Woodlands Texas psychiatrist among 7 indicted in wheelchair scam

A psychiatrist from The Woodlands plead guilty Thursday to receiving kickbacks for recommending unneeded motorized wheelchairs in a conspiracy to defraud Medicare and Medicaid of $16 million.

Dr. Lewis Gottlieb, 45, was one of seven people indicted in September on charges of bilking the government out of $5,000 on each unneeded or undelivered wheelchair. U.S. District Judge Lee Rosenthal ordered Gottlieb to forfeit $1.6 million held in his bank account.

Gottlieb is to be sentenced June 24 for conspiracy to commit health fraud, executing a health care fraud scheme and receiving kickback payments between October 2001 and May 2003. He could get five years in prison on the conspiracy charge, 10 years on the health fraud charge and five years on the kickback charge.