FLOYD COUNTY, Ga. — In Rome, Georgia, a federal district judge has ordered a doctor to pay more than $27 million for submitting “medically unnecessary claims.”

On Thursday, according to a release from the Department of Justice, Charles Adams M.D., and his medical practice were ordered to pay $27,567,729 in damages and penalties for violating the False Claims Act (FCA).

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In June 2023, a federal jury in Rome found that the defendants violated the FCA by submitting false claims to Medicare for chelation therapy reimbursements. This therapy uses drugs to get rid of heavy metals from the body.

The jury found that Medicare reimbursed the defendants more than $1.1 million for the unnecessary treatments.

According to U.S. Attorney Buchanan, the civil complaint, the court’s final order, and other information presented in court: Adams operated a medical practice in Ringgold, Georgia, known as Full Circle Medical Center. As a part of his internal medicine specialty, Adams administered the drug edetate calcium disodium (“EDTA”) to address a wide range of conditions, including atherosclerosis, high blood pressure, headaches, GI ailments, fatigue, and other generalized symptoms. However, these symptoms are not recognized as being treatable using EDTA. According to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, EDTA is recognized as a treatment only for lead poisoning and lead encephalopathy. Because Dr. Adams’ patients did not have lead...

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