
Colby Joyner, a 37-year-old physician assistant from Charlotte, North Carolina, was sentenced to 6 years in prison for participating in a $10 million Medicare fraud scheme. He signed fake prescriptions for genetic tests that were not necessary to treat patients. Joyner received between $12 and $15 for each fictitious consultation, although he did not actually see patients or perform examinations.
The essence of the fraud was that the telemedicine company provided Joyner with ready-made forms with the data of patients who had been selected for genetic tests. He would sign these forms and mail them back to submit to Medicare for benefits. As a result of this scam, more than $10 million in false claims were submitted, of which $3.6 million has already been paid.
The judge convicted Joyner of breaching the trust of the Medicare system and emphasized that his actions could make it more difficult for patients to access necessary genetic tests in the future.