Paulus case back in federal district

Henry Culvyhouse, The Daily Independent, Ashland, Ky.
·2 min read

May 26—ASHLAND — Court records show the Dr. Richard E. Paulus health care fraud case is firmly back in the federal district and is trucking along.

Late last month, Paulus — who is currently awaiting a re-trial on his federal healthcare fraud charges after having his conviction overturned in 2020 due to the withholding of evidence — saw his U.S. Supreme Court bid to have his case dismissed unceremoniously denied.

David Mussetter, Paulus' attorney, said he's "anxious to see the case move forward" after numerous delays by the appellate courts.

"We're chomping at the bit to be able to present our case to a jury," he said.

Paulus was accused and convicted at trail in 2016 of performing unnecessary stents in order to bilk Medicare and Medicaid out of money. His case has since seen multiple appeals, a post-trial acquittal, a reinstatement of a conviction and an overturning of the conviction in 2020.

Paulus had argued that a retrial on his charges constituted double jeopardy — the government filed a brief that the solution to Paulus' legal woes was a retrial.

The highest court in the land chose not to hear the matter, squashing the appeal.

Shortly after the Paulus' appeal was squashed, prosecutors moved forward to lift the stay on prosecution that was issued after KDMC raised cane and filed appeals to prevent releasing additional records to the government.

That move was ultimately rejected by the Sixth Court of Appeals.

The records at the center of the argument could provide context for the Shields Letter, which was withheld from Paulus' first trial but indicated the rate of which he was accused of implanting fraudulent stents was much lower than the picture prosecutors painted.

In a motion submitted this week, it appears that KDMC has complied with the subpoena and turned over the records for review. The prosecution has filed to have the records protected, due to confidential health information contained within.

No trial date has been set in the case.

(606) 326-2653 — henry@dailyindependent.com