A Tennessee physician was sentenced to seven years in prison and fined more than $1 million after being convicted of over a dozen felony healthcare fraud charges.
Samson Orusa, MD, was convicted of billing federal health insurance programs for hundreds of medically unnecessary services, including office visits and steroid injections, according to an Aug. 25 Justice Department news release. He required Medicare beneficiaries and other patients to visit his clinic up to six times a month and undergo unnecessary steroid injections to obtain their prescriptions. He also altered progress visit notes to justify higher billing rates.
Dr. Orusa was charged in 2018 with 45 criminal violations and was convicted on all charges except for nine counts of illegal distribution of oxycodone. His sentencing only concerned the 13 healthcare fraud charges, the report said. In 2021, Dr. Orusa's Kentucky license was suspended due to the charges.
In addition to the seven years in prison, Dr. Orusa must serve three years in supervised release and pay over $1 million in restitution and a $195,000 fine.