A Louisiana doctor was sentenced to 87 months in prison for distributing over 1.8 million doses of opioids. His actions also led to more than $5.4 million in health care fraud charges, as reported by the U.S. Attorney's Office.
Dr. Adrian Dexter Talbot, a 59-year-old physician from Slidell, was convicted of illegally prescribing narcotics and committing health care fraud while operating Medex Clinical Consultants. He gave pre-signed prescriptions without examining patients, while working elsewhere and hiring others to carry out his illegal activities. Talbot falsified records to cover up his actions, leading to unnecessary costs for insurers like Medicare, Medicaid, and Blue Cross Blue Shield of Louisiana, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office.
Several agencies, including the FBI and HHS-OIG, investigated a case prosecuted by Trial Attorneys Sara E. Porter and Gary A. Crosby II, Assistant Chief Justin Woodard, and Deputy Chief Kate Payerle of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section. This was part of the Health Care Fraud Strike Force, which has charged over 5,400 defendants with fraud totaling over $27 billion since 2007. Following the sentencing, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services and HHS-OIG are taking steps to hold health care providers accountable, as stated by the U.S. Attorney's Office.
