West Virginia Physician Agrees to Voluntary Exclusion

On September 11, 2017, in connection with the resolution of her False Claims Act liability, Dr. Cheryl Wingate (Dr. Wingate), Fairmont, West Virginia, agreed to be excluded from participation in all Federal health care programs for a period of 5 years under 42 U.S.C. § 1320a-7(b)(7). OIG's investigation revealed that Dr. Wingate caused compounding pharmacies to submit false claims for compound creams and medications to TRICARE and the Medicare Program by issuing or approving prescriptions that were not legitimate because Dr. Wingate did not examine or evaluate the patients in question and did not have an established physician-patient relationship with them. OIG’s investigation also revealed that Dr. Wingate issued and approved the medication prescriptions in exchange for compensation paid to her by the pharmacies, telemedicine entities, or other intermediaries acting on behalf of the pharmacies.

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