Fla. A.G. Charges Doctor with Organized Fraud

Florida Attorney General Charlie Crist announced the arrest of a Citrus County doctor for reportedly defrauding the state’s Medicaid program by improperly billing in excess of $137,000 for office visits. Dr. David William Powers will be charged with first-degree organized fraud.

Investigators with the Attorney General’s Medicaid Fraud Control Unit determined that Powers, 63, of Inverness, defrauded the state’s Medicaid program by consistently billing Medicaid for office visits he claimed were more complex than what he actually provided, which enabled him to receive more money than was warranted.

This practice, known as upcoding, resulted in Powers illegally receiving more than $137,000 from the Florida Medicaid program. Powers has been upcoding his Medicaid billing since at least the beginning of January 2000, investigators found.

The case will be prosecuted by the Attorney General’s Office of Statewide Prosecution. A separate civil action has also been filed under the Florida False Claims Act by the Attorney General against Dr. Powers, seeking triple damages and $10,000 for each false claim submitted.