Charlotte doctor sentenced in Medicare fraud case involving millions
A Charlotte doctor was sentenced Monday to house arrest and probation for making false statements as part of a scheme that defrauded federal medical programs and landed her in federal court.
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Sudipta Mazumder, a former Atrium Health doctor, faced up to 11 years in prison after a federal jury in 2023 found her guilty of six counts of making false statements on medical documents. That jury also acquitted her on two counts of healthcare fraud.
Mazumder worked in internal medicine, and as an independent contractor signed more than 3,000 orders for unnecessary medical equipment like orthopedic braces for people insured by Medicare and TRICARE, a medical program for active and retired military personnel and their families.
When she signed those orders, she was working for a telemedicine company called Expansion Media, according to court documents. Federal prosecutors said her signatures cost the federal programs more than six million dollars; the entire scheme, masterminded by a man in his late-20s named Steve Richardson, cost taxpayers $11 million.
Mazumder must pay $11,461 in restitution, U.S. District Judge Max Cogburn Jr. ordered on Monday before sentencing her to five years of probation in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of North Carolina.
Mazumder’s attorney — who has also represented high-profile defendants like Casey Anthony, Aaron Hernandez and Harvey Weinstein — showed Cogburn an email the doctor sent her boss when she started working for the company.
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“I hope nothing fraud or overprescription going on as every day so many are coming in and I am bit suspicious that just the signature is good enough?” Mazumder sent.
The recipient assured her nothing fraudulent was going on, Jose A. Baez said. She said she was hired to review the orders and that she was “led to believe that these orders were completed by a licensed health care practitioner.”
When she eventually realized she was part of a fraud scheme, she quit and reached out to an attorney about being a whistleblower. She ultimately did not follow through, Baez said.
Baez said Mazumder made about $70,000 over a year and a half employed with the company. She took the job to supplement her work as a single mother of three.
“She has already lost her career, her Medicare privileges, and her professional standing. These consequences will follow her for the rest of her life,” a sentencing memorandum read.
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