Woman Pleads Guilty to Conspiracy to Commit Health Care Fraud

CHARLESTON, South Carolina—Deeana Burr, 54, of Charleston, South Carolina, has pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit health care fraud.

Evidence obtained in the investigation revealed that Burr, a licensed nurse practitioner who became a 15% co-owner of Atlantic Coast Integrated Medicine (ACIM) in September 2017, participated in a scheme to defraud Medicare and TRICARE by submitting claims to Medicare for medically unnecessary durable medical equipment (DME) and certain procedure codes.

The evidence revealed that ACIM generally had a standardized treatment plan for all patients that lasted 12 weeks, with the expectation that the patient receive care three times a week. Followed by an initial evaluation consisting of a head to feet musculoskeletal exam and more than a dozen x-rays ordered by an ACIM clinician, the treatment plan, authorized by an ACIM clinician, included the issuing of multiple DME. Much of the DME issued, and subsequently billed to Medicare and/or TRICARE, was determined to be medically unnecessary throughout the investigation.

Burr faces a maximum penalty of 5 years in federal prison. She also faces a fine of up to $250,000, restitution and three years of supervision to follow the term of imprisonment. United States District Judge David Norton accepted the guilty plea and will sentence Burr after receiving and reviewing a sentencing report prepared by the U.S. Probation Office.

This case was investigated by Agent Ryan Schubert with the Department of Health and Human Services – Office of the Inspector General, the Defense Criminal Investigative Service, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Amy Bower is prosecuting the case.