Toledo area physician charged in $8m medical fraud

A FEDERAL grand jury in Toledo returned a six-count indictment charging Dr Ankita Singh, formerly of Maumee with fraudulently billing Medicare $8.4m, acting US Attorney Michelle M Baeppler announced Thursday (12).

From June 2018 through May 2021, it is alleged that Dr Singh participated in a scheme to bill

Medicare approximately $8.4m in durable medical equipment, prosthetics/orthotics, and supplies that were medically unnecessary, the announcement said.

Telemarketers and call centers would contact or cold-call Medicare beneficiaries in an attempt to convince the beneficiaries to agree to receive medical equipment in the mail, the US Attorney’s Office said.

The call center operators and telemarketers often told beneficiaries that the braces would be provided at no cost and that a doctor would be contacting them, the statement added.

The indictment states that the call centers and telemarketers would then use general information about the beneficiary, including their name, Medicare number, and purported diagnosis, to prepare order forms that certified that the equipment and supplies were medically necessary.

According to the indictment, Dr Singh received these order forms and signed them, even though the doctor had never spoken to, examined, assessed, or otherwise established a doctor-patient relationship with the beneficiary, the US Attorney’s Office said.

As a result, suppliers shipped the items listed on the order forms to the beneficiaries and submitted a corresponding claim to Medicare.

Dr Singh was described as a state-licensed physician practicing in Maumee and Toledo. If convicted, the defendant’s sentence will be determined by the court after a review of factors unique to this case, including the defendant’s prior criminal record, if any, the defendant’s role in the offenses, and the characteristics of the violation.

In all cases, the sentence will not exceed the statutory maximum, and in most cases, it will be less than the maximum.