The owner of a medical imaging company allegedly defrauded Medicare and Medicaid of more than $1.5 million, according to a criminal complaint filed Monday in Topeka.
Cody Lee West, 38, did business as C&S Imaging Inc., a mobile diagnostic testing facility based in Paragould, Arkansas. The facility provided ultrasound services to chiropractors and other medical providers in Kansas.
According to the complaint, West told chiropractors he would provide them with ultrasound equipment and a technician at no charge. The chiropractors would bill for the services.
C&S then used its access to the patient and insurance information it obtained to bill for additional services that were not ordered, not medically necessary or not documented, the complaint alleges.
Jeremy Weis, a Kansas City attorney who represents West, said that a plea agreement has been reached with prosecutors. He said it would probably be entered next month.
“He is hoping to put this behind him and that’s why we worked out an agreement pre-indictment,” Weis said.
Weis declined to disclose the terms of the plea.
West allegedly billed patients for two or three musculoskeletal exams and one Doppler scan per patient per visit, at a cost of up to $410. Prosecutors say he also used fraudulent documentation to back up his bills.
Dan Margolies, editor of the Heartland Health Monitor team, is based at KCUR. You can reach him on Twitter @DanMargolies.
