TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (WTXL) — A Tallahassee doctor has been sentenced to seven years in federal prison for performing unnecessary surgical procedures and defrauding health insurance providers of $29 million, the Department of Justice wrote in a release.
Court documents reflect, for almost four years, beginning in early 2016 until his arrest in February 2020, deGraft-Johnson performed hundreds of unnecessary, invasive surgical procedures on his patients in the Tallahassee area.
deGraft-Johnson solicited his victims by establishing relationships with churches, nursing homes, a hospital and an outreach organization, according to the DOJ.
He victimized others by falsifying their medical records – reflecting surgical procedures that he did not perform.
This conduct resulted in the creation of erroneous and misleading records that could cause future doctors to determine a mistaken course of medical treatment for many of his patients, the DOJ said in a release.
In addition to the term of imprisonment, the sentence included the forfeiture of assets in the United States and overseas, including luxury vehicles; jewelry; and homes in Manhattan, Southampton, New York, Miami, and Houston; as well as an order of $28,423,846 in restitution.
“This physician compromised the health and safety of his patients in favor of illegal profit,” stated Acting U.S. Attorney Coody. “His acts not only violated the law, but the trust of his patients. With the assistance of our law enforcement partners, we remain vigilant to investigate and prosecute all who defraud our citizens for their own personal gain.”
ORIGINAL STORY POSTED IN FEBRUARY 2020
A Tallahassee doctor has been indicted on 58 counts of federal charges after being accused of performing unnecessary procedures on patients, billing health care companies millions for surgeries he never performed and "poaching" patients at local hospitals.
Dr. Moses deGraft-Johnson is facing 57 federal counts for health care fraud and one count for conspiracy to commit health care fraud. According to court documents, deGraft-Johnson owns and operates Thorvasc PA, a corporation doing business as the Heart and Vascular Institute of North Florida in Tallahassee.
Between Sept. 21, 2015, and Feb. 4, 2020, deGraft-Johnson is accused of billing thousands of patients for procedures he never performed. Kimberly Austin, his office manager, was also indicted.
The indictment alleges that patients would undergo a procedure known as a diagnostic angiography, "whether medically necessary or not." Prosecutors say deGraft-Johnson would before an operation on both the patent's legs and then bill their health care benefit programs for four or more procedures when he only did two.
To do this, prosecutors say deGraft-Johnson forged consent forms and wrote false statements to justify payment for the procedures he didn't do.
In a detailed breakdown of the fraudulent claims, prosecutors allege he submitted more than 50 false claims for more than $21,000 each to various health care providers to include Florida Blue, Medicare, WellCare and Capital Health Plan.
The doctor claims to have performed at least 36,000 surgeries over five years, according to court documents. Prosecutors say 90 percent of those were fraudulent and cost the government at least $23 million.
Additionally, documents say deGraft-Johnson submitted false paperwork about surgeries he claimed he performed when he was actually traveling aboard to Spain, the United Kingdom, Ghana and China at the time the procedures were supposedly performed.
During a search of the Heart and Vascular Institute of North Florida office on Thursday, federal law enforcement agents seized approximately $25,040 in cash, 20,470 British Pounds, a prepaid cell phone and a bag with several guns inside.
"This suggests that there may be other cash hoards in any of Defendant’s five other residences," the indictment reads.
Prosecutors are asking that deGraft-Johnson be detained until his trial because he poses a serious flight risk due to the strong case against him, has ties to a foreign countries, and has access to "substantial sums of cash."
They say deGraft-Johnson is a naturalized U.S.citizen who was originally born in Ghana. During a search of his office on Thursday, federal agents say they also found and seized a Republic of Ghana passport and three Florida Driver’s licenses, each with two addresses in Miami, Florida.
Prosecutors allege he has wired at least about $1.8 million in international wire transfers to people or entities in Ghana and has stated that his ultimate long-term professional goal is “to be the President of Ghana.”
And while that may sound like a lofty goal, federal prosecutors say one of deGraft-Johnson's family members was the vice president of Ghana in the early 1980s. The doctor also has business ties to Ghana, including restaurants and a medical clinic.
"It, therefore, appears that Dr. deGraft-Johnson has been hard at work using the proceeds of fraud in the United States to establish an empire in a foreign country," prosecutors contend. "The charges in this case and the substantial evidence provide a powerful motivation to flee and transfer the flag to that foreign country, and bring one’s spouse and children along in due time."
Additionally, they say deGraft-Johnson had strong ties to the community and worked at a local hospital as a doctor. Prosecutors contend he used those ties to "poach patients."
"The Government also understands that Dr. deGraft-Johnson appears at local churches and other events and uses medical surveys to obtain patients for his scheme to defraud," the motion reads. "These are not ties to the community; it is cancer devouring it."
The doctor was arraigned in federal court Thursday afternoon. His trial is set for March 23 in Tallahassee.
He has pleaded not guilty to the charges.
