Dr. Abdelrahman Mohamed, 64, and Cecilia Manacsa, 59, both of Morristown, Tennessee, were sentenced March 14, 2018, to 36 months and 16 months in federal prison, respectively, for their roles in a massive healthcare fraud scheme centered on opioid prescriptions. Mohamed, the sole physician at Hamblen Neuroscience Center (HNC), and Manacsa, his wife and staff supervisor, pleaded guilty in September 2017 to one count of conspiracy to commit healthcare fraud and 10 counts of healthcare fraud.
At HNC, a neurology and pain management clinic in Morristown, Mohamed and Manacsa orchestrated a scam that prioritized profit over patient care. Between January 2012 and September 2016, they scheduled 40 to 60 patients per day—far beyond what one doctor could handle in a six-hour workday. Patients were lined up in the hallway for one- to two-minute open-door visits, handed pre-filled prescriptions for opiate painkillers, and sent on their way—all without meaningful medical evaluation.
Mohamed admitted he signed thousands of opioid prescriptions on a recurring monthly basis, often for years, outside the scope of legitimate medical practice. Each patient was automatically rescheduled for the following month, creating a conveyor-belt operation designed to maximize billing, not healing. These sham visits were then used to justify fraudulent claims submitted to Medicare and TennCare.
HNC staff, under direction from Mohamed and Manacsa, submitted false bills totaling approximately $1,538,000 for services never rendered. The fraud resulted in actual payments of $733,000 from federal and state healthcare programs. Mohamed also paid $730,000 in restitution as part of his sentence.
‘This case sends a clear message to physicians and other health care providers in the Eastern District of Tennessee that investigating and prosecuting healthcare fraud related to prescription opioids is a top priority,’ said J. Douglas Overbey, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Tennessee. He cited the Opioid Fraud and Abuse Detection Unit as a key tool in targeting corrupt medical providers fueling the opioid epidemic.
‘These defendants enriched themselves at the expense of taxpayers by defrauding Medicare and TennCare,’ said Derrick L. Jackson, Special Agent in Charge at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Inspector General. ‘Their actions risked the health and safety of patients by prescribing opioids without a comprehensive physical exam. This sentence sends a strong message that this type of behavior will be dealt with seriously.’
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Key Facts
- State: Tennessee
- Agency: DOJ USAO
- Category: Fraud & Financial Crimes
- Source: Official Source ↗
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