Health Law Daily Wrap Up, FALSE CLAIMS ACT—D. Mass.: DOJ files complaint alleging Illinois doctor was engaged in a Medicare fraudulent billing scheme, (Apr 17, 2026)

By Donielle Tigay Stutland, J.D.

The suit alleges that the physician caused the submission of approximately $632,274.29 in false claims to Medicare.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office filed a lawsuit against Alexandria Williams, an Illinois based doctor, in the U.S. district court in the district of Massachusetts alleging violations of the False Claims Act (FCA). The complaint alleges that between mid-2017 through early 2019 the physician engaged in a fraudulent scheme which defrauded Medicare of millions of dollars by submitting false medical orders. Specifically, the physician signed orders for medically unnecessary braces for Medicare beneficiaries that she never examined and who did not want or need the braces from December 2018 to April 2019. Due to the physician’s participation in the scheme, the government contends that Medicare paid approximately $630,000 in false claims for DME that were medically unreasonable and unnecessary (United States v. Williams, No. 26-cv-10948 (D. Mass. Feb. 26, 2026)).

Fraudulent Scheme. The suit laid out a scheme in which the physician “sat on her couch in her Cambridge, MA apartment and clicked through one fraudulent medical order after another. In mere seconds or minutes, she signed her name to medical orders that she did not write—and, in many instances, had not read—for Medicare beneficiaries she never met. The orders were replete with false statements claiming she had examined or treated these beneficiaries when she had not. She was paid for each order she signed, so she clicked through quickly in her spare time to supplement her income as a full-time medical resident.” In total, the government contends that the physician was prescribing medically unreasonable and unnecessary durable medical equipment (DME) to more than 800 Medicare beneficiaries with whom she had no prior or continuing relationship and—for the vast majority—whom she had never spoken to or even attempted to contact. At the time of the alleged conduct, the doctor was a licensed physician in Massachusetts and ordered the braces for Massachusetts-based beneficiaries.

The complaint alleges the physician was involved in a larger fraudulent scheme which also involved telemarketers who obtained beneficiary info and pre-populated the fraudulent orders, a fraudulent “telemedicine” company, Integrated Support Plus, Inc. (ISP), which paid the providers for writing orders, a staffing company, MDstaffers, that connected physicians to the telemedicine company and DME suppliers that submitted claims to Medicare using the signed orders. The physician was recruited to the scheme by the staffing company.

In April 2019, the U.S. Department of Justice conducted a large-scale takedown of many of the actors in the telemedicine and DME fraud scheme. Multiple telemedicine and DME company owners and several health care providers were charged on the same date as part of a coordinated effort called Operation Brace Yourself. Willie McNeal IV, the owner, president, founder, chief executive officer, and registered agent of ISP was indicted in connection with the scheme.

After learning that ISP was involved in the DOJ takedown in April 2019, the complaint indicates that the physician made efforts to conceal her actions on several occasions. In June 2019, the physician sought a letter from MDstaffers attesting to her separation date from the company in early March, a month before Operation Brace Yourself—weeks earlier than either the date through which she was paid or the date on which she stopped work. Additionally, as part of the United States’ investigation, federal agents interviewed the physician in 2021 and she claimed to have no memory of doing any telemedicine work or ordering DME.

FCA Violations. The complaint alleges two violations of the FCA. First, the government alleges that the physician knowingly caused to be presented to Medicare claims for DME that falsely represented that the DME were medically reasonable and necessary under § 3729(a)(1)(A). Second, she knowingly made false statements or records that were material to the claims that Medicare paid under § 3729(a)(1)(B).

Damages. The U.S. seeks damages in the amount of approximately $632,274.29 and argues that it is entitled to treble damages plus a civil penalty for each violation. The government also requested a jury trial.

The Case is No. 26-cv-10948.

Attorneys: Alexandra L. Brazier, U.S. Attorney's Office, for the U.S.

Cases: CaseDecisions CMSNews DMENews FCANews GCNNews MassachusettsNews