Virginia-based Daphne Jenkins, NP, has been charged for her role in a $7.8 million telemedicine fraud scheme involving medically unnecessary durable medical equipment.
The charging documents allege that between December 2018 and April 2020, Ms. Jenkins, 64, worked with a telemedicine company to sign orders for medically unnecessary durable medical equipment based on telemarketing calls to Medicare beneficiaries whom she had no medical relationship with, according to an Oct. 6 news release from the Justice Department. Ms. Jenkins signed the orders without reading them, after which the telemarketing company sold the orders to medical suppliers and laboratories. The orders signed by Ms. Jenkins resulted in more than $7.8 million in claims being submitted to Medicare for unnecessary equipment.
Ms. Jenkins was charged with one count of conspiracy to commit healthcare fraud, according to the release. If convicted, she faces a sentence of up to 10 years in prison, up to three years of supervised release and a fine of up to $250,000 or twice the amount she gained from the scheme, whichever is greater.