Kansas City pediatrician accused of participating in Medicare scheme pleads guilty

A pediatrician pleaded guilty Thursday after submitting more than 1,000 fraudulent Medicare claims, federal prosecutors said.

Frederick S. Dattel, 57, of Leawood, owns and operates Kansas City Pediatrics, LLC.

From August 2017 to February 2018, he worked for RediDoc, LLC, a telemedicine company.

According to prosecutors with the Western District of Missouri, Dattel wrote orders or prescriptions for 1,075 patients for medical equipment, prescriptions and other medical supplies. He had not examined or spoken to the patients. Prosecutors allege nearly all of the orders were not legitimately prescribed or needed.

Dattel was charged with making a false statement related to a health care matter.

Prosecutors say he was part of a nationwide Medicare scheme where telemedicine companies made fraudulent claims, received kickbacks and sent payments to doctors. RediDoc sent payments to Dattel totaling $22,270.

RediDoc owners Stephen Luke and David Laughlin have pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit health care fraud in federal court in New Jersey.

Dattel must pay $211,542 in restitution and faces up to five years in federal prison. A sentencing date has not yet been set.

This story was originally published November 10, 2022 at 10:51 PM.