A Canton orthopedic surgeon has been dubbed a felon after a Boston federal jury found him guilty of a health care fraud scheme involving opioids, U.S. officials revealed. Dr. Olarewaju James Oladipo, a 60-year-old physician from Canton, faces a lengthy sentence after his conviction on December 12 on 10 counts of health care fraud, authorities said.
According to the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Massachusetts, Oladipo, who was one of the top opioid prescribers in the state, executed a scheme from 2016 to 2019 to defraud health care benefit programs by "upcoding," or billing for more expensive services than those actually provided. Evidence presented during the trial revealed that Oladipo billed for an excessive number of patients per day, in some cases over 90, leading to appointments that would last only minutes despite being charged for much longer consultation times. Oladipo has been set to desperately try to avoid a decade behind bars, with sentencing scheduled for March 2024.
The conviction has spotlighted the broader issue of opioid overprescription amidst a devastating epidemic. "Dr. Oladipo deliberately exploited the medical system for financial gain, becoming one of the state’s most prolific prescribers of opioids," said Amanda Strachan, Chief of the Criminal Division of the U.S. Attorney’s Office, in a statement obtained by the Department of Justice. The FBI’s Jodi Cohen added that Oladipo wasn't only a top prescriber of addictive opioids but is "now a convicted felon—for cheating federally funded health care programs, taxpayers, and patients, for work he did not do."
The conviction has also brought attention to the collaborative efforts by various agencies in tackling health care fraud. The USPS Office of Inspector General, for its part, reinforced its stance against defrauding federal benefit programs. "This verdict is a clear message that the USPS OIG is dedicated to rooting out corruption and bringing those responsible for these crimes to justice," Special Agent in Charge Matthew Modafferi remarked in a statement highlighted by the Justice Department. Together with contributions from the Massachusetts Attorney General’s Office, the National Insurance Crime Bureau, and the Drug Enforcement Administration, the case has showcased a significant effort to not just investigate but also successfully prosecute those involved in health care fraud.
Oladipo's actions not only defrauded health care programs but also potentially endangered the lives of patients pulled into his high-volume practice. Special Agent in Charge Roberto Coviello of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Inspector General, pointed out that Oladipo's fraudulent claims and falsified patient records placed "greed and personal gain above his professional responsibilities." The crimes of health care fraud and conspiracy to commit health care fraud each carry up to 10 years in prison, a year of supervised release, and hefty fines, a daunting prospect for any practitioner now found on the wrong side of the law.
