STOCKTON, Calif. — A Lodi orthopedic surgeon convicted of health insurance fraud in June was sentenced to seven years in prison Friday.
“Gary Wisner used both his patients and state resources to line his own pockets,” said Attorney General Bonta. “Due to his dishonest behavior, patients at his clinic had to undergo unnecessary medical tests so he could steal from the state’s Medi-Cal funds. This sentence reaffirms what we know to be true: Abuse of power by medical practitioners will never be tolerated within our state’s healthcare system. Thank you to our partners at the San Joaquin County District Attorney’s Office for their help throughout the course of this investigation. The California Department of Justice will continue to protect our state's critical health resources from bad actors.”
The California Department of Justice started investigating Wisner in late 2016 when representatives from government offices suspected fraud by him overbilling Medi-Cal and Medicare.
The Department's Division of Medi-Cal Fraud and Elder Abuse (DMFEA) conducted an investigation finding that Wisner administered X-rays during routine office visits and would X-ray multiple parts of a patient's body regardless of whether it had relation to that patient's medical condition.
During the trial, evidence was shown in court indicating that Wisner had subjected 10 patients to hundreds of unnecessary X-rays from 2012 to 2016.
He was convicted of 10 felony counts of health care insurance fraud.
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