MEMPHIS, Tenn. — A Memphis man has been sentenced to four years in prison after being convicted of running a scheme to defraud Medicare and TennCare by issuing unnecessary foot bath medications and receiving millions of dollars for reimbursement, officials said.
According to the U.S. Attorney's Office, court documents said 59-year-old Nathan Lucas owned a podiatry clinic — Advanced Foot & Ankle Care of Memphis LLC — along with two in-house pharmacies. He would prescribe antibiotic and antifungal drugs to patients, directing them to mix the drugs into a tub of water and soak their feet. The document said the drugs were not suggested to be dissolved in water and some were not water soluble.
Lucas chose medications based on their anticipated reimbursement amount, according to the documents. He submitted nearly $4 million in claims to Medicare and TennCare for dispensing expensive foot bath medications that were not eligible for reimbursement from October 2018 through September 2021. His pharmacies collected over $3 million.
In March, a jury convicted Lucas on five counts of health care fraud. He faced a maximum of 10 years on each count.
