TAMPA, FL — A Drumright chiropractor and medical supply company owner from Cushing has been federally indicted on allegations that he orchestrated a multi-year scheme to defraud federal health care programs and misused COVID-19 relief funds for millions of dollars, according to the U.S. Department of Justice.
A DOJ indictment was unsealed late last week in U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida charging Mark Loftis, 38, of Cushing, with conspiracy to submit fraudulent claims to Medicare and other federal programs for orthotic braces and durable medical equipment, as well as misuse of government funds intended to support health care providers during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The DOJ says Loftis was the owner of Back Pain Home Supplies LLC, which did business as EZ Medical Supply. According to court documents, prosecutors allege Loftis paid illegal kickbacks to marketers in exchange for referrals of Medicare patients and paid marketers and telemedicine companies to obtain signed doctors’ orders used to support reimbursement claims. The indictment alleges that the telemedicine providers did not conduct meaningful evaluations of patients before signing those orders.
Federal prosecutors further allege that Loftis caused Back Pain Home Supplies to bill Medicare, TRICARE — the health care program for U.S. service members and their families — and CHAMPVA, which serves the spouses and children of permanently disabled veterans, for durable medical equipment that was medically unnecessary, obtained through illegal kickbacks, or not provided as billed. According to the DOJ, the company submitted approximately $30 million in false and fraudulent claims, resulting in about $8 million in payments from the three federal programs.
In addition to the alleged billing scheme, the indictment accuses Loftis of improperly converting money he received from the Provider Relief Fund established under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act. According to the DOJ, Loftis received more than $133,000 in relief funds intended to help health care providers cover pandemic-related expenses or replace lost revenue. Court documents allege that Loftis falsely attested to required conditions for retaining those funds and instead used a portion of the money to further the durable medical equipment scheme and to pay personal expenses.
Loftis is charged with one count of conspiracy to commit health care fraud and wire fraud, one count of conspiracy to defraud the United States and to offer, pay, solicit, and receive kickbacks, and two counts of theft of government property. According to the DOJ, the health care and wire fraud conspiracy charge carries a potential maximum sentence of 20 years in prison, the kickback conspiracy count carries a maximum sentence of five years, and each theft of government property count carries a maximum sentence of 10 years. Any sentence would be determined by a federal judge after consideration of U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
The case is being investigated by the FBI, the Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General, the Defense Criminal Investigative Service, and the Department of Veterans Affairs Office of Inspector General. The announcement of the indictment was made by senior officials from the Justice Department, the FBI’s Tampa Field Office, and federal oversight agencies involved in the investigation. Prosecutors with the Justice Department’s Fraud Section are handling the case.
According to information published on Loftis’ own chiropractic clinic website, Loftis earned his Doctor of Chiropractic degree in 2014 from Parker University, in Dallas, and later pursued additional training and certifications, including dry needling and injectable chiropractic physician credentials. The website states that Loftis has served Drumright and surrounding communities since2015 from an office located on Skinner Street in Drumright.
The DOJ emphasized that the charges outlined in the indictment are allegations, and that Loftis is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty in court.
The Justice Department’s Fraud Section oversees national efforts to combat health care fraud through the Health Care Fraud Strike Force Program, which officials say has charged more than 5,800 defendants nationwide since 2007 for schemes involving more than $30 billion in alleged fraudulent billings to federal health care programs and private insurers.