Dr. Berkowitz, a sole practitioner, has offices in St. Louis City and County in Missouri, and in Swansea, Alton and Glen Carbon in Illinois.
According to the indictment, between 2003 and 2008, Dr. Berkowitz submitted claims to Medicare and Medicaid for healthcare services he did not provide and was reimbursed for these claims. In the scheme, residents from nursing homes and other residential facilities were transported to St. Alexis Senior Services Center, where patients received care from various healthcare providers, including Dr. Berkowitz. According to the report, he allegedly billed the federal programs for 25-40 minutes of office time when, in reality, he only spent around five minutes with each patient. Dr. Berkowitz is also accused of billing for removal of a foreign body from the ear while patients were under anesthesia when he only removed ear wax, among other surgical procedures he did not perform.
Dr. Berkowitz, if convicted, faces a maximum penalty of 10 years’ imprisonment and a fine up to $250,000 for healthcare fraud; each count of making false statements carries a penalty of five years’ imprisonment and fines up to $250,000, according to the report.
Read the Daily News’s report about Dr. Wallace Berkowitz.
