olathe doctor pleads guilty to fraud, distributing prescription drugs, harassaing state investigator
KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Beth Phillips, United States Attorney for the Western District of Missouri, announced that an Olathe, Kan., physician pleaded guilty in federal court today to health care fraud, illegally distributing prescription drugs and harassing a state investigator.
Wayne W. Williamson, 67, of Olathe, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Scott O. Wright to the charges contained in an April 7, 2010, federal indictment.
Williamson, a licensed osteopathic physician, admitted that he defrauded Medicare and Medicaid by submitting false claims for services that were not rendered. Williamson submitted claim forms to Medicare and Medicaid seeking payment for “home visits” to apartment complexes. These apartment complexes, which receive government subsidies for low-income renters, included the St. Regis Apartment Complex and Temple Heights. According to today’s plea agreement, Williamson submitted Medicare and Medicaid claims for significantly longer visits than he actually conducted.
Williamson also pleaded guilty to his role in a conspiracy to distribute oxycodone, Percocet and Xanax from March 28, 2006, to May 7, 2008. Williamson admitted that he wrote prescriptions for persons whom he knew did not have a legitimate medical need for these medications and/or were re-selling their medications.
Williamson sometimes received payment for prescriptions in the apartment complex parking lot without conducting any physical examination. Those who were not covered by Medicare or Medicaid paid cash for their prescriptions. According to today’s plea agreement, there were often people waiting in line to buy prescriptions from Williamson; several people would approach his car in the parking lot when he arrived at an apartment complex. People would also line up in the common area of an apartment complex, spending five or 10 minutes with Williamson in order to get prescriptions. Williamson discussed with some of his customers what certain drugs would resell for on the street.
For example, the plea agreement notes that one person received prescriptions for oxycodone, Percocet, Xanax and OxyContin without ever receiving an examination by Williamson. For a nearly two-year period up to May 2008, this person met Williamson in apartment complex parking lots to purchase six prescriptions each month for 120 Percocet/oxycodone pills, six prescriptions each month for 120 Xanax pills, and a total of 10 prescriptions for OxyContin. He paid Williamson $150 for each oxycodone prescription, then re-sold the oxycodone for $25 or $30 per pill.
Williamson, whose license to write prescriptions for scheduled drugs in the state of Missouri was suspended in March 2008, nevertheless continued to write prescriptions. Williamson admitted that he prescribed a total of more than 243,000 milligrams of oxycodone after he was notified that his license was suspended.
Williamson also pleaded guilty to harassing an investigator with the Missouri State Board of the Healing Arts. Williamson sent letters, purporting to be from a military source, that threatened the investigator and made false allegations.
Under the terms of today’s plea agreement, the government and Williamson agreed to a sentence of three years in federal prison without parole. A sentencing hearing will be scheduled after the completion of a presentence investigation by the United States Probation Office.
Williamson also agreed to surrender his license to practice medicine and to never again seek licensing to practice in any state or territory of the United States. Williamson also agreed to pay restitution to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services in conjunction with his guilty plea regarding billing for “home visits.”
This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Amy Marcus and Cindi Woolery. It was investigated by the Department of Health and Human Services and the Kansas City, Mo., Police Department.