Telemedicine, a potentially revolutionary healthcare service, has major pitfalls, as exemplified by the recently surfacing fraud scheme led by Virginia-based nurse practitioner Daphne Jenkins. Accused of leading a $7.8 million telemedicine-based fraud, Jenkins has been charged with conspiracy to commit health care fraud. This has been reported by the United States Department of Justice (DOJ).
From 2018 to 2020, Jenkins allegedly partnered with a telemedicine company, signing orders to quickly for durable medical equipment (DME) with no prior patient contact, as per the documentation. The pre-filled orders were based on telemarketing calls to Medicare beneficiaries, which Jenkins signed without review. These orders were sold to DME suppliers and laboratories, which then sent claims to Medicare. The alleged scam resulted in over $7.8 million in claims to Medicare for unnecessary DME, based on fake documents, and sustained through kickbacks.
The potential sentence for conspiracy to commit health care fraud is a maximum of 10 years imprisonment, a maximum of three years of supervised release, and a fine up to $250,000 or twice the gross pecuniary gain or loss, whichever figure is higher.
