The U.S. attorney’s office has announced that Dr. Robert Barrow of Little Rock has pleaded guilty to a $2.2 million health care fraud scheme.
Barrow, 62, owned a clinic known as Your Doctor’s Office. According to a Justice Department news release, Barrow conspired with Billy Marc Young, a massage therapist. Barrow referred patients to Young, who billed insurers under Barrow’s provider number as if patients hadreceived physical therapy. The release said Barrow himself was often out the country at the time, in places like Las Vegas, Hawaii and London. Young had entered a guilty plea earlier. The government said some of of Barrow’s patients were duped into believing they’d received physical therapy and also bore out-of-pocket costs such as co-pays.
The news release said:
Under the terms of the plea agreement, Dr. Barrow is required to pay $702,361.12 in restitution to Medicare and Blue Cross (less what Young pays) and up to $100,000 to former patients who bore out-of-pocket expenses believing that they were receiving physical therapy. In exchange, the United States has agreed to dismiss all remaining charges against Dr. Barrow and his wife, Dr. Angela Barrow.
Conspiracy to commit health care fraud is punishable by up to ten years’ imprisonment, a $250,000 fine, and not more than three years’ supervised
Sentencing will follow a probation office report..