So your probably sitting in your office right now staring at that letter from OPMC or maybe you just got served with a DEA subpoena and your hands are literally shaking. Maybe a patient filed a complaint about your treatment. Maybe the medical board flagged your prescribing patterns. Or maybe there investigating you for Medicare fraud that you didn’t even know was happening. Look, we get it. Your ABSOLUTELY TERRIFIED. And honestly? You should be! Because your entire career – everything you worked for since medical school – could disappear with one wrong move according to New York’s Office of Professional Medical Conduct!
What Happens When the Medical Board Gets a Complaint About You?
Let me tell you exactly what’s happening right now behind the scenes. When OPMC receives a complaint about you, they have 45 days to do there preliminary investigation. During that time, there deciding whether to dismiss it or launch a FULL INVESTIGATION into your practice. First thing that happens? You’ll get a letter demanding your response within 45 days. And here’s what’s insane – if you don’t respond or you say the wrong thing, they can literally revoke your license just for that! Not for the actual complaint – just for not responding properly according to New York State Education Department requirements! We’ve seen doctors lose there licenses because they thought they could handle it themselves and wrote something that made things worse. The investigation process is brutal. They’ll interview your patients, your staff, pull all your medical records, review your prescribing history, check your billing records. Everything you’ve done for years gets put under a microscope. And the investigators? There not your friends. There job is to find violations, period. Here’s what really makes us angry – alot of these complaints are total garbage! Disgruntled patients who didn’t get the pain meds they wanted. Ex-employees with an axe to grind. Competitors trying to damage your reputation. Insurance companies trying to avoid paying claims. But it doesn’t matter – once that investigation starts, your in a fight for your professional life!
Need Help With Your Case?
Don't face criminal charges alone. Our experienced defense attorneys are ready to fight for your rights and freedom.
- 100% Confidential
- Response Within 1 Hour
- No Obligation Consultation
Or call us directly:
(212) 300-5196Can a DEA Investigation Result in Criminal Charges?
This is where things get REALLY scary. Yes, DEA investigations absolutely can and do lead to criminal charges! According to the DEA Practitioner’s Manual, they’re not just looking at administrative violations – there building criminal cases. We’ve seen what happens in operations like “Profit Over Patients” where the DEA arrested 51 medical professionals and filed 122 criminal charges in ONE sweep! These weren’t just administrative actions – these were federal criminal indictments carrying DECADES in prison. One doctor we know got hit with 20 years mandatory minimum because they said his prescribing was “outside the usual course of professional practice” under 21 USC 841 federal drug distribution laws. What triggers a criminal investigation? Could be anything – unusual prescribing patterns, cash-only patients, prescribing the “holy trinity” (opioids, benzos, and muscle relaxers together), high volume of controlled substances, patients traveling long distances. Even if your following your medical judgment, if the DEA thinks your prescriptions don’t have a “legitimate medical purpose,” your facing criminal distribution charges! The worst part? They’ll execute search warrants on your office AND your home. Imagine federal agents kicking down your door at 6 AM, seizing all your computers, going through your personal belongings while your kids watch. It’s absolutely DISGUSTING how they treat doctors like drug dealers!
Todd Spodek
Lead Attorney & Founder
Featured on Netflix's "Inventing Anna," Todd Spodek brings decades of high-stakes criminal defense experience. His aggressive approach has secured dismissals and acquittals in cases others deemed unwinnable.
Federal agents execute a search warrant at your medical practice, seizing patient records and prescription logs.
Can they take patient records without patient consent?
A valid federal search warrant overrides HIPAA privacy protections. However, the warrant must be properly scoped. An attorney can challenge overly broad warrants and move to suppress improperly seized evidence.
This is general information only. Contact us for advice specific to your situation.
What Are the Penalties for Medicare and Medicaid Fraud?
Want to know something that’ll make you sick to your stomach? Medicare fraud penalties are INSANE. According to Department of Justice data, even accidental billing errors can be prosecuted as fraud! Here’s what your facing if they claim Medicare fraud: – Up to 5 years in federal prison PER FALSE CLAIM – If they say someone was “harmed” by your treatment? 20 YEARS in prison – Fines up to $11,000 for EACH claim they say is false – Triple damages – they make you pay back three times what they say you overbilled – PERMANENT exclusion from Medicare and Medicaid Think about that – you submit 100 claims with coding errors over a year, that’s potentially 500 YEARS in prison! Plus millions in fines! And here’s the kicker – in civil cases, they don’t even have to prove you intended to commit fraud. They just have to show you were “reckless” in your billing. What does reckless mean? Whatever the prosecutor wants it to mean! We had a client – brilliant cardiologist, never had a single complaint in 30 years. His billing company made errors on upcoding. The feds seized $3 million from his accounts under CMS fraud and abuse provisions, froze all his assets, and he couldn’t even pay for groceries while fighting the charges. Eventually we got it resolved but it took TWO YEARS and cost him everything!
