A 22-year-old Florida man pleaded guilty Thursday to federal charges stemming from his involvement in a $39.5 million health care fraud.
According to federal authorities, Christopher Spellman was part of a group that paid kickbacks and bribes for doctors’ orders to prescribe orthotic braces to Medicare patients.
Spellman served as Dimon Business Solution’s registered agent in Pasco County, Florida. The FBI discovered that it was part of a network of durable medical equipment (DME) management firms.
According to prosecutors, Spellman “submitted, or caused the submission of, false and fraudulent” claims, and Medicare paid at least $23 million of the $39.5 million in claims submitted.
Prosecutors charged Spellman on July 17, and U.S. District Court Judge Samantha Elliott planned to sentence him on November 21. He faces up to ten years in prison, three years on supervised release, and a fine.
The inquiry was led by the US Department of Health and Human Services Office of the Inspector General, the Internal Revenue Service, and the US Department of Defense’s Defense Criminal Investigative Service.
