An Alexandria, La.-based physician pleaded guilty March 29 to accepting kickbacks from a medical supply and billing company, according to the U.S. Justice Department.
Robert Clay Smith, MD, 60, admitted to taking a split of the profits from the Rogers, La.-based company in exchange for prescribing its pain creams and patches to workers compensation patients, according to court documents. The company handled the paperwork and submitted the fraudulent claims on behalf of Dr. Smith from 2013 to 2017, court documents revealed.
Dr. Smith admitted receiving 50 percent to 55 percent of the profits collected by the company from insurers at prices that were marked up 15 to 20 times what the medications cost, the Justice Department said. He made more than $650,000 from the scheme, according to court documents.
The Justice Department also found Dr. Smith didn't have a license to dispense medications from his clinic.