Sixth Circuit Affirms Physician’s Conviction, Vacates Sentence, Remands for Resentencing

A federal appeals court Aug. 16 upheld the conviction of a dermatologist for billing Medicare and insurers for more expensive procedures than he actually performed, but vacated his sentence and remanded for resentencing (United States v. Stokes).

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit held that the district court erred when it found that the doctor-patient relationship was alone sufficient to justify imposition of the vulnerable-victim increase in Robert W. Stokes’s sentence. U.S. Sentencing Guideline §3A1.1(b)(1) provides for a two-level increase if the defendant knew that a victim was a vulnerable victim.

A vulnerable victim is ...