Sam Brusco, Associate Editor04.29.22
California doctor Donald Woo Lee (55) was yesterday sentenced to 93 months in prison for defrauding Medicare, repackaging single-use catheters for re-use on patients, and submitting false declarations in a bankruptcy proceeding.
According to court documents, Lee recruited Medicare beneficiaries to clinics, falsely diagnosed them, and provided them with unnecessary procedures. He billed these procedures to Medicare using an inappropriate code to obtain higher reimbursement, a practice known as upcoding.
Evidence also showed Lee repackaged used, contaminated catheters that were FDA cleared only for single-use for re-use, putting patients at risk for infection and other injuries. Lee submitted about $12 million to Medicare for vein ablation procedures performed, receiving $4.5 million as a result.
Lee was convicted in October 2019 on seven counts of healthcare fraud and one count of adulteration of a medical device. He also pleaded guilty in March 2020 to one count of submitting false declarations in a bankruptcy proceeding.
In addition to jail time, Lee will serve three years of supervised release and pay $4.5 million restitution to Medicare.
According to court documents, Lee recruited Medicare beneficiaries to clinics, falsely diagnosed them, and provided them with unnecessary procedures. He billed these procedures to Medicare using an inappropriate code to obtain higher reimbursement, a practice known as upcoding.
Evidence also showed Lee repackaged used, contaminated catheters that were FDA cleared only for single-use for re-use, putting patients at risk for infection and other injuries. Lee submitted about $12 million to Medicare for vein ablation procedures performed, receiving $4.5 million as a result.
Lee was convicted in October 2019 on seven counts of healthcare fraud and one count of adulteration of a medical device. He also pleaded guilty in March 2020 to one count of submitting false declarations in a bankruptcy proceeding.
In addition to jail time, Lee will serve three years of supervised release and pay $4.5 million restitution to Medicare.