Doctor Sentenced for Making a False Statement to an FBI Agent

ST. LOUIS, MO—The United States Attorney’s Office announced that Dr. Howard Goldstein was sentenced today to five months of imprisonment and a $30,000 fine. Dr. Goldstein further agreed to forfeit $100,000. Dr. Goldstein previously pled guilty to making a false statement to an agent of the Federal Bureau of Investigation on October 12, 2010. The charge stemmed from an April 2010 interview with the FBI in which Dr. Goldstein was questioned about problems with his Medicare billing practices and, in response to questioning, minimized and mis-characterized concerns and problems that had been raised by his former employer.

In his plea agreement, Dr. Goldstein admitted that between January and June of 2007, his former employer audited defendant’s Medicare claims, finding that the medical records created to document the services that Dr. Goldstein had billed to Medicare were scant and illegible, raising serious problems. Dr. Goldstein attended a meeting with his former employer where these issues were discussed in May 2007. His former employer seriously considered terminating the defendant over these Medicare billing and documentation issues, but ultimately decided to allow him to remain employed while requiring attendance at a Medicare coding education session.

Later, during March 2009, another physician conducted routine peer review activities involving defendant. This peer review doctor discovered additional problems with defendant’s medical records and Medicare billing, and reported defendant to the former employer’s corporate compliance officer. Ultimately, defendant’s former employer contacted the government about these issues, and the FBI began an investigation.

On April 20, 2010, special agents from the FBI and the Office of Inspector General for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services interviewed defendant in St. Louis, Missouri. During this interview, defendant made the false statement discussed above and tried to influence the investigation into defendant’s submission of claims for payment to the Medicare program.

Dr. Goldstein has also paid $830,329 to the United States in a related civil settlement agreement, and has been excluded from participation in the Medicare program for a period of five years. In a separate civil settlement agreement, Dr. Goldstein’s former employer also reimbursed the United States an additional $865,812 regarding Dr. Goldstein’s false charges to Medicare, making the total civil recovery from the investigation of $1,696,141.

HOWARD GOLDSTEIN, formerly of Clayton, Missouri, appeared today for sentencing before United States District Judge E. Richard Webber.