A Georgia chiropractor was sentenced on Mar. 3 to 43 months in prison for her involvement in a $14.9 million health care fraud and illegal kickback conspiracy, Senior Counsel Philip Lamparello announced.
The sentencing highlights ongoing efforts to address fraud within federal health care programs such as Medicare, which are designed to serve patients but can be vulnerable to exploitation.
Teflyon Cameron, 59, of Powder Springs, Georgia, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Michael E. Farbiarz in Newark federal court to conspiracy charges related to health care fraud and violating the Federal Anti-Kickback statute. According to court documents and statements made during proceedings, Cameron conspired over several years with others to submit claims for medically unnecessary durable medical equipment (DME) and cancer genetic tests (CGx), resulting in more than $14.9 million in losses to Medicare and personally receiving over $1.3 million from the scheme.
Cameron and her co-conspirators owned or had financial interests in DME companies that obtained doctors’ orders for orthotic braces without regard for medical necessity by using marketing call centers and telemedicine companies. They submitted false claims to Medicare and paid illegal kickbacks as part of their operations. Additionally, Cameron operated a CGx company through which she provided clinical laboratories with leads of beneficiaries eligible for cancer genetic testing benefits under federal programs, disguising kickback payments through sham agreements.
Senior Counsel Lamparello said: “This defendant built a business model around fraud—using kickbacks, sham arrangements, and medically unnecessary equipment to siphon millions from Medicare. Health care programs exist to serve patients, not to bankroll schemes like this one. Today’s sentence holds her accountable and underscores that those who abuse our federal health care system for profit will face serious consequences.”
The investigation involved the Federal Bureau of Investigation; the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General; and the U.S. Department of Defense Office of Inspector General’s Defense Criminal Investigative Service Northeast Field Office.
