Baltimore, Maryland – Dr. Ron Elfenbein, a 49-year-old physician from Arnold, Maryland, has been found guilty of five counts of healthcare fraud for submitting over $15 million in false and fraudulent claims to Medicare and other insurers. The claims were related to patients who received COVID-19 tests at testing sites operated by the defendant. This marks the first conviction at trial by the Justice Department for healthcare fraud involving billing for office visits in connection with patients seeking COVID-19 tests.
United States Attorney announced the conviction for the District of Maryland, Erek L. Barron, and Assistant Attorney General Kenneth A. Polite Jr. of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division. The investigation was conducted by several agencies, including the Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General (HHS-OIG), the Department of Defense Office of Inspector General, the Defense Criminal Investigative Service – Mid-Atlantic Field Office, the FBI Baltimore Field Office, and the Office of the Inspector General (OPM-OIG).
During the three-week trial, evidence was presented that Elfenbein owned and operated Drs ERgent Care, LLC, doing business as First Call Medical Center and Chesapeake ERgent Care. The facilities provided drive-through COVID-19 testing in Anne Arundel and Prince George’s Counties. Prosecutors revealed that Elfenbein instructed the employees to bill for high-level evaluation and management visits in addition to the...
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