Mich. Doctor Gets 10 Years For Corruption, Health Care Fraud, Pain Pill Trafficking

Nov. 29--Gwendolyn Washington, a doctor and sister of convicted scammer Sherry Washington, was sentenced to 10 years in prison today for a host of crimes including public corruption, pain pill trafficking and health care fraud.

Washington, 67, of Southfield, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Paul Borman. She had pleaded guilty to the various crimes earlier this year.

In March, she pleaded guilty to her role in a scheme that bilked more than $3.3 million from the cash-strapped Detroit Public School by over-billing for a sham wellness program. Her sister, gallery owner Sherry Washington, was sentenced to seven years in prison for her role and is appealing.

In July, Gwendolyn Washington also pleaded guilty to four counts involving drug trafficking and health care fraud. Specifically, Washington admitted that between 2004 and 2010, she performed unnecessary ultrasounds, stress tests, balance tests, sleep tests and nerve conduction tests on patients. She billed Medicare and Blue Cross and Blue Shield more than $5 million for the tests, some of which were potentially harmful to patients and increased their risk for cancer, authorities said.

Washington also admitted that she received kickbacks from home health care agencies and diagnostic testing facilities in return for referring patients to them. Washington, who received $200 to $500 per patient, received kickback payments totaling $350,000, authorities said. Medicare paid roughly $2.8 million to agencies receiving the fraudulent referrals.

In February 2010, when Medicare stopped paying Washington, she started peddling highly addictive pain pills on the street, authorities said. Specifically, she wrote prescriptions for tens of thousands of doses of OxyContin, Opana ER and Roxicodone, sometimes for individuals who were not her patients, and without examining them.

Washington then provided the prescriptions to Virginia Dillard, her niece and co-defendant, who filled the prescriptions at various pharmacies in Highland Park, Warren and Detroit. After filling the prescriptions, Dillard sold the drugs to prescription drug dealers, fetching roughly $1,000 to $2,200 per prescription. She then shared the money with Washington.

Dillard was sentenced in October to 112 months in prison.

"Dr. Washington not only stole money from school children and from Medicare, she also exposed patients to harmful tests for her own financial gain," U.S. Attorney Barbara McQuade said. "We hope that this sentence deters other health care providers from stealing public funds and risking the health of their patients."

In the DPS scheme, Gwendolyn Washington was among nine defendants indicted last fall on charges they "grossly" over-billed for a wellness program, and paid kickbacks to the executive who helped make it happen. That executive was Stephen Hill, a former executive director for the DPS Risk Management Department, who testified against Washington's sister at trial and was sentenced to five years in prison in September for his role.

Of the nine defendants indicted in the scheme, one died, seven pleaded guilty, and Washington was convicted at trial.

Gwendolyn Washington's lawyer, Anthony Chambers, noted that his client got a slightly lower prison sentence than what her plea agreement called for. Under the terms of that deal, she faced 151 months in prison.

"I think that Judge Borman was as fair as he thought he could be," Chambers said.

Still, he added, "We are reviewing all of our options, and will try to reduce the sentence even more." He did not elaborate, saying only that "We will remain hopeful and prayerful that something else happens."

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