Associates in Dermatology Settles False Claims for $3M; Whistleblowers to Get $500K+

Florida-based Associates in Dermatology and its owner, Dr. Michael Steppie, has agreed to pay $3 million to settle allegations that the practice knowingly submitted or caused the submission of false claims to federal health care programs for unnecessary medical procedures that were, in some cases, allegedly performed by unlicensed, uncredentialed, and unsupervised employees, the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Middle District of Florida announced last week.

In reaching this settlement, the parties resolved allegations that Dr. Steppie operated a dermatology practice that had an unlicensed medical assistant performing radiation therapy without proper supervision.  The medical assistant allegedly lacked the basic knowledge to perform the tests she was performing. In addition, the allegations included that the clinic performed unnecessary destructions of skin lesions and that these destructions lacked proper documentation. 

This lawsuit was originally filed under the qui tam or whistleblower provisions of the False Claims Act by Katherine Brown, Amber Bradshaw, and Vanessa Santos, former employees at the clinic. Under those provisions, a private party, known as a relator, can file an action on behalf of the United States and receive a portion of the recovery. The three relators will receive more than $500,000 as part of today’s settlement. 

The Chanler Group, in association with the Hirst Law Group, represents whistleblowers who take action under the False Claims Act to report fraud committed against the federal and state governments.  We have years of experience representing whistleblower clients who expose every kind of fraud against the government, including health care fraud, contract fraud, and tax fraud.  Read more about our expertise in False Claims Act cases and how you can take action.