Tenn. Doctor Named in Superseding Indictment

Jim Vines, United States Attorney for the Middle District of Tennessee, announced that Dr. Samson Orusa, 42, of Clarksville was indicted recently by a federal grand jury in Nashville.

The 17-count superseding indictment charges Orusa with nine counts of health care fraud, seven counts of making false statements relating to health care matters, and one count of money laundering.

According to the indictment, from February 2000 through April 2004, Orusa, an internal medicine doctor, operated a scheme to defraud several insurance companies by ordering a battery of tests for the majority of his patients, regardless of their presenting medical complaint.

Orusa also allegedly provided a “cheat sheet” for his employees, identifying which insurance companies would pay for which medical tests and the frequency at which they would pay for these tests. The indictment charges that Orusa submitted claims to CIGNA, the Tenncare MCO, Palmetto GBA, the OPM-contracted insurance plan, and BlueCross that contained false and fraudulent information.

The indictment further charges that from about December 2001 through April 2004, Orusa conducted financial transactions with the proceeds from his health care fraud scheme. Specifically, it states that Orusa knowingly transferred proceeds to Echodoctors of America and Sound Solutions Inc. to further promote his scheme.

The indictment also includes two forfeiture allegations seeking the forfeiture from Orusa of all property, real and personal, involved in the offenses charged in the indictment, or any property traceable to such property.

Orusa’s trial on the original indictment is currently set for May 3, 2005 before U.S. District Judge William Haynes, Jr.