Ashley Brown, DNP, ARNP, a nurse practitioner from Des Moines, Iowa, has been hit with a $52,560 fine to settle claims that she fraudulently prescribed expensive orthotic braces in exchange for kickbacks. The charges stem from hundreds of medically unnecessary prescriptions Brown signed, amounting to over $1 million in false Medicare claims.
Brown is accused of reviewing patient records for as little as nine seconds before approving the braces, often with no legitimate medical need or patient contact. She was alleged to have received $20 per patient reviewed, accumulating significant payments from her fraudulent practices.
United States Attorney Timothy T. Duax emphasized the commitment to pursuing medical providers exploiting their positions of trust. ‘Our office will aggressively pursue any medical providers that seek to profit by outsourcing their medical decision-making,’ said Duax.
The Civil Complaint filed in Cedar Rapids District Court details how Brown prescribed a left knee brace to an Elkhart resident despite the patient having had their leg amputated years ago, illustrating the extent of her alleged disregard for medical necessity and legal requirements.
The investigation was led by Assistant United States Attorney Brandon J. Gray and conducted by the Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General. Brown’s case file number is 1:24-cv-00036, available at https://ecf.iand.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/login.pl.
For updates on this and other federal crime news, follow the United States Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Iowa on Twitter @USAO_NDIA.
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Key Facts
- State: Iowa
- Agency: DOJ USAO
- Category: Fraud & Financial Crimes|Healthcare Fraud
- Source: Official Source ↗
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