After reviewing many official advisory opinions from the Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General, one might be forgiven an occasional fantasy that one might be able to do it better. Rare is it that one actually has the opportunity to act on the impulse. On November 13, 2006, the United States Attorney's Office for the Western District of Michigan issued a press release announcing the successful apprehension and prosecution of Michigan health law attorney, Philip Stoffan for mail fraud in apparently forging is own advisory opinion on a mock up of HHS-OIG stationery. Mr. Stoffan's efforts were in support of an anticipated joint venture between his client, a physician group and a physician therapy group. No doubt the physician group was negotiating a turn key arrangement with the physical therapy group to provide therapy the group's patients to be billed for by the group. Some touchy issues there.
The legal graveman of Mr. Stoffan's offense was his own billing of his clients for obtaining an "official " advisory opinion by the OIG, for which he substituted his own work product. Mr. Steffan entered a guilty plea before Magistrate Judge Joseph Scoville in Grand Rapids, Michigan. He will be sentenced by Judge Robert Holms Bell at some future date. The conviction carries a potential sentence of up to twenty years in jail and a $250,000.00 fine.
There has been no public indication to date as to the quality of the opinion or whether the OIG has undertaken any constructive analysis of Mr. Stoffan's opinions. Mr. Stoffan's clients were apparently not amused- but then again, everybody's a critic. Mr.Stoffan for his part was apparently operating in a separate universe and may find himself further separated in the future.
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