Florida doctor sentenced to 20 years for massive fraud scheme

FLORIDA – A Florida doctor was sentenced this week to 20 years in prison for engaging in a massive multi-year scheme to bill health care benefit programs for fraudulent tests and treatments for vulnerable patients seeking treatment for drug and/or alcohol addiction, the U.S. Department of Justice has announced.

The case was brought as part of the Department of Justice’s Sober Homes Initiative.

According to court documents, Michael J. Ligotti, D.O., 48, of Delray Beach, served as Medical Director or Authorizing Physician for over 50 sober homes, substance abuse treatment facilities, and clinical testing laboratories in the Palm Beach County area, often signing standing orders for expensive, medically unnecessary urine drug tests for patients at various addiction treatment facilities.

“These facilities routinely sent patients’ urine specimens to clinical testing laboratories, which then billed health care benefit programs for unnecessary urine drug tests, often thousands of dollars for a single test. In exchange for Ligotti’s authorization of these urine drug tests, the treatment centers required their patients to regularly visit Ligotti’s clinic, Whole Health LLC, for additional treatment and testing or allowed Ligotti’s staff to come to their facilities to conduct tests and treatment there,” the Department of Justice (DOJ) said in its announcement.

According to the DOJ, this allowed Ligotti to profit by billing patients’ private health insurance plans for duplicative, medically unnecessary, and expensive urine drug tests, blood tests, and other addiction treatments.

“As a result of this conduct, which took place from 2011 to 2020, health care benefit programs were billed over $746 million and paid approximately $127 million for fraudulent urine drug tests and addiction treatments,” the DOJ said.

Ligotti pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit health care and wire fraud in the Southern District of Florida in October 2022 and was ordered to surrender his medical license.

U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Florida Markenzy Lapointe, Assistant Attorney General Kenneth A. Polite, Jr. of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, Acting Special Agent in Charge Chad Yarbrough of the FBI Miami Field Office, and Special Agent in Charge Mike Waters of the Amtrak Office of Inspector General’s Eastern Field Office made the announcement.

The FBI Miami Division Palm Beach Resident Agency, with assistance from DEA West Palm Beach Diversion Group; IRS Criminal Investigation Miami Field Office; Amtrak Office of Inspector General; Department of Labor ERISA; Florida Department of Financial Services, Division of Investigative and Forensic Services; and Palm Beach County Office of the State Attorney investigated the case.

Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Southern District of Florida at www.flsd.uscourts.gov or at http://pacer.flsd.uscourts.gov.