David Antonio Becerril, MD, a 70-year-old physician from Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, was sentenced July 8 to 40 months in prison and ordered to pay $1.25 million in restitution for his role in a nationwide telemarketing scheme that defrauded Medicare.
According to a July 22 news release, a jury convicted Dr. Becerril in September 2025 on 16 felony counts, including conspiracy to commit health care fraud, conspiracy to commit wire fraud, and multiple counts of health care fraud, wire fraud and false statements relating to health care matters.
Prosecutors showed that between February 2018 and September 2019, Dr. Becerril, a licensed Washington physician, signed false orders for genetic tests and durable medical equipment, including back, knee, shoulder and ankle braces, for elderly Medicare beneficiaries he never saw, spoke to or contacted. Some orders covered deceased patients and amputees prescribed braces for limbs they did not have. Dr. Becerril reviewed each order from telemarketing company Real Time Physicians LLC for an average of 26 seconds before signing, and the company paid him $20 per prescription.
The case was investigated by HHS-OIG and prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Washington.
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