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Ohio Man Pleads To W. Va. Health Care Fraud
By: Associated Press
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HUNTINGTON, W.Va. (AP) – An Ohio man has pleaded guilty in West Virginia to health care fraud.
Thirty-six-year-old Joshua Petrie of Proctorville, Ohio, entered the plea Monday in federal court in Huntington.
Petrie worked as a sales representative for several out-of-state companies that sold and distributed knee and back braces from a medical practice in West Virginia.
U.S. Attorney Booth Goodwin says Petrie admitted using copies of a physician’s pre-signed order to created false documents showing he provided braces to Medicare patients.
Petrie forged patients’ signatures to make it appear they had received the braces. The paperwork was used by others to bill Medicare for about $38,000.
Petrie faces up to 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. Sentencing is set for Jan. 11.