Podiatrist convicted in Medicare fraud involving surgeries

Jace Radke

Thursday, March 24, 2005 | 8:57 a.m.

A Las Vegas podiatrist was found guilty Wednesday of 67 counts of health care fraud after he billed Medicare for ingrown toenail surgeries that he never performed.

Dr. Nick T. Nguyen, 40, was found guilty by a jury following a six-day trial at the George Federal Building. Nguyen is free pending his sentencing scheduled for July 1 before U.S. District Judge Lloyd George where Nguyen could face a maximum sentence of up to 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine.

Nguyen was originally indicted in May 2004 on charges that he fraudulently billed Medicare for outpatient surgeries for 16 patients at his office at 3009 W. Charleston Blvd. The jury found that Nguyen had only rendered routine foot care for the patients and not surgery for ingrown toenails.

The jury further found that Nguyen falsified paperwork in order to fraudulently receive reimbursements from Medicare.

The case was investigated by the FBI and prosecuted by the U.S. attorney's office, and is an example of an ongoing national trend of growing instances of health care fraud, law enforcement officials said.

The National Health Care Anti-Fraud Association estimates that at least $48 billion is lost each year through various health fraud schemes in the United States.

Among the schemes commonly used are doctors charging insurers for procedures that were never conducted or conducting unnecessary procedures on a patient in order to file a claim, authorities said.

In addition, there have been cases in which doctors obtain patients' insurance or Medicare numbers and use those accounts to make purchases without the knowledge of the patients. In Nevada, Utah and Arizona in the late 1990s, for example, Richard and Deborah Ridgeley used the Medicare numbers of nursing home residents to purchase medical equipment.

The Ridgeleys then sold that equipment to other seniors through their Las Vegas company, Prescriptives Medical Services.

The couple pleaded guilty to health care fraud in the case. Richard Ridgeley was sentenced to 21 months in prison, while his wife was ordered to serve 46 months in prison. Both were ordered to pay more than $1.4 million in restitution.