A doctor from Mt. Airy, North Carolina, has been sentenced to 30 months in prison and ordered to pay $2,049,747.47 in restitution after pleading guilty to health care fraud and money laundering. Acting United States Attorney Randall S. Galyon of the Middle District of North Carolina announced the sentencing.
Wendell Lewis Randall, 72, received a 30-month prison sentence and two years of supervised release from Senior United States District Judge Catherine C. Eagles at the United States District Court for the Middle District of North Carolina. This sentence will run consecutively to an 18-month sentence he is currently serving for a conviction in Virginia.
Court records indicate that Randall was the sole physician and owner of the National Institute of Toxicology (NIT) in Mt. Airy, NC. He prescribed opioids or other controlled substances without medical necessity and required patients to undergo urine drug tests at every visit. From August 2018 through December 2021, NIT billed Medicare and Medicaid for these tests, obtaining $753,446.70 from Medicare and $1,296,300.77 from Medicaid.
Randall used these proceeds for large purchases, including a property near his home for $97,000 in 2019.
“RANDALL abused his position as a medical provider to gain excessive profit from government-funded insurance programs,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Galyon.
Kelly Blackmon from HHS-OIG stated that “physicians and other providers who authorize medically unnecessary drugs and services undermine the integrity of our health care system.”
Jae W. Chung of the DEA Atlanta Division emphasized their commitment to holding accountable those involved in fraud schemes.
Donald “Trey” Eakins from IRS Criminal Investigation noted that “IRS-CI special agents’ forensic accounting skills helped unravel this complex fraud.”
Attorney General Jeff Jackson remarked on Randall's role in worsening the opioid crisis while stealing taxpayer dollars.
The investigation involved multiple agencies including the DEA Charlotte Tactical Diversion Squad, HHS-OIG, IRS Criminal Investigation Division, North Carolina Attorney General’s Office Medicaid Investigations Division, and others. The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Rebecca Mayer and Special Assistant United States Attorney Dan Spillman.