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Psychiatrist to pay $3M to resolve false claim allegations

Posted On: Mar. 29, 2022 10:47 AM CST

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Federal prosecutors in Pennsylvania on Monday said a psychiatrist and his wife agreed to pay $3 million to resolve allegations of submitting false bills to the Office of Workers’ Compensation Programs.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania said an attorney referred patients receiving federal work comp benefits to psychiatrist Harry Doyle. The patients were receiving comp benefits for physical injuries and were later approved for mental health services that were allegedly connected to the injury.

Dr. Doyle’s wife, Sonya Doyle, worked as an office assistant and was the only employee at the mental health practice.

Prosecutors said their investigation revealed that from January 2013 through April 2021, the couple billed for services that they did not provide. In some cases, they billed for services that occurred while they were not in the country.

“The Doyles allegedly billed for canceled and no-show appointments as if they had actually occurred, ‘upcoded’ or billed for a higher level of service than what was actually provided, including billing for more therapy time than spent with the patient, and also double-billed the patient and OWCP for initial consultations,” according to a statement. “Doyle allegedly falsified treatment records to reflect the false billing that was submitted.”

In addition to paying $3 million — the largest amount ever recovered from a single psychiatrist in the history of the OWCP — the couple also agreed to be excluded from participating in federal health care programs for 25 years.

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