A Louisiana nurse practitioner who authored books on Medicare regulations has been sentenced to 87 months in prison for causing more than $12 million in fraudulent Medicare claims for medically unnecessary cancer genetic tests, the Justice Department said in a June 17 news release.
Scharmaine Lawson Baker, of Fulshear, Texas, signed hundreds of orders for cancer genetic tests after phone calls with patients typically lasting less than 30 seconds, without examining them, in exchange for illegal kickbacks. Evidence at trial included a recorded call in which a telehealth company operator told Ms. Lawson Baker she would be “rolling in money” by signing the orders, to which she responded “Honey, I am not complaining.” She also ordered ovarian and cervical cancer tests for male patients and never reviewed any test results, including results showing patients had variants predisposing them to certain cancers.
Ms. Lawson Baker was convicted in July 2025 on six counts of healthcare fraud and was also ordered to pay $1.5 million in restitution.
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