US: La. Doctor Pleads Guilty In Medicare Fraud Scheme

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — The U.S. Justice Department says a doctor from Hammond has pleaded guilty in a multi-million dollar Medicare fraud scheme.

Sixty-two-year-old Winston Murray, the operator of a Hammond clinic, pleaded guilty Thursday before U.S. District Judge Sarah Vance in New Orleans.

Murray admitted writing home health care referrals for Medicare beneficiaries who he knew were not confined to their homes. He admitted that those referrals were used by home health companies to fraudulently bill Medicare for home health services.

From 2007 through 2014, companies involved in the scheme submitted more than $56 million in claims to Medicare, a vast majority of which, prosecutors say, were fraudulent.

Murray is the ninth defendant to plead guilty in this case. The Justice Department says four defendants face a May 6 trial.

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