Former pain clinic CEO accused of plotting to forge dead patient's signature

Credit: Elijah Nouvelage

Credit: Elijah Nouvelage

The former CEO of a closed-down pain clinic in Tennessee is accused of plotting to forge a dead patient's signature so Medicare could be billed in her name, The Tennessean reported.

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According to federal court documents obtained by the newspaper, John Davis, who was the head of Comprehensive Pain Specialists (CPS), allegedly emailed businesswoman Brenda Montgomery about the forgery plan, which was part of an illegal kickback scheme.

Davis and Montgomery, who were indicted, pleaded not guilty in federal court, The Tennessean reported. Montgomery was the head of CCC Medical Inc., a medical device company, the newspaper reported.

CPS was based in Brentwood and closed down in July. Davis was CEO of the company from 2011 to 2017. He was indicted in April, and prosecutors said the indictment had more to do with a "side agreement" he had with Montgomery, rather than his day-to-day duties at the company.

The court documents allege Montgomery would pay kickbacks to Davis so he would refer patients from CPS who needed medical devices to CCC Medical, The Tennessean reported.

Montgomery allegedly used the referred patients to bill Medicare for at least $4.6 million according to court documents, for which she received about $2.6 million in reimbursements. Documents allege that Montgomery paid Davis at least $770,000 in bribes and disguised some of the payments through another company, The Tennessean reported.

Prosecutors are focusing on the CPS email server, arguing it contains millions of documents. This server appears to be where authorities first discovered the email about forging the signature of the dead patient, the Tennessean reported.

Davis’ attorneys have asked for a copy of the entire server, which they argue will provide context to the emails between Davis and Montgomery, the newspaper reported.

"(Davis) is saying he is making his request in good faith, and is not engaging in a fishing expedition,” federal prosecutors wrote. “However, (he) appears to be standing on the pier with tackle ready.”

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