East St. Louis Podiatrist Pleads Guilty to Health-Care Fraud

An East St. Louis, Ill., podiatrist pleaded guilty to health-care fraud after admitting that he knowingly billed Medicare and Medicaid for more complex services than he was actually providing to patients.

In the stipulation of facts accompanying his plea, Howard Jackson admitted that he routinely billed for a surgical procedural called a “nail avulsion” when in fact he was providing less complex, routine foot care.

An avulsion procedure usually involves sterilization, local anesthesia, and removal of all or part of the nail plate. Treatment of a simple aberrant growing, defined as routine foot care like trimming and clipping nails, doesn’t ...