Doctor convicted in Kentucky health fraud case could lose license under complaint
State regulators have filed a complaint against a doctor convicted in a health fraud case that could cost him his license.
The Kentucky Board of Medical Licensure (KBML) issued the complaint earlier against Dr. William Lawrence Gregory Siefert based on a federal indictment against him, but released an amended complaint this week as a result of the conviction.
The state said Siefert, of Dayton, Ohio, practices at locations in Lexington, Bowling Green and Paducah.
Siefert, 69, pleaded not guilty in the federal case, but a jury convicted him last month on one charge of defrauding health care programs such as Medicaid and Medicare.
The complaint included language from the indictment alleging Siefert had employees of the Northern Kentucky Center for Pain Relief collect samples for unnecessary drug tests and submit bills for the tests in order to make more money.
Siefert did not review the test results or use them in treating patients, the indictment charged.
Federal authorities also alleged that improper prescribing of opioids and other drugs by Siefert played a role in several overdose deaths, but the jury acquitted Siefert of all charges related to improper prescribing.
It also found him not guilty on a charge of conspiracy to commit health fraud.
Seifert left the Northern Kentucky pain clinic in February 2019.
The licensure board issued an emergency order barring Siefert from prescribing drugs in March 2021 because of the federal charges.
The board could take a number of actions under the pending complaint, including fining Siefert or suspending or revoking his license.
An attorney representing Siefert, Aaron L. VanderLaan, said Siefert will contest the complaint.
VanderLaan noted that the jury acquitted Siefert on 11 of the 12 charges he faced.
“This verdict confirms that Dr. Siefert was offering much needed care and treatment to his patients as they battled chronic pain,” VanderLaan said.
Siefert was disappointed to be convicted on the health fraud charge, VanderLaan said, maintaining that the drug tests he had performed were done to monitor whether patients were complying with their treatment “in an environment where the government is all too quick to second-guess the medical decisions of physicians.”
Seifert is optimistic the conviction will be overturned on appeal, VanderLaan said.
Seifert was indicted with Timothy Ehn, 50, a chiropractor who owned the pain clinic.
The jury convicted Ehn on two charges, health fraud and conspiracy to commit fraud, but found him not guilty on a charge of conspiring to illegally distribute drugs.
U.S. District Judge David L. Bunning scheduled sentencing in September. Each charge is punishable by up to 10 years in prison.
