Doctor Guilty In Wheelchair Scam Under Texas Fraud Law

(HOUSTON, TX) United States Attorney Chuck Rosenberg announced today the return of a jury’s verdict convicting Dr. Linda Kaye Morgan, 53, of Houston, on 12 counts of healthcare fraud and one (1) count of conspiracy. The jury reached its verdict late yesterday evening after a two-day trial.

Dr. Morgan is licensed as an osteopath in Oklahoma, but was unable to become licensed in Texas. Over a two year period, Morgan signed hundreds of pre-printed prescriptions for motorized wheelchairs for approximately $250 each. At trial, Dr. Morgan testified that she estimates she was paid approximately $100,000 in cash for her prescriptions by various marketers. She also signed Certificates of Medical Necessity (CMN), which are required by Medicare and Medicaid as part of their billing processes. On the certificates, she certified that she had evaluated the patients and that they needed electric wheelchairs due to their physical condition.

At trial, the United States presented evidence that proved that Dr. Morgan rarely evaluated the patients for whom the prescriptions were signed. Medicare and Medicaid recipients from Texas and Louisiana testified that they have never been treated or evaluated by Dr. Morgan. All were billed for an electric wheelchair and related accessories, as a result of Dr. Morgan’s prescriptions and CMNs, but all received a less expensive scooter. From 2002 to 2004, Medicare reimbursed durable medical equipment companies approximately $5,000 for an electric wheelchair and its accessories, such as batteries, head rests, and seat cushions. A scooter cost between $800 and $1,200.

At trial, it was shown that Dr. Morgan’s fraudulent prescriptions have been linked to nearly $8 million in Medicare and Medicaid payments to more than 60 durable medical equipment companies around the country.

At sentencing, set for May 22, 2006, Dr. Morgan faces not more than10 years imprisonment, a fine up to $250,000, or both for the healthcare fraud conviction, and up to five years imprisonment, a fine up to $250,000, or both for the conspiracy conviction.

This case was the result of the investigative efforts of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Texas Attorney General’s Medicaid Fraud Unit in Houston, and the Health & Human Services-Office of the Inspector General, Office of Investigations. The case is being prosecuted by Special Assistant United States Attorney Suzanne Bradley.