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Health Care Fraud Scheme Unfolds in Massachusetts
In a federal court in Boston, Dr. Donald Salzberg was sentenced to one year and one day in prison for his role in a five-year health care fraud scheme. Salzberg, a 69-year-old ophthalmologist from Avon, Connecticut, was found guilty of receiving kickbacks in exchange for ordering medically unnecessary brain scans.
The scheme, which took place from 2014 to 2019, involved Salzberg conspiring with a principal for a medical diagnostics company that performed transcranial doppler (TCD) scans. These brain scans measured blood flow in parts of the brain and were ordered for hundreds of patients without medical necessity.
Salzberg and his co-conspirator used false patient diagnoses to order the unnecessary brain scans, for which the co-conspirator would submit claims to Medicare and other insurance companies on behalf of the medical diagnostic company for payment. In exchange, Salzberg was paid cash kickbacks of $100 to $125 per test that he ordered, as well as sham administrative services fees.
The scheme resulted in fraudulent bills of over $3 million to Medicare and private insurance companies. Salzberg was ordered to pay $1.34 million in restitution to Medicare, Medicaid, and private insurers.
Salzberg, a licensed medical doctor in the State of Connecticut for nearly 40 years, owned and operated Donald J. Salzberg, M.D., an ophthalmology practice in West Hartford, Connecticut. He pleaded guilty in July 2022 to one count of conspiracy to commit health care fraud and one count of conspiracy to receive kickbacks.
This case was a joint investigation conducted by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Inspector General, FBI, Internal Revenue Service’s Criminal Investigation Division, U.S. Department of Labor, Employee Benefits Security Administration, U.S. Postal Inspection Service, and U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs Office of Inspector General. Assistant U.S. Attorney Howard Locker prosecuted the case.
Salzberg will serve one year and one day in prison, followed by one year of supervised release. His sentencing took place in federal court in Boston, where he will also be required to pay the restitution ordered by the court.
Key Facts
- State: Massachusetts
- Category: Health Care Fraud
- Source: DOJ Press Release â†â€â€
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