A Michigan doctor faces health-care fraud charges after billing Medicare for vitamin C treatments for the coronavirus, the Department of Justice said.
Dr. Charles Mok, the operator of a chain of health clinics specializing in varicose vein treatments, told patients in marketing videos that vitamin C bolsters the immune system and reduces the severity, duration, and contagiousness of Covid-19. according to a DOJ statement released Tuesday.
The Food and Drug Administration hasn’t approved any treatments or vaccines for Covid-19, the DOJ noted.
Mok’s company, Allure Medical Spa PLLC, submitted at least 98 claims to Medicare and to insurance companies for vitamin C infusion therapy for Covid-19, according to the criminal complaint.
His clinics also ignored Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s executive order banning elective medical procedures and failed to follow protocols aimed at isolating patients with Covid-19 from others, it said.
Allure’s waiting rooms “were full of patients sitting next to each other and not adhering to the six-foot social-distancing recommendation of the Centers for Disease Control,” the complaint said.
Mok also is charged with submitting false claims to Medicare for medically unnecessary varicose vein treatments, the statement said.
Allure Medical Spa operates 26 outpatient clinics in eight states. A company spokeswoman declined to comment.
The case is United States v. Mok, E.D. Mich., No. 2:20-mj-30163, criminal complaint unsealed 4/28/20
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