A psychologist with multiple clinic locations throughout Metro Detroit, will spend 51 months in prison for the commission of healthcare fraud and money laundering offenses, U.S. Attorney Matthew Schneider announced. Paul Lucki Smith, 54, was sentenced on January 7, 2020, by U.S District Court Judge Bernard A. Friedman after pleading guilty to healthcare fraud and unlawful monetary transactions. Smith, a psychologist who practiced for over 20 years at various locations throughout Metro Detroit, submitted claims to Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan for reimbursement for services that he did not provide. In three years, Smith fraudulently obtained $3,163,172.92 from Blue Cross Blue Shield. Smith subsequently used hundreds of thousands of dollars from the proceeds of his fraud to purchase real property, liquor licenses, and furniture, in his venture to become a hotelier in Arcadia, Michigan. In addition to the term of imprisonment, the Court forfeited Smith’s interests in funds tied to the healthcare fraud and money laundering schemes, liquor licenses, and two pieces of real property. The Court also entered a forfeiture money judgment in the amount of $3,163,172.92.
