A Texas doctor, David M. Young, was sentenced to 10 years in prison and ordered to pay $26.6 million in restitution for his involvement in a Medicare fraud scheme.Young was found guilty of prescribing durable medical equipment and cancer genetic tests without ever seeing or treating the patients involved.
Court documents revealed that the 61-year-old physician from Fredericksburg signed thousands of medical records and prescriptions falsely claiming that these items were medically necessary.
Young prescribed orthotic braces and genetic tests for over 13,000 Medicare beneficiaries, including undercover agents posing as patients. His fraudulent prescriptions facilitated more than $70 million in Medicare claims, for which he received approximately $475,000 in illegal kickbacks, according to authorities.
In May 2024, a jury convicted Young of conspiracy to commit health care fraud and multiple counts of making false statements related to health care matters.
This case highlights ongoing efforts to combat health care fraud and protect taxpayer funds from exploitation.