HOUSTON--An unlicensed Texas doctor has been indicted for her involvement in a power wheelchair scheme, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Texas Chuck Rosenberg announced last week.

According to a release from the U.S. Attorney's office:

Linda Morgan, 52, of Houston was responsible for approximately $10 million in Medicare and Medicaid billings for DME from 2002 through 2004 for writing false prescriptions and CMNs. Morgan is licensed to practice medicine in Oklahoma, but is unlicensed in Texas because she has not passed the state medical boards. She was charged with conspiracy and 12 counts of health care fraud.

The indictment alleges marketers and recruiters brought Medicare and Medicaid patient information--but not the patients--to Morgan, who received approximately $250 in exchange for a power wheelchair prescription and CMN. The marketers would then sell the prescriptions to DME companies, which billed Medicare and Medicaid for power wheelchairs and related accessories at approximately $5,000; the patients, however, received scooters costing between $800 and $1,200.

If convicted of health care fraud, Morgan faces up to 10 years in prison and a maximum fine of $250,000. If convicted of conspiracy, she faces up to five years and a maximum fine of $250,000.

The charges are the result of a joint investigation by the FBI and the Medicaid Fraud Control Unit of the Office of the Texas Attorney General.