Tennessee physician sentenced for $4M fraud scheme

A podiatrist in Memphis, Tenn., was sentenced to four years in prison for a scheme to defraud Medicare and the state’s Medicaid program out of nearly $4 million in foot bath medication reimbursements. 

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Nathan Lucas, DPM, 59, owned and operated a podiatry clinic and two in-house pharmacies, according to a June 27 Justice Department news release. From October 2019 through September 2021, he caused his pharmacies to submit nearly $4 million in claims to Medicare and Medicaid for dispensing expensive foot bath medications that were not medically necessary. His pharmacies were reimbursed more than $3 million. 

A federal jury found him guilty in March on five counts of healthcare fraud, according to the release.

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