New Bedford physician pleads guilty to fraud

FALL RIVER – A New Bedford physician pleaded guilty to charges of illegally prescribing drugs to 15 of his patients and defrauding the state’s Medicaid program, Attorney General Martha Coakley announced last week.
In a statement, Coakley said that Dr. Michael A. Taylor, 62, a physician who formerly practiced at an office in New Bedford, pleaded guilty in Bristol Superior Court on charges of Illegal Prescribing of a Controlled Substance (16 counts), violating the Medicaid False Claims Act (12 counts) and Larceny of more than $250 (three counts). Judge Frances A. McIntyre sentenced Taylor to two and a half years in prison, suspended for a probationary period of five years. According to the statement, the special conditions of probation are that he permanently resigns his license to practice medicine, continues receiving mental-health evaluations and treatment, and pays more than $9,800 in restitution to MassHealth, the state’s Medicaid program.
According to Coakley, Taylor prescribed oxycodone, a powerful drug with a high potential for abuse, along with Percocet and other oxycodone-based drugs for no legitimate medical purpose, and outside the usual course of his professional practice. By doing this, Taylor caused pharmacies to falsely bill MassHealth for these narcotics. •

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