Tampa, Fla., anesthesiologist and pain management physician Zachary Bird, MD, was sentenced to 24 months in federal prison, the Justice Department said March 16.
Dr. Bird operated the now-shuttered Physicians Wellness and Pain Specialists in Tampa from May 2014 to June 2018, the Justice Department said. He structured $481,526 in cash deposits to evade bank reporting requirements.
Dr. Bird split the sum into 60 deposits, each under $10,000, often occurring minutes apart on the same day, the Justice Department said. He was found guilty May 21, 2021.
In addition to his two-year prison term, Dr. Bird was sentenced to one year of supervised release, and the court entered a money judgment in the amount he illegally structured.
He was acquitted of other unspecified charges. In June 2018, he was arrested on opioid distribution charges as part of the largest healthcare fraud enforcement action in the Justice Department's history.