Federal prosecutors say a Highland podiatrist turned high-priced wound care into a Medicare money machine, and two nurses helped keep it humming. A newly unsealed indictment accuses the trio of billing tens of millions of dollars for skin-substitute treatments that were not medically necessary, leading to roughly $29 million in Medicare payouts between July 2021 and December 2025. All three are set for their first federal court appearance in St. George next month.
A federal grand jury in St. George returned the indictment on May 12, charging 47-year-old podiatrist Ryan Scott Ellsworth of Highland, 45-year-old nurse Emily Kelly of Washington, and 55-year-old registered nurse Drake Dell Broadbent of Santa Clara with health care fraud, wire fraud, and making false statements related to health care matters, according to a press release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Utah. Prosecutors say the case centers on claims for high-cost skin substitute products, materials used to cover and help heal chronic wounds, that were billed even when basic conservative wound care had not first been provided. The investigation was led by the FBI Salt Lake City Field Office with help from HHS-OIG and IRS-Criminal Investigation, according to the office.
Government filings reviewed by local reporters show Ellsworth billed about $44 million to Medicare for skin substitutes, with Medicare paying Summit Foot & Ankle more than $19 million, while Kelly billed roughly $17 million and received more than $10 million in Medicare payments on those claims. The indictment lists clinics operating under the Summit Foot & Ankle name and an entity called Amble Medical, with locations in St. George, Provo, Payson, Sandy, and West Valley City. In all, the charging documents run to 18 counts and allege the scheme lasted roughly four years, from mid-2021 through the end of 2025, as reported by KSL.
According to documents filed by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Utah, the defendants are accused of routinely waiving Medicare copayments for skin-substitute applications, sometimes amounting to thousands of dollars per patient. Prosecutors also allege that, at times, unqualified staff provided services that were then billed under Ellsworth’s provider number. The indictment further claims many patients did not satisfy Medicare’s 30-day basic wound-care requirement before advanced therapies were used, a point central to the government’s argument that the procedures were not medically necessary. Those alleged practices, prosecutors say, turned otherwise legitimate wound care into false claims submitted to Medicare.
Why investigators are watching skin-substitute billing
Medicare spending on skin-substitute products has exploded in recent years, jumping from roughly $256 million in 2019 to more than $10 billion in 2024, a surge that made federal auditors sit up and grab their calculators. In response, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services moved to overhaul payment rules effective January 1 and shift to a flat, site-neutral payment approach, according to CMS. Federal enforcement has followed the money, with investigators seizing funds and opening probes into clinics that billed millions for skin grafts and wound care. The Los Angeles Times recently reported on a high-profile asset seizure in Southern California tied to a similar wound-care investigation.
Legal implications
Defense lawyers note that Medicare fraud cases like this often turn on disputes over medical necessity rather than whether the procedures actually happened, which can make it harder for prosecutors to prove criminal intent. The indictment charges multiple counts of health care fraud and wire fraud, along with two false-statement counts that focus on what was written in patient charts and who actually performed services, a structure that legal analysts say will require the government to show knowing and willful misconduct for individual patients, according to analysis by Armstrong & Bradylyons PLLC. That analysis also points out that prosecutors did not bring kickback or money-laundering charges in this case, a detail that could shape how both sides approach trial strategy.
The defendants are scheduled to make their initial appearances on the indictment on June 8, 2026, at 10 a.m. in courtroom 2B at the federal courthouse in St. George, according to court reporting. The case is being handled by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Utah, with investigative work by the FBI, HHS-OIG, and IRS-CI. As with all federal criminal cases, the indictment consists of allegations only, and Ellsworth, Kelly, and Broadbent are presumed innocent unless and until the government proves its case in court.
