Charlotte Observer (North Carolina)

May 18, 2006 Thursday THREE EDITION

FORMER PSYCHIATRIST GETS A YEAR IN PRISON;
FOUND GUILTY OF FRAUD, HE ALSO MUST REPAY INSURANCE COMPANIES

BYLINE: KAREN GARLOCH, KGARLOCH@CHARLOTTEOBSERVER.COM

SECTION: METRO; Pg. 5B

LENGTH: 214 words

Former Charlotte psychiatrist Warren H. Williams was sentenced this week to a year and a day in federal prison after pleading guilty to health care fraud and illegal distribution of a controlled substance without a medical purpose.
U.S. District Judge Robert Conrad Jr. ordered Williams to be placed in a substance abuse program and to surrender his license to practice medicine and dispense medicines, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
He will not be allowed to reapply for his medical license until after completion of three years of supervised release after prison.
Williams was also ordered to pay restitution of $59,885.64 to insurance companies that were victims of his fraud and was barred from being a Medicare or Medicaid provider, the U.S. Attorney’s Office said.
Williams, 55, pleaded guilty to the charges in July and remains free on bond. He’ll report to prison once the Bureau of Prisons designates the location.
According to the indictment, Williams billed insurance companies for patient visits that did not occur, billed for higher levels of services than he provided and illegally distributed the anti-anxiety drug alprazolam.
Williams began practicing in Charlotte in 1994. He surrendered his N.C. medical license in October 2004.