A 69-year-old woman pleaded guilty to federal fraud charges after billing cosmetic surgeries at a California surgery center as medically necessary, the Justice Department said Feb. 4.
Five things to know:
1. Linda Morrow pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit health care fraud and one count of contempt of court for fleeing the U.S. after being indicted in 2017. She and her husband, David Morrow, MD, fled to Israel but were deported when U.S. authorities tracked them down in 2019.
2. Ms. Morrow was executive director of The Morrow Institute in Rancho Mirage, Calif. She admitted she billed cosmetic procedures performed at Morrow Medical Surgery Center as "medically necessary." The procedures included tummy tucks, nose jobs and breast augmentations.
3. The Morrows convinced patients to sign "testimonial" letters with false statements to defraud insurance companies into believing the cases were medically necessary. Ms. Morrow also admitted to coaching patients to draft false letters.
4. Insurance companies involved included Aetna, Anthem Blue Cross, Blue Shield of California and Cigna Health Insurance. The intended loss from the scheme was more than $44 million, according to the Justice Department.
5. Mr. Morrow, 77, pleaded guilty to his involvement in 2016 and was sentenced to 20 years in prison.