California Attorney General Rob Bonta announced securing a guilty verdict against a San Joaquin County orthopedic surgeon for repeatedly defrauding the Medi-Cal and Medicare programs. From 2012 to 2016, Gary Wisner defrauded Medi-Cal and Medicare by administering excessive and medically unjustifiable X-rays to his patients. Following a two-week jury trial in Sacramento County Superior Court, Wisner was convicted on Thursday, June 16th, of 10 felony counts of healthcare insurance fraud. In November 2016, representatives from the California Department of Justice, Division of Medi-Cal Fraud and Elder Abuse (DMFEA) were notified by multiple government offices of suspected fraud by Wisner in overbilling the Medi-Cal and Medicare programs. Wisner operated a medical clinic in Lodi, California. DMFEA’s investigation into Wisner’s alleged misconduct revealed Wisner would administer X-rays even in routine office visits and would X-ray multiple parts of a patient’s body — regardless of whether it had any relation to a patient’s medical condition. Evidence presented at trial showed that over the course of an approximate four-year period, Wisner subjected ten individual patients to hundreds of unnecessary X-rays at his clinic. On Thursday, June 16, 2022, Wisner was convicted of 10 felony counts of healthcare insurance fraud.
