2 doctors accused of using homeless in fraud scheme
Two physicians were arrested Friday for allegedly subjecting mentally ill homeless people to unnecessary tests and other procedures at a North Hollywood clinic in order to submit fraudulent bills to government insurance programs, authorities said.
Dr. Eleanor Santiago Arthur and Dr. Rodney Stephen Barron participated in a scheme in which "cappers" recruited Medicare and Medi-Cal enrollees from as far away as Long Beach and drove them to the Victory Boulevard clinic in exchange for a fee, according to the complaint filed by Los Angeles Deputy City Atty. Carolyn Phillips.
The "patients" were subjected to abdominal ultrasounds and other procedures that were unwarranted, the complaint says. In some instances, their blood was drained into unsanitary, open containers, it says. One official said the clinics submitted the blood for tests under multiple patients' names so they could bill multiple times.
After the visits, the cappers drove the patients back to where they picked them up and paid them $100 each, according to the complaint.
-- Lisa Girion
EDITOR'S PICKS:
The Doctors should go directly to jail - they are common criminals, violated their Hippocratic oath, embezzled from the Government (taxpayers) and need to lose their licenses to practice medicine. No mercy!
Posted by: victoriam | October 29, 2010 at 09:48 PM
Yes, and when the good doctors have completed their prison terms,
DEPORT THEM.
Posted by: Jim Q. | October 29, 2010 at 10:41 PM
This is an outrage! What can possess these doctors to do such vile, criminal acts? Greed? Lack of enforcement? Lack of regulations? Lack of deterrence? Throw the book at them!
Posted by: hcp | October 30, 2010 at 12:25 AM
Chances are, the "Professionals" will receive probation, and then their medical license will be suspended and then reinstated. Doctors routinely defraud insurance companies AND patients, and because it is difficult to catch, more times than not get away with it. When they get caught, it's a slap on the wrist. The same thing applies to lawyers.
Posted by: Curtis Lemanski | October 30, 2010 at 07:42 AM
This is only the tiny tip of the iceberg of fraud.
Posted by: TruthTeller | October 30, 2010 at 08:24 AM