On Monday, United States Attorney Russell M. Coleman announced a guilty plea by former Bowling Green cardiologist Dr. Fred Gott to multiple charges of unlawful distribution and dispensing of controlled substances and health care fraud in U.S. District Court.
Gott, 66, was initially indicted by a grand jury on June 10, 2015. According to the terms of the plea agreement, Gott agreed to serve a sentence of 96 months in prison, and pay restitution in an amount to be determined at sentencing. Gott is scheduled for sentencing May 7, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
Officials said the plea agreement covers Gott’s criminal activity between 2006 and September 19, 2013.
“Gott admitted to conspiring with members of his office, and others, to knowingly and intentionally distribute and dispense, not for a legitimate medical purpose in the usual course of professional practice, Schedule II, Schedule III and Schedule IV controlled substances,” the U.S. Attorney’s Office said.
Gott was charged with 14 counts of unlawfully dispensing methadone and fentanyl (Schedule II controlled substances), hydrocodone (Schedule III), clonazepam (Schedule IV) and oxymorphone (Schedule IV).
Gott admitted to falsely and fraudulently billing various health care benefit programs between 2006 and September 19, 2013. During that same period, Gott falsely and fraudulently billed various health care benefit programs, including Medicare and Medicaid, among others, by submitting claims for medically unnecessary spirometry tests for patients and electrocardiogram (EKG/ECG) tests for patients, the U.S Attorney’s Office stated.
(Photo courtesy of the BG Daily News)
By Ken Howlett, News Director
Contact Ken at ken@k105.com or 270-259-6000
