LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Two doctors associated with a Kentucky pain clinic were sentenced to federal prison recently for their roles in a urine drug testing scheme.
Dr. William Lawrence Siefert, 70, of Dayton, Ohio, was sentenced to 1.5 years in prison and ordered to pay $1,968,763.10 in restitution. Dr. Timothy Ehn, 51, of Union, Kentucky, was sentenced to 2.5 years and ordered to pay $3,773,569.30.
Dr. Siefert is the medical director of the Northern Kentucky Center for Pain Relief, located in Florence; Dr. Ehn is the owner and a licensed chiropractor.
The Kentucky Attorney General's Medicaid Fraud and Abuse Control Unit, FBI Louisville, DEA and HHS-OIG investigated the case.
“These sentences are a testament to the fact that the FBI and our law enforcement partners will not stand by while licensed physicians choose to defraud federally-funded health insurance programs in order to line their own pockets,” said Special Agent in Charge Michael E. Stansbury, of the FBI Louisville Field Office, in a news release. “As a result of a collaborative effort across all levels of government, patients will no longer have to endure unnecessary medical tests and the taxpayer’s money will not be wasted.”
According to court documents and evidence presented at trial, Ehn and Siefert orchestrated a scheme where clinic staff billed for urine drug tests that were not medically necessary. However these tests were "lucratively reimbursed" by taxpayer-funded insurance providers like Medicare and Medicaid.
According to the release, the two men continued their scheme even as their expensive drug testing machine malfunctioned and was not properly maintained. This caused the machine to produce incorrect results and many patients falsely tested positive for street drugs like ecstasy and heroin.
Insurance proceeds from urine testing accounted for three-quarters of the clinic's revenue.
“Together with our federal, state, and local partners, DEA remains steadfast in our commitment to identify and root out health care professionals who fail to live up to their responsibilities and commitments,” said Special Agent in Charge Orville O. Greene of the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) Detroit Field Division. “These sentences should serve as a warning there is zero tolerance for fraud, no matter what form it takes.”
Siefert and Ehn were found guilty in March 2023. Siefert was convicted of health care fraud, and Ehn was convicted of health care fraud and conspiracy to commit health care fraud.
RELATED VIDEO