Raleigh, N.C.-based ENT Anita Louise Jackson, MD, was found guilty of adulterating medical devices for use on patients, among other charges, and must pay $4.79 million, the U.S. District Attorney's Office said Jan. 27 in a news release.
From 2011 to 2017, Dr. Jackson reused devices to perform 1,555 balloon sinuplasty surgeries on 919 Medicare patients.
Dr. Jackson obtained, at most, 36 new Entellus XprESS devices — a device cleared for use on one patient during one surgery — despite being the top-paid Medicare provider of balloon sinuplasty services in the country. She billed Medicare more than $46 million for the procedures between 2014 and 2018.
A jury also found Dr. Jackson guilty of fabricating medical and healthcare records, paying illegal remunerations, mail fraud and conspiracy, according to the release.
She was also convicted on 10 counts of illegally inducing her patients to receive the surgery, three counts of making false statements relating to healthcare benefits, two counts of aggravated identity theft and three counts of mail fraud.