430,000 to resolve allegations that he and his medical practice, Kevin S. Klopfenstein, M.D., P.C. (KSK), violated the federal False Claims Act by submitting false bills to Medicare.
On March 5, 2010, U.S. Attorney for the District of Arizona Dennis K. Burke said: “The integrity of our Medicare system depends on the honest practices of doctors and other Medicare providers. This settlement demonstrates how seriously we take false billing for Medicare services, and the costly consequences of gaming the system.”
The settlement agreement resolves allegations that Dr. Klopfenstein and KSK falsely billed Medicare for Thoracic Electrical Bioimpedance (TEB) (also known as Biothoracic Impedance (BTI) tests by representing that the patients receiving the tests met applicable Medicare coverage requirements when, in fact, the patients did not meet any of the requirements.
“This civil settlement is significant because it puts physicians on notice that if they overbill the Federal health care programs they will face stiff penalties. False claims, such as those allegedly submitted by Dr. Klopfenstein, contribute to the billions of dollars lost to the Medicare program and tax payers each year.” said Glenn R. Ferry, Special Agent in Charge for the Los Angeles Region of the Office of Inspector General of the Department of Health of Human Services.
The case was handled by Lon R. Leavitt, Assistant U.S. Attorney, District of Arizona, Phoenix.
