Podiatrist gets 5 months, $25,000 fine - Business First of Columbus:

http://swesif.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=144&Itemid=200
Dr. Bic Chau Stafford, who practiced at the in Marylandc Heights, as well as assorted assisted living facilitiesin St. Louis City and St. Louias County, in April to one felony count of obstructiohn of afederal audit. Stafford, 59, also executedd a civil settlement agreement with the United Statee requiring her to pay the Medicareprogram $425,000. Stafford billed Medicare for numerouw complex foot surgery procedures providecd to 39 local Medicare beneficiaries when she was reallty providing these patients with only routine foot such as toenail clipping, prosecutors When she was audited by the Medicare program in Medicare denied her claims for reimbursement regardingf these 39 beneficiaries and requesteed that she repay $6,840 for non-covered servicesd that had been previously paid to her.
Staffordd challenged this and as part of her effortx to avoid paying the Stafford created new treatment records for those 39 patientssin 2007, back-dating them to 2004, using fraudulentr treatment information and claiming that she had providerd these patients with podiatric surgical procedure, prosecutorxs said.