The Associated Press
Psychiatrist convicted of health care fraud
July 23, 1999

A psychiatrist accused of showing patients movies and billing health insurance programs for the sessions as psychotherapy has been convicted of 42 counts of health care fraud.

A federal jury on Thursday convicted Dr. Sami I. Michael, 63, of Steubenville, with seven counts of mail fraud and 35 counts of making false statements to health insurance programs. Each charge against Michael carries a maximum penalty of five years in prison and a fine of up to $ 250,000. A sentencing date was not announced.

Michael was accused of defrauding the government and private insurance programs from January 1995 through June 1998, said Sharon J. Zealey, U.S. attorney for the Southern District of Ohio.

“Part of this scheme was to bill Medicare and Medicaid for group psychotherapy services, when in fact patients were merely entertained by watching movies such as ‘Lethal Weapon,’ ‘Tootsie,’ ‘Ghostbusters’ and ‘Batman,”‘ Zealey said.

Michael also was convicted of billing health care programs for 45- to 50-minute individual sessions of psychotherapy, which were actually shorter.

Michael is the second executive of the Diagnostic & Behavioral Health Clinic to be charged. In May, Michael J. Cullinan pleaded guilty to submitting false statements. He is awaiting sentencing.