Alabama physician charged in $6 million telehealth scheme

An Alabama-based doctor has been charged and has agreed to plead guilty in connection with a $6 million telehealth fraud scheme involving medically unnecessary durable medical equipment and genetic testing, which were primarily used to detect mutations in genes that could indicate a higher risk of developing certain types of cancers.

Tommie Robinson, 43, has agreed to plead guilty to one count of healthcare fraud, according to the Department of Justice. A plea hearing has not yet been scheduled.

WHAT'S THE IMPACT

According to the charging documents, between December 2018 and March 2021, Robinson worked with telehealth companies to sign medical documentation, including doctors' orders, for medically unnecessary durable medical equipment and genetic testing.

Allegedly, these orders signed by Robinson were pre-populated based on telemarketing calls made to Medicare beneficiaries. It's also alleged that Robinson never had any contact with the beneficiaries himself and had no medical relationship with the patients.

Durable medical equipment suppliers and laboratories ultimately submitted claims to Medicare for these signed orders. As a result of Robinson's alleged participation in this scheme, more than $6 million in claims were allegedly submitted to Medicare for DME and genetic testing that were medically unnecessary, based on false documentation and tainted by kickbacks, DOJ said.

The charge of healthcare fraud provides for a sentence of up to 10 years in prison, supervised release for up to three years, and a fine of up to $250,000 or twice the gross pecuniary gain or loss, whichever is greater. 

THE LARGER TREND

As part of the DOJ's 2025 National Health Care Fraud Takedown, 49 defendants were charged in connection with the submission of more than $1.17 billion in allegedly fraudulent claims to Medicare resulting from telehealth and genetic testing fraud schemes.

In one instance, in the Southern District of Florida, prosecutors charged an owner of telehealth and durable medical equipment companies with a $46 million scheme in which Medicare beneficiaries were allegedly targeted through deceptive telemarketing campaigns, and then fraudulent claims were submitted to Medicare for durable medical equipment and genetic tests for those beneficiaries.