Accessibility Statement Skip Navigation
  • Why PRWeb
  • How It Works
  • Who Uses It
  • Pricing
  • Login
  • GDPR
  • Create a Free Account
Return to PRWeb homepage
  • News
  • Resources
  • Contact
When typing in this field, a list of search results will appear and be automatically updated as you type.

Searching for your content...

No results found. Please change your search terms and try again.
  • News in Focus
      • Browse News Releases

      • All News Releases
      • Multimedia Gallery

      • All Multimedia
      • All Photos
      • All Videos
  • Business & Money
      • Auto & Transportation

      • Aerospace, Defense
      • Air Freight
      • Airlines & Aviation
      • Automotive
      • Maritime & Shipbuilding
      • Railroads and Intermodal Transportation
      • Supply Chain/Logistics
      • Transportation, Trucking & Railroad
      • Travel
      • Trucking and Road Transportation
      • View All Auto & Transportation

      • Business Technology

      • Blockchain
      • Broadcast Tech
      • Computer & Electronics
      • Computer Hardware
      • Computer Software
      • Data Analytics
      • Electronic Commerce
      • Electronic Components
      • Electronic Design Automation
      • Financial Technology
      • High Tech Security
      • Internet Technology
      • Nanotechnology
      • Networks
      • Peripherals
      • Semiconductors
      • View All Business Technology

      • Entertain­ment & Media

      • Advertising
      • Art
      • Books
      • Entertainment
      • Film and Motion Picture
      • Magazines
      • Music
      • Publishing & Information Services
      • Radio & Podcast
      • Television
      • View All Entertain­ment & Media

      • Financial Services & Investing

      • Accounting News & Issues
      • Acquisitions, Mergers and Takeovers
      • Banking & Financial Services
      • Bankruptcy
      • Bond & Stock Ratings
      • Conference Call Announcements
      • Contracts
      • Cryptocurrency
      • Dividends
      • Earnings
      • Earnings Forecasts & Projections
      • Financing Agreements
      • Insurance
      • Investments Opinions
      • Joint Ventures
      • Mutual Funds
      • Private Placement
      • Real Estate
      • Restructuring & Recapitalization
      • Sales Reports
      • Shareholder Activism
      • Shareholder Meetings
      • Stock Offering
      • Stock Split
      • Venture Capital
      • View All Financial Services & Investing

      • General Business

      • Awards
      • Commercial Real Estate
      • Corporate Expansion
      • Earnings
      • Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG)
      • Human Resource & Workforce Management
      • Licensing
      • New Products & Services
      • Obituaries
      • Outsourcing Businesses
      • Overseas Real Estate (non-US)
      • Personnel Announcements
      • Real Estate Transactions
      • Residential Real Estate
      • Small Business Services
      • Socially Responsible Investing
      • Surveys, Polls and Research
      • Trade Show News
      • View All General Business

  • Science & Tech
      • Consumer Technology

      • Artificial Intelligence
      • Blockchain
      • Cloud Computing/Internet of Things
      • Computer Electronics
      • Computer Hardware
      • Computer Software
      • Consumer Electronics
      • Cryptocurrency
      • Data Analytics
      • Electronic Commerce
      • Electronic Gaming
      • Financial Technology
      • Mobile Entertainment
      • Multimedia & Internet
      • Peripherals
      • Social Media
      • STEM (Science, Tech, Engineering, Math)
      • Supply Chain/Logistics
      • Wireless Communications
      • View All Consumer Technology

      • Energy & Natural Resources

      • Alternative Energies
      • Chemical
      • Electrical Utilities
      • Gas
      • General Manufacturing
      • Mining
      • Mining & Metals
      • Oil & Energy
      • Oil and Gas Discoveries
      • Utilities
      • Water Utilities
      • View All Energy & Natural Resources

      • Environ­ment

      • Conservation & Recycling
      • Environmental Issues
      • Environmental Policy
      • Environmental Products & Services
      • Green Technology
      • Natural Disasters
      • View All Environ­ment

      • Heavy Industry & Manufacturing

      • Aerospace & Defense
      • Agriculture
      • Chemical
      • Construction & Building
      • General Manufacturing
      • HVAC (Heating, Ventilation and Air-Conditioning)
      • Machinery
      • Machine Tools, Metalworking and Metallurgy
      • Mining
      • Mining & Metals
      • Paper, Forest Products & Containers
      • Precious Metals
      • Textiles
      • Tobacco
      • View All Heavy Industry & Manufacturing

      • Telecomm­unications

      • Carriers and Services
      • Mobile Entertainment
      • Networks
      • Peripherals
      • Telecommunications Equipment
      • Telecommunications Industry
      • VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol)
      • Wireless Communications
      • View All Telecomm­unications

  • Lifestyle & Health
      • Consumer Products & Retail

      • Animals & Pets
      • Beers, Wines and Spirits
      • Beverages
      • Bridal Services
      • Cannabis
      • Cosmetics and Personal Care
      • Fashion
      • Food & Beverages
      • Furniture and Furnishings
      • Home Improvement
      • Household, Consumer & Cosmetics
      • Household Products
      • Jewelry
      • Non-Alcoholic Beverages
      • Office Products
      • Organic Food
      • Product Recalls
      • Restaurants
      • Retail
      • Supermarkets
      • Toys
      • View All Consumer Products & Retail

      • Entertain­ment & Media

      • Advertising
      • Art
      • Books
      • Entertainment
      • Film and Motion Picture
      • Magazines
      • Music
      • Publishing & Information Services
      • Radio & Podcast
      • Television
      • View All Entertain­ment & Media

      • Health

      • Biometrics
      • Biotechnology
      • Clinical Trials & Medical Discoveries
      • Dentistry
      • FDA Approval
      • Fitness/Wellness
      • Health Care & Hospitals
      • Health Insurance
      • Infection Control
      • International Medical Approval
      • Medical Equipment
      • Medical Pharmaceuticals
      • Mental Health
      • Pharmaceuticals
      • Supplementary Medicine
      • View All Health

      • Sports

      • General Sports
      • Outdoors, Camping & Hiking
      • Sporting Events
      • Sports Equipment & Accessories
      • View All Sports

      • Travel

      • Amusement Parks and Tourist Attractions
      • Gambling & Casinos
      • Hotels and Resorts
      • Leisure & Tourism
      • Outdoors, Camping & Hiking
      • Passenger Aviation
      • Travel Industry
      • View All Travel

  • Policy & Public Interest
      • Policy & Public Interest

      • Advocacy Group Opinion
      • Animal Welfare
      • Congressional & Presidential Campaigns
      • Corporate Social Responsibility
      • Domestic Policy
      • Economic News, Trends, Analysis
      • Education
      • Environmental
      • European Government
      • FDA Approval
      • Federal and State Legislation
      • Federal Executive Branch & Agency
      • Foreign Policy & International Affairs
      • Homeland Security
      • Labor & Union
      • Legal Issues
      • Natural Disasters
      • Not For Profit
      • Patent Law
      • Public Safety
      • Trade Policy
      • U.S. State Policy
      • View All Policy & Public Interest

  • People & Culture
      • People & Culture

      • Aboriginal, First Nations & Native American
      • African American
      • Asian American
      • Children
      • Diversity, Equity & Inclusion
      • Hispanic
      • Lesbian, Gay & Bisexual
      • Men's Interest
      • People with Disabilities
      • Religion
      • Senior Citizens
      • Veterans
      • Women
      • View All People & Culture

  • Hamburger menu
  • Cision PRWeb provides efficient communication tools to continuously engage with target audiences across multiple online channels
  • Create a Free Account
    • ALL CONTACT INFO
    • Contact Us


      11AM ET Sunday – 8PM ET Friday

  • Send a Release
  • Sign up
  • Log in
  • Resources
  • RSS
  • GDPR
  • News in Focus
    • Browse All News
    • Multimedia Gallery
  • Business & Money
    • Auto & Transportation
    • Business Technology
    • Entertain­ment & Media
    • Financial Services & Investing
    • General Business
  • Science & Tech
    • Consumer Technology
    • Energy & Natural Resources
    • Environ­ment
    • Heavy Industry & Manufacturing
    • Telecomm­unications
  • Lifestyle & Health
    • Consumer Products & Retail
    • Entertain­ment & Media
    • Health
    • Sports
    • Travel
  • Policy & Public Interest
  • People & Culture
    • People & Culture
  • Send a Release
  • Sign up
  • Log in
  • Resources
  • RSS
  • GDPR
  • Send a Release
  • Sign up
  • Log in
  • Resources
  • RSS
  • GDPR
  • Send a Release
  • Sign up
  • Log in
  • Resources
  • RSS
  • GDPR

Florida Physician Allegedly Submitted Exaggerated Bogus Claims to Medicare, Whistleblower Case Leads to $750,000 Settlement, Parker Waichman LLP Reports
  • USA - English


News provided by

Parker Waichman LLP

Mar 06, 2014, 11:00 ET

Share this article

Share toX

Share this article

Share toX


When physicians defraud the government, they are defrauding taxpayers, as well. Appropriate submission of medical diagnoses is important to taxpaying citizens, the government, and medical programs.

Post this

New York, New York (PRWEB) March 06, 2014 -- A physician in Florida just agreed to a $750,000 settlement over allegations he and his pain management clinic billed Medicare for clinical services that were entered as being complex, which meant they were more costly than they were. In some cases, billing was allegedly submitted for services that were never performed, according to a U.S. Department of Justice announcement. The case was filed March 21, 2011, and is U.S. ex rel. Gavin et al. v Sarasota Pain Associates PA et al., case number 8:11-cv-00583, in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida.

Dr. Steven Chun and his clinic, Sarasota Pain Associates PA, was originally located in Sarasota, Florida then moved to Bradenton, Florida. Between 2006 and 2011, Dr. Chun and Sarasota Pain Associates PA, allegedly incorrectly billed Medicare at the highest possible rate of billing, according to the United States attorney for the Middle District of Florida. The physician and his clinic claimed to have completed thorough examinations for complex medical issues, Law 360 reported.

Dr. Chun utilized actual patient names, allegedly charging for scheduled procedures and examinations that were never conducted, according to a The Herald Tribune report.

In fact, the patient histories involved concerned routine, scheduled clinic procedures that did not call for extensive exams as well as procedures that allegedly never took place, but for which Medicare reimbursement was made. Both issues are violations of the False Claims Act, the Department of Justice announced.

Allegedly, these visits were typically short and involved refilling an implanted pain medication pump. Refilling was usually handled by nurses, with the doctor checking in. In this type of a case, Medicare might be billed for a pain relief injection that did not occur, the Law 360 report indicated.

“When physicians defraud the government, they are defrauding taxpayers, as well. Appropriate submission of medical diagnoses is important to taxpaying citizens, the government, and medical programs,” said Gary Falkowitz, Managing Attorney at Parker Waichman LLP. “It is also this sort of bogus activity that creates an ongoing trend of illegal activities that puts innocent employees in difficult, untenable work situations,” Mr. Falkowitz added.

U.S. Attorney, A. Lee Bently III, called the settlement a “significant achievement” for the civil division of the Department of Justice (DOJ), saying that the Department exerted significant determination in the way in which it went after a “troubling pattern of billing fraud,” according to the Law 360 report. "This case should send a message that we will not tolerate this kind of health care fraud in the Middle District of Florida,” Bentley said.

The DOJ’s civil division, the U.S. Attorney’s Office (USAO)’s office, and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ (HHS) Office of Inspector General (OIG) all collaborated in the probe, along with Christopher B. Dennis, special agent in charge of HHS OIG’s Miami regional office. Those committing fraud, according to Special Agent Dennis, could rely on his agency to "aggressively pursue cases, whether the target is a large corporation or a single provider,” according to the Law 360 report.

A tentative agreement was agreed to in December and followed a March 2011 whistleblower lawsuit brought by so-called “qui tam relators,” Cathia Gavin and Penelope Thomas. Ms. Gavin and Ms. Thomas are nurses who previously worked for Dr. Chun. The DOJ indicated that both women would receive a share of the settlement, the Law 360 report indicated.

The Tampa Bay Business Journal reported that the allegations originated with a lawsuit that had been filed in Tampa federal and was filed under the whistleblower provisions of the False Claims Act. The Act provides private citizens with the ability to sue on behalf of the federal government, receiving a share of any recovery.

In November 2012, the federal government intervened, and claimed in its intervenor complaint, that Dr. Chun and his clinic were allegedly routinely billing Medicare with billing codes meant for high level visits—complex procedures—when patients were receiving routine care that did not qualify as a high level visit, according to the Law360 report

Parker Waichman LLP supports efforts to protect whistleblowers from retaliation by their employers and continues to offer free legal evaluations to those courageous individuals who believe their company may be involved in wrongdoings. If you believe that your company is involved in illegal activities, please visit the firm’s Whistleblower page at yourlawyer.com or call 1-800-LAW-INFO (1-800-529-4636).
Parker Waichman LLP
Gary Falkowitz, Managing Attorney
1+ (800) LAW-INFO
1+ (800) 529-4636
http://www.yourlawyer.com

Gary Falkowitz, Parker Waichman LLP, http://yourlawyer.com, +1 (800) 529-4636, [email protected]

Modal title

Contact PRWeb

  • 11AM ET Sunday – 8PM ET Friday
  • Contact Us

About PRWeb

  • About PRWeb
  • Partners
  • Partnership Programs
  • Editorial Guidelines
  • Resources

Why PRWeb

  • Why PRWeb
  • How It Works
  • Who Uses It
  • Pricing

Accounts

  • Create a Free Account
  • Log in
  • Contact Us

Do not sell or share my personal information:

  • Submit via [email protected] 
  • Call Privacy toll-free: 877-297-8921

Contact Cision

Products

About

My Services
  • All News Releases
  • Online Member Center
  • ProfNet
Cision Distribution Helpline
888-776-0942
  • Legal
  • Site Map
  • RSS
  • Cookie Settings
Copyright © 2025 Cision US Inc.