A federal jury convicted two Florida doctors for their roles in a scheme to defraud Medicare by submitting over $31 million in claims for expensive durable medical equipment (DME) that Medicare beneficiaries did not need and that were procured through the payment of kickbacks. Dean Zusmer, 54, of Miami, was a chiropractor who conspired with others to steal millions of dollars from Medicare. Zusmer owned one of four DME companies that collectively billed Medicare over $31 million for medically unnecessary DME, of which over $15 million was paid. Zusmer and his co-conspirators, including Jeremy Waxman, acquired patient referrals and signed doctors’ orders by paying kickbacks to marketers who used overseas call centers to solicit patients and telemedicine companies to procure prescriptions for unnecessary braces for these patients.
Lawrence Alexander, MD, 45, of Miami, was an orthopedic surgeon who owned one of the DME companies with Waxman and concealed both his and Waxman’s roles in the scheme by putting the DME company in the name of one of Alexander’s family members. Zusmer was convicted of conspiracy to commit healthcare fraud, healthcare fraud, conspiracy to pay illegal healthcare kickbacks, paying illegal healthcare kickbacks, and false statements relating to healthcare matters.
Waxman was previously sentenced to over 15 years in prison for his role in the scheme.
