A New York City physical rehabilitation company owner has been sentenced to 38 months in federal prison for running a four-year scheme that billed health insurers more than $20 million under the name of a doctor who had nothing to do with his clinics. Nosson Sklar, 56, also known as Nathan Sklar, was sentenced Wednesday after owning and operating a rehabilitation company.
According to the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York
, U.S. Attorney Jamie McDonald said in a statement that “today's sentence reflects the seriousness of this crime and our Office's commitment to safeguarding affordable health care from fraud for all New Yorkers.” The Department of Justice also reported that insurance programs paid approximately $12.4 million to Sklar's rehabilitation company, according to the
U.S. Department of Justice
.
A Doctor's Name, Used Without His Knowledge
Between January 2020 and July 2024, Sklar submitted or directed his staff to submit more than $20 million in fraudulent medical claims to three health benefit programs, falsely asserting that physical therapy and rehab services were rendered by a physician who had no ongoing affiliation with the company and never authorized the billings, the DOJ said. Court documents refer to the impersonated doctor as Victim-1. Of that $20 million in bogus claims submitted over the four-year span, insurance programs actually paid out $12.4 million to Sklar's rehab company before the fraudulent billing was uncovered, according to the same office's account of the case, reported separately by WCH Service Bureau.
The alleged conduct continued through July 2024, prosecutors said. Sklar pleaded guilty on December 11, 2025, to a single felony count of health care fraud in the Southern District of New York.
Federal Investigators and Prosecutors Behind the Case
The case involved the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General and the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and it was prosecuted in the Southern District of New York. Under 18 U.S.C. § 1347, a healthcare fraud scheme carries a statutory maximum of 10 years in prison per count, a cap that can rise to 20 years if the conduct causes serious bodily injury, according to the Legal Information Institute.
Sklar's legal history extends beyond this case.
Part of a Wider Crackdown on Ghost Billing
A separate New York case previously reported by Hoodline involved a Brooklyn daycare Medicaid ripoff.
For the physician whose name and credentials were used without consent, the fallout extended well past the courtroom, including professional and credentialing consequences. The case also involved approximately $12.4 million paid out by insurance programs to Sklar's rehabilitation company.
