A Charlotte doctor is facing federal charges for her role in a durable medical equipment (DME) scheme that defrauded federal benefits programs of more than $11 million. Sudipta Mazumder, 46, of Charlotte, is charged with one count of healthcare fraud and six counts of making false statements relating to healthcare matters. According to allegations contained in the indictment, during 2019 and 2020, Mazumder was a doctor in Charlotte who worked as an independent contractor for a Delaware-based telemedicine company. During the relevant time frame, Mazumder allegedly signed fraudulent orders for medically unnecessary durable medical equipment, specifically knee braces, resulting in the submission of thousands of fraudulent reimbursement claims to Medicare and TRICARE totaling approximately $11,436,873.
The indictment alleges that Mazumder falsely stated in those orders that she performed medical examinations of Medicare and TRICARE beneficiaries and falsely certified that the braces were medically necessary. According to allegations in the indictment, contrary to her claims, Mazumder never examined the Medicare and TRICARE beneficiaries. Instead, Mazumder allegedly had little or no interaction with the beneficiaries and made no medical determination whether the devices were medically necessary or the beneficiaries needed the DME. Mazumder received from the telemedicine company unsigned orders for orthopedic braces for the beneficiaries, which she signed and returned to the telemedicine company in exchange for $20 for each purported assessment that she performed.
