FBI Charges Maryland Doctor with Fraud During Pandemic

The Justice Department is prosecuting a Maryland doctor renowned for overseeing the response to the COVID-19 pandemic at Baltimore-Washington International Marshall Airport and other sites in Anne Arundel and Prince George’s counties.

He is accused of overcharging Medicare and other insurers by more than $1.5 million for medically unnecessary procedures or for treatment that never happened.

Before the indictment late last month, Ron Elfenbein, 47, was often interviewed on television about how he was handling the pandemic. He also won a citation from Gov. Larry Hogan.

The indictment portrays him far differently as someone who was trying “to unlawfully enrich himself and others by … submitting and causing the submission of false and fraudulent claims to Medicare…”

In many cases, he and his colleagues would perform a brief test that took less than five minutes but bill for more elaborate tests that took about half an hour, the indictment says.

Elfenbein reportedly told his staff members that the higher billing rates were “the bread and butter of how we get paid.”

He is charged with three counts of health care fraud. The indictment identifies him as an owner and medical director of Drs ERgent Care.

Before the pandemic, Elfenbein’s business operated with about 20 employees. By last October, it had about 200 employees.

“COVID-19 has impacted everybody,” Elfenbein was quoted as saying in an Upstate Medical University’s alumni journal article. “We were able to be forward-thinking to provide needed public health services. In the process, that allowed us to grow as a business and provide about 180 new jobs, which is a great thing.”

Elfenbein was one of 18 people the FBI announced were being indicted for fraud against government programs and insurers.

“It is unconscionable that this defendant sought to line his own pockets during a global pandemic by grossly overbilling Medicare and other insurers for these vital health care services during a time of national crisis,” FBI Special Agent in Charge Thomas J. Sobocinski said in a news release.

If convicted, Elfenbein faces as much as 10 years in prison for each of the three counts.

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