Former surgeon to be sentenced for defrauding Medicare
ALBANY, N.Y. (NEWS10) -- On Monday, a former surgeon from Niskayuna agreed to pay $42,000 for defrauding Medicare. Steven A. St. Lucia is scheduled for sentencing on March 17 after pleading guilty to state healthcare fraud charges.
St. Lucia admitted that his medical license had been revoked and he was excluded from participating in all Federal healthcare programs, including Medicare. St. Lucia opened Union Foot Solutions in Schenectady and applied for the company to participate in Medicare.
In the application, St. Lucia lied about having his license revoked and claimed he never faced suspension or exclusion from Federal healthcare programs. The application was rejected since St. Lucia had been excluded from the Medicare program. Therefore, Union Foot Solutions could not receive Medicare payment.
St. Lucia then transferred ownership to a third party and the new owner reapplied and obtained authorization for Union Foot Solutions to participate in Medicare. St. Lucia continued to work for the company.