CRIMES
Gary Kushner, Florida Psychiatrist, Sentenced
Gary Kushner PRESS RELEASE Medical Director for Miami-Based Health Care Clinic Sentenced to 144 Months in Prison for Role in $50 Million Medicare Fraud Scheme Friday, March 15, 2013 For Immediate Release Office of Public Affairs A former medical director for Biscayne Milieu, a Miami-based mental-health clinic, was sentenced today to serve 144 months in prison for his role in a fraud scheme involving the submission of more than $50 million in fraudulent billings to Medicare, announced Acting Assistant Attorney General Mythili Raman of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division; U.S. Attorney Wifredo A. Ferrer of the Southern District of Florida; [...]
James Cocores, Boca Raton Psychiatrist, Arrested
WPBF Doctor jailed, accused of writing unlawful prescriptions --Excerpt BOCA RATON, Fla. — Patients coming to see Dr. James Cocores will be disappointed to discover he's not in his Boca Raton office Friday. Instead, the psychiatrist is in jail. Cocores was arrested late Thursday and taken to the Palm Beach County Jail on charges of trafficking in opium and writing an unlawful prescription for at least $1,000 worth of dangerous drugs. Boca Raton police said an undercover officer posing as a patient sought prescription medication and counseling for a traumatic event. Police said Cocores prescribed multiple medications to her, [...]
Jean Elie, Brooklyn shrink, busted for scam
New York Post B’klyn shrink busted for alleged $230K Medicaid scam --Excerpt A Brooklyn psychiatrist has been arrested for allegedly scamming Medicaid out of $230,000 in fake head-shrinking sessions, authorities said today. Jean Elie, 50, also wrote over $1 million worth of prescriptions for Seroquel, an antipsychotic popular among drug addicts, according to the state Attorney General’s office. Investigators believe some of Elie’s clients resold their prescriptions to on the street. “Crooked doctors who abuse their position and their privileges do tremendous harm to their patients,” said state Attorney General Eric Schneiderman. “In this case, Dr. Elie also ripped [...]
Todd Clements, Texas Psychiatrist, surrenders license
Dallas Morning News Convicted Frisco psychiatrist surrenders medical license --Excerpt A nationally known Frisco psychiatrist convicted of fraudulently issuing prescriptions surrendered his medical license on Wednesday, according to the Collin County District Attorney’s Office. Todd M. Clements, 43, who lived in Frisco and practiced in Plano and Frisco pleaded guilty to three felony counts of obtaining controlled substances by fraudulently issuing prescriptions. According to the district attorney’s office, Clements obtained Lisdexaphetamine and Zolpidem, both controlled substances, by issuing fraudulent prescriptions on Aug. 5, 2009, and March 1, 2010. Clements was a practicing doctor at Clements Clinic of Plano and [...]
Priscilla Ilem, Wayne psychiatrist, Pleaded Guilty
Priscilla Ilem PRESS RELEASE Wayne psychiatrist pleads guilty to illegally selling oxycodone prescriptions to patients September 18, 2012 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE U.S. Attorney’s Office, New Jersey CAMDEN, N.J. – Dr. Priscilla Ilem admitted today to illegally selling oxycodone prescriptions from her Wayne office, U.S. Attorney Paul J. Fishman announced. Ilem, 85, of Wayne, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Joseph E. Irenas in Camden federal court to an Information charging her with distribution of oxycodone, a Schedule II controlled substance, without a legitimate medical purpose and outside the usual course of professional practice. According to documents filed in this case [...]
Kevin George, Colonie psychiatrist, Arrested
Kevin George New Haven Register Psychiatrist faces sex counts --Excerpt COLONIE — A Colonie psychiatrist was arrested Friday and charged with inappropriately touching two female employees. Dr. Kevin W. George, 52, of Psychopharmacology Consultants of Albany, was charged with two counts of sexual abuse and two counts of forcible touching, all misdemeanors. "He presented himself to them in a sexual manner, touching both of them as well as rubbing himself against them in a sexual way," said. Lt. Robert Winn, spokesman for Colonie Police. George specializes in prescribing medication to adults and adolescents with mental health problems... Excerpted from: Psychiatrist [...]
James Peak, Montana Psychiatrist, sentenced
James Peak THE UNITED STATES ATTORNEY'S OFFICE MONTANA Press Release James H. Peak Sentenced in U.S. District Court FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Wednesday, December 07, 2011 The United States Attorney's Office announced that during a federal court session in Billings, on December 7, 2011, before Senior U.S. District Judge Jack D. Shanstrom, JAMES H. PEAK, a 49-year-old resident of Billings, appeared for sentencing. PEAK was sentenced to a term of: Prison: 12 months and 1 day Special Assessment: $100 Supervised Release: life PEAK was sentenced in connection with his guilty plea to possession of child pornography. In an Offer of Proof [...]
Michael Applebaum, Nampa Psychiatrist, Sentenced
Michael Applebaum The Idaho Statesman (Boise) Nampa doctor sentenced for Medicaid fraud November 22, 2011 -- Excerpt Michael Applebaum, a former licensed psychiatrist in Nampa, has been sentenced to two to five years in prison for Medicaid provider fraud and obstruction of an investigation. A jury convicted Applebaum in August of two counts each of provider fraud and obstructing an investigation... The jury said Applebaum altered documents before giving them to investigators for the Idaho attorney general's office and told the investigators that certain records were out of the office for dictation...
Dorval Gold, Pembroke Pines Psychiatrist, grand theft charge
Palm Beach Post (Florida) Dosed in juvie jail: Troubled doctors hired to treat kids in state custody --Excerpt By the time Florida started paying Dr. Gold Smith Dorval to counsel and medicate jailed children, the Pembroke Pines psychiatrist already had experience with kids in state custody. He had used them, authorities said, to bilk the government out of money for the poor. When Dorval pleaded no contest to a felony grand theft charge, it should have barred him, by law, from working for Florida's Department of Juvenile Justice. It didn't. And, like Dorval, other doctors have emerged from past [...]
Kissimmee Psychiatrist Ramarao Makkena, arrested in Sex Sting
Kissimmee Psychiatrist Ramarao Makkena Orlando Sentinel Kissimmee fraud, sex stings lead to arrests --Excerpt A local psychiatrist was arrested along with more than a dozen others in an Internet sex sting run by Kissimmee police last week, records show. Dr. Ramaro Makkena, who has a child-and-adolescent practice on West Vine Street, was arrested Friday on prostitution-related charges after entering a decoy house set up for the week-long investigation, according to police. Dr. Makkena, who charged with assignation of prostitution and entering a dwelling for prostitution, was released Friday on $500 bail from the Osceola County Jail. He could not be [...]