Fraud Seems To Happen A Lot In Top Vacation Spots

Here’s hoping you’ve gotten a little kick out of the
 rhyme we came up with for the title of this week’s blog. While we’d like to
 bask in its creativity, it’s important to note that it actually is quite true.
 At least this has been the case over the past week. Two of America’s top
 vacation spots – Hawaii and Las Vegas – have seen doctors face the consequences
 of their fraudulent actions.

When we think of Hawaii, we can’t help but think of
 luaus, limbo contests and lots of sandy beaches. Of course, the state that is
 an island way out in Oceania is known as a highly-regarded vacation
 destination. But it is so much more than that. Made up of a number of islands, Hawaii
 has its own unique culture. One of those islands, Maui, is the second largest.
 It’s also home to 50 year-old Dr. Mark Lipetz who, earlier this week, pleaded
 guilty to two counts of health care fraud.

As reported by MauiNow.com, Lipetz also pleaded guilty to one count of a controlled substance through misrepresentation, fraud, forgery, deception or subterfuge. The owner and operator of the South Maui Clinic in Kihei, Lipetz wrote numerous prescriptions for medications using the names and addresses of actual patients, according to the report.

“Prosecutors said instead of giving the medication
 to the patients on the prescriptions he gave it to other patients or ‘created a
 stockpile from which Lipetz could provide ‘trial samples’ to patients without
 writing them a prescription,’” reads MauiNow.com, “Lipetz also submitted more
 than 200 false claims for reimbursement from Medicare, Medicaid, Hawaii Medical
 Services Association (HMSA) and United Healthcare between May 2014 and July
 2018.” He is scheduled for sentencing on
 December 5th.

When we think of Las Vegas, we can’t help but think
 of casinos, live shows and the world famous strip. People from all over the
 world visit the Nevada city with hopes of winning big bucks and having the
 times of their lives. Las Vegas is also home to Dr. Steven A. Holper who,
 earlier this week, was sentenced to 41 months in prison followed by three years
 of supervised release.

As reported by the District of Nevada branch of the United States Department of Justice, the 67 year-old pain management doctor unlawfully prescribed the addictive opioids Fentanyl, Hydrocodone and Oxycodone outside the usual course of professional practice and not for a legitimate medical purpose. Holper admitted doing so between July 2015 and March 2016.

“At least one patient that Dr. Holper admitted he
 distributed these drugs to passed away with a toxic level of fentanyl in the
 patient’s system,” reports the DoJ.

Assistant Special Agent in Charge Daniel Neill of
 the Drug Enforcement Administration was one of the individuals who made the
 announcement about Holper’s sentencing earlier this week. “A lot lives were
 impacted by Dr. Holper’s reckless behavior,” he is quoted as saying, “This case
 highlights the impact that federal and state and local agencies have combatting
 the opioid epidemic in Las Vegas.”

Please don’t hesitate to contact Allegiant Experts to find out how our clinical expertise may help your case. Give us a call at 407-217-5831 or email us at info@allegiantexperts.com.

#Hawaii #LasVegas #opiods #guiltyplea #healthcarefraud #controlledsubstances #prisonsentence #Maui