A Franklin County Common Pleas jury on Thursday found a Columbus-based doctor and his clinic guilty of fraudulently billing the Ohio Department of Medicaid for $1.5 million in medical equipment that he had not never ordered, Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost announced Thursday.

Dr. Robert Florea, 49, who lives in Delaware City, and his business, Buckeye Health and Research, LLC, located at 65 Highview Blvd. on the South Side of Columbus, were each convicted of one count of Medicaid fraud, a third-degree felony. Florea was indicted along with his company in December 2022.

Investigators affected by Yost Medicaid Fraud Control Unit determined that Florea, through his clinic, billed the state Department of Medicaid for medical equipment – ​​including orthopedic devices for joints and back pain – that he never purchased.

Florea requested reimbursement for more than 5,100 pieces of equipment over a three-year period, but records show he purchased only 460, the attorney general’s office said. Fraudulent claims caused a $1.5 million loss to the state’s Medicaid program.

Florea will be sentenced at a later date.

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@ShahidMeighan

This article was originally published on The Columbus Dispatch: Ohio doctor convicted of $1.5 million Medicaid fraud