Ohio man pleads guilty to Federal health care fraud

HUNTINGTON, W.Va. – Joshua Petrie, 36, of Proctorville, Ohio, pleaded guilty today in federal court in Huntington to federal health care fraud, announced U.S. Attorney Booth Goodwin.  Petrie admitted that he worked as a sales representative and fitter for several out of state companies that sold and distributed back and knee braces from a medical practice in West Virginia.  Petrie created false documents showing that he provided braces to patients when, in fact, he had not. The false documents included a certification from a physician indicating that the physician had ordered the braces for individual Medicare patients, but Petrie used copies of a pre-signed physician’s order that was not specific to these patients. The false documents also included a delivery ticket with a signature line for patients to acknowledge receipt of the braces. Petrie forged patients’ signatures to the delivery tickets to make it appear that patients had received the braces when they had not. The false paperwork was used by others to bill Medicare for approximately $38,000.

Petrie faces up to 10 years imprisonment and a $250,000 fine when he is sentenced on January 11, 2016.

The investigation was conducted by Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General and the West Virginia Medicaid Fraud Control Unit. Assistant United States Attorneys Eric Bacaj and Meredith George Thomas are handling the prosecution.