The owner of telemedicine company TelevisitMD was sentenced to 20 years in prison for leading a $46.2 million Medicare fraud conspiracy that ran for more than six years.
Christopher Harwood, 44, of Fort Lauderdale, Fla., was also ordered to pay $17.9 million in restitution to Medicare and forfeit $10.4 million, according to an Oct. 23 Justice Department news release. He was sentenced after pleading guilty in March to conspiracy to commit healthcare fraud and wire fraud.
Mr. Harwood and his co-conspirators used aggressive telemarketing to push Medicare beneficiaries into accepting orthotic braces and genetic tests they did not need, according to the release. He paid physicians to sign the orders, often with no meaningful patient interaction and in violation of Medicare’s telemedicine rules. He then sold the signed orders to durable medical equipment suppliers, laboratories and marketers involved in the scheme.
Mr. Harwood also owned several Florida-based durable medical equipment companies that billed Medicare for braces patients did not want or need. Medicare paid $17.9 million on the $46.2 million in false claims, and Mr. Harwood personally collected more than $10.4 million.
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