MICHIGAN
A federal jury found a physician guilty Friday for her role in a scheme involving approximately $8.9 million in fraudulent Medicare claims for home health care and other physician services.
The services obtained through the payment of kickbacks were not medically necessary or were not provided. In some cases, they were provided by the defendant who is not a doctor.
The jury convicted Millicent Traylor, 47, of West Bloomfield, Michigan, of one count of conspiracy to commit health care fraud, one count of conspiracy to pay and receive kickbacks in connection with Medicare beneficiaries.
Jury also found her guilty of five counts of health care fraud.
The convictions came after a four-day trial. She is expected to be sentenced on Sept. 27, according to officials.
According to evidence, from 2011 to 2016, Traylor and her co-conspirators engaged in a scheme to defraud Medicare of approximately $8.9 million through fraudulent home health and physician claims.
The evidence showed that Traylor, who was unlicensed at the time, acted as a physician for these companies, providing services that were not medically necessary and that were billed to Medicare.
The evidence further showed that Traylor conspired to bill Medicare.
Traylor and her co-conspirators falsified medical records and signed false documents.
Additionally, Traylor and her co-conspirators paid and received kickbacks in exchange for referring Medicare beneficiaries to serve as patients at the clinics, according to officials.
The evidence also revealed that Traylor fraudulently signed the names of licensed physicians on prescriptions for opioid medications, such as oxycodone, as a means of inducing patient participation in the scheme, officials said.
Four defendants were charged in this matter.
Jacklyn Price, 33, of Shelby Township, Michigan, and Muhammad Qazi, 47, of Bloomfield Hills, Michigan, pleaded guilty in April 2017 and are awaiting sentencing.
Christina Kimbrough, M.D., 39, of Wayne, Michigan, pleaded guilty in November 2017 and is awaiting sentencing.