A North Carolina federal jury found a doctor guilty on six counts of making false statements while signing off on unnecessary orthopedic braces but acquitted her on two charges of healthcare fraud.
Defense attorney Jose Baez, who represented Sudipta Mazumder, MD, told Law360, “We think Dr. Mazumder was duped by these [durable medical equipment] DME companies, and it was a sophisticated fraudulent scheme that basically conned everyone. Everyone got duped, including the doctor.”
Prosecutors accused Mazumder of submitting orders for medically unnecessary braces on behalf of Medicare patients while working for a telemedicine provider in 2019 and 2020. Prosecutors said Mazumder prescribed the equipment without ever seeing the patient, often ordering four to seven braces per Medicare beneficiary. The orders ultimately resulted in $10.9 million worth of Medicare reimbursements, the government said. Mazumder was paid $20 per assessment in her role conducting chart reviews and signing off on orders for DME equipment, most of which were orthopedic braces.
Mazumder’s Medicare license was revoked in 2020, but prosecutors accused her of continuing to see Medicare patients and letting other doctors who still had Medicare privileges sign off on the services.
Assistant US Attorney Katherine Armstrong told the jury during closing arguments Monday that Mazumder was “selling her signature for an easy buck.”
