Atlanta doctor indicted for Medicaid, Medicare fraud

By Ty Tagami

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

An Atlanta doctor could face up to a decade in prison now that federal prosecutors have accused him of seeking government reimbursements for care he didn't render.

A federal grand jury indicted Dr. Robert Williams on federal fraud charges February 22, and he was arraigned Friday by a federal magistrate in Atlanta.

While under contract to provide group psychological therapy to nursing home patients, Dr. Williams, 72, filed about 95,000 Medicare and Georgia Medicaid claims and was reimbursed about $1 million, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office in Atlanta.

Many of the claims filed during a two-year period beginning in the summer of 2007 were fraudulent, U.S. Attorney Sally Quillian Yates said. In some cases, the patients were dead by the time he reported seeing them, she said. In other cases, they were in the hospital and could not have appeared in the nursing home for therapy as claimed.

Yates said Dr. Williams "has been charged with crimes that reflect his misuse of his position and the trust placed in him, all at the expense of his elderly patients, Medicare and Medicaid."

Brian D. Lamkin, an FBI special agent involved with the case, said such fraud costs the government and private insurers billions. Acts of "sheer greed" such as those alleged against Dr. Williams are "driving up healthcare costs and are depriving those that really need medical help," Lamkin said.

In addition to prison, a conviction would result in fines of up to $250,000.