A Whitefish doctor has been sentenced to six months in prison for defrauding Medicare and other federal health programs. Ronald David Dean, 64, admitted to his role in a telemedicine conspiracy that resulted in more than $31 million in false billing. In addition to his prison sentence, Dean will serve six months of home confinement, pay a $100,000 fine, and $780,509 in restitution.
Dean pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud as part of the Justice Department’s 2024 National Health Care Fraud Enforcement Action. U.S. District Judge Donald W. Molloy presided over the case and ordered Dean to be placed on one year of supervised release following his confinement.
"Submitting false claims for medical services that were not provided will not be tolerated," stated Special Agent Dimitriana Nikolov from the Department of Veterans Affairs Office of Inspector General's Northwest Field Office. This sentiment was echoed by Douglas Williams from the Railroad Retirement Board Office of Inspector General who emphasized the obligation to protect federal funds.
Special Agent Shohini Sinha of the Salt Lake City FBI remarked on the broader implications: "Every American pays for healthcare fraud... Ronald Dean put profit before patients."
The government alleged that Dean was paid by a telemedicine company to sign orders for durable medical equipment that patients did not need and charged Medicare and other programs for visits that never occurred. The fraudulent activities spanned from January 2022 until July 2023.
Dean relied on information from unknown sources to prescribe unnecessary braces and authorized widespread covid testing without patient evaluation. His actions contributed significantly to a nationwide law enforcement action targeting health care fraud schemes totaling over $2.75 billion in alleged false billings.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Montana collaborated with several agencies including HHS-OIG, VA-OIG, RRB-OIG, and FBI during this investigation.