ST. GEORGE, Utah (ABC4) — A Utah podiatrist and two nurses have been federally indicted on fraud charges after they allegedly submitted fraudulent claims to Medicare for skin substitute services, resulting in a payout of $29M.
Ryan Scott Ellsworth, 47, of Highland, Utah; Emily Kelly, 45, of Washington, Utah; and Drake Dell Broadbent, 55, are all facing healthcare fraud and wire fraud charges. Ellsworth and Broadbent are also facing charges for false statements related to healthcare matters.
According to the United States District Attorney’s Office District of Utah, these individuals allegedly defrauded the federal healthcare benefit program, Medicare, to obtain money for their own financial benefit from July 2021 to Dec. 2025.
According to the DA, court documents allege that Ellsworth was a podiatrist who owned and operated Summit Foot and Ankle, with clinics throughout Utah, and Amble Medical in Highland, Utah.
Kelly, a Utah-licensed registered nurse practitioner, and Broadbent, a Utah-licensed registered nurse, worked primarily out of Summit’s St. George clinic.
Elsworth, Kelly, and Broadbent all allegedly knew Medicare billing of a skin substitute was “permissible only if medically necessary and if basic wound care had been administered to a wound for the previous 30 days,” according to the DA.
However, the defendants allegedly submitted false claims to Medicare for providing skin substitutes to patients who did not have wounds that qualified for this kind of...
ST. GEORGE, Utah (ABC4) — A Utah podiatrist and two nurses have been federally indicted on fraud charges after they allegedly submitted fraudulent claims to Medicare for skin substitute services, ...