GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — A doctor from Muskegon has entered a guilty plea for billing insurance companies for visits that did not happen.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office – Western District of Michigan says 68-year-old Soaries Maxine Peterson billed Medicaid, Medicare and Blue Cross Blue Shield.
We’re told Peterson confessed to billing insurance agencies to acquire drug prescriptions while on holiday or offering services elsewhere.
Peterson has settled to pay the state and federal governments $500,000 in liability as outlined by the False Claims Act, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
“Health care providers who fraudulently bill for services they did not provide must be held accountable, especially when those services involve the prescribing of controlled substances,” says U.S. Attorney Mark Totten. “My office is committed to working with our federal and state partners to combat this unprofessional, unsafe, and unlawful behavior in Michigan.”
Peterson is scheduled to appear for a sentencing hearing on Wednesday, Sept. 7. She faces up to 10 years behind bars.
