Texas Doctor Pleads Guilty to WC Billing Fraud
The Division of workers’ compensation announced that a North Texas doctor will pay $376,368 in restitution after pleading guilty to mail fraud conspiracy in federal court. The plea follows a five-day trial in Federal Court in which a jury convicted Arlington physician Clinton Battle, 68, of one count of conspiracy to distribute controlled substances and one count of distribution of a controlled substance.
The Department of Justice, through the United States Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Texas announced the conviction.
According to evidence presented at trial, Dr. Battle routinely issued prescriptions for controlled substances – including hydrocodone, alprazolam, acetaminophen with codeine, tramadol, and phentermine – outside the usual course of professional practice and without a legitimate medical purpose.
At time, he issued prescriptions for controlled substances without conducting any medical examination at all, sometimes telling office staff to issue prescriptions for whichever controlled substance the patient wanted. He also issued prescriptions for friends or family members with whom he had no physician-patient relationship.
“Dr. Battle and his coconspirators knowingly propagated prescription drug abuse by dispensing powerful painkillers to individuals with no need for them,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Prerak Shah. “The U.S. Attorney’s Office is proud to partner with the DEA and other law enforcement agencies to stop unscrupulous pill pushers like Dr. Battle in their tracks.”
On July 22, 2021, Clinton Battle, M.D. of Arlington pleaded guilty to defrauding the federal workers’ compensation program and Texas workers’ compensation insurance carriers. Battle admitted to submitting fraudulent bills for physical therapy, office exams, and functional capacity evaluations for a period of five years starting in 2012.
During that time Battle mischaracterized services so he could bill at a higher rate. In several cases, Battle also billed for services that he claimed took longer than they actually did, were never conducted, or were conducted by unlicensed staff. D Magazine reports that the doctor was alleged to have traded cocaine for illegal prescriptions.
During the trial, former employees of Battle testified that she and her husband agreed with Battle would provide her husband with illegal controlled substance prescriptions in exchange for cocaine. Battle also received $200 payments from fraudulent patients for an initial visit and $80 for a return visit for controlled substance prescriptions.
As a result of his guilty plea, Battle will be excluded from federal health care and workers’ compensation programs, which will eliminate his ability to be paid for services he provides or prescribes. In 2017, the Texas Department of Insurance, Division of Workers’ Compensation (DWC) decided Battle would no longer be allowed to treat patients in the state’s workers’ compensation system.
“To maintain the trust of injured employees in their care, medical professionals must bill accurately for services provided,” says Debra Knight, DWC’s Deputy Commissioner for Compliance and Investigations. “When insurance carriers endure losses from fraudulent claims, it impacts everyone, which is why DWC will continue to hold people accountable for these crimes.”
Earlier in July, a federal jury found Battle guilty of drug crimes including distribution of a controlled substance.
On October 28, 2021, he will be sentenced on all counts related to the conviction and the plea agreement. Battle faces up to 15 years in prison.
The DWC Fraud Unit, the Drug Enforcement Administration’s Dallas Field Division, the U.S. Department of Labor, the U.S. Postal Service, and the IRS conducted these investigations. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Matthew Weybrecht and Jay Weimer were the prosecuting attorneys.
FOLIO
