NEW ORLEANS (WGNO) – A New Orleans doctor was charged Tuesday with paying more than $230,000 in illegal kickbacks to recruiters he paid to bring Medicare beneficiaries to his office.
According to a news release from U.S. Attorney Kenneth Polite’s office, Dr. Jobie Crear, a 65-year-old ophthalmologist, is the operator of Comprehensive Nursing and Home Health Service Inc. He allegedly paid recruiters $231,034 to bring Medicare patients to his practice.
If convicted, Crear faces a maximum sentence of five years in prison and a $250,000 fine.
A search for Crear’s office yielded two locations – one on Earhart Boulevard and one in the 2100 block of Magazine Street.