Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

Whitefish doctor sentenced for Medicare fraud

A Whitefish doctor was sentenced to six months of jail and another six months of house arrest for defrauding Medicare and other federal health programs.

Ronald Dean was found guilty in U.S. District Court of participating in a national scheme that fraudulently billed programs more than $2.75 billion.

A telemedicine company paid Dean to bill for medical equipment like wrist braces and COVID tests that patients didn’t need. He never saw many of the patients he billed for. That’s according to federal prosecutors.

They say Dean filed over $13 million worth of claims as part of the scheme. Dean is required to pay over $780,000 in restitution for money he received from the company in the case.

Federal prosecutors charged 193 people across the country in the scheme and seized luxury cars, gold and $231 million in cash as part of the case.

Aaron joined the MTPR team in 2019. He reports on all things in northwest Montana and statewide health care.

aaron@mtpr.org or call/text at 612-799-1269
Become a sustaining member for as low as $5/month
Make an annual or one-time donation to support MTPR
Pay an existing pledge or update your payment information