Metro Detroit Medicare providers charged in fraud case

Robert Snell / The Detroit News

Detroit— Twenty medical providers from across Metro Detroit were charged today in federal court with billing Medicare for fraudulent charges.

The 20, including an Oak Park podiatrist who federal prosecutors say billed Medicare for more than $700,000 in fraudulent toenail treatments, are the latest defendants ensnared in a nationwide crackdown on Medicare fraud.

Nationwide, more than 700 law enforcement agents arrested 111 people accused of illegally billing Medicare more than $225 million. The arrests are the latest in a string of major busts in the past two years as authorities have struggled to pare the fraud that's believed to cost the government between $60 billion and $90 billion each year.

The podiatrist, Dr. Errol Sherman, is among 20 people accused of orchestrating schemes to cheat Medicare. During a four-year period ending in 2006, Sherman submitted false claims to Medicare for toenail services that were never performed, according to an indictment filed today in U.S. District Court in Detroit.

In one case, Sherman billed Medicare for 20 nail removal treatments on three toes of one patient, according to the indictment. Each treatment cost $110.

The U.S. Attorney's Office and FBI will discuss the Medicare fraud crackdown during a 2:30 p.m. news conference.

U.S. Attorney Barbara McQuade and Andrew Arena, special agent in charge of the FBI in Detroit, will talk about actions undertaken with the Medicare Fraud Strike Force, which investigates fraud, waste and abuse.

They will be joined during the news conference by Lamont Pugh III, special agent in charge of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Inspector General.

There are Strike Force prosecution teams in seven cities nationwide fighting fraud. The teams analyze data to identify high-billing schemes and chronic fraud by people acting as health-care providers or suppliers, according to the Health and Human Service's website.

During the 2010 fiscal year, the prosecution teams handled investigations that led to 140 indictments and criminal charges against 284 people who billed Medicare more than $590 million.

A new report released last month showed the government's health-care fraud prevention and enforcement efforts recovered more than $4 billion in fiscal year 2010.

Come back to detnews.com for updates.