LOCAL PHYSICIAN SENTENCED TO PRISON FOR ROLE IN MULTI-MILLION DOLLAR
MOTORIZED WHEELCHAIR FRAUD SCHEME

 

HOUSTON, Texas – Lewis Gottlieb, a Houston area psychiatrist, was sentenced to prison and ordered to pay millions to the Medicare and Medicaid health care benefit programs for his involvement in a motorized wheelchair fraud scheme, U.S. Attorney Don DeGabrielle announced today.

        At a sentencing hearing held on Tuesday, Dec. 5, 2006, U.S. District Judge Lee H. Rosenthal sentenced Dr. Gottlieb to six and one-half years in federal prison without parole and ordered that he pay more than $20.6 million in restitution and to forfeit to the United States an additional $19 million constituting the proceeds or property derived from the wheelchair fraud scheme.  Dr. Gottlieb has been permitted to remain free on bond conditioned upon his surrendering to a prison facility to be designated by the U.S. Bureau of Prison.  

        Dr. Gottlieb was one of several persons indicted in September 2003 after an extensive investigation revealed his involvement in a multi-million dollar scheme with owners of durable medical equipment (DME) companies and recruiters to defraud Medicare and Medicaid in what has become known as a “wheelchair fraud scheme.”  Over the two-year period that the scheme operated, Medicare and Medicaid were billed over $25 million and paid over $20 million to DME companies and Dr. Gottlieb.

        In April 2004, Dr. Gottlieb pleaded guilty to participating in the fraudulent scheme, committing health care fraud and accepting kickbacks.  At his re-arraignment hearing, Dr. Gottlieb admitted in open court that beginning in October 2001, he was approached by an individual who offered to pay him a kickback of $85 for each Certificate of Medical Necessity (CMN) he signed approving a Medicare beneficiary to receive a motorized wheelchair.  After a cursory examination, Gottlieb signed the CMN and received the kickback.  Later, Dr. Gottlieb was offered $200 per CMN by numerous DME owners and individuals who recruited Medicare/Medicaid beneficiaries.  Gottlieb signed hundreds of CMNs in exchange for the $200 kickback for each.  The majority of  beneficiaries he approved to receive a motorized wheelchair did not qualify under Medicare/Medicaid guidelines. 

        Access Medical Supply, Senior’s Comfort Care Medical Supply, Thurman Family Medial Supply and 1 st Choice Medical Equipment and Supply were among the DME companies that paid kickback for CMNs.  An extensive review of claims submitted by these DME companies revealed that they fraudulently billed Medicare/Medicaid for providing motorized wheelchairs to beneficiaries when, in fact, either a less expensive scooter or nothing at all was provided .

        In addition to receiving kickbacks, Dr. Gottlieb required each Medicare/Medicaid beneficiary who was brought to his office by DME owners or recruiters to sign a form indicating that they were in need of psychiatric services and authorizing him to bill Medicare for these unnecessary psychiatric services.  If they refused, Dr. Gottlieb refused to sign the CMN authorizing the beneficiary to receive the motorized wheelchair.  Dr. Gottlieb submitted fraudulent claims to Medicare representing that the beneficiaries were in need of psychiatric services when he knew they did not.

        Also involved and convicted by a jury of defrauding Medicare and Medicaid in connection with the motorized wheelchair scheme are Dr. Charles Skripka, Dr. Jayshree Patel and DME owners Dennis Brown, Harold Iyalla and Pius Ekiko.  They were all convicted earlier this year in federal court and are scheduled for sentencing on Feb. 20, 2006.  These defendants also face prison terms up to a maximum of 10 years on each of the health care fraud convictions.

       
        The case against Dr. Gottlieb and others was the result of a joint investigation conducted by agents of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Department of Health and Human Services, and the Medicaid Fraud Control Unit of the Office of the Texas Attorney General.  This case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Samuel J. Louis.