United States v. Daniels,
No. CR.A.01-40002-01-KHV (D. Kan. July 13, 2001)
The
District Court of Kansas refused to dismiss a health care fraud, mail fraud,
and perjury indictment brought against a physician who was charged with repeatedly
submitting claims for procedures not performed, upcoding procedures he did perform,
luring patients into unnecessary surgery and surgeries for which he had not
obtained informed consent, falsifying documents to cover up bad outcomes after
surgeries, and lying under oath at his first trial.
The doctor argued that the indictment was unconstitutional because its accusations
were not specific enough. The court held that the indictment was sufficiently
clear to survive a motion to dismiss since it contained a complete listing of
the crimes with which the doctor was being charged, a description of the type
of activities that the government believed constituted a violation of those
crimes, and a list of the dates, patients, and procedures that composed the
factual basis for the indictment. The court did find, however, that a bill of
particulars would be necessary to describe the specific allegations against
the doctor, including, for example, information regarding specific statements
the physician made to patients and on insurance claims.