Internist Lawrence Eppelbaum, MD, of Roswell, Ga., has been indicted on charges healthcare fraud and tax fraud, according to a Department of Justice news release.
Dr. Eppelbaum, owner and operator of the Atlanta Institute of Medicine and Rehabilitation and the Pain Clinic of AIMR in Atlanta, allegedly created a purported charitable organization called the Back Pain Fund in 2004.
The fund was never incorporated as a charitable tax-exempt entity. Rather, it was allegedly used as a vehicle for Medicare fraud. Through the Back Pain Fund, Dr. Eppelbaum paid for Medicare patients to travel to Atlanta to receive medical treatment from his practice, travel to Florida or North Carolina to visit a local hot spring for approximately four days, and return to Atlanta to receive additional treatment.
Between 2004 and 2009, Dr. Eppelbaum billed Medicare approximately $15 million for the treatment of Back Pain Fund patients, according to the release. He has been charged with 21 counts of Medicare fraud and tax fraud.
“Providing free interstate trips at taxpayer expense and billing the government for needless services, as Dr. Eppelbaum stands accused of here today, is the sort of corruption all too common in our healthcare system,” said Derrick L. Jackson, special agent in charge of the Atlanta region for the Office of Inspector General of the Department of Health & Human Services.
Read the DOJ release on Dr. Lawrence Eppelbaum.
Read about other physicians involved in fraud:
- Baltimore Ophthalmologist Accused of Performing Hundreds of Unnecessary Procedures
- Retired Chief of Surgery Sentenced to 2 Years Imprisonment For Florida Medicare Fraud Scheme
Dr. Eppelbaum, owner and operator of the Atlanta Institute of Medicine and Rehabilitation and the Pain Clinic of AIMR in Atlanta, allegedly created a purported charitable organization called the Back Pain Fund in 2004.
The fund was never incorporated as a charitable tax-exempt entity. Rather, it was allegedly used as a vehicle for Medicare fraud. Through the Back Pain Fund, Dr. Eppelbaum paid for Medicare patients to travel to Atlanta to receive medical treatment from his practice, travel to Florida or North Carolina to visit a local hot spring for approximately four days, and return to Atlanta to receive additional treatment.
Between 2004 and 2009, Dr. Eppelbaum billed Medicare approximately $15 million for the treatment of Back Pain Fund patients, according to the release. He has been charged with 21 counts of Medicare fraud and tax fraud.
“Providing free interstate trips at taxpayer expense and billing the government for needless services, as Dr. Eppelbaum stands accused of here today, is the sort of corruption all too common in our healthcare system,” said Derrick L. Jackson, special agent in charge of the Atlanta region for the Office of Inspector General of the Department of Health & Human Services.
Read the DOJ release on Dr. Lawrence Eppelbaum.
Read about other physicians involved in fraud:
- Baltimore Ophthalmologist Accused of Performing Hundreds of Unnecessary Procedures
- Retired Chief of Surgery Sentenced to 2 Years Imprisonment For Florida Medicare Fraud Scheme