Suncoast Dermatology and Skin Surgery Center, Dr. Ralph Massullo, Jr., and Dr. William Welton III Agreed to Pay $2.3 Million for Allegedly Violating the Civil Monetary Penalties Law by Submitting False Claims Associated with Lesions

After they self-disclosed conduct to OIG, Suncoast Dermatology and Skin Surgery Center, P.A., Dr. Ralph Massullo, Jr., M.D., and Dr. William Welton III, M.D. (collectively “Suncoast”), Florida, agreed to pay $2,320,118.88 for allegedly violating the Civil Monetary Penalties Law. OIG alleged that Suncoast’s shareholder employee falsified patient records and examination findings, including falsified size and type of excised lesions (e.g., benign or malignant), misclassified lesions in size and type leading to unnecessary follow-up procedures on the lesions in which sizes were grossly overstated, and upcoded procedures. Consequently, Suncoast submitted claims for payment to Federal health care programs based on these falsified patient records and examination findings.

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