Ohio Doctor Pleads Guilty to Role in Telemedicine Scheme

CLEVELAND—Mohammed Ahmad, 38, of Avon, Ohio, pleaded guilty to submitting orders for patients in connection with a durable medical equipment (DME) scheme that prosecutors said caused Medicare to be unnecessarily billed for thousands of dollars.

According to court documents, Ahmad has been a licensed physician in Ohio since 2014 and worked as a contractor for Florida-based Lifeline Recruiting Inc. to provide telemedicine services. Lifeline Recruiting allegedly purchased “leads” of Medicare beneficiaries and used call center services to find and target individuals who were eligible to receive orthotic braces and other DME. Lifeline allegedly provided pre-completed orders for Ahmad to review and sign to authorize treatment with DME as medically necessary, even though he did not personally examine patients or conduct the tests that his orders indicated he had performed.

From November 2018 to May 2019, medical orders that Ahmad signed caused approximately $267,402 in false and fraudulent claims to be submitted to Medicare, prosecutors said, of which approximately $126,643 was paid.

On July 9, 2025, Ahmad pleaded guilty after being charged by information for making false statements related to health care matters in connection with the DME telemedicine scheme. He faces a maximum of up to five years in prison and up to $250,000 in fines. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors. Sentencing is yet to be scheduled..