An Indiana physician was sentenced to one year and one day in prison after pleading guilty to healthcare fraud.
Johann Farley, MD, 60, of Crown Point, was also ordered to pay $440,000 in restitution to the state's Medicaid program and $113,000 to Medicare, according to an Oct. 3 Justice Department news release.
Dr. Farley ran an addiction treatment practice in Merrillville, Ind., according to the release. Many of his patients struggled with opioid addiction. Dr. Farley required these patients to come into his office frequently, but the visits lasted only a few minutes, and many of his patients often did not even see him.
Over a four-year span, he submitted claims to Medicare and Medicaid falsely stating that he had complex, extended visits with his patients for several hours each week, according to the release. Between January 2016 and May 2020, Dr. Farley falsely billed the programs for more than 7,000 services he did not provide and was paid more than $557,000.