Michigan Man Arrested on Health Care Fraud Charge
| U.S. Attorney’s Office March 15, 2012 |
BUFFALO—U.S. Attorney William J. Hochul, Jr. announced today that Fitzgerald Anthony Hudson, 51, of Dearborn Heights, Michigan, was arrested and charged by criminal complaint with health care fraud. The charge carries a maximum penalty of 10 years’ imprisonment and a fine of $250,000.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Aaron J. Mango, who is handling the case, stated that according to the criminal complaint, in October 2007, the defendant obtained a New York state medical license. Thereafter, from August of 2008 to August of 2010, Hudson provided medical care in the Western District of New York at Jones Memorial Hospital in Wellsville, New York and the Nicholas H. Noyes Memorial Hospital in Dansville, New York. The defendant allegedly obtained his medical license by listing on his New York state application that he graduated from York University-Facility of Science, North York, Ontario, Canada, when he had not. In addition, Hudson failed to list that he had been dismissed from the Warren Hospital Family Practice residency program in July 2003.
As a result of his fraudulently obtained medical license, the defendant was improperly reimbursed approximately $200,000 under the Medicare Part-B and Part-D programs. Hudson was arrested today in Michigan, and an initial appearance on the charge has been scheduled for March 29, 2012 at 3 p.m. before United States Magistrate Judge H. Kenneth Schroeder, Jr.
The arrest is the culmination of an investigation on the part of special agents of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, under the direction of Christopher M. Piehota, Special Agent in Charge; and special agents of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Inspector General, Office of Investigations, under the direction of Thomas O’Donnell, Special Agent in Charge.
Any individuals wishing to report a concern regarding the defendant are encouraged to call the Medicare Fraud Hotline at 1-800-447-8477.
The fact that a defendant has been charged with a crime is merely an accusation and the defendant is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty.