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Morris Barnard, age 58, of Great Neck, pleaded guilty on Monday, March 7 to health care fraud in connection with the scam to bill Medicare for medical procedures that were never actually performed.
US Attorney Breon Peace said that beginning in October 2015 through February 2020, Barnard submitted more than $3 million in billings to Medicare for colonoscopy and gastroenterological procedures that were never done.
Prosecutors said that most of the billings indicated that the services were rendered to disabled beneficiaries who were living in residential group homes.
In total, Medicare reimbursed approximately $1.4 million of these false claims, none of which Barnard was entitled to receive.
“With today’s guilty plea, Dr. Barnard admits to committing a multi-million dollar fraud on the Medicare program by billing for procedures he did not perform,” Peace said. “By claiming to render services to disabled and other vulnerable patients, Dr. Barnard not only pocketed taxpayer funds that were intended to help beneficiaries in need, he also betrayed his oath for profit.
FBI Assistant Director-in-Charge Michael Driscoll added that “money that’s allocated for Medicare-approved services, and fraudulently paid out to providers who don’t actually perform these services, is a crime that’s ultimately paid for by taxpayers themselves.
“Our office is committed to rooting out this type of fraudulent activity and maintaining the integrity of our government-sponsored health care programs.”
No return court date for Barnard was announced. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant US Attorneys Erin Argo, Charles P. Kelly, and Madeline O’Connor of the Long Island Criminal Division.
“(Barnard’s) actions diverted scarce taxpayer funds from the Medicare program for personal enrichment while taking advantage of vulnerable individuals,” HHS-OIG Special Agent-in-Charge Scott Lampert said in a separate statement.
“Working with our law enforcement partners, HHS-OIG will continue to ensure that providers that bill federally funded health care programs do so in an honest manner, and criminals will be held accountable.”
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