Showing posts with label Dr. Michael Goodwin. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Dr. Michael Goodwin. Show all posts

Tuesday, April 09, 2013

Dr. Michael Goodwin gets 50 months in prison

CP orthodontist gets 50 months in Medicaid fraud scheme

An Amarillo orthodontist has been sentenced to more than four years in prison for health care fraud.

Dr. Michael David Goodwin was sentenced Tuesday to 50 months in federal prison and ordered to pay more than $1.8 million in restitution.

The 63-year-old Goodwin pleaded guilty in December 2012 to one count of health care fraud related to the Texas Medicaid program.

Court documents show that Goodwin devised a scheme to defraud the Texas Medicaid program by billing the program for more than $2.6 million for services which he claimed to provide, but were either not medically necessary, or were provided by dental assistants.

Wednesday, February 13, 2013

Texas orthodontist, Dr. Michael Goodwin to fork over $1.5 million beside fine and facing prison.

I bet Dr. Richard Malouf’s ears perked up yesterday when he heard good ole Dr. Goodwin had to fork over $1.5 million, beside a fine of $250,000 and facing up to 10 years in prison. But come to think of it, Malouf has already agreed to pay up over $1M to settle fraud charges. Hmm…

amarilloFebruary 12, 2013

Amarillo orthodontist must forfeit $1.5M

By Jim McBride

jim.mcbride@amarillo.com

An Amarillo orthodontist must forfeit $1.56 million he fraudulently gleaned from the Texas Medicaid program by billing for dental work he never performed, an Amarillo judge has ruled.

In a preliminary order issued Monday, U.S. District Judge Mary Lou Robinson said the government presented “credible evidence” Michael David Goodwin, owner of Goodwin Orthodontics, 3629 Wolflin Ave., reaped $1.56 million in ill-
gotten gains between 2008 and 2011.

Goodwin, 63, pleaded guilty in December to one count of health care fraud. He faces up to 10 years in federal prison and a fine of up to $250,000 when he is sentenced. Under the plea, Goodwin agreed not to challenge the forfeiture.

Prosecutors allege Goodwin frequently billed for work he never performed and scheduled up to 100 patients daily. Employees and patients likened the scheme to “herding cattle,” court documents show.

A phone message Tuesday at Goodwin Orthodontics said the office was temporarily closed.

Wednesday, August 15, 2012

Texas - Let the indictments begin–Dr. Michael D. Goodwin

USA v Michael D. Goodwin – Complaint August 15, 2012

USA v Michael D. Goodwin case 2-12-CR-097

 

Amarillo Orthodontist Michael Goodwin Charged in Medicaid Fraud Scheme

Michael David Goodwin is scheduled to be arraigned August 23, 2012 @ 9:30AM before Magistrate Judge Clinton Averitte.

An Amarillo orthodontist has been indicted in a Medicaid fraud scheme.

Sixty-three year-old Dr. Michael David Goodwin, who practices in Amarillo, Texas and Crown Point, Indiana, has been charged with 11 counts of health care fraud in a federal indictment.

According to Wednesday’s federal indictment, between 90 and 95 percent of Goodwin’s orthodontics’ patients were Medicaid beneficiaries.

The indictment alleges that from January 2008 through March 2011, Goodwin fraudulently billed the Texas Medicaid program for more than $2 million for services which he claimed were provided, when he knew that some services were not medically necessary, or were provided by dental assistants and no dentist or orthodontist was there to supervise.

According to a press release from the U.S. Attorney’s office, Goodwin practiced two weeks per month at each practice, and would regularly schedule more than 100 patients per day, and intentionally scheduled large numbers of Medicaid patients for days when he was to be out of town.

Goodwin would then reportedly have dental assistants perform impermissible acts such as comprehensive examinations, diagnoses, and treatment planning for Medicaid patients, knowing that only licensed dentists were permitted to perform those services.

He then allegedly billed Medicaid as the performing provider for all services.

The indictment also asserts that he had his employees submit forms that fraudulently stated that some patients had a medical need for braces, when they actually were for cosmetic purposes only. Goodwin also supposedly hired substitute general dentists that were not enrolled Medicaid providers.

The U.S. Attorney’s office says that Medicaid patients were not treated equally, as Goodwin personally examined patients who paid cash for their treatment, while he reportedly only examined Medicaid patients every third appointment or less.

Each health care fraud count carries a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine, if convicted. Goodwin could also be required to forfeit more than $1,558,000, as well as the more than $244,000 seized in May and July 2011 from Goodwin’s accounts.

JP Morgan Chase v Michael D. Goodwin, Patricia Goodwin and Chenoa Texas, LLC  – Complaint March 6,  2012
    Summons in JPMC v Goodwin March 6, 2012
    Joint Settlement Conference Report August 3, 2012

Tuesday, February 28, 2012

Feds link orthodontist to Medicaid fraud scheme

By BOBBY CERVANTES amarillo.com Copyright 2012 Amarillo Globe-News. All rights reserved.

February 29, 2012 - 12:18am

Feds link orthodontist to Medicaid fraud scheme

bobby.cervantes@amarillo.com

Patients and former employees likened the Amarillo Medicaid fraud scheme to “herding cattle.”

Amarillo orthodontist Dr. Michael Goodwin scheduled up to 400 Medicaid patients a day and frequently billed the government for work he never performed, according to court records.

In late May and early July, authorities seized $244,235.67 from five JP Morgan Chase commercial and personal bank accounts associated with Goodwin, his wife and his business.

Goodwin billed the government a total of $1.67 million in fraudulent claims from April 2008 to April 2011, according to a federal forfeiture complaint the government filed Monday seeking to keep the seized money.

Goodwin, who also has an office in Indiana, has not been charged with a crime. His Amarillo office at 3629 Wolfin Ave. was closed Tuesday and messages were not immediately returned.

Goodwin and his wife, Patricia, did not file a claim to the seized money, according to the complaint.

Saturday, October 08, 2011

Taxpayers spent $13 million on orthodontic transportation in Texas

Children picked up and escorted to dentist office for orthodontic treatment when dentist was not even in the state. 

Dollars are scarcely available to treat children who are in  very serious and real need, yet hundreds of millions freely distributed for unnecessary and useless braces on children in the Medicaid system.

These are just two of the allegations in the latest installment from Byron Harris of WFAA-TV in Dallas.


by BYRON HARRIS
Bio | Email
WFAA

Taxpayers spent $13 million on orthodontic transportation | wfaa.com Dallas - Fort Worth

Posted on October 6, 2011 at 11:42 PM

Last year, Texas taxpayers spent $184 million so kids on Medicaid could get free braces. Taxpayers did not just pay orthodontists for doing work many in the middle class consider a luxury. Under Medicaid, the public spent $13 million on orthodontic transportation.

Children got picked up, taken to orthodontists' offices, had their braces installed or worked on and were taken home again. Medicaid pays for up to 26 trips per patient. Many experts say that's evidence of a well-intentioned program gone wrong.


In his office in Dallas, Dr. Deji Fashemo looks at a three-dimensional photo of a child who badly needs orthodontic help. It is a mouth so crammed with teeth it's painful to look at. So in need of structural repair, the patient can hardly open to brush his teeth.