Oxford, MS – In a shocking case of health care fraud, a Panola County man was sentenced to 24 months in prison for his role in a scheme to defraud Medicare and TRICARE by prescribing medically unnecessary foot bath medications and ordering medically unnecessary testing of toenails.
Marion Shaun Lund, a 54-year-old podiatrist from Batesville, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Glen Davidson on Monday morning. Lund owned and operated a podiatry clinic, as well as an in-house pharmacy, where he prescribed and dispensed antibiotic and antifungal drugs to be mixed into a tub of warm water for patients to soak their feet.
However, rather than prescribing drugs based on the individualized needs of patients, Lund prescribed foot bath medications in order to maximize reimbursements from Medicare, TRICARE, and other health care benefit programs, regardless of medical necessity. In addition, Lund took toenail clippings and wound cultures from patients and sent them to a lab for diagnostic testing, even though such testing was not medically necessary.
Between April 2020 and March 2022, Lund caused the submission of over $1.4 million in claims to Medicare and TRICARE for unnecessary prescriptions of foot bath medications and diagnostic testing of toenails, resulting in over $700,000 in reimbursements. In exchange for his prescriptions and orders, Lund was paid cash kickbacks by a purported marketer.
Lund is the fourth defendant, including three medical professionals, to plead guilty and be sentenced for his role in the scheme. In October 2021, Logan Hunter Power pled guilty to one count of conspiracy to defraud the United States and to pay and receive kickbacks, and in October 2022, Power was sentenced to 25 months in prison. In August 2022, Jared Lee Spicer, D.P.M., pled guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit health care fraud and was sentenced to serve a term of 3 years probation. In September 2022, Carey “Craig” Williams, D.P.M., pled guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit health care fraud and was sentenced to serve 42 months in prison.
The case was investigated by the HHS-OIG and FBI, and prosecuted by Trial Attorney Sara E. Porter and Assistant Chief Justin M. Woodard of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section and Assistant U.S. Attorney Clayton A. Dabbs of the Northern District of Mississippi. The Fraud Section leads the Criminal Division’s efforts to combat health care fraud through the Health Care Fraud Strike Force Program.
Since March 2007, this program, comprised of 15 strike forces operating in 25 federal districts, has charged more than 5,000 defendants who collectively have billed federal health care programs and private insurers more than $24 billion. In addition, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, working in conjunction with the Office of the Inspector General for the Department of Health and Human Services, are taking steps to hold providers accountable for their involvement in health care fraud schemes.
Related Federal Cases
- Nicole Bogan, Health Care Fraud, Columbus GA, 2013 · Illinois
- Gerardo Heriberto Nuñez Nuñez, Elder Fraud Scheme, Boston MA, 2026 · Pennsylvania
- Orlando Pascual Jr., HIV Treatment Medicare Fraud, Miami FL, 2023 · Florida
- Juan A. Tony Marrero, Medicare Fraud Scheme, Miami FL, 2023 · Florida
- Marc Henry Menard, Investment Fraud Scheme, Mineola NY, 2023 · Pennsylvania
Key Facts
- State: Mississippi
- Category: Health Care Fraud
- Source: DOJ Press Release â†â€â€
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