Fredericksburg doctor sentenced for his role in $70 million Medicare fraud scheme

A Fredericksburg doctor was sentenced Wednesday to 10 years in prison and ordered to pay $26.5 million in restitution for his role in a scheme to defraud Medicare by prescribing durable medical equipment and cancer genetic testing without seeing, speaking to, or otherwise treating patients, according to court documents.

David M. Young, 61, signed more than 13,000 medical records and prescriptions for orthotic braces and genetic tests that falsely represented that these procedures were medically necessary.  Young’s false prescriptions were then used by brace supply companies and laboratories to bill Medicare more than $70 million.  Young was paid approximately $475,000 in exchange for signing the fraudulent prescriptions.

In May 2024, a jury convicted Young of one count of conspiracy to commit healthcare fraud and three counts of false statements relating to healthcare matters.

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, working in conjunction with HHS-OIG, are taking steps to hold providers accountable for their involvement in healthcare fraud schemes.  Since 2007, more than 5,400 defendants have been charged with collectively billing federal healthcare programs and private insurers more than $27 billion.