BOSTON, MA — Dr. Donald Salzberg, a Connecticut ophthalmologist, has been sentenced to one year and one day in prison for his role in a healthcare fraud scheme involving medically unnecessary brain scans.
U.S. Senior District Court Judge Douglas P. Woodlock also mandated a subsequent year of supervised release and ordered Salzberg to pay $1.34 million in restitution to Medicare, Medicaid, and private insurers.
Dr. Salzberg, 69, from Avon, Conn., pleaded guilty in July 2022 to charges of conspiracy to commit health care fraud and to receive kickbacks. Operating his practice in West Hartford, Conn.,
Salzberg conspired from 2014 through 2019 with a medical diagnostics company principal to order superfluous transcranial doppler scans in return for cash payments of $100 to $125 per test and additional bogus administrative fees. This conspiracy led to over $3 million in fraudulent claims being submitted to Medicare and other insurers.
The collaborative efforts of multiple U.S. agencies led to Salzberg’s sentencing, highlighting a significant crackdown on healthcare fraud.