New City Residents Accused In $17 Million Health Frauds

NEW CITY, NY — Three Hudson Valley residents are among four people accused of participation in schemes to defraud Medicaid and Medicare that totaled $17 million.

Two doctors, a pharmacist who had previously lost his license and been excluded from participating in the Medicaid and Medicare programs, and a pharmacy owner have been charged for their participation in schemes in which the Medicare and Medicaid programs were fraudulently billed more than $17 million.

“Physicians and other medical professionals who fraudulently bill our federal health care programs are stealing from taxpayers and robbing vulnerable patients of necessary medical care," Assistant Attorney General Brian Benczkowski of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division said in the announcement.

The defendants:

• DR. ANNA STEINER, 63, Valatie, New York
• DR. DENNY MARTIN, 46, New York, New York
• ANDREW BARRETT, 60, New City, New York
• PHYLLIS PINCUS, 58, New City, New York

The charges filed in federal court in Brooklyn are part of a coordinated health care fraud enforcement action across seven federal districts in the northeast United States, led by the Medicare Fraud Strike Force, that resulted in criminal charges against 48 people for their alleged participation in health care fraud schemes involving more than $800 million in false and fraudulent claims.

“As alleged today, the defendants took advantage of programs established for the benefit of those less fortunate, allowing themselves to profit by defrauding the government of public money. May today’s charges remind those who tear holes in the government safety net that they will face the error of their ways,” said William F. Sweeney, Jr., Assistant Director-in-Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation, New York Field Office.

The schemes charged in the Eastern District of New York, detailed in two indictments, one complaint and one criminal information, are:

United States v. Andrew Barrett and Phyllis Pincus: Andrew Barrett, a pharmacist who had been previously convicted of healthcare fraud in 2016 and excluded from the Medicare and Medicaid programs, and Phyllis Pincus, the sole proprietor of two New York-based pharmacies, were indicted on Sept. 24, 2019 for health care fraud, false claims and conspiracy to defraud the United States by submitting fraudulent claims to Medicare and Medicaid for medications that were not actually dispensed to patients. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney William P. Campos of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York.

United States v. Anna Steiner: The superseding indictment charges Anna Steiner, a licensed anesthesiologist, was charged for her role in an alleged $17.4 million health care fraud scheme related to the payment of kickbacks in return for prescribing and ordering durable medical equipment, prescription drugs and diagnostic tests that were neither medically necessary nor resulted from an examination by or consultation with a physician. Steiner was charged with conspiracy to commit health care fraud and health care fraud in a superseding indictment filed on Sept. 19, 2019. The case is being prosecuted by Department of Justice Trial Attorney Andrew Estes of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section.

United States v. Denny Martin: Denny Martin, a licensed neurologist who was the sole owner of AM PM Medical P.C., was charged with health care fraud for his role in a scheme to falsely bill Medicare for treatments that were never performed. Between 2015 and 2019, AM PM Medical P.C. submitted more than 3,000 in fraudulent claims for home health and podiatry visits to the Medicare program. Martin was arraigned before United States Magistrate Judge Robert M. Levy at the federal courthouse in Brooklyn. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney William P. Campos of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York.

The Eastern District of New York’s Healthcare Fraud Strike Force, supervised by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York and the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section, was created in 2009 and since its inception has charged well over 100 defendants, many of which were medical professionals.

“Healthcare fraud is not a victimless crime—with unscrupulous providers preying on Medicare beneficiaries and taxpayers alike. Especially insidious is the fraud committed by healthcare professionals who are trusted to provide needed, quality services to patients,” said Scott J. Lampert, Special Agent-in-Charge, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Inspector General, Office of Investigations, New York Regional Office. “With our law enforcement partners, our agency will continue to thoroughly investigate medical providers and others involved in healthcare fraud.”

The charges are allegations, and the defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.