On Friday, a Florida eye doctor was found guilty in the Medicare scam by U.S. jury for as much as $105 million by using the false claims, the claims include charging for the eye tests of blind patients, according to the federal court document.
Salomon Melgen, an ophthalmologist, is also a part of the separate corruption case in which the prosecutors said he bribed the U.S. Senator Bob Menendez, a Democrat from the New Jersey.
The bribery case is set for the trial on 23rd August. In the March, U.S. Supreme Court rejected the Menendez's bid to have the case involving donations from the Melgen thrown out. Federal prosecutors in that case said Melgen contributed $700,000 to thr political committees which helped the senator win re-election in the year 2012.
Menendez is not a defendant in the case of Florida, that involved a 32-day trial in the West Palm Beach.
The eye doctor was found guilty on 67 counts of the federal health care fraud against him, according to the verdict sheet filed in U.S. District Court. A Palm Beach Post newspaper reported that Melgen was originally charged with 77 counts, but not all made the case to the 12-member jury.
Sentencing was set for 14th July. The U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of Florida and also Melgen's lawyers could not be immediately reached out for comment.
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Melgen, aged 62, was accused of fraudulently taking as much as $105 million from the Medicare. Prosecutors said he gave patients unneeded tests and also treatments from 2008 to 2013 which could not help them. They accused him of filing numerous claims to the Medicare for tests conducted on the patients with prosthetic eyes or who were blind.
The defense attorneys for Melgen said that he used aggressive medical tactics so as to save his patients eyesight and also that sloppy billing led to what looked like a fraud.
Mrudula Duddempudi.
