Evergreen Reporter

MISSOULA — A Whitefish physician admitted on Wednesday to falsely billing Medicare and other federal health programs in a telemedicine scheme that resulted in more than $39 million in fraudulent charges, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.

The defendant, Ronald David Dean, 64, had an initial appearance and pleaded guilty to an information filed on June 24 charging him with conspiracy to commit wire fraud. The charges are part of the Justice Department’s 2024 National Health Care Fraud Enforcement Action. Dean faces a maximum of 10 years in prison, a $1 million fine, and three years of supervised release.

U.S. District Judge Dana L. Christensen presided over the case. The court will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors. Sentencing was set for Dec. 4. Dean’s release was continued pending further proceedings.

A plea agreement filed in the case calls for Dean to pay at least $780,509 in restitution.

The government alleged in court documents that Dean, a licensed physician, was paid by a telemedicine company to sign orders for durable medical equipment that patients did not need. Dean then fraudulently charged Medicare, CHAMPVA, and the Railroad Retirement Board programs for telemedicine office visits that did not occur. The telemedicine company also used Dean’s information to prescribe unnecessary COVID-19 tests to patients. The conspiracy ran from about January 2022 until July 2023. In total, Dean’s orders resulted in false billing to government health care programs of more than $39 million.

The case was part of a strategically coordinated two-week nationwide law enforcement action that resulted in criminal charges against 193 defendants for their alleged participation in health care fraud and opioid abuse schemes that led to over $2.75 billion in alleged false billings. The defendants allegedly defrauded programs intended for the care of the elderly and disabled for personal gain. In connection with the enforcement action, the government seized over $231 million in cash, luxury vehicles, gold, and other assets.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Montana worked with the Department’s Criminal Division and several law enforcement organizations to investigate and prosecute this case: the Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General (HHS-OIG), Department of Veterans Affairs Office of Inspector General (VA-OIG), Railroad Retirement Board Office of Inspector General, and FBI.