A German-born Merrillville addiction doctor was sentenced to one year and one day Thursday in a plea deal for bilking $557,000 from Medicare and Medicaid, records show.
Johann Farley, 60, of Crown Point, pleaded guilty in the U.S. District Court in Hammond in June to healthcare fraud. He will have to repay $444,000 to Medicaid and $113,000 to Medicare.
Authorities said it was the “bulk of his income” from January 2016 to May 2020, documents show.
Court records show Farley often saw opioid addicts daily, but the visits were only a couple minutes, not long enough to provide complex evaluations or care. Sometimes, they wouldn’t even see him. The claims indicated he spent several hours with them.
For 17 patients, he submitted 7,000 claims for care he didn’t actually provide, records show.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Kevin Wolff and Steven Lupa prosecuted.
His defense lawyer Kevin Milner wrote in filings that he admitted wrongdoing and would be saddled with a felony.
A check of state records shows his medical license is active.
