Los Angeles, California - A Valencia, California, doctor pleaded guilty Thursday to submitting more than $2.4 million in fraudulent claims to Medicare.

Assistant Attorney General Leslie R. Caldwell of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, U.S. Attorney Eileen M. Decker of the Central District of California, Special Agent in Charge Christian Schrank of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Office of Inspector General (HHS-OIG) Los Angeles Region and Special Agent in Charge Joseph Fendrick of the California Department of  Justice’s Orange County and San Diego Office made the announcement.

Gary J. Ordog, M.D., 61, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Court Judge Fernando M. Olguin of the Central District of California to one count of health care fraud.  Sentencing has been scheduled for Aug. 18, 2016.

According to admissions made as part of his plea agreement, Ordog purported to be a physician, specializing in toxicology.  Ordog admitted that he submitted false claims to Medicare for purported visits with Medicare beneficiaries, when in fact those visits never actually occurred, including on dates when Ordog was out of the country.  He also admitted to billing for services provided to beneficiaries who were deceased on the dates Ordog purportedly treated them and for services totaling more than 24 hours in one day.  Ordog fabricated patient records to support false claims, he admitted.

Between January 2009 and February 2015, Ordog submitted approximately $2,435,089 in false and fraudulent claims to Medicare, he admitted.  Medicare paid approximately $1,295,699 of those claims, according to the plea agreement.

The HHS-OIG and the California Department of Justice investigated the case, which was brought as part of the Medicare Fraud Strike Force, supervised by the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Central District of California.  Fraud Section Trial Attorneys Ritesh Srivastava and Niall O’Donnell are prosecuting the case.

Since its inception in March 2007, the Medicare Fraud Strike Force, now operating in nine cities across the country, has charged over 2,300 defendants who collectively have billed the Medicare program for over $7 billion.  In addition, the HHS Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, working in conjunction with the HHS-OIG, are taking steps to increase accountability and decrease the presence of fraudulent providers.

To learn more about the Health Care Fraud Prevention and Enforcement Action Team (HEAT), go to www.stopmedicarefraud.gov.