Rome jury finds Dr. Charles Adams and full circle medical center liable for False Claims Act violations

ROME, Ga. – A federal jury found alternative medicine physician Charles C. Adams, M.D. and his practice group, Charles C. Adams, M.D., P.C. d/b/a Full Circle Medical Center (“Full Circle”), liable for violating the False Claims Act (“FCA”) by submitting false diagnoses to Medicare for chelation therapy reimbursements.  Chelation therapy involves the use of drugs to remove heavy metals from the body. 

“Healthcare providers who submit false claims to Medicare deplete the funds available to patients in critical need of covered medical procedures,” said U.S. Attorney Ryan K. Buchanan. “On behalf of those healthcare providers who faithfully bill for medical procedures, and for their patients who rely on the safety net of Medicare, our office will continue to work vigorously with our federal agencies and law enforcement partners to pursue providers who engage in misconduct.”

“When providers submit false claims to Medicare, they take valuable, taxpayer-funded resources away from patients,” said Tamala E. Miles, Special Agent in Charge at the Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Inspector General (HHS-OIG). “HHS-OIG is proud to work with our partners to hold accountable those who attempt to illegitimately profit off of federal health care programs.”

“Federal Medicare funds are much needed but limited.  When those funds are diverted by fraudulent means, people suffer,” said Keri Farley, Special Agent in Charge of FBI Atlanta. “The FBI will continue to work with our law enforcement partners to ensure these programs are not abused.”

According to U.S. Attorney Buchanan, the civil complaint, and other information presented in court: Adams and Full Circle operated a medical practice in Ringgold, Georgia. As a part of his internal medicine specialty, Adams used edetate calcium disodium (“EDTA”) to address a wide range of conditions, including atherosclerosis, high blood pressure, headaches, GI ailments, fatigue, and other generalized symptoms.  But because EDTA is a procedure only recognized by the Federal Drug Administration to treat lead poisoning and lead encephalopathy, Medicare did not cover the use of EDTA for these non-indicated symptoms. As a result, to receive payment for the procedures Dr. Adams falsely claimed to Medicare that his patients suffered from heavy metal poisoning.

In response, on August 27, 2018, the Government filed a civil complaint alleging that between November 2008 and September 2015, Adams and Full Circle engaged in a scheme involving the knowing submission of false claims to Medicare for medically unnecessary and “alternative” chelation therapy that Adams administered using EDTA. The complaint also alleged that in connection with this scheme, Adams and Full Circle unlawfully received approximately $1.1 million in Medicare reimbursements.

Charles C. Adams’s case proceeded to a jury trial in Rome, Georgia, on June 5, 2023, before presiding U.S. District Judge William M. Ray, II. On June 14, 2023, the jury found Adams and Full Circle liable for submitting more than 4,400 false claims to Medicare. The jury awarded more than $1.1 million in damages.  These damages will be trebled under the FCA, which also requires a civil penalty to be imposed for each claim before the final verdict is entered. The exact amount of the judgment will not be known until the Court decides post-trial motions.

The FCA is the primary authority used by the Civil Division of the U.S. Attorney’s Office to redress fraud, waste, and abuse within federal programs, including Medicare.

This case was investigated by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Inspector General and the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

The case is being litigated by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Anthony DeCinque and Akash Desai.

For further information please contact the U.S. Attorney’s Public Affairs Office at USAGAN.PressEmails@usdoj.gov or (404) 581-6016.  The Internet address for the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Georgia is http://www.justice.gov/usao-ndga.