Today, Vanessa R. Waldref, the US Attorney for the Eastern District of Washington, said that Thomas Andrew Webster, M.D., 51, of Sylvania, Ohio, pleaded guilty to planning to take kickbacks as part of a scam involving telemarketing and medical supplies that touched on Washington and other states. US District Judge Mary K. Dimke gave the person a term of 24 months in federal prison, followed by three years of supervised release, and told them to pay back $839,566.44. Dr. Webster was also given a $50,000 fine.
Medicare and TRICARE are government programs that help the elderly, disabled, and members of the United States Armed Forces get health insurance. Under certain circumstances, they pay for a range of health services that qualify, such as long-term medical tools like wheelchairs, crutches, and blood testing strips for diabetics.
Court records show that Dr. Webster took part in a scam while he was living in Olympia, Washington, from May 2021 to September 2023. A business called “Company A” used telemarketers to get personal and health information from people in Eastern Washington and other places. This information was used to make fake medical records and orders for long-lasting medical tools, and Dr. Webster signed them off, even though the services and treatments never happened. Then, Company A sold these fake orders to other businesses, which lied on Medicare and TRICARE claims with them. There were bills from both Company A and Dr. Webster for doctor visits and tests that never happened. Robert Curry from the U.S. Attorney’s Office says the scheme touched people in Grant, Chelan, Douglas, Adams, Kittitas, Lincoln, Okanogan, and other places.
Because of the fraud, Medicare and TRICARE had to pay more than $14.6 million for equipment that was bought for more than 10,000 beneficiaries. Some beneficiaries were charged for tools even though they had lost limbs. Dr. Webster confirmed that he got at least $839,565 from false billings. The court also said that Dr. Webster had to give up the money that was in his accounts that came from his illegal actions.
“Dr. Webster broke his oath as a doctor by putting his own financial gain ahead of his duty to patients. He also stole more than $14.6 million from important health care programs for Americans who are disabled or elderly, as well as for military members and their families,” said U.S. Attorney Waldref. Those telemarketing schemes that take advantage of the old and our service members are especially harmful because they target people who need a doctor’s honest opinion that isn’t influenced by their own financial gain.
Special Agent in Charge Steven J. Ryan with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General (HHS-OIG) said, “Illegal kickback arrangements can taint the honest process of making medical decisions and threaten the integrity of federal healthcare programs.” “Today’s sentence shows that HHS-OIG and our law enforcement partners are determined to hold people responsible who use these programs for personal gain.”
According to Bryan D. Denny, Special Agent-in-Charge of the Department of Defense Office of Inspector General, Defense Criminal Investigative Service (DCIS), Western Field Office, today’s sentencing sends a clear message that people who cheat on federal health care programs, like TRICARE from the Department of Defense, will be held responsible. Because Dr. Webster was greedy, he stole tax money that was supposed to pay for health care for military members and their families. DCIS and our partners in law enforcement will never stop going after people who steal from the government and hurt taxpayers, warfighters, and their families.
Attorney Waldref also praised the work of HHS-OIG and DCIS in the investigation, saying, “Their skill and dogged determination throughout this complex investigation made this result possible.” Fraudsters will continue to be held responsible by us and the police working together.
The case was looked into by the Western Field Office of DCIS and the Seattle Field Office of the HHS OIG. Assistant U.S. Attorney Dan Fruchter led the prosecution of the case, and Assistant U.S. Attorney Brian M. Donovan was in charge of the seizure action.