Toledo doctor charged with drug, health-Care Fraud and Tax crimes
A medical doctor in Toledo was charged with crimes related to the dispensation of 1,300 pills of Oxycodone and fraudulently billing Medicaid for more than $78,000, said Steven M. Dettelbach, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Ohio.
A 14-count criminal information was filed against Darrell A. Hall, age 54. The information charges Hall with one count each of conspiracy to distribute a controlled substance and health care fraud and 12 tax counts.
“Prescription drug abuse has wreaked havoc on Ohio and is a major challenge for law enforcement,” Dettelbach said. “To have a doctor involved in a drug conspiracy such as this is profoundly troubling.”
Hall was licensed to practice medicine and operated a practice under the name “EDM Health Services, LLC.” He was also a registered provider to Ohio Medicaid, which provides free health benefits to qualified low-income Ohio residents, according to the information.
Hall conspired with others between August 2008 through May 2009 to distribute 1,300 pills of 80 milligrams of Oxycodone for no legitimate medical purpose, according to the information.
He also fraudulently billed Ohio Medicaid in the amount of $78,113.73 between January 2007 and December 2009, according to the information.
He also failed to pay $97,384.88 in taxes that he owed to the Internal Revenue Service owed on behalf of EDM Health Services, LLC, between 2007 and 2010, according to the information.
If convicted, the defendant’s sentence will be determined by the Court after reviewing factors unique to this case, including the defendant’s prior criminal record, if any, the defendant’s role in the offense and the characteristics of the violation. In all cases the sentence will not exceed the statutory maximum and in most cases it will be less than the maximum.
The health care fraud charge was investigated by Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine’s Health Care Fraud Unit, while the other charges were investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration, Detroit, Michigan, and the Internal Revenue Service, Toledo, Ohio. The case is being handled by Assistant United States Attorneys Joseph R. Wilson and Thomas P. Weldon.
An information is only a charge and is not evidence of guilt. A defendant is entitled to a fair trial in which it will be the government’s burden to prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.
