Jericho Doctor Arrested For Billing The Dead
Posted on Thursday, 13 of March , 2008 at 4:23 pm
MINEOLA–Investigators from the Nassau County district attorney’s office have arrested and charged an East Meadow podiatrist with bilking the Medicare and Medicaid programs of more than $30,000 over an 18-month period.
Dr. Alan Cantor, 47, was arrested Wednesday morning and charged with grand larceny and attempted grand larceny in the third degree, scheme to defraud in the first degree and petit larceny. In nearly a dozen incidents, the doctor billed the state and federal healthcare programs for treatments performed on patients who were deceased.
In announcing the most recent sting by her Medicaid Fraud Unit, district attorney Kathleen Rice released the telephone number of a newly-created hotline that the public can use to report allegations of Medicaid and Medicare fraud. Rice said that callers have the option of remaining anonymous and that her office will aggressively investigate allegations received by the hotline.
The phone number is 1-888-633-4311.
In April 2007, Rice created Long Island’s first Medicaid Fraud Unit. In fewer than 12 months, specially trained investigators and prosecutors from District Attorney Rice’s office have uncovered and prosecuted six cases of Medicaid and Medicare fraud, amounting to more than $2.3 million in taxpayer dollars. (Click here for more information)
Wednesday’s arrest is the culmination of a two-year investigation into fraud allegations at Dr. Cantor’s Meadowbrook Foot Care PC, located at 2302 Hempstead Turnpike, East Meadow. The facility is across the street from the Nassau University Medical Center (NUMC), where the doctor often treated patients. He serves as a registered healthcare provider with Medicaid and Medicare.
The investigation was launched in 2006 after a retired Nassau County police officer noticed a suspicious listing on the Explanation of Benefits portion of his insurance statements. The retired officer had never been treated by Meadowbrook Foot Care and he referred the matter to county authorities. District Attorney investigators and agents from the U.S. Health and Human Services Office of the Inspector General (OIG) would later uncover $67,967.96 in allegedly bogus bills the doctor submitted to the Medicare and Medicaid programs from Dec. 3, 2004 to Sept. 7, 2006.
Dr. Cantor successfully obtained $31,383.42 in bogus repayments from Medicare (third degree grand larceny) and an additional $97.22 from Medicaid (petit larceny.). Medicare rejected $36,487.32 of phony reimbursements (third degree attempted grand larceny).
Medicaid is a state-run healthcare program assisting individuals and families of limited financial resources. The program is heavily funded by individual counties and Rice said that her fraud unit will continue to work closely with the county to uncover and return taxpayer dollars to the state and federal coffers.
Medicare is a federal healthcare program assisting residents the elderly and infirmed. The program is funded by federal tax dollars. 3-13-08
Category: Business, Disabled, Elder Care, Government, Health, Insurance, Nationwide, New York State
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