Bowie Doctor Indicted For Health Care Fraud And Identity Theft

Greenbelt, Maryland – A federal grand jury has indicted Sampson Sarpong, age 61, of Bowie, Maryland, today on charges related to a scheme to defraud health care benefit programs and aggravated identity theft.  The indictment was returned on April 4, 2018, and unsealed today upon the arrest of Sarpong.

The indictment was announced by Acting United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Stephen M. Schenning; Nancy McNamara, Assistant Director in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Washington Field Office; and Special Agent in Charge Bret D. Mastronardi of the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) – Office of the Inspector General (OIG).

According to the 20-count indictment, Sarpong was a licensed physician in Maryland and specialized in the field of allergy and immunology. Sarpong owned and operated the Center for Allergic Diseases, LLC, which had numerous locations, including in White Plains, Maryland, and Glenn Dale, Maryland. Sarpong allegedly billed health care benefit programs for a variety of procedures used to test for and identify a patient's allergic disorder, including skin prick tests (“SPT”) and patch tests (“PT”).

From September 2011 through March 2017, Sarpong allegedly devised a scheme and artifice to defraud health care benefit programs by knowingly performing SPTs and PTs on patients for whom such tests were not medically required. Sarpong tested excessive numbers of allergens that were not necessary based on the patient’s complaints, symptoms, history, and environment. In addition, Sarpong allegedly submitted false and fraudulent claims to health care benefit programs for services that were not rendered. Further, Sarpong is alleged to have used the identification of eight different patients in relation to the fraud.

According to the indictment, Sarpong allegedly caused health care benefit programs to pay him more than $850,000 based on hundreds of false claims submitted.

Sarpong faces a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison each count of health care fraud and a mandatory consecutive two years in prison for aggravated identity theft.

An indictment is not a finding of guilt.  An individual charged by indictment is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty at some later criminal proceedings.

Acting United States Attorney Stephen M. Schenning commended the FBI and OPM OIG for their work in the investigation.  Mr. Schenning thanked Assistant U.S. Attorneys Kelly O’Connell Hayes and Gregory Bernstein, who are prosecuting the case.