SPOKANE, Wash. — A grand jury has returned an indictment, charging Dr. David Antonio Becerril with 16 counts of conspiracy, fraud and false statements for his alleged role in a telemarketing healthcare fraud scheme.
Becerril, who lives in Coeur d’Alene, was licensed to practice in Washington.
Prosecutors say between February 2018 and September 2019, the 67-year-old falsely billed Medicare for unnecessary genetic tests and ordered medical equipment like back, knee and shoulder braces for elderly patients he never met or treated.
The indictment alleges Dr. Becerril worked with a company known as Real Time Physicians, which obtained patient information and beneficiary numbers.
Prosecutors say, using that information, the doctor made fraudulent orders, reviewing some for as little as 11 seconds. Real Time Physicians paid Becerril a $20 kickback per order.
Real time physicians then sold the orders to genetic testing labs and medical equipment companies, who then billed Medicare again, sharing the proceeds with Real Time.
The indictment alleges that Medicare was billed $4.1 million for fraudulent orders signed by Becerril and paid out more than $1.5 million before the fraud was uncovered.