Health Care Worker Charged with Defrauding Medicare

PITTSBURGH - A Pittsburgh woman has been indicted by a federal grand jury in Pittsburgh on a charge of health care fraud, Acting United States Attorney Soo C. Song announced today.

The one-count indictment, returned on June 7, named Rong Zhang, 55, of Pittsburgh, as the sole defendant.

According to the indictment, Zhang and others submitted billings to Medicare for services knowing that those services were outside the course of professional practice and not for legitimate medical purposes. The indictment further alleges that Zhang and others submitted billings to Medicare for medical procedures based on falsely diagnosed conditions. Zhang was an employee who provided various services to patients of B.E.C., a physician known to the grand jury, including drawing blood and conducting ultrasounds and electrocardiograms.

The law provides for a maximum total sentence of 10 years in prison, a fine of $250,000 or both. Under the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, the actual sentence imposed would be based upon the seriousness of the offense and the prior criminal history, if any, of the defendant.

Assistant United States Attorneys Cindy Chung and Brendan T. Conway are prosecuting this case on behalf of the government.

The Drug Enforcement Administration, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Office of the Inspector General for Health and Human Services and the Pennsylvania Attorney General’s Office conducted the investigation leading to the indictment in this case.

An indictment is an accusation. A defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.