Orthopedic surgeon Gregory Shankman, MD, pleaded guilty April 10 to stealing more than $86,000 in Worker's Compensation funds, WKTV reports.
Here are five things to know.
1. Dr. Shankman pleaded guilty in Oneida County (N.Y.) Court to two counts of offering a false instrument for filing in the second degree. According to New York State Inspector General Catherine Leahy Scott, Dr. Shankman will be expected to pay the full restitution of $86,896.31 when he is sentenced in June.
2. Dr. Shankman was indicted on charges of operating an ongoing scheme defrauding the Workers' Compensation system by more than $50,000 in February. He was also arrested in August 2017 for $14,000 worth of fraud cases.
3. On more than 150 days between January 2015 and August 2017, Dr. Shankman defrauded the system by submitting claims for medical exams performed at his Utica office when he was actually traveling in western N.Y., out of state and out of the country.
4. According to the Inspector General, Dr. Shankman performed Worker's Compensation exams in offices across upstate and western New York while simultaneously billing for services at his Utica office that required his presence under state law. Patients at his Utica office were frequently seen only by a physician's assistant, who was not authorized to examine Worker's Compensation patients without Dr. Shankman's direct supervision.
5. Dr. Shankman remains released pending his June 5 sentencing.
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