United States Attorney Kenyen R. Brown of the Southern District of Alabama announces that a federal jury in Mobile has convicted Certified Nurse Practitioner Diantha Miller of two counts of healthcare fraud and one count of conspiracy following a three-day trial.

At trial, the evidence established that while Diantha Miller was the co-owned the Laser Skin Care Center of Mobile, she engaged in a scheme to fraudulently up-code, a scheme to fraudulently re-code, and conspired to do both with her business partner, Dr. Lawrence Carpenter. Specifically, the jury found that Diantha Miller knowingly and willfully engaged in a scheme to falsify bills to insurance companies so that it would appear as if services were performed by Dr. Carpenter, not Diantha Miller. As a general matter patient services are reimbursed at higher rates when performed by physicians. In addition, Diantha Miller knowingly and willfully engaged in a scheme to fraudulently alter billing codes on rejected bills so that the Laser Skin Care Center would be reimbursed. Finally, the jury found that Diantha Miller conspired with Dr. Carpenter to commit these crimes. As co-owners of the business, Diantha Miller and Dr. Carpenter both benefited financially from the fraudulent billings. In total, these fraud schemes resulted in Laser Skin Care Center receiving nearly $1 million in fraudulent reimbursements.

United States Attorney Kenyen Brown was very pleased with today’s result: “Today’s jury verdict is a yet another example demonstrating that citizens of our district will not tolerate cheaters enriching themselves through fraud. My office will continue to vigorously prosecute fraud cases, particularly fraud cases that syphon money away from our healthcare system.” FBI Special Agent in Charge Robert F. Lasky also noted, “The FBI views health care fraud as a severe crime problem, which drains taxpayers’ dollars and puts them in the pockets of criminals. The FBI will continue to dedicate a substantial amount of resources to investigate these fraudulent schemes.”

This case was investigated by FBI-Mobile and prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Alabama.