By JIM BUTLER
The Justice Department contends Dr. Michael Dole’s alleged participation in a scheme to defraud the government of more than $32 million began in January 2010.
Coincidentally that’s the same year the pain management specialist began construction on one of the more grandiose manses in the parish.
Dole was indicted in September this year, charged with being fraudulently reimbursed more than $11.7 million by the government for allegedly unnecessary urine tests.
Details of his arraignment in federal court are sealed (standard practice), according to online record.
Comment by his counsel when the charges were announced indicate a not-guilty plea.
Attorney Mike Small asserted all testing conducted by Dole’s Alexandria Pain Management Clinic was necessary, essential and referred by other physicians
Dole first appears on the Center for Medicare and Medical Services radar after a contracted audit agency review of November 2015 and April 2016 payments to him.
Such audits have been standard since the early part of this century when special strike forces were formed in 27 federal court districts to probe possible abuses within Medicare/Medicaid services.
CMMS informed Dole, according to records, that he had been overpaid about $103,000 the two months examined and the agency consequently projected alleged overpayment of $4.33 million and demanded payback.
By that time the Dole home, built for $2.4 million according to testimony in a suit over a $50,000 contractor bill (contractor won), had become an attraction.
Situated on 13 acres off Horseshoe Drive it had been featured in magazine and newspaper and been the site of civic events.
In July 2017 CMMS, failing to receive remuneration from Dole, began withholding all current reimbursements to him and charging 10 percent annual interest on balance of disputed payments.
Dole, records show, petitioned for a hearing by an Administrative Law Judge.
Almost two years later Dole sued to force a hearing. By then, May 2019, CMMS had recovered $2.4 million through withholding current claim reimbursements to the clinic and turned the remaining contested amount over to Department of Treasury.
Over that two years of waiting for a hearing, records show, Dole had been forced to reduce his work force’s hours and incur personal loans to keep the clinic open.
In November 2019 the court, noting the protracted time in scheduling the matter before an ALJ, ordered such a hearing to be held within 90 days.
The available record is a muddled one after that until the indictment in September.
Available records note a civil action filed by Dole in November 2020 and its assignment to Senior Judge Dee Drell a month later.
By that time the Covid pandemic had scrambled court dockets across the country.
In March 2022 Dole’s wife Adrienne, who had been a pediatric nurse and was active in a host of community activities, died at age 57.
The physician’s indictment charges one count of conspiracy to commit health care fraud and five counts of health care fraud.
An indictment is an outline of the accusations against a defendant. It does not include the defendant’s answers.