Mississippi Podiatrist Drowns in Foot Bath Fraud

TAYLOR, MS – Marion Shaun Lund, D.P.M., 53, of Taylor, Mississippi, is facing up to a decade behind bars after pleading guilty to a brazen scheme to bilk Medicare and TRICARE out of over $1.4 million. The podiatrist ran a lucrative racket prescribing and dispensing needless foot bath medications and ordering pointless toenail tests, all fueled by kickbacks and bribes. This isn’t about medical care; it’s about cold, calculated theft from a system designed to help those in need.

Court documents reveal Lund, owner and operator of a podiatry clinic and in-house pharmacy, wasn’t interested in patient well-being. Instead, he routinely prescribed antibiotic and antifungal drugs to be mixed into warm water for foot soaks – a treatment pushed not by medical necessity, but by the potential for maximum reimbursement from federal healthcare programs. Lund didn’t bother with individualized care; he prescribed based on profit margins. He further compounded the fraud by ordering diagnostic testing on toenail clippings and wound cultures, even when utterly unnecessary.

Between April 2020 and March 2022, Lund’s operation generated over $1.4 million in fraudulent claims to Medicare and TRICARE. The system ultimately coughed up over $700,000 in reimbursements for these bogus treatments. The feds say Lund wasn’t acting alone. He was allegedly paid cash kickbacks by a “marketer” for pushing these unnecessary prescriptions and tests. This wasn’t a victimless crime; it’s a drain on resources meant for legitimate healthcare.

Lund’s guilty plea to one count of conspiracy to commit health care fraud sets the stage for a sentencing hearing on May 15, 2023. A federal judge will determine the punishment, considering sentencing guidelines and other factors, but Lund faces a maximum sentence of ten years in prison. He’s not the only one caught in this web of deceit. Logan Hunter Power, who pled guilty in October 2021 to conspiracy to defraud and receive kickbacks, is already serving a 25-month sentence.

Two other podiatrists, Jared Lee Spicer, D.P.M., and Carey “Craig” Williams, D.P.M., have also admitted guilt to conspiracy to commit healthcare fraud and are awaiting sentencing. This case is a clear indication that the Department of Justice, along with the HHS-OIG and FBI, are actively cracking down on healthcare fraud schemes. The investigation is ongoing, and more arrests are possible.

The case was a joint effort by Assistant Attorney General Kenneth A. Polite, Jr.; U.S. Attorney Clay Joyner; Special Agent in Charge Derrick L. Jackson; and Acting Assistant Director Jay Greenberg. The prosecution team includes Trial Attorney Sara E. Porter, Assistant Chief Justin M. Woodard, and Assistant U.S. Attorney Clayton A. Dabbs. This case highlights the ongoing work of the Health Care Fraud Strike Force Program, which has charged over 5,000 defendants and exposed over $24 billion in fraudulent billing since 2007. For more information on combating healthcare fraud, visit https://www.justice.gov/criminal-fraud/health-care-fraud-unit.

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