Medicare fraudA federal civil lawsuit claims that Dr. Raymond Sean Brown, of Cleveland, Tenn., has committed money laundering, wire, mail and Medicare fraud.
As part of the filing on May 13 by a Knoxville prosecutor, federal agents seized nearly $6.8 million from the local doctor's bank accounts.
At the end of the day Monday, no criminal charges had been filed.
A call to staff at Brown's 1065 Peerless Crossing NW office in Cleveland was deferred to his attorney, Jerry Summers.
Summers declined to comment about specifics of the case except to emphasize that this is not a criminal indictment.
"This case does not involve any improper medical treatment that would endanger the lives of patients, but deals with a dispute between Dr. Brown and the government agencies in regard to seeking reimbursement from Medicare," Summers said.
It is the policy of the U.S. Attorney's Office not to comment on pending litigation. Knoxville-based Assistant U.S. Attorney Anne-Marie Svolto is prosecuting the case.
There are scant details beyond the fraud allegations and seizures in the publicly accessible court documents about the allegations against the physical medicine and rehabilitation doctor.
Agents made seizures from two sources:
• $6,579,517 from Brown's account at Athens Federal Community Banking;
• $186,091 from his Tennessee Valley Federal Credit Union account.
No court date is listed in the public record for Brown. But an order from U.S. Magistrate Judge Susan K. Lee instructs Svolto to update him every six months if there are changes to "underlying criminal action."
Late last year, U.S. District Judge Harry S. "Sandy" Mattice chastised prosecutors for keeping a Medicare fraud whistle-blower lawsuit under seal for nearly four years and delaying criminal charges in the process.