A dermatologist who had voluntarily been excluded in 2005 from federal health care programs was convicted June 25 of 22 felony charges relating to health care fraud, bankruptcy fraud and identity theft.
Dr. Allen G. Saoud, 59, of Clarksburg, W. Va., faces up to 10 years in prison on each of 13 health care fraud counts, a minimum of two years in prison for the identity theft conviction and between three and five years for the other counts, the
U.S. Attorney in northern West Virginia states. He also faces a financial penalty of $850,000.
Saoud had reached a settlement in 2005 after allegedly submitting false claims to Medicare and Medicaid. He paid $310,000 and was voluntarily excluded from federal health care programs for 10 years, the U.S. Attorney states. But investigators determined he violated that agreement by scheming to circumvent the exclusion and illegally obtaining hundreds of thousands of dollars. The jury found that he lied under oath about his Bridgeport, W. Va., practice; lied to a federal agency about his practice; committed identity theft; and filed false tax returns.