A Paulding County woman has admitted to her role in a yearslong telemedicine scheme that cost taxpayers more than $1.5 billion, authorities said.
Robin Darnell, also known as “Nurse Robin,” pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy in a kickback scheme that led to fraudulent Medicare reimbursements for medical equipment and genetic testing, federal prosecutors announced Tuesday.
The 57-year-old from Dallas faces up to five years in prison.
According to prosecutors, Darnell admitted that she and more than 30 others took part in a nationwide scheme in which they recruited doctors and other medical professionals to sign off on fraudulent orders. She reportedly claimed to have a team of nurses who would contact patients and conduct exams remotely during the COVID-19 pandemic in exchange for health care professionals ordering medical equipment and expensive testing for those patients.
“In fact, Darnell had no such team of nurses, despite claiming otherwise to the physicians she recruited,” according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Georgia. “Darnell’s conspirators then used these orders to bill Medicare for thousands of dollars each.”
She is accused of processing thousands of orders for phony examinations, diagnoses and medical conditions between June 2018 and September 2020, authorities said.
“Darnell took advantage of a system that was set up to help health care patients get much-needed government assistance during a pandemic,” said special agent Chris Hacker of the FBI’s Atlanta office. “Her actions not only affect those patients, but every citizen whose tax dollars support programs like Medicare.”
The investigation is ongoing, but so far authorities have charged 33 people in Georgia as part of the nationwide crackdown on fraudulent genetic testing and prescriptions, according to the U.S. attorney’s office. It wasn’t immediately clear when Darnell will be sentenced.
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